An expedition with the "Seagull"

[Jenara]

Frowning she moves between Searos and Gunter putting an arm around each of them, "Pelor teaches us that although one ignores the light, we must not turn away."

Raising a hand she motions to Gunter to remove his hand from his weapon, "My companions speak the truth, we were sent here to help, we were returning that buckle as proof of your brothers demise." She gives the man look of understanding. "You can believe us if you wish, I mean why would anyone actually help your people?"

[The_Muffin_Man]

Searos glances down at Brax's hand uncomfortable but ignores it for now.

"We were helping these people, WHO HAVE NO MANNERS, because they were paying us."

[Breila]

The bearded man appears speechless for a moment. Then someone approaches from behind, a woman dressed in woolen traveller's clothes, her long black hair running down her back. "What is it, Ian?" she asks him. "Oh, the previous occupants of this campsite have come." Her voice is haughty, and she looks them over head to toe. "Let them gather their things, they seem harmless enough." Then she points at Brax: "You, interesting mix of darkness and light, I would like to talk to you."

[Jenara]

"Me?" Brax asks with a curious tone, "Appearances can of course be deceptive." Striding into the camp she collects her bedroll, and places it under her arm.

"Gunter, could you get the tents arranged, and ensure we have all our things? I am going to find out what is going on here." Patting the Ranger on the lower back she strides towards the woman. "You are?" She asks, her hands at her sides.

[Breila]

"Giulietta Buonarotti, merchant in silks and spices" the woman answers. "If you would please come along?" She leads the way to a tent made of sturdier fabric than usual, in stripes of light and dark brown. A servant opens the flap for them "Bring us tea" Giulietta commands. Inside the tent, two folding chairs with cushions are next to a low folding table. A camp bed with clean white sheets and a colorful woolen blanket is in the background. Giulietta sits in the slightly higher-backed chair and gestures to Brax to sit in the other. "Now, what prompts a creature from the darkness to worship the Lord of Light?" she asks bluntly.

The rest of the group can now walk over to their tents unhindered, though watched by Ian and some of the other people of the camp, though most now get back to their business of finishing the setup of the camp and preparing the evening meal. There would be still room enough for the three tents of the party to be set up, but the prime spots near the big fireplace are now taken by the newcomers.

Kim rushes to the heap of the one-man tent and quickly sorts through everything, packing it all back where it belongs. "Nothing is missing from my things" is the report given. Indeed, everything has been picked over, but only the things that had been picked up from the beach and stored together - to be handed to the authorities of Dunreese - are missing. Some of the deer leftovers from last night seem to have gone, too.

(OOC: I assume that everybody is always carrying their money and valuables with them.)

[The_Muffin_Man]

(ooc: Searos would never leave his money in a pile in camp. He likes the weight of it on his hip, in his backpack, a coin in the bottom of his boot. If he could, he would frolic in it)

Searos goes and gathers his stuff together, packing it all up and then sitting on a stump and just staring at the caravaners and not saying anything.

[Jenara]

"My story is a long one." She states simply, "Why would a Merchant know of my Lord? Or my mothers people?" She questions, her hands at her sides, Pelors symbol proudly displayed on her chest. "I left the darkness, Pelor showed me the light.

[Breila]

"A merchant, my dear, makes her money by providing people with things they dream of" Giulietta says as she accepts the tea brought in by her servant with an almost careless nod of thanks. "And a skilful merchant provides the dreams as well. To be able to do that, she needs stories. And what's the best way of finding stories, if not asking for them? So make yourself comfortable, and tell me your story."

[LittleLuna]

Vee gets the little bit of her stuff she isn't carrying around anyway. Logically she hasn't leaved her daggers or her (too small) purse at the camp. While she is picking it up she mutters loud enough for everyone to hear it: "So what do we do now? Some nice travelers had taken oure campside and mixed us up with men-eating fishwomans. Nice!"

[Jenara]

"Interesting." Brax sizes up the woman for a short time, looking her up and down, before taking a seat, grasping her own Tea in her hand.

"My Mother was raped by a human on a scouting party, she hid my true nature as long as she could, at the expense of her own life." She says with no apparent emotion, "Lloth had a plan for me, she wanted me... She still does..." The last part was said in a small voice. "I excelled as her Cleric, as a creature of the night, my strength made me a target, but the Church protected me." She laughs slightly.

"They protected me to protect themselves, my people are evil, cruel and selfish. There was an uprising, a change of power, people I loved and cared for were tortured in ways you can only imagine, have you see what a Rat will do when its cornered? It is not a pretty sight." Watching the womans reaction she continues.

"I escaped with only the clothes I wore, clothes until recently I still owned, I rose to the surface, the light burned my eyes, Pelor beamed his light on me, and I answered his call." She stops, sipping her tea.

[Breila]

Giuliletta moves her head close to Brax once the half-drow has set down the tea again, in a move of confidentiality. "Tell me, honestly, do you never miss using the powers of darkness you once had?"

--------

Seeing that everybody else has gathered their belongings, Kim asks: "What do we do now? It is near sunset, but the sky is clear, we would have enough light from the moons to follow the road back to Dunreese."
"Yes, and even if the gates are closed for the night, I could make sure we are welcome in the temple guesthouse outside" Coren adds.

[Jenara]

"Do I wish I could call on Lloth to strike down my enemies?" Brax asks her voice clear, "There are times when I wish I could... And then... I feel her presence on my back, the spiders crawling up my back, her evil tearing down on me..." She shudders, going back to her tea. "I am here, Pelor loves me, he saved me."

[Breila]

"And... you never wish you could have both? That could give you a lot of power, tapping the resources of both darkness and light, couldn't it?" Giulietta looks into Brax's face, is there mischief or malice in her eyes? Or just greed and arrogance?

[Robbo]

Gunter regards Kim and Coren, and nods.

"Aye, I'd like to get ourselves back to town so we can report what we found. Normally I love the stars but lately I feel I'd like a roof over my head for a night or two," he turns to look at the striped tent. "So what do you think Brax is getting herself into in there?"

[Jenara]

"I think that would destroy me." She answers honesty, "The darkness was my past. But I can't deny that the idea tempts me.. She calls me, I feel her on my back."