The Only Way to Fly

[Breila]

"Yes, Lucas, thank you" Babushka adds. "Have a good rest tonight."
"And good night to everyone" she adds as an afterthought as she slips into her bed. "I will certainly enjoy the bed after all these nights outside!"

[JadedDM]

Lucas bids them farewell and departs, and the women climb into their beds and try to get some sleep.

It's a cold winter night, even in a desolate wasteland like this, so it's a nice change of pace to sleep in a warm bed inside a stone keep, even if they are surrounded by ogres.

When they wake up the following morning, the first thing they notice is the howling wind outside. It's fairly loud.

The second thing that is noticed, of course, is that one of their party is missing. Locky is nowhere to be seen. Her armor and her pack are gone, too. Only Babushka, Imani and Malika remain in the room.

==============

Locky, Babushka, Ulster and Thuskar all regain 1 HP.

It is now Winter Deep 15, Night's Eye, 375 AC. It is First Watch (7 AM). It is 20 F (-7 C) degrees.

[HorizonsDream]

"She wouldn't do anything stupid would she?" Imani asks, looking over to Babushka. "And how could she leave without anyone of us noticing?"

[Breila]

Babushka sighs. "I have never been able to look into that kender's mind, Imani" she confesses. "As to how she could get away without us noticing, have you forgotten how often we used her ability to move silently?" After a pause, she adds: "Let's get up and see what the day brings. First of all, let's see how the men are doing."

[JadedDM]

As if on cue, there's a knock on the door. Malika opens it to reveal Ulster and Jerrard, who step inside. "Good morning, ladies," Jerrard says.

[HorizonsDream]

"Well, how she managed to leave without us noticing wasn't really what I was asking," Imani admits. "I'm talking about how she managed to leave with guards at the door," she added before she looked to Ulster and Jerrard. The kender had been a little extra annoying the past few days, but that didn't mean she wasn't concerned all the same. Though, it didn't seem like anyone else really was. "Good morning," she said with a small smile. It was nice, for a change, to sleep in a bed. "I trust the two of you slept well?"

[Breila]

Baushka nods to Jerrard and Ulster. "Good morning" she says, too. "The question is, have there really been guards at the door all night? And even if, maybe she went with them willinlgy, out of curiosity. And, is Locky and her things really gone? The aurak was powerful enough to see through Jerrard's invisibility spell, who knows what he knows to do?" She starts feeling for Locky#s belongings where she remembers the kender put them down the night before, and she makes their bed.

[JadedDM]

"Wait, is Locky missing?" asks Jerrard, trying to follow the conversation between Babushka and Imani. He appears concerned. "What happened?"

Babushka feels around for Locky's gear, but finds no evidence of it anywhere in the room.

[HorizonsDream]

"Why would he do that?" Imani asks, clearly a little confused before she looks to Jerrard and nods. "Locky is gone."

[Breila]

"Who knows what is going on in a draconian mind?" Babushka asks in response to Imani's question. "One thing it certainly does, that's seeding worry and confusion among us.
But it very much looks like she has left of her own accord. Maybe she thought she would have to bring Paladine's blessings to the people here."

She gets up. "Let us see if we can get some breakfast. And I guess we will find out what the Lord of the land wants of us, too."

[JadedDM]

Suddenly, there's another knock at the door--this one terse and quick.

Ulster opens the door, and Lucas steps in quickly, closing the door behind him. "This is bad," he says. "Your friend was caught last night trying to break into the master's bedroom. He had her arrested and believes she was sent by you in an attempt to assassinate him."

"Balderdash!" Jerrard insists. "Locky is no killer."

"Regardless, he's furious and his paranoia is even higher than usual now," Lucas explains. "He is waiting for you all downstairs."

[Breila]

"Oh Locky, what were you thinking?" Babushka sighs. The kender had never been that foolish before. Silly, yes, but not that outrightly irresponsible.

[HorizonsDream]

Imani lets out a small groan of frustration and runs her fingers through her hair. "Well, I guess we are going to have to see if we can talk our way out of this," she says.

[JadedDM]

The party steps outside with Lucas, where the ogre guards are waiting for them. They are escorted back downstairs to the main floor, where Eridan sits and fumes on his throne.

Two guards stand near the throne, while two more flank the party. Another four stand guard at the front gate. Lucas stands in the back silently, near the table.

"Ah, so you arrive!" Eridan says, standing up. "First, you break into my fort with the intent to steal. And despite this--despite it!--I not only grant you forgiveness, but allow you to stay the night here, to eat my food and make use of my slaves. Because I am a just and generous leader. And this is how I am repaid? With treachery and betrayal? I suppose no good deed goes unpunished after all!"

[HorizonsDream]

"Your grace," Imani says as she bows low. "We, or rather I, never told Locky to do what she did," she says. "But I will take full responsibility for her actions as the leader of this group." Honestly, Imani didn't want to take the responsibility for this, but it happened under her watch. She had seen plenty of people do this within the courts of her husband. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. "Please, don't punish the others for my mistakes."