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"I would have been honoured to have you along, but more's the pity. As for your own business, I would love to hear all about it someday, but that day is not today. Today I'm trying to get rid of those demons. Perhaps next time." And with that, he was off again, weaving his way to go find the hunter.

Still doing his best to act as if this is all new information, Gregeddin took and indignant tone, "Bread? Bread?!"
Shaking his head at the ground "Name me this merchant and I will see what can be done."

"But is there nothing more pressing, no more testing matters which The Guard (as in the whole Holy Guard) faces that might be assisted with? I scarcely feel that this great city is run so well the only crime of contention is petty theft. Do you know what tasks lay on your captain's plate?

Haahqae (Steel Tankard Inn, Common Area)
The hunter is a tall man with dark hair and a short trimmed vandyke beard. He has a scar across his right eye, but the eye itself seems perfectly functional, as far as the gnome can tell. A battle axe sits next to him, leaning against his table and there's a long bow strapped to his back.

Kendra Synclair (Old Keep, Captain's Office)
Orin sits at his desk, several small mountains of paperwork stacked around him. He glances up at her for only a moment, before returning his gaze back to the paper he's signing. "You're late again, Synclair. Keep this up, and I'll have to dock your pay," he warns.

Captain Woodwind was an older man, in his forties, with long sandy blond hair and hazel eyes. Although normally quite fastidious in his grooming, for the past few months he seemed to always have some stubble whenever Kendra saw him. He was a strong, muscular man; no doubt he was quite dashing in his youth. But the strain of his job had aged him considerably recently.
Gregeddin (Market Street, on route to the market)
The guard actually takes a step back at Gregeddin's outburst, not sure what to make of it. "Uh, the merchant has a stall in the market square," he says. "Never caught his name, though. But--that's not important. I'm trying to find the thief, not the one she stole from."

He listens to Gregeddin's question and shrugs. "Guess you'd have to talk to the captain about that. I just follow orders. You looking to join up? We could use more people; especially with all these refugees, cultists, and thieves running around these days."

Coroccoco (Haven Arms Inn, Common Area)
Daxia listens to Coroccoco's reminiscing in silence, nodding in understanding. "I know who I am--I suppose that's part of the problem, really." She shakes her head, as if the whole thing was rather silly. "Sure, I'll stay. I'm not going anywhere tonight, if I can help it."

Upon reaching the man Haahqae stumbles for words, takes a bite out of his chicken leg while he pulls his thoughts together again then extends his invitation. "Yonder mountain man isn't only drinking because he likes the taste of ale, while he may enjoy the taste also. In fact, he's here to find help clearing out some demons from his mine. I myself am more then willing to help him, but at the same time less then capable, which is why we are looking for additional help.

Would you happen to have the time to assist us? His mine is but five miles away. Or perhaps you would know someone willing and capable?"

Kynaston slaps himself in the face. What a waste of time!

"Alright," he informs the two, "If that's all it is, I'm not wasting any more time here. Mister kender: there is nothing illegal about claiming what your goods are if it doesn't put anyone in danger. There's no wrongdoing here, at least by Haven law, so sod off, you're not helping."

He points at the old woman and barks at her, "If all it is you're doing is selling junk, even the village idiot can see that kender are your best customers. If you say your pieces are discount art or something then you stand to make more money because you'll actually sell some stuff. Stop antagonizing everyone and you might not die of starvation before age. People like a place they can get simple things they need and I'm sure our immigrants can find a use for most of this crap."

With that, he walks off. He'd lost his weaponry and gained an appetite.

Fixing Daxia with a yellow-eyed stare, Coroccoco nods slowly then turns from her breakfast companion and walks slowly but confidently to the edge of the fireside crowd so that she will be addressing all of them and have the door in sight. Quickly, she scans for an escape route in case things turn out poorly before alighting on the nearest bit of furniture that both looks sturdy enough to support her and lift her half a span or so. Already she can see over most people, but now she can see and be seen by all. Wasting no time she takes in a deep breath and projects her voice to the gathered refugees, throwing wide her arms above her head.

"My brothers! My sisters!" Her eyes sweep the crowd, making contact with one here, another there. "Children of the road, I see in your eyes the same weariness that would take the strength of me." Here she lowers her arms, slowly letting them fall as her strong voice echoes through the room no longer rasping but clarion as a trumpet's call. "A weariness born from loss, a weariness born from struggle, a weariness born from the fearful contempt of those who have kept their homes... For now."

"A fell wind blows this Autumn, my siblings, its gusts cut to the bone. Is it so wrong to ask shelter from a storm? Yet hundreds are turned away from the gates each day, once-neighbors, cousins, friends all!" Her tone rings with righteous indignation and she gives a small pause to let the audience consider. "If a good society cannot aid the many who are poor, how can it save the few who are rich? It is not behind the arms and armor of the greedy and paranoid that we will find ablution, but in our own hearts."

She thrusts a hand down the front of her robes, hoisting her holy symbol for all to see balanced in the cup of her hand a silver ball of overlapping plates. "It is in UNITY that we shall be saved! When I fall I am caught by the strength of my brothers' arms. When I take fever I am nourished by my sisters!" She gestures with her free hand, sweeping wide over the gathered. "We are siblings, we are born from hardship and weaned on exhaustion. We are children of the road. Human, elf, dwarf, kender, aye even hobgoblins and goblins who would seek the peaceful Way! So Weerschaal teaches."

"This plight is new but struggle, struggle is old as Krynn. I have struggled, brothers. I have hungered, sisters. And at my time of unthinkable wretchedness I heard the voice of Weerschaal, the Plated One! She took from me my self-pity and gave me pride. She took from me my fear and gave me courage! She took from me the idea of a home lost, and gave me succor wherever I should roam." She crooks a claw inward, pointing between her breasts. "Peace flows from within, my siblings, a shining beacon to banish the rising darkness. Open your hearts to Weerschaal and let Her light your way. And together we shall not be a candle against the crushing black, but a blazing bonfire!"

(Oratory check: 11, pass)

'Join up?' Gregeddin thought to himself. He didn't like the idea of that, labelled, bound to ideals set by others and the preconceived judgement of anyone new he met. Moreover he knew already, albeit vaguely, of the refugees, thieves and the various religious folk around Haven. Exposure to the new and unknown was really what Gregeddin wished to seek out.

Frustrated that he wasn't able to cut himself a wage on the side and now that he had exhausted the guard's knowledge, Gregeddin walked towards the alleyway saying "Hadn't considered signing up before, though if there's a more adventurous side to what the guard do I would like to hear about it."

As he reached the entrance to the alley he beckoned the guard with his hand, "Let's have a look down here." and started down it, trusting the guard would be soon catch up.
After a moment when his eyes had adjusted to the change in visibility, Gregeddin called vaguely behind him "So with whom should I speak to find out more? A reference by name would hasten my search I imagine."

Gregeddin didn't feel too bad about leading the guard down the alley, he had stalled long enough to give the girl a fair chance and could oversee the conduct of the guard at least. He may have even cooled off enough not to behead her!

Khush doesn't really want to move much closer to the goblins, but wants to create a disturbance to distract them. He will move closer if he can do so without breaking cover, and throw his branch at a tree or brush in medium range, shaking up the foilage and perhaps breaking a few twigs, so that they hopefully think someone is approaching them 20 yards from where he really is.

"Forgive me, sir," Kendra said with a bow of her head as she entered into the office. "But, I have a good reason. On my way here, there was a man speaking to a crowd of refugees speaking about how his God has real power unlike the Seeker gods," she explained. "I assumed it was nothing more than a common charlatan, but to prove his point, he cut his hand, spoke a few words, and his hand was healed," she explained. "I saw it with my own eyes, and not knowing what to do, I came here as quick as possible."

Kynaston Trench (Blade Street, Outside Karn's Blacksmith)
Kynaston walks off, ignoring the protests of the old woman and the kender. Before long, all he heard was the patter of the light rain around him. He couldn't believe he had wasted time on that whole situation, not to mention a perfectly good sword. Still, on the bright side, the odds of him ever running into either of those people again were ridiculously small. Yes, certainly. He would probably never see either of them again.

He walks for another ten minutes or so before he hears the telltale ringing of a hammer on an anvil. He comes across a building to his left with a picture of an anvil on the sign and can see a thick, black plume of smoke raising from the chimney. This must be the smith that eventually came to replace his father, after he left. The familiar sound brings back many memories, good and bad.

Haahqae (Steel Tankard Inn, Common Area)
The woodsman spots Haahqae approaching and sits silently, listening, as the gnome says his piece, before speaking himself. "In such times, he worries for his own profit?" He shakes his head. "I fear I have my own 'demon' to deal with, and cannot offer you any aid until then. The best of luck to you, though," he adds, raising his mug.

Kendra Synclair (Old Keep, Captain's Office)
"Is that all?" the captain asks, clearly unimpressed. "Probably another wizard, using illusions. Remember the whole 'Belzor' incident? Honestly, I thought people would have learned their lesson by now." He stands up and walks around his desk.

"No matter," he states. "Go and investigate. Find proof he's a charlatan, or failing that, bring him in before he becomes dangerous. Consider it your first assignment this morning. I trust you can handle it alone? We're spread too thin for me to send anyone else with you."

Gregeddin (Market Street, Dead-End Alley)
The guard follows Gregeddin in the alley, still appearing rather unsure of what is going on or what the bard is up to. "You'll want to talk to the captain, Orin Windwood," he says. "He's the one who hires and fires, with the Highseekers' approval, of course."

The alley, as Gregeddin remembered, ends in a dead-end after about thirty feet. There are no doors and any windows are secured with bars. There was no visible way out other than the way in. There are a number of trash cans, however, at the very end. Some are spilling over with garbage, others have lids on them. They would make a good hiding place for someone small.

"She came down here?" the guard asks. He looks to the trash cans, evidently having the same idea as Gregeddin.

Khush (Road to Haven)
Khush moves forward, until he's in proper range, then throws the stick at a tree about 20 yards away from the goblins.

Sure enough, the rustling gets the goblins' attention. Both look over their shoulder, warily. The woman, too, hears it and appears even more frightened.

The two exchange some dialogue, then one goblin carefully starts to approach the tree while the other turns toward the woman, moving closer to her.
(OOC: Now to explain my crappy map. The K is Khush, the 1 and 2 are the goblins, the W is the woman and the c is the child. The big green circles are trees, the green blobs are bushes, and the brown blobs are rocks. The road is to the south. The thick black arc shows the path of the thrown branch. Each hex is 1 yard in size.)

Coroccoco (Haven Arms Inn, Common Area)
Once Coroccoco begins speaking, soon everyone's attention is turned to her. She sees confusion in many eyes, but also suspicion and even hatred. Hobgoblins are not well liked among humans, and vice versa. Still, they listen to what she has to say.

After about ten minutes of preaching, a little over half of the crowd seems to be hanging on her every word. The rest have turned to ignore her. The dwarf she spotted earlier regards her with suspicion, while the hooded and cloaked man who is all bandaged up regards her very intently. Daxia's expression remains unreadable, but the barmaid who earlier sassed the monk earlier about having steel seems nearly on the brink of tears, she is so moved by the speech.

Once she is done, a number of people speak out to her, calling out questions. "Can Weerschaal heal my sick mother?" one asks. "Will Weerschaal stop the war?" asks another.

(OOC: Coroccoco makes an Oratory check (1d20): 11, pass. The bar patrons suffer a -2 to their INT rolls as the check passes by 2 points. However, anti-goblin prejudice balances that out with a +2 to their INT rolls. Overall, 22 people out of 43 have their opinion of Weerschaal shifted from Indifferent to Friendly.)

"And best of luck to you too good sir" Haahqae says then walks off, wondering where else he could find new companions. It dawns on him that perhaps he should have thought to mention that the running of a mine is more important then just for a profit, especially during wartime. He read that somewhere once, he can't quite remember why they said that.

He takes another bite out of the chicken leg and glances around the tavern one last time to see if anyone stands out as being burly or capable with a blade; but is once again reminded of the gloomy atmosphere that seems to encompass the Inn. An atmosphere which seems to overtake him as he exits the inn and feels the cold periodic pummeling of raindrops on his exposed hands and face.

He slumps, back against the inn, and ponders his options. He could go to the magic shop. That sounded fun, and perhaps he could find some mages to help. He could go to the other inns. Inns are notorious for having mercenaries and the like stay at them. He could try the holy guard, but the mountain guy said they wouldn't help him. Maybe he could try the blacksmiths, valiant heroes probably frequent them to buy new weapons and upgrade their gear!

Stowing his sling away quickly, Khush jogs around the bushes to his right to still be slightly covered while approaching the woman, child and goblin.
"Run!" he shouts while charging the goblin from behind with his quarterstaff.

INIT 12, blatant miss, at least no fumble

(What is the movement rate for goblins?)

Coroccoco lowers the holy symbol of her Goddess so that it rests on the outside of her robes. She waits there for a moment, letting the questions wash over her before she raises her hands to signal her intent to begin speaking again. As calling fades she sweeps her eyes across the inn marking those who react favorably and not, making eye-contact with Daxia for some small moment and to peer into the dark recesses of the cloaked person's cowl.

"The forces of Tii'Mhut stir, but the Dark Queen does not ride to battle with them. It is by their own powers that they seek to upset the world's balance, and it is by the power of our own selves that we must right their wrongs. It is Weerschaal's way to show the Path, but it is our choice to follow and with the strength of our own feet. And we ARE strong, my siblings, never forget that. Balance comes from within." She forms a ball with her hands over her chest, thumbs forming the top of the curve and fingers the bottom with the right hand slightly overlapped by the left. Then steps down from her makeshift podium to return to Daxia's presence, although she does allow time in her slow saunter for any to approach her with questions or comments from the service.

"Orin Windwood... Thanks for your help" Gregeddin replies. Continuing towards the end, he says to the guard "Yes, I thought she came down here and it looks like it stops by that waste there. Unless she ran out again when we were talking, but I can't say I noticed to be truthful."

Scanning behind him Gregeddin says "Just double check there's no moving boards or anything that she could have squeezed through then come help me look through this stuff at the end." With that, Gregeddin begins to lift lids and poke through the rubbish with his feet, looking for the girl.

~Anything is better than gate duty,~ Kendra thought to herself as she gave a bow of her head in respect to the Captain. "Of course, sir," she said respectfully. "And I apologize for being late," she added as she stepped out of his office.

It was going to take Kendra a few minutes to finish putting on her gear, such as her armor and tunic, since she carried all of it to work with her. It was one thing to be recognized as a Holy Guard while on duty, but she didn't really want to be recognized as a Holy Guard while she wasn't on duty.

Once she had managed to get herself situated, she made her way back out into the rain to track down the charlatan, assuming that he was one. It would be great if he was still preaching, but she doubted that would be the case.