Slate gets pulled aside and as Urkia talks, he makes a few glances down at Baxter and a single glance at Stray as the statuesque orc mentions him.
“I would like to withhold judgment for the time being. If what he says is true, then he does deserve a bit of empathy from us all.”
As he speaks he runs his hand along his jaw and feels a small crack in his stoney complexion, a soft light illuminating from it, but makes no motion of acknowledgment of it.
“I will say, however, that his kind aren’t often well received by the natural world. Most infernal and demi-infernals leave a bad impression on the earth as they walk and interact with nature. Though I suppose that's no reason to judge. I’m sure I’ve done much worse than just being born of a chaotic heritage.”
"Thank you both for your concern. I am a follower of Kalemvor. I now believe it was his divine intervention that brought me to this place. I have no idea what that may be. But that doesn't mean I can't partake of your generosity. Thank you."
Stray Gets up and begins to cross the room, he is clad in splint mail, his shield has the symbol of a skeletons hand holding some scales. and a glimmering mace dangles on his belt.
" I would like to try one of those bocicne, if the offer still stands. Apologies, for my entrance it must have been quite shocking.
"I have taken a vow to help those in need whenever and however I can. Perhaps that is why I have been sent here. What all do we know of this missing Elf? or perhaps you don't trust me, I do look like the demons I hunt after all."
Stray take s a step back, remembering his appearance does tend to frighten people. He remembers the looks, and the whispers when he was younger.
"Her name is Shecta West. And she looks just like this illusion, a perfect copy."
Baxter gestures to the stationary illusion of a young elf girl standing near their table in the lounge.
Turning to Urkia, "If you don't mind me asking, how long ago did she go missing? Any other details you remember about her or her disappearance? No matter how trivial they might seem to you, there may be a hidden clue that fresh minds might notice."
Slate walks back toward the illusion and sits down crisscrossed next to it.
“If you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna attempt one more area search for the girl. I’ll be here and I’ll be listening, just call my name if you need me to come back.”
As he closes his eyes he turns fully into stone and sinks into the ground that leaves no hole behind him. They may be hard to detect, save by the most perception of soul, but Slate sends out a constant stream of tiny tremors that stretch a greater distance and the ones when he first arrived.
Urk stares at the ground and waves, astonished by what she'd just seen. Then Urkia softens her glare at Stray, thinking maybe he wasn't so bad.
"I lost Shecta three months ago. We were having a walk in the forest. I turned away for a second, and she was gone. I - I blame myself. If I hadn't looked away... I should have been better."
Stray Grins, Not many have accepted him in his life. "Thank you, I may not have the powers these two have shown. But I will help in any way I can. Perhaps when..Slate, is it? perhaps when he is finished he will have more information."
Slate re-emerges some time later. As he comes up from the ground, he rises directly into a standing position. He is out of breath and lets out some jagged wheezing as he tries to focus himself.
“Oh gods… I forgot… how difficult… that it… to… *cough…* do…”
Slate drops to one knee and throws up, though it’s all just dirt and pebbles.
After Slate catches his breath, he sits back and thinks for a moment about what happened.
“My people can, on occasion, merge our bodies with the earth… however, going from flesh to stone is much easier than returning to flesh.”
He shakes his head and looks at Urkia
“But that’s not what matters now…”
“I have learned another skill from my time in mountain caves. I can send out tremors to echolocate. As I said, all living things have a unique impact and connection to the earth. I can usually use this to find people…”
He looks down, this wave of disappointment in himself washing over him.
“I can feel the power of a strong elven woman… but I can’t find the source. Sometimes, if someone has an incredible amount of magic or will, their energy will spread so far from the source that it’s hard to locate them… so… I wasn’t able to find her… but I can confirm she… (for the time being) is still alive…”
"Whew! That's a relief, I thought for a second there that you discovered she was buried alive or something."
Baxter goes over to the bar and orders a strongly fortified port wine and then downs the whole thing in a long gulping swallow. Right after he takes a deep breath and let's it out with a slight shudder. At once a sense of calm washes over him. He then walks back over to Urkia.
"I just had a thought, now keep in mind this is nothing more than a speculative theory, but humans and halflings and other short lived races only have about a century to build strong ties with their family while elves have more than half a dozen times that long due to their long lifespans, so it's possible their bonds are much stronger."
"What if there was a family emergency or something of the sort and magic was used to instantly snatch her away back home before she could say goodbye?"
"Thank you, Slate. Thank ya so much. I-I'm so happy to know she is living and breathing with us. I wish i could find her."
A tear streames down Urkia's face. Then she wipes it quickly and embraces Slate, almost squishing him to death. Urk then turns to Baxter.
"Uhmmm... I'm not sure she has a family emergency. She is my deepest friend. We have known each other since we were little. But she never mentioned any relatives. I only know of her mother. An old elf living in the middle of the woods somewhere."
"While this is fantastic news, your friend being alive, it still leaves us with many possibilities. We need to narrow down the places she may be. We can't simply rule out her mother. As we know I was brought to this place without much of a chance to warn anyone, even if I could have. If the same types of magics are used. She may have not been able to let you know. So what sort of beings are capable of doing such a feat. I leave this answer to you, as I have very little experience in real world things."
Stray picking up on facial ques and Urkia's obvious discomfort.
"I am sorry, I did mot mean to offend. Whatever I said. I meant no harm. I know very little outside the walls of the monastery. I was only trying to help narrow down the search for your friend. I am unsure what creatures, or spells can make someone vanish without a trace, and not give the target a chance to scream or call out. Forgive me Urkia."
Urkia notices that Stray is concerned and closes her eyes shut. She sits down on a chair, hugs her strong legs with her arms and looks so small, nothing close to the tall and bold half-orc lady Stray saw and then she mutters, slowly:
"No. You didn't offend me. Magic scares me, because of Shecta. She used this horrible type of magic, possessed innocent creatures and crushed their souls into dust just to do dark magic. She did it once to save my life. But i love the nature. All these little critters and animals are a part of me, a part of my soul. But when I saw Shecta do it for the first time.. I-It felt..."
"I am NOT saying that Shecta isn't my true friend for life o-or that she uses the magic for bad, but... It's all so confusing. I don't know why she'd do that."
Urkia says the last part very quietly and almost without breath, like she is choking. Then, slowly, she relaxes a bit, after she had told her friends all that had been bottled up deep inside.
"We have to find her. She is my only hope, and even after using d-d-dark magic, she is like a sister. Thank you all for your help and let us hope we find her."
Stray rises from his chair, places a hand upon Urkia's shoulder.
"We must have faith"
He then begins to mumble a short prayer, smiles, and returns to his seat.
"I have faith in my God that he has brought us all here for this purpose. And that we will prevail. I may not know worldly things, but I do know spiritual things. Baxter, and Slate are very good at what they do. Trust in that at least."
Slate gets pulled aside and as Urkia talks, he makes a few glances down at Baxter and a single glance at Stray as the statuesque orc mentions him.
“I would like to withhold judgment for the time being. If what he says is true, then he does deserve a bit of empathy from us all.”
As he speaks he runs his hand along his jaw and feels a small crack in his stoney complexion, a soft light illuminating from it, but makes no motion of acknowledgment of it.
“I will say, however, that his kind aren’t often well received by the natural world. Most infernal and demi-infernals leave a bad impression on the earth as they walk and interact with nature. Though I suppose that's no reason to judge. I’m sure I’ve done much worse than just being born of a chaotic heritage.”
"Thank you both for your concern. I am a follower of Kalemvor. I now believe it was his divine intervention that brought me to this place. I have no idea what that may be. But that doesn't mean I can't partake of your generosity. Thank you."
Stray Gets up and begins to cross the room, he is clad in splint mail, his shield has the symbol of a skeletons hand holding some scales. and a glimmering mace dangles on his belt.
" I would like to try one of those bocicne, if the offer still stands. Apologies, for my entrance it must have been quite shocking.
"My policy is to loan out a little trust and see how it's repaid."
Baxter scratches at his chin lightly, more in thought than to relieve an itch.
"Here you go." Baxter hands Stray one of the delicious bocicne pastries.
"I have taken a vow to help those in need whenever and however I can. Perhaps that is why I have been sent here. What all do we know of this missing Elf? or perhaps you don't trust me, I do look like the demons I hunt after all."
Stray take s a step back, remembering his appearance does tend to frighten people. He remembers the looks, and the whispers when he was younger.
"Her name is Shecta West. And she looks just like this illusion, a perfect copy."
Baxter gestures to the stationary illusion of a young elf girl standing near their table in the lounge.
Turning to Urkia, "If you don't mind me asking, how long ago did she go missing? Any other details you remember about her or her disappearance? No matter how trivial they might seem to you, there may be a hidden clue that fresh minds might notice."
Slate walks back toward the illusion and sits down crisscrossed next to it.
“If you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna attempt one more area search for the girl. I’ll be here and I’ll be listening, just call my name if you need me to come back.”
As he closes his eyes he turns fully into stone and sinks into the ground that leaves no hole behind him. They may be hard to detect, save by the most perception of soul, but Slate sends out a constant stream of tiny tremors that stretch a greater distance and the ones when he first arrived.
"Wow... Uhh... okay thank you. Bye"
Urk stares at the ground and waves, astonished by what she'd just seen. Then Urkia softens her glare at Stray, thinking maybe he wasn't so bad.
"I lost Shecta three months ago. We were having a walk in the forest. I turned away for a second, and she was gone. I - I blame myself. If I hadn't looked away... I should have been better."
Urk's eyes start to water and she mumbles:
"There is another detail 'bout her. She has these big, beautiful eyes. They glow in the dark."
Then she takes a big breath and bumps Stray's shoulder as a sign of friendship.
"Maybe you're not so bad after all."
Stray Grins, Not many have accepted him in his life. "Thank you, I may not have the powers these two have shown. But I will help in any way I can. Perhaps when..Slate, is it? perhaps when he is finished he will have more information."
Stray pulls out his journal and begins to write.
Slate re-emerges some time later. As he comes up from the ground, he rises directly into a standing position. He is out of breath and lets out some jagged wheezing as he tries to focus himself.
“Oh gods… I forgot… how difficult… that it… to… *cough…* do…”
Slate drops to one knee and throws up, though it’s all just dirt and pebbles.
“I may… have a… clue…”
"Are you ok? That doesn't look safe."
Baxter looks worriedly at Slate as the dirt and rocks spew forth, making a mess on the tavern floor.
"You found a clue buried underground? That's amazing!"
After Slate catches his breath, he sits back and thinks for a moment about what happened.
“My people can, on occasion, merge our bodies with the earth… however, going from flesh to stone is much easier than returning to flesh.”
He shakes his head and looks at Urkia
“But that’s not what matters now…”
“I have learned another skill from my time in mountain caves. I can send out tremors to echolocate. As I said, all living things have a unique impact and connection to the earth. I can usually use this to find people…”
He looks down, this wave of disappointment in himself washing over him.
“I can feel the power of a strong elven woman… but I can’t find the source. Sometimes, if someone has an incredible amount of magic or will, their energy will spread so far from the source that it’s hard to locate them… so… I wasn’t able to find her… but I can confirm she… (for the time being) is still alive…”
"Whew! That's a relief, I thought for a second there that you discovered she was buried alive or something."
Baxter goes over to the bar and orders a strongly fortified port wine and then downs the whole thing in a long gulping swallow. Right after he takes a deep breath and let's it out with a slight shudder. At once a sense of calm washes over him. He then walks back over to Urkia.
"I just had a thought, now keep in mind this is nothing more than a speculative theory, but humans and halflings and other short lived races only have about a century to build strong ties with their family while elves have more than half a dozen times that long due to their long lifespans, so it's possible their bonds are much stronger."
"What if there was a family emergency or something of the sort and magic was used to instantly snatch her away back home before she could say goodbye?"
"Thank you, Slate. Thank ya so much. I-I'm so happy to know she is living and breathing with us. I wish i could find her."
A tear streames down Urkia's face. Then she wipes it quickly and embraces Slate, almost squishing him to death. Urk then turns to Baxter.
"Uhmmm... I'm not sure she has a family emergency. She is my deepest friend. We have known each other since we were little. But she never mentioned any relatives. I only know of her mother. An old elf living in the middle of the woods somewhere."
"While this is fantastic news, your friend being alive, it still leaves us with many possibilities. We need to narrow down the places she may be. We can't simply rule out her mother. As we know I was brought to this place without much of a chance to warn anyone, even if I could have. If the same types of magics are used. She may have not been able to let you know. So what sort of beings are capable of doing such a feat. I leave this answer to you, as I have very little experience in real world things."
At the word "magic" Urkia whinces and jumps. She makes no big deal of it.
"Uhhh has anyone tried this delicious pastry?" She tries to change the subject. Then she points at a random direction.
Stray picking up on facial ques and Urkia's obvious discomfort.
"I am sorry, I did mot mean to offend. Whatever I said. I meant no harm. I know very little outside the walls of the monastery. I was only trying to help narrow down the search for your friend. I am unsure what creatures, or spells can make someone vanish without a trace, and not give the target a chance to scream or call out. Forgive me Urkia."
Urkia notices that Stray is concerned and closes her eyes shut. She sits down on a chair, hugs her strong legs with her arms and looks so small, nothing close to the tall and bold half-orc lady Stray saw and then she mutters, slowly:
"No. You didn't offend me. Magic scares me, because of Shecta. She used this horrible type of magic, possessed innocent creatures and crushed their souls into dust just to do dark magic. She did it once to save my life. But i love the nature. All these little critters and animals are a part of me, a part of my soul. But when I saw Shecta do it for the first time.. I-It felt..."
"I am NOT saying that Shecta isn't my true friend for life o-or that she uses the magic for bad, but... It's all so confusing. I don't know why she'd do that."
Urkia says the last part very quietly and almost without breath, like she is choking. Then, slowly, she relaxes a bit, after she had told her friends all that had been bottled up deep inside.
"We have to find her. She is my only hope, and even after using d-d-dark magic, she is like a sister. Thank you all for your help and let us hope we find her."
Stray rises from his chair, places a hand upon Urkia's shoulder.
"We must have faith"
He then begins to mumble a short prayer, smiles, and returns to his seat.
"I have faith in my God that he has brought us all here for this purpose. And that we will prevail. I may not know worldly things, but I do know spiritual things. Baxter, and Slate are very good at what they do. Trust in that at least."