Dev had flipped up his hood without thinking about it when the longhouse came into view, covering his horns. The smiles of earlier in the day have been replaced with a more stoic expression, and his eyes study his palfrey’s mane in front of him, or the ground at his feet when he dismounts. Although in theory, a roof over his head for the night is an attractive bonus to the overall plan of having a place to leave their mounts so that the horses may be ridden home when their journey was nearing its end, yet, the corollary presence of strangers is not so pleasant. How can he avoid thinking about the time when he was ten, and a friend – or rather, an older kid pretending to be a friend – led him down a twisting path to an abandoned farmhouse on the lake not unlike this one. The not-friend then took off and left him alone to find his own way home through the darkening woods.
Under his cowl, the tiefling’s brick-red complexion is stony, his mouth a firm line slashing the red.
Before arriving at the dwellings Magnus motions for Normont to get closer with his horse. "I meant no disrespect to the De Rollo family, however I figured the ruse of using the personal name of Sir de Rollo more of an impact to those would be thieves and hopefully scare them into thinking we know the family intimately and woudl seek a swift justice. Thankfully it seems my ruse worked and the threat was diverted. I will be drafting a letter to the local Soul office in Whitestone letting them know about the bandits and the approx./ location and hopefully Whitestone will take care of them. I am sure they woudl want ot know about a group of bandits waylaying travelers on the road to their fair city."
Once arriving at the new dwellings, "Greetings and thank you for the offer we greatly appreciate it." Magnus will then help the other stow the animals and gear and go back to the longhouse.
As Maple suggests unhitching the animals and getting them to the barn, Lokilia volunteers to take care of it. "I'll just get them over there and settled in and will join you all in a moment," she says. Already she is working to unhitch the animals from the cart so she can lead them to the barn. 'You'll have such a nice place to rest tonight,'she tells them.
"Oh, I didn't think. That makes sense, it just doesn't sound right at all. Perhaps if you say Lord Percy next time?", Normont replies to Magnus. He obviously worships Lord Percy.
With the introduction done, and Lokilia offering to tend to the horses, Normont happily wanders towards the Longhouse with Amber on one shoulder, his pack hanging off the other and his shield strapped to his back.
"Are there any other travellers here today?", he asks as he passes Maple.
As Maple suggests unhitching the animals and getting them to the barn, Lokilia volunteers to take care of it. "I'll just get them over there and settled in and will join you all in a moment," she says. Already she is working to unhitch the animals from the cart so she can lead them to the barn. 'You'll have such a nice place to rest tonight,'she tells them.
Indeed the barn seems windproofed and with a solid roof and ample soft bedding material, though of sawdust and woodchips rather than straw. There are bales of dry hay affixed to the walls of each stall and barrels of other foods for the troughs to the right of the entry.
Lokilia is about half an hour removing tack and brushing down and bedding down the various animals in their retinue, when she heads to the longhall she finds the others seated around a central firepit.
With the introduction done, and Lokilia offering to tend to the horses, Normont happily wanders towards the Longhouse with Amber on one shoulder, his pack hanging off the other and his shield strapped to his back.
"Are there any other travellers here today?", he asks as he passes Maple.
" Not tonight, no. We had some a couple of days back...maybe four."
" Theres mead and ale for yerselves, though if you could pace yerselves as its got to last us another week or so."
" Theres berries and a brace of hares along with some vegetables if you want to fix yourselves anything."
" Rooms are at the back, just take the key from next to the door so we know which ones are occupied. I'm gonna do a walk around and I'll see you in a bit.", she headed off toward the woodshed.
When Maple leaves, Dev pulls back his hood, and his posture immediately straightens from stooped discomfort to relaxation. The teen settles quietly at the firepit and warms his hands over it, alarmingly close to the flames by most people’s measure, though heat doesn’t seem to bother him. He looks to the others for permission, but helps himself to berries and sniffs hopefully at one of the hares.
“She seems nice,” he begins, looking toward the door through which Maple left the longhouse. “Oh!, These are good! Try one,” he says offering a few berries to whoever is next to him. He then loses himself for a few minutes enjoying the food, until its sweetness begins to loosen his tongue. If Maple returns, he subtly raises his hood again, but whether she does or not, he asks whoever is listening, “So… tomorrow morning we head into the forest, northeast, and then… the mountains?”
Lokilia joins the others after taking care of the animals. "Animals are all set," she tells the others. She grabs a couple berries as she sees Dev eating some of them. "So, what are we doing? Get a quick meal then sleep so we can get an early departure in the morning?"
Normont heads across and eyes up the hares and the vegetables.
"She does seem nice, you are spot on there", he says to Dev. He turns and accepts a berry and tastes it whilst nodding his head to agree with Dev's plan for the morning, "Mmm".
In answer to Lokilia, "I am happy to rustle us up a nice supper with these hares and vegetables. It won't be that quick though. But then we still have to negotiate with Maple the terms of leaving our animals and cart".
When he mentions negotiating, he glances at Magnus, wondering he would take the lead on this.
After thanking Normont for a great meal, Magnus will finish up a report for the cobalt soul in Whitestone and then go looking for Maple. He will wonder if there is a way for Maple to get a message to the local office of the cobalt soul in Whitestone and deliver his report. Asking her how much she would charge for such a service.
"Ummm... Maple?... said she was going to do a walk around and see us in a bit. But... it's been a while. Wouldn't she have said 'good night' or something if she was gonna take so long?"
'I'm probably making something out of nothing,' Dev thinks as he goes to the front door, and, feeling a little foolish, first listens outside before quietly opening the door and peering into the darkness near the woodshed.
Perception: 18+2=20 (oops, I rolled WIS IC. Keeping the roll, changing the mod) / Perception (if needed) 10+2=12 (peering) / Darkvision 60'
After thanking Normont for a great meal, Magnus will finish up a report for the cobalt soul in Whitestone and then go looking for Maple. He will wonder if there is a way for Maple to get a message to the local office of the cobalt soul in Whitestone and deliver his report. Asking her how much she would charge for such a service.
Magnus wanders around the outside of the longhouse and woodshed for a bit before unexpectedly running into Maple coming around a corner, " How can I help? Hope you folks are all settled in."
" I can add it to the mail with the next merchant caravan headed north, not a problem."
She waves off any suggestion of payment, if asked about payment for room and board she says to leave what you think is appropriate in the clay jar on the desk by the door if no one is around when you leave.
As you finish talking a large man, possibly with some vague orcish ancestry, with a shaved head and long beard approaches across the roadway, " Nothing of note out tonight, Maple. Oh, we have guests?"
Maple indicates the man, " Magnus, this is Tolman."
" Pleased to meet you Magnus.", he says with a cheerful grin.
He and Maple head off towards the rear of the longhouse chatting amiably.
"Ummm... Maple?... said she was going to do a walk around and see us in a bit. But... it's been a while. Wouldn't she have said 'good night' or something if she was gonna take so long?"
'I'm probably making something out of nothing,' Dev thinks as he goes to the front door, and, feeling a little foolish, first listens outside before quietly opening the door and peering into the darkness near the woodshed.
Perception: 18+2=20 (oops, I rolled WIS IC. Keeping the roll, changing the mod) / Perception (if needed) 10+2=12 (peering) / Darkvision 60'
Dev spots Magnus, Maple and an unknown third man conversing near the wood shed then Maple and the other man depart heading for the rear of the longhouse passing between the longhouse and the woodshed.
Magnus sees Dev and heads on over, as he approaches he looks back over his shoulder at Maple and Tolman. "Hey Dev, just wanted to see if Maple could get my report to my office before we leave in the morning." He then pauses a moment and again looks in the direction the retreating hosts went, "Not sure if this is why you are out here as well, but something seems off. Can't quite put my finger on it, but I don't know, something about this place seems weird. Might just be the stress of road travel and the bandits we just encountered but we should all stay vigilant tonight and leave first thing."
Lokilia is willing to wait up for a bit to get a cooked meal. She thanks Normont for making it once done. She sees Magnus and Dev both slip out but waits to see what word they bring back.
Dev nods to Magnus and returns inside with him. Relieved, slightly, but still feeling unsettled for some indiscernible reason, the teenager finds his room and sleeps.
Sleep eventually finds everyone, though some rest more soundly than others.....
When you rise in the morning Tolman is stirring a great pot of oats and the rest of the berries from the previous day over the fire pit, " Take as much as you want I always make too much."
" Oh, I'm Tolman I met Magnus last night with Maple."
Maple meanwhile enters through the front door with an axe over one shoulder and a bundle of aged split wood under the other arm.
" Off to Whitestone today then?"
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Dev had flipped up his hood without thinking about it when the longhouse came into view, covering his horns. The smiles of earlier in the day have been replaced with a more stoic expression, and his eyes study his palfrey’s mane in front of him, or the ground at his feet when he dismounts. Although in theory, a roof over his head for the night is an attractive bonus to the overall plan of having a place to leave their mounts so that the horses may be ridden home when their journey was nearing its end, yet, the corollary presence of strangers is not so pleasant. How can he avoid thinking about the time when he was ten, and a friend – or rather, an older kid pretending to be a friend – led him down a twisting path to an abandoned farmhouse on the lake not unlike this one. The not-friend then took off and left him alone to find his own way home through the darkening woods.
Under his cowl, the tiefling’s brick-red complexion is stony, his mouth a firm line slashing the red.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
"Thank you for your kindness, my name is Quinn and I would like to offer any help we can provide Maple."
Before arriving at the dwellings Magnus motions for Normont to get closer with his horse. "I meant no disrespect to the De Rollo family, however I figured the ruse of using the personal name of Sir de Rollo more of an impact to those would be thieves and hopefully scare them into thinking we know the family intimately and woudl seek a swift justice. Thankfully it seems my ruse worked and the threat was diverted. I will be drafting a letter to the local Soul office in Whitestone letting them know about the bandits and the approx./ location and hopefully Whitestone will take care of them. I am sure they woudl want ot know about a group of bandits waylaying travelers on the road to their fair city."
Once arriving at the new dwellings, "Greetings and thank you for the offer we greatly appreciate it." Magnus will then help the other stow the animals and gear and go back to the longhouse.
As Maple suggests unhitching the animals and getting them to the barn, Lokilia volunteers to take care of it. "I'll just get them over there and settled in and will join you all in a moment," she says. Already she is working to unhitch the animals from the cart so she can lead them to the barn. 'You'll have such a nice place to rest tonight,' she tells them.
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Liivi Orav, Barbarian || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Roxana Raincrest, Rogue || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
"Oh, I didn't think. That makes sense, it just doesn't sound right at all. Perhaps if you say Lord Percy next time?", Normont replies to Magnus. He obviously worships Lord Percy.
With the introduction done, and Lokilia offering to tend to the horses, Normont happily wanders towards the Longhouse with Amber on one shoulder, his pack hanging off the other and his shield strapped to his back.
"Are there any other travellers here today?", he asks as he passes Maple.
Indeed the barn seems windproofed and with a solid roof and ample soft bedding material, though of sawdust and woodchips rather than straw. There are bales of dry hay affixed to the walls of each stall and barrels of other foods for the troughs to the right of the entry.
Lokilia is about half an hour removing tack and brushing down and bedding down the various animals in their retinue, when she heads to the longhall she finds the others seated around a central firepit.
" Not tonight, no. We had some a couple of days back...maybe four."
" Theres mead and ale for yerselves, though if you could pace yerselves as its got to last us another week or so."
" Theres berries and a brace of hares along with some vegetables if you want to fix yourselves anything."
" Rooms are at the back, just take the key from next to the door so we know which ones are occupied. I'm gonna do a walk around and I'll see you in a bit.", she headed off toward the woodshed.
When Maple leaves, Dev pulls back his hood, and his posture immediately straightens from stooped discomfort to relaxation. The teen settles quietly at the firepit and warms his hands over it, alarmingly close to the flames by most people’s measure, though heat doesn’t seem to bother him. He looks to the others for permission, but helps himself to berries and sniffs hopefully at one of the hares.
“She seems nice,” he begins, looking toward the door through which Maple left the longhouse. “Oh!, These are good! Try one,” he says offering a few berries to whoever is next to him. He then loses himself for a few minutes enjoying the food, until its sweetness begins to loosen his tongue. If Maple returns, he subtly raises his hood again, but whether she does or not, he asks whoever is listening, “So… tomorrow morning we head into the forest, northeast, and then… the mountains?”
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
Lokilia joins the others after taking care of the animals. "Animals are all set," she tells the others. She grabs a couple berries as she sees Dev eating some of them. "So, what are we doing? Get a quick meal then sleep so we can get an early departure in the morning?"
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Liivi Orav, Barbarian || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Roxana Raincrest, Rogue || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
Normont heads across and eyes up the hares and the vegetables.
"She does seem nice, you are spot on there", he says to Dev. He turns and accepts a berry and tastes it whilst nodding his head to agree with Dev's plan for the morning, "Mmm".
In answer to Lokilia, "I am happy to rustle us up a nice supper with these hares and vegetables. It won't be that quick though. But then we still have to negotiate with Maple the terms of leaving our animals and cart".
When he mentions negotiating, he glances at Magnus, wondering he would take the lead on this.
The evening goes on with Normont cooking up a storm and the others gathered around the firepit.
Maple does not return by the time the meal is concluded....perhaps you can organise payment in the morning?
His belly full and everything cleaned and cleared, Normont will happily go to bed.
Unless of course someone has other ideas.
After thanking Normont for a great meal, Magnus will finish up a report for the cobalt soul in Whitestone and then go looking for Maple. He will wonder if there is a way for Maple to get a message to the local office of the cobalt soul in Whitestone and deliver his report. Asking her how much she would charge for such a service.
"Ummm... Maple?... said she was going to do a walk around and see us in a bit. But... it's been a while. Wouldn't she have said 'good night' or something if she was gonna take so long?"
'I'm probably making something out of nothing,' Dev thinks as he goes to the front door, and, feeling a little foolish, first listens outside before quietly opening the door and peering into the darkness near the woodshed.
Perception: 18+2=20 (oops, I rolled WIS IC. Keeping the roll, changing the mod) / Perception (if needed) 10+2=12 (peering) / Darkvision 60'
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
Magnus wanders around the outside of the longhouse and woodshed for a bit before unexpectedly running into Maple coming around a corner, " How can I help? Hope you folks are all settled in."
" I can add it to the mail with the next merchant caravan headed north, not a problem."
She waves off any suggestion of payment, if asked about payment for room and board she says to leave what you think is appropriate in the clay jar on the desk by the door if no one is around when you leave.
As you finish talking a large man, possibly with some vague orcish ancestry, with a shaved head and long beard approaches across the roadway, " Nothing of note out tonight, Maple. Oh, we have guests?"
Maple indicates the man, " Magnus, this is Tolman."
" Pleased to meet you Magnus.", he says with a cheerful grin.
He and Maple head off towards the rear of the longhouse chatting amiably.
Dev spots Magnus, Maple and an unknown third man conversing near the wood shed then Maple and the other man depart heading for the rear of the longhouse passing between the longhouse and the woodshed.
Magnus sees Dev and heads on over, as he approaches he looks back over his shoulder at Maple and Tolman. "Hey Dev, just wanted to see if Maple could get my report to my office before we leave in the morning." He then pauses a moment and again looks in the direction the retreating hosts went, "Not sure if this is why you are out here as well, but something seems off. Can't quite put my finger on it, but I don't know, something about this place seems weird. Might just be the stress of road travel and the bandits we just encountered but we should all stay vigilant tonight and leave first thing."
Lokilia is willing to wait up for a bit to get a cooked meal. She thanks Normont for making it once done. She sees Magnus and Dev both slip out but waits to see what word they bring back.
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Liivi Orav, Barbarian || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Roxana Raincrest, Rogue || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
Quinn sits enjoying the opportunity for good food and better fellowship.
Dev nods to Magnus and returns inside with him. Relieved, slightly, but still feeling unsettled for some indiscernible reason, the teenager finds his room and sleeps.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
Sleep eventually finds everyone, though some rest more soundly than others.....
When you rise in the morning Tolman is stirring a great pot of oats and the rest of the berries from the previous day over the fire pit, " Take as much as you want I always make too much."
" Oh, I'm Tolman I met Magnus last night with Maple."
Maple meanwhile enters through the front door with an axe over one shoulder and a bundle of aged split wood under the other arm.
" Off to Whitestone today then?"