City of Cresthall

Ashley reaches into a hidden pocket under her armor and pulls out a smooth round disk of golden metal. She holds it up to Crispy to see This belonged to one of the first soldiers who's life i saved. He was grievously wounded and lost most of his right arm. He was bleeding out and close to death. It was shortly after i was reassigned following my uh, first assignment. I was able to stop the bleeding and over the coarse of several weeks of intensive care, he made a complete recovery. Minus the arm that is. He gave me this after his medical discharge. He said it was his luck coin. I asked him how is it lucky to lose an arm.  Ashley pauses to catch her breath. She looks longingly at the worn out coin and continues His answer was this. The luck wasn't the loss of the arm, but that when at deaths door, a miracle happened and an angel was brought before him and stayed by his side healing his wounds and saving his life.He felt he didn't need it anymore.

Crispy remained completely silent as Ashley gave her answer. It was a beautiful, soulful, and amazing answer. Crispy nodded and looked at the coin, amazed that such a small thing could bring such a wonderful memory. Then her smile faded a bit because she had to answer the same question, and her answer would be the complete opposite. Still, she didn’t want to lie, and she took out a small handheld wooden toy horse out of her pack by her feet.

”This toy is the only memory I have of my mother.” she began, “She gave it to me one night when I was about..6 or 7. She gave it to me in secret, for my father was an abusive man, regularly drunk. He hated when my mother and I were happy, or had anything, so the next day he found out my mother gave me a toy and he beat both of us. Luckily, I had hid my toy under the floorboards, so he never found it, and he would beat me regularly until I told him where it was. I never did. Basically that was my daily life until my mother abandoned me. My mother and I living in fear for many reasons.”

She rolls up her sleeves and you can see on her arm old scars where bone might have punctured the skin. She shows her collarbone that never set correctly, and finally pulls up her shirt slightly to show you not only a very impressive set of abs, but clear evidence of once ribs were broken.

”This toy reminds me of how much my mother loved me, and how much I hate my father.”

She takes a moment to put the toy away, and look at you with a smile, but the memories would always remain. “Ok. Your turn.”

Ashley takes a drink from the cup of ale. All this heavy emotion might make her cry a little. Lets see, Something a little less heavy. What is your favorite thing to eat ?

”Sorry, I didnt mean to darken the fun.” Crispy takes another gulp of her drink, ”About two years ago I went to a land and they made this..baked pie about a foot in diameter that was very flat, and it had a red sweet sauce from tomatoes all over the top, and you could add meats or vegetables on it. I think they called it pheetzah, or something. It was delicious, but definately fatty. I rarely eat fatty foods. Usually my diet is plenty of protien and veggies. What about you?”

She perked up a bit and smiled a lot as they talked, enjoying the game. She wanted to tell her deeply how amazing she thought she was, and how she made the darkness inside her soul brighter as they got close.

((Sorry, was at work.))

Bennett stands and finishes his drink and sets it down on the table and starts to follow Ominak up the stairs. 

((Also, I just imagine the others of the group, other than Crispy and Ashley, are just quietly sipping their drinks while they third wheel lmao))

I must admit, i have a bit a sweat tooth. I uh, often keep a secret ration of a small gelatinous confection shaped like cutesie little owlbears flavored like fruits. And no, I'm not telling were they are.

”I’m an investigator, i’ll figure it out.” She jokes, laughing. “How have you not been in a relationship before? Or maybe you have?”

Bennett walks down the stairs and sits down with the group. "We are to leave in the morning and head straight for the docks. We are going to board a ship called the Serpent's Rise. I've talked the dragonborn to raise the price to 4,750 each. I highly suggest you all get a good night's rest, we will need it."

Hatt nods.  That's very interesting.  Back in a moment.  He stands up, walks to a backroom area or corridor, somewhere he won't disturb or alarm anyone, and casts Detect Magic.  He then returns to the table, sits down and picks up his drink.  (Are there any magical effects on Bennett?)

Quote from SteveThaiBinh >>

Hatt nods.  That's very interesting.  Back in a moment.  He stands up, walks to a backroom area or corridor, somewhere he won't disturb or alarm anyone, and casts Detect Magic.  He then returns to the table, sits down and picks up his drink.  (Are there any magical effects on Bennett?)

Hatt, you see Bennett covered in a faint aura and its connected downward. Its connected to something beneath you. (Since Bennett is a Warlock, he is considered magical by his patron. If you want to look for something out of place, roll for perception.)

Perception:  15

Quote from SteveThaiBinh >>

Perception:  15

Hatt, you spot a faint aura inside him. Oddly not matching his own. It is small but flickers every few moments.

 Karra looks to Bennet. "Hmm, never been on ship before. Any advice for first trip, yes?"

Oh dear, thinks Hatt to himself, and picks up his drink to try to hide his reaction.  He's not even sure why he cast the spell - he hadn't expected to find anything, really.  Impulsive again.  There was just something... odd... about the way Bennett spoke when he came back.  Not quite the normal way he talks.  But that could be nothing at all - after all, it's been a long and weird day, and we're all tired.  But there was still the matter of the second aura.  Was I too impulsive at the mines, talking to Pebb?  I suspect that Karra thought so.  Perhaps I should be more cautious now.  He puts his drink down and tries to pay attention to the conversation going on around him.  Really, this is almost certainly nothing, he thinks.  But he maintains the spell. 

(Hatt should be able to spend actions to learn the schools of magic of the two auras.  He will also glance around the other party members and the rest of the room, looking for anything odd, using the above Perception check if possible, or Perception: 13 if a new check is needed).

In the mean time, Gasp is absolutely elated to find a job that will have such a big payout! By far, this would be the most coin he's made. If they are able to do whatever it is that needs doing anyway. So he definitely has nothing but dollar signs in his eyes as he enjoys the rest of his drink. What could he do with all that money? What coudln't he do? Okay. Time to settle down. Ease on back into the present. You don't have the money yet, Gasp. You don't even really know what it is you're to do. Gasp gives a heavy sigh, staring into his now empty mug. Images flash in his mind. The illusion that knight cast on him from before...his captor. He shakes his head and then heads back down into the common sleeping area. He needed rest.

I have infact been in a relationship. Twice actually. The first was before I joined the military. His name was John. We lived in the same neighborhood. We both had aspirations to join up to get out of the poorer end of town. After we joined I lost contact with him. Ashley gives a sigh And the second was the head doctor that trained me. He and I tried to date after I finished my training. We stopped after a few months because he was pressured by his superiors to end the relationship to further his career.

Crispy nodded. "I'm sorry to hear those didn't end up better. I've been in a few relationships myself, but..nothing really long term or solid. Most of them from back home in Waterdeep, but..i'm not allowed back there anymore." She thought about Arianna, and the pain she caused her when Crispy had to end that relationship. She snapped out of it. "It's difficult to maintain a regular, constant connection when you're on the move, and..because of my lifestyle, personality, and, well,..history..most people don't want to stay with me. Alright, give me a good one next." She teased, smiling.

That's when, out of the corner of her eye, her inquisitive training noticed Hatt was..concerned about something. While Ashley thought of something else to ask her, she turned to the halfling.

"Hatt?" She whispered. "Something on your mind?"

After thinking long and hard Ashley asks What is your preferred way to relax ?

Crispy bit her lower lip and looked into Ashleys eyes, occasionally looking at her lips. A warmth was growing in her stomach and the longer they talked, the better it felt, and she liked it. 

“That..” she finally said, “..is something I would love to show you.”

Quote from SteveThaiBinh >>

Oh dear, thinks Hatt to himself, and picks up his drink to try to hide his reaction.  He's not even sure why he cast the spell - he hadn't expected to find anything, really.  Impulsive again.  There was just something... odd... about the way Bennett spoke when he came back.  Not quite the normal way he talks.  But that could be nothing at all - after all, it's been a long and weird day, and we're all tired.  But there was still the matter of the second aura.  Was I too impulsive at the mines, talking to Pebb?  I suspect that Karra thought so.  Perhaps I should be more cautious now.  He puts his drink down and tries to pay attention to the conversation going on around him.  Really, this is almost certainly nothing, he thinks.  But he maintains the spell. 

(Hatt should be able to spend actions to learn the schools of magic of the two auras.  He will also glance around the other party members and the rest of the room, looking for anything odd, using the above Perception check if possible, or Perception: 21 if a new check is needed).

While you learn the main aura around Bennett is that of Enchantment, you can't discern the smaller one. Nothing else is out of the ordinary besides Ashley also sharing a somewhat familiar aura, her strand going off to somewhere above and Gasp, his being innate and coming from his self.