Mara, Ellara and Father Cadfrey enter the building, to find out it is indeed a temple of Helm. The first impression as they cross the entrance, is a faint parfume of incens. On the inside, the temple appears to be as simple as on the outside: beyond the entrance the adventurers find themselves in the central nave, about 30 feet wide, separated from the lateral ones by sets of pillars. The lateral naves are no more than corridors, and doors can be seen beyond the pillars. Remembering the outside size of the building, these doors cannot leed to very large rooms. Most of the light in here comes from torches hanging from the stone walls and pillars, with some daylight visible from two rose window at either end of the central nave. Opposite the entrance is a simple marbe altar and, at either side of it, two large braziers from which a tenouos smoke is rising. Above the altar, on the wall below the rose window, there is a high-relief depicting a gauntlet with an eye in his palm.
By the altar, three male humans are eyeng the newcomers. They stand in a pose that suggest they were discussing before noticing the arrival of guests. One of them is an older man with grizzled hair, dressed in a blue tunic with the same gauntlet with an eye is sewn on its chest, a chain mail below it, a leather belt on its waist and a longsword dangling from it. The other men seems to be in their twenties, and they are dressed with a white tunic with the same symbol on their chest, but they do not wear any armor or bear any weapon. Overall, they resemble a knight with his two squires.
The older man moves towards Mara, Ellara and Father Cadfrey, bowing slightly when he is less than 6 feet away: "Welcome, travellers! How can Helm assist you today? My name is Randal, I am the high priest here."
The driver of the first wagon, a halfling, is discussing with a red-haired dwarf on the ground when Dahvik approaches and gets their attention. As the name of Hannah is made, the halfling looks down at the dwarf, on whose face appears a look of comprehension. "Ah! Boundy hunters, are you? We heard the story of Hannah in the tavern." He gestures towards the inn, from where more people are coming out to join the caravan, about four wagons strong and apprently well guarded. No less than 8 peple bear arms and do not appear to wear any distinctive uniform. Among them, a half-orc with a large axe on his back stands out for his stature.
"We are just passing through, we are merchants from Baldur's Gate, looking to trade a bit with Daggerford and then on to Waterdeep. Bringing the northenerns the delights of the South, eh! We were just passing through this village for lunch, and we heard the gossip, but I am afraid you are asking the wrong people. As I said...just passing by. Better luck asking the locals, though they don't seem to have a great deal of information themsleves..."
Mara returns the bow reverently. "May you remain ever watchful and vigilant, High Priest Randal. My companions and I come here at the behest of the good father here," Mara nods to Father Cadfrey, "to investigate the disappearances, both here in Gillian's Hill and others around the area. Our reason for coming here is to ask you if you've had any luck understanding the disappearances? The girl, Hannah, as you know has disappeared. I, too, had a girl..." Mara trails off a bit, tears in her eyes, before coughing and continuing on. "We would appreciate any help or insight you might offer." Mara steps to the side, gesturing to her two companions.. "This is Father Cadfrey and Ellara Nightflower."
Dahvik nods appreciatively. "Thank you. And good fortune in your travels." With a smile and a wave he turns away. He gives Lorian a shrug and says, "The store then, I suppose." He then matches his walk to his talk, carrying himself tall and confident for the sake of those observing.
The priest bows his head to Mara and her companoins again as she introduces Father Cadfrey and Ellara. "I take it you are adventurers. This village will take all the help it can get, but I am afraid it maight all be for naught. Investigations have already been undertaken, as you might already know, under the supervision of captain Spearslayer, from Daggerford. There seem to simply be no lead. The poor girl was playing in front of her house, and when the mother went to fetch her, she was not there. According to the captian, nobody saw anything, nobody heard anything. Villagers start to believe one of them took her and has her locked in their basement. I don't know if that is true, but I know that people here are not happy about Daggerford nor Waterdeep about their inability to find anything at all. Apparenlty you know that she was the last of some weird disappereances in the area. All very concerning...Dark forces are afoot in the region, but I am sure Helm will come to our aid, as he always does."
[sorry, I posted a description of the tavern, but I then re-read your post and realised you were headed for the store instead. Will post an amend soon]
Ellara listens carefully to the priest. When he finishes, she says, “Were the other disappearances children? Similar circumstances?” She’ll listen to his response, see if Father Cadfrey or Mara have any other questions, then suggest checking in at the two-story building they saw.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Xanaphia Nailo: Level 4 Warlock, Grey Hands PbP.
Ellara Nightflower: level 1 blood hunter, Curse of Strahd
Mara listens carefully to the High Priest's words. "Did you find anything through magical means? Certain spells can locate people and objects within an area." After hearing what he has to say, Mara will continue, "Is there anyone we should talk to about her disappearance? In times like these, scapegoats are easily found - does anyone fit the bill?"
The store next to the tavern is a simple wooden, squared, one-story building. Above the entrance a sign says "General store and village smith". Inside the store, the exposed merchanisde is mostly farming equipment and food, ordered in shelves. Among other things, Dahvik and Lorian see horseshoes, a plough, pitchfork, sholves and bags of potatoes, grains and fodder. A middle-aged, overweight man is busy stocking a shelf with firewood when the two companions (and Noc, perched on Lorian's shoulder) enter the store. He stops what he is doing and stares at the newcomers, with an unfriendly look on his face. After a moment, all he says is: "Yes?"
"I have asked Helm for guidance, but I have not receivced a clear sign about the destiny or the location of the child. I also did not know her well, so my connection to her might not be strong enough to receive a clear answer in the first place."
"Gillian's Hill has suffered greately in the last year. Ada's husband, a townsguard was killed by some bandits along the Trade Way and shortly after a farm at the outskirts of the village was raided by what is believed to be goblin. A similar attack to what is described in Potter, in fact. Only, this time, no children were killed. In that occasion, a woman was killed and her husband, Bob, almost lost his life too."The priest hesitates for an instant, looking towards Helm's symbol by the altar, with what Ellara recognizes as...resentment?"A young man, Beval, disappeared a few months back. Nobody really knows what happened to him either, he hasn't been seen again."
Randal looks back at Mara and Ellara, in reply to Mara's last question: "A skapegoat? There is a lot of resentment in town, but it is all towards the institutions, towards Waterdeep and Daggerford. The townsfolk feel that the Lords are allowing this to continue. I cannot think of anybody that could be an easy candidate. Almost anyone that was suspected to know anythning was interrogated recently by Captain Spearslayer's men."
This one will take a bit of work, thinks the rogue.
Dahvik decides against the charming smile routine. Instead, he puts on an earnest expression and talks business. "I need some flour," he says seriously. "Not too much for the road. Do you have a one-pound bag I may purchase?" He pauses for a moment, and adds, "And for the love of all the gods, please tell me you have some soap."
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Mara
As Mara mulls over Randal's words, her own anger grows. The cities are happy to take the food and produce from the smaller places but fail when it comes to protection. After her own incident, her questioning about the cult that killed her family got her only shrugs of indifference from smug technocrats and lazy magistrates. "These types of things are tragedies to small places like this and that's quite a few mysterious incidents over a single year. Did anyone miss this Beval?" Mara pledges to Randal, by the Earth Mother, that her and her companions will try to sort out this mess.
Insight into Randal to see if he's possibly holding back on information: 9
Mara, Ellara and Father Cadfrey enter the building, to find out it is indeed a temple of Helm. The first impression as they cross the entrance, is a faint parfume of incens. On the inside, the temple appears to be as simple as on the outside: beyond the entrance the adventurers find themselves in the central nave, about 30 feet wide, separated from the lateral ones by sets of pillars. The lateral naves are no more than corridors, and doors can be seen beyond the pillars. Remembering the outside size of the building, these doors cannot leed to very large rooms. Most of the light in here comes from torches hanging from the stone walls and pillars, with some daylight visible from two rose window at either end of the central nave. Opposite the entrance is a simple marbe altar and, at either side of it, two large braziers from which a tenouos smoke is rising. Above the altar, on the wall below the rose window, there is a high-relief depicting a gauntlet with an eye in his palm.
By the altar, three male humans are eyeng the newcomers. They stand in a pose that suggest they were discussing before noticing the arrival of guests. One of them is an older man with grizzled hair, dressed in a blue tunic with the same gauntlet with an eye is sewn on its chest, a chain mail below it, a leather belt on its waist and a longsword dangling from it. The other men seems to be in their twenties, and they are dressed with a white tunic with the same symbol on their chest, but they do not wear any armor or bear any weapon. Overall, they resemble a knight with his two squires.
The older man moves towards Mara, Ellara and Father Cadfrey, bowing slightly when he is less than 6 feet away: "Welcome, travellers! How can Helm assist you today? My name is Randal, I am the high priest here."
The driver of the first wagon, a halfling, is discussing with a red-haired dwarf on the ground when Dahvik approaches and gets their attention. As the name of Hannah is made, the halfling looks down at the dwarf, on whose face appears a look of comprehension. "Ah! Boundy hunters, are you? We heard the story of Hannah in the tavern." He gestures towards the inn, from where more people are coming out to join the caravan, about four wagons strong and apprently well guarded. No less than 8 peple bear arms and do not appear to wear any distinctive uniform. Among them, a half-orc with a large axe on his back stands out for his stature.
"We are just passing through, we are merchants from Baldur's Gate, looking to trade a bit with Daggerford and then on to Waterdeep. Bringing the northenerns the delights of the South, eh! We were just passing through this village for lunch, and we heard the gossip, but I am afraid you are asking the wrong people. As I said...just passing by. Better luck asking the locals, though they don't seem to have a great deal of information themsleves..."
Mara
Mara returns the bow reverently. "May you remain ever watchful and vigilant, High Priest Randal. My companions and I come here at the behest of the good father here," Mara nods to Father Cadfrey, "to investigate the disappearances, both here in Gillian's Hill and others around the area. Our reason for coming here is to ask you if you've had any luck understanding the disappearances? The girl, Hannah, as you know has disappeared. I, too, had a girl..." Mara trails off a bit, tears in her eyes, before coughing and continuing on. "We would appreciate any help or insight you might offer." Mara steps to the side, gesturing to her two companions.. "This is Father Cadfrey and Ellara Nightflower."
DM - And In The Darkness, Rot: The Sunless Citadel
DM - Our Little Lives Kept In Equipoise: Curse of Strahd
DM - Misprize Thou Not These Shadows That Belong: The Lost Mines of Phandelver
PC - Azzure - Tyranny of Dragons
Dahvik Aloro
Dahvik nods appreciatively. "Thank you. And good fortune in your travels." With a smile and a wave he turns away. He gives Lorian a shrug and says, "The store then, I suppose." He then matches his walk to his talk, carrying himself tall and confident for the sake of those observing.
The priest bows his head to Mara and her companoins again as she introduces Father Cadfrey and Ellara. "I take it you are adventurers. This village will take all the help it can get, but I am afraid it maight all be for naught. Investigations have already been undertaken, as you might already know, under the supervision of captain Spearslayer, from Daggerford. There seem to simply be no lead. The poor girl was playing in front of her house, and when the mother went to fetch her, she was not there. According to the captian, nobody saw anything, nobody heard anything. Villagers start to believe one of them took her and has her locked in their basement. I don't know if that is true, but I know that people here are not happy about Daggerford nor Waterdeep about their inability to find anything at all. Apparenlty you know that she was the last of some weird disappereances in the area. All very concerning...Dark forces are afoot in the region, but I am sure Helm will come to our aid, as he always does."
[sorry, I posted a description of the tavern, but I then re-read your post and realised you were headed for the store instead. Will post an amend soon]
Ellara
Ellara listens carefully to the priest. When he finishes, she says, “Were the other disappearances children? Similar circumstances?” She’ll listen to his response, see if Father Cadfrey or Mara have any other questions, then suggest checking in at the two-story building they saw.
Xanaphia Nailo: Level 4 Warlock, Grey Hands PbP.
Ellara Nightflower: level 1 blood hunter, Curse of Strahd
Mara
Mara listens carefully to the High Priest's words. "Did you find anything through magical means? Certain spells can locate people and objects within an area." After hearing what he has to say, Mara will continue, "Is there anyone we should talk to about her disappearance? In times like these, scapegoats are easily found - does anyone fit the bill?"
DM - And In The Darkness, Rot: The Sunless Citadel
DM - Our Little Lives Kept In Equipoise: Curse of Strahd
DM - Misprize Thou Not These Shadows That Belong: The Lost Mines of Phandelver
PC - Azzure - Tyranny of Dragons
The store next to the tavern is a simple wooden, squared, one-story building. Above the entrance a sign says "General store and village smith". Inside the store, the exposed merchanisde is mostly farming equipment and food, ordered in shelves. Among other things, Dahvik and Lorian see horseshoes, a plough, pitchfork, sholves and bags of potatoes, grains and fodder. A middle-aged, overweight man is busy stocking a shelf with firewood when the two companions (and Noc, perched on Lorian's shoulder) enter the store. He stops what he is doing and stares at the newcomers, with an unfriendly look on his face. After a moment, all he says is: "Yes?"
Mara and Ellara:
"I have asked Helm for guidance, but I have not receivced a clear sign about the destiny or the location of the child. I also did not know her well, so my connection to her might not be strong enough to receive a clear answer in the first place."
"Gillian's Hill has suffered greately in the last year. Ada's husband, a townsguard was killed by some bandits along the Trade Way and shortly after a farm at the outskirts of the village was raided by what is believed to be goblin. A similar attack to what is described in Potter, in fact. Only, this time, no children were killed. In that occasion, a woman was killed and her husband, Bob, almost lost his life too." The priest hesitates for an instant, looking towards Helm's symbol by the altar, with what Ellara recognizes as...resentment? "A young man, Beval, disappeared a few months back. Nobody really knows what happened to him either, he hasn't been seen again."
Randal looks back at Mara and Ellara, in reply to Mara's last question: "A skapegoat? There is a lot of resentment in town, but it is all towards the institutions, towards Waterdeep and Daggerford. The townsfolk feel that the Lords are allowing this to continue. I cannot think of anybody that could be an easy candidate. Almost anyone that was suspected to know anythning was interrogated recently by Captain Spearslayer's men."
Dahvik Aloro
This one will take a bit of work, thinks the rogue.
Dahvik decides against the charming smile routine. Instead, he puts on an earnest expression and talks business. "I need some flour," he says seriously. "Not too much for the road. Do you have a one-pound bag I may purchase?" He pauses for a moment, and adds, "And for the love of all the gods, please tell me you have some soap."
Mara
As Mara mulls over Randal's words, her own anger grows. The cities are happy to take the food and produce from the smaller places but fail when it comes to protection. After her own incident, her questioning about the cult that killed her family got her only shrugs of indifference from smug technocrats and lazy magistrates. "These types of things are tragedies to small places like this and that's quite a few mysterious incidents over a single year. Did anyone miss this Beval?" Mara pledges to Randal, by the Earth Mother, that her and her companions will try to sort out this mess.
Insight into Randal to see if he's possibly holding back on information: 9
DM - And In The Darkness, Rot: The Sunless Citadel
DM - Our Little Lives Kept In Equipoise: Curse of Strahd
DM - Misprize Thou Not These Shadows That Belong: The Lost Mines of Phandelver
PC - Azzure - Tyranny of Dragons
Ellara
Ellara is curious about the look, but decides to keep quiet about it, for now. “Is this Bob still in Potter?”
Xanaphia Nailo: Level 4 Warlock, Grey Hands PbP.
Ellara Nightflower: level 1 blood hunter, Curse of Strahd