“My squire Varla and I pulled these children out from beneath the wreckage of a barn. They say giants were to blame. From their description, I suspect stone giants. Furthermore, I expect that these same giants are not done causing mayhem. But you say you have been giving assistance to the village of Nightstone? What kind of trouble has visited them? Could it be the same giants?” 

You notice that the knight is studying you all carefully. Her eyes fall on Daerthe’s cloaked form for a moment, but then they slide over to Essie as she waves at the children. Essie can see that these children do indeed look like a barn has fallen on them. Their clothes are a bit torn, their hair mussed and full of dirt and straw. Their faces are dirty and she can see streaks where tears have fallen, though they look stoic enough now.

A look of concern crosses Ryndar's face. "No, I do not believe these giants were responsible for what happened to nightstone. Though..." He pauses for a moment, running a hand absent-mindedly through his hair, "It is strange, as the residents in Nightstone claimed it was cloud giants who attacked the town. Seems a little more the coincidental."

Daerthe feels the eyes on her but considers to stay in place, not moving from her spot in the middle of the group. If attention falls on her again she will acknowledge the knight and give her name. "I am called D."

"Yes, Cloud Giants were responsible for what happened at Nightstone." Helena confirms. "They took the stone that the village was named after, for whatever reason that might be of use to them." She glances to the kids with concern. "I doubt if anyone would mistake Cloud Giants for Stone Giants, but..."

Sphyboe appreciates the fact that Essie has been addressing her with the formal name in front of the authoritative figure, instead of using her nickname which she reveals only to a closed circle of friends. She will let her deal with the children because Essie has a friendly and relaxing aura that can inspire anyone to calm down.

She nudges Bramble's elbow gently and mouths the words silently, "Nice try"  then continues to declare:

"It doesn't matter if these attackers are Stone Giants or Cloud Giants, but let's reconsider the fact that there are more than one group of giants who had been causing mischief. And they have escaped the jurisdiction of law and orders, can you believe that Lady Hawkwinter?"

“Cloud giants took the Nightstone? I wonder for what purpose. As you say, it is quite disturbing that we may have two groups of giants causing mischief. Typically stone giants keep to themselves in their caverns, working on elaborate carvings. I don’t know what would draw them out to attack homesteads. And cloud giants generally keep to their floating towers or mountain castles. It is passing strange that they are encroaching on the villages of us smaller folk. I wonder what has stirred them up.” She pauses for a moment, but then shakes her head and continues.

“There is nought I can do about it but what is in front of my feet. I must continue following the tracks of these marauders to see if there are more victims who need assistance. But these children cannot come with me. They must be taken to the nearest stronghold. Would you all be willing to take them on to the fort at the Zundbridge? I believe it is just a few hours from here." 

Bramble instinctively nods silently without waiting for approval of the party. He catches himself, then looks to the others to confirm, “of course we’ll do it”.

"We can definitely take the children with us to the fort." Helena agrees. She glances to the others, certain no one would disagree.

Surprisingly, Essie’s nose wrinkles a little at the request. But she smooths out her expression quickly enough, plastering that serene smile of hers back on without a second thought. “If the children are alright with joining us,” she says with a small nod. “I understand strangers can be fearsome, and we do make an odd group.”

She looks directly at the children now. “Would you like to accompany us to the fort? We could protect you, but I’m afraid we’re all traveling on foot for now.” She tilts her head to the side and hums. “Well, I suppose I could carry you, too.”

“Oh!” Bramble pipes in, “I could carry the children for a couple of hours. I can wildshape into a donkey. It won’t speed up travel, but it won’t slow us down either. And the young ones won’t need to walk.”

"Wait! Don't you think that these children are really tough enough to make it to the Fort at Zunbridge on foot? Since they've survived Stone Giant attack and the pressure of a fallen Barn hadn't caused them fatal injuries, they shouldn't be bothered by the exhaustion of the journey"- Sphyboe suggests while inspecting the facial expression of her fellow travel mates and visibly pleading for the approval of the Knight.

Daerthe keeps her expression neutral but the way her body language changes shows that she is not very fond of the idea of putting up with the children. She had been forced to deal with keeping track of one of her younger siblings back in her past life, being every second of it. Still she was in a group and knew she would be out voted so her silence continued. 

Helena frowns at Sphyboe. "Don't you think the kids have been through enough?" She asks with a raised eyebrow. "If he can change his form into a donkey, and carry them, then all the better." She also smiles slightly as she adds. "Plus then they are in one place and not wandering all over the place and needing someone to keep reminding them to stay with the group."

Bramble will offer each child a goodberry and a drink of water from his waterskin while he picks some of the straw from their hair and clothing.

”What are your names?” He will ask as he tries to determine if there are any undisclosed but serious injuries. He will call upon guidance during his cursory examination.

Medicine: 5 plus guidance: 2

Sphyboe acknowledges the precious observation of her companion with a tight smile. Then she will declare:

"My lady! As you can see, we are a dedicated group of people with the capability to take care of the distressed children. But, we neither have the knowledge of the exact location of the Fort of Zunbridge, nor do we have any information on the place of origin of the oppressed children. Should we borrow one of your fine horses so that the guards of the Fort might recognize us as their ally?"

Once it seems that most of your party is agreeable to chaperoning the children, Lady Harriana and her squire dismount and help the young ones off their horses. They are both human, an older girl, perhaps about 8 or 9, and a younger boy, maybe 7 years old. They seem fairly sturdy, with medium brown hair and tan skin from being outdoors a lot. Their blue eyes are wide with uncertainty, as they look back and forth between the knight and your group. 

Lady Harriana kneels before the girl and says, “Hemily, you and Bosh have been very brave. I am proud of you. These honorable adventurers will take you safely to Zundbridge. Everywhere I go, I will look for others who must be rescued from the giants. But I will also ask for your parents and tell folk where I have sent you. I am confident that Helm will watch out for you and them and bring you back together.”

She turns back to your group saying, “You can’t miss the fort. Just continue on the High Road for a few more hours. It is the castle just across the bridge. And I’m afraid I can’t spare a horse. I am concerned about what damage the stone giants are doing right now in the countryside. Varla and I must hurry along before the trail grows cold, so we may assist other victims. The children’s parents are Femery and Dartin Meadow. You can tell the guard at the fort that I will come check back with them in two days or less. Here is 5 gold for their food and lodging there and 30 gold for your assistance. Please get a room for them at the Red Rune Inn. I have the name of Phoebus Tundra here. And Bramble. I will get the word out to any I meet that I have sent these children with you. Do you have a name as a group that I could also use or should I proceed with just those two?”

Meanwhile, the children accept the goodberries with some hesitation, but once they try them, they smile and nod their thanks. (A couple of bruises and scratches heal up. They don’t seem to have any more serious injuries. They are just quiet and scared.) After a moment, the girl Hemily asks Bramble, “Can you really turn into a donkey?” And the boy says, “That’s boring! What about a wolf? Or a lion?” His sister quickly tries to shush him.

For Helena and Ryndar:

Bramble grins slightly and nods once while looking at Hemily. Then he turns his attention to Bosh and asks, “So, you’d rather walk the whole way with an unpredictable wolf or lion at your heels than be given a ride on a boring donkey?” He asks this while feigning menace only to end with a mirthful smile after posing the rhetorical question.

“A name for the group, huh? I’m not very good at coming up with names.” Bramble ponders for a while and suggests,

”’The Quorum’.” Bramble looks to the others and then defines it, “The minimum number of people to conduct some activity.”

"The Quorum? So, if some of the group members leave or die while executing their responsibilities, we'll lose quorum! Fantastic!"- Sphyboe attempts to joke about the crucial situation and the befitting name of the group, but has possibly exaggerated the reality of the dire situation.

She expresses gratitude for the information that had been provided by the Lady Harriana, then attempts to converse with the children:

"Mr. Bramble Mossbottom can turn into a Brown Bear too. He once turned into a bear and ripped apart the limbs of a swarm of 'Evil' Giant Rats killing them immediately. If you request him, he might be able to transform himself into another one."

Daerthe steps away shaking her cloaked head and muttering in the language of the drow. She seems to care little for the group name and merely wants to continue on the road. "If we must deliver these... children then let us be done with it. We have much more to do."

“The Quorum is a name that we would be known by, not necessarily a set of rules we follow. Since we get to define who is in ‘The Quorum’, we can add or reduce the number at our whim. I was just thinking of how it would sound to others. ‘Did you hear that a group called ‘The Quorum’ came and helped these people in that town?’ or ‘We’d better move on, ‘The Quorum’ is heading our direction.’ It’s a name that implies authority, even if that authority is completely fictional.” Bramble shrugs while listening for other suggestions.