The kids laugh as they run up to Armeros. They aren't impressed when he says nothing. A human male, elderly looking. Points you in the direction of a large, mansion of a building. Almost on cue, a pure sounding bell rings. "If you're looking for someone well versed in the ways of magic and sight seein', we've got just the guy. That bell means the meeting is over. He'll be out shortly." Indeed, the grand door is opened and out steps to tall elves in shining, elegant, silver suits. Yellow ties shining with the light of the sun around their necks. Following them is an assortment of 12 or so well dressed older males in a variety of colours. Last is a cheery looking man in a crimson velvet coat. Underneath is a dark blue vest over a white shirt. With pants that match the coat, and a striped pink and white tie, capped off with well brushed, full white hair, this man looks more important than anyone else. The old man that spoke points to him and says that he's the one to speak with. And it doesn't seem like that will be hard to arrange. As soon as he spots the party he gives warm smile and beckons you over. He speaks in a warm, kind voice that reminds one of a loving grandfather. "Welcome travellers, to VerstorVille. We have been waiting you'r arrival. Would you care for a meal, and fresh clothes?" He leads you inside, where more silver dressed elves lead you to two of the cleanest, fanciest washrooms imaginable. (Male and Female) Inside the door is a table with stacks of fresh looking outfits, each clearly tailored and designed for every individual party member. The servants hand each of you your clothes and direct you to the wall of doors, each leading to large individual wash stalls with running water. You are also provided with bars of soap and warm baby blue towels. The soap nearly instantly seals any wounds, cooling burn and filling the stall with a scent that reminds of you home. Upon finishing the showers, you are lead to a large dining room and sat at a table long enough to fit at last forty people. At the head of the table is the man in the red suit. He gives a warm smile and stands up to offer and pour some sort of sparkling strawberry drink. He assures that it is alcohol free. Everyone eats in silence for a while, enjoying the masterfully cooked meal. There is everything imaginable for every course, nd it is the beest food ever had by most of you. When mostly everyone is done with their entree, he addresses the party. "Now. Before I answer thee million questions you are holding in, including what I meant by saying we were expecting you, please tell me about yourselves. What brings you together, and what brings you here?"
"oh yeah...nothing out of the ordinary happening here..." Taxidea mumbles to himself. Then he takes a deep breath and says "Well, it started at breakfast when these morons tried to hold the place up. Then there was a vanishing lady and the guards who may or may not have been illusions. And then the vanishing lady, who claims to be the goddess of harmless things or something but may be a trickster goddess put the entire building, including us, into a void until we agreed to help her get her staff back by going to some big tower where she claims the trickster goddess had it. So we agreed, since we didn't want to, you know, hang around a void forever and POOF! We ended up here, but right before she poofed us here that she said to go due southeast. So we did that until we found the wonderful wandering road and ol' Leo's caravan who apparently have been traveling the randomly shifting road for generations and...get this...never thought to ASK the road to go anyplace." Taxidea shakes his head. "So anyways, I asked the road to take us to the tower and it seemed like it was taking us there and ol' Leo came along to guide us and then out of nowhere there these fire elementals that nearly turned us into crispy critters. So we did the brave and noble thing and ran like hell. And THEN a few of these guys wanted a town so they could get more info on the tower or the goddess or whatever since the only advice we got from Leo's caravan was "your situation is weird" which is...well, like, thank you Lady Obvious. So the road - it's a great road really - brought us to YOUR, totally normal, very nice in a not-at-all-disconcerting that you already had tailored clothes for us way." He looks around at his companions. "Did I miss anything? OH WAIT - Armeros there touched the staff in his mind and it knocked the CRAP out of him! That was pretty badass. Anything else?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"...at worst if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
Armeros chuckles softly at Badger’s colorful recounting, his golden eyes glinting with restrained amusement as he sets his glass down. “A vivid retelling,”he remarks, his voice smooth. Turning to their host, he adopts a polite but guarded expression. “As my companion so aptly explained, we find ourselves drawn into a web of unusual events, guided by forces whose intentions remain opaque. Your...extraordinary hospitality—tailored garments, a feast fit for nobility—raises questions of its own. Few would extend such courtesies without reason.”
He leans back slightly, his tail flicking idly as his eyes fix on the man in crimson. “We are grateful, of course, and seek only information—about the road, the tower, and the gods who have thrust us into their schemes. You seem a man of significant knowledge and means, and I trust you might illuminate our path. In return, perhaps we can be of use to you.”
Performance to hide his unease: 6 -.-;; (He's bad at insight so I'll let someone else roll for it.)
{[Just realised he never introduced himself. His name is Josif (the 'J' is pronounced as a 'Y') Heirbloom. (silent 'H')]}
Josif frowns as he listens the story. "I'm glad to say I can help more than Leo's caravan, but I do agree that this entire situation is very odd. Now. Regarding me and my town. As you know, my name is Josif. I am mayor of VerstorVille. Next to my fabulous taste of style, probably the most important thing you should know about me is that I am very well versed in the art of magic, combat, and social interactions. My main focus in magic is using it to see things, past present and future. Which is how I knew you were coming. But tell me, do you have any more details on this goddess of tricks? A name maybe? I'm trying to figure out exactly who it is your talking about."
"Shigh, goddess of Time and Trickery,"Armeros explains, glad Josif seems open to sharing his knowledge. The man seems confident and stylish at least, but after the disappointment that is Leo the Tiefling tries not to get his hopes up.
Insight on Josif's reaction to the name and answer: 17
(In fairness to Leo, none of us were effective in that battle and with you out of commission there we kind of self-guided - I’m sure he’ll redeem himself. In the meantime he’s a great scapegoat!)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"...at worst if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
Jasmine is content to let the others do the talking but she doesn't fully trust this town or the people in it. She keeps an eye out for strange things. She declines the offer for new clothes and would like to keep her old armor and shields on so that she is ready to defend herself at a moments notice. She does take a moment to wash her face and arms though.
Between the magical road and now this strangely all-knowing elves in weird suits, Jasmine wonders if they were transported off the material plane itself by the goddess. She suspects that this may be some place in the Faewild and not the material plane. She asks as such, "I have never heard of Vestorvile or the very helpful, seemingly sentient road. Can you tell as a bit more about this place and where the world we actually are? Getting teleported here by some goddess against our will tends to mess with one's sense of direction and geography."
"As friends have said, Shigh. The one whose sent us on our path claims to be Awyeth, of good health, kindness...something about not harming...we wonder if we're instead being sent by Shigh, to steal from Awyeth. Can you...enlighten us?"
Josif sits in silence for a moment. "Awyeth is indeed a goddess of all things good, and she can't harm anyone, not even her enemies, directly. There is nothing stopping her from using mortals (or immortals) to do he dirty work for her. Well it is true that most of the time her ideals are in the right direction, occasionally she goes a little bit haywire. Now about that staff. This is not the first time I've heard of her sending mortals on a quest to retrieve her precious wand thingy, but it would be the first time i've heard about anyone coming back alive from said quest. As it is, you have no choice but to o your best and keep you promise. And I'm happy to help as much as I can. You seem like good people (for the most part) who have their minds in the right place. And I'd hate to see you killed trying to complete this useless mission." He stops to take a sip of the strawberry drink and take a slice of sweet bread. "Regarding Shigh, she is an idiot deserves her power even less than Awyeth. She spends her time causing chaos in the world and ruining the lives of good people. Likely, you were told something about a priestess using the staff to destroy the material plane, or something like that. Dragon crap. She couldn't use that stick for anything, even if she wanted to. She stole simply to cause confusion, hatred, and enemies. She enjoys dealing with all of these 'petty mortals' sent by Awyeth to retrieve the thing. Admittedly, she is doing an okay job at protecting it, but that has to be mostly attributed to the fact that Awyeth has no idea ho to find adventurers who can possibly actually retrieve the staff." He pauses for a minute to catch his breath and think on some of the other questions.
Armeros insight: it almost seems like he was disappointed on hearing the names. Listening to everything he's saying, you clearly aren't the first party to tell this tale to him, and he ass probably hoping for something new.
"...Josif, right? You seem rather...informed on both the goddesses...and in general. We were attacked by multiple fire elementals...overwhelmed. Probably would have been like others, if not retreat. Can you help us? Maybe to become strong enough to actually get the 'stick' back, so we can return to our homeland?"
Armeros gives a slight smirk as Josif confirms his suspicions about the goddesses' incompetence, as well as the little comment about them seeming good 'for the most part'. It is a surprise that Shigh can't even use the staff that they are going to all this trouble for; she truly is infuriating.
"Well, let us hope we will be up to the task with your gracious assistance. Say, we heard some...entrancing singing on the way here. It brought up all sorts of memories. Was that your doing, by chance? As an expert on peering through time, were you...taking a peek into our pasts, perhaps?" Armeros remains cordial, speaking out of sheer curiosity rather than accusation for the time being.
"Well, at least we know that the disappearing lady kidnapper was telling the truth about who she was and about her staff getting stolen, that's a start." Taxidea gulps down some of the strawberry drink. "So how do we get it back for her without...you know...krrrkkk!" He grimaces and mimes getting hung.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"...at worst if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
Xondario tried to hide his grimace as the others explained in full detail everything that had happen to them so far. How could they know if this person was in service to either goddess or thief.. But Xondario was even more suprised at what Josif had to say.
So this wasn't a first attempt ar retrieving the rod. So there were effective defenses. "How long has it been since the last... attempt that you know of? Any info of the tower and its surroundings would be helpful. Even if it's just to tell us of another who may have info."
The serenity Flynt had felt on the path faded slightly as the troupe entered the town proper. Instead of questioning the situation to early and rushing to judgement Flynt decides to play along and see where the hospitality leads. The ease of the road had allowed him to put his current worries for his quest aside and allowed him to be more present in the moment. So Flynt accepts the gifts graciously while still keeping alert to what intentions may lie just beneath the welcoming facade. Besides a hot bath and a good meal was just what he was needing after all these days traveling.
In his experience as an interrogator he had found people will often reveal their true nature if you just let them talk. So keeping true to this philosophy and he stayed quiet as the others recited their story and asked all the pertinent questions.
Insight:14
Flynt is looking for inconsistencies in the surrounding and in Josefs answers that might indicate alterior motives or danger.
Jasmine shakes her head in disappointment. She reaches over and takes a sip of the tea offered to her. While she did refuse clothes and a full proper shower, she does accept the food. Jasmine doesn't think the food is poisoned but even if it is, she is completely immune to such things and thus, isn't worried. "Ah yessss... a goddess of all things good... has no problem blackmailing mortals with the threat of permanent imprisonment to sssend them on a suicide mission without as much as the courtessssy of giving them any useful information. Truly she is a paragon of virtue and good" Jasmine says sarcastically, the hisses in her speech a sign of her building frustration.
Josif doesn't seem to have lied about anything so far, and there doesn't appear to be any 'unwelcome' motives, so to speak. (in reply to insights.)
Josif contemplates i think it was Armeros's question. "I once before agreed to help a party of adventurers on this quest get stronger, and they didn't make it. That used up a lot of resources! However, like i said before. You'r group shows the most promise of getting out alive, even if not all of you do. Therefore, I will offer you training for exactly one month. And before you mention family, and how it would be easier to just do your best now, I can hopefully fix those concerns by saying that my village can stop time, so to speak. In reality time outside just moves slower, but a month for use is only a week for most of the outside world." He claps his hands sharply and a middle aged human male enters the room. He is dressed as a hunter, or a forester; with short brown hair and a trimmed beard, he is sporting leathers of brown and black, and a number of different weapons and tools. Josif continues addressing the party. "This is Graph. He would be happy to train you to be better prepared for the challenges ahead. He is easily one of the most dangerous men you'll ever encounter, and has served in a number of wars and notable skirmishes."
"The singing? Ah yes. No, that was not me, but rather we have some friends visiting from a high elven council who have been kind enough to grace us with their music."
"Truly, the only way to achieve you'r goal is to fight hard and smart, and work as a team. I don't know what's in and around the tower, I can't see over their due to whatever protections she has setup. But I can only imagine there will be challenges designed to tear you apart. You can NOT let that happen. You go in as a team, you come out as a team. And hard as it may be for some of you, you can't go giving you'r life for another. Even if they have the staff, and it's the only way to get the party out. Of the very few things I've heard about the inside of the tower, the worst is probably the curse she cast that prevents things like that from having any effect. Somehow, you physically can't give you'r life. Regarding the last known to me attempt? two years and4 days ago aa group came by looking for help. It tore my heart out but I had to refuse. I knew they wouldn't make it no matter the help I gave, and I needed all the resources i could get at the time for my people. There was a drought you see, and we couldn't get any outside water or food."
"Ah, the winds of change blow strong, people! With the mighty training offered by the noble Heirbloom, we shall grow as fierce as the warriors of legend! To you, Graph, the pledge of thanks and promise to wield the newfound strength with honor. Those dastardly foes who once had us scurrying away will soon taste the bite of our fury! Onward, for retribution is our destiny!"
The kids laugh as they run up to Armeros.
They aren't impressed when he says nothing.
A human male, elderly looking. Points you in the direction of a large, mansion of a building.
Almost on cue, a pure sounding bell rings.
"If you're looking for someone well versed in the ways of magic and sight seein', we've got just the guy.
That bell means the meeting is over. He'll be out shortly."
Indeed, the grand door is opened and out steps to tall elves in shining, elegant, silver suits. Yellow ties shining with the light of the sun around their necks.
Following them is an assortment of 12 or so well dressed older males in a variety of colours.
Last is a cheery looking man in a crimson velvet coat. Underneath is a dark blue vest over a white shirt. With pants that match the coat, and a striped pink and white tie, capped off with well brushed, full white hair, this man looks more important than anyone else.
The old man that spoke points to him and says that he's the one to speak with.
And it doesn't seem like that will be hard to arrange. As soon as he spots the party he gives warm smile and beckons you over. He speaks in a warm, kind voice that reminds one of a loving grandfather.
"Welcome travellers, to VerstorVille. We have been waiting you'r arrival.
Would you care for a meal, and fresh clothes?"
He leads you inside, where more silver dressed elves lead you to two of the cleanest, fanciest washrooms imaginable.
(Male and Female)
Inside the door is a table with stacks of fresh looking outfits, each clearly tailored and designed for every individual party member. The servants hand each of you your clothes and direct you to the wall of doors, each leading to large individual wash stalls with running water. You are also provided with bars of soap and warm baby blue towels.
The soap nearly instantly seals any wounds, cooling burn and filling the stall with a scent that reminds of you home.
Upon finishing the showers, you are lead to a large dining room and sat at a table long enough to fit at last forty people.
At the head of the table is the man in the red suit. He gives a warm smile and stands up to offer and pour some sort of sparkling strawberry drink. He assures that it is alcohol free.
Everyone eats in silence for a while, enjoying the masterfully cooked meal. There is everything imaginable for every course, nd it is the beest food ever had by most of you.
When mostly everyone is done with their entree, he addresses the party.
"Now. Before I answer thee million questions you are holding in, including what I meant by saying we were expecting you, please tell me about yourselves. What brings you together, and what brings you here?"
Leo looks around at everyone else silently saying that he will let them talk for the most part, him being pretty much just a guide.
(Forgot to say. Everyone gets a short rest regarding HP, but recover all of your spell slots.)
"oh yeah...nothing out of the ordinary happening here..." Taxidea mumbles to himself. Then he takes a deep breath and says "Well, it started at breakfast when these morons tried to hold the place up. Then there was a vanishing lady and the guards who may or may not have been illusions. And then the vanishing lady, who claims to be the goddess of harmless things or something but may be a trickster goddess put the entire building, including us, into a void until we agreed to help her get her staff back by going to some big tower where she claims the trickster goddess had it. So we agreed, since we didn't want to, you know, hang around a void forever and POOF! We ended up here, but right before she poofed us here that she said to go due southeast. So we did that until we found the wonderful wandering road and ol' Leo's caravan who apparently have been traveling the randomly shifting road for generations and...get this...never thought to ASK the road to go anyplace." Taxidea shakes his head. "So anyways, I asked the road to take us to the tower and it seemed like it was taking us there and ol' Leo came along to guide us and then out of nowhere there these fire elementals that nearly turned us into crispy critters. So we did the brave and noble thing and ran like hell. And THEN a few of these guys wanted a town so they could get more info on the tower or the goddess or whatever since the only advice we got from Leo's caravan was "your situation is weird" which is...well, like, thank you Lady Obvious. So the road - it's a great road really - brought us to YOUR, totally normal, very nice in a not-at-all-disconcerting that you already had tailored clothes for us way." He looks around at his companions. "Did I miss anything? OH WAIT - Armeros there touched the staff in his mind and it knocked the CRAP out of him! That was pretty badass. Anything else?"
"...at worst if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
Armeros chuckles softly at Badger’s colorful recounting, his golden eyes glinting with restrained amusement as he sets his glass down. “A vivid retelling,” he remarks, his voice smooth. Turning to their host, he adopts a polite but guarded expression. “As my companion so aptly explained, we find ourselves drawn into a web of unusual events, guided by forces whose intentions remain opaque. Your...extraordinary hospitality—tailored garments, a feast fit for nobility—raises questions of its own. Few would extend such courtesies without reason.”
He leans back slightly, his tail flicking idly as his eyes fix on the man in crimson. “We are grateful, of course, and seek only information—about the road, the tower, and the gods who have thrust us into their schemes. You seem a man of significant knowledge and means, and I trust you might illuminate our path. In return, perhaps we can be of use to you.”
Performance to hide his unease: 6 -.-;; (He's bad at insight so I'll let someone else roll for it.)
{[Just realised he never introduced himself. His name is Josif (the 'J' is pronounced as a 'Y') Heirbloom. (silent 'H')]}
Josif frowns as he listens the story.
"I'm glad to say I can help more than Leo's caravan, but I do agree that this entire situation is very odd.
Now. Regarding me and my town. As you know, my name is Josif. I am mayor of VerstorVille.
Next to my fabulous taste of style, probably the most important thing you should know about me is that I am very well versed in the art of magic, combat, and social interactions. My main focus in magic is using it to see things, past present and future. Which is how I knew you were coming.
But tell me, do you have any more details on this goddess of tricks? A name maybe? I'm trying to figure out exactly who it is your talking about."
"Shigh, goddess of Time and Trickery," Armeros explains, glad Josif seems open to sharing his knowledge. The man seems confident and stylish at least, but after the disappointment that is Leo the Tiefling tries not to get his hopes up.
Insight on Josif's reaction to the name and answer: 17
Lol, I guess Leo has turned out to be a disappointment. He was useless in battle, and hasn't done any 'guiding'.
(In fairness to Leo, none of us were effective in that battle and with you out of commission there we kind of self-guided - I’m sure he’ll redeem himself. In the meantime he’s a great scapegoat!)
"...at worst if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
Jasmine is content to let the others do the talking but she doesn't fully trust this town or the people in it. She keeps an eye out for strange things. She declines the offer for new clothes and would like to keep her old armor and shields on so that she is ready to defend herself at a moments notice. She does take a moment to wash her face and arms though.
Between the magical road and now this strangely all-knowing elves in weird suits, Jasmine wonders if they were transported off the material plane itself by the goddess. She suspects that this may be some place in the Faewild and not the material plane. She asks as such, "I have never heard of Vestorvile or the very helpful, seemingly sentient road. Can you tell as a bit more about this place and where the world we actually are? Getting teleported here by some goddess against our will tends to mess with one's sense of direction and geography."
"As friends have said, Shigh. The one whose sent us on our path claims to be Awyeth, of good health, kindness...something about not harming...we wonder if we're instead being sent by Shigh, to steal from Awyeth. Can you...enlighten us?"
Josif sits in silence for a moment.
"Awyeth is indeed a goddess of all things good, and she can't harm anyone, not even her enemies, directly. There is nothing stopping her from using mortals (or immortals) to do he dirty work for her. Well it is true that most of the time her ideals are in the right direction, occasionally she goes a little bit haywire. Now about that staff. This is not the first time I've heard of her sending mortals on a quest to retrieve her precious wand thingy, but it would be the first time i've heard about anyone coming back alive from said quest. As it is, you have no choice but to o your best and keep you promise. And I'm happy to help as much as I can. You seem like good people (for the most part) who have their minds in the right place. And I'd hate to see you killed trying to complete this useless mission."
He stops to take a sip of the strawberry drink and take a slice of sweet bread.
"Regarding Shigh, she is an idiot deserves her power even less than Awyeth. She spends her time causing chaos in the world and ruining the lives of good people.
Likely, you were told something about a priestess using the staff to destroy the material plane, or something like that.
Dragon crap.
She couldn't use that stick for anything, even if she wanted to. She stole simply to cause confusion, hatred, and enemies. She enjoys dealing with all of these 'petty mortals' sent by Awyeth to retrieve the thing. Admittedly, she is doing an okay job at protecting it, but that has to be mostly attributed to the fact that Awyeth has no idea ho to find adventurers who can possibly actually retrieve the staff."
He pauses for a minute to catch his breath and think on some of the other questions.
Armeros insight: it almost seems like he was disappointed on hearing the names. Listening to everything he's saying, you clearly aren't the first party to tell this tale to him, and he ass probably hoping for something new.
"...Josif, right? You seem rather...informed on both the goddesses...and in general. We were attacked by multiple fire elementals...overwhelmed. Probably would have been like others, if not retreat. Can you help us? Maybe to become strong enough to actually get the 'stick' back, so we can return to our homeland?"
Armeros gives a slight smirk as Josif confirms his suspicions about the goddesses' incompetence, as well as the little comment about them seeming good 'for the most part'. It is a surprise that Shigh can't even use the staff that they are going to all this trouble for; she truly is infuriating.
"Well, let us hope we will be up to the task with your gracious assistance. Say, we heard some...entrancing singing on the way here. It brought up all sorts of memories. Was that your doing, by chance? As an expert on peering through time, were you...taking a peek into our pasts, perhaps?" Armeros remains cordial, speaking out of sheer curiosity rather than accusation for the time being.
Insight on Josif's answer: 8
"Well, at least we know that the disappearing lady kidnapper was telling the truth about who she was and about her staff getting stolen, that's a start." Taxidea gulps down some of the strawberry drink. "So how do we get it back for her without...you know...krrrkkk!" He grimaces and mimes getting hung.
"...at worst if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
Xondario tried to hide his grimace as the others explained in full detail everything that had happen to them so far. How could they know if this person was in service to either goddess or thief.. But Xondario was even more suprised at what Josif had to say.
So this wasn't a first attempt ar retrieving the rod. So there were effective defenses. "How long has it been since the last... attempt that you know of? Any info of the tower and its surroundings would be helpful. Even if it's just to tell us of another who may have info."
The serenity Flynt had felt on the path faded slightly as the troupe entered the town proper. Instead of questioning the situation to early and rushing to judgement Flynt decides to play along and see where the hospitality leads. The ease of the road had allowed him to put his current worries for his quest aside and allowed him to be more present in the moment. So Flynt accepts the gifts graciously while still keeping alert to what intentions may lie just beneath the welcoming facade. Besides a hot bath and a good meal was just what he was needing after all these days traveling.
In his experience as an interrogator he had found people will often reveal their true nature if you just let them talk. So keeping true to this philosophy and he stayed quiet as the others recited their story and asked all the pertinent questions.
Insight:14
Flynt is looking for inconsistencies in the surrounding and in Josefs answers that might indicate alterior motives or danger.
**This Space for Rent**
Jasmine shakes her head in disappointment. She reaches over and takes a sip of the tea offered to her. While she did refuse clothes and a full proper shower, she does accept the food. Jasmine doesn't think the food is poisoned but even if it is, she is completely immune to such things and thus, isn't worried. "Ah yessss... a goddess of all things good... has no problem blackmailing mortals with the threat of permanent imprisonment to sssend them on a suicide mission without as much as the courtessssy of giving them any useful information. Truly she is a paragon of virtue and good" Jasmine says sarcastically, the hisses in her speech a sign of her building frustration.
Josif doesn't seem to have lied about anything so far, and there doesn't appear to be any 'unwelcome' motives, so to speak. (in reply to insights.)
Josif contemplates i think it was Armeros's question.
"I once before agreed to help a party of adventurers on this quest get stronger, and they didn't make it. That used up a lot of resources! However, like i said before. You'r group shows the most promise of getting out alive, even if not all of you do. Therefore, I will offer you training for exactly one month. And before you mention family, and how it would be easier to just do your best now, I can hopefully fix those concerns by saying that my village can stop time, so to speak. In reality time outside just moves slower, but a month for use is only a week for most of the outside world."
He claps his hands sharply and a middle aged human male enters the room. He is dressed as a hunter, or a forester; with short brown hair and a trimmed beard, he is sporting leathers of brown and black, and a number of different weapons and tools.
Josif continues addressing the party.
"This is Graph. He would be happy to train you to be better prepared for the challenges ahead. He is easily one of the most dangerous men you'll ever encounter, and has served in a number of wars and notable skirmishes."
"The singing? Ah yes. No, that was not me, but rather we have some friends visiting from a high elven council who have been kind enough to grace us with their music."
"Truly, the only way to achieve you'r goal is to fight hard and smart, and work as a team. I don't know what's in and around the tower, I can't see over their due to whatever protections she has setup. But I can only imagine there will be challenges designed to tear you apart. You can NOT let that happen. You go in as a team, you come out as a team. And hard as it may be for some of you, you can't go giving you'r life for another. Even if they have the staff, and it's the only way to get the party out. Of the very few things I've heard about the inside of the tower, the worst is probably the curse she cast that prevents things like that from having any effect. Somehow, you physically can't give you'r life.
Regarding the last known to me attempt? two years and4 days ago aa group came by looking for help. It tore my heart out but I had to refuse. I knew they wouldn't make it no matter the help I gave, and I needed all the resources i could get at the time for my people. There was a drought you see, and we couldn't get any outside water or food."
"Ah, the winds of change blow strong, people! With the mighty training offered by the noble Heirbloom, we shall grow as fierce as the warriors of legend! To you, Graph, the pledge of thanks and promise to wield the newfound strength with honor. Those dastardly foes who once had us scurrying away will soon taste the bite of our fury! Onward, for retribution is our destiny!"
Armeros gives a thoughtful look, tapping his chin for a moment before raising a glass to Jason's toast of sorts. "To teamwork and retribution."