Portia let Mara run into her family home. She moved a little further to look beyond it watching for anything to show up. Every now and then she would look toward the fires in the center of the city. It appeared there were some larger fires happening there. She frowned and her hand tightened on her warhammer. Whomever did this to her home city would pay dearly. She would not march into the center not knowing what she would find. Pettilaen's scouting would find out far more and well she had had tried to test her sneaking abilities by the gate. Needless to say she and her chainmail failed the test badly. She wound up more noisy than when she walked normal. She smirked some at the thought hoping nothing showed up, but wanting to bash something into the ground for razing this city. Which only amused her more because in almost all the fights they had seen she had not done much hitting at all other than with spells except some good orc bashing last night, and most of the time she was playing defense. But every offense needed a good defense.

Pettilaen's time was well spent, venturing out and scouting through the city, clearing out obstacles that might give warning to whatever remains within the city. Bewildered to find that his friends were gone, he easily picked up their tracks, and, using Gaia as his overwatch, found their location and the direction they were travelling. If I could find their tracks this easy, then anyone could. He made a mental note to prepare a course on moving more stealthily when he had the time.

As he followed the group's trail, the unearthly fires disturbed him. Curiosity yearned within him to leave the group's trail and set out immediately for the fires, but a still, small voice told him to stick with the group. Whatever laid at the center of the city, he felt he would need his full team in order to face it. By the time the group had reached the Windrunner's home, Pettilaen was right behind the group. He thought about pranks he could pull: they'd never suspect him if the image of a demon waltzing towards them came into their view. But, resources were resources, and his spell wasted, coupled with the spells the group would surely waste on it, would mean that whatever laid at the center would be that much more difficult to overcome.

He made his presence known by sending Gaia to perch atop the rubble of the Windrunner's home, keeping vigilant watch [Perception of 20]. He wasn't sure what was so special about the place, but he knew that was their destination, and having overwatch of the area would help them remain safe. Sneaking up behind the group, he grabbed Zina's sides, squeezing and whispering, "I'm a spooky ghost."

Kanon followed Mara into the house. He wasn't sure what she was looking for, as the house was a complete ruin. His heart went out to her though, and he said all that he could think of at the time, "They'll pay for this, Mara. Tyr's judgement is always watching." He didn't know what else to say. He hoped that her parents made it out safely, but he could never guarantee it.

Zina screamed at the spook, whirling around and firing her signature Ray of Frost at whatever had snuck up on her. An icy blast hit her assailant square in the chest. Her small assailant. Her... By Ioun she had just made a Pettilaen Popsicle again. 

"Pettilaen Orhim Bilfiz Oruwor Gaji Jever Ipabis Brookebrewer," she scolded. "What were you thinking?"

Portia spun around when Zina screamed, but clapped her hand over her mouth to try and stifle her laughter. She turned away again to see if the noise had attracted any attention from the side she had been watching. Of course, Zina spouting off the gnome's full name didn't help curtail her mirth any. At least, she hadn't asked the last question with pauses like she did to the slow witted. That would have just made it all worse for Portia.

It took several breaths for her to calm and really look around. Far too long if something had wanted to pop out due to the scream. Also, Gaia, wasn't screeching any warnings. She looked about to find the owl perched on top of a corner of Mara's house that had not burned to the ground. She waved at the bird and then noted the horses had not liked the scream all that much. She walked over to pet each on the nose. Thankfully they were well trained war horses, but that didn't mean they knew how to deal with gnomes.

"What was I thinking?!" he countered, grasping the shoulder she'd blasted twice now. The same one too. "What were you thinking?? Look before your shoot. Look before you stab. Look before you blast! If you're going to blast before you think, you don't deserve those powers." He sighed, visibly frustrated, though not angry. "I'm either acclimating to these blasts, or you're getting weaker. A shame we're out of healing spells too..."

He brushed off the blast, reaching into his pocket, causing him to wince slightly, and pulled out a small sack. Making his way over to the ruined house Mara was desperately searching through. What was so special about this place? Tapping her on the knee due to her shoulder being too far away, he held out a small bag which jingled as she picked it up. "These are for your orphans." Looking inside, she could count twelve gold pieces: dirty and bloodied, but twelve gold pieces nonetheless. "Also, I found this map." He pulls out a portion of a burnt map. "It's a map of the Gate," he adds, "and there's that weird symbol of the New Dawn's Knights." The map clearly shows Baldur's Gate, which is marked by the sigil of the horned skull and shield pierced with a vertical sword.

The Windrunner home is disheveled and scorched. It was clearly ransacked thoroughly before being put to the torch, seemingly within the last few days.

Searching the home reveals that the family's secret stash of savings was removed, either by the family or by someone after, but there's no hint of bodies or bloodshed within the home. In fact, trunks and valueless personal belongings are missing, leading the group to believe the occupants abandoned the home long before it came to its ultimate ruin.

Overhearing Petti and Mara's conversation, Kanon's heart skipped a beat, "Wait... they're attacking the gate?!" This is really bad... he had to say something, "The refugees... they won't be able to enter the gate, they'll be slaughtered!" He knew that Baldur's Gate was going through its own turmoil right now, and they had no space for refugees. Typically a large group of refugees would camp outside the walls. He could only hope they would have the foresight to let them in during a siege. 

"If I looked before I shot, I would have died a hundred times over," Zina spat. "I didn't ask for any of this." Pettilaen's words stung, more than she would have wanted to show. She wanted to warm him up with a flaming sphere to show just how much she had weakened, but she was far too smart to do something as impulsive as that. 

Instead, the illusionist wiped her eyes and forced herself to rejoin the conversation. She would make Pettilaen pay later, but there were more pressing matters. "So to Baldur's Gate then?" She asked. "Do we have time to stop at Candlekeep?"

"It would be faster to get to Candlekeep. I am sure someone there can magically send a message to the Gate. We will want to show them that paper." She looked around. "Do we know who or what is in the center of this place? I'm starting to think it is the ransack and clean up crew working through every last building." She looks directly at Pettilaen when she asks the question.

"I didn't ask for any of this." Her words struck him oddly. She's the one that went to school to learn such powers. What did she mean she didn't ask for it? But they had more important things to focus on then blasting each other with words or spells. "No, not Baldur's Gate. Not yet. Priorities are: see what's at the center of the city, then travel to Candlekeep to relay the information we've gained to Orst. I think he and the beautiful angel lady have some good connections, and can get a magical message to someone in the Gate much faster than we could on horse."

"No, we need to stick to the original plan: Athkatla. Talk to the faerie merchant, or whoever the person is that can help us decrypt the book we've got." Seeing that the Mara was done searching the burned down building, a topic he kept on meaning to ask her about, Pettilaen sent Gaia into the air to scout out the path to the heart of the city ahead of them, himself following and the group following further behind him [Perception of 10; Stealth of 25].

Portia stays in the back with the horses as they move deeper into the city, but she is actually moving quieter than her attempt at sneaking at the city gate.

Kanon follows next to Mara, trying to comfort her. "Listen Mara, I'm sure they're fine. If you get caught up in worrying about them, how will that help their situation. We'll send a message to the Gate - one from you, even. Lets try to focus on the task at hand." 

As the group nears the center of Beregost, they begin to hear the sounds of habitation in the distance - movement, conversation, and such. It sounds as if the present population is mostly men, a rougher sort from the sound of them, but one commanding female voice can be heard occasionally barking orders. From the sound of it, she's in charge and she's got "no patience for shenanigans", as you hear her shout more than once. From the sound of it, she's organizing search parties to scour the city with orders to put searched buildings to the torch once they're finished.

You become more and more certain these are not rightful inhabitants of Beregost. Whether they are opportunistic looters or part of the greater enemy is difficult to determine, but it's near-certain they're no inclined to be friendly.

Hearing the voices, Pettilaen brought the group to a halt, as they hugged a nearby building for some cover while he continues forward a bit with Gaia. He could hear the voices of some thirty individuals in the town center. Way too many for them to handle. Out of the corner of her eye, Gaia spotted a shadow moving approximately fifty feet behind the group, and warned Pettilaen. Using the group as cover in between himself and the pursuer, he brought a finger to his lips as he slid from their view, disappearing through an alley as he sought out their pursuer.

Doubling back, he got behind the rogue with ease, getting a clear view of who was following them: a wimpy kobold, dressed in some darkened leathers. Most likely a rogue of sorts, though they weren't very proficient, with how poorly they were hiding and following the group. Sneaking up from behind, he cuffed the kobold on the temple of the head with his magical precious, silencing it before it could let out a squeak of warning and sliding its body down his legs to avoid any excess noise. With a forced whisper, he called out to the group ahead of him. "Hey! Get back here, I got the assailant knocked out." As the group came to his position, he requested, "Mara, you carry the kobold out with us. There are search parties and patrols sweeping through this area, and we need to get to somewhere safe where we can interrogate this scaly prick."

With the group's approval, he leads them back to the outskirts of the city to where they originally entered, knowing the area had already been combed through by the patrols and figuring they would have some exclusion to perform their.... conversation.

Kanon's eyes go wide when he sees what Petti has knocked out, "Do you think there's more around?" He asks. When Petti mentions heading back to interrogate, he nods apprehensively. He wasn't sure what the gnome saw, or how many enemies there might have been, but he surrender's to Petti's judgement.