CHAPTER THREE - FIREBALL!
AFTER THE EXPLOSION
6 MINUTES BEFORE THE WATCH

"No thank you, sir!" says the boy, leaving. "I can find my way home. I'm just glad it's over. I can't wait to tell my parents I met a talking squirrel!"

The necklace is a magic necklace of fireballs - all of it's charges have been used up. The size of the balls are bigger than what you're normally used to seeing, indicating a correlation to the force of the blast they created.

That's two pieces of evidence.

Ill assume you came inside to check on me. 

Azrael watched as Pheral went back into the house. He would deal with her in a moment. Seeing the necklace, and being informed of what it was specifically would say Despite my choice of profession, I am no expert on the arcane. However, unless I am mistaken, or this one is.. different, it's likely to regain it's charges eventually. I would take it myself, however... I feel it might be best in the hands of someone we can all agree we trust not to blow us up with it, if it does recharge itself... Azrael stops speaking, as he notices, out of the corner of his eye, one of the shopkeepers coming up to them. He did not know her name, and he couldn't recall which shop she was from, she seemed to wish to speak with them, so he

Hail! You seem to be seeking to speak with us, though hesitant. So to what do we owe the honor of your presence?

Whenever the business with Fala was done, Azrael would then head inside.. it took him a while to find Pheral's room as he had never been above the first floor until now. When he did, as he had done with every other room, he simply knocked, whether her door was open or not. If she did not answer, and her door was closed, he would move on, assuming she wasn't in that room, ultimately giving up if he never finds her.

If he does, however, he will remain outside the door as he speaks.

Hrmmmm, I know not what ghosts haunt you. Nor will I even attempt to pretend I could ever understand them. Everyone has a scar that bu.. Stings. he managed to catch himself, A phantom only they know, and only they can fight. I have been harsh to you in the past, and I apologize once more. I will not force myself or my faith upon you, as that is not my way.. well unless your'e some form of evil.. but.. I digress.. he says with a chuckle, before continuing If you wish to talk about it, I will be here, if you wish to now, or in my uh.. room if you wish to there. If you wish not to speak of it, but want me to pray over you, I will. You need not stand with it alone. And should you desire nothing from me, then I will know your answer by your actions.

With that, he began to walk away from the door unless stopped.

Pheral opens her door. Wait.  She steps outside her room still dressed in her full garb and favoring her right side. Thank you. I'll he fine. What happened out there?

Azrael was able to stop rather swiftly by tensing his muscles, however the floor beneath him groaned under the sudden pressure of his combined weight and the force of the stop. It took him a moment to regain himself from his overbalancing but when he did, he would turn around and say as pointedly as he could I cannot say for sure what the details are. But it seems either one of the gangs is retaliating against us, or, the fighting between gangs just happened to be right outside our new home.. which i find too coincidental to be just coincidence.

Though I could simply be looking too much into things. Regardless... the facts we know are, there was an explosion caused by some magical necklace, that produces some sort of large scale flame spell that was spent nearby us. We were lucky it didn't his us, though I feel for those it did, and those who did not survive. Essentially there was a lot of collateral damage due to the dire. Many died, but we did manage to save a few.

(passing out, if I don''t sleep now I won't be able to post before work when I wake up, heh)

Today will involve talking to witnesses and checking out the bodies before the Watch approach. Fala has more eyewitness info, as she saw the incident.

Updating when I get home.

Seeing the danger over, Danitriel went back inside to dress properly. She returned dressed casually in tunic and pants. "Did anyone see who might have done it? I could go around the neighborhood and see what people are saying."

CHAPTER THREE - FIREBALL!
AFTER THE EXPLOSION
4 MINUTES BEFORE THE WATCH

Fala comes up to Azrael before he goes upstairs and as Dani comes back downstairs. In hushed tones, knowing you all are adventurers, says "I was watering plants in the greenhouse on the second floor of my shop when the blast blew out some of the windows. Lucky I wasn’t injured! Through the smoke, I saw a cloaked man take something from the body of a dead gnome, then start limping away. He was badly burned and casting glances over his shoulder, like he was afraid someone might be following him. He was headed toward the Bent Nail.”

That's three pieces of insight/clues. 

1. One dead body of a human male with Zhent tattoos
2. A boy found an expired Necklace of Fireballs in a rain barrel
3. Before Leon and Lythril arrived at the burning building, Fala saw someone pilfer something off the dead gnome and head towards The Bent Nail.

Thanks. I'll be down in a bit, I just need a few more moments to myself. Pherals verbal mask as swagger and sarcasm is gone. She sounds vulnerable for the first time since meeting the grouo.

ANOTHER PLACE
ANOTHER TIME

The boat ride seemed to last months. Cora "Crispy" Perkins was going nuts with boredom. The journey lasted so long, she had forgotten why they were even doing before they got on. First they were attacked by pirates, then next Sahuagin. Apparently the cargo they were hired to protect was of massive importance. The ominous dragonborn spellcaster who hired them was very secretive about the whole thing, and only told the details to the adventuring party's warlock, a handsome man named Bennett. A halfling named Hatt sat by Perkins feet, eating an orange with such glee, she wondered if this was his first time eating one. She smiled at the notion. A kenku paladin named Gasp was vomiting off the bow from seasickness, and Ashley, her blond hair shining in the afternoon sun, didn't look so good either. Her stare lasted much longer upon the half-elf. More than a few time had her magical healing fixed Perkins up, just like the Academy's Chief Medical Officer had when she was employed back in Waterdeep. That life was years behind her, and Ashley had patched Perkins up - didn't even leave a scar, which she had plenty of. Ashley saw her starting, and gave Perkins a weak smile - her face clearly indicating the sooner they all got off the boat, the better. Perkins gave her a sympathetic look in return, hoping that soon the journey would be over, and she could remind her more personally how much she cared about her.

YEARS LATER

Crispy walked on the sand along the beach of the island they were planning to put a resort on wearing nothing but shorts and a half shirt, her skin tan and sparkling, skill a bit damp from the ocean water she had just swam in. She had gotten out because the quiet time she wanted with a certain redhead was interrupted. A bunch of dwarves were frolicking with Nia, the team's warlock, in the ocean. Crispy smiled, Nia was pretending to be a shark, and the dwarven workers, who haven't had a break since landfall, were enjoying the sun and the water. Crispy folded her arms across her chest as she slowly walked and enjoyed the sun. She had a feeling in her gut. One of yearning for Nia, and one of worry about Gregor. Gregor went off in the jungle alone on a hunch of trouble - and he hadn't returned yet. Nia noticed her walking, and waved gleefully. Crispy smiled and waved back. She walked back to camp and took out a paper and pencil because she intended to go out into the jungle and save him at nightfall - and if she died, she wanted Nia to know how she felt before she went to Hell and was rejoined her dead father.

Why do you do what you do.
Because i'm angry.
What had made you so angry?
My father. His abuse. What he did to me, and my mother. My life of hardship.
Where is you mother now?
I don't know. She abandoned me when I was about 10.
And your father?
I killed him on the streets in cold blood. He got what he deserved.
How are your sleeping habits?
Terrible. I wake up every other night from dreams of him hurting me badly.
And your friends?
I don't have any of those. People don't like me.
I don't believe that.
Ok. Maybe a few. Most of them are dead.
And why is that?
Wherever I go, whoever I meet, anger and violence follows me and hurts people I care about. Some I killed by accident, plagued by my curse of programming.
What preoccupies your mind most of the time?
Sadness. Violence. Escape. Rage. Fear. And..love.
Love for whom?
People i've met in my travels. People that saw past who I am and took a risk to look deeper.
And what happens then?
Some try and love me. Most of them get scared and run away.
I think I know what you need.
Then you'd be the first one to figure it out. Are we done here?
Yes. Same time tomorrow. We talk more, here.

Crispy got up from the chair, and Yasei closed her notebook. Since the death of Chubby, Crispy-san was more lost and depressed than ever. She was going to need a lot of work, and these "get to know you" sessions were starting to wear on Crispy's patience and temper. There was much work to do, and Yasei promised to do her best to heal and protect her. Mostly from herself. Liam was the one who told Crispy about Chubby's death first - the one who translated the note from Yasei. Then, she never saw Liam again - which made her even more mad. Yes, much work to do, indeed.

Azrael would place a hand on her left shoulder, not stopping her, and giving it a soft squeeze. His hands would feel somewhat alien, having scales instead of flesh. My offers still stand should you need them. Call on me anytime. His hand slid off her shoulder then as he began to head back down. Azrael was not the type to take advantage of someone else's vulnerability, nor did he feel hugging her would have been anything more than awkward, especially for her. If you wish to confront the one who did this, we heard he may be at the bent nail, the wood place. I am heading there now.

----

When Azrael was back downstairs, he would, without waiting for the rest, begin heading there, to the Bent Nail.

Once Leon headed back inside he went to his room and took a quick bath to clean off the soot from his visage. He changed into simple wear, a tunic and trousers, and before he left his room his took a deep breath, thanking his headmaster mentally. 

As he stepped downstairs he managed to get a glimpse of Azrael leaving the manor, to where he wasn’t too sure, but regardless he followed.

”Azrael—“ He called hoping to grab the Dragonborn’s attention before he walked too far. “Sorry to intrude in your leave, but do you have a moment?”

Pheral takes a moment after Azrael leaves to collect herself. She steels herself and gears up, putting on her sword and crossbow belts, her long red sircoat and her cavalier hat with the a new pink feather it and heads downstairs to rejoin the team.

Azrael would shake his head, without stopping, but would shout back Time is of the essence. If we do not hurry, we will miss our chance for sure, instead of only 'maybe.' Speak to me as we move.

he continued, but slowed his pace enough for Leon to catch up, before picking it up again. But there was clear fury in the Dragonborns' eyes. He had a mission he intended to fulfill. All this pointless slaughter, whether it was revenge, or a 'coincidental' (something he was UNwilling to believe was the case) attack right near their home. They would suffer, and they would suffer well.

(also last post I have time for today)

Leon understood Azrael’s determination and didn’t gripe, instead speeding up to match his pace. He didn’t exactly look to him, having to pay attention to where they were heading and not wanting to bump into anyone and lose more time.

”I’ll be quick then,” He started, his eyebrows knitting together in thought on how to word what he wanted to say. “I just want to thank you, personally, for... Basically saving my life.” The half elf gave a slight chuckle before continuing, his face now going stoic.

“What I did was foolish, going back in there, and I’d like to ask why you came to my aid.”

The two barely knew each other. All of them didn’t know anything about the others. They were a rag-tag group of adventurers that Fatcat hired to do, what was supposed to be, a quick job, and now they had a home base and we’re doing more than what they all expected. He understood that now they were in for the long haul and trust had to start building. Something like saving their lives in a blazing inferno this early on? He couldn’t understand it. Perhaps it was Azrael’s God that told him to go or something.

”Ah—, never mind, perhaps I shouldn’t have asked.” He forced out a laugh. “What a dumb question. Erm... Where are you... we headed?”

FC tugs his waistcoat down my the bottom seam, turns side-on in the mirror and runs a hand down his front. 'All this adventuring work is slimmin' me down.' He thinks to himself. It felt good, getting his hands dirty once again, rather than sitting back and orchestrating the action.

Donning his fine leathers, rapier and a hidden dagger around his lower back, he is sitting around downstairs near the door when the Dragonborn marches out the door, quickly followed by Leon looking at him like a hero. Yeah, FC helped out too, but wasn't one looking to be a 'hero'. The spotlight isn't for him. He followed briskly, giving them around a 15' gap. Let's see where this leads.

Astrid continued to march around the now burnt-out house, searching the wreckage for further clues as to who may have done this, and for what purpose.  What was this house/building before the explosion?  Was it a somehow involved with either of the gangs?  Was it an innocent victim, caught in the crossfire of this insidious gang warfare?  Looking, looking, looking.  (Investigation: 17)

She could soon hear the whistles of the approaching watchmen...stopping what she was doing, she walked out to the street-front to meet with the watchmen as they arrived.  Hoping that Crispy would be amongst them.  She always liked Crispy.  Looked up to her, in fact.  Someone to emulate.  Plus, she wanted to show off her new Harpers pin.

Lyhtril ran in Azrael's wake. "If he weren't so tall, and huge, and yummy, he'd be hard to follow. Good thing he stands out in a crowd.." 

With legs much shorter than her companions, its harder for her to keep up, but she does her best to manage. "Where are we going? The look on your face means somebody is going to deserve an ass kicking..."