Quote from DragonDenn >>

Brin eyes are for the heat, as it is what interested him to start, so here goes...

Brin perception: 10

(OOC: According to Brin's character sheet, the bonus is +1, not +6. So that roll is a 5.
But with the Sentinel Shield, has Advantage, so please improve on that.)

((22 Perception with bonus 1 from guidance ))

Ana let the others do the talking as she kept a close watch on their surroundings, and muttered please for guidance under her breath. The enemy might still be here, waiting in ambush perhaps, and even if not she might spot something which might bear closer investigation.

(OOC:Sorry, was going by passive perception, which is 16, but that is due to the advantage the shield grants. Totally didn't even consider that, and didn't look at the actual skill, so that is on me.) Brin second perception roll: 13

(Quasi - did you see post 4472?)

(OOC: Whoops! I did miss Guiltysparc's post before DragonDenn's.)

Sergeant to Iskander: "Nothing to see out here, except snow. And the occasional gutter trash leaving their homes. But the general orders come from the Earl, so turn around and be on your way."

The guards look on in distaste as Ana casts Guidance and looks around intently. The sergeant (and the rest of the party) can't help but notice that Isk, Brin, and Ana are all looking a bit uneasy, even though they are looking in different directions.

For Iskander (only):

For Anaskyrath (only):

For Brin (only):

 Isk maintains the smile and says, "Oh ya, orders always coming down.  Wouldn't it be nice if the brass took a turn standing out in the snow once and while?"  He chuckles a little and then adds, "Say, what unit are you and your men from?"

Brin frowns as he notices something strange, but waits to see how this officer responds.

Insight on response... 23

(OOC: do we recognize any of these guards?)

((Insight 25 ))

Ana let the remark about trash wash over her without reaction and shifted her gaze to the soldiers, trying to figure out if the sergeant was acting in good faith. "It's a real pity you soldiers are stuck out here, orders or no orders. Any of you dealing with frostbite? Can we grab you some coats or blankets or something? No sense in losing limbs to this unnatural frost." She pointed to the warehouse his trail led to. "Maybe something from over there?"

The sergeant looks at Iskander. "What unit are we from?" Then louder, with more annoyance. "What unit are we from?!"

One of the guards by the fire barrel half turns his head and calls out. "We are from the City Guard, western office for the Central Low Region."
(None of you have studied the civil organization of the city, but it sounds reasonable. The geography matches your location, and "Low" refers to the commoners. The rich live closer to the East wall in the "High Garden".)

That guard turns his attention back to the fire barrel. That particular guard does look familiar. When the party had to deal with the unreasonable Inspector Clew-Sea a few days ago, the guard was there, and was one of the ones complaining of corruption from the officers. (Link back to post 3725, if you wanted to remember what I'm talking about.)

The sergeant continues looking annoyed. Turning to Ana: "That building is for official guard duty. If you are so concerned about the cold, go back the shops and the temples in the northeast. I'm sure conditions are better there than here." (dramatic pause) "Or if you really want to go inside that building, I could have you detained and interrogated. It is suspicious that you lot are loitering here, trying to distract busy guards from their duty, even after I've explained the orders from the uppity-up rulers."

(The four other guards continue standing passively around the fire barrel.)

((Is the snow falling right now?))

Trimyrai: (to the party[in a whisper]) "Maybe we should find a way around. We don't want to get in more trouble with the guard."

Reverie hums for a moment before she looks at Trimyrai when he whispers. "That could be the best way indeed. Or perhaps..." She looks back at the sergeant. "My name is belong to Forestgleam," she says, "My friends and I want to know the situation of this area in detail since it is indeed worrying me for the others and you as well. Is there a solution to end this problem?"

(OOC1: The blizzard from the Ice Troll heart magic ended before you woke up. The sky is overcast, but no snow, and you expect the weather clerics in the city will keep it that way. The frigid temperatures from last night are gone, so it is back to a normal seasonal cold, which isn't a bother.)

(OOC2: As Trimyrai points out, you don't have to deal with the guards right now. You have to judge if moving away to get your group organized and communicated is worth giving these guards a chance to do the same. Maybe they are doing something bad, but maybe they are just in a bad mood for being forced to stand in the cold for work?)

In response to Reverie, the sergeant lets out a string of expletives and insults (not to be repeated here), and yells for your group to return home so they can return to their work. (Ana had a 26 Insight roll earlier.) Ana "innocently" asks a few more simple questions in support of Reverie. The sergeant continues to belittle your group as typical of the dumb inhabitants of the city, "only good for eating and breeding" and not understanding basic instructions. (At first, the group may have thought he hated the poor or those not in power, but he also snapped at a noblewoman like Reverie. It seems like he hates everyone.)

((Do the soldiers seem real? Breath steaming out from their mouths in the cold? Cast shadows? Making any sounds?))

Quote from ikarbino >>

((Do the soldiers seem real? Breath steaming out from their mouths in the cold? Cast shadows? Making any sounds?))

(There are imprints in the snow where they are standing. Breaths with steam. Too cloudy for shadows from the sun, but there seem to be shadows from the fire barrel light. They aren't talking to each other, so no noise except when one of them says something to the party.)

“Sorry for bothering ye.”  Brin says to the guards.  He nods to his new companions.  “Best be letting these be getting back to their work.  Shall we move away as we be asked?”  He is ready to start moving away from the captain, and looking for a different way to approach the area.

Isk thinks to himself, there is something fish AF about this...

He nods to Bring and says, "Aye." And then as they move out of earshot of the guards adds, "something is wrong here, they strike me as someone or something playing at soldier rather than being actual soldiers, let's get on where we can discuss more openly."

as they move away from the soldiers… Brin turns to the others. “Did you notice if those barrels were not really giving off heat enough to warm somebody? “He glances over his shoulder back towards the soldiers. “Something is definitely up there. “

Reverie frowns at the Guard for a moment before she moves along with her friends. "Lack of warmth and characters of soldiers..." She hums, "We need to find the answer for this. As Isk and Brin found some strangeness from them and the environment, this is a great problem. Maybe we should ask the guild's help; maybe they could instruct us some ways to find for a solution. Probably we will able to talk about this matter openly at their place."