Quote from Lyrel >>

Nikolai frowns at Ling. "Are you sure you aren't just using this as an excuse to meet up with your half-elven crush?" He grins as Ling turns towards him and sticks out her tongue. "So, Alaris, what exactly seem to be the issue? We have some people going missing from Bednik after orcish raids? Is that the gist of it? Seems easy enough."

"Don't be so sure," Alaris muses, standing and stretching again. "I think it's more than just random raids. The Bednik folk spoke of one orc in particular; they said they're hunting children; they've been returning every two or three days. This is more than tribes hunting for honor or plunder." 

They grin tightly, silvery eyes glinting with anger. "Thank you, my friends. I am sorry that there is little hope of recompense for the work we do today. But we will teach these scavengers that there are consequences for the cruelty they love."

Nikolai shrugs and he stretches. "Few things rouse my anger more than the targeting of the weak and innocent. There is balance in all things, or so the wise ones claim. I do not know that there is any cosmic balance, just those willing to tip the scales back away from anarchy. Those like you, Alaris. Me? I do it for the coin." He winks and stuffs his mouth full of food.

Bednik is cold. A chill wind hisses through the streets from the south, carrying with it the stench of open sewage. The locals shy from the open air, seeking shelter undercover or around what few fires are burning. The district is quiet and still.

Alaris hefts their glaive, Hope's Edge, comforted by the weight and the arcane synergy with their aasimar senses. "This way," they call out as they lead the group towards the southern edge. Their armor creaks a little with the urgency of their stride. They stop for a moment and turn to the other adventurers. "Give me a few moments, friends. I must commune with Freja and seek her special favor." (ritual casting Speak with Animals) For ten minutes, Alaris kneels, looking down with their head against Hope's Edge. 

When they stand and speak again, their voice has taken on a gravelly undertone. The paladin looks around a little anxiously and chirrups sidemouth, a scrap of fresh meat dangling from their fingers as they look for their little friend from the night before. "Here, sweeting. To me, little one," they call again in the language of little furry beasts. 

     Astrid pulls up the hood of her robes as the cold wind bites at the her cheeks, though other than this reaction the hearty dwarf makes no comment on the cold, being used to life in the mountains. She picks up her pace trying to keep up with the longer, more determined strides of the paladin. "Did you find yourself a pet last night?" she asks as Alaris tries to coax something from the shadows. 

Alaris waits for a couple of minutes before the sound of padded paws on hard ground can be heard approaching from the gap between two buildings to the west. A scruffy snout of matted grey fur emerges from the shadows, nose twitching at the scent of fresh food.

"There you are!" Alaris smiles again with the radiance of the dawn as the scraggly pup approaches. No one will ever call this dog beautiful, but the paladin sees something of their own inner toughness and earnestness in the creature. "I told you I'd be back - and I brought you something special this time," Alaris says as they kneel down and toss the meat to the dog. Dog wolfs down the snack, then nuzzles the aasimar's hand, looking for more. Alaris scratches him behind the ears and thumps his side with a soft open hand.

"Caio, this is my friend that led me to where the orcs snatched the children. He can show you where I lost their tracks." Their voice and language changes again and Alaris says, "Dog, these are my friends. Please take them to where the big stinky man-creatures took the city people away..."

The dog sniffs cautiously at Caio, unsure of the ashen elf's intent.

Caio is as usual unaffected by the cold; his own homeland having a far more brutal climate. He shows an uncharacteristic softness as the canine appraises him, holding out a hand and remaining perfectly still.

Gripping her cloak to her body, Shiva grits her teeth as the icy wind batters her. Absentmindedly waiting for a direction to be indicated by a member of the group, the rare moment of tenderness from Caio pulls her focus. Bringing the hood of the cloak up and over her horns, she smiles silently. 

Nikolai follows closely behind the others, keeping his clothing tied off to preserve all his own body warmth within his garments. He watches the canine quietly, not having much to say about this, but keeps his eyes out and trained on their surroundings, but his inner thoughts are too jumbled for him to be much use for keeping an eye out.

Seemingly satisfied, the mutt barks twice and lollops off towards the southern edge of Bednik where the urban slums give way to roads of slushy mud that lead out of the city amidst a patchwork of frozen fields. The colourful band of hunters stick out amidst the drab grey and browns and the locals seem to shy from contact with the obvious outsiders. Eventually, the dog comes to a halt besides a well on the edge of the city and barks again at Alaris.

As they near where the trail was lost, Caio and Astrid chat about their quarry. Though the elf doesn’t seem especially invested in the dwarf’s tales of orcish encounters, he is grateful for the information. The brutish humanoids aren’t his typical prey, so he nods along and occasionally asks questions. Once the dog stops, Astrid gives a small prayer. The divine assistance causes Caio’s gaze to slow a fraction of a second, allowing him to pick up more details. Within mere moments he has found the trail and points the group south. “A wagon moved through here about a day or two ago. It was heavy. There were some others on foot, hard to say how many. Let us continue.” He instructs before stalking forward like a hungry wolf.

The trail leads away south-east for several miles, until eventually Ghoul spots some kind of encampment in the distance off the side of the road. 

Alaris whispers to Dog, "You can come along if you want to, but you need to be quiet. Very quiet." They walk together with the group, trusting Caio to lead the way.

The little mutt happily continues to trot along besides Alaris.

Nikolai nods to Caio. "You lead the way, we are right behind you."

     Astrid does her best to follow along quietly with the others as Caio scouts ahead. "My experience with these things is that they were always trying to steal our resources. Never heard about any stealing people away," she whispers to Alaris.  "This is unusual." After continuing for a few moments longer, she adds, "I can't see if they've laid any traps once we get a bit closer."

"No worries," Alaris whispers back. "Caio will find them if they're here to be found, and if they try to surprise us... Hope's Edge will not let that happen." The paladin strokes the glaive affectionately.

"I worry, though, that too many simply see the orcs as savages to be tamed or slaughtered. They are different, but they are not all that the citydwellers and the homesteaders would have us believe."

The ranger stalks through the sodden fields, eyes constantly scanning the drab surroundings from beneath his avian mask. Once Ghoul alerts him of the encampment, Caio signals for the group to halt without a word. He begins picking his way across the mud and grass, crouching low like a panther and trying to get a closer look at the camp.