Above & Below

He shifts a bit so he can see Kurama standing behind you in the pew. Something almost resembling a smile comes across his face, and he nods a hello.

"Greetings, brother. It is always good to meet a fellow student." He rubs the back of his bald head. 

Give me a persuasion check with advantage (help from Kurama).

Effort Persuasion: 26

Quote from Billtacular >>

He shifts a bit so he can see Kurama standing behind you in the pew. Something almost resembling a smile comes across his face, and he nods a hello.

"Greetings, brother. It is always good to meet a fellow student." He rubs the back of his bald head. 

Give me a persuasion check with advantage (help from Kurama).

"And I you."  Kurama replied in kind with a nod.  "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Rasgo.  And it is as my friend mentioned.  We seek the aid of Rastel who we hope can aid us in our quest.  For venturing blindly ahead without all the truths we can gather could prove costly to not only ourselves, but to others as well; as I'm sure you're aware..."   

Rasgo nods, then looks up, slightly more confident than he had been. "I shall not turn down brothers and sisters in need. I will take you to Rastel...he may need your help more than you need his." Turning toward the door, he stares outside for a moment. "The rain should be stopping soon, at least this heaviest part of the storm. We will go then."

Pip makes his way around the front of the church and heads down the center aisle, stopping between your two groups. He looks over at Brask, then back to Effort and Kurama. Thunder crashes again, although the sound of the pounding rain seems to slow just a bit.

"Thank you kindly," Effort tells Rasgo with a bow, and then straightens.  "Please allow me to gather my other companions before we go," she says.  "Excuse me," she says, as she stands up, first approaching Pip and informing him of the situation in a low, hushed undertone.

"Go get Brask and bring him over," she finishes, with a more genuine smile and an encouraging nod to Pip.  "You can tell him the score. And ask him to be polite.  The monk, Rasgo, spooks easily."

Meanwhile, Brask is making his version of 'small talk' with the rich merchant:

What I don't understand is, if you have the money to be somewhere else, why would you choose to be in a fish-peasant village?  It just seems like something you'd pay other people to do, right?

"There are only a few coastal cities here. Coastal cities means boats, which means access to more places to trade and sell." The merchant takes a ring off one finger, rubs it, and puts it on his other hand. "Of course, the ocean is an unpredictable place. But towns like have plenty of folk who are willing to risk life and limb for a bit of extra coin."

Pip walks up and stands by patiently while the merchant speaks. He then taps Brask's shoulder and nods toward Effort and Kurama. "Think we have a lead on Kurama's monk. Be nice!"

"Other business to attend to?" The merchant doesn't seem to mind. "I'll be here for a few days. The ship I'm hiring leaves tonight and won't be back for at least three or four nights, if they're lucky. Come find me in the north ward if you need help with your boat troubles."

Once again, Brask looks confused down at his goblin buddy.  I am being nice.  He turns to the merchant. Yeah, well, see you around.  I'm Brask, by the way. And you are?

Brask then follows Pip back in the general direction of Kurama and Effort.

Lazar looks confused for a moment. "Not one for details, are you? I am Lazar, the great merchant. It would be helpful for you to remember the name, as anyone worth their salt knows it." He nods a goodbye. "Well met, Brask. Our paths will surely cross again soon."

(Sorry, that was my mistake, not Brask's.)

Haha, I was just giving you a hard time.

You all meet up near the church entrance, and when the rain has slowed to a something less than a pelting thunderstorm, you venture out with Rasgo. You head further into the center of the city, away from the market stalls and inns and deep into a maze of crammed one-room shacks. A woman steps out of her front door as you walk past and dumps a bucket of a horrendous smelling liquid out into the street. 

Finally, Rasgo leads you down a tight alley and pulls open the curtain of a makeshift home. Inside the dark room, you can only make out a few shapes. One is a man lying by the only window. Rasgo pulls back a curtain just slightly, and the monk you assume to be Rastel is illuminated. His right arm and ribs are wrapped in bandages, and blood covers his face and chest. It looks as if his nose has been broken, along with a few other bones. He coughs weakly and rolls over.

"As you see," Rasgo kneels down and attempts to pour a bit of water into his mouth. "Rastel may not be very helpful to you."

At the sight of the bloodied monk, Kurama carefully moved towards him kneeled down next to him, first examining his wounds to see if any were unusual - or perhaps - of a supernatural nature.  "Rastel," Kurama began quietly after survying him, "My name is Kurama, my compatriots and I were sent here by one of the Sisters to find you.  Please, tell us what happened to you."  

• Medicine: 18  

"Rastel?"  Effort says, kneeling down by the injured monk.  "We were sent to seek you out by a mutual friend.  What happened to you?"

He got the crap kicked out of him, judging by the mess, Brask chips in helpfully.  How's the other guy looking, champ?  He laughs, shrugs and steps back, keeping an eye on the door and any sign of attack.

Kurama, his wounds seem to be strictly of a physical nature. Nothing looks to have been caused by magic.

He slowly turns over to face you, and lightly coughs again. "The big one is right," he attempts to smile, but grimaces in pain instead. "I was attacked by a group in town called The Dark Forest. You may have seen them throughout town wearing the bones of animals. Somehow they caught wind that I had been working with one of the Sisters to...research some things. They came into our home, trashed the place, beat me down, and stole anything of interest they could find. Journals, herbs, potions, and so on."

Rastel coughs a bit harder this time and winces. Rasgo puts his hand gently on the other monk's shoulder. "Easy, easy." He pours a little more water into his mouth. "The Dark Forest have grown in numbers recently. Not sure why, but they are all over the city. We feel it is a bad omen."

Effort's eyebrows raise high.  "Those drugged fools?  Strange, that they have such run of the town, when the Eldest Sister is so close by.  Do they not fear the consequences of their actions?  Or do they operate with her blessing here?"

Quote from Billtacular >>

Kurama, his wounds seem to be strictly of a physical nature. Nothing looks to have been caused by magic.

He slowly turns over to face you, and lightly coughs again. "The big one is right," he attempts to smile, but grimaces in pain instead. "I was attacked by a group in town called The Dark Forest. You may have seen them throughout town wearing the bones of animals. Somehow they caught wind that I had been working with one of the Sisters to...research some things. They came into our home, trashed the place, beat me down, and stole anything of interest they could find. Journals, herbs, potions, and so on."

Rastel coughs a bit harder this time and winces. Rasgo puts his hand gently on the other monk's shoulder. "Easy, easy." He pours a little more water into his mouth. "The Dark Forest have grown in numbers recently. Not sure why, but they are all over the city. We feel it is a bad omen."

"There have been more than a few bad omens recently..." Kurama replied quietly to Rasgo before asking Rastel, "And working with the Sisters?  Can you tell us the nature of this 'research'?  Perhaps it relates to our run-ins with them as well..."  

"Mm, the eldest sister does not concern herself with, what she considers, trivial matters." Rasgo stands up and takes a deep breath. "She rarely comes ashore, anyway, and when she does it's very brief. The middle sister is the one Rastel has been talking with, and she gives them problems. Welcome, of course, although her work is spread far and wide and she can't focus all her energies here."

"To her, knowledge is its own reward. Pure knowledge." Rastel carefully turns on his blanket so as not to put any pressure on his wounds. "And that was my pursuit for a long time as well. Now, I believe it is needed for higher purposes. Defense of the weak. The healing of the sick. There is much work to be done. And now The Dark Forest seems to have machinations that go beyond smuggling and stealing."

Effort exchanges a significant look with the others.  "Being mobilized unusually efficiently?  I wonder if the cult that we were chasing is beginning to spread its claws down here too," she murmurs to her companions.  Turning back to Rastel, she says, "What can you tell us about this Dark Forest?  Where do they base their operations?  Who is their ringleader in this town?"

"Pure Knowledge..." the words echoed in Kurama's mind as he momentarily spaced out and thought on Orochi, the monk who's drive for knowledge and answers led to the ruin of his people and everything he had once known.  Brought back to the present by Effort's words, Kurama turned to the tiefling and said, "That is certainly a possibility.  Or perhaps, they are an echo to the troubles we've face in our world?  Rastel..."  Kurama began as he turned back towards the injured monk, "I would like to help you if I can; and I would not be surprised if my friends felt the same.  The Sister sent us to you for a reason and I believe this 'Dark Forest' may be a reason why.  I do have another question though: If you say that you shifted your research from 'Pure Knowledge' to helping others, why would this group still come after you?  Is there something you may have discovered beforehand that they may have wanted?"  

• Insight check: 21