(Tough choice, tough choice.)

Hyre keeps quiet as he follows Geoffrey. Even with the knight around, he's sure there's some way he could mess it all up. Not that it matters, as he is mesmerized by the sheer amount of books in the library. So much knowledge in one place. He's almost disappointed that they can only carry eight books and almost feels sad about leaving all the others behind. He'll be back at some point. He just knows it.

Once they're back at the Horseshoe, Hyre is quick to start reading through the books. He'll have two weeks to savour every last letter scribed onto the paper, but he wanted to get the first taste already. (Just in case that someone is wondering, Hyre is not actually eating the books.) 

Research: 19.

Kallista's eyes stay firmly affixed to the ground after the incident, one hand holding books while the other one stays in her pocket where she put the rock Aeler returned to her last night.

Aelar shakes his head at Barna.  "You go ahead.  We're going to head over to the Hearth.  I want to see the dwarfs again before we head to Hon.  We'll see you at the inn."  As they walk to the Hearth, Aelar sends to Raia.

Yes, we should keep your identity secret but I think we can safely tell Brother Gelor but nobody else.

((I'll just leave this here and post tomorrow. I hope y'all like. Fixed the faces))

((That's 3 successes for your research skill Hyre, you now have a full proficiency in the custom skill 'research'. This is different from history as the research skill doesn't let you just instantly recall information to see if you recognize something, but rather, allows you to quickly find information you need, so if you're in a library or a private collection or even browsing books from a merchant, not only can you zero in on what books will actually have useful information, but also can skim to pertinent information where it would take other characters hours or days to find what they're looking for.))

You might think that Geoffrey wouldn't really need help carrying just eight books, but three of them are practically big enough to use as small tables and are hand-written. Guiston has printing presses for books written more recently; clearly these are antiques.
On the group's way out of the Hawk's Nest, a guard stops them, eyeing Kallista in particular.
"Take your hand out of your pocket." he demands.
Geoffrey routs the guard away quickly and without incident before anything happens, but he does turn his gaze to Kallista curiously.
"Sorry about that." Geoffrey says. "Should have warned you; the Hawk's Nest doesn't take kindly to anyone who's not a human or elf, and dwarves are only tolerated if they're wearing the right outfit." he states.
"What are you holding, anyway? Something to calm you down?"

Meanwhile, Raia and Aelar are able to again peruse the Hearth for information on their own. Aelar isn't able to find anything he hasn't already seen before, though he, like Hyre, now has a rough understanding of the spellcraft used in the dwarven Labor making process. Balgrim comes out and greets the pair; he's got news to share. Since he was on assignment to sniff out corruption in the dwarven ranks, he found out that the ruling class in Guiston has been secretly continuing excavation despite the dangers of the 'deadman's ink'. They've been trying to use Labors to do the job for them, which is why they've been ferreting away extra supplies to these efforts. They haven't QUITE gotten the Labors designed right for the work.
Hearing about the 'deadman's ink' deeply troubles Raia, mostly because, as she explains, the titan beneath Guiston that created its vast underground water supply is thought to be 'dreaming', its body still mostly intact while other titans are spirits only and cannot yet take physical shape due to the eons of overgrowth on their remains. The 'ink' could very well be an extension of the titan's body, whether it be liquefied skin, blood, saliva, disturbing it is simply not a good idea because the titan is still capable of exerting enormous influence.
He lets the pair know that the Hearth is already making moves to confront the ones doing the work for the nobles who're so interested in the cave systems under Guiston that were SUPPOSED to be sealed off.
"Maybe it's best ye aren't gonna be here t'see the shitstorm that's 'bout to happen, boyo. By allfather's beard, I'd be goin' with ye if I weren't a key witness. This isn't gonna be pretty." Balgrim remarks.
"Big shakeup's bout to happen.The Hawk's Nest can't be doin' what they please anymore. The dwarves are puttin' their collective boots down."

ooc: Interesting.  The pictures don't show up on my desktop but do on my phone.

Kallista hurriedly takes her hand out of her pocket, but nods her head.

(I must say, the most surprising of all is... Aelar. Not quite how I imagined him.)

Hyre studies intently, mostly keeping silent. He sits there with the journal Thomas (I hope I didn't get the name wrong, I feel 50-50 about it) gave him and occasionally scribbles some things into it. It doesn't look like a well-organized article, though, and it's hard to make out exactly what he's writing inside. Something about dwarves, nomads, Fort Wolfbane... Hyre is probably able to decipher this mess, maybe.

ooc: I agree.  I always pictured him with longer hair.  Otherwise, though, pretty good :)

Aelar smiles, glad of anything which gives the stuffy shirts in the Nest a little trouble.  He immediately cringes at the childish thought and shares a look with Raia, knowing she picked up on the emotion if not the thoughts.  He nods sheepishly.

"Is there anything that can be done about this...ink stuff, Raia?"

((I did the best with what I was given, most of the character descriptions were pretty vague, so there was a lot to interpret. For Aelar, I kind of went with a little Elija Wood (though I'm probably going to go back and make a few adjustments, when it's shrunk down to fit in the window, I can see some things where I need to make changes that weren't apparent at the native size.) and Hyre just a touch of young David Duchovney. Lazlo has just a hint of Mork and Mindy-era Robin Williams, which I felt was appropriate. Soon to come are pictures of the supporting cast.))

Quote from KinaJardine >>

((I did the best with what I was given, most of the character descriptions were pretty vague, so there was a lot to interpret. For Aelar, I kind of went with a little Elija Wood (though I'm probably going to go back and make a few adjustments, when it's shrunk down to fit in the window, I can see some things where I need to make changes that weren't apparent at the native size.) and Hyre just a touch of young David Duchovney. Lazlo has just a hint of Mork and Mindy-era Robin Williams, which I felt was appropriate. Soon to come are pictures of the supporting cast.))

 ooc: Oh, not in the least complaining :).  I especially like the expressions.

((More better version uploaded of the portraits))

((I think they all look awesome!))

Quote from KinaJardine >>

((More better version uploaded of the portraits))

 Were there supposed to be new ones?

((Just made some small adjustments to the ones already posted. I don't know if you'll really notice the difference but they were just little things that were bugging me and didn't look right.))

Geoffrey gestures at Kallista.
"Didn't say you had to stop. If it helps you, you hold onto it, it doesn't bother me if you have your hands in your pockets." he states.
Geoffrey is more than a little amazed at Hyre's ability to absorb information. Though he's seen Hyre be quick with his hands, it's more his mind that seems to impress the old knight.
(+10 class points to wizard and artificer. 40/50 for wizard now, 35/50 for artificer)
While Hyre does his research, Grimbuld appears at the saloon, holding a wrapped object. He says nothing as he approaches the table the others are seated at, though he does raise a brow at the books piled onto it.
"I have something for you." he speaks to Kallista.
"If you're going to continue practicing archery."
In the wrappings is a woman's shooting harness, a lacquered breastplate of good quality. It must have cost a little extra because the straps in back won't get in the way of Kallista's wings.
"The billhook down sold today. So did the spider's silk." he says, placing a coin bag down on the table.
"This is your share."
The group now has 91 GP between them.

Raia looks to Aelar.
"Only to leave it well enough alone, and not poke and prod at it... let the titans sleep." she states.
"Nothing good will come of trying to dig past it just to get at ore. I would think the dwarves would have better sense than to use magic around it, as well. The titan below this colony can still act upon this world. There's no telling what it might do. We use the energies of magic as a tool, titans are MADE of that energy." she says, her arms folded.
"You're making the right decision, Balgrim. I'm also relieved that you caught it before disaster struck." she says, putting her hand on the dwarf's shoulder before turning to Aelar.
"Let us return. The others are no doubt waiting for us... unless you have other matters to attend to first?"

((How much do we still have of the 30 Kallista got from the Troll stuff?))

Kallista looks at the Breastplate, then to Grimbuld, "T...thank you Sir," she says, not really sure how else to show her gratitude.

Aelar nods and they walk back to the inn.  Once there, he practically dives into the books.  "These are fantastic!  It's wonderful!"  Without another words he plops down and pulls a tome at random and begins reading.

Research 15

((Right, if my tally is correct, you now have a grand total of 124 GP, 8 SP, and 6 CP between you all. That's 1/3 successes for research for you Aelar. We're just waiting to see if Leon successfully rolls for his stat increases and smithing. I'll just post the next bit as if he already has and has returned, whether he succeeds or not, I just won't comment on the state of the swords))

When Leon returns from his work, Kina finally shows up holding some tokens.
"It's all arranged. Our flight is waiting for us." she announces.
Grimbuld turns to Kallista and pats her on the shoulder.
"Train hard. I'm expecting to see dead aim the next time we need to go troll hunting without the need to use special equipment." he states.

The group moves to the kite stables where the huge manta-like creatures are quietly hovering above the ground, buoyant like hot air balloons. A simple rope ladder leads them up onto a platform built onto the creature's back and secured by a giant harness wrapping around its body, providing enough mobility for its 'wings' and allowing the creature to move its head, but secure enough to keep the riders from swaying too much. A railing surrounding the platform provides security, and all the riders are expected to stay tethered to a central post, just in case. Kites aren't capable of too much aerial acrobatics, but there's the possibility of one getting startled mid-flight and lurching to one side suddenly. The 'driver' sits on top of the creature's head and uses a stick to tap one of its four horns to tell it to go up or down, left or right, or issues verbal commands.
There's enough room for twenty to sit comfortably, so there's plenty of room even for Kina to move around and for the group to continue their studies.
((The entire group may train (no advantage due to the distraction of the novelty of flight) in one of the following: research, history, investigation, arcana, nature, or even animal handling, if they can persuade the driver to show them some things.))