"Um...Yeah like they all said!" 

Barna is confused for a moment, when Hyre has his mini-breakdown. She withdraws her hand, with a worried look, but she also saw him blush. She purses her lips a bit, eyeing him sidelong. She's not one to give up so easily, but she won't push him. For now.

Barna looks among the tents.

"She sort of drifts around from tent to tent, checking on the worst of them." Barna says. As she pulls back the flaps on each tent, it can be seen that each has a different purpose. One is a small pantry where the most destitute can get the ingredients to prepare a meal, another is a makeshift clinic, yet another a crowded dormitory. The basics for life are here, but if one were to stay here for long, it would feel little better than how animals are treated... and yet, it may be the most that the mission can do, with so many needy. The mission is crowded by homeless people waiting in line. Kina watches the group's pockets warily.

Finally Barna finds sister Daar in the mess tent, dolling out hot soup to waiting patrons. She's certainly not what the group was likely expecting. Sitting on a coil of scales, the half-snake woman turns about to see the new arrivals.

"Sister Daar, these are the travelers I told you about. We brought you your locket." Barna says.

Sister Daar doesn't so much 'stand' at any particular height, but she keeps herself around the same height as everyone else.

"Ahh, come in, come in. I'm pleased to see you safe, Barna." she says, wearing a long, flowing habit that ends in what amounts to a long body sock in place of shoes to keep herself clean. The tents offer little protection from the elements, and the ground is slightly muddy... they do what they can by spreading hay to make things drier, but it's clear that the mission itself is badly under-funded.

Sister Daar looks over each of them in turn, giving them a brief examination, her forked tongue flicking out to get a 'smell' of them despite her human face.

"mm hmm, mmhmm, good, good, all in good health. Oh, and you must be Hyre and Aelar. She spoke at length about you." sister Daar says, offering a playful wink to Hyre in particular. The crest on Daar's habit denotes that she's of the church of Draco as she comes face to face with Kallista. She freezes, but not in offense. She looks surprised more than anything else, brows raised high. She doesn't mean to stare, and snaps herself out of it before she motions for one of the other volunteers to cover for her as she brings the group aside to speak with them.

"As you can see, I'm afraid we're stretched rather thin, and I cannot offer anything as a reward for recovering my locket... but if there is something else I can do for you, I would be more than happy. I can once again defend this humble outreach center from the predators that roam the streets, unchallenged by the ineffectual Guiston Watch. Needless to say, your secret is quite safe with me." she says. "Honestly, tossing out the homeless because it makes 'the town look poor'. I would so love to give Mayor Sigmund a right bottom-singing."

Kallista avoids eye contact with anyone, and when Sister Daar looks ar her she winces and tries to make herself smaller.

Aelar tries to gauge the sincerity of the Sister's words, and gives Kallista's hand an encouraging squeeze.

Insight: 15

"Very pleased to meet you, Sister, there is something you can do for me.  I have...questions...about that locket and this."  Looking around carefully to be sure no one is watching, he shows her the mark on his chest.  "What is it?  What does it mean?"  Lowering his voice, he asks further, "What do you know of the 'The forces of On'hull'?  A Dragon named Raia has been speaking to me, in my mind, and it started the night of our escape.  She helped us.  Can you tell me...us...anything about that?"  For context he briefly relates the tale of their escape.

 (That's 1 more success to insight Aelar. One more and you've gained skill proficiency)

Sister Daar sees the flinch and smiles kindly.

"Deepest apologies my child. It's just... I haven't seen one of your kind with wings before. Believe me, I am not one to judge others. You are safe here. But, tell me, can you actually fly with those?" she asks, interested.

Aelar can tell that Sister Daar is as earnest as they come. She wears her words and emotions on her sleeve, she's the sort of missionary that is fully devoted to the spirit of the outreach effort, no matter how small or underfunded it is. He can also tell, she's exhausted trying to keep up with the demands and to keep the mission running smoothly but refuses to let it show.

(Do I add strength to the proficiency roll? Also, Leon had rolled a natural 20 on his Deception- will that progress his gaining of deception proficiency?) 

Longsword Proficiency: 3

Leon responds fiercely to Edna, "But all that matters is winning! As you have said, if I don't gain the initiative, I am stuck in a spiral of destruction. And I will do whatever I can to avoid that..."

The hot-headed youth thinks of what happened to Hon, and the possible fate of it's villagers. After calming down, he sighs and apologizes to Edna. 

"I'm sorry for yelling- I lost control of my temper. Thank you so much for teaching me what you know. I have much to reflect upon." 

After getting cleaned up, Leon tries to reunite with the rest of the group. 

Kallista stares at the ground, and though its hard to tell in her night clothes her tail seems to be winding itself around her leg. She manages to look at Sister Daar's face for a brief moment and say a quick, "Y...yes Mame," before they quickly go back to looking at the ground.

For a brief moment, Hyre seems to be having some sort of a fit. However, before anyone can even react to it, it's over. When it's over, Hyre seems to have come back to his normal self. At least from the outside.

" Where are we?" He asks, genuinely confused. When he notices Daar with the locket, he understands they're already there. "When did we get here? I remember we were walking, and then Kina joined and told us about the guard and Hon, and then... We're here?" From the confusion on his face, you can see he's not lying. Well, it's not like Hyre ever managed to lie to anyone, but he's not even trying now. "You know what? It doesn't matter. I probably just doze off. Nice to meet you, Daar." And then, after hearing Aelar's question, he joins and asks: "Would you possibly have an idea what this thing could be?" Showing the stone egg he was carrying.

"Everyone is going barmy...." Lazlo thought to himself, then shrugged. It could be worse. It certainly kept you on your toes and..at least it wasn't boring. "Excuse me, your grace" Lazlo chimed in  "but would you be able to recommend somewhere where we could get clothed properly? We have some silver but... we're unfamiliar with the city and wouldn't want to get swindled... And might you be able to point us to the Horseshoe Saloon? Not for any less-than-holy reasons your grace, there is a minstrel troup round that way I'd dearly like to see."  Lazlo eyed the egg Hyre held out, curious as to what it was. 

Edna sighs, watching him go.

"I suppose that will be lesson two, then." she says, remembering her own temper at his age, that desire to be stronger.

Sister Daar looks confused by the name Raia as Aelar speaks, at least until Kina tells her the translation.

"Vagabond? Oh! The wandering one! So you call her Raia. That's appropriate." Daar says, then her eyes go wide as she sees the mark on Aelar's chest. She slithers over and puts her hand on it, then rather boldly presses her head up against his chest, to listen to his heart.

"It's true, you've been marked by Baha! Did my locket do this?" she asks, but doesn't actually wait for an answer. "You have been chosen as one of 'the touched'... it means that another of Baha's brood has opened themselves to sharing a life-bond with you. It's a sacred contract. My locket is my connection to their strength because I'm a follower, but you, you've been chosen." she says. "I'm afraid I'm not an expert on the subject, but I may know someone you can speak to, once you are more .... presentable."

To Hyre, she tilts her head and feels the egg.

"Well, this is a curious thing. I'm afraid I don't know anything about this, but what I can tell you is that it's alive." she says, flicking her forked tongue out at it. "Very much alive, whatever this is." Daar says, handing it back. "I'm not sure who would know about such things in the town, but if it came from this town, it must belong here somewhere."

Finally, she regards Lazlo and nods emphatically.

"Yes, yes, let's get you six properly dressed. If you keep walking about like that, you're liable to get tossed out the gates by the town watch. I know of an honest tailor you can visit. I'll take you to him." she says.

Kina looks to Kallista, and pats her shoulder.

"And I'll take you to mine. You'll be able to afford her work, and she'll be able to get you something made up that will accommodate your wings. They're not objects of shame, you know, no more than my hooves are!" she says. "My fetlocks are FABULOUS, thank you very much!"

Kallista just sort of nods, still looking at the ground, "I make people uncomfortable," she murmers.

"Alive, you say?" He looks at the stone, it does resemble the shape of an egg so it kind of makes sense. "I guess I'll keep it with me, maybe something will hatch out of it." He studies it closer. Now that he has some more information, will he be able to recall any information? After all, most eggs aren't made of stone. If he ever heard of something like that, there's a chance he'll be able to remember.

Nature, I assume?: 20

"Egg?" Kallista asks, looking at it as Hyre shows it. "Odd..." is all she says when she looks at it.

"Well, I think it's an egg. It's the same shape and... ever heard of a living stone before?" He thinks for a moment, then he turns to Daar again. "Actually... I don't have the money for clothes right now, so going with everyone to the tailor isn't very urgent for me. More importantly, would you know of any kind of library or a place that holds knowledge, that I can use? Maybe I can find some information about this... thing."

Quote from KinaJardine >>

Sister Daar looks confused by the name Raia as Aelar speaks, at least until Kina tells her the translation.

"Vagabond? Oh! The wandering one! So you call her Raia. That's appropriate." Daar says, then her eyes go wide as she sees the mark on Aelar's chest. She slithers over and puts her hand on it, then rather boldly presses her head up against his chest, to listen to his heart.

"It's true, you've been marked by Baha! Did my locket do this?" she asks, but doesn't actually wait for an answer. "You have been chosen as one of 'the touched'... it means that another of Baha's brood has opened themselves to sharing a life-bond with you. It's a sacred contract. My locket is my connection to their strength because I'm a follower, but you, you've been chosen." she says. "I'm afraid I'm not an expert on the subject, but I may know someone you can speak to, once you are more .... presentable."

 "Marked?  Touched?  Life-bond?  Chosen?  What does all that mean?" Aelar responds in a rush.  Then, taking a deep, calming breath, he forces himself to slow down.  "Thank you, Sister.  I appreciate what you can tell me.  Yes, please let us go to this tailor so I...we...can get...presentable for this other person you're thinking of."

Anxious to get clothing, and not just to get presentable for this person, Aelar tries hard not to chivvy everyone out of the mission and to the tailor.  While waiting, he says to Sister Daar, "Would another pair of hands help around here?  I'd be happy to lend you mine, and all the rest of me too, for a couple of hours a day, after I finish my work at the farm."

ooc: Life-bond...that reminds me of the Obsidian Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey.  Good books.

Quote from FireCat5 >>

"Actually... I don't have the money for clothes right now, so going with everyone to the tailor isn't very urgent for me. More importantly, would you know of any kind of library or a place that holds knowledge, that I can use? Maybe I can find some information about this... thing."

 Hearing Hyre's comments about the clothes, Aelar frowns, then puts a couple of things together.  "Actually, Hyre, I've got extra from my work today so there's enough for both of us so you are definitely getting some clothes today.  No...what's the phrase...no ifs, ands or buts."  He speaks in a firm tone, brooking no opposition.

"I told you not to give me yours," Kallista says, trying to give him his portion back. "I don't need it. You clothes too."

"I... A... B..." Aelar seems to know all of his responses already. Hyre looks at Aelar. Even he can understand that there's no room for arguing. "Fine," He yields. "I will only wear them after I see all of you in your new clothes though." He then addresses Kallista. "First get your clothes. I will only take the money back once I see they work well with your wings, however." 

(No "but", "and" or "if" ;))

Balgrim

Balgrim thanks Sister Daar profusely for the generosity she's shown them and asks, "Sista, if ya have a wee bit o' time can I ask ya if there be any sanctuaries ta one o' tha ole dwarven gods nearby?  Perhaps a church of Moradin, the Dwarffather?  It be hard times we be facin' and me grandmother, All-Father rest her soul, always told me 'Balgrim, ya listen now, when life gives ya more than ya ken stand...kneel!' I wou like ta give her advice a go and do some service if I ken."

(OOC: I will have a lot going on the next few days with the holiday here.  I'll be checking in a couple times a day at least, but please don't hold for me at any point through Sunday.)

Leon is tired from a long day of work, and though he's not sweaty at all from the strange effects of the slime, he still feels like he looks like a beggar dressed in his nightclothes. Knowing his companions would likely be in look of new vestments as well, Leon will try to find them at the local tailor. He likely couldn't afford anything, but it's worth traveling there and taking a look.