Quote from BaconExpert982 >>

Kallista listens to the story, and when he's done she thinks about it a bit. "It wasn't what I was expecting," she admits, "but... it sounds like a lesson that I'll have to learn one day too."

 Grimbuld nods, perhaps a little surprised at Kallista's sudden spark of interest.
"If you learn enough about the wilds, you understand the basic needs of the beasts that live within. While there are some indiscriminately aggressive creatures out there, most others, if you are not a threat to their immediate needs, will allow you into their lives. You learn an unspoken language, a system of mutual respect and benefit. Animals are not as primitive or unthinking as many in the city would like to believe. They recognize sympathy, generosity, and confidence and react accordingly." he states, folding his arms and looking towards some of the dried flowers on the walls.
"Those who call wild beasts 'unpredictable' haven't bothered to learn their language. I did not survive in the wilds for years by strength of arms alone. Animals are honest, at least, in their desires. People are the true beasts. They turn on one another for the smallest, most petty indiscretions. I'm sure you've seen proof of that."

Aelar can tell Geldor is shaken by what he's seen. Shaken in an excited way.
Geldor leads Aelar into the archives, where the walls are lined with more books than he's ever seen in one place.
"Here, here!" he exclaims, trying to reach some old, rolled up tapestries. Sister Daar stands up higher on her tail and plucks it down for him. The tapestry depicts what seems to be a treaty signing between a lone, beautiful woman and four dwarves, but the woman's shadow is depicted as a dragon, and the lead dwarf co-signing the treaty bears a mark identical to Aelar's.
"Dwarves and dragons share a storied history. Our people often found ourselves butting up against their lairs in our search for ore. To prevent territorial disputes, we signed a treaty, but the dragons would only trust one that proved worthy of bearing the mark of Baha. The one shown here was Father Relnar. Those who have been marked have a quality that the dragons feel makes them worthy of sharing in their strength. Only one marked by Baha or bearing a 'gift of Baha' may tap into their power. Tis how Sister Daar can protect herself using that locket." he says, reading aloud the text under the image.
"In signing the contract, Father Relnar agreed to a life bond with the dragoness we came to know as Syndil, and in doing so, Relnar became the first dwarven herald, a warlock of the dragon's horn." he says. "When Father Relnar died, it was sudden. He was ancient, even for a dwarf, but was still vigorous. T'wasn't 'til later that we found out that Syndil had perished as well. They literally lived as one." Geldor explains.
"That's ye now, lad. The mark. There 'asn't been a warlock in Guiston since Father Relnar passed about sixteen years ago."

Barna purses her lips, but then 'hmphs' and grabs his arm once more.
"Fine. Come along." she says. Looking to Balgrim, she pauses. "Hyre will meet you back at the farm, I imagine. I won't keep him TOO late." she states as she marches off with him.
Where Barna leads Hyre is outside the city proper, so it takes a while to walk there. As they go, Barna doesn't say anything, but seems to be sure thinking a lot. She looks like she wants to say something, but stops herself multiple times.
Finally, she settles on something.
"So... Hon... you're going back there, aren't you. You want to fight, is that why you want to learn so much about the Skell?" she asks.

Kina is impressed after the song is finished.
"Well well well, look at you. You kept up as well as Lazlo there." she says, catching her breath.
"Seems you already learned some quick footwork from Edna. It's paying off." she winks.
Kina herself is way more agile and coordinated than one might think for someone her size, and the twisting movements, which you'd think would trip up someone with four legs, seemed to come naturally to her.
"That'll come in handy working with Duncan. He moves quick, and he does good work. He one fixed one of my shoes in half an hour after I ... umm, you know what, that's not important. The important thing is you're in good hands, I think."

Kallista nods, "Yes Sir... I've seen that a lot..."

"Yes. It's not that I wouldn't like learning other stuff - 'knowledge is power', my father always said - but for now, that is my goal. You should be happy you didn't see the people of Hon. Taken away without a fight, without a struggle. What if they came to Guiston next? This place has protections, surely, but would it even matter? What if somehow only I will stay unaffected by a spell that would take everyone - the guards, the folks, my friends from Hon; you? If it were the opposite, would you just stand back and let them take everyone you know? Surely there must be someone important to you that you wouldn't want to lose. Someone you would fight for.
"I don't want to wait for that to happen, and I'll do what I can to prevent that. Even if I'll have to take risks on the way. It wouldn't matter that we're safe now if we can't stay that way. If I have to risk myself so that others can live happily, I'll do that."
Although the words may sound like a very emotional speech, Hyre is calm while speaking and speaks in a rather calculated tone. For him, such behaviour is rational, it makes sense and it is clear he had thought about it before.

ooc: Does that count as Aelar's 3rd success with Insight?

Aelar was stunned.  He was a warlock?  What was a warlock?  What did it mean?  Again, he fought down his instinct to reach into that place inside.  Raia needed to rest, to heal.  "When you're thoughts are jumbled, remember your breathing.  Sooth your breathing, my son, and your thoughts will follow."  His mother's voice, three years dead, came to him.  He took several long deep breaths and felt his body and mind calm.

Looking at Brother Geldor, he asks his many questions.  "Am I a warlock or merely possibly so?  What is a warlock?  What does it mean?  What...abilities and responsibilities does it confer?  Who or what is Baha?  Who or what is On'Hull?  Why would On'Hull want to take me from this path?  Who can teach me?  Are there books or scrolls?"  He pauses then, looking at the many such items around them.  "Can I come here and study, whether or not the tomes I need are here?"  He often sounded like the near-adult he was but at these times, the more formal training his father and mother had given him, expecting him to follow in the family business, training he would need to be a successful merchant and silversmith, came through.

Lazlo catches his breath, finding it hard to look away from Carrie but distracted by the myriad of sights and sounds around him.  He is intoxicated by the cheers of the crowd, the laughter and the applause. It all seems like an amazing rush to his fuzzy ears. He catches sight of his friend Leon, finishing his spectacular dance with Kina. "Leon! Over here! You were dancing! Cheers, my friend. This" he says pointing to the trio of Satyrs "is the most sublime Carrie- and her brothers Carmen and Cameron. This here is my friend Leon- we grew up together in Hon." He says clapping Leon on the back.

He turns back to the Satyrs.  "How many times do you perform? would you need help? Your performance was magnificent! Have you ever thought of pairing it with something like a fiddle? Or an accordian? Oh! or fireworks?! That would be AMAZ-ing!"  He says, excitedly. While his eyes scan each of his friends in turn, he finds himself looking at Carrie, and he is flushed with an unaccustomed self consciousness. He rubs the back of his neck, abashed. "That is, um- if you were looking for ideas..."

Leon takes an awkward bow as the dance finishes. It's not every day that you get to dance with a centaur. He replies to Lazlo, "Uh, thanks. I know a thing or a two about dancing- it's something the local girls taught me back in Hon." 

He isn't sure whether this isn't something he'd like to do for a living, especially since he's got a prior arrangement with Duncan. 

"Well, I'll be sure to swing by if you're doing another performance."

To Kina, he says, "I've got to meet Duncan early next morning, so I'd best go to rest before it's too late." 

Ooc: sorry that wording was confusing- he was talking to the satyrs.

Recapping for Balgrim:

Quote from KinaJardine >>

Ranik pats Balgrim heavily on both shoulders, laughing heartily.
"And the fresh face is fresh-faced! Aye, always good t'see the wee bairns showin' an interest in their spiritual health. The young are sponges, they are, they just suck the knowledge up, not like us old stubborn greybeards. If'n it's a scholarship ye be after, work hard, study hard, an' the brotherhood will be happy tae 'ave ye. Always work for the order, there is." Ranik says, giving Balgrim a thump on the chest.
"Aye, nice n' solid, like the faith! And how fortunate fer ye, if'n it's work yer after, I'm just the brother ye need. Come, come, let's away from the frenzy, always a melee when the shipments arrive." Ranik says.

 Will post soon! Work is kind of picking up.

Balgrim

Balgrim follows Ranik happy to have something to keep him busy while filling a need within him to serve his dwarven faith. "I be eager tae get started wherever ye'll have me."

(OOC: Thanks for recap. I was out of town this weekend.)

OOC: I just want to say that I am THOROUGHLY enjoying this novel approach to D&D!  Well done DM and all! Rock On! 

Barna suddenly looks very guilty as she was trying so much to monopolize his time. She hadn't considered that he had so much larger stakes to worry about.
"Yes, I get you." she says, pulling Hyre closer. "I know we only met the other day, Hyre, but if I can help you, I will. Not just because I owe you for helping me..." she says. "We're two of a kind. The way you talk, the way you are with people, you're pretty rough around the edges, but when it comes down to it, you have a good heart. You just have a hard time showing it. I can relate to that."
She boldly slides her hand into his again, looking over at him. 
"I am taking you to my secret study... I just... want to show off a little bit. Just so you know, it kind of involves trespassing, but only on land that hasnt been used." she says.

Grimbuld regards Kallista for a moment, then reaches behind the clerk's counter to retrieve a book bound in what looks like the skin of some kind of reptile.
"Study this. It will help if you're more familiar with the wares here and what they do. Most who bother to come through my door know what they're looking for, but every so often, there's the odd curiosity or some feckless halfwit who heard from a friend of a cousin of a brother that sagefoot can cure whatever minor complaint merchants get from counting too much money and will come here to rant and whine for half an hour when it didn't work because sagefoot is a tobacco weed and nothing more." he grumbles.
"......... for example." he adds later. Clearly, such a thing has happened before and was irritating enough to stick in his memory.
(Studying Grimbuld's catalogue of herbalism for 4 hours will allow you to roll to improve your survival skill and intelligence.)

Carmine grins and strokes Lazlo's cheek.
"Oh my goodness, he's so enthusiastic. I wonder if that translates to the bedroom." she winks wickedly, curling her body up against his before one of her brothers pulls Lazlo away and pats his shoulder, perhaps needlessly heavily.
"All good suggestions, boyo, but what you just helped us do is almost twice as much as we normally get from a performance, and we usually can only do two or three a day if we're lucky before we get chased off. We can't afford to expand our stage yet." Carmen says.

Carmine smirks when Carmen 'rescues' Lazlo from her clutches but takes the opportunity to jingle the silver they earned at Leon and Kina.
"Oh, don't be like that! The night's still young! We all worked up a sweat from that performance, I say we hit the bath house! There's a special one we like to visit, you just have to know the right words to say to get in. What do you say?"

When Aelar says 'On'Hull' Brother Geldor's face goes from wild amazement to the kind of stony seriousness one might have if they were told the exact time and date of their death.
"We have not heard... or spoken that name for decades, lad. If you know it, then it means your life just got a lot more... complicated." he states.
"I trust you know that Baha is the god of dragons, yes? On'Hull was her sworn rival. It was said that of the twelve titans of Aden, Baha ruled the sky, while On'Hull ruled the depths. On'Hull once inspired the creation of a cult that worked its way through the various cities, sewing chaos, destabilizing relationships between the city states, seeking to return us to the old days, when we would war with one another. It became the mandate for most of the orders, including ours and sister Daar's here, to purge the cult of On'Hull wherever we found it. We thought we had weeded them all out." Geldor explains.
"Only those in the Orders tasked with finding and eliminating On'Hull cells even know who they worship. It's part of their religion to not speak his name. How did you come to know it?" Daar asks, her brow furrowed. Both Geldor and Daar's body language are tense, like they're waiting to be passed sentencing.

Brother Ranik thinks for a moment, and then pats Balgrim on the shoulder.
"Aye lad, I do believe I have a task for ye, if yer lookin' to earn a place 'ere. It'd be perfect for ye, as well, fine young lad with a mind yet to be filled with the wickedness of the world." he says.
"Since Sister Daar brought ye to us, I'd wager ye haven't been here in Guiston long. A refugee, are ye? That makes ye ideal for this particular task, as it requires a dwarf not known to certain people 'ere in Guiston. We're a close-knit community here, y'see, an' our artisans help keep Guiston's most important infrastructure workin'. We got the labours haulin' goods and running carriages for the good people o' Guiston, our masonry keeps the water flowin' to every home, our life lanes keep the lights glowin'... but we're starting to think we've got some snake-beards in our lot who're doin' work purely for the Hawk's Nest, taking resources meant for the common people an' using it for the elite."

Hyre blushes for a moment but doesn't move his hand. "I'm ready."

Kallista nods and takes the book, "Of course... thank you Sir," she says, looking down at the book then up to him. "I'll see you in the morning then?"

Leon replies with some discomfort, "Uh, thank you for the offer. I..guess I can come along for a little while? What's so special about this bathhouse." 

Balgrim

Balgrim gives a sly grin at Brother Ranik and says, "Aye.  Sounds like ye may need a bit of a mole tae ferret out some weasels. It also sounds like it may be a wee dangerous.  Tell me a bit o' this Hawk's Nest..."

Lazlo, who has never been to a bath house (or bathed indoors), wonders how many tubs they could fit under one roof. "I'll count them all..."  He thinks to himself. 

"Lets go!"  He says. 

Aelar listened with fascination and a little horror as Brother Geldor and Sister Daar describe On'Hull and his cult.  He is about to answer Daar's question when he realizes they only answered part of his.  Did that mean he had leverage?  That they were so anxious about this thing that he could use that to get his answers?  Maybe.

"That's all disturbing...but what is a warlock and am I one?  Is there anyone around who can teach?  Is there anything in these books and scrolls that can help me?  I really need to know these things.  I need to know what I am or at least what I might be becoming.  Please."

ooc: Now that Aelar as the 3 successes in Insight, what does that mean?

Barna enjoys the feeling of walking with Hyre through the streets as if they're a 'normal couple'. A half-orc and a brutish-looking human strolling along, flaunting their affections in public.
They leave the city proper and happen upon a part of town that seems to be in the midst of re-zoning, old farming land being razed so that the city can expand. It's around here that Barna finally lets go of Hyre and looks about, suddenly cautious.
"The watch patrols around here. They try and keep vagrants from taking refuge in the abandoned buildings. If we're spotted, just run. They won't chase us very far." she says, taking the lead.
She brings Hyre to land that seems to be still occupied, though it's in terrible disrepair. Once a prosperous farm, now little more than some fencing and a field of overgrown weeds and crops left to grow wild. Ahead, a farm house has a single light on inside. Barna heads there, but rather than move towards the door, she points towards a storm cellar. It's locked with the most basic and ancient looking mechanism that Barna easily bypasses simply by moving one of the old doors from its rusted hinge and putting it aside. Heading down into the cellar, there's an unnatural glow that illuminates the stairs down. There, in the musky basement is a wealth of books. The floor is stone, which is very unusual for a simple farmhouse cellar, and the books on the shelves seem to be from a personal collection.
Barna looks to Hyre and gestures to what seems to be a display case with a full suit of armour, weapons of exotic origins, and medals of achievement.
"Don't even go near those." she whispers. "Magically guarded. That gang that we took the locket from tried to break in. Three of them didn't make it out."
"I don't know who lives in the house, but whoever he is, he makes a lot of noise when he moves around, and we have ample hiding places in here if he decides to come down. Long as you leave no trace that anything's been disturbed, this place will remain open for us. What sort of thing are you looking for?"

Grimbuld nods.
"Tomorrow at first light, bright and early. Or, if you're someplace near one of the public clock towers, nine. Earlier is better, however. I prefer to do inventory every day before we open." he states.
He turns his back then and climbs a ladder to get back up to the second floor of the shoppe, where he sits stooped over a desk.

Lazlo and Leon:
Carmine grins and gestures for Leon, Lazlo and Kina to follow her.
"It's kind of a 'spiritual cleansing' thing. Long as you say you're 'looking to release your burdens' or something else pious, the coven will allow us in. It's some kind of animist order or something, I never bothered to find out, really. Least they're not one of those prudish religions that think singing and dancing will lead you to do eeeeeeeeevil." Carmine says. When she says 'eeeeeeeevil', Carmen and Cameron join in together with a threatening display, then laugh among themselves as they take apart their stage and carry it with them.
"Here, let me." Kina offers, carrying the stage on her back.
"Well look at you! Ever since you got in with those monks, you're so HELPFUL!" Carmine laughs, grabbing a hold of Lazlo's arm and hooking hers around it.
"It's not like that, you country bumpkin!" she snickers. "It's an open bath, like a big pool, deep enough that even Kina can float her giant tits!"
Kina folds her arms and snorts.
"Oh sure, like YOU could feed something that goes from fitting in your hands to two hundred stone in ten months with what YOU'VE got, faun butt." she retorts. 
"I could sure try!" Carmine snickers and grabs Lazlo's head, rubbing her chest against his cheek.
Kina looks over at Leon sidelong and mumbles, "We could always run for it." but doesn't stop following the satyrs.
The group comes to a quiet part of the neighborhood, and high walls adorned with religious iconography how that they've come to a sort of temple, though it's not one of the grand cathedrals or cloisters. It seems to be more of a retreat.
The satyrs all calm down and look to the group.
"All right, we don't want to offend these folks. Just pretend you're pious and feel guilty for farting in public or something." she says, and knocks on the huge wooden doors to the establishment. Behind the walls, steam can be seen gently wafting up into the darkened evening sky, as well as the smell of incense.

Ranik nods.
"Aye, sharp one ye are. I wouldn't think to put ye in true danger, lad, but if ye get found out, ye'll be in for a whuppin', of that there's no doubt. The Hawk's Nest is the rich n' privileged part o' Guiston. They toss out anyone who doesn't measure up to their high n' mighty standards, bloody blowhards. They keep things like the library an' other public buildings from bein' used BY the public by keepin' the place watched by their own personal 'decency guard' who are all too happy to rough up common folk and toss them out the gates like they're garbage. It's not that whoever is takin' commission from the Hawk's Nest is really doing anything illegal,  but it is shameful an' dishonest. It violates the very spirit that we BUILT the Hearth for in the first place!" Ranik says, already sounding worked up.
"We just need a receipt for the work done. If ye can pose as a new recruit, ye might get close enough to the work to find out who's commissioning the work. We can then pressure the nobles to pay extra so we can replace the supplies they're gobblin' up on whatever frivolous ogre shit they think is so important, if ye pardon my language."

(Oh, that insight check didn't really count, because nobody was trying to deceive him. There was no 'versus' aspect, no consequence if he failed because he wouldn't be ABLE to fail. Once you get 3 successes in any skill though, you then gain proficiency in it.)

Geldor seems to snap out of it and clears his throat.
"Sorry lad... of course, I'll tell you. It's just that, well, being a warlock isn't something that's very well understood. There is no 'training', being a warlock can't be 'taught', at least not by us. It's a different kind of magic wielding. It doesn't come from study or practice, it comes from sharing in the life of another whose power comes through you. You become a conduit. The power isn't your own, it's borrowed, in a sense, but you still command it. I'm afraid though, that the only one I know who would have been able to tell you exactly what you're in for died around the same time you were born. You're not a warlock, not yet, because you're not yet bound to the life of another... but it seems Baha has one in mind for you, and I think you probably know who, if my hunch is right." he says.
"For the dragons to accept a life-bond, they have to be accepted by Baha first. Without Baha's blessing, there's no way to create the link, unless you're already bound by an ancestor. It's not unheard of for dragons to sire children with 'groundlings' by shape shifting, but given the disposition of most dragons, that's pretty bloody rare."

Hyre looks around, overwhelmed. He looks around, not for anything in particular but just admiring all that's there. Eventually, he turns back to Barna, his eyes as excited as a child being given money to buy candy. "I... I can't even..." he looks around once again and then looks back at her. "Thank you. I definitely owe you one now. So many books..." He thinks for a moment, then answers: "I think... I don't know where to start. There are so many options. Perhaps I should start with something simple. Maybe the egg-stone? Did you see a book that might help me with that? Something about animals, or rocky creatures? Maybe something else? What do you think?"