Arc 1 - Beast of a Thousand Knives (Completed)

[I Drink Blue Moon]

Gloom shrugged. "I guess I will take the wand, but I much prefer orbs and rods." He grabbed it from the bar and added, "I don't want a second item, just my cut of the gold. I trust you to dived it up fairly. If you don't mind though, I am going to take in the hospitality."

He would turn around and say, "Who wants to buy a hero a drink!"  

[Kowsauni]

Emberlyn Rowntree

At his request, Gloom is offered several drinks by the patrons and even a leg of mutton. The tables are cleared out from the center of the inn and people begin to dance to the music.

Hakka hugs a young handsome man who she feels looks uncannily like a Hopkins. He blushes slightly and pushes some of his auburn hair out of his eyes, then sheepishly asks, "Would you care to dance, miss?"

When Kuori mentions taking the items from the Arian soldiers, Emberlyn raises her eyebrows and gives her a strange look. "So you went into the forest with them this morning and came out alive?" Emberlyn would sigh and shake her head. "Well, whatever went on in there, I don't want to hear about it and I would skip town before any more of their people came snooping around to see what happened. Now let me see about getting a room ready for you. I'll have to get the goliath bed assembled. In the meantime, enjoy the party. You guys earned it." Emberlyn gets off her stool from behind the counter and moves over to some of her employees to give them orders. The Fat Fox continues to be filled with the sounds of music and the festive laughs and cheers of townsfolk.

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???

As Revenge walks around town, he does not find any building that looks like a church. However, he does find himself strangely drawn to a grove at one edge of the town next to the sea. There, he will find an enormous willow tree hanging serenely over a crystal clear pond filled with beautiful fish. Around the edges of the pond are shrines to the good aligned gods, Pelor, Bahamut, Avandra, and Moradin, as well as the unaligned gods Corellon, Melora and Sehanine.

If Revenge steps into this sacred-feeling place, he will notice a figure swimming gracefully within the pond. She looks like a small eladrin child, but with pale blue skin and long green hair. Her fingers and toes are elongated and webbed. The creature will immediately notice Revenge's approach and will swim to the top of the pond so only the top part of her head sticks out from the water. She will curiously watch the paladin with her large, deep blue, pupilless eyes as her hair floats about her like seaweed. The only sounds to be heard are that of the ocean crashing against the shore some distance away.  

[Rain Yupa]

(I love how the three ?s above the picture makes her look like she's looking at Revenge with puzzlement.)

Revenge would indeed enter the grove, though he would initially pause, as an adventurer might, when the merfolky person suddenly popped up. But it was for only a second, where he would meet the girl's gaze, before proceeding to the shrine to Sehanine. Placing his weapon gently on the ground, he would proceed to kneel before it, clasping his hands in prayer and lowering his head.

He would proceed to pray.

And the tears would begin to fall, after being held back for hours.  

[Ryssa Blackblood]

"Dance?" Hakka would ask, her head canting to the side slightly in thought. Yes, she remembered watching human-things cavorting about before and had heard that called dancing. She had never...tried it herself, of course, but the boy seemed so eager. As much as she wanted to run, it was clear he meant no harm. Plus, Hakka had a yummy drink in her, so she was feeling a little adventurous. She nodded to the boy after a moment and said, "Show me how?"  

[Kowsauni]

The young lad would beam at Hakka. "Oh, don't worry; I'll show you how. It's easy!" Blushing a little more, the lad would take Hakka's hand and lead her to the dance floor. As they move to the music, he leads her through the steps of the dance. Being naturally graceful Hakka quickly picks up on the movements, matching her partner, obviously quite a graceful dancer himself. As they waltz across the dance floor, Hakka begins to notice some things about her partner. He has pointed ears, yet does not exhibit any other elvish features. And there's something else... Hakka cannot quite place it, but there's a quality about him that seems like something she knows well. (Roll an insight for Hakka)

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???

As Revenge tearfully prays, he would hear a splash and the slapping sound of the creature's webbed feet as she walks over to him. A cold, clammy hand with elongated webbed fingers comes to rest on his shoulder. The creature is now at his side.

She only stands around 4 feet tall, putting her gaze roughly even with the paladin's while he kneels. She would smile sadly at him and speak to him in a high pitched, child-like voice. "There, there. Let out all your sorrow here in Willowrest so the gods may hear your anguish and bestow their blessing upon you."  

[Ryssa Blackblood]

(Insight 21)

Hakka took the boy's word for it that it would be easy, and as it turned out, this dancing thing was truthfully pretty simple. She was having a good time, and the fox girl got to get a much closer look at her partner as they danced. Normally she doesn't get this close to other people, so there was more than one thing that would seem odd to her if she were in her right mind. However, the drink had loosened the girl up a bit, she she was much more willing to play along with these silly humans.  

[PupSage]

Kuori finished dividing up up the loot, as she did she could be heard mumbling mathematical equations in her head that to most people would sound crazy. when she finished, she put on the bracers and pocketed her share, leaving out a platinum. She dumped Hakka share into the Bag. She put revenge's share into the gloves, and then motioned for Gloom to come get his.
She pushed her platinum forward and said, "I know the Tiefling already left you one but you are one hell of an innkeeper. Consider this an investment towards the future of the Fox."
Once Gloom got his share, she would pass out the others.  

[I Drink Blue Moon]

Gloom claims his share and goes back to celebrating.  

[Rain Yupa]

Not looking up, Revenge would respond weakly. "Sehanine..."

"How can I face her, when I'm no longer the man she loved, and the man she loved forsook her to such a fate so blindly? That life was burned to ash, I cannot simply pretend that it was not... I am so confused by this path you have laid out before me. It is clouded... I am clouded."

His voice would lower slightly. "They don't understand. This isn't about love. This is about protecting those you love. The world isn't so black and white. The enemies I face are so insurmountable... and I'm not strong enough. I'm not strong enough..."  

[Kowsauni]

Emberlyn Rowntree

((Sorry for the wait, guys; I had a busy week. Getting prepared for the holidays.))

Emberlyn would come back and take the platinum. "Thanks; I'll make sure they draw a nice bath for you, as well. Seeing you all here reminds me of my adventuring days. Heh, perhaps I retired a little too early." Emberlyn then returns to helping her staff manage the party.

As Hakka examines her dancing partner, she realizes that his handsome features have an animalistic shape to them. It dawns on her that he is probably some sort of shapeshifter like her. As the song comes to its end, the boy would bow to Hakka. "Thank ya kindly for the dance, miss." The boy suddenly starts getting nervous again. "Uh, my name is Johnathan Hopkins. Would it be all right, miss, if I asked ya yours?"

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???

The small, aquatic, fey creature seemed perplexed by Revenge's words. One thing was clear to her, though--he was obviously depressed, so she did the best thing thing she could think of. She would attempt to give the paladin a hug, though her arms could barely reach around him. She would continue speaking.

"I sense you are in a great deal of pain. This often makes people question their way. The gods work in mysterious ways, but there is a design to their plans. And the love you lost--who says it cannot again be ignited from the ashes? You say you have changed, but perhaps so has she. The past is the past, but the future has yet to be made. New love can bloom from old--but nothing can happen if you do not try."  

[Ryssa Blackblood]

This boy was...curious to Hakka....curious about her as well, and clearly not ashamed to make a fool of himself. That intrigued the fox girl, but more than his behavior, she couldn't help but wonder if maybe they were alike. If so, she wondered what kind of beastie the boy might be. Hell, even if they weren't alike, she was curious to know. "H-hakka," she replied, "I only have the one name..." The fox girl paused then before just blurting out, "What are you, Johnathan Hopkins?"  

[Kowsauni]

Johnathan seemed a bit perplexed by Hakka's sudden question but he would quickly respond. "Why I'm a rancher, Hakka. I work on my Pa's ranch out on the edge of town next to the forest. Some of ya'll friends came and visited us the other day. I don't remember see you though. Why ya ask?"  

[Ryssa Blackblood]

Hakka blinked a few times as she heard the boy's answer, but she would not be deterred. Still, she hesitated, wondering if maybe she had gotten the wrong impression. The hesitation only lasted for a moment or two, though, and she shook her head no, grasping the boy by the ears. She took care to not hurt him but gave his ears a little tug to indicate that she was focused on them. "No, these are not real. What are you, really?" she asked, "A rancher is not a thing, it's a who...a who I'm not sure about, but a who."  

[PupSage]

Kuori stood up, Revenge's share in hand, and scanned the bar for him. The horns should have stood out amongst the crowd, but she saw none.
She would then make her way through the crowd to go check his room.  

[Rain Yupa]

Revenge would remain silent for some time, despite the tears still flowing. His head would lower further after a minute of silence, his eyes still closed.

"There... is wisdom in that..." he would say at full tone, though sadness still carried in his voice. He would then shift position beneath the hug, resting one arm on his raised knee, and using the other hand to cover his eyes for a bit.

It would take some time for him to steel himself, before he would finally look up with reddened eyes at the girl. "I'm sorry if I'm intruding. My... the other adventurers are celebrating right now. I'm not in the mood for celebration, nor the aggravation they'll give me if I try to leave Lupa on my own. May I stay here and rest a spell? This place is the only one that seems to ease my heart."