Not Fit For Man Nor Beast!

[hedgeknight]

WE DONT SURV LIZZARDS

Lesh sees these signs all around the docks and hears it when he walks through the streets of Brampton and Eastway, whether he is on an errand for the church of Kelemvor, returning from the cemetery or going for a quick dip in the river. Has it really been four years since his life changed? Four years since he was chosen for "redemption" and given a new direction, a new purpose? Well, however long it's been, Lesh is certain of one thing: prejudice and bigotry are alive and well!

The Elfsong Tavern is not like some of the other places.
From time to time, the disembodied voice of a female elf fills the tavern with a melancholy song, giving the establishment its name. The ballad isn't loud enough to disrupt conversation, but most patrons stop speaking when the elfsong begins, then resume only after it ends. Many customers frequent the tavern in the hopes of hearing it, and Lesh is heading there today, not only hoping to hear the song, but to meet a snooty Halfling apothecary named Willow Brownbug.

Lesh

Lesh has collected a jar of mummy dust for the druid Willow, who reached out to the church of Kelemvor about needing the substance for one of his experiments.

As Lesh walks through the door, the owner/proprietor Alan Alyth waves from the bar.

alan alyth.jpg (13.96 KiB) Viewed 1565 times

Lesh glances around the main taproom to see a plethora of patrons from a drunken shipwright who strangely has no eyebrows, to a jovial half-orc, to a couple of halflings rolling dice, to a table where sits two men > one has a hawk on his shoulder and the other is sipping tea while watching the patrons with the serene confidence of a monk.
There is an open table beside the pair...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Tell me again, friend Chayton, why are in this place?" Bannor asks, sipping tea and surveying the taproom at the Elfsong Tavern. "What makes you think the man we seek is here?"
Chayton glances at his companion, and reflects back on their journey to get here. The travel to the holy city of Elturel, where they booked passage on a barge delivering goods to the city, to their delay in Gray Harbor while their ship was searched and inspected, to being turned away at various taverns and businesses who are intolerant of birds, beasts, or any other kind of animal (be it a familiar or a companion), to hearing about the Elfsong where the spirit of a elven maid sings songs to the patrons. Perhaps the man they seek...the acolyte of a dead god...is also here, for this place draws in all kinds.
Chayton has been surveying the taproom for the past hour and was somewhat surprised to see a pair of dark elves laughing and drinking in a shadowed corner, while not 15 feet away, a hooded man smoked a pipe and scribbled in a small book. There are drunken men and women as well interspersed throughout, but something just walked in that Chayton didn't expect to see at all: one of the lizard folk.
The creature stands at least six foot tall and his scales are green with orange markings. He wears simple breeches and a X-shaped harness (like crossed bandoliers) with a small breastplate bearing the badge with a skeletal arm holding up scales in balance, on a metal disc wrought in steel. It wears a cloak trimmed in wolf fur and a necklace of small animal skulls. It carries long and thin, hollow cane and wears a coiled whip on a decorative belt. There is a strange club (sword?) on its belt and a harness with several javelins on its back. Finally, the lizardman carries a shield made from the shell of a large turtle-like animal. And...it is walking over to where he and Bannor sit...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Alright fellers > Lesh, Bannor, and Chayton are up!

[DaveRollingDice]

"Tell me again, friend Chayton, why are in this place?" Bannor asks, sipping tea and surveying the taproom at the Elfsong Tavern. "What makes you think the man we seek is here?" Chayton glances at his companion, and reflects back on their journey to get here. The travel to the holy city of Elturel, where they booked passage on a barge delivering goods to the city, to their delay in Gray Harbor while their ship was searched and inspected, to being turned away at various taverns and businesses who are intolerant of birds, beasts, or any other kind of animal (be it a familiar or a companion), to hearing about the Elfsong where the spirit of a elven maid sings songs to the patrons. Perhaps the man they seek...the acolyte of a dead god...is also here, for this place draws in all kinds. Chayton has been surveying the taproom for the past hour and was somewhat surprised to see a pair of dark elves laughing and drinking in a shadowed corner, while not 15 feet away, a hooded man smoked a pipe and scribbled in a small book. There are drunken men and women as well interspersed throughout, but something just walked in that Chayton didn't expect to see at all: one of the lizard folk.

The eyes of the wildling enlarge in surprise. He incredulously reaches for his pouch and removes a piece of cloth that he unwraps carefully to remove a figure of yew wood, he had made weeks before. The wildling smiles thinly through the lines of woad painted on his face. “Like my brother, Brocair, we hunt in different seasons as Nature guides us, Searcher Oathheart. I only said we needed to come to perch here inside this place for THIS moment, because that is what the wind has whispered. I never said we were here in this drop of time to seek a MAN. . .” Chayton nods his head in the direction of the lizardman, "because I did not know then."

The creature stands at least six foot tall and his scales are green with orange markings. He wears simple breeches and a X-shaped harness (like crossed bandoliers) with a small breastplate bearing the badge with a skeletal arm holding up scales in balance, on a metal disc wrought in steel. It wears a cloak trimmed in wolf fur and a necklace of small animal skulls. It carries long and thin, hollow cane and wears a coiled whip on a decorative belt. There is a strange club (sword?) on its belt and a harness with several javelins on its back. Finally, the lizardman carries a shield made from the shell of a large turtle-like animal. And...it is walking over to where he and Bannor sit...

Cupping the cloth in his hands, Chayton whispers to the carving within before placing it on the table. (OOC: Chayton speaks to the carving in Sylvan) The figurine of a lizard slithers across the table and stops as one born of the lizardfolk nears their table (OOC: Prestidigitation).



The shaman stares for a moment at the lizardman with piercing eyes as if to gauge the measure of the creature. He nods his head at the table where the figurine rests. “The branches of the yew tree will often droop, and where they touch ,a new tree can take root on that patch of earth.” His voice is measured and steady. “Some call it the ‘Tree of Death’ and its touch can often make humans ill to the stomach.” Chayton placed the bit of cloth on the table as if to explain the care he had taken to carve it. “Yet the lizard form inside that wanted to take shape, because the wood of the yew also holds the promise of resurrection and rebirth.” Chayton stared at the lizardman again. “I carved that some days ago, and now here you stand, where I did not think to find you with the shield of a turtle’s brother . . . a sign of unity. Tell me . . . you, who has the look of one who has been tested through fire. . . how have you been reborn and unified your spirit?” If a bard said it, one would chuckle, but the painted savage says the words simply and earnestly with no hint of mockery.

[DaveRollingDice]

THEN
Not long ago, in Elturel, the wildling Chayton had recently met up with Brother Bannor Oathheart who was seeking a fugitive. Oathheart and Stormbringer only knew that the man was wanted for murder in Elturel and that he venerates a god who supposedly died during the Time of Troubles decades ago. The savage had just been sitting in a tavern talking to a young girl when Oathheart had approached him not long ago. Chayton had handed the girl in the tavern a carving of a ferret he had made and she had run off. There had been a ferret in that tavern; the shaman had followed it and its owner inside, as a matter of fact. The wildling had taken it as a sign. Yet he had learned little from the ferret.

NOW
And Chayton now recalled that the first time the men had met it had been to track down someone who had hurt a child. That man would trouble no more children. The druid sat now, musing how he had learned only moments later about the fugitive - "the acolyte" Bannor had called him once. Perhaps the ferret was a sign of the murderer.

Chayton had traveled down the to pay tribute to the Chionthar dusthawk near Dusthawk Hill. Word had come to him on the wind that the brood-nest there is decreasing. He hadn't planned to join a manhunt. There wasn't even a child involved this time, far as he knew. But Searcher Oathheart had made the offer, and Chayton felt bound to help. Oathheart was one of the few men, he trusted and respected. The two men had different ways of working. Chayton's methods were far more intuitive than others would have been comfortable with. At times, he relied on visions and what Nature revealed to him, yet Oathheart seemed fairly accepting of this.

"Tell me again, friend Chayton, why are we in this place?" Bannor asks, sipping tea and surveying the taproom at the Elfsong Tavern. "What makes you think the man we seek is here?"

OOC: And with those words from Bannor, friends, THAT is the moment when the lizardman enters. I was just providing a little backstory. Hope it made sense. I am seeing, based on Hedge's cues, Bannor the lawman and Chayton as a weird pairing of detectives. One seems to be the logical manhunter, and the other is the intuitive savage.

[Tell]

Pushing away thoughts of what happened at the Harborside Hospital, Lesh enters the The Elfsong Tavern. Lesh surveys the room spotting an open table between 2 humans and a small groups of gnomes. Alan Alyth waves and Lesh holds up two crossed clawed fingers indicating his usual glass of Mufflewig's single malt and to let Willow Brownbug know he is here. He starts toward the empty table when he hears a voice...

The branches of the yew tree will often droop, and where they touch ,a new tree can take root on that patch of earth.

Lesh slows, eyeing both men, and searching for any sign of a threat. He takes note of the bird and of a small, apparently wooden, lizard scurrying across the table.

“Some call it the ‘Tree of Death’ and its touch can often make humans ill to the stomach.” Chayton placed the bit of cloth on the table as if to explain the care he had taken to carve it. “Yet the lizard form inside that wanted to take shape, because the wood of the yew also holds the promise of resurrection and rebirth.”

Upon recognizing the wilding as a shaman Lesh stops and gives a slight nod of his scaly head in respect. The wildling continues,

“I carved that some days ago, and now here you stand, where I did not think to find you with the shield of a turtle’s brother . . . a sign of unity. Tell me . . . you, who has the look of one who has been tested through fire. . . how have you been reborn and unified your spirit?”

Lesh pauses but answers, "Lesh reborn through blood and water to Kelemvor's service. Shaman for Lesh waits? Help need you?" (OOC: Lizardfolk are supposed to speak very literally and don't use verbs. I decided to just use a different syntax but let me know if it's distracting.) Accepting his drink from the server, he puts his shield in an empty chair and sits at the empty table facing the strange foursome. The smell of alcohol with a touch of apple and bacon waifs over to the two men. "Sir monk, help you need? Trouble from undead may be or dying someone is? "

(OOC: Makes an Insight check.) Three Bonus: [1d20+3] = 5+3 = 8

Failing to gauge the two men, Lesh falls silent expectantly. Behind him the gnomes begin arguing excitedly and drawing a strange contraption on the tavern wall.

[hedgeknight]

Alan Alyth, the proprietor of the tavern, walks over to the tables and hands Lesh a large mug of dark brown ale.
"I'll put it on your tab, my friend, and I sent Keyla to let Willow know you are here."
The Half-Elf turns to Bannor and Chayton and clasps his hand together. "Now, can I get you two anything else today? We have a delicious shepherd's pie today, served with creamed spinach, and our dessert of the day is blueberry pie. Anything?"

Bannor says, "A very small slice of that blueberry pie would be good while we wait. Do you have coffee perhaps? If so, with a touch of cream."
Alan Alyth nods his head and smiles. "I'll have that right out for you, good sir."
He then looks at Chayton with a raised eyebrow of expectation...

[DaveRollingDice]

"Lesh reborn through blood and water to Kelemvor's service. Shaman for Lesh waits? Help need you?

“Perhaps,” the shaman replied. “After all, I carve a figure from the Tree of Death, and a follower of the Lord of the Dead appears and . . .” Chayton looked at the carving of the lizard near the edge of the table, “and seems to bear the spirit of that totem there. In the wild, the fastest path is often found by looking for signs.”


The wildling held out his palm and placed the covering back on his hand, as the carved lizard slithered back and nestled there. OOC: Cast prestidigitation. He put away the statuette and explained to Lesth, “Searcher Oathheart is seeking a man wanted for murder in Elturel. We know that he bows before a god who supposedly died during the Time of Troubles decades ago. Does this mean anything to you, Lesh?”


Brocair shrieked, wings unfolding and outsretched for a moment, as Chayton looked at the hawk patiently. “Yes, brother. I was about to say that.” He turned in his chair to face the lizardman again. “Perhaps one who trails after The Great Guide would have heard of such a one, hmm? I can tell you no more, unless Oathheart’s mind has unlocked another trinket from his memory hoard.” OOC: This is going to be interesting. Lesh is rather literal, and Chayton talks in metaphor. “Anything else to guide us in your hunt, Searcher Oathheart?”

[DaveRollingDice]

He then looks at Chayton with a raised eyebrow of expectation...

“Pie of the shepherd,” the wildling uttered, attacking each word in short stabs with his voice. The hawk rustled his wings as he shuffled his talons and shifted into a better perch. Chayton nodded and grunted. “He requires nothing from you at this time, he says.”

[Tell]

“…I carve a figure from the Tree of Death..seeking a man wanted for murder in Elturel…Time of Troubles decades ago. Does this mean anything to you, Lesh?”

“Poison a tree may be but death a tree is not. Alive it is.” He watches the carved lizard slither back to Chayton before continuing, “Elturel a city large, murders many, paladins and knights there are.” Lesh looks questioningly at Chayton wondering why didn't the Order of the Gauntlet or the Companions handle it? He continues looking thoughtful and unconsciously making a “Predator” type clicking noise “tak-tak-tak…Time of Troubles…tak…tak…tak…Bane, Mystra, Bhaal… What being sent to judgement? What name this being had?” The hawk's shrieks interrupt him and he falls silent once again.

“Perhaps one who trails after The Great Guide would have heard of such a one…mind has unlocked another trinket from his memory hoard.”

Lesh looks curiously at the human dressed as a monk who doesn't seem to have any keys or chests or anything in the way of baggage. He glances down at the floor under their table to check there as well before turning back to Chayton. "Shaman, what trinket mean? Cup he holds, this divination spell?" He pauses and takes another drink while the human orders food.

[hedgeknight]

“Perhaps one who trails after The Great Guide would have heard of such a one, hmm? I can tell you no more, unless Oathheart’s mind has unlocked another trinket from his memory hoard.” OOC: This is going to be interesting. Lesh is rather literal, and Chayton talks in metaphor. “Anything else to guide us in your hunt, Searcher Oathheart?”

The Monk named Bannor Oathheart shrugs and sighs. "Followers of Bhaal do not parade around and announce themselves, my friend. They deal in shadows and darkness of night, thinking it hides their deathly dealings. But...it does not. Behold! That which was hidden in darkness is revealed in the light of day."



Bannor's eyes are focused on a man who has just entered the tavern. A man with shoulder-length reddish hair and a beard to match. He puffs a pipe, looks around the common room, and then heads for the private rooms in the back of the tavern. At that time, the barmaid Keyla returns to the table bringing hot shepherd's pie for Chayton and a warm piece of blueberry pie for Bannor. The Monk stands, gathers his things and beckons Keyla to sit.
To her surprise, and perhaps others around, she sits in his chair.
"Young lady, don't let the pie grow cold." He hands her three silvers and then bows his head slightly, and turns to Chayton.
"Our paths part ways right here, my friend. I bid you a fond farewell and should we meet again...I'll buy the first round."
The Monk offers a rare smile and then walks in the same direction the man took, soon disappearing in the back. And in his wake hurries Alan Alyth heading straight for the table. Upon arrival, the Half-Elf raises an eyebrow to Keyla as she forks a piece of pie in her mouth, then turns to Lesh. "Erm...Willow is getting impatient. Something about needing to get back to his shop before it...erm...blows up. Do you think you could, you know, hurry it along?"

[DaveRollingDice]

What being sent to judgement? What name this being had?” The hawk's shrieks interrupt him and he falls silent once again.

Chayton starts to shake his head and confess he does not know any details other than what he has shared.

The Monk named Bannor Oathheart shrugs and sighs. "Followers of Bhaal do not parade around and announce themselves, my friend. They deal in shadows and darkness of night, thinking it hides their deathly dealings. But...it does not. Behold! That which was hidden in darkness is revealed in the light of day."

“So there was more silver locked away in the hoard of your memory? Bhaal . . . ehm? You should have spoken of this,” the shaman mutters, but there is no chiding in his tone. Nor is there any mockery or anything other than plain sincerity in his responses to others. If Chayton sees Lesh about to speak, he simply waves his hand horizontally to dismiss literal interpretation. Chayton muses on what Bannor Oathheart has revealed.

Bannor's eyes are focused on a man who has just entered the tavern. The Monk stands, gathers his things and beckons Keyla to sit. To her surprise, and perhaps others around, she sits in his chair. Chayton looks confused for a moment, and then understanding seems to dawn slowly upon him. “How can you be sure. . .?” he starts to ask, and then stops himself midsentence and recalls that Bannor has often had to rely upon one of his leaps of intuition. The wildling grunts and nods. “The wind did well to whisper us in this direction then murmuring of this Lesh and giving you insight in your seeking." Chayton notes the features of the man, Bannor is looking at. He mutters the word for ferret questioningly in Sylvan. Cymreag? It seems to mean something to the druid.

Chayton called it.

“Like my brother, Brocair, we hunt in different seasons as Nature guides us, Searcher Oathheart. I only said we needed to come to perch here inside this place for THIS moment, because that is what the wind has whispered. I never said we were here in this drop of time to seek a MAN. . .” Chayton nods his head in the direction of the lizardman, "because I did not know then."

"Young lady, don't let the pie grow cold." He hands her three silvers and then bows his head slightly, and turns to Chayton.
"Our paths part ways right here, my friend. I bid you a fond farewell and should we meet again...I'll buy the first round.

Again, the wildling looks bewildered momentarily. “But you will need help. . .” he begins. IF Bannor should indicate even with a motion that he intends to go alone, Chayton will relent. Nodding he says, “We hunt in different seasons then, as Nature guides us.” He reaches out and clasps Bannor’s arm at the elbow, locking his own arm beside it in a sign of friendship. “If you have need of me, speak my name or my brother’s name to the eagle, the owl, the hawk, or the raven. Tell them simply what you need. Perhaps they will bring me word. Trust not the magpie nor the weasel nor the ferret,” he says thinking of his carving that he had given to the little girl in Elturel. Brocair shifts extending a leg momentarily. His head dips and bobs as his wings rustle a departure to Oathheart.

Bannor walks away, and the wildling looks confused and unsure of himself momentarily. This search had not been of his design, and Searcher Oathheart had not been forthcoming since he clearly had known more than he told Chayton (he had apparently known all along he was seeking a follower of Bhaal). Yet, Chayton had offered his help and meant it. Perhaps there was more at work here, than he understood. He reached for his pouch and removed another bundle of cloth, opening them to reveal polished bones carved with symbols. Chayton took them in his fist and dropped them a few inches from the table’s surface. One bounced high, and the wildling quickly picked up one of the pies before it could be disturbed. He looks at the girl in Bannor’s seat, nods and grunts as if to show his apologies. He moves the pie over to inspect the oracle bones. “The world is changed,” he says, looking at the runes for the element signs carved in scrimshaw. “I feel it in the water. . . I feel it in the earth.” Brocair pecks lightly at his shoulder. Chayton takes a deep breath. “I smell it in the air. . . Much that once was is lost.”



“Lesh, you spoke of divination. What see you here? I would know what to do next. I came to this place to speak to one of the Dusthawks of the Chionathar.” He indicates the bones on the table. Brocair jabs at a piece of the wildling's clothing, drawing him out of his reverie. He leans over and stabs into the shepherd's pie with a knife, offering Brocair a bit of beef. "What say you, Brother?" Chayton's voice sounds like the whoosh of wind, punctuated by a gentle caw as he turns his head, mimicking a bird's.

Remembering Lesh's earlier words "Shaman, what trinket mean? Cup he holds, this divination spell?" He pauses and takes another drink

[DaveRollingDice]

Is anyone else seeing this as Chayton and Lesh?
Chayton: Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra.

Lesh: Nothing goes over my head.

Chayton: Shaka, when the walls fell.

Lesh: I'm too fast. I would catch it.

Chayton: I am Groot?

So we have that alien from Star Trek / Groot AND Drax the Destroyer. When Literal meets Metaphysical Metaphor, we may need a third person. I'm loving it though.

[Tell]

Pie of the shepherd…the barmaid Keyla returns to the table bringing hot shepherd's pie for Chayton and a warm piece of blueberry pie for Bannor.

Lesh eyes the pie of the shepherd thoughtfully and takes in the aroma. He thinks shepherd meat smells just like mutton, but shepherd flesh would make a tastier meal. He knows humans do not eat human meat, as wasteful as that may be. So, this is human talk but he will not question a shaman lightly. (OOC: Perception check to see if he notices anything unusual about the man with reddish hair and beard going into a back room.) Five Bonus: [1d20+5] = 13+5 = 18

He watches curiously as Bannor and Chayton part ways. Behind him the gnomes continue arguing as Keyla begins to eat and Alan Alyth reminds him Willow is waiting on him. He replies to the barkeep, "If shop burn Halfling here safe is. Soon Lesh and Halfling speak."

Lesh, you spoke of divination. What see you here? I would know what to do next. I came to this place to speak to one of the Dusthawks of the Chionathar. What say you, Brother?

Lesh then studies the bones on the table intently before replying to Chayton. "Shaman, the bones speak not to Lesh but changed the world is. Water less tasty and air heavy…tak…tak…tak…different yes." He expresses his uneasiness and the feeling that something is not right but he just doesn't know what. "This day nine souls in passing lost.” He briefly describes nine deaths he attended as part of the at the death clergy at Harbourside Hospital. These souls didn't go to meet Kelevmor or journey into their next life but vanished. "That lost found may be, Lesh to action called. To Willow speak and temple go. Knight commander guidance seek. Shaman, with Lesh come?" Lesh watches Chayton for a reaction as he finishes his ale, places coins on the table, and gathers his shield but doesn't stand up yet.

OOC: I'm not sure what the leader of the the Knights of the Eternal Order is actually called. Also I'm guessing Dusthawks refers to the type of bird he has and not to a group of people?

[DaveRollingDice]

OOC: Brocair the hawk is at least part blood-hawk. When Gary asked us our reasons for being in the area, I said that Chayton was on his way to pay tribute to the Chionthar dusthawks of Dusthawk Hill. The population of the dusthawks has been decreasing.

Here is some background information from https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Dusthawk_Hill

Dusthawk Hill was a tall, granite hill located on the northern bank of the River Chionthar, just east of the walled city of Baldur's Gate. By the Year of Three Ships Sailing, 1492 DR, it was surrounded on nearly all sides by the Gate's Outer City. During the 15th century DR, the hill was declared as private land that was protected from any non-licensed hunters. This action was taken by Baldurian officials to preserve the dwindling population of the Chionthar Dusthawk. Outer City residents begrudged the fact the land was given more care and protection than their own neighborhoods by the city's wealthy patriarchal families

[DaveRollingDice]

(OOC: I guess I should get used to trying these rolls. Not trying to copy Lesh, but since Chayton said he would note the man's face. . . Perception check to see if he notices anything unusual about the man with reddish hair and beard going into a back room.) Skill of Perception: [1d20+6] = 5+6 = 11

Lesh then studies the bones on the table intently before replying to Chayton. "Shaman, the bones speak not to Lesh but changed the world is. Water less tasty and air heavy…tak…tak…tak…different yes." He expresses his uneasiness and the feeling that something is not right but he just doesn't know what. "This day nine souls in passing lost.” He briefly describes nine deaths he attended as part of the at the death clergy at Harbourside Hospital. These souls didn't go to meet Kelevmor or journey into their next life but vanished. "That lost found may be, Lesh to action called. To Willow speak and temple go. Knight commander guidance seek. Shaman, with Lesh come?" Lesh watches Chayton for a reaction as he finishes his ale, places coins on the table, and gathers his shield but doesn't stand up yet

.

OOC: Nice! Chayton merely nods and grunts "henh!" He too places some silver coins on the table and checks the girl's face to see if it settles his debt, before tossing her an extra coin. "I would have liked to have heard the Elfsong I have heard talk of. Something for another day, perhaps." He gathers his staff and belongings and gives one last look in the direction of where Bannor Oathheart went, a bit bewildered at the human's need for secrecy and abruptness, yet knowing he can also come across the same way at times to others. Chayton will then follow Lesh as the lizardman talks with Willow, and then to to the temple. Brocair will remain on Chayton's shoulder, shifting to the rounded head of the Wayfarer's Thorn mage-staff at moments of rest.

IF / WHEN they leave the building: At the door, Brocair will shuffle his wings and soar into the sky to do a loop through the air around the immediate area. Chatyon smiles and breathes deeply, as if the freedom of such a moment is his as well.

[Tell]

Lesh and Chayton rise and follow Alan Alyth toward a back room to speak with Willow. OOC: I think we wait for Hedge to jump in here...

[hedgeknight]

Truth be told, I'm having a hard time following the conversation...

Chayton notes the features of the man, Bannor is looking at. He mutters the word for ferret questioningly in Sylvan. Cymreag? It seems to mean something to the druid.
Bannor shrugs. "I don't know. We'll see."
Again, the wildling looks bewildered momentarily. “But you will need help. . .” he begins.
Bannor holds out a hand, down low as if pushing something behind him...and Chayton relents. Bannor listens as Chayton bids him farewell and he returns the "hand shake" with a firm grip. He bows to Brocair, and then follows the man with the reddish hair.

Lesh gets a good look at the man...and recognizes his face!
Lesh >

The man has been seen around the cemetery on several occasions...mostly at night.

Leaving Keyla at the table, Lesh and Chayton follow Alan Alyth to a separate back room where awaits Willow Brownbug.

Willow Brownbug.jpg (42.34 KiB) Viewed 1324 times

The sour look on Willow's face says it all...but it doesn't prevent him from harrumphing and saying, "What the hell took ya so long, Lesh? Busy making friends? Time's a wastin' and I got somewhere to be!"
The Halfling gives Chayton a once over and then dismisses him with a snort. He turns back to Lesh. "Well? Do you have...?"
Willow leaves the question hanging expecting Lesh to know the rest.

[Tell]

Lesh closes the door firmly and turns to the druid. "Have it I do." Ignoring the halfling's words and tone, the lizardfolk withdrawals a sealed jar of mummy dust from his pack while thinking briefly of his trip to Little Calimshan. He had wandered through the warren of bazaars until he found a stall selling fine silks with a sign showing a skull and scales. He had given the small locked chest provided to him by Mehen (Knight commander of the Eternal Order) to a strange little Calishite merchant in exchange for the poison. "Deadly this is, with experiments cautious be." He holds the jar carefully but does not offer it to Willow yet. "The shaman also of change speaks." Lesh tells Willow of Chayton's earlier words which echo Willow's own concerns. He also tells both men that the man with red hair and beard had been around the cemetery several times mostly at night before pausing to allow Chayton to speak.

[DaveRollingDice]

Chayton is intrigued by the halfling and does not seem to register the little one's dismissive tone or snort. He almost bends down out of innocent curiosity but he catches himself. Yet, he can't keep the man's name to himself and mutters it, "Will -OH" as if it were a piece of string or other curiosity found on the trail. "Seileach . . ." he says in the Sylvan tongue to Brocair both as an introduction to be polite to his hawk brother. Chayton nods with a grunt, as Brocair shifts his feathers and slides one wing closer to his body. "Will -OH," Chayton mutters with a last nod. He says no more. Instead he stands there thinking about how a willow cutting can be transplanted and take root somewhere else. Perhaps this is what has happened, and this sproutling of a man will continue to grow here. At any rate, it is a fine name. OOC: Just wondering what would happen if the shaman should find out the halfling's last name is Brownbug.

Lesh talks about the redheaded stranger and pauses as if waiting for Chayton to speak. Chayton nods.

[Tell]

OOC: Hey Dave (?) after Willow is done with us do you want to follow up on Bannor? Or Chayton might be able to listen in on Bannor's talk with the red haired man now?

[DaveRollingDice]

Hey, thanks for asking. As much as I personally (as a player) would like a few answers since Bannor asked my character for help up in Elturel and then went away mysteriously, I know that I am playing a mysterious shaman who does things without explanation at times myself. And I am supposed to have some trust in Bannor due to character write-up. Additionally, this is a situation where Hedge was dealt this situation due to a player not showing up (I sent Bannor's player, whom I know well, MANY requests and invites, guys, even at least one more since Hedge and I last communicated. He just has other stuff going on now, I guess.)

I want to play it "smart" and not gloss over too much, but I am for just moving forward unless this is a thread our dm wants to explore now. If I know him, he's leaving this thread open in case Bannor's player shows back up and because there's so much going on in this world. So we can probably move on. What do you think? Mr. eDM, any input?


The way I plan to play it is to act if more information comes down the pike (I see this guy with the red hair again, etc. or hear about the acolyte we were supposed to be tracking - but I have little information about him. My character was going to see the hawks at Dusthawk Hill at some point (but that's probably a downtime thing) based on his reason for being in the area, but I am playing him fairly flexible. He will see some things as signs and adjust as needed. He's not a huge city-loving guy though, usually. If we want eyes and ears in that area of Bannor and the "redheaded stranger" -- I'm a druid of the Circle of the Shepherd. I might be able to conjure up a familiar temporarily with the Wild Companion feature variant.

The Road goes ever on and on,
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.