Cahleth, Lia, and Sar'ai set out, slowly making their way through the low brush found in the area.
Shortly after losing sight of the caravan, they hear a loud growling noise, and spot a huge mastiff in front of them. He's kitted out with studded leather barding, a saddle, and a small pike lashed to his side. The big dog is obviously not happy to see them, mouth bared in a snarl.
"Keep your weapons down, or you'll find out just how well Bubbles deals with my enemies", The voice comes from the trio's left as a halfling woman steps out of the brush, arrow knocked and trained directly at Cahleth. She's wearing leather as well, stained to a mottled brown and green that let her blend right into the bush she'd been hiding in.
Edited: daishain on 1st Feb, 2017 - 2:50am
With no extra insight from Elanna, Sar'ai sighs, "I suppose I should accompany you as apparently Elanna has failed to provide any further intel… " The wizard pulls out her hand-crossbow from a very well hidden slit in her robes and proceeds to load a bolt, "Lethal, or are we trying to interrogate?"
With a smile and a nod Onwen takes the scroll from Sarai "Much appreciated" he tells her (Did she take the rod that Onwen had offered before? If not he will offer it again in exchange). As Lia and Cahleth head out to investigate the sighting Onwen remains with the caravan, sitting in one of the wagons he produces his journal, quill and ink and begins to make notes and sketches about the events of the day before as well as the items found and markings on the fabric though his writings are almost exclusively fact based with little in the way of emotion he does make a small note near the point in the journal that describes the funeral rites and the teiflings song… 'In my soul you live on, until you live again."
As Nyzahr remained as discreetly as possible in the background of the discussion considering the prisoners and their imminent termination by the forces of Good and Order, no one seemed to pay much notice to her tall, robed silhouette and so she silently glided behind Sir Onthar and his vengeful crew as they marched on to their gory duties.
Soon the condemned men were being lined up for execution, but she did take the time to go to each one of them: here a light touch of the cheekbone, there a meaningful, mournful look, there again a light kiss on the lips… they were all destined to meet the Infernal Circles at some point in this coming astral journey, and these parting gestures of hers would guarantee they would meet Beshaba with Nyzahr's smell on their skin: as little difference as it made for this immediate and somewhat grisly ending of their existence on this plane of reality, she knew the Maiden Of Misfortune would smell her touch on their soul and remember there were still accounts to be settled, still a story to be told between the two of them. Nyzahr had forgotten much of her time with The Evil One, but the memory of her hatred and determination still burned bright inside her…
Furthermore, doesn't even the most hardened criminal appreciate a goodbye kiss ? A small token of gratitude for furthering Beshaba's works and helping Nyzahr in her investigation: the more misfortune she encounters in her journeys, the more she learns about Ill Luck and its Tutelar Goddess, also so the more she shall get to define herself and her own tragic destiny in the wake of that particular planar energy.
Still… Beshaba's Kingdoms did leave their mark and her every cell resents the pull, still:
Nyzahr yet knows she will be free, and on her own terms.
Beshaba will learn the meaning of pain and True Misfortune, come what may !
And forlorn souls will be forlorn of their own volition, not having to do Beshaba's bidding and pay her blood price, like so many sad, powerless, broken puppets…
Maybe as a result of these metaphysical considerations, the tiefling bardess is recently starting to notice how she seems to feel a kindred spirit growing within her, finding solace with doomed and tragic misfits, fools and madmen, murderers and thieves brought low…
Yes, she can tell that these men are her people, their tortured souls and confused minds are the yeast her Path and and her Art shall feed on: without them, there is no drama, no tragedy, no contrast… no Abyss to show the majesty of the Mountain Tops.
So maybe their lives do have meaning, in a twisted, hectic and misguided way.
During the executions, she performs a quick sonata on her pipes and immediatly after wanders on towards the group, soon letting herself be led through the rising wilderness along with the so-aplty called "Silver Blaze"... Until she notices the concern of the young ranger - Cahleth is what they call him, she recalls - as he scouts ahead. As he comes back from his reconnoitering and voices his preoccupation with the presence of tracks ahead, she drives her cart towards him and sends him an invitation in the form of a Message Cantrip:
*Cahleth receives a clear vision of the White Tiefling riding along with him through the underbrush and young trees, soundlessly accompanying him as he veers off the path and tries to follow tracks…*
Out of Character: : Cahleth, Nyzahr can go along with you on her horse (After leaving her cart behind to be pulled by another animal, or maybe by borrowing someone else's… or perhaps you meant to go on foot ?). In any case she is quite stealthy, and may come in handy for support in case of trouble .
.
Edited: AshDrunbar on 1st Feb, 2017 - 3:54am
Cahleth does not object to the tiefling joining, although you'll need to leave the horse behind. He is more curious than suspicious of the bard at this point.
As the party stumbles upon the mastiff and the helf-elf, Cahleth, admitting defeat, lays down his bow slowly, "There's no need for that, perhaps we just have a misunderstanding here?"
He tries to get the half-elf talking, hoping to soften her up so that she'll lower the arrow trained on his head (Persuasion below).
He gestures toward those traveling with him to stay calm and not try anything rash.
In conversation he'll ask if this half-elf has seen any more signs of bandits, and explain how his traveling mates helped wipe out a large group of them. He'll also mention how they are traveling to Greenest, and ask if she's heard anything about a seige (Insight included assuming she talks).
The halfling (IE a hobbit rather than a halfelf) woman doesn't shift her aim by a hair unless someone other than the ranger moves, but she does soften her tone of voice.
Cahleth does not get the impression that she has overtly hostile intent, nor that she's being deceptive. She's behaving more like a guard that is very much on edge and uncertain whether or not those before her are enemies.
He also gets the impression that she's only partly bluffing when it comes to challenging the four of you with a dog as backup. She doesn't look like she expects to win if it comes to a brawl, but she is nevertheless confident in her skills
"Can't say I like the look of you, traveling with the blood of both Drow and Fiends. Not to mention all the other oddities in that circus you have back on the road. You are the first people anyone has seen coming from that direction in almost two tendays. I've lost good people trying to find out why."
In response to Cahleth's explanation, "Bandits? It can't just be bandits, certainly not any one band of them. People have been disappearing if they go too far in any direction, not just down that road."
"And what's this about a siege? The town is fine, we're cut off, but there's no army at the gates."
She has released some of the tension in the bowstring at this point, however it would take but a moment to draw again and loose.
Geoffroy had decided to stay back and not join the forward scout, at least for the time being, through was wiling to be a part of the forward scouting. No, he decided to think on the executions which had taken place and consider Nyzahr's involvement in such.
He had never really noticed or paid attention to her before yet now that she has revealed herself in a sense the cleric suspected many would think on the pale tiefling. A bit to his annoyance, his squire had been asking questions about the tiefling ever seeing Nyzahr though mostly the same answers came. Yet Geoffroy still felt the bit of Interest himself, mixed with suspicious and concern.
Still, at least he's been able to play music as was, his original intentions though it went in an unexpected direction, to do so during the funeral ceremony. Yet while there was some concern what she was doing wasn't they way such ceremonies were done, at least among the clergy of Lathander and Sune, he had allowed her to continue and added his own accompaniment.
Edited: Thomaslee on 1st Feb, 2017 - 11:52am