Gala left the group to attend to the burials of her fellow faithful. The priestess sang them to their final rest outside the temple of Torm. The others made their way to rooms and baths and evening meals. Arachne, in spite of her insistance that she had to leave for Kuiper's, stayed the night in Milborne as well.
Azrun went to help Gala in any way that he could with the burials. Then returned to the end to get a bath, room, and a warm meal. Although, he had cleaned himself and had clean clothes, it looked as if he had forgotten to shave.
Gala thanked Azrun warmly. Her voice was somewhat husky from repressed tears.
Aloysius stood out of the way, against a tree, as Gala conducted the service. Afterwards, he approached the priestess and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Be not sad, kind one. As thy Lord hath said, these men do start anew. Starting this day, our band shall begin to drive back the darkening veil that threatens this land. If thou would like to lighten thy burden by sharing it with Stargazer, so be it. Thou hath done the same for me many times afore."
Gala smiled at the mage. "I know, Aloysius. I have told myself that a hundred times. But I cannot help but feel that if I had just gotten there a moment before, I might have saved one of them at least. Guilt is so pervasive sometimes. It is hard to fight it off, just as the sun sometimes has difficulty burning through a morning's fog." She touched his shoulder gently. "It is good to know I have friends. That is all the help I need."
Milborne-Dawn, 10 Eleasias 1374 DR
A stranger, that those of you who dined in the common room of the Baron last night might recognize, attended Gala's dawn ceremony this morning. A very large man, standing almost six feet tall, whose powerful frame wears chain mail like it was lighter than cloth approaches Gala after she finishes. " I heard from Andren and Barthlew that some of the Morninglord's faithful were waylaid a short distance from here and that you few were going to investigate. They said that you've been looking into some other strange happenings in the area as well. I'm travelling in that direction anyway and if you'd like an extra man to help with the search, I'd be honored to offer my services, milady." Blacky said with a winning smile. "The name's Eric, but you may call me Blacky." He says with a slight bow to Gala. Blacky has a full black beard that compliments the wavy black hair that spills to just past his shoulders. The weapons he carries, a large axe, a couple of hand axes, and a pick, look like they would be more at home in a farmer's tool shed than carried by a traveling warrior.
Gala bowed courteously to the man. "It is good to meet you, Eric. I am Galaret Lachiel. Please call me Gala. Do you prefer to be called Blacky? We can use all the help we can get. I would be honored to have your aid." Gala seemed more peaceful than the day before. Gala then introduced the others, Aloysius, Azrun, Torro, Kaileer, Lasiar, Jana, and Arachne, if she was still around. "This is Eric/Blacky. He has asked to aid us on our task."
Aloysius had appeared at Gala's ceremony looking much better than he had the night before. Both he and his clothes we clean, and two small cuts on his chin indicated a recent shave. Once again, his hair was tied in a single pony tail that exited from the back of his hat. Although he seemed full of energy and moved with a sense of purpose, he said very little.
As the group reached the place where the men were found, he again frowned at the sight of the blood. He watched closely as Kaileer examined the area and listened as the others discussed a course of action. "Care not do I where we go, follow I shall," he announced.
After Gala introduced Blacky to him, Aloysius gave the dark-haired man a brief once over. "Aloysius Stargazer, enemy of all who oppose the Light. Hopes have I that thy heart be not aligned with the color of thy hair." Without awaiting a response, Aloysius moved to join the others.
Blacky seemed unphased by the abrupt greeting. "I might say the same to him, except that I'm not sure what a having a purple heart would mean." He said as an aside to Gala
"Me neither," replied Gala, a small smile creeping onto her face. "But he does get into the darndest situations."
"I'm sure." Blacky said watching the odd looking mage walk off.
Kaileer nodded to the man. "I Kaileer... try keep loud chainmail quiet... you know how fight?"
"Fighting is one of the things I do well, although not by choice." Blacky said to Kaileer "I, however, am not very good at keeping this (he indicates his armor) quiet."
Jana harumphed grouchily at all of the banter. "Janathell Caislean, pleased to meet you, we're in a hurry." She walked on, not sounding exactly like sleigh bells, but certainly nowhere near as quiet as Kaileer.
The Scornubel Road-Morning, 10 Eleasias 1374 DR
After Gala's dawn greeting, the group minus Arachne departed toward the place where the two dead men had been found. In spite of the light rain that had fallen all day the day before and was still falling this morning, the spot where the men had fallen was clearly marked with blood. By the time the group arrived there, it was nearing noon....
After adjusting the fit of his new armor and cleaning the spear he got from Aloysius, the ranger followed Gala (or whoever is leading) to the location where the bodies were found. He appeared much more ready for battle now, having strapped his shield to his left arm but still kept the usual eye open for trouble.
When the party reached the bloodied area, Kaileer dropped to one knee and began looking around for the trail...
Azrun watched Kaileer try to decipher the tracks in the area. "Any ideas, Kaileer?"
Gala watched Kaileer but kept silent. She moved restlessly but watched the elf with eager eyes.
Torro watched on as Kaileer looked for tracks.
The ranger frowned and stood up. "Look like humans, not sure many... they go that way," he said, pointing north-west with his spear.
After having pointed out the way, Kaileer shrugs. "Trail not clear, not can tell if many... they far now, if we want follow, we need follow now. If we follow, we need be ready for fight," he finished, adjusting the shield on his arm then looked at Gala and Azrun for their take on the situation.
Gala looked to see if Torro had anything to add.
"Would you all help me follow them? Maybe we could have Kaileer and Torro on point with the rest of us a short distance back. That could allow us to better assess our odds when we can better assess our opponents. I would not leave any to suffer at another's hands, but would not want to cause any of us to risk overwhelming odds either." She smiled tentatively at all of them.
Torro added "I am honored that you want me to be at the front of the group, but I'd rather be at the back of the group where I can be more effective with my arrows."
Upon reaching the site, Lasiar solemnly shook his head at the bloody area, saddened by the loss of lives. He kept his eyes averted from the stains, while listening intently to the thoughts voiced by his companions.
"I suggest that Kaileer, as the proficient scout he is, examine the area for tracks and follow any trails of suspect, while we remain a distant back with missile weapons readied in case we encounter resistance. The ones we seek may be expecting a rescue force, so Kaileer, do not tread to far from us, and if you see signs of gnolls of goblins, report back so we can discuss on our next actions."
"That sounds good to me," Torro replied "I would suggest one change though, instead of having Kaileer up ahead alone, someone else should be there to keep things fair should he encounter something, and to report back if the need arises."
"Since this is my mission, I will go with Kaileer, if he will have me. I am not the most quiet of people, but I will stay back a few feet and serve as messenger, unless there is one better suited. I hesitate to ask any to take a risk that I would not take myself." Gala spoke quietly and with purpose.
Kaileer smiles but shakes his head. "Gala not need worry for Kaileer. Gala stay with others, I not go far."
"I might be more useful up there," Jana pointed out. "If one of you will take my horse's reins, I'll walk up front, behind Kaileer. Anything that jumps out at him, I can handle."
The ranger looked at the warrior woman with a raised eyebrow and snorted. "Kaileer not need be protected from small tree," he then pointed out, "and Jana make more noise than mad badger..."
Jana glared at Kaileer. "Suit yourself, Short Stuff." She stood almost a half foot taller than the elf. She stayed back near Gala and Aloysius.
"Be careful." Gala murmured after him.
After declining the offers of help, Kaileer began following the trail, a trail that lead to the river's edge and then vanished... "like Zond," the ranger muttered. "Like Zond," he repeated louder when the others joined him by the side of the river.
"I look for other trail if you want but look like river be place for kidnapper escape... Zond go river... Jelenneth go boathouse, on river... gnoll try cross river with Pug... now here many priest go river... We talk Kuiper? He know river," the elf suggested to Gala.
Gala nodded. "Yes, I think you are right, Kaileer. Something may be taking these folks down the river." She turned to all. "Would you mind if we sought out Kuiper? For aid?"
"Forgive me if this sounds overly simplistic." Blacky said "I don't know who this Cooper is, and I'm sure he knows this river, but why can't we just follow it downstream until we find out where they got off. I mean there has to be a boat or something, right?"
Aloysius listened quietly to the conversation. "The river doth lead to Kuiper. Mayhap if we follow it downstream, Kaileer will rediscover the trail. If not, we shall be at Kuiper's and can join up with Arachne."
The mage looked over at Blacky and scratched his head. "I understand not thy words. Thou hast suggested that something be 'overly simplistic'. 'Tis the nature of the universe to strive towards simplicity. 'Tis Mordenkainen's Third Rule of Entropy. How, then, could something be 'overly simplistic' if Nature strives to be so?"
"Does he always speak in code?" Blacky asked the nearest human looking both confused and concerned for the purple mage's sanity.
"Yes." smiled Gala. "I think he's just smarter than me. I figured everyone else understood him though."
"Code?" asked Aloysius. "Nay, 'tis naught but simple Common. Thou art a fascinating sort."
"They may also have gone against the current though that would be more difficult. Kuiper is downstream, I believe, and may know of areas we can look if we do not find them there." Gala smiled at Blacky. "Kuiper is a man of the outdoors. He is also a good warrior."
The mage looked up and down the river. "'Twould seem more likely that these foul beings, whomever they be, would go down the river and not up. Let us be down the river towards Kuiper. If these fiends we find afore, fine." The mage stopped for a moment and scatched his chin thoughtfully. "Fiends . . .find . . . .afore . . . .fine . . .By the gods! A melodic verse didst I make!" Suddenly very pleased, Aloysius looked around at his companions. Slowly, the corners of his mouth curled upwards until his face contorted into an extreme, and possibly painful, smile. Seemingly undaunted by this maneuver, the magic-user awaited a response.
