Aloysius and Spot took a long stroll while the others contemplated what to do with the entangled gnolls. Gala refused to watch the slaughter, turning away from the group as they went about it. Kaileer quickly discovered that approaching the gnolls was a bad idea, so Torro plied them with arrows until they fell. Gala's spell ended after a few minutes, and a quick search of the gnoll bodies yielded some gold and platinum coins, a short bow and quiver of arrows, two pole arms and a long sword.
Blacky retrieved his thrown axe, after the grass released Kaileer, and returned it to his belt. "I didn't know gnolls carried this kind of money around with them, seems a little much." He said after accepting the coins "Not that I'm complaining. mind you."
Lasiar watched the slaughter indifferently with blue eyes that gazed unflinchingly at the gnolls as each arrow were embedded in their bodies. He sighed deeply, but silently, when the deed was done. He whispered a prayer to his goddess before joining his friends as they searched the bodies. "Aye, these gnolls are too rich for my liking," Lasiar replied to Blacky's comment.
As the coins were divided, he watched nonchalantly, and accepted his share of the loot with his black-gloved left hand. "These will help those in need," Lasiar commented.
Aloysius signaled to the others as they came into sight. After they got closer, they could see that he and Spot had been sitting by the river, apparently sharing some beef jerky. The mage stood up and addressed Lasiar and Gala. "Ahhhh," he groaned as he stood up. Pulling away the shoulder of his robe, he revealed a bloody, semi-clotted slash along his upper shoulder and neck. "This wound doth throb like Shaundral's bleakest light. Mayhap one of thee could provide Stargazer with some relief?"
They continued along the river after that, with Kaileer still looking for signs of the novices or their kidnappers. He found nothing that looked unusual. By dusk, they made their way to Kuiper's farm. Kuiper was sitting on the porch, the red coal of his pipe clearly visible in the evening gloaming. Once they got close enough for him to see them in the near darkness, he greeted them with a very interesting explicative that ended with the words 'hyena-faced bastard'. He grabbed his sword, which for some reason was on the porch with him, and seemed ready to charge Spot. Now that the group was closer, they noticed that he was in his armor and had a long bow and quiver with him as well. He also had a cup that he was drinking from and a jug sitting beside his chair.
Aloysius became alarmed as Kuiper rose and seemed ready to attack. Placing himself in front of Spot, the mage called to the toasty ranger. "Uh, Kuiper, wait! Attack him not! He is my, er . . . ." The mage looked quickly back (and up) at Spot . . . ."pet."
Jana, who'd tucked away her share of the gnoll loot earlier, watched Kuiper's drunken reaction toward Spot without comment or movement.
Gala said nothing. She watched to see what Kuiper's reaction would be. Then she looked around, to see if anyone else was there.
Spot grabbed his sword as well, since it was evident what the man intended for him. On Aloysius' words, Kuiper stopped, but if looks could kill, Spot, and quite possibly his 'master', would have fallen dead in their tracks. Spot, in a show of intelligence that he had not demonstrated before, lowered his sword. Nothing in Kuiper's movement indicated that he had been drinking, but those standing near him could catch the astrigent aroma of homebrew on him.
"Are you crazy?" Kuiper asked Aloysius. "Your PET? He's armed! My farmhands have wives and children around here!" He looked around at the group and shook his head. He sat down roughly on the porch stoop with his sword still in his hand.
"Crazy?" Aloysius considered the question for a moment. "Spot shall not hurt anyone, ranger." The mage looked up at the gnoll. "Will you Spot?"
Without taking his eyes off the gnoll, Kuiper continued, "Your gnome companion was here earlier," he frowned at this. "From her, I got an extremely muddled account of some of the things you've been doing." He looked at Gala and stood up abruptly, "Morninglord, can I talk to you without the others?"
Gala nodded again. She followed him to a more private spot.
Kuiper picked up his bow and quiver from the porch and resheathed his sword. "Would you take your gnoll somewhere else before someone sees him and gets frightened?" he asked Aloysius. "And don't go by yourself."
"Will you please just leave the damned creature in his custody?" Jana seemed more than a little exasperated.
He walked with Gala, talking quietly as he went, east of the farmhouse.
Kaileer grinned when he saw Kuiper but it quickly disappeared when he almost attacked the mage and his "pet". His expression then became a frown when the ranger walked away with the priestess. "I go fishing," he said, leaving his backpack, shield, quiver and bow next to the porch and walking to the river with his spear.
After Gala and Kuiper moved away, Aloysius took Spot by the arm. "Come along Spot," he said, heading towards the river, "let us see how brave Kaileer fares with the fish". With that, the mage and the gnoll moved off in the same direction Kaileer had gone earlier.
A few minutes after Gala and Kuiper left, he returned alone. "Gala will be back shortly. She went to speak with Arachne," he told the group remaining in front of his house. He seemed slightly calmer now that Aloysius and Spot were out of sight. He walked over to the porch and put his cup upside down on top of the jug that sat there. "I can't let you stay here tonight with your wizard's new pet. The women will be up early in the morning, and I don't want them to be afraid. And I don't trust a gnoll," he admitted, "no matter who's pet he is. Where did he get it?"
He looked at the assembled group, suddenly realizing that of the people standing there, he knew only two of them. "I assume you are Jana," he said to the woman. He looked at Blacky and Lasiar expectantly. "Like I said earlier, Arachne gave me some account of what's been going on. She said that the wizard came upon some orcs and goblins attacking a sheepherder's family in the New Mire. Is that true?"
After waiting for a response, he continued, "Oleanne was attacked in the Thornwood today by brigands. She barely got away from them. She won't come up to the house, but she's resting in some woods at the edge of my land. I'm going to keep watch out there tonight, to make sure she's okay. That's where Arachne is too. And Gala," he looked down for just a moment. "I'm going to start watching now. I wouldn't want anything to happen while I was standing around running my mouth." He walked back in the direction he had just come from.
"Eric Blackthorn." Blacky said "I just met these folks a couple of days ago and offered my help in tracking down some disappearees."
"By Selune's grace, well met, friend Kuiper. I am Lasiar Brightmantle, Silverstar of Selune." Lasiar greeted Kuiper with a pleasant smile and bowed his head.
"Kuiper, mind if I join you?" Lasiar sprinted after the man. "I may be able to assist Gala and Arachne with their ministrations on Oleanne. Besides I need to speak with Arachne."
"Oleanne doesn't want any help," Kuiper muttered. "That's how she is. But come on. I'll show you where they are."
Azrun took a step like he was going to go with them but then changed his mind. He then turned back toward's Kuiper's house and found a spot on his porch and sat down to rest. He stared out into the darkness silently.
