Birthright Tuornen Chapter 3

[ewancummins]

STREETS OF HAES

Raindrops fall from the slate gray sky as Filbert and Renn make their way back to Caer Haes...


CAER HAESThe halfling jester and the city watch commander are admitted without delay; and led by a page to the Duke's personal chambers.

They enter the lantern-lit, shuttered room to find Devlin and Braedonnal studying maps spread out on a table.

[ewancummins]

TEMPLE OF THE CELESTIAL JEWEL, CITY OF ENDIER


Dominica has no trouble finding a magically gifted healer inside the luxurious, gaily decorated temple.
The priest that tends to her, a balding man whose rich blue robes do not hid his sagging shoulders and pot belly, unwinds the cloth from her face after he completes his prayers. He brushes her face with clammy, soft fingertips. The black string from her surture falls away.
"Good as new! Not even a scar."
He smiles, indicating a carved box fixed at chest-height to the wall nearby. Dominica sees a coin-slot surrounded by silver filigree, set near the top front of the sturdy wooden box.

“The appropriate offering is one hundred gold coins. If you give more, further blessings may fall upon your path in life.”

[steveflam]

Dominica looks at Roald. "Well Uncle?"

[RocEter]

Turning his horse around, the Huntsman draws his sword and says a prayer in Andu.

[Varrus the Ethical]

Roald suppressed the urge to roll his eyes and deposits the gold into the slot, smiling graciously at the priest.

Turning the leave the Temple, Roald says to Dominica, "Now that is out of the way, we should see about taking a river boat to the City of Anuire."

[steveflam]

Dominica can't suppress the urge, and laughs good naturedly. "You.. you should have seen the look on your face ,,,, ,,,, Ha ,,,,, priceless..... one hundred gold pieces priceless,,,,,, Ha ha ha.." Rubbing where her scar was as well as wiping the tears from her laughter, she seems thoughtful. "Much better now. I have my face back. I have no objection to finding transport. However I do not wish to be unarmed or protected a moment longer. I promise to behave. Once we are at the gates of my city, you will be released of your duty to Devlin. There we part ways."

[Varrus the Ethical]

"I wouldn't be quite so jovial. We just blew our travel funds fixing your face."

[steveflam]

She looks at Roald and smiles. "You see. This is where I can come in handy. We need gold, I can find us some."

[Varrus the Ethical]

Roald looks Dominica up and down, eyebrow arched. "You mean some gold can find you, of course."

[ewancummins]

THE HUNTSMAN-

No sooner than his prayer begins, the goblins shoot again-- this time with more careful aim and to better effect. The Huntsman's hooded cloak flies from his back as a brace of arrows carry it away, leaving him with an oozing graze to his right temple. A third arrow nicks his sword hand.
His horse rears and snorts in terror.

A buzzing cloud of bees flies towards one of the goblin archers...

[Adam]

"Aye, git yerself behin' some cover, ye fool," Cormac shouts, slinging his bow off of his shoulder and launching a volley towards the goblins.

[ewancummins]

CORMAC-

"Aye, git yerself behin' some cover, ye fool," Cormac shouts, slinging his bow off of his shoulder and launching a volley towards the goblins.

Cormac hears a sharp whistle at his back, just after he fires his first shot.

A quick glance over his shoulder shows Dietric waiting by a clump of trees and boulders about forty feet distant, mounted and holding the reins of Cormac's horse.

"Cormac! Let's flee!"

Dietric's position is downhill from Cormac and out of line of sight of the goblins' current position--as is the easiest route to the empty saddle.

Cormac hears pounding hooves from the other side of the rocks behind which he is hiding.
The familiar-looking rider bursts into view on his swift mount, head bloodied and missing his cloak! Something odd about the upper part of his face...

[Lord Skybolt]

Without a word Gunnar rides to the overhang that should shield and cover himself from the Goblins on the ridge, riding off toward where Cormac and Dietric went to confront the lone horseman .

[VAN]

CAER HAESThe halfling jester and the city watch commander are admitted without delay; and led by a page to the Duke's personal chambers.

They enter the lantern-lit, shuttered room to find Devlin and Braedonnal studying maps spread out on a table.

Filbert bows and getting a bit closer so he can take a look at the maps on the table says:

"We are here Your Grace, what can we do to help?"

[Brock Marsh Runoff]

CAER HAES

"Your Grace," Renn says with a bow as he enters the room. "Beg to report. Then men our holding the walls. They could probably hold longer, but our supplies are dwindling. There was a riot over bread last night, but my boys put it down."

"The way I see it, we either need to find a way to get supplies in, or find some way to convince Alamie's thugs that they can find better plunder elsewhere. I've been burning the bastards like wheat stubble, yet still they come."

"Now, if the attackers were to be struck with a bout of the flux, if their food supplies were to become tainted, then we'd have a chance. Perhaps we should find ways to...hasten along such misfortune."