Chronicles of Vieliria

[Varrus the Ethical]

"A meal and some shelter would be appreciated." Wil nods and then looks around. "Has there been much in the way of bandit activity in this area? No offense, but it seems that folks are a bit on edge around here."

[alhoon]

After Wil agreed for dinner, Arneu also nodded his appreciation of the offer. The farms assume that includes the whole group.
Tyrem turned to his son "Tell your mother we have 4 guests for dinner. Instruct your sister and your wife to find 4 extra blankets and get Emilia and Renny to gother some hay for our guests to use as pillow."
As Frid left, Tyrem left the axe down, pet the dog to calm him and moved to the fence door and opened it for the group to come in.
"Bandit activity? Not that much. If bandits and brigands cause too much trouble, Lord Matheron gets his retainers, hires a few extra hands, not unlike yourselves, and they deal with them. Lord Matheron may be distant but he takes care of us. We do have the odd mugging here and there but things are calm. Recently the goblins living in the village or their relatives from the surrounding areas have increased the thefts they commit, but we can deal with them.
We're not used to see people as heavily armed as you though in these parts. And even if incidents are rare, with my grandchildren in the back yard, I had to check, you know? I hope I didn't offend you." His eyes linger on the dwarf "I hope I didn't offend any of you"

[Roddek]

Roddok stared back for a long moment and then nodded. "You look after your family, there's no shame in that. I do make for an intimidating figure." Roddek seemed to believe it was because it was that he was the most heavily armed and armored of the group that he was the least trusted. "If you have any work that needs to get done, I'd be happy to repay your kindness in labor. I'm a skilled blacksmith or I can chop firewood if that is all you need."

Despite the way he spoke, Roddek didn't smile. It was all business it seemed.

[alhoon]

Arneu actually seems taken by suprise by the dwarf's offer, while the farmer seems intrigued.
"A dwarven smith? And would you be willing to help me fix the bent horse-shoe and repair my hatchet, mr Dwarf in exchange of an apple pie? The few dwarves we have in the village don't do such things. I have a small anvil and a couple of hammers for small repairs around the farm. I assume it's not a lot of work for a professional to check and do some mantainance to my tools; at most an hour. But it's too dark for you to work now I guess, but you can do it tomorrow if you want; if you do, I'll give you an apple pie."
Tyrem seems ignorant of the fact that dwarves can see in the dark.

As the group moves inside the farm, Tyrem closes the fence door behind them and keeps a hand on the dog's neck to keep him under control as he barks to the new comers. It's more of a warning bark than an aggressive one.
" We had a good smith in the village a few years ago, but he turned to worse when both his sons died in the war against the sorceress Zevarzia. We now have to travel for a couple of hours to find a smith. Most of us make do with what skills we have."

A woman in her early forties opens the door of the large house. She keeps her gray her in a bun and looks at the adventurers one by one with a measuring look. She's dressed in a long gray dress and wears a slightly dirty appron. "Welcome to our house, I'm Ryette" she offers politely but not entirely friendly . "Please, be so kind as to leave your weapons by the door, they make my grandkids nervous. Oh, and take care to not bring mud in the house if possible".
At this point, Tyrem gives a sigh as if he expected the reaction. "I'm sure the kids won't have nightmares if you decide to keep your weapons by your side. Whatever makes you more comfortable"

[VAN]

Boiros gets the belt with his long sword off and puts his shield down as well, but kept his holy symbol.

"By no means we don't want to cause distress to your grandson. Your hospitality is more than welcome. No need to make special arrangements for us the warehouse is fine. I will keep your family in my prayers, the Lady of Mists will be for sure grateful of the kind people that helped an anchorite. If you have time after dinner I would love to hear more about the village, Lord Matheron that seems to take so good care of all of you and the war against that sorceress Zevarzia. Is that war ended?"

Making sure his boots are clear of mud the cleric steps inside the house and asks Ryette.

"Do you need any help with the food, or is there anything else we can do to help?"

[alhoon]

Ryette keeps her distance from the members of the group as she answers "I can manage with Ioreme, my son's wife. Thank you." She seems more reassured now that the cleric dropped his weapon.
The group steps in a long, tidy room that acts as the living room and kitchen. The floor is made of wooden planks and covered with woolen and cotton rags. A large table dominates the room, along with 10 chairs around it. The plates and cups are cramped for space as a young dark haired woman dressed in dark brown cotton dress sets them around. A fire is lit in a large fireplace where a stew with a tantalising smell is being kept warm. Wooden doors lead to the bedrooms of the family presumably.
Three little kids, one boy and two girls, little older than babies, and a bit dirty look at them curiously from the side of the room, making little noise. They seem to take particular interest with the dwarf and the armors the people wear.

[Roddek]

It was the first time any in the group had seen the dwarf smile as the kids looked at him curiously. He invited them over and if they'd come he'd tell them stories about mighty dwarven warriors hunting epic beasts and monsters, ignoring the food in favor of a good story. If they hid, he'd chuckle softly and go about eating with the rest of the group.

[alhoon]

The kids needed no more prompting from the strange warrior in the shining armor to rush to him and touch his armor. The youngest girl, barely a couple of years old was helped along by her older siblings as her young legs wouldn't go fast enough. At first, the family would look at the kids go to Roddek in stunned disbelief. The two men seemed hesistant to intervene as the kids went to the dwarf and started bombarding him with questions.
Then their mother, the young woman setting the table, would approach, her steps seeming hastened by fear, and with hushed excuses drug them away from the dwarf warrior. When the kids protested and said the "short fellow" didn't seem to mind, she threatened to send them to sleep without dinner. Then she made an apologetic smile to Roddek saying "Don't mind the kids sir. They can be a handful. We won't have them bother a guest." she said and then turned to them and repeated sterny, "we won't have them bother a guest!"

The table was set and dinner was served. Roddek found himself at the other head of the table, facing Tyrem, the head of the house. Next to Roddek were the rest of the group. The food was simple chicken stew, but cooked with care. The bread was warm and the apple pie that came at the end of the meal was freshly baked and warm.
True to his word, Arneu sang a couple of songs and ballads about heroes of forlorn places while the rest were helping themselves to the apple pie or, for Tyrem and Frid, smoking their pipes. Towards the end of Arneu's performance, he took out 4 colored balls and started juggling them in the air while he changed his tune from heroic ballads to a funny song about farm life. Juggling ended with Arneu gathering the balls through his sleeves, by bouncing them on elbows, knee and the last one, he hit with his backside to direct it towards his sleeve, to thunderous laughter and applaud from the simple people that were not used to such theatrics.
The kids seemed to be having the time of their life. Only the promise that Arneu would juggle for them tomorrow calmed them enough to go to sleep. The women went to set the kids to bed, and the men moved to help the group set up as good as possible to the hay and blankets that have been set for them in the storage room.

What was notable, was that none of the adults have asked a single question of where the travelers came from, or what was their business. When the kids a couple of time tried to ask, they were interrupted and told to not pry in the affairs of their guests.

The storage room that the men left the party at was a small wooden structure that didn't have a floor, just packed earth and along with crates of apples, it held a small anvil and an assortment of tools. It also had a small keg, pressumably of wine. Before leaving them with a candle, Frid told them "Thank you for tonight, it was a pleasure to have you. Keep your weapons close to you please. The storage door doesn't lock from the inside, and while we didn't have much trouble for years, there could always be bandits or thieving fey around. I'll have the dog tied outside your door just in case. He will bark if he smells anything.
I'm sure you'll be fine. Those are just precautions for our guests. Goodnight."

[alhoon]

As the group spends a few minutes chosing where to sleep, get comfortable and discuss between themselves...
The dog outside starts to bark.
A gust of air happens to open the door and they can see that a shadow has moved into the farm. The moon shines on the invader and they can see that he's a man of average height, relatively thin but muscular. Their eyes are drawn to the studded leather armor he wears openly and the weapon hanging from his belt.

[VAN]

Boiros thanks Tyrem and his wife for the splendid meal and claps his hands really impressed by Arneu's performance. The bard seems to be really talented and also with a great voice. At the storage room the cleric picks the spot closer to the door and keeps his sword and shield nearby. When the shadow appeared he doesn't hesitate a second, he jumps up and getting his sword and shield says:

"Who is there, state your business or face the wrath of Mighty Ezra."

[Varrus the Ethical]

Wil glances at Boiros.

"Do people not say hello where you're from?" he asks, making no hostile moves towards the newcomer.

[VAN]

Boiros doesn't turn to face Wil, his eyes are fixed on the newcomer:

"Pardon me if I want to be cautious when I see a man during the night in a storehouse when we arrived like we did..."

[alhoon]

The newcomer turns dizzily and surprised towards the group. He seems confused and a gash and bruise on his forehead betrays that he has hit his head. His energy seems expended as he saw the adventurers. He takes one unsteady step, drops to one knee, brings a hand to his forehead and faints falling to his side.
Around that time, the door of the barn opens and Tyrem shows his head. "everything all right there? I heard the dog barking."

[Naliamegod]

As he fumbles down, he slowly mumbles something about not being in a gate. He has a youthful, clean shaven face that is hidden behind his oily brown hair. He also has a crude silver ring on his left hand. He also holds a dagger in his right hand, that he continues to grip in his unconscious state.

[Varrus the Ethical]

Wil gets up to help the injured newcomer. "Whoa there, stranger. You look like you took a nasty hit to the head, there."