Chapter 4 - Hope

[BigRedRod]

In-keeping with Master Rizeth's preference there is a knock at the door early next morning. The message from the serving boy is simple, the Master of the Villa would speak to you in his study. Rather than allow his guests to arrive in their own time, the serving boy awaits each of them to join them. Finally leading them, once assembled, through the now familiar corridors and to the firmly closed door to Master Rizeth's study.

After a short rap at the door, the boy dissapears and a tired voice speaks from the other side,
"Enter"

The Wizard Rizeth has lost the usual vitality which surrounds him like an aura, he vaguely waves to the chairs on the other side of his great desk and speaks in a quiet, weary voice,
"I apologise for not waiting until after breakfast to speak to you, but I could noyt go through standard pleasantries when I fear for the life of a dear friend. As you no doubt suspect, I want you to go back to Luca's property and find out what happened. I need something to work from."
Rizeth indicates a leather bag,
"That contains the funds I promised for news of my companion. You mentioned he had captives ... could you elaborate? I know he was fond of researching the particular strengths, weaknesses and attributes of all kinds of life, but from youe earlier words you made it sound like he was using sentient beings as part of his work."


[ooc: the bag has twenty platinum pieces inside, split as you like, although this time I don't think anyone mentioned any dealings]

[Black Plauge]

"It is understandable that you do not wish to spend time on pleasantries when your friend's life may be in danger," Durn replies consolingly.

"As I said earlier, the former captives had locked themselves in a hidden room within Lucas's house. They spoke only goblin that we heard, and the one that we did see was definately a goblin, though it looked almost like it had been taken apart and put back together so covered was it in scars and stitching. It said that Lucas had experimented on it and others of its kind. We also heard mention of a 'two-headed god-orc'. A simple description, no doubt, but one that would match one of the beasts that invaded your mine," Durn replies to Rizeth's question.

"We were also told that many of Lucas' subjects did not long surive his experiments," Durn continues, apologetically, " However, we have only the word of a single goblin on this, and as sincere as he may have seemed, he may have been lying. Without the opportunity to inspect Lucas' lab, I cannot say for sure that what we were told is true."

[BigRedRod]

Rizeth looks pained as Durn speaks of the captives,
"He swore to me that he did not experiment on anything displaying intelligence. I should have realised his ambition would be too great."

As he speaks the old man raises his voice from a whisper and builds in intensity
"Despite what Lucas has done wrong he is my friend and ally. I cannot let his disapearance go unquestioned, but nor can I turn a blind eye to his work. Return to Lucas' property, find a way into the lab. I need to find out what he was doing and what happened to him. If those hiding in his lab areunwilling to speak, or have fled, then you must turn your attention to the surrounding lands, ask if anyone noticed any dragoon activity."
After a pause he continues in a more level tone,
"I just need to know what happened and what he was doing. The two could be related, or they might not be. So, will you aid an old wizard search for a lost friend?"

[Black Plauge]

"Master Rizeth, I think I speak for the others when I say that we are willing to help, but we will need some time to prepare if we are to get any further with our investiagtion this time," Durn replies, looking to the others for agreement.

"For one thing, I will need to add a few spells to my meager spellbook. None of us have any ability with locks and a few spells like knock would go a long way to our being able to get into Lucas' lab." Falling silent, Durn waits for the others to add their needs.

[BigRedRod]

"If you agree, you'll have my library at your disposal once more. But, please don't spend any longer than you must in preparation, I would rather see some progress made."

[The Alcotroll]

"Master Rizeth," says Dron in a consolatory manner, "We simply can-not enter into this investegation unprepared. Master Lucas' laboratory was secured by an extremely effecient magical barrier, which none of us has the skills or resources to bypass, nor have we much hope of tracking him down without more detailed information. You are his friend, maybe you recall something of his habits, anything that might give us a clue as to where we could find information, how we might gain entry to his laboratory, where he might flee to, or take shelter if threatened?"

He pauses, seemingly considering, "In the mean time, myself and Roth, free as we are of the demands of the magical craft, will busy ourselves questioning the locals. I recall rumours circulating in the village of 'strange monsters' which bore striking resemblence to the specimens we encountered in your mine and in your friend's house.
"Rest assured that we will spare no effort in our investigations."
And as an after-thought; "We can settle the matter of our expenses when this affair is concluded."

[SuperJosh]

"I agree with my companions, I gladly take this assignment." Roth looks sheepish for a moment then continues. "I admit it does my heart good to hear that you talked with Lucas about his experiments and that you were under the impression that he did not experiment on thinking creatures. You have been nothing but kind, courtious and honest with us and it distressed me to think that you might have known what was going on. I did not want to bring this up last night when you were in obvious grief and I am glad you brought it up today. I will do my best to help you find out what happened to Lucas and to rescue him if we can."

[BigRedRod]

Rizeth looks with some confusion at the mechanist,
"It sounds rather more like abduction than Lucas has simply gone into hiding. If he were I am sure he would have sent me a message. No, focus what has happened to him. If he is in hiding I will locate him through my own channels."

Rizeth nods,
"I'm glad you understand... I'll... I'll let you prepare. Please hurry"

[ooc: just give me a post each about how you are spending the next ten days or so]

[Black Plauge]

After the group makes its way back out of Rizeth's study, Durn says to the others, "I will require a week to prepare the spells I need. Dron and Roth, in addition to searching for rumors in Lodez I might suggest riding to the village we stopped at the other night and checking there as well. In the mean time, I will be in the Library. Shall we make plans to head back to Lucas' in a tenday?"

[OOC: Once in the library Durn will copy the following spells (in this order) at the rate of 1/day: knock, detect secret doors, open/close, hold portal, arcane lock, locate object, identify, melf's acid arrow, animate rope and spider climb. The order might be important if Durn gets cut off before the tenday is up.]

[The Alcotroll]

Dron nods his agreement; "Sounds like a plan. Im certain that someone in this village or the next will have something useful to tell us once his tongue has been sufficiently lubricated by ale or gold.
"You'll join me Roth? Two of us working together will give us a better chance of finding something important..."

[OOC; Same deal as when Dust went intel' gathering I think, except of course that we'll be asking about Lucas and Dragoons specifically.]

[SuperJosh]

"Yea, I will help you." Roth says to Dron as they walk. "To long in here and I will probably go star crazy."

[BigRedRod]

The pair of Wizards retreat once again to the expansive library which Rizeth had constructed during his life. The ancient tomes filled with lore and spells from across the world, sit on their shelves staring down at the two interlopers. The tenday is largely peaceful for the two as they sit pouring over the books refilling their own personal tomes with fresh incantations.

Accompanied by Cy, the warrior and the mechanist head into town and spend a week with not nearly so much peace. After tendays of buying drinks and pretending to be interested in the random stories of the tavern-folk, the pair are ten gold pieces less well off each but greeted by smiles and shouted greetings whenever they set foot in Lodez or one of it's handful of Taverns.

Tales of Lodez (the result of a tenday in bars with Roth and Dron

-Most of the town have been discussing the news of the Venterran Empire changing it's name. It is now "The Holy Venterran Empire" or simply "The Holy Empire", although the Empire itself has not devoted itself to the service of any single God. The official religion of the Empire is "The Great Wheel", a religion which emphasises the unity and oneness of the Gods, People and World. The state clerics have, reportedly, been very civil with the already established temples, seeking to incorporate them into a unifed whole without destroying their diversity. Exactly why this has happened no one seems quite sure, but it has weakened relations with the states allied to the Empire, as most are uncertain about these events

-The reports of "unusual" monster seem to have died off. No one seems to have much idea where they came from. But most would like to accuse the Holy Venterran Empire of releasing them as a method of weakening the free states enough to conquer them in a sudden sweep

-The areanas at Sinst have become very popular since the solstice. The dragoon battles brought record numbers to watch, and several wealthy merchants have approached the guilds in order to aquire their own dragoons for competiton

-All of the town are aware of Master Rizeth suffering some kind of loss, the townspeople seem genuinely concerned for him

-One tradesman you met in "The Cyclop's Smile" brought news of reported dragoon scout groups from the Allied States crossing the border quite often in recent days. No one has reported any hostile encounters but a delegation left Gran Arco shortly before the tradesmen headed for Sinst to petition for a small garrison equipped with Dragoons to be established.

-Many of the folk of Lodez have also heard of Gran aRco's delegation and are debating asking Master Rizeth to give his signiture and blessing to a group who wish to ask for a small number of light dragoons to aid in patrols

-Talk of all these potential new dragoon units is amking the townsfolk restless, most believe that war is not far away with the so-called "Holy Empire"

-Most of the town seem to have some idea that Lucas is a close friend of Master Rizeth. Although Lucas is not held with nearly the same level of respect by them.

-Lucas is "known" to a few individuals as belonging to the same select group of Wizards as Master Rizeth. Their name is unknown, as are amny other details. Some question whether this isn't just idle speculation based on Rizeth and Lucas being good friends.

[SuperJosh]

As Dron ans Roth trudge back to Master Rizeth's estate Roth strikes up a conversation. "Well, that was productive. If we ever decide to settle down we know a place were everybody knows our names. I feel like we learned something, but I just can not put my finger on what it was. Any ideas?"

[The Alcotroll]

"Well," says Dron, considering, "We know Rizeth is interested in Dragoons and that his interest might stretch beyond mere scholarly observations. Now we hear rumours that Rizeth and Lucas are more than just friends, but colleagues in some sort of group." He pauses, waves absently at a farmer still tilling his field.
"Maybe Lucas was working in concert with Rizeth. Rizeth seems intrested in Energysts, the soul-source of a Dragoon, without which the machine cannot function. Veteran Dragoon pilots sometimes speak of their machine avoiding an incoming blow of it's own accord, and the only way us mechanists could explain this was that the trapped soul was somehow still sentient.
"Suppose that Lucas was attempting to create a more powerful soul, and Rizeth a more efficient way of utilising that power. Maybe there are more of these wizards out there, working on other aspects of Dragoon-craft?
"The Ventarran Empire," he laughes bitterly, "Sorry, the HolyVentarran Empire is becoming more agressive, expansionist. We've heard the people clamouring for Dragoons of their own, to defend their land, but the rebels haven't the numbers nor the craftsmanship to face the Ventarrans down. maybe that is about to change."

He laughes again, "Of course this is just speculation on my part, I don't know enough about Dragoons to be certain, but if true, then it gives us some idea of where Lucas is now.
"The Venterrans will hardly approve of his meddling, and if they caught wind of his work they may well have Lucas undergoing 'interrogation' even now to unlock his secrets. Nor do the Dragoon guilds take kindly to infringements upon their territory, Lucas could be in their clutches too."

[OOC; I'm assuming that Dron has a sufficient Knowlege and craft (Dragoon) related skills to back all this up (10 I think). If not then I'll delete this post and, but for the reddening of my ears, no-one will ever know what happened...]

[SuperJosh]

"Hhhhmmmmm." Roth mutters as he thinks, absentmindedly petting Cy. "You certianly know more about dragoons than I do. I admit that your theory makes sense. I would feel better if we new for sure what Rizeth was up to. He could be putting himself in quite a bit of danger."

After being silent as they walk back to the villa Roth speaks up. "I hope Durn and Algerdar are done when we get there. I would hate to have to wait any longer." With that Roth loses himself in thought for the rest of the journey.

[Black Plauge]

"Well, are we ready to head for Lucas' tommorow?" Durn asks that night at dinner.

"I've finished transcribing the spells I needed so we should be able to get into his lab when we get there. Did you two find out anything in town?"

After Roth and Dron explain what they discovered and Dron's theory, Durn is quiet for a moment.

"Well, that would certainly be interesting. I guess we'll find out more when we search Lucas' lab. Shall we leave early tommorow and try and push all the way through in one day or spend the night along the way like we did last time?"

[The Alcotroll]

Dron shrugs, mouth full of food. He swigs down a mouthful of weak ale to clear the crumbs and winces at the taste. "There's nothing I particularly need to do before we set off, so I'm all for an early start. If we split the journey then we can ask around at the inn," he looks bashful, "hopefully we'll have better luck than last time."

[SuperJosh]

"Aye, an hopefully it will be as uneventfull as last time." Roth says as he finishes his meal. "I have everything I need packed already. I say we head to bed early so we can get a good start in the morning."

[BigRedRod]

The Day breaks and the companions leave the soft comfortable beds of Rizeth's Villa and step outside into a cool Summer morning, Corran is on duty and he opens the gate wordlessly giving a stiff nod and little else. Mounted, the four ride on again toward Gran Arco, the day becomes progressivly warmer making the ride rather uncomfortable. The traffic on the road is very light, but with several miles still to go to reach Gran Arco you come across the village of Vicholm, the same village which provided cheap beds and a pleasant evening. The light is already starting to drain from the day...

[ooc: it's a small village with a tavern which was fairly empty last time. I think Dron wanted to try and pick up further rumours, so I'll leave it in the air to decide whether to stop here or look for somewhere bigger, which would most likely be in Gran Arco itself]

[The Alcotroll]

Shifting wearily in his saddle, Dron looks longingly at the welcoming doorway of the inn. As much as I'd like to stop now, he thinks, We'd have better luck for news in somewhere a little livelier.

He glances round at his companions, "Shall we stop, or go on? I think we'll find more answers in Gran Arco than here."

[Black Plauge]

Dwarves were definately not meant to ride in a saddle.

"I think your right. If we hope to find out anything tonight, we'll have to get to Gran Arco," Durn replies.

I'm probably going to regret this.

"Perhaps we could push our mounts to move a little faster? The sooner we get to Gran Arco the more likely we'll be able to find out something useful."

[The Alcotroll]

Dron nods wearily, not taking his eyes from the inn door. "Let's get moving then, if we want to reach Gran Arco before nightfall."

[BigRedRod]

The journey resumes with the party trying to push extra speed out of their mounts. The summer twilight is cool and shows no sign of fading to full dark any time soon. After over an hour or so of tiring uneventful riding the four find themselves at what seems to be Gran Arco by the amount of trees dotted around. The town is walled, although the gate is open and the guards pay little attention as you ride past.
The twilight scene of purples and blues dissapears as you enter the brightly lit town. The building on your immediate left appears to be a tavern named The Duke's Hat, to the right a large municipal stable with a pair of young grooms stood by the fence. The stable also provides the area with the over-whelming stench of manure. A number of ragged beggars seem to have noticed the party arrive and are slowly advancing each telling their own tale of misfortune which can only be remedied by a few copper pieces.

[The Alcotroll]

Dron looks to his companions and as the shambling beggars approach, murmurs under his breath; "Beggars have a knack of hearing what no-one wanted heard and seeing what no-one wanted seen. Maybe they'd be willing to share their knowledge for a little coin?"

[OOC; BRR how many Beggars?]

[Black Plauge]

"I'll leave that to you," Durn mutters back, "I'm not that good at getting people to talk. If you need some smaller coin though, I still have the copper and silver we got off the creatures from the mine. Just let me know where and when to give it."

[The Alcotroll]

Dron nods, slides gingerly from his saddle and winces. Turning to the beggars he tosses a few copper pieces towards the nearest man to gain their attention and then stills their platitudes with a wave of his hand.
"Greetings Friends", he says in cheery, confident tones, "Perhaps you'd like to eat well tonight?"
"I'm looking for information, and I'm willing to pay with more than just copper," he rubs a gold crown between his fingers nonchalantly, "You see, I have a package to deliver, to a man named Lucas, a Wizard in fact. Only it seems that he's left the area in something of a hurry. Well, I'm sure you can imagine that I'm eager to pass on my parcel and be on my way. Maybe you gentlemen have seen or heard something that could help me find him?"
"I've always thought that good information is worth it's weight in gold." he adds, giving the crown between his fingers another meaningful rub.

[OOC; 3cp gone so far, Bluff/Diplomacy/straight Charisma checks if necessary. There will be another question or two after the answer to this one.]

[BigRedRod]

The first beggar, a middle-aged halfling, steps forward and speaks quickly,
"Lucas, I know Lucas! He lives up at the dom-"
but the second, a short man of middling years, interupts her,
"But he's gone like you said. You aren't the first to be asking for him either. Am came and he asked me-
The first interjects,
"A man with a Helkin accent,"
The third, a tall older man with a single eye, speaks up, his voice doesn't waver like the other two instead it oozes a confidence which isn't often found in a beggar,
"No, it was a poor Ronoway accent"
The first speaker turns her gaz on him,
"Whadja mean poor?"
"He wasn't from there."
"Oh really? Then where was he from?"
The second interupts,
"It doesn't matter! A man asked and then the Wizard was gone."

[The Alcotroll]

Interested now, Dron slowly counts out three gold pieces into the palm of his hand as he asks his next question;
"If you can't tell me where Lucas is, maybe you could tell me more about this man. If he's a friend of this Lucas then I could give him the package and ask him to pass it on."
"When was he here, and where was he from? I'd appreacite any information you can give me."

[BigRedRod]

The first man pipes up at the sight of the glittering gold,
"A month, abouts. Not local-"
The woman interupts again,
"From Helkin, like I said"
The one-eyed man sighs,
"He had a Ronoway accent but he didn't speak like someone from there. So either he was just pretending to be from up north or he just has an odd way with words."
The female beggar pouts and says in a small voice,
"Sounded like he was from Helkin to me"
There is a brief moment of silence between the trio and then the shorter man speaks,
"He was a rich looking guy, well turned out and all that. Had a beard and never smiled, not once!"

[The Alcotroll]

Dron nods encoyragingly. "One more thing, friends, before I bid you goodnight. This unsmiling man, where did he go afterwards? Did he have an entourage whith him?"

[BigRedRod]

The short man puts his finger to his lips,
"...errrr Yes! No, I mean! No, all alone"
His halfling compatriot chimes in,
"Well I guess he went to go and see the Wizard, didn't see him after that."
The tall man remains silent. All but him are blatantly staring at the coins while he attempts not to

[The Alcotroll]

Dron smiles. "Thank you my friends, you've been very helpful. I suppose I'll have to leave my package at his house, and hope he finds it."

He tosses a gold crown to each beggar, and the rest of his copper. "Thank you again, and may Puck turn his face on you with a smile."

As they shuffle away, he watches the tall one-eyed man with interest. That man wasn't always a beggar, and I'd swear he knows more than he's prepared to tell, whatever the gold. Would I do well to follow him at a distance, see where he leads me? Or am I chasing ghosts again.

He decides to mention the idea to his friends once the Beggars are out of earshot. Besides, he thinks, There's a whole town to interrogate, and we may be on a budget as far as time goes.

[OOC, thats 10cp and 3 gold off the top of my head.]

[BigRedRod]

The smile and mutter genuine words of thanks as they trundle away to greet the next set of new arrivals to the great town of Gran Arco.

The door to The Duke's Hat opens, filling the street with a warm yellow glow and the noise of people having a quiet(noisy) drink. A youthful man is flung out of the door and lands in a heap in the centre of the path. The silhouette of a dwarf appears in the doorway, he speaks in a loud but not gruff voice
"Go home Sam. I'll expect to see you tomorrow so you can apologise to Maria"
With that the door closes and the young man, named Sam, unrolls and begins to groan

[The Alcotroll]

Dron continues to watch the beggars, and the tall man in particular as surreptitiously as possible. To his dismounting companions he murmurs; "That one-eyed man was no beggar if I'm any judge, and I swear he knows more than he lets on. I'm going to follow him and see where he goes and who he sees. I may not be much use in a fight, but I'm damned if I'll miss an opportunity to sulk around in the shadows."
With that, he looks around for a suitable location to observe the ragged trio currently accosting newcomers, without being observed himself.

[OOC; Be using Hide(10), Move Silently(10) and all that Rogue bejiggery.]

[Black Plauge]

Remembering the last time Dron tried to finagle information out of some one, Durn just smiles, but nevertheless takes the reins of Dron's horse and heads for the stables to put both it and his own pony up for the night.

[BigRedRod]

A painted sign beside the gate to the stable unveils the pricing scheme. A suprisingly cheap three coppers per day. The low cost however, clearly translates to poor pay for the grooms, seeing Durn approach one sighs and opens the gate while the other takes the reigns and grunts,
"Pay when you pick them up."

After being turned away from a few travellers the beggars wander off through the side-alleys of the town and eventually enter a large, rather decrepit wooden building which has nothing to indicate it's purpose. Dron rounds the corner just in time to see the door close, allowing him to see nothing more than a dim glow. Through his travels, Dron is fairly certain that didn't notice him following him.

[Black Plauge]

Flipping each of the grooms a single copper, Durn says, "Very well. Take care of them well and you'll be be rewarded."

Turning to Roth and Alegedar, Durn asks, "Well, shall we go in and secure rooms for the night?" indicating the inn across the street.

[SuperJosh]

"That sounds like a good idea. I could use some ale and a seat. Do you think Dron will be OK?" Roth asks, apprehension evident in his voice.

[Black Plauge]

"It was his choice to follow the beggers." Durn replies no-commitally, "but I think he'll be alright."

"Tell you what. If he isn't back by the time we've finished dinner, we'll go out looking for him. Will that put your mind at ease?"

[SuperJosh]

Roth nods, "Yes, that sure would. Now what say we get some grub? I know I owe someone a steak!" Roth says as he ruffles Cy's head. "I and I finally have the coin to buy it. Right boy!!!"

As the enter the common room for a table near a wall. preferably close to the door in case he needs to bolt out real quick.

[The Alcotroll]

Outside the Ramshackle building, Dron stands in the shade of an alleyway and considers his options.
Looks like a beggars doss-house, he thinks, but I'd rather be sure that there's nothing more to this now, than have something I've overlooked come back and bite me on the arse.

Staying in the shadows as far as possible, and walking nonchalantly where there is no-where to hide, he sets off on a circuit of the building, intending to check it's size and the number of exits, all the while watching for any sign of the one-eyed man leaving the building.

[BigRedRod]

The building is quite simple, having one door and most of the windows boarded up. Those which aren't are barred and have heavy cloth hanging in front of to preserve heat. As far as the apprentice can guess, the building has a single floor dominated by a central fire (smoke rises from an unseen point on the roof) and is the size of a small warehouse.
Pausing at a window, Dron hears a few muffled words but soon realises that any details will be far more difficult to obtain. There is no sign of anyone leaving the building via a back-route

[elpresidente]

Algedar orders half a flageon of ale and sits down across from Roth after securing his room "i swear Drons paranoid they were beggars, and no they probably weren't always beggars but then the average merchant is only ever a meal away from the gutter."

[The Alcotroll]

Returning to his original vantage point, well hidden and with a good view of the door, Dron decides to wait for a bell or two, in the hope that the one-eyed man will emerge.

He pulls his cloak around himself to preserve his body's warmth and pulls out a hunk of bread from the depths of a pocket, which he proceeds to chew on with every sign of gusto, all the while keeping his senses alert.

[OOC, not sure of the time, but depending on that, I may give it an hour or more.]

[SuperJosh]

Roth waits patiently at his table until the serving wench appears then places an order for a flagon of ale and the two best steaks in the place.

[BigRedRod]

The weary dron waits in the dark as it becomes ever colder. After several minutes a cluster of ragged-cloaked individuals approach the building and swiftly enter, but there is no sign of the one-eyed man. A biting wind races through the alleys, chilling Dron to the bone and leaving him with a choice between standing outside all night or until exhaustion sets in, or to take a more direct course of action.

[The Alcotroll]

Bugger this for a game of soldiers thinks Dron, I could be in a warm inn by now, showing off my scars to the girls. He looks back down the alleyway, considering. Although he has had enough of the biting wind and the boredom of his watch, he is aware that if there is something amiss which he overlooks now, it could come back to haunt his friends and himself later.

He reaches a decision, swings his pack from his shoulders and roots through it. His thieve's tools he slips into his belt pouch, his dagger in it's sheath tucked into his belt at his back. His rapier and all other equipment are stuffed into his pack, including all his money, but for a couple of silver pieces which are pushed into a boot. That done, with a distasteful grimace, he rolls in the filth-clogged gutter until his clothes look even scruffier than before, and his shirt is no longer that distinctive blue. He takes the flask of ale, appropriated from Rizeth and swills down a mouthful, pouring the rest on his clothes. Finally, he hides is pack under a heap of rubbish, whispering a prayer to Puck that it will not find itself a new ower within the next few hours and returns to his vantage point.
He intends to wait untill a group of beggars comes along and then join them, pretending to be a drunken tramp, and gain entry to the building, wherein he will either stick with the new group, or slip away to explore the building, depending upon the layout of the building and whether he considers the conditions to be favourable. If no beggars appear after an hour, he will enter anyway.

"Praise be to Puck for never-ending luck." He whispers to himself, I hope this works.

[OOC; carrying dagger, thieves tools and 6sp. Using Disguise and Bluff skills so far.]

[BigRedRod]

The night passes, and Dron status changes from simply cold to cold and smelling like a gutter, not to mention how he looks. With no sign of any other unfortunates, he walks toward the building and tries to open the door. The door rattles rather than opens, and you hear brief movement sounds from the other side. A small panel opens in the door, and light pours from the gap. A pair of eyes stare at Dron,
"It's late and we're shut. If you want in now it's a silver piece. Now clear off, you smelly bastard."
The door-panel slides closed

[The Alcotroll]

Grumbling, and with bad grace, Dron bangs on the door again and fumblingly hands over a dirt smeared silver piece.
This better be worth it. he thinks.

[BigRedRod]

The door opens to reveal a powerful looking mongrel of breeding. At least partially a man, and perhaps more than a little orc mixed with Dron can only guess what else. The man barks at the rogue,
"Hurry it, your letting the cold in."
Pulling Dron bodily into the building he slams the door shut and bolts it before turning to stare down at him. He points to the main room of the building which houses a large circular fireplace i nthe centre
"Welcome in, don't be causing no one no trouble. You look like you've had a rough few days ... It can much worse."
He draws himself closer to the man,
"Much worse. Get me? G'night"

Taking a few steps forward, Dron is greeted to the sight of a beggar's flophouse. Various clumps of blankets atop heaps of straw mark where people are attempting to sleep. Directly at the edge of the fireplace are a circle of beggars, quietly chatting with a few playing a game involving bone chips and dice. The one-eyed man is among those at the fireside, listening to a half-elven girl beside him talk.

[The Alcotroll]

Dron shuffles towards the group by the fireside, taking care to place himself near enougn to overhear the old man's conversation, but close enough to one of the cloth-draped windows that he can make an expeditious exit if things turn sour.

[BigRedRod]

[ooc: the fireplace is in the centre of the room. You'll have to run across sleeping poor people if you want to jump through a window]

The others respectfully shuffle apart to allow Dron to sit and then pay him no further attention. The one-eyed man stares at him briefly, and then goes back to watching his companion as she continues to talk,
"...even like they need the money. I'm head, you want to know what've heard? People don't need to beg in some places ... not at all. Imagine, the Duke, or King maybe, whatever they have in foreign parts. If you get a bad streak they help you out while things get moving again. I could have that, I could, but no, I'm not pure. Bastards..."
The girl continues to rant while the man listens, nodding occasionally but not speaking

[The Alcotroll]

Dron sits, head hunched between his cloak-wrapped shoulders, saying nothing, pretending to be soaking up the heat of the fire, keeping half an ear on the conversation, half an eye on the actions of the one-eyed man.

[OOC; I'm going to damn well sit here untill something happens, or the morning comes.]

[Black Plauge]

His belly full and his thirst satisfied, Durn allows his gaze to wander over to the door again, as it had done so with every new patron that came through the door. Dron had still not come back and if he had to guess, Roth was going to hold Durn to his word that they would go look for him.

"So, Roth, are you still interested in following Dron?"

[SuperJosh]

Finishing up his steak Roth looks at Durn. "Yea, I was hoping he would get back before I finished my meal. I am afraid he got himself into trouble. I just hope if he did we are not to late." With that Roth stands up, throughs some gold on the table and waits to see who is coming with him.

[elpresidente]

Algedar stands, mutters something and looks to roth "I will come Roth. That fools been gone a fair while."

[Black Plauge]

Sighing softly, Durn gets up to follow his companions and begin searching for Dorn.

[elpresidente]

Algedar looks up and says "So where did e' go again?"

[Black Plauge]

"He went off that way," Durn replies, gesturing in the direction he had seen Dron take off in earlier.

"He was following some one-eyed begger that he figured knew more than he was telling."

[SuperJosh]

"Hhmmm. Does anyone have anything that Dron has touched or used? If we can get something with his scent on it Cy might be able to track it. He is not so much a hunting dog as a guard dog, but he has tracked a bit before." Roth says to his companions as he squats down and rubs Cy behind the ears. As he scratches his companion he thinks about his posessions and the trips to town he and Dron made together and tries to remember if he has anything that will help.

[Black Plauge]

"There's the saddle on his horse," Durn replies, "Other than that though, I think Dron took most of his stuff with him. He was still wearing his backpack when he headed off."

[SuperJosh]

"Well it is worth a try." taking Cy into the stable Roth asks the stable hand where Drons saddle is and has the dog sniff it the exclaims "WHERE IS HE BOY!?!?!? GO gettim'"

[BigRedRod]

Cy snuffles at the saddle for a moment, and then look blankly into the air before setting off at a decent trot down the dark-twisting alleys of Gran Arco. From time to time he stops to investigate, usually ending these events by marking whatever demanded his attention. From time to time he stops and barks. Despite the jerky progress and Cy's hidden agenda to urinate on every street corner the town can offer eventually he pauses for an extended period, sniffing at a large pile of rags. broken crockery and other general refuse. Looking back at Roth, Cy begins to bark and stares at his master with hopeful eyes.

The immediate area is the end of a very thin alley, it allows a very good view of a building which appears to be a small warehouse. The rest of the immediate area is shrouded to deeply in darkness to be made out

...

Dron sits contemplating whether he has wasted his evening when the half-elven girl excuses herself from the one-eyed man to go and sleep. The man nods and smiles and then slowly gets to his feet. Taking a few steps he sits down next to his stalker and looks deeply into the fire for a moment before speaking ina hushed voice to his new companion
"I'd like to know why you are here."
The fire is mostly deserted at this late hour, most of the patrons having enough sense to sleep in the safe warm building while they can

[The Alcotroll]

Bugger. So much for stealth and secrecy, thinks Dron. Hoping he's not got himself into too much trouble, but trying to appear confident, Dron considers his reply for a while.

"I'd ask the same of you my friend. I wonder if you are any more of a beggar than I am, but it would be churlish to ask of your motives without revealing some of my own."
He glances at the sleepers around him, checking that there are none close enough to hear, then continues in a low voice. "My name is Dron Crafter. Circumstances have forced myself and my companions into working for a wizard by the name of Rizeth, a kinder soul you could not imagine. The man I asked you about, Lucas, is a friend of Rizeth, though of entirely different character and quality, who has disappeared in mysterious circumstances. All I want for now is to find him, or know something of his fate, to report to my master" He pauses, reluctant to reveal any more. It would be folly he thinks, to begin to talk of Rebels, Imperials, Dragoons and mutant Goblins without some indication of this man's loyalties.

"Clearly, you are more than a mere Beggar, and clearly you know more of this man's fate than you were willing to reveal in front of your companions earier. Perhaps now you will tell me something of who you are and how you come to be here?"

[BigRedRod]

The man smiles into the fire as Dron talks, pausing for a handful of seconds before making a noise halfway between a laugh and a sigh,
"Perhaps you assume too much. To be honest I thought you might be someone else, but I doubt a man sent to kill me would be at all like you. The past does not matter, but you are correct in guessing that this life chose me in the same way as my fellows. It's hard to let go, but I must keep as low a profile as possible while still paying attention to the world around me"

Closing his eye for a long moment the man turns to face Dron,
"You know what I know for sure. No doubt you saw the obvious conclusion, your master's friend has been kidnapped by someone. I was aware, as you must be, that this wizard Lucas indulged in some rather troublesome experiments with creatures of all kinds. Either someone wanted his skill, or he has been taken to answer for his actions"

[Black Plauge]

"Well, Roth, has Cy found what he was looking for in this pile of rags," Durn asks, chuckling at the apparent dead end.

[elpresidente]

"There was a chance, and it was a nice walk as far as this place goes, can't say i'd want to find Dron from his smell either" Algedar shrug and looks up to his companions "Well we have paid for rooms for the night, shall we return to the inn?"

[The Alcotroll]

Dron nods, glad at least that there is no imminent prospect of a knife in the ribs. "Well enough. And there is nothing more you can tell me about this Lucas? None of my companions have even met him before and all we have to go on is what we found in his deserted house. You are sure that a man pretending to be from Ronoway came, alone, asking after him, and that neither were seen again?"

[BigRedRod]

He nods,
"That is the long and the short of it. As for Lucas, I'll admit I don't know much. The locals didn't really seem to like him, thought he was a bit touched with his experiments"
Pausing for a moment, the older man shrugs and smiles,
"Ah well, I can't know everything that happens in the world I suppose."

[The Alcotroll]

Dron sighs. "Ah well. Thank you for your candour." He pauses, considering, then adds, "Forgive my curiosity, but what were you, before this life was forced upon you?"

[BigRedRod]

"Something of a liability. Governments change and when they do there are certain people that can't be allowed to remain alive. I made my choice and fled. Once everything settles down, I'll be able to live something of a more normal life."
Cocking his head slightly his grin broadens,
"I know what you are thinking: How do I know you won't just sell me out? I'm sure the new Holy Emperor, or whatever title he has given himself, would pay a sizable amount for my location. But I think we both know that you aren't about to do that, and by the time temptation greets you I'll have moved on."
The one-eyed man laughs,
"I hate to be so over-dramatic about these things."

[The Alcotroll]

Dron returns the man's laugh. "I have no wish to expose myself to the eyes of empire. At times like these, the safest way is to avoid drawing attention to oneself." He stretches his legs and yawns. "Well I thank you for your company and conversation. Now, do you think I could persuade the door man to let me back out again?"

[BigRedRod]

"That depends on how many coins you brought in with you, and how grumpy Urkiel is tonight"

[SuperJosh]

Roth takes a look at the pile of refuse, pushing it about with the tip of his sword. "Cy is usually either on or off. If he had just run around trying to play I would say he did not have a trail, but he seemed to know where he was going... even if he did take his time getting here." Whether he sees anything of not Roth pets Cy on the head and eclaims what a good boy he is.

[BigRedRod]

After a few half-hearted pokes with his sword, Roth turns away to lavish attention upon his trusty companion. As he does so, the glimmer of metal reflecting moonlight catches his eye. Turning back he moves a pile of rags out of the way to find a well-kept rapier, closer inspection reveals the rapier is connected to a familiar-looking backpack.

[ooc: ok, you've found all of Dron's stuff in the rubbish heap, bar that he took with him.]

[The Alcotroll]

Replying to the one-eyed man, Dron shrugs and says, "In which case I'll be spending the night here. It's not as if there are any Inns that'll rent me a room in this state."

He will engage the man in small talk (always of course with an ear open for pertinent information) if his companion is willing, or else do his best to sleep.

[SuperJosh]

"Well, it looks like we found his belongings. I guess the question is why did he stash them here and what should we do about it. Do you think he will return, or should we take them with us?" Roth asks his companions.

[elpresidente]

"We should take them with us and then try to sell them back to him." Algedar grins as he sees a possible trick on the horison. "He'll wonder where they are but there is a chance some of the homeless round here will rummage throught this promissing pile of garbage and take anything of value."

[Black Plauge]

"While I agree that we should hold on to them for him, I don't think he'd appreciate having to pay to get them back," Durn says disapprovingly to Algedar.

"Well, where ever Dron is, he's sure to find his way back to the inn by morning. Let's head back and get some sleep. Besides, I could use another ale."

[SuperJosh]

"Sounds good to me." Roth says as he gingerly picks up the pile of cloths and heads towards the tavern. "Lets head back and get some sleep. I would like to get an early start tomorrow."

[BigRedRod]

While their companion spends his evening in a large dank room on a bed of loose straw, Roth, Durn and Algerdar, spend the last moments of the evening enjoying the hospitality of the far more comfortable tavern. When the morning arrives, the large being known as Urkiel opens the door to allow his patrons out into the cool morning light, the central fire has died down quite consirably now and Dron cannot locate the one-eyed man. Striding out into the much fresher air he sidles to the heap of refuse used to disguise his belongings and is rather shocked to find the pile has been heabvily disturbed and all of his equipment is missing.

***

The tribesman and the pair of wizards sit at a table enjoying a hearty breakfast before considering the task of finding their companion and searching for Lucas. The Duke's Hat is quiet, with most of the serious merchants and travellings having breakfasted an hour or so ago and the late-risers who spent the previous night enjoying it won't be emerging for several more hours

[The Alcotroll]

Dron pokes the pile of rubbish with his foot, glances round the alley, crouches and roots through the heap. Finding nothing, he straightens and curses colourfuly.
I stink of ale and worse, he thinks, and now all I have is the clothes I'm standing in. Looks like Puck didn't owe me any favours after all.

He turns and begins to make his way back towards the inn, brushing the mud from his clothes and combing his hair back into some semblance of order with his fingers. Wonder if the others will lend me enough money to get a change of clothes... he thinks, uncomfortably aware that he has next to nothing to show for his efforts, and can likely expect a good deal of mockery from his friends.

On reaching the Duke's Hat inn, he decides to loiter unobtrusively across the street and wait for his friends to leave, rather than risk the wrath of the inkeeper should he enter in his current state.

[Black Plauge]

"Well, that certianly a good breakfast, though I'm a bit suprised that Dron hasn't shown up yet," Durn says as he finishes his third plate.

"I suppose we should head back to where we found his stuff last night, just in case he's going out of his mind searching for it."

Getting up, Durn leads the way out the door, only to spot a rather disheveled looking Dron across the street.

"So, what have you been up to all night?" he asks cheerfully as he pointedly looks Dron over from head to toe. "You look like you've slept in a wyrven nest."

[SuperJosh]

Silent through dinner Roth is likewise disturbed at his friends absence. As the group leaves the tavern and crosses the street relief is evedent on Roth's face. "Quit your jabbing, Durn. " the swordsman says as they approack Dron. "We have some thinngs that might belong to you but... ugh I think you minght want a shower first."

[The Alcotroll]

"It wasn't a complete waste of time," says Dron, defensively. With evident relief his eyes light on the pack in Roth's hand, but he continues with his explanation.

"...So it seems that a lone man, pretending to be from Ronoway, came asking after Lucas shortly before the Wizard's disappearance, and neither have been seen since." he concludes, "The old one-eyed man was just an ex-politician hiding from the Imperial establishment; he seemed to be truthful enough."

Dron sighs and pats at his shirt. "I've no idea where to go now to be honest, but I'd kill for a wash. I don't suppose you lot managed to find anything out amongst all those ale-loosened tongues last night?"

[SuperJosh]

Handing Dron's pack back to him Roth shrugs. "Ah, Actually we did not. We ate and then looked for you. By the time we got back it was late and no one was talkative."

[The Alcotroll]

Taking his pack and shouldering it, Dron looks the length of the street and back with a shrug. "Well, I suppose the first place to look is Lucas' house. Maybe by now those Goblins will have moved out, but I think we should approach quietly just in case. Unless anyone has any other ideas?"

[elpresidente]

"I agree though i have my doubts about those vermin leaving, unless they blew themselves up, if anything I would expect there to be more of them."

[The Alcotroll]

"We'll not find out by hanging around here." Points out Dron, "Shall we go, or does anyone have a better idea?"

[SuperJosh]

"No, I say we make haste to Lucas' estate as fast as possible... that is if Dron's horse can stand the smell." Roth says with a snicker.

[BigRedRod]

With their path determined the four ride out to Lucas' sundered home. The ride is saddeningly dulll. The day is warm and the sky almost clear except for a few spiral-shaped clouds. With the broken domes in sight, Roth spies a pair of small humanoid figures in the long grass to the north of Lucas' home. Clearly the party was spotted also, as the two forms duck into the grass.

There is the sound of a dog barking not far away, Cy peers upwards at the noise. Although it most likely is a dog from the small homestead visible a few minutes towards the border.

From this distance there is no movement in or around the great transparent domes or the central structure making up Lucas' holding.

[SuperJosh]

"Guys, I think we have been spotted." roth says without moving. "I saw something to the north of the house. It was two humanish things, but I could not get a good look at them before they hid."

[elpresidente]

"Well we can either Ignore them or go and find the buggers." Trying not to look

[The Alcotroll]

"We could ride them down now before they warn their comrades, or else wait a while and the sneak up later." Opines Dron. "Either way, I would rather our arrival at Lucas' house was un-noticed."

[SuperJosh]

"I say we ride past his house, then double back and try and sneak up on them later." Roth says as he tries not to look in the direction he saw the figures.

[Black Plauge]

"If you think it'll work..." Durn replies, studing Lucas's mansion with unrestrained curiosity.

[elpresidente]

"probably the goblins again. If they haven't choked on their own filth by now. I'd say it would work." Algerdar says approvingly

[SuperJosh]

"Well then lets try that." Roth says as they continue riding, "How far should we ride before circling back around?" he asks.

[Black Plauge]

"Far enough that who ever is watching will lose sight of us."

[elpresidente]

"There's no hurry It's a nice day after all shame to waste it besieging goblins."

[BigRedRod]

Attempting not to look back at the figures hiding in the tall grass, the four ride on toward the house and the great broken domes which surround it. The house seems as deserted and decayed as it had on the previous visit, although the path outside looks far too recently travelled to convince he party that the goblins abandoned the house.

Hitching their horses out of sight of the main door, and with one of the domes blocking the view of the general grassy area to be investigated.

Keeping low, and as quietly as possible the group creep forwards through the tall lush grasses. Cy follows at Roth's heels, seeming more curious in the game than in helping locate the figures. A breeze blows across the field and is accompanied by a sneeze somewhere very close to then group.
A voice quickly responds,
"Sssh!"
The two sounds originate a handful of feet away, and looking over it's clear to see the grass slightly bent where a pair of small forms are hiding

[Black Plauge]

Keeping quiet, Durn looks to Roth to take the lead. His shrug clearly asks, "You want to handle this?"

[SuperJosh]

Roth nods silently, then holds up 2 fingures and points to the grass, then holds up 1 fingure and points to himself and finally motions for the others to draw their weapons. His message is fairly clear: "If one of them gets by me be prepared to take it." As Roth gets ready to charge he points to the flat of his blade then, before the others can respond, charges in and attacks the nearest goblin.

(OOC: Roth will take the neg to his from using subdual damage.)

[BigRedRod]

Time seems to slow down as Roth charges with his faithful hound Cy at his side. His blade lands flatly against the head of the first goblin, sending it sprawling backwards before it could react to the tribesman's arrival. Turning to face the second, the error of his action becomes shockingly clear.

To the left of Roth, a young child of maybe ten years lies face down in the grass, unmoving, before the warrior another boy maybe a year or two younger. The boy cries as he shields his face from the tribesman's ambush

[SuperJosh]

Quickly sheathing his blade Roth looks towards the fallen child. "Dron, Durn, Algerdar! Sheath your weapons and come quick!" he shouts. Then to the other child. "Hush, it is OK little one. You friend will be OK once my companions see to him."

[The Alcotroll]

Dron sighs angrily. "So much for making a silent approach." He growls, sheathing his blade.
He makes his way forward, composing his face into a friendly, but concerned smile. "You shouldn't be here friend." he admonishes the child gently, "There are dangerous creatures about."

The last thing we need is for the locals to think we are child-killers. I hope that little brat isn't too badly injured.

[Black Plauge]

Children? Here?

"What are you doing here?" Durn asks the concious child and he looks over the unconcious one.

Not exactly my area of expertise, but lets see what I can do.

[BigRedRod]

The wide-eyed child scuttles backwards a few feet, away from Roth and the others. Still crying, he opens his mouth to speak,
"We *sob *sob* and we saw you *sob*. So we hid, it was a game. Please *sob*"
Realising his inability to speak clearly the child returns to his previous state of crying and wailing

From Durn's inexpert investigation the child which Roth struck seems to be free from any lasting damage and simply requires a few hours of rest before he'll be awake and possibly moving

[Black Plauge]

"It's alright, calm down," Durn says, trying to be comforting. "Your friend here is merely unconcious. He'll be alright in few hours. Where do you live?"

[BigRedRod]

The boy waves an arm behind him, pointing away from Lucas's home and toward the small homestead only a handful of minutes away.

Hearing that his companion is going to be alright, the boy manages to calm down to a quietly sobbing state

[Black Plauge]

"Do your parents know that you're playing out here? Let's take you and your friend here back home. I'm sure he'll be more comfortable waking up there than out here."

[BigRedRod]

Shrugging to the dwarf's question, the boy gets to his feet. With Roth carrying the fallen child, the younger leads the way across the field of tall grasses towards his home.

As Roth walks he reflects on the weight of such a small child, while Cy follows attempting to casually sniff the boy and keep at his master's side. Finally the grasses subside and the party with their two new companions find themselves in a small vegetable garden. The house is a simple two-story affair, surrounded on at least two of it's sides by small crop-beds, a few cows mill around a small stable of the other side of the building.

A large middle-aged woman is facing away from the group, sat on a small stool over a large wooden basin. She abandons her washing as the boy runs forward, crying again, arms open
"Mam! Mam!"
The cries of the boy are matched with loud barking as a small dog appears from somewhere, barking at the party and running towards the boy. The boy clings to his mother's leg, while the dog stands behind him sniffing at his bare-feet. Ushering the boy behind her skirts the woman takes a step forward before hesitating and speaking loudly to the group currently holding one of her unconcious children,
"What 'ave done with our Jed? MARCUS! MARCUS!"
The woman doesn't divert her attention away from the party currently holding her son as she shouts

[Black Plauge]

"Ma'am," Durn replies, "Your children were playing in the tall grass over by the ruined villa. They hid from us and we mistook them for a pair of goblins. Not wishing to alert the others still inside the villa to our presence, we ambushed them and it was only then that we discovered that they were not goblins, but rather your children."

"As for Jed, you'll find that he is only unconcious. We thought it best if he regained conciousness in a familiar enviroment rather than out in the brush where we found him."

[BigRedRod]

"GOBLINS!?"
The woman is about to begin a fresh stream of shouting towards the dwarf when a well-built man of just past middle-years arrives from around the corner of a house holding a shovel and covered in dirt,
"What's all that yell-"
His brain finally registers the four people on his propety,
"Jed? Goblins? What the bloody hell is going on?"
The smaller boy continues to cry, now fully hidden from the scene by his mother's skirts. Before the party can speak the mother interupts,
"Said they were after goblins! and mistook our boys for a pair!"

The man changes his grip on the shovel, holding it with both hands like a weapon,
"You 'it our Jed?"

[elpresidente]

Algerdar steps forward warey of the shovel, although trying to come across as a nice down to earth Gnomish gentleman rather than a vicious child beater. "Merely enough to render him unconcieous. We by no means intended to bludgeon your poor child! He will be fine with no lasting damage. A good sturdy lad, worthy of gnomish stock. Many are the times when I, like the lad have played a practical joke and had it backfire. Most with worse consequences."

[SuperJosh]

Roth makes a valiant attempt to hand Jed over to his family, yep when the farmer storms out brandishing a shovel Roth is forces to interpose his body between Marcus and the boy.

"Easy friend." he says to the farmer. "Why don't we just put the shovel away? I would not want you to give your boy another lump." Roth continues, "I an not much on tracking, but I am damn good with a sword. I swung to knock your boy out and I did. It is nothing a day in bed will not cure so why don't we try and be civil to one another?" Roth says in his most authoritative voice doing his best imitation of his father.

[BigRedRod]

Marcus he father looks deeply into the eyes of each of the party, finally he plats his shovel into the earth and accepts Jed from the tribesman's arms. Taking a few steps backward, he mutters,
"You stay there"
Turning on the spot he heads inside,
"Marie inside"
With the trio and the unconcious child now inside and behind closed doors there are brief raised voices, a moment of silence and then the door reopens.

Marcus strides back into his vegtable garden and puts his hands on his hips,
"I won't said I'll forgive and forget, 'cos I ain't. You 'it one of mi' lads, but you brought both back so we'll say it was an accident. Now, let's be clear, you ain't gettin' inside. First, you can explain what all this talk of goblins is. I've seen some weird stuff lately, an' this is going to be an end of it! So go on, explain!"
The farmer stands by his shovel and radiates an air of extreme confidence, either he's sure this isn't going to come to blows, or he's sure that he can take on the well-armed party with just his shovel

[Black Plauge]

"Are you familiar with Master Lucas, the owner of that villa?" Durn asks, gesturing towards the ruined villa.

[BigRedRod]

Scowling the man replies,
"Aye I know Master Lucas. Arrogant bastard, sitting in his fancy house, getting up to Gods-only-know-what."

[Black Plauge]

"Good, then this'll be a bit easier to explain."

"We've been tasked by Master Rizeth, an aquantiance of Lucas," Durn explains, leaving out the title that man seemed not to like, "to find out what happed there. Lucas was experimenting on goblins and other creatures, trying to create some kind of new monster. Some time ago, we're not sure exactly how long, Lucas disappeared, apparently chased off by one of his creations. Since then some of those creatures have been living in the villa. When we saw your children near the villa, they ducked out of sight immediatly, so we naturally assumed that the small forms belonged to a couple of the goblins which we know to inhabit the property."

"Last time we were here, a little over a tenday ago, the creatures hid from us and barred themselves in Lucas's lab when we approached openly. Wishing to avoid that situtation again, we continued by the villa and then doubled back, approaching in a more stealthy manner in hopes of taking the goblins by suprise. We did so, but imagine our suprise when we discovered that what we had thought were goblins we actually your children."

[BigRedRod]

The man considers Durn's explanation of events for a moment,
"I've warned the lads to keep away from Lucas' place. I don't trust his kind, but he never bothered with anything outside his little kingdom down there."
Moving one hand from his hip to the shovel he leans slighlty and continues,
"If you're 'ere to get rid of the goblins then that's fine by me. I didn't know about 'em but I don't like the thought of having the dirty things so close to my family. Never know when they might get greedy and come up 'ere ."

Loudly exhaling he shifts his posture again,
"I dunno if it'll help ya, but a couple of tendays back might 'ave been when he went missin'. It was after dusk, it hadn' been dark for long when there were some noises. Down at Luca's I could just make some of those dragoons in the moonlight, not sure exactly what was going on, but I've never seen them 'round there before. But ... they flew off, they did. Up into the air and away"
He sweeps his arm through the air and points north-east
"I'd heard they could do that, didn't believe it 'til I saw with my on eyes though"

With a cough he carries on in a slightly more gruff tone,
"I ain't had any run ins with these goblins, but when you're done with that messy business ... could you tell me?"

[The Alcotroll]

At the mention of flying Dragoons, Dron pales noticably. "They just flew straight up?" He queries the farmer innocently, "They didn't have to prepare themselves or anything?"

Another thoight occurrs to him; "Did you see them take the wizard with them?"

[BigRedRod]

The farmer shrugs,
"I dunno, it was dark. They stood around there for a bit, then they flew away. I thought you said Lucas had his goblins turn on him? Why would the dragoons take him?"

[The Alcotroll]

"We don't know who did what or why." Shrugs Dron. "It seems most likely that either Lucas' creatures turned on him and the Dragoons came to evacuate him, or else the Dragoons came to abduct him and his creatures broke loose in the confusion. Either way, we need to get into his mansion, and those Goblins are in our way."

[BigRedRod]

"Then I won't keep you. Thank you for bringing back my lads and letting me know about the goblins. When you're done come back, we'll see you right."
With a curt nod, and leaving his shovel planted in the ground, the man strides back into home and closes the door.

The four stand outside the small homestead on the small rise. Through the long grasses the tattered shell of the wizard Lucas' looms

[The Alcotroll]

"Well then, gentlemen." Says Dron at last, "Shall we make a move?"

[SuperJosh]

"Yes, lets try and approach the villa a little more stealthily this time." Roth says as he turns his horse and heads out.

[BigRedRod]

[ooc : now I have the image of monty python holy grail-esque "horses"]

Leaving the homestead behind, the party walk through the tall grasses back towards the domes of Lucas' property and their mounts tethered nearby. Despite the knowledge that frustrating dealings with goblins and possibly violence are on the horizon, the short walk is rather pleasant.

...

From their mostly hidden position by the horses on the eastern side of the building, behind one of the domes the group see no activity what so ever from the goblins or other escaped experiments.

[The Alcotroll]

"Shall we?" Asks Dron, with a lightness he doesn't feel, fingering the hilt of his rapier nervously.

[SuperJosh]

Agreeing once again Roth whispers "Yea, lets go." as he dismounts his steed and secures it so that is does not wander. Rubbing Cy on the head he places his index fingure to his lips. "Quiet boy." he says as he draws his sword.

[elpresidente]

Algedar starts creeping around the house, listening for any noise from the inside.

[Black Plauge]

Following behind, Durn readies his crossbow, just in case.

I hope there aren't any more children around here.

[BigRedRod]

Stealthily moving towards and around the house reveals no sign of the occupants. The front door is presently shut, which is quite a feat after Roth's previously battering of it, but it seems to have been repaired in at least some capacity.

Aside from the wind and birds chriping there is nothing but silence as far as the party can make out...

[ooc: lucas's house added to map thread]

[The Alcotroll]

Dron looks thoughtfuly up at the windows on the second floor, wondering whether he could climb that far.

[OOC; I assume those are windows?]

[The Alcotroll]

After a moments consideration, Dron gestures to the others and speaks in a quiet whisper;
"I think If Roth gave me a leg-up, I could get on to that terrace. Then I could let down a rope, firmly attached to something sturdy and you could all climb up. I think we'll need to save all our lock spells for this door."

[SuperJosh]

Roth thinks for a moment. "That might be the best idea, Dron, That way we would be coming from a route they do not expect."

If no one else objects Roth will give Dron a boost so he can make it to the ledge.

[Black Plauge]

Nodding his agreement at the proposed course of action, Durn can't help but look up at the balcony with trepidation anyway. Climbing had never been one of his favorite activities.

[BigRedRod]

After a false start which sends the tribesman falling sideways onto the, fortunately soft, ground beneath the terrace, Durn manages to combine a good leg-up with Roth manages a little hop. Scrambling rather inelegantly over the wall, the grapnel is easily secured at the base of the wall. Leaving a rope hanging down the side of the wall providin rather easier access to the second floor.

Glancing through the thick terrace windows, Roth sees no signs of current acivity by the residents of the house. The air is still and quiet. Recalling the previous exploration of the wizard's home, the party are aware that the terrace door contained a large pair of bolts, one set into the floor, the other into the wall.

[ooc : the rest of you can assume you'll eventually makethe climbing checks and so forth, feel free to spice it up IC.]

[elpresidente]

Adjusting his spectacles Algedar begins the asscent, the comical display shows why he is not know for his climbing abilities.

[The Alcotroll]

Dron follows the Gnome, sniggering at his companion's inadequacy. Reaching the terrace leaves his arms aching and eyes unfocused even so.

"We have to be the biggest bunch of incompetents to ever masquerade as adventurers..." he mumbles as he staggers over to Roth.
Kneeling down he begins to investigate the window.

[BigRedRod]

Through the window Dron sees very little has changed, if anything the chaos of the airy sitting room has started to depart. The general mess and rubbish from the room seems to have started to make a departure. Aside from the slight tidying which has taken place, all else that has changed is the location of a crate. One of the two large boxes, which contained large greenish blue eggs packed with straw, has left it's position from down in the secret room to stand against the far wall of the sitting room. Dron, however, is unable to see it's contents from his current position

Looking at the window itself, Dron sees architecture inspired by the same mind that leaves the windows out of the ground floor. The glass is thick, and there is seemingly no method of opening any portion of these windows. Without creating a large amount of noise, entry through a window does not seem possible

[The Alcotroll]

"This place is a fortress!" spits Dron, "What kind of twisted recluse chooses to live in a place like this?"
He takes another look around the room, paying more attention to the interior now. To Roth he says; "Look at that crate, it wasn't there last time was it? And the room seeems tidier too. You don't think the old bastard's come back?"

[SuperJosh]

"Hmmm. You might be right, but I would not bet on it. I think it would have been a lot harder to break in here if Lucas were back. After all anyone paranoid enought to live in a place like this is not going to let us just climb up to his balcony. Locked or not." Roth says to Dron as he tries to position himself to see the contents of the box.

[BigRedRod]

The tribesman strolls past the windows, occasionally pausing to stand on his tip-toes as he keeps his eyes focused on the crate. All that is easily made out from behind the window, is that the crate isn't very full and that it seems to have a few insects buzzing around it. Other than the insects, there are no signs of any creatures from behind the window

[The Alcotroll]

"What d'you reckon?" asks Dron, "Shall we smash the window, or try that door? We may have better luck picking that than trying to knock a hole in this."

[The Alcotroll]

Dron inspects the door closely before extracting his tool kit from his pack. Selecting a strangely shaped metal tool, begins to work on the locks.

{OOC; lock-picking check. Again and again and again until I pass.]

[BigRedRod]

Dron seems to have spent a good deal of his recent life attempting activites for which he is completely untrained. As he grips one of his tools he stares at the door and soon realises that even with training and proper tools this door would be a challenge to unlock. The door contains no lock, simply two bolts, which upon closer inspection do not seem to be slid into position to hold the door.

[ooc : for future reference, open lock is still a trained only skill, as Dron seems to keep trying to unlock things he might want some ranks put there in his next level]

[The Alcotroll]

With a muttered prayer to his patron, Dron gives the latch a quick shake, hoping thet nothing else bars it.

[BigRedRod]

With a twist and a push the previously apprenticed mechanist defeats the challenge of the closed door.

The air inside is slightly stale and ill-smelling, although listening through the terrace-door and looking into the sitting room beyond reveals little about whoever is inhabiting Lucas' home

[Black Plauge]

Huffing and puffing as he makes it up onto the balcony, Durn is just in time to see Dron open the terrace door. Climbing was definately the dwarf's least favorite activity at the moment, and he takes a minute to catch his breath before drawing and loading his crossbow.

Gesturing for the others to lead the way, Durn prepares to follow them into the house.

[SuperJosh]

Stiffeling a laugh as Dron opens the door, Rot pulls his sword and makes his way into the house.

[BigRedRod]

Entering the house proper as quitely as possible, Roth heads towards the crate while Dron creeps towards the stairway to peer down to the floor below.

Despite the superficial tidying the air smells foul, Roth quickly learns that the source of the smell has been gathered into a single location; the crate. Storing all refuse in a single container which is never emptied does not seem to have had much of a positive effect.

Dron sees no acitivity as he peers to the entry hall below. The air is still and silent to the extent of everyone's ears

[The Alcotroll]

Dron pads softly towards the study door and places hie ear against the wood, listening carefuly for signs of activity.

Assuming there are none, he will go inside.

[BigRedRod]

With little noise travelling through the sturdy door, Dron twists the handle and attempts to push the door open. Something big and heavy is resisting the motion allowing the push to move the door less than an inch open. It isn't possible to see exactly what is blocking the door, but Dron gets the feeling that he may have pushed it into an awkward position further adding to the difficulty of gaining access to the study.

[The Alcotroll]

Stepping back from the door, Dron beckons Roth over, mouthing; "Here's one for you."

[SuperJosh]

Walking over to Dron, Roth shrugs and whispers, "Brute force was always more of my specialty." then proceeds to push the door open as quietly as possible.

[BigRedRod]

Bracing his powerful frame against the door, Roth begins to push. At first it moves little and produces a dull scraping noise, but with a sudden burst of strength Roth manages to force the door open shifting whatever was bracing the door and creating a rather loud noise.

The sudden noise was clearly heard around the house, from beyond the study a few noises can be heard which are most likely voices. Although the voices soon silence and take no visible action.

Looking into the study, it quickly becomes clear what held the door in place. The huge wooden desk has been shifted from it's position by the wide windows. With the secret door downstairs closed and this door blocked, a good proportion of the house had been sealed. At least until the tribesman had put his mind to opening the door

[Black Plauge]

Wincing at the noise, Durn comments "Well, there goes the element of suprise."

"Shall we head straight for the lab door then?"

[The Alcotroll]

"Yes, and let's be quick about it!" says Dron, drawing his rapier and stepping into the study, "Lead the way big fella."

[SuperJosh]

Running before his companions Roth quips, "Heh, I bet it suprised them when they heard the desk move."

[BigRedRod]

Rushing through the study, the group, lead by Roth, burst through the door into the master Bedroom of the fortified house. The keen reflexes of the tribesman allow him to dodge the makeshift club swung as the party enter the room. The former bedpost, smashes into the doorframe. In the cloud of plaster-dust Roth sees the fiend which struck athim.

Hiding next to the doorway, is an abomination. It looks something like an ogre that is currently wearing a goblin-suit. It's skin is stitched and looks to have been created from two or three different small green-skinned humanoids, the head is a mockery of the powerful ill-fitting body. One gets the impression that this is the result of an experiment of Lucas'.

Before Roth, the other party members or the club-wielding experiment can act, a familiar little figure starts waving his arms and shouting,
Stop! Stop! Why are you here again?! You said you were leaving! Leaving! Go!
Oggri stands on the far side of the room, clutching at a long kitchen knife. His large companion hesitates at Oggri's outburst

[ooc: limegreen is goblin remember]

[elpresidente]

Algerdar Move up from behind and stands between Oggri and Roth "We need to know fully what happened to the Wizard that did all this too you! The only way we are going to do that is by exploring this place in it's totallity. We promise we will do you no harm and we will be out of your way as soon as possible, and the less you hinder us the shorter we will be here. Besides if we can find him we can make him pay for the atrocities he has commited here! Don't you want retribution for what he has done to you and your companions?"

[BigRedRod]

The goblin seems to almost accept Algerdar's wrds, but he shakes his head,
"The evil wizard is dead, if he was alive he'd have been back to torture us. Just let us forget ... It wouldn't matter anyway! Ky ran when she heard the crash, they'll all be inside behind the big door now."

As the talking continues, the large goblin by the door relaxes and looks intently at Roth. It's hard to make out on his small deformed head, but he appears to be sniffing.

[elpresidente]

Algerdar sighs and turns to the others "It would appear that we are in the same position as before. We need to take action. We can magic the door open i say we give our green friend here an ultimatum to give to his friends. Let us in and let us go out, as we've proved we won't hurt them, or we knock the door open and slay any of the irritants that get in our way."

Foolish goblins this could be so easy

[Black Plauge]

"Dealing with the creatures peacfully has worked so far," Durn replies cautiously, "Let's give Oggri and his friend here a chance to go down and talk to the others while we remain upstairs. If they can't talk them into letting us do what we came to do and leave in peace, then we can deliver an ultimatum."

[SuperJosh]

Roth slowly puts his blade away. Watching the huge Ogerblin as he does. "I am all in favor of resolving this peacefully, if we can." He says to the rest of the party.

[The Alcotroll]

"Yes. Peacefully." Says Dron with a relieved tone in his voice as he sheathes his rapier.

[BigRedRod]

Looking from party member to party member, the goblin speaks to the two wizards,
"You will leave now, yes?"

The Ogerblin watches Roth back, although it seems to have stopped trying to sniff at him now. Every once in a while he glances back at Oggri

[elpresidente]

Algerdar sighs Worked so far. If it had worked in the first place we wouldn't be here AGAIN wasting time trying to talk to something that thinks an outhouse is an unnesessary bonus, when it can do it where it's standing.

He looks at Dron's foot and wonders when he'll notice.

[elpresidente]

"Dron you may wish to clean your foot that stuff can make you go blind"


"We cannot leave until we have seen the inside of that room. There is no way around it. Go and talk to your comrades we do not wish to come to violence, you know we will not hurt you. It will be best for all concerned if we can do what we came to do."

[BigRedRod]

The little goblin shrugs and dissapears over the fallen bookcase. The larger experiment becomes rather uncomfortable left with the party alone, although he stays fixed in his position.

There are two metal bangs in quick succession and Oggri repears, behind him is another figure follows. Similar in build and height to Oggri, the figure wears a robe which is much too large, most likely a badly altered garment of Lucas'. Inside the hood there is only blackness, and the sleeves cover both of the figure's hands. A voice booms out from within the robe, clearly not the voice of a goblin but something rather more sinister,
"I am Lee'ktan, one of the Wizard Lucas' abandoned experiments. Oggri tells me you are the same group that arrived searching for the wizard not long ago. As you do not seem to understand, you are not wanted here. The wizard is gone and shows no sign of returning, we have a home, your coming here can bring no good.
From behind the deep red robe, each of the party can feel their bodies being scrutinied,
"However, I do not believe you would return without a very good reason and a willingness to try and enter the labs which we use as living quarters for most of our time. So, I grant you this audience, before I ask you to leave once more"
The sinister tones carry deep confidence and annoyance, even to Roth and Dron, who don't understand Lee'ktan's words

[elpresidente]

Progress at last
"We come on behalf of a wizard who wants to know what the wizard was doing here and why, and the answers are in that room. We do not wish to harm you or dislodge you from this place but we must see and investigate that laboratory. If we do not succeed then this wizard will simply send someone else, maybe even Dragoons. They will almost certainly not try to reason with you, and will probably have a far less tolerant view of goblins that we do.
I most certainly don't want to be here, nor do my friends. Let us in to see what was going on in that room and we will leave and you will be left in peace. If you do not then more people will come, and will kill first and ask questions later.
Your choice. A nice easy search of your house, or you all being destroyed for a pointless and totally avoidable reason along with your house."

[SuperJosh]

Roth simply stand around trying to look unthreatening, lost in the gibberish the rest are spouting out.

[BigRedRod]

Lee'ktan shakes her head,
"You haven't explained what you are looking for. Maybe I can tell you without the need for you searching our home"

[elpresidente]

"A moment please, my comrades cannot speak you language so i should tell them who you are and what you've said."

Algerdar quickly translates for the benefit of the others what the goblin leader has said.

He turns back to the goblin and says"You appear very intelligent in comparison to the rest of your kind do you speak any other languages. It would make things much faster if i didn't have to translate for the others."

[BigRedRod]

If it was possible to see within the hood it seems very likely that Lee'ktan would be rolling her eyes. The leader of the experiments continues speaking in Kinth,
"You come to my home and make me stoop to your level. Now explain what you are searching for so you can be on your way."

[elpresidente]

"Clues as to the location of the wizard. These may take any form books, diaries, who he had dealings with, anything you could provide".

[BigRedRod]

"You are searching for the wizard? Why? To Bring him back if he still lives?"
The words are spit from within the hood

Oggri and the Ogerblin both looks rather confused that the discussion has moved into a language they do not speak

[The Alcotroll]

My turn.

Dron steps forward nowm, feeling more hopeful now that the conversation has changed in a way that he can influence.
He adresses the Goblin-thing leader courteously, like a diplomat adressing a foreign potentate:

"When we bring the wizard back, if we bring him back at all, he will be made to answer for his crimes. The man who sent us is no less disgusted by his actions than we ourselves are."
"Our task is to find this man Lucas, to find out what he was doing, and more importantly, why. It is evident that Lucas was prepared to stoop to extraordinary lengths to achieve his aims, but if we do not find out what he planned then we will have no hope of stopping him. Make no mistake about it, what Lucas did here was not just the playtime of a twisted sadist. He intends to do far more harm before the end."

Dron pauses for a laboured breath before continuing;

"Nor should you labour under the misaprehension that burying your heads here will make Lucas go away. You were obviously important to his schemes, and he will be chafing to bring you back under his control. With Lucas at large, you will not be safe."

[BigRedRod]

The goblin makes a strange noise, it might have been a chuckle,
"You are have it all backwards. Lucas, the sadistic mage, was at large and now he is gone. If he should return, although I doubt that he would, I will happily die a thousand deaths before we are sealed back into our cages and holding vessels."
Shrugging she continues,
"There may be a book sitting in his former laboratory that tells of his evil exploits and cruel investigations. But why should I offer you the his log? What do you grant us in return? The fear that Lucas might return? That you'd return him? You don't have to pretend, he is a man and we are but ... things, monsters, fiends to you. If you must choose between our liberty and Lucas, then you would pick your own kind."

[The Alcotroll]

"You misunderstand," laughs Dron.
"When Lucas embarked on his experiments, he became a danger to our kind as well, and we would hunt him down before that danger could be realised. You on the other hand, are a danger to no-one so long as you remain here."

"Do you know of the things called Dragoons?" He asks, hoping that such a tangent might offbalance the creature, "We believe that Lucas was interested in such things, and that his abuse of yourselves was linked to this. We think that the people who abducted him want that knowledge for themselves, and that Lucas is unprincipled enough gto work for anyone who will fund his experiments. he will come for you, and we will both suffer."

[BigRedRod]

Anger fills Lee'ktan's voice, the tones become harsh and demonic,
"Do not talk down to me! I lower myself to your language and you treat me as a fool? Of course I know what a dragoon is, and I've seen the impact on the terrace. Whoever wanted Lucas was powerful and desperate enough to use dragoons. If his leaving was voluntary in any way he would have returned to finish what he was doing, as such the beast he was torturing at the time broke out of it's restraints and damaged quite a large portion of the laboratory too. Yes, it freed myself and Num but the creature died in the process."

The ogerblin tilts his head as he hears his name mentioned

There is a pause and then the leader of the experiments continues in a more level voice,
"Lucas may have been a sadistic evil man, but he wasn't a fool to waste his work. Leaving us untended and taking none of his resources is clear a sign as any that he was taken against his will, and frankly anyone sending dragoons is unlikely to simply allow his return. The man is dead and the world is better for it, if he is not then he remains someone's prisoner, and not one I could see anyone trying to rescue."

[The Alcotroll]

"And you are an important part of his research."
Dron is beginning to tire of trying to reason with the Goblin-thing, and frustrated enough to play any card in his inventory. He tries one last time to persuade the obstinate creature to comply.

"Lucas put a lot of work into his research, and you were a big part of it, twisted as it was. Lucas was abducted, not killed. Whoever took him had the resources to send a troop of flying Dragoons into hostile territory, no mean feat. They would have no problem in sending a lone assassin to set up an accident to befall him, if his death was all they wanted. They want his research, and you are that research. They want it desperately, as you yourself said. They will send more forces to get you."

"I ask you one more time to allow us to investigate this building, from top to bottom, the lab included, and to answer any questions about the night of Lucas' disappearance. Then we will leave you alone."

[BigRedRod]

"If they wanted his research then why did they not take it? No, it seems more like they required his skills and ambition rather than any of his current work, otherwise they would have taken all of his notes and possibly us."

Lee'ktan makes a new noise which is possibly a sigh,
"You may take the log book if you can offer us something of real value."
A split-second pause and she continues,
"Value does not mean an idle tale that Lucas might return one day, think carefully, I grow tired of your noise"

[The Alcotroll]

"Very well. What would you consider real value? You will forgive me if I find it hard to imagine you heading into town to buy things with our gold."

[BigRedRod]

"Yes, material weath, the thing which all dealings with men seem to come back to ... Very well. We are not fools, we know that we live on borrowed time. The supplies that the house was stocked with run low, having to guard our home makes hunting all the more difficult. We require weapons and traps, we cannot create either here due to lack of expertise and tools, and we cannot purchase. If we were to approach a nearby town we would at the very least be refused sale of such items if not killed as soon as we were seen."

[SuperJosh]

Silent throughout the exchange, Roth struggles with his conflicting emotions. On one hand he can relate to these misfits. Outcasts forced to live on the edge of a hostile land were every hand is turned against them. On the other hand these ARE goblins or worse. Demented mixtures of whatever monsters the greater monster could splice together for his twisted pleasure.

[Black Plauge]

Having kept silent during thus far, Durn screws up his face when Dron mixes up the rooms that the party needs to search. Tapping Dron's shoulder, Durn speaks in his native tounge to remind Dorn of a couple of facts and so that the goblins won't understand, "Dron, we've already searched the library. That's where we found those seven spellbooks last time. The only place we've left to check is the lab."

"Do what you have to to secure the log book and access to the lab, but I'd prefer not arming these goblins. Doing so will likely create trouble. Not only for them, but us too. I think we'd be better off offering them supplies which they can use to farm in one of the domes."

[elpresidente]

Algerdar trys to keep his voice at a tone that doesn't show his alarm"Trade I can cope with. But weapons is too far. Maybe we could re-house tham if they wished, that is too say help them leave this wretched place. It is hardly inconspicuous."

Like this abomination doesn't know every language in our arsenal... but then that could work to our advantage

[The Alcotroll]

Dron nods thoughtfuly at the words of his companions. "I'd sooner not arm them either, but nor do I imagine that farming crops would suit their needs. Does anyone know what Goblins eat anyway? My mother always used to say they ate bad boys if I didn't eat my greens"

To the Goblin spokesperson he says "You ask no small thing there. For a group of Goblins living on the outskirts of a human town to desire weapons and traps would be suspicious in any other circumstances. I understand that you must look after your own interests, and in the same way we must look after our own."

"My companions suggest that you may be better to live elsewhere. If you hunt for food in this area you will be seen, the town guards will come in force and that will be the end of you."

"Now the man who sent us is a man of great charity, resource and wisdom. He deplores the wrong done to you and would see it righted if he could. He would hapily provide for your journey if you could tell us where you would like to go."

[BigRedRod]

Lee'ktan seems to seriously consider this,
"Where would we like to go? Somewhere we would not be hunted like dogs, somewhere we could live in peace. I do not know of such a place. The world of our kind is one of raiding, murder and people such as yourselves hunting us, the world of men is one of our demise."

[SuperJosh]

Finally coming to grips with his inner turmoil, roth speaks to his companions. "I agree, we can not arm them this close to human lands. It would mean disaster for both them and us."

Turning to the spokesgoblin he says, "I do not know where you should go off to, but Lucas had a map here somewhere, perhaps together we can find an isolated place for you to move too. I would be more than happy to by you rations to get there as well as equipment to help you survive once you were there."

[BigRedRod]

"Ah yes, the map showing the local area in terms of it's inhabitants. Yes, such a map would allow a potential new home to be found. Let us be clear on the details of such a possible arrangement then, you will aid us in finding a new home and provide us with that which we need to survive, once we have left-"
The robed experiment waves one of her arms to indicate the lab, the entire arm remains covered by the long sleeve,
"-you can do as you wish to this place."

[The Alcotroll]

"The best place I can think of right now is the Carniverous wood, just north of here. It sounds rough, and it probably is. However, in these parts, it's one of the few places that no-one goes to. Better still, because it's close, it'd be easier to reach- we could do it in a night of travelling." Opines Dron.

[elpresidente]

"It is also important to know what you would do when you get there. Farm? Hunt? Trap and forage? How much you would need to support your numbers? These are things you should should discuss with your fellows. We don't even know how many of you there are and whether all of you are fit to travel."

[BigRedRod]

The hooded figure turns to the gnome and speaks in a voice which possibly contains more than a hint of agitation,
"You already know, you're the ones who will be supplying us with what we need to hunt and forge a new home. The cavernous wood would be a suitable option I believe. Nothing much should bother us there and you will make it possible to reach the depths of the forest uncontested. Rest assured that we will be willing and able to travel. As for our number-"
A pause as Lee'ktan debates whether to tell all,
"is few. Only six of us in total"

[ooc: btw, Oggri already told you there were only six living here]

[SuperJosh]

Roth nods his head. "It is decided then. If you would make a list of what you need we will get it for you."

[BigRedRod]

After a long moment of silence, the hooded figure speaksin her booming sinister voice again,
"Very well. Bring a cart, three short swords, three hand-axes, three short bows, five dozen arrows, enough dried food to last someone like Num-"
She indicates the Ogerblin,
"for twelve days, a set of fletching tools, a pair of shovels and two animal traps. The building is well stocked enough for us to collect the rest here."

The figure waits for the party to leave, saying no more

[elpresidente]

"We should go then. It would be good to get this done as soon as possible. Farewell"

and the stench of this place makes me nauseous

With that Algerdar walks outside and begins to ready his pony.

[SuperJosh]

"Yea, lets go." Roth says once the goblins leaders demands are stated.

[The Alcotroll]

Dron gives the hulking Ogerblin a cheefrul wave before making a hurried exit in the wake of the others.

[BigRedRod]

The front door to the Wizard Lucas' former home is siff, but more favourable than climbing down the robe dangling from the roof terrace. Empty handed but with a list of demands the party emerge into the noon sunlight.

An hour away lies the town of Gran Arco, which should easily be able to cater to the demands of Lee'ktan providing the party can provide the coin.

...

Being outside and away from the lingering smell of the goblins occupying the fortifed building makes the ride all the more pleasant, despite the excess warmth. Once again the guards at the gateway to Gran Arco pay no attention to the four horseback riders

[ooc : it'll be one hundred and ninty-one gold pieces for the kit requested by the goblins. That is assuming that you are going to use one of your own horses to drag the cart. If anyone wants to do something else while you're in town, in preparation for the goblin exodus or otherwise, then go for it. Don't feel the need to RP the entire shopping trip, we seemed to spend the first few chapters doing little else]

[The Alcotroll]

"Shall we split up and get a portion of the goods each?" Asks Dron, "We may arouse some suspicion if we bulk-buy enough equipment to outfit a small army."

[Black Plauge]

"Even if we manage not to arrouse the shopkeepers suspisions, we'll still have to pass under the eyes of the guards," Durn replies.

"I'm still uncomfortable with the course of action, but it beats the alternative. Lets just get what we need and move on."

[elpresidente]

"I doubt the guards will be a problem. I doubt they care what goes out of the city. Lets find a store for these supplies."

[BigRedRod]

The party descend upon a variety of stores in the town and quickly exchange a large quantity of their money for the goods demanded by Lee'ktan and her fellow goblins.
Riding out of town with the cart of supplies, the guards don't give the group a second glance. With a cart in tow, the journey back to Lucas' is rather longer, taking over two full hours. The day is in it's late afternoon and a rather cool breeze has picked up, clouds hoard together in the sky to plot a storm.

...

As the cart draws near to the building between the domes, a cry goes out,
"They return!"
At the terrace stands a small red-scaled figure pointing at the party. The front door to the house is pulled open and the Ogerblin strides out, standing silently to the side of the door looking at the cart. Lee'ktan strides out, her robed form still obscuring her form,
"You took your time"
The deep, resonating voice snaps and then continues,
"Did you collect everything?"

[ooc: BP, can you deduct ninteen platinum and a single gold from your record of the party loot]

[SuperJosh]

"It takes time to go to town, buy enough supplies to start your own town and then return." Roth says to Lee'Ktan. "And yes, we did collect everything."

[Black Plauge]

"Now, since we'll travel at night in order to minimize your exposure, we have a few hours to wait," Durn adds. "We've shown you that we negotiated in good faith by getting the supplies. Why don't you return the favor by letting us look at Lucas's journal while we wait?"

[BigRedRod]

For a moment the hooden form stands perfectly still, then turning slightly it's deep resonating voice issues an order to the others,
"Start loadng the cart."
Immediately a variety of creatures begin carrying various objects out to the cart. Blankets, boxes, barrels and other neccessary equipment for starting a new life with any chance of success. There are five other creatures, Oggri and the Ogerblin who the group have previously seen, a red-scaled goblin who seems to bear some kind of reptillian taint and two female goblins (although to the human eye, both genders are equally repulsive). The first female has an elogated fleshy tail while the second is lacking one of her arms. The one-armed goblin climbs the cart and arranges the supplies as best she can, while he others carry items out of their former prison and home.

Lee'ktan has dissapeared back into the house during this time, she re-emerges a handful of minutes later carrying a quite dissapointing looking book. Simple, brown leather covers which seem to have taken a battering. The leader of the experiments thrusts the book into Durns hands and then moves a few steps to oversee the progress of sorting out the cart. Evidently she requires room for the one-armed goblin and herself to sit in the cart while the others walk.

[The Alcotroll]

"Come on then Durn, let's all have a look while we wait." says Dron, slightly disappointed by the anti-climactic appearance of the wizard's journal.

[SuperJosh]

Not really caring one way or te other about the wizards notes beyond how they affect him, Roth continues to watch the creatures while petting Cy. Dispite the fact he is watching the gobliniods, his ears are focused fully on his allies.

[Black Plauge]

"Thank you," Durn replies when given the journal.

Sitting down with his back against the wall of the house, Durn begins to page through the journal, gaining an idea of its contents without actually reading the whole thing just yet.

[BigRedRod]

As the last of the day wanes into a dark, cloud-ridden night the wizard skims through the log-book. It seems to be something between a diary and a spellbook, there are large sections that will require lengthy study to derive any sense from at all. The sections which the dwarf can read are largely short notes on the development of experiments. Each has a unique number, although Durn isn't sure which experiment is which creature.

Lee'ktan addresses Roth and suddenly spits out a few deep booming words to him,
"We are ready. Time for to you to uphold the rest of your bargain, take us to the cavernous woods. When we are deep enough, you can be dismissed to search for the cruel wizard or plunder his home."
The leader of the experiments climbs in to the fully loaded cart next to the one-armed goblin. Beside the cart, the ogreblin, Oggri, the reptillian and the tailed goblin assemble.

As if the Gods wish to make this trip as unpleasant as possible the dark storm clouds above begin to fill their purpose. Thunder rumbles above, and a few drops of rain begin to fall

[Black Plauge]

Tucking the journal safely away where it'll stay dry, Durn heads for his pony and mounts.

"At least the rain will keep questioning eyes indoors," he mumbles as the rain starts to fall.

[SuperJosh]

Roth nods. "Yes, the rain is a double edged sword. It will keep prying eyes away, but I fear to much rain and the cart will be slowed enough that we will be traveling during daylight."

His piece having been said Roth mounts his horse and whistles for Cy to follow him.

[BigRedRod]

The party and their new companions set off on their journey away from the broken domes surrounding Lucas' home. Rain falls from the thick black clouds above, turning the earth into mud and slowing the weighted cart. Deep furrows are left behind, anyone who wished to follow the cart would have no difficulty.

The goblins are silent as they trudge through the rain, sheltering under some of Lucas' cloaks as they move. The cold and the wet seem to slow the passage of time. Minutes grind by but eventually the forest looms out of the dark.

Few hours remain before the dawn arrives, but now the cart and the party slowly make their way up a narrow woodsman's path through the woods. The trail follows a ditch and as such it is deep with muddy rainwater, on either side huge trees loom, blotting out the dark cloudy sky. Finally Lee'ktan shouts as the cart nears a more open area where the path fades and the ground is roughly on the same level for as far as the eye can see through the darkness and trees,
"Here! Unhitch the horse."
Oggri and the red-scaled creature set to work on seperating Dron's steed from the cart,
"Leave us now and never seek us out again."
The hood turns to face the party as Dron is reunited with his rather tired horse, if it was possible to see the face below it would undoubtably be scowling

[Black Plauge]

"As you wish," Durn replies, a little upset by the lack of gratitude, "just be sure you never give us, or anyone else, reason to seek you out."

Without waiting for a reply, Durn turns his pony around and heads back down the trail, only pausing once out of sight of the goblins to allow the others to catch up and to make sure Dron's horse is capable of making the return journey.

[The Alcotroll]

Urging his tired horse into motion, Dron pulls his rain-sodden cloak around his shoulders. Pacifist as he is, there is something in Lee'ktan's manner that makes the him wish he'd been born a Paladin.

He rides in Durn's wake without a word or a backwards glance.

[SuperJosh]

Glad to be rid of the monstrosities Roth laments on the fact that he had already given his work to help them before Lee'ktan's manner killed what little pity he had for them.

Turning to his companions he asks "Does that book contain what we need, or do we explore the house some more? I think it might be the driest place we could get some sleep.

[Black Plauge]

"The book will require some study to decipher all its contents," Durn replies. "Parts of it seem to be a spell book, while others are experimental notes. It may take some time, but I think Algedar and I should be able to puzzle it together."

"Lucas' house, however, does sound like a good place to get some sleep. My only worry is our mounts, especially Dron's. Do you think they are up for the return journey?"

[elpresidente]

"We also now have the run of the house. We should investigate the laboratory fully. that may not be the only manuscript. and his devices however ruined should give us clues into what he was trying to acheive." Algedar looks to his own pony. "If the mounts are tired it is a simple enough matter to lead them on foot. We should get underway."

[The Alcotroll]

"Let's get out of this miserable pit." snarls Dron, "By whatever means possible"

[BigRedRod]

Cy merrily follows on the heels of Roth's horse, oblivious to the dark feelings spreading from the party. He pauses to sniff something in the muddy wet undergrowth.

Nodding in agreement to his companion's suggestion to leave, the tribesman offers his informed opinion about the state of the mounts,
"It'll be empty at Lucas', we should be able to rest up the horses after pushing them so hard while we have another look around undisturbed."

[ooc: last chance for anyone to do anything before embarking on the magical mystery tour to Lucas' now abandoned place]

[SuperJosh]

Before mounting his horse he calls to Cy "What did you find boy?" if Cy seems inordinately interested in what he has found Roth will go over to investigate. Otherwise he will mount up and ride.

[BigRedRod]

Hearing his master's call Cy stops his idle investigations and goes to stand by Roth's steed.

...

The dawn arrives and morning flows after. The journey is slow. Riders and Mounts are both exhausted but at least the rain has died off. The clouds above begin to break, it seems the storm was only destined to last for one night.
Now the party arrive at the fortress-esque home of the Wizard Lucas. The domes that stand a little way from the house glitter in the sun that escapes past the gradually parting clouds. The exciting jungle landscape within the cracked dome is fading, the greenery is now more yellow than anything else.
Past the domes and once again on the doorstep of the building, another wave of fatigue strikes the group. Their horses will need a good couple of days to be fit for riding, and the riders themselves will need a few hours of sleep before any work today.

[SuperJosh]

Once the party reaches Lucas' Rath takes the reins of the horses and rubs them down real well, making sure to work out any tight muscles that they might have. Once he is satisfied with the horses condition he will feed them and stable them in Lucas' stable, or let them graze if Lucas does not have a stable.

After that is done he will join the rest of the party.

[elpresidente]

Algerdar walks into the house and attempts to find an area which could pass for both comfortable and clean to settle down in, wishing to get rest as soon as possible so he can search the lab.

[Black Plauge]

Letting Roth take care of the horses, Durn follows Algedar inside and finds a place to roll out his bedroll. The night ride had been exhausting and he would need at least a few hours of sleep before examining the journal.

[BigRedRod]

The house remains an untidy mess, the few attempts at cleaning that had taken place have been over-written by the hasty liberation of anything which could be useful to a tribe of goblinoids attempting to foge a new life in an unforgiving forest.

Roth returns from taking care of the horses. A quick search revealed that unles Lucas hid his stable very well indeed, one simply did not exist.

...

Afternoon arrives and the party decide that the entire day should not be wasted.

***

Heading across the landing Algerdar enters the secret room along with Roth and Dron while Durn studies the book the party recovered from the goblins, the huge metal door to the lab now stands open. The air that flows through is smoky and vile.

The walls are stone and bare but the room is well lit depsite the absence of windows, as with the rest of the lower level enchanted torches are fixed firmly to the walls. It is hard to judge what the room previously looked like. Operating as the core dwelling for the goblins has taken it's toll upon the room. A long wooden workbench is fixed to the northmost wall, the wood stained colours from unknown liquids. Glass is strewn over much of this area, although clearly some attempts were made to brush it beneath the desk. Two books lie scattered across the desk : Anatomicus Vert and Humus Primtus : The life and habits.
Two large cages dominate the room, reaching to the ceiling, they are constructed from black steel bars and no longer have doors. The doors themselves have moved to what looks to have served as a rubbish heap, pantry, general store and bed for some creature or other which is between the desk and cages.

Directly between the two open cages there are the remains of a fire. The fire is large and seems to have consumed most of the flamable objects in the room. The feathery ash seems to contain the remains of several books along with larger lumps which have come from a more sturdy wooden object like a chair or chest. Opposite the fire there are a pair of broken levers hanging limply from the wall, their shafts snapped and their mechanisms broken.

The cages seem to have been adapted to serve as living quarters, it's unknown whether the goblins brought in the straw or whether Lucas generously provided it for the comfort of his guest.

Unexpectadly the room contains a long ramp at the far end which seems to lead down an extra level. Drawing near the ramp the stench thickens in the air.

The ramp is long and steep, the lower level must have a good five solid feet of stone between it and the higher levels. The stench is ghastly and the source is all too clear. Lying on the far side of the room are the remains of a hulking beast. It is far too decayed to be identified but it looks distinctly wrong. An abomination from another world. The floor is wet with a liquid a little thicker than water and a deep translucent blue in colour. The water drips from overhead pipework, pipes which feed in to a series of large glass tubes.

The ceiling is ten feet high and the tubes reach almost the full way, the pipes feed back to a large mechanical device of some description. Dron guesses it is a pump of some description. Some of the great glass jars have been shattered but the liquid still drips out from the pipework that should have fed into them. Six glass tubes remain intact, five are empty but the sixth contains what appears to be a large brain and spinal cord floating in the blue liquid.

Beneath the liquid covering the floor there are metal tracks leading in a complex web across most of the floor and to each of the glass holding tubes.

A large stone slab is centred inside a mystic circle drawn on the floor in red and blue. The stone slab is stained red and contains large metal manacles on chains set into it. In the centre of the slab there is a large reddish orange gem veined with black.

Cages line the northmost wall, the metal bars have started to rust slightly and each has it's door wide-open. A metal desk sits against one of the walls and is covered in an array of switches, levers and dials. The markings are arcane and confusing, the only way to investigate the functions would be to experiment with the various control devices.

The goblins do not seem to have attempted to have used this lower room. The liquid covering the floors possibly made it uninhabitable even to them.


***

With his three companions searching the lab for clues, Durn settles down with Lucas' log book. A few entries grab his attention as relevant. The first is dated four tendays ago,

A Mr Longsworth has sent a messanger to inform me that he wishes an audience to discuss some work he would like to put my way. A brief word with the messanger revealed little, the man is a wealthly merchant who has taken up rooms in Gran Arco while conducting a little business, there was nothing about why he would require my services. I shall have to investigate this fellow, he is not one I have heard of previously. A simple task for good pay would be most welcome. Perhaps another task to occupy my mind would make my present work all the clearer when I returned to it?
I informed the messanger to return in four days for my decision

Four days later there is another related piece,
Early this morning I recieved a message concerning this Mr Longsworth. It would appear that this work he had for me was some kind of deception. None in the town have heard of him! I am intrigued by what this could mean but I refuse to waste my time and possibly allow this man to commit something devious against me. I shall send his messanger away with the news that I am busy

The log book indicates that Lucas managed to resume progresssion with his work, although details were less than forthcoming in the book. An entry marked three days later is of note, however,

The messanger returned again! He offered to escourt me directly to Mr Longsworth and informed me that he had been requested to assure me that it would be worth my while. I prompty informed him that I would be busy for the forseeable future but that I would send him a message in a tenday or so to arrange a meeting. The messanger seemed rather more put out by this that seemed right. Letting him walk away to speak to this mysterious figure I decided I could spare a few moments to investigate. Sting shall return later having followed the messanger.


Altrik and his men should have been back last night with the two ogres I requested be caught! I gave them the location of the lair, by tomorrow I shall have to assume they have failed and find some other lackeys to hunt for my specimens.

After a few notes that makes no sense to Durn the writing continues,

Two ogres now are below. I shall start later today. I have the esences waiting. The first shall be a simple experiment to probe the anatomy."

There are several diagrams of what must be ogres, and their internal make up. The dwarvern wizard finds the arcane formulae that surround and follow
the diagrams far beyond him for the most part. However, it seems that the first experiment involves one of the remaining "pure" goblins he has in captivity along with a few goblin pieces he has in storage. Durn isn't sure what "in storage" means, keeping living tissue from dying shortly after it is removed from the host is most difficult.

[i]My investigations for today are complete. It was suprisingly draining and experiment #67 cried protest until I silenced her. I fear I shall have to destroy her, a shame as I am proud of the successful fusion of infernal tissue with a common goblin. Today's experiment should mean tomorrow's is a complete success!

Sting returned. The messenger headed ino the woods where he could not be followed through the thick trees. Why would anyone lurk in those woods? I feel that I should not dismiss this but look further into it. However it is time to begin preparations on #71


The entries are largely arcane formulae and diagrams that seem to show the remaining ogre being combined with extra-planar creatures. It seems that an elemental and some kind of fiend have been locked inside gems and will somehow be fused with an ogre. There is a short entry entitled "Results #70"

The experiment was successful but dissapointing. I seem to have created a creature which is good for nothing bar manual labour, and even then it is less useful that it's constituent parts!
I dread to think that #71 could be so limited

The last entry is dated two tendays ago,
Today begins the work on '71, I am prepared but the day shall be draining. I must try to implant both essences simultaneously or risk it managing to resist the second. I shall implant the demon and then the elemental. Perhaps I am too ambitious? Settling for one would grant me more room for error...

The rest of the book is blank

[elpresidente]

Algerdar scans the lab.
"The blue liquid must be his preservative... Facinating, if macarbe. I should think this is his storage down the ramp, if nothing else it should be cooler and slow decomposition" Algerdar then wanders to the switches and starts activating them one at a time to explore their function.

[ooc: rather than wait Gaz, I've edited out the problem. Don't edit this now, just make further posts]

[SuperJosh]

"You can preserve it if you want, but I am not touching the stuff." Roth says to Algerdar. "The vile stench of it is almost enough to make me pity those goblins again, dispite what Lee'Ktan's vile tongue says." Cy on the other hand, has retreated up stairs, not even his love for his master can make him stay in the lab.

[BigRedRod]

The gnome rotates a dial while listening to the concerns of his companion and as a result a loud grinding noise fills the room for a second before a rather disgusting popping noise. The large stone lab lowers itself to floor level, the noises resulting from the hidden machinary and stagnant air escaping through the surface of the blue liquid.

Dron moves to spervise the gnome's hands, offering the occasional insight in to what exactly the buttons do. After a good twenty minutes, the pair seem to have made sense of things. Through manipulation of controls set on to the metal desk the entire room can be changed. The glass tubes travel on tracks, exchanging positions and being able to move next to the adjustable stone slab. The doors o nthe cages can also be opened. Of more use however, is the discovery that the great pumping device can be deactivated. A few switches flipped and the gentle noise of the pump and dripping goo ends. Assuming that the room has proper drainage it should eventally empty

[Black Plauge]

Having finished with his study of Lucas's journal, Durn regrets not having memorized a read magic spell or two. It would certianly be interesting to know what those magical formulas were about. It would simply have to be something he did tommorow.

Getting up from the table in the library, Durn heads for the lab, where he finds the others tinkering with some levers and switches. Wrinkling his nose at the smell of the liquid on the floor, Durn quickly plugs it and says, "I've finished studying the journal. When your done playing around in the muck, why don't you come upstairs where we can discuss what we've found without holding our breath."

Durn then heads back up to the library, where he stands by the open door breathing fresh air and waiting for the others.

[elpresidente]

Algerdar climbs up and attempts to clean some of the liquid off himself before wandering over to Durn "So what was the madman doing then beside mixing and matching humanoid parts?"

[Black Plauge]

"I don't think he was actually trying to mix humanoid parts," Durn replies, "Rather it seems he was trying to mix humanoid and outsider. The experiments involving purely humanoid parts were merely prepratory work."

"Lee'ktan, for instance, if my suspicions are correct, is a mixture of goblin with devil; the results of a successful experiment. Num, on the other hand, was merely prepratory work for Lucas's crowning experiment; a disapointing exploration of orge anatomy."

"The crowning experiment is likely what chased Lucas off, as his journal contains no references to its success or failure. It seems he was trying to infuse another orge with the essences of both a demon and an elemental."

[elpresidente]

"That sounds... messy. Anything that could relate to who took him?"

[Black Plauge]

"If 'take' is the right word," Durn replies, "There were references to a Mr. Longsworth who was trying to employ Lucas for some reason, but it appeared that Lucas refused the job. The name was apparently a ruse and Lucas couldn't find out anything about his prospective employer. The messenger from Mr. Longsworth was persistant enough though that Lucas had some one named Sting, I presume his familiar, try and follow him but Sting lost the messenger in the woods."

"Other than that, the journal dealt with topics related to his experiments. I haven't had the chance to read it all, nor could I make out the meaning of all his magical formulas, but I intend to remedy that tommorow."

[SuperJosh]

"That sounds like a plan." Roth says not having much to add since these affairs of wizards is beyond him. "Where do we want to sleep for the night? And we should remember to tell the farmer we chased off the 'goblins'."

[elpresidente]

"And if we want to find Lucas i'd be guessing the place to look is in those if the people who sent the dragoons are in the employ of Mr Longworth whoever he may be. Then the dragoons may have been sent from the wood, especially if flying, they wouldn't have to worry about having to traverse dense woodland.
We can probably clean off a decent area to sleep, I'll go over to the farmer's and tell him the goblins are gone. The smell is making me nauseous." With that Algerdar starts making his way out.

[The Alcotroll]

With the Gnome out of the way, Dron excuses himself long enough to thoroughly throw up; something he'd been meaning to do since setting foot in the lab.

That achieved, he decides to scour the rest of the house in search of monetary funds and anything else of interest or value; reasoning that if Lucas left swiftly and against his will then he would have had no time to pack such essentials as food, clothing or money.

[SuperJosh]

"Algerdar, if you do not mind I will acompany you to the farmers house." Roth says as he whistles for Cy to join them.

[BigRedRod]

With his companion's departing the library once more Durn settles down to try and solve some of the unanswered puzzles still lurking around Lucas and his work. The apprenticed mechanist begins a room by room search for anything the goblins didn't take with them which could sold to the personal fund of the party. Leaving their two friends indoors, Roth and the gnome head across the field to the abode of the farmer.

The pair arrive at the homestead to be greeted by Marcus the farmer, he stands a little way from his home clearly havinhg been waiting for the pair to arrive,
"Hell o' a storm last night, wannit?"

[elpresidente]

Algerdar is feeling better in the open air but is still quite pale, his glasses steamed up from the drying ground "Indeed it was *sigh* and we ended up out in it seeing off those goblins. You don't need to worry about the beasts any longer. Or their stink."
He laboriously removes his glasses and wipes them on his robe, before replacing and adjusting them on his brow.

[BigRedRod]

The farmer looks more than a little confused,
"Eh?"
His eyes grow slightly suspicious,
"Why were you outside when you said the goblins were holing up in the old Wizard's house? What d'ya mean seeing off?"

[elpresidente]

"No need to get worried! It's just that goblins are cowardly y'see and when they want to run they can [i]run![\i]. Soon as we got the drop on em they scarpered like the little cowards they are, don't bother about defending their own so while we attacked four two others hiding behind an upturned table made a break or freedom!" Algerdar spits in disgust.
"cowards got out the door and the rain was to heavy for crossbows, gave us a good run. We got the pair of them in the end.. Musta got tired or something, they were hiding behind a tree."
Algerdar pauses before continuing recalling the look of the experiments. "Goblins are foul beasts but these... Well... The wizard had altered them, more disgusting than any others we have seen. We disposed of the bodies, they were not a sight for mortal eyes. Hopefully their kind will never be seen again, and the world will be better for it."

"Hows your lad by the way?" He asks with an air of concern. "If he's awake we'd like to appologise to him in person."

[BigRedRod]

Marcus nods and rolls his eyes,
"Yes, yes, brave heroes saving the world. I don't need all the details, just the knowledge that you got rid of them. As for my lad, I think it is for the best you don't see him. He had enough excitement on your last encounter"
Relaxing his stance slight the man leans forward toward the gnome and the tribesman,
"So then. Found out what happened to Lucas yet? It's a little odd for 'im just to leave his house infested with gobbos innit?"

[elpresidente]

Algerdar shrugs.
"The information's sketchy at best, but we think he either fled, or was taken, he speaks of messengers from a wealthy merchant, but it also appears that after some investigation on his part, the merchant did not exist... The search continues."

[SuperJosh]

For his part Roth mearly stands there and nods at the apropriate times, trying to hide his amazment at Algerdar's ability to fabricate a story on demand.

[BigRedRod]

With his expression fading from intrigue to slight dissapointment, MArcus half nods,
"Right. Well. I had said I'll sort you out. I was gonna give you a good feedin', but my missus wasn't 'avin' you in the house. Just as well, the other two still down there are they?"
He turns on his heel and re-enters his home before he has finished speaking.

After about a minute, where the two men begin to wonder if Marcus was coming back, he does indeed return bearing a cloth bag containing something bulky
"Now it ain't much. but it's the best I can do, and I'm guessing you want something proper after all that. You did a good job sorting out the goblin nest, you 'ave my thanks for lettin' me know."
He thrusts the bag into Roth's hands, tips an imaginary hat and waits for the two to leave his property. The bag is very hot to the touch and a wonderful smell flows out of it, it would appear to be a bag containing enough savoury baked articles for all four of them to eat far more than their fill.

[SuperJosh]

As Roth takes the bag from the farmer. He inclines his head as well. "Thank you much for your kindness. We would have gladly rid you of the monsters with out the promise of reward, but It is nice to know your efforts have been appericiated. Please tell your wife these smell wonderful and I understand why she is reluctant to have us in. Believe me when I say there will be much rejoicing when our companions realize we do nto have to eat trail rations again."

With that Roth bows slightly and takes his leave of the farmer.