Despite being a foot shorter than the tattooed man, Akira steps lightly forward on her bare feet with her old worn robes and little in the way of possessions.  Compared to the muscled stranger, she looks underfed and frail.

However, she bows politely to the man and his companions and smiles serenely.  "You are clearly a magnificent troop and experienced in recovering lost treasures.  While you are certainly capable of achieving this task, the important thing is for the items to be recovered and those of low-self-worth who stolen them to be set upon the path to enlightenment.  Whether we or you are first to find them is of little import.  May the Spirits guide you on your own path to salvation," she says in a quiet but confident voice.  She bows once more before stepping back to her own expanding group.

At Luthien’s approach, Rytel give him a smile and bow of his head.

“Hello.  No, I was traveling with a caravan and saw this town and felt the need to stop.   You say there is a problem with sickness here?”

A concerned look crosses his face and he acknowledges Calgarvin with a nod of his head but keeps the concerned look as he glances back to Luthien.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:16, Tue 09 May 2023.

"Yes. We aren't sure what's causing it, but I had hoped that, as a man of the cloth, you might be able to help with this. I know it takes an experienced priest...or a Knight like myself...to actually cure a disease, but ultimately we need a non magical repeatable cure for something like this. Spells have their limits."

And his own curing is once a week.

"Forgive my comrade." The redheaded woman began in a soft but clear voice.  The fiery-haired woman who spoke was a striking sight, with her vibrant red hair cascading down her shoulders in waves, and her eyes sparkling with an intense green hue that seemed to light up her face. She was adorned in a suit of finely crafted leather armor that was decorated with intricate patterns and designs that seemed to swirl and twist around her frame. The armor was fitted snugly to her form, accentuating her lithe figure and giving her a look of both beauty and strength. Her face was sharp and angular, with high cheekbones and a firm jawline that hinted at her determination and fierce spirit.

"We come not to do battle with thee or any of the other noble adventurers who may have chosen to participate in this quest. Forsooth, we all seek the same end - to reclaim the stolen goods and return them to their rightful owner. And though we take pride in our abilities and expertise, we do not claim to be of greater worth than any other party or lone soul who may also aspire to undertake this noble task."

She paused for a moment, looking around at the assembled group, her party and the other one, before continuing, speaking mostly to the burly man who had offered the insult.  "Verily, let us not expend our time and energies on fruitless debates or enmities."

The stout man who had offered the insult did not show any signs of anger or disappointment from being reproached by his group's leader. Instead, his gaze remained fixated on the other band, as he still harbored doubts about their capabilities to handle the task at hand.

"Evil spreads like fire,
When the icy stream of Good,
Crashes on itself."

"I am Akira," the monk states by way of introduction.

The red-headed woman smiled and returned the bow. "Greetings, Akira," she said. "I am Eiluned, daughter of House Arduinna, a ranger and leader of this group of adventurers.  It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."  Siobhan smiled at the quote and responded, "A wise quote, indeed. It reminds me of the importance of unity and working together towards a common goal."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:17, Tue 09 May 2023.

Sadly sharing in the stout mans appraisal of the two groups levels of skill and ability, Amalfy stayed behind Akira and allowed her to do the speaking for himself. Luck had as much to do with such a task though as skill, and he felt that being a local might be an advantage, he would speak with his guild to see if they had any useful information that might give him group a foot up in the endevour.

Or failing that, should the guild actually be involved, perhaps he could throw a spanner into the works.

Ponder just grinned watching the exchange without comment. When the glorious redhead spoke, his grin faded and he listened to her intently. When she stopped speaking, he shook himself to break his reverie and said to Amalfy, "Wow. I wonder if she's single or has a twin sister."

Amalfy just smirked. The young men he was meeting today seemed quite the randy lot. Having gown up in brothels and surrounded by street walkers, he had worked the edge off, he suspected.

"You could ask, I suppose. I wouldn't though," he replied to Ponder.

As friendly as she was, he suspected she might not take kindly to such attention.

"Yeah, I like my liver right where it is, I think." He took another sip watching the confrontation with interest.

Hearing the words of Amalfy and Ponder made Vanomir shake his head and regard them crossly.

"Such crass words, such small minds, honestly..."

He paused for effect, then grinned broadly before offering a conspiratorial wink.

"I think you meant, sisters."

In Elvish: "You have no idea, friend." Ponder grinned.

Adriel clears his throat and raises his voice to address the gathered adventurers.

"Harken ye, brave and true-hearted adventurers! I summon thee to join in a quest of great import. Our noble Lord Vandergathen hath been wronged, for some treacherous fiend hath stolen from him a hoard of precious items. The stolen items include an ancient ivory statue, a beautiful silver necklace encrusted with rubies, a set of parchment maps, and a jeweled dagger with an intricate dragon hilt. These items are of great value and sentiment to our good lord, and he seeks their safe return."

Adriel pauses, scanning the faces of the adventurers before him, and continues in a softer tone. "As a reward, our Lord offers a small home within the city. A humble abode, yet suitable for a band of adventurers such as yourselves to establish a base of operations for future ventures. What say thee, brave warriors? Will thou join the quest to reclaim these stolen treasures and earn the gratitude of our Lord?"

"Yes," Akira responds resolutely.

A short woman enters the Thirsty Kraken, looking for companions to share her adventuring time with. Her healing skills would surely come in useful. But should her allies fall in battle, it would be the perfect time to ease their passage into the afterlife.

She makes herself known at the bar, and looks around for an advertising board.

As Rytel and Luthien discuss the sickness spreading through the city, Calgarvin spots another patron entering the tavern. He nudges the paladin gently and gestures with a nod of his head to the woman at the bar. "Another priest. Can never have too many priests," he whispers.

In reply to Morbid Woundcleanser (msg # 72):

As she sat at the bar she saw a rough-looking man with greasy hair and a jagged scar on his face looking her way from a few stools down.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" he sneered. "A little cleric come to bless our drinks?"

The Thirsty Kraken had a bad reputation, and it seemed the reputation for trouble was true.

Griff strolls into the bar like he's not 100% sure he should be there, but he's going to enjoy himself anyway, or get kicked, possibly both.  "This seat taken?" He asks the young chainmail wearing lady completely ignoring the rough looking man and seating himself on one of the stools between her and the ruffian before she can reply.  "I aven't been in this bar yet, heard it's quite rough.  Perhaps we'll see a fight.  What you drinking?

Rytel seems to be mulling over what Luthien said.

"I am all for helping solve this problem and would be happy to join you two.   Rytel Phorza, cleric of Selune, happy to meet you.   This sickness could be caused by spells, or could be from a poison and from a plant.   Perhaps it is harvested somewhere and delivered somehow.   I'm up for working on it."

He offers a handshake to Luthien and Calgarvin.

Edit:  Did not look to the bar, as I ruled I would not have heard a whisper.  Even if he did, Rytel would have respected privacy.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:52, Thu 11 May 2023.

In reply to Dungeon Master (msg # 74):

Morbid looks at the man, square in the eye. "You want a blessing? From my god? Okay, sure. Let me hold your tankard for a moment." replies the short cleric.

"Oops you guys talking." Griff says leaning back as Morbid ignores him and talks to the jagged scarred man.  He jumps up and back from the stool, figuring he's in the wrong seat for now.  "Sorry man, didn't see you there," he says to the ruffian as he wanders around to another place at the bar to grab a drink.

"Calgarvin, good meetin' you," he says to Rytel and shakes his hand and continues to scan the tavern for other hopefuls.

In reply to Rytel Phorza (msg # 76):

"Well, we'll be able to rule poison out fairly quickly...the first thing we should do is see one of the victims, If we can figure out which kind of sickness it is...or if it's something more malevolent like poison...we'll be able to act accordingly."

Luthien extends his hands, "Sir Luthien, of Torm's Order of Knights."

Luthien does have that trademark aura all paladins have. It's comforting for good men to stand in that aura.

Having not said anything even remotely crass, Amalfy wondered at what Vanomir's intent was. He had not met many elves though, maybe they were all on drugs or something. Magic mushrooms were an elven thing, right?

In any case, he opted to ignore the stranger, and focus on the matter at hand.

The list of stolen items sounded quite valuable. He could understand why they might be taken, and wonder at their provenance.

A small home seemed like a nice reward, but hardly something they could divvy up when all was said and done.

(Amalfy still isn't thinking of himself as a party member, you see.)

It implied the value of the items to be much higher than he had initially thought however, as a reward seldom, in his experience, came to more than ten or fifteen percent of the value of the items returned.

He nodded in agreement to Akira's response, and waited to see who else might be joining them.

"Either one of you know if many are affected, or where it started?   I also wonder if it is spreading out.  We need to be careful who we approach.  If this sickness is man made they could have agents here.  Why not look for a populated area to help spread it?"

Rytel's eyes went from Luthien to Calgarvin with raised eyebrows.  He then started to look around the room.  Not for people to join them, but for people who looked sick or were looking around sneakily.