Re: Chapter #4: A Massive Boar
The early morning tracking expedition with Pisca didn't reveal too much in the way of information; Liseth was sad to find. But she was sure to locate Sheriff Hemlock and share everything that she did discover with him before going off on her own to prepare for the day's ride. It was too bad that Kerr couldn't join her after all; but neither he nor she were about to argue with Father Zantus when he said that he needed help cleaning up the mess in the Boneyard. Kerr had volunteered to stay behind and help Father Zantus; after all Liseth was the one who had been invited to share in the hunting trip.
Before making her way to the Goblin Squash Stables Liseth stopped by the market in order to purchase some small provisions for the ride as well. She did already own some traveling rations and other food, but that hardly made for a decent picnic. So first she bought herself a knapsack then filled it with two loaves of bread, two ripe tomatoes, an onion, a pound of sliced beef, a block of cheese, and six apples. Satisfied that everyone should be able to enjoy a decent picnic now, Liseth made her way directly to the stables.
She arrived wearing the same white dress as the day before, though it had been cleaned since then. The extravagant necklace was not worn around her neck, and her hair, rather than being allowed to hang loosely, was tied behind her head in a ponytail. The food-stuffed knapsack hung from her shoulders.
Liseth was thrilled to meet all of the horses that Daviren Hosk made available for their perusal, but she knew that she wasn't going to need a new one. After all, she already had Heily. Before going to retrieve her from the stables though, Liseth shared with Kellan and Cato what she and Pisca had learned from examining the area outside the Boneyard wall, "So, there was a ladder leaned up against the wall that they used to climb over, and we managed to follow their tracks back to a clearing in the woods that they used as a staging area for their attack. I couldn't tell just how many goblins there was, but there was several of their monster dog tracks too." She frowned, "We didn't learn anything else about the mysterious person that was with the goblins though, or find any leads on..." Liseth looked around to make sure that nobody else was listening. After all, Sheriff Hemlock didn't want everybody to know. She lowered her voice just in case, "Any leads on where they took Father Tobayn's remains."
After that she gave all of the horses a good inspection, perhaps surprising everybody present with just how much she knew about horses. Liseth was quick to point out the qualities of each horse; its breed, how healthy and strong it was, whether it would grant a smooth and comfortable ride or a rough and jarring one, its personality (she didn't want any mean horses after all!), and other general information about caring for the horses.
Heily was given a nice brushing before Liseth walked her out to meet everybody. The pure white horse was absolutely resplendent. "This is Lady Heilagr, but all of her friends call her Heily. Say hello Heily."
Heily dipped her head down and gave a whinny.
Then Liseth's attention was captured by Kellan's horse and she walked to the two of them, with Heily following behind her. "That's your horse Mr Storval? He's so handsome! And strong too. His name is Hakon?" Liseth reached her hands up to stroke Hakon's mane, "Hello Hakon." She turned to Heily, "Hakon must be as big as Drake, don't you think Heily?"
Heily gave a snort and her head shook.
"You don't think so? Drake is bigger?" Liseth looked between Hakon and Heily, "Maybe. We'll just have to get the two of them together sometime!"
"Oh, hello Mr Foxglove." Liseth greeted the nobleman after he made his appearance and smiled at her the way that he did. He's not scary. He won't be scary if you don't think that he's scary. He's just being a polite gentleman. She still wished that Kerr was able to come with her.
Liseth needed a little help to climb up into Heily's saddle; her small stature made it difficult for her to get atop Heily without assistance or a stepping stool. Once she was seated on Heily, Liseth stored her new knapsack in a saddlebag. When the group set out it became apparent that the girl, despite her love of horses, had very little riding skill. She sat up straight in Heily's saddle and kept her hands on the reins, but rather than lead the horse Liseth allowed Heily to carry her; gently whispering to the horse to subtly guide her.
When the conversation turned to where everybody was from, Liseth was ready to respond when Kellan answered first. His answer wasn't very surprising, she already knew that he was from Sandpoint. Then Cato answered. She was a more curious about Cato and his answer didn't alleviate the curiosity much. She knew that Korvosa was a large city, the largest in Varisia, and his terse answer didn't explain much.
Then it was her turn. She hadn't really shared with anybody in Sandpoint where she was from. Not because she wanted to hide anything, but no one had really asked. They had all just accepted her as Father Zantus's new acolyte. "I'm from Galduria. Well, not really Galduria, but a few miles outside of the town. My family has a manor there, on the shore of Ember Lake. Though I spent almost as much time at the nearby Temple of Sarenrae as at home when I was growing up."
OOC: I suppose an estimated value on the foodstuffs will need to be deducted from Liseth's funds.
Also, Knowledge (Nature) and/or Handle Animal to help Pisca and Cato pick out nice horses? Not Heal though; it isn't polite to look a gift horse in the mouth!
This message was last edited by the player at 08:05, Tue 08 Oct 2013.