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Morning had not yet dawned on Sandpoint; sunrise was still at least two hours away.  A marine layer covered and obscured its streets; the buildings rose from the fog like rocks jutting from a treacherous coastline.

Most of the town’s citizens, aside from the Sandpoint Guard’s doubled nightwatch, still slept.  But an attentive listener would have heard the soft footfalls of Shalelu Andosana as she walked quietly from door to door to door of three specific rooms in the Rusty Dragon Inn, gently knocking to wake those who would shortly be making their way to Thistletop in a dangerous, daring, and possibly futile attempt to decapitate the goblin leadership.

When the scholar, the gnome, and the guardsman made their way downstairs, they found a cold breakfast of breads, cereals, cold milk, orange juice, and chilled savory ham laid out for their breakfast.  Ameiko Kaijitsu had apparently taken charge of their provisioning.  None of her staff seemed to be up and about; it seemed as if the inn’s proprietress was taking on the job solo.

Six wrapped brown-paper packages sat on a table near the door, each bearing the name of one venturing to Thistletop.  Ameiko pointed to the parcels.  “I’ve been up packing for you,” she said in a subdued tone.  “Each package should have enough food to keep you going through lunch tomorrow.  Shalelu,” she glanced at the elf, “tells me that by that time you will have either succeeded, or, well . . . .”  The Tianese woman let the words trail off.

Shalelu was all business.  “Eat up,” she said, “then get ready.”  She indicated weapons and other items spread out on one of the long trestle tables.  “I’ve laid out the items I brought from City Hall.  Take whatever you need and leave the rest.  Ameiko will be taking care of whatever we don’t need.”  The elf shot the innkeeper an appreciative glance.

“Once you’ve eaten and packed, we’ll head over to the stables.  Dav knows we’re coming and he’ll have the horses saddled and ready for us.  Once we’re mounted, we’ll head up to the cathedral and pick up our acolytes.  I’d like to be heading out of Sandpoint as soon as we can, so be as quick as you can,” she shook her head, “but don’t hurry.  Make sure you have everything you need.  Once we leave, there’s no coming back.”

“The gods go with each of you.”  Ameiko made the words both a blessing and benediction.  She gave the assembled group a look of such hope and sadness that she looked as if she might burst into tears.

Shalelu nodded her thanks.  Time was wasting, and every minute brought the incipient goblin attack that much closer.

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This message was last edited by the GM at 18:35, Mon 25 Aug 2014.

Kellans night seemed to pass in an instant. One moment he was climbing into bed and the next he was hearing Shalelus soft but insistant knocks on the door. It had been the deep, dreamless sleep of the innocent and weary, and while it undoubtedly had refreshed him he found that his body protested any sort of movement with a as of yet unexperianced degree of soreness. He could have rested for a week, but there was simply no time.

"I'm up" he called through the door, wincing silently as he sat up and rolled himself to sit on the edge of the bed. He yawned long and deep before getting to his feet and rubbing his face, the floor creaking under the weight of his feet as he began to stir.

He continued to yawn as he lit a candle and suited up, experiencing a little trouble with the finer clasps and ties as he continued to slowly wake. He could practically don his uniform by rote now after his years in the guard and soon found himself ready to go and staring into mirror that hung upon his wall. There was a pit in his stomach and a welling of emotion as the full gravity of what they would be attempting that day came back to him.

It would be a long, bloody couple of days.

Double checking his pack he found everything in order and hefted it before taking his weapon from its place against the wall and making his way downstairs. Ameiko would find the notes as she tended the rooms, and it would avoid any protests on her part.

"Mornin" He offered as he came down the stairs, managing a smile to Ameiko and trying to best to seem at ease and confident. "Thanks again, for putting this all together" he offered as he took a ranch hands portion, easily a slab of ham and three full cups of milk along with the bread.

When done he wiped his mouth and excused himself. "Give me a hug Ameiko...and wish us luck" he insisted before he departed, then stepped out into the chilly morning with his cloak wrapped againt the fog.

He found his way to the stables and greeted Dav almost wordlessly, finding the stock saddled and well fed on oats for the morning ride. Hakon stamped impatiently as Kellan lashed his pack to the saddle bags.

"Appreciate it Dav...wish us luck" he offered with a little mock salute as he stepped up into the saddle and was handed Heilys lead.

With the lead in one hand, and his weapon steadied against a specially crafted little scabbard on his tack he guided the destrier over towards the temple to the sound of solemn hoof falls.

His breath and that of the stock created huge lingering clouds as they waited outside the temple, the guard casting an excited grin towards his companions as they prepared to set out.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:52, Mon 25 Aug 2014.

Despite his worries, Cato was able to drift off rather quickly.  Apparently, his body's need for sleep outweighed his mind's need to mull over the dangers that might face him at Thistletop.  His sleep was not long, but it was enough to refresh the mage and clear his thread.  By the time Shalelu knocked on his door, his preparations for the day were almost complete, and a few minutes later, the wizard closed his spell book and made his way downstairs.

His nerves were up, and the stress of the upcoming day was already making him queasy, but the young scholar remembered similar feelings from his time in the Hellknights.  Strange how the righteousness of this cause doesn't change my reactions, he thought to himself, as he munched on ham, bread and juice.  He stood quietly, absorbed in his own thoughts, for a few minutes, watching Kellan and waiting for Pisca to join them in the common room.  When the gnome finally made her appearance, Cato smiled.  "Get enough rest last night?  Hopefully you and Shalelu weren't up too late planning.  You seemed to be deep in conversation when I went up.  How about you, Kellan?  The night of rest seems to have done you some good.  I suppose you had a more...physically rigorous day than the rest of us."

When he had eaten his fill, Cato gave his thanks to Ameiko and packed away a bag of food for their journey.  He followed the others through the quiet, pre-dawn streets of Sandpoint.  He hadn't seen the town this way since coming here, and Sandpoint certainly had a charm in this light.  It made Cato all the more certain that what he was doing was right, that Sandpoint and its inhabitants needed his help, even if it met..  Cato shook his head and increased his strides.

He managed to mount the provided horse at the stables, remembering enough from his earlier years to avoid looking like a fool, though it took him a few minutes to remember how to hold his weight in the saddle.  At the outskirts of town, he noticed Kellan's grin.  "Guard Storval," Cato said in a mock whisper, "I'm surprised at you.  If I'm mistaken, you seem to be enjoying this!"

For just a few fleeting moments Kellan looked for all the world like a poster boy for martial service with his square jaw, muscular build and wholesome demeanor. Even the droplets forming on the tips of his golden hair seemed placed there for dramatic effect. He looked out towards the north gate with a pensive expression, the seagulls crying in the pregnant silence.

Should he tell his friend of the terror and trepidation of willingly marching off to a likely death? Of the mingled emotions of excitement and fear? How they were making history? How they might live or die as heroes depending on how the day progressed? Should he talk of fate, fortune and the whims of the divine to place a person in the right place and time with the experiance and inclination to change the fate of a region?

Should he talk of the unbridled enthusiasm of a young man with the heavy yoke of duty upon his shoulder? Or of tragic young love? Or the horrors that the intelligent races have waged upon themselves from times immemorial? The satisfaction of being able to strike back after weeks of impotence and frustration?

No...no, Cato was brilliant, he knew all this, had been there and could articulate it far more eloquently than Kellan could ever hope to. With this in mind Kellan broke his trance and turned to Cato with a brotherly smile.

"Cato, we are gonna kill...just...so many goblins" shaking his head slightly as if unable to calculate the teeming masses that would surely fall before them.

She had placed a thin slice of bread atop a thin slice of ham and sprinkled come of the crisp cereals over the top before rolling the whole thing together like a map - or, perhaps, more correctly, like a bedroll - pressing and compacting the soft bread down as tightly as she could.  It was a simple culinary concoction, and Pisca eyed the new food invention now grasped firmly in her fist evaluating it's worth.  Then she took a bite.  The ham and bread roll had a nice savory tang with an extremely satisfactory crunch lent by the cereals inside.

Armed with Break Fast food, the gnome climbed to the top of the table upon which her weapons were arrayed, along with the other interesting items that they'd captured in the Super Secret Prison Laboratory of the Rune Lord Lady Alaznist.  Pisca picked up the Twisted iron wand with a forked tip and stuck it in her belt.  She singled out the Amazing Returning Dagger dropped in her death throes by Quasit Girl and slung its straps and sheath over her shoulder, intending later to strap it to her thigh.  And the gnome scooped up the Red Blade of Ultimate Evil.

"Voozsh.  Voozj.  Voo-voozzh."  Through a mouthful of crunchy ham and bread, the gnome made mouth-noises as she swung the blade in a few passes through the air.  "Ooke, I amb yoh thafer," she added mysteriously in a deep and resonant voice.

Now, once again in possession of her devastating array of incredibly powerful magic weapons, the gnome popped the last of her crunchy break fast roll into her mouth and washed it down with a half a hummie glass of cold white milk.

"Aaahhh."  After draining her glass dry, Pisca reached up and slammed it down on table top.  (Or, more correctly, on the edge of the tabletop.)  Taking her turn after Stomper, she reached up for a hug from Ameiko.  "Be careful with ... you know what," she whispered in Ameiko's ear.  Then the gnome was off after the others, Stomper, Cato, and the elven ranger, Shalelu Andosana.

"Nettie!"

"Yom yom yom.  Yom-yom-yomyom."  While stroking the white star that graced the soft nose of her pony, the gnome nattered away, pretending with all of the tremendous imaginative power of a young gnome, that she could speak the language of ponies.

"Oh, did we get extra rope?" Pisca tossed over her shoulder to the other three Goblinfacers.  "A cliff top island probably means climbing.  And we might have to tie some of those green clutter monkeys up.  "Yom yom yom?" asked the gnome in Pony Language.  Then, "Nettie says that we do have the extra rope."

"Thanks for taking such good care of Nettie, Dav," the gnome said the very grateful gnome.  "You didn't happen to get the name of that gobbie we took alive, did you?  Might come in handy to have a name when we're sneaking in," she explained.

Then, when their small party of raiders started on their way from the stables to the temple, the gnome took lead to Kerr Mollin's horse, pulling the larger horse behind her smaller Nettie.

Once at the temple, the gnome tugs at Kerr Mollin's sleeve until he kneels, coming down to her level.  "Lets see if it will do it for you," said the gnome, and she hoisted the repeating crossbow onto the young human's shoulder.  "I tried to get it to perch on my shoulder, but it wouldn't do it for me."

"Hmmm.  Maybe it just isn't a shoulder mounted weapon," Pisca admitted at last when the weapon was similarly disinclined to perch on the shoulder of Kerr Mollin.  "Well, maybe you can use this anyway," holding the mag-loading crossbow out to the human knight of the temple.  "It doesn't seem to like me much.  If it did, it would be more Right-Sized."

"Oh, and Cato, do you think you can figure out what this does?"  With one hand, the gnome tugged the fork-tipped wand from her belt and held it out to the wizard.  "If you can't, I think I can still figure out how to make it work."