RIHALA DRAKESONG

It wasn't hard for Rihala to find out which way her father had gone, which turned out to be the same direction that Leyllen's family seem to have gone. The trail wasn't hard to follow at first, but she lost it, found it again, lost it again, recovered it, and that led to the village of Phandalin.

She's been there for three days now, trying to get a lead for where her father or Leyllen and her family went next.

Rihala has been befriended by Lureene; the two have become 'drinking buddies' at the Stonehill Inn.


LUREENE RAVENTREE

Lureene was asked to visit the village of Phandalin to determine what their religious needs might be. She's only been there a week, but has been taken in by Sister Garaele, a priestess of Tymora. Garaele has arranged for Lureene to live in a house just behind hers.

Sister Garaele told Lureene yesterday that she was a Harper, and while she didn't say anything else, Lureene got the distinct impression that she wanted her to do something.

Ever since the newcomer Rhiala arrived in town three days ago, Lureene has made an effort to befriend her, not only because she was being kind to the stranger, but she sense a troubled soul.

Rihala hasn't yet told Lureene what brings her to Phandalin, but the two have become 'drinking buddies' at the Stonehill Inn.


The easiest place to jump in would be at the Stonehill Inn... for tea.

     Rihala returned to the Inn with a good-sized deer she'd killed to help pay her lodging.  It had felt good to be hunting large again after all her traveling and rations.

     Delivering the deer to the kitchens, she absently picked up a small clay mug and began fiddling with it, tossing it back and forth from hand to hand.  She was stuck in this town until she should find a new lead on her father or her friend.  Considering they'd both vanished on the same day and looked to have both ended up here, she struggled to remain optimistic.  Plus she was getting edgy being among society again, being more at home alone in the woods.

     Distracted in thought, the mug slipped from her hands and crashed to the floor.

     "Not again," the dark-haired Tiefling muttered as she knelt down to pick up the large pieces.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:41, Fri 29 Aug 2014.

Lureene Raventree glided into the common room, and looked around, smiling warmly in greeting at all and sundry. Several people gladly looked up from their drinks to glance at her and meet her smile. The lovely priestess had been here scarce more than a week, and so was still a curiosity. She responded in kind, deciding whether to approach someone, until the crash of broken pottery drew her attention to her left, where she witnessed Rihala's mishap.

She walked over knelt next to Rihala and began picking up some of the pieces herself. The cleric wore an elegant, fashionable red dress. The lacquered-gold holy symbol of Sune Firehair glinted at her breast, in the scoop of her neckline. Red tresses fell around her slender shoulders.

"You didn't hurt yourself, did you?", she asked solicitously, gently taking Rihala's right hand into her own. She examined it quietly and then, satisfied to find no injuries, held it as she stood, helping Rihala up. "Come, let me offer you a drink", she offered with a warm smile.

     Rihala smirked in embarrassment as the cleric came to he assistance.

     "No, I'm fine.  Happens more often than I'd like to admit," she said, gathering the pieces in her hands and taking them to the refuse bin.

     "Yes, a drink.  I could use something to warm me up this morning.  I've been out hunting since the moon set.  Got a nice doe," she said, motioning back toward the kitchen.

     With a sigh, she rolled her neck and took a seat.  "Ugh.  I think this is the longest I've stayed in a village in about three years.  Next stop I'm pitching a tent on the outskirts," she remarked.

As the pair passed the counter, Lureene paused to lean over it, and called out to the barkeep. "Ho, please bring out a hot pot of tea, and two cups? Then she followed Rihala to her table and took a seat opposing her.

"Why? A good warm bed at an inn is certainly more comfortable, and there's a lot more people to talk to", Lureene noted. She supposed, though, that the Tiefling might not like people as much as she. One of the reasons she'd befriended Rihala was because she knew people would be suspiscious of the fiend-blooded woman, and even more so in this small village than in cosmopolitan Waterdeep. She hoped people might be more accepting of Rihala if she was often seen in the company of a priestess of a goodly goddess.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:10, Sat 30 Aug 2014.

     Rihala chuckled at the cleric's comment.  "I've been more at home in a tree since I was 12-years-old.  Plus, people don't tend to go out of their way to talk to me," she said, raising an eyebrow as a thought suddenly came to her.

     "Present company excluded, of course.  How go the conversions?  Of course, if my god was as lovely as yours, I'm sure it would be much easier to gain converts," she said.  Her parents were devout followers of Zargon, but Rihala had never cared much for the slimy god herself.  Her powers may have been a gift, but she was much more devoted to her love for the natural world.

     The tea arrived and Rihala poured for both of them.  The water was still scalding hot when the raven-haired woman took a drink, sighing with satisfaction.

     "Mmmm ... Good tea," she hummed.

There was a bit of a lull while Rihala drank her tea and Lureene, not blessed with her resistance to heat, waited for hers to cool down a bit. Lureene looked at the bits of tea leaf in her cup, examining their patterns. Then she turned to Rihala again.

"I should hope", she said gently, softly, "that you're not actually trying to gain converts to your... god."

As you are sitting there drinking your tea, Sister Garaerle walks into the inn, looks around, spots you and comes over and joins you.

"I heard you had another friend in town," she says to Lureene before turning to Rihala.

"Hello. I'm Garaerle. I maintain the Shrine of Luck here in Phandalin. Pleased to make your acquaintance."


She waits for a reply before she continues.

"Having such a friend makes my asking you for a favor a bit easier."

"I need someone to find out a certain piece of information. It's the person who has this information that makes it... a tad difficult. Her name is Agatha... and she's a banshee. I've been to her lair, but she wouldn't appear to me."

"I've given it much thought since then. For whatever reason, she wasn't interested in talking to me. I believe if someone else was to go there, they might be more successful."

Lureene made the introductions. "Sister, this is Rihana Drakesong. She too is a newcomer to this town, though she prefers to live on the outskirts. And keep to herself", she smiled, "that is, when she is not sharing a pleasant cup of tea with the local clergy." She gestured to the barkeep to bring an additional cup for Garaerle.

She listened to her fellow priestess's story of Agatha the banshee, and a frown formed on her delicate brow. "A banshee? I'm rather surprised she would speak with anyone at all. Why is it that you think she'll talk to me?"

"Of course, I don't know that she will speak to you," Garaerle replies, "but you will be a new person. If she didn't speak to me the first time, I have no reason to think that she'll speak to me the second time. However, I have acquired a gift that you may present to her."

Sister Garaele reaches into a pocket and pulls out an object wrapped in a cloth. She sets it on the table and pulls back the cloth. It is a silver comb, rather fancy.

"Perhaps if you offer her this as a present to her, she may choose to speak with you."

     Rihala listened carefully, and her eyes were quickly drawn to the comb.

     "Perhaps the sister believes that an 'outsider' like myself would have more luck with the creature," she said.  People often made such assumptions about Tieflings due to their semi-demonic appearance.

     Taking a sip of tea, Rihala took a moment to consider what she remembered about banshees in general.

OOC: 18:34, Today: Rihala Drakesong rolled 16 using 1d20+2. Recall Banshee lore.

"I did not know that you were an Outsider until just now," Garaerle replies, "nor did I know if you would be willing to accompany Lureene. I also would not have thought that you would have more luck with the banshee. Do you think you would?"

     Rihala raised an eyebrow to the cleric.  From her earlier statement, it certainly seemed she had acknowledged the Tiefling's odd status.

     "Of course I'd be happy to accompany my friend," she said, having already formed a bond with Lureene.  Friends weren't something she came upon often, so she guarded and protected them diligently.

     "This banshee ... Is she spirit or solid?  If she be an apparition, they can be quite dangerous," she said, glancing to Lureene.

Lureene carefully picked up the comb and turned it into her hands, admiring the craftsmanship. She fondly remembered similar combs used by both the Waterdhavian nobility and the priesthood of Sune, though none were exactly like this.

"I think it might be best, Sister", she said at length, "if you told us who this banshee is, and what you want to learn from her and why."

"As far as I know, Agatha is a normal spirit banshee," Sister Garaele answers.

"Little is known about Agatha, other than adventurers have discovered her lair. My order has asked me to find out what Agatha knows about a spellbook that once belonged to the legendary mage Bowgentle."

"I do not know why they think she would know."

     Nodding with interest, Rihala gave Lureene a sidelong glance as if to say 'I'm in.'

Lureene smiled wryly. "Your order seems fond of keeping secrets. Can you at least detail what happened when you went to see her? It might be helpful when we encounter her ourselves. I'm a little surprised she did not simply attack."

"That was just it," Garaele replied, "nothing happened. I waited for awhile, but Agatha never appeared. Then I called out to her in what I hope sounded like a friendly voice, but with no result."

"In retrospect, of course, it occurred to me that she might not have been home, though I'm not really sure what that would mean to a banshee. It's also possible that she was destroyed by someone, but no word of such has reached the village yet."

Lureene chuckled. "I'm not familiar with the habits of ghosts and banshees, myself. Very well, then. Perhaps you can tell us where Agatha lives, and I shall go, with Rihala if she is agreeable."