Voril shakes his head in the negative to Rigya's query, "Can't say that I do. But, your friend here is right. If anybody would know, it would be Shandril."

The smith then relates the fact Shandril has been busy with Midsummer preparations to help ensure the the village fields yield great quantities of grain, the cattle produce milk and calves in abundance, and married couples live in joyous harmony with numerous children. This last point he delivers in a poignant tone.

Voril then bids the adventurers farewell and says he will eagerly await their return, "with Arialle, Pelor willing."

***

Their conversation with the smith concluded, the party proceeds to the Temple of Pelor. The temple, like the Tower of the Watch, is visible throughout the village. A small gathering of villagers are gathered outside and within the temple, which consists of a large one-room shrine with a stone altar at the north wall. The altar is decorated with a carving of a shaft of wheat within a radiant stylized sun. A silver crucible rests on the altar. Shandril, an elven priestess of Pelor, is ministering the villagers as the adventurers make their entrance. In particular, she is concluding a conversation with a local farmer about best agricultural practices.


She bids farewell to the farmer and attends to the adventurers.

"Well met and welcome to Fairhill and our temple," she gestures with open hands and a slight nod. "I had heard of your arrival and wondered when you would come to pay homage to Pelor, as all should."

"Though there has been darkness of late, know Pelor's Light will soon be in full radiance."

"See there," she gestures toward the altar, "The Radiant Crucible of Dawn stands ready to receive your offering." Looking, the party sees various offerings and sacrifices placed around the silver crucible.
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:41, Fri 03 Dec 2021.

Rigya stepped forward and dropped a silver coin into the crucible.  Perhaps if they did well, she would return with a more sizeable donation.

Ullian also drops in a silver piece.

And smiles at the priestess.

Clatsi scuttled forward and fished a coin from his purse. He held it tight in hone hand and stretched his arm to drop it into the receptacle. It was gold. It would not do to shortchange Pelor when he had dropped gold at Avandra's shrine.

"That darkness, Priestess. We've seen it."

"We're about to set off on a journey to find the blacksmith's daughter and hoped we might find a healer to come with us," Rigya explained.  "She joined a group looking to investigate the Old Stoneheart Tower.  They've been gone 11 days."

Thinking of how long they'd been gone, they should probably stock up on extra supplies to feed any survivors on the journey back.  Look at her, she was becoming quite the optimist bathed in the light of Pelor.

Sharn was impressed with the temple and the beautiful priestess.  When the offering was mentioned, as expected of them, she had a moment of panic.  What did have to offer, how was it done, should she even do it, would Pelor be offender by an offering from someone who was not a follower, would he even care, or know.  Luckily, the others led the way and she relaxed that coin seemed acceptable, that she had.  But still, it seemed bad faith on her part, and she hesitated, but then and idea struck her and she went forward.

She knelt and prayed a moment, before dropping some coins in the offering.

Shandril nods in recognition of Clatsi's statement and offers a brief assurance, "trust in the Light, may it guide you."



"Then perhaps I might give bounty to your hopes. A Meloran acolyte passed through town a few days ago, inquiring about a woodland shrine located north of the village. You may well find him along the way, sanctifying that sacred place," she says.

Shandril says there is a ring of stones atop a wooded hill, about 6 miles north of Fairhill. She provides general directions to the site and suggests it quite likely they will find the acolyte there.

"Thank you for the advice," Rigya replied to the priestess with a nod.  "We'll try to catch up with him."

Achieving what she'd thought was their goal, she turned to lead the others out.  She just had to stop off at the inn to retrieve the rest of her gear and they would be off.

"I need to get the rest of my gear back at the inn, but the rest of you could grab extra supplies for the trip back.  If there are survivors, they'll be hungry.

"We'll meet outside the inn and head out from there."

Ullian nods.  "I'll get some extra provisions."

"As will I," Clatsi echoed dubiously. On the way to the provisioner, he looked up at Ullian with a sour pinched look on his face. "What of the mage's keep? I understand that this blacksmith's daughter is missing, but ... but we came here for a purpose. Talon and Vortigern are still out there."

Clatsi was agitated but his voice was low. He couldn't seek out the wizard's secrets alone, though, so if he couldn't get others on board, his plans were sunk.

PM

Sharn speaks quietly to Clatsi.

"The secrets of that keep will still be there whenever we wish to explore.  I think Vortigern might stake that ruin out thinking we'd go there next.  If we help with the rescue mission, Vortigern might realize we don't have the item any longer, get bored, and return to his home."

Retunring to the downtrodden inn, Rigya went to collect up her backpack and bow.  She hadn't seen a need to drag it all around town on a sightseeing trip.

She also kept an eye out for the halfling that hadn't shown up that morning.  He'd gone out drinking with the others, but she hadn't seen him since he'd left.  If he didn't turn up soon, they'd just have to leave without him.

To Ullian, Clatsi answered: "It's just that ... it's just that I've come so far and walked through rain and suffered and the secrets in the keep must be so very interesting." He looked up at Ullian and added transparently, "And valuable." He practically waggled his eyesbrows.</Blue>"And I don't want that horrible Vortigern to commit any more atrocities. It's the reason we've come here at all, and I know we need all the help we can get, Folly and Zeric running off and Corian dead."
</Blue>

He wasn't bold enough to challenge Sharn's assertions, but he knew when he was beaten. "I certainly hope Vortigern doesn't get bored. I have a bad feeling that one like him does nasty things when he's bored. And the minstril is certainly in need of rescuing -- I won't argue that point."

PM

PM

Upon reuniting with Rigya, Ullian says:

"We are ready.  But, we have a proposition.

Before we got to Fairhill, we had designs on checking out a wizard's tower.  Clatsi in particular is anxious to do so; it's a matter of professional curiosity for him.

What do you say, after we rescue the blacksmith's daughter, that check out the tower?"

"A wizard's tower sounds profitable," Rigya admitted.  "I wouldn't mind looking into that after our search."

Their best chance of claiming a reward would be to bring the daughter back alive.  Anything after that was fine with her.

"But if we're ready to go, let's get on with it," she said, looking around.  "Though I still haven't seen the halfling this morning.

"Did he say anything last night about changing his plans?"

"He did not.  And I doubt that he would have changed is plans without at least letting me know; we go a ways back if you didn't know.  Let's give him a moment or two more; if he doesn't show, there could be something wrong."

Rigya was surprised the elf and halfling had known each other.  A strange coincidence.

"Let me go in and ask if they've seen him or heard word," she replied to Ullian as she turned to follow through on the statement.

It wouldn't do for them to sit waiting while a message was held by the innkeeper or the halfling had already left.

It takes little effort to pinpoint Lannet's location--the Drunken Cockatrice.

Sure enough, the portly halfling has settled in to sate his appetite and has an impressive spread of dishes and mugs laid out on the table. Surely more food than could fit inside the little fellow's stomach...right?

In any event, the talkative halfling waves the adventurers over as he pops a few grapes into his mouth, which he chews noisily.

"Ah. Good there you are!" he says in greeting. "Just finishing up here. Go ahead. Pull up a chair. Make sure to take your fill before we strike out. Might be a long road ahead!"

For his part, Lannet says he got a late start this morning, "setting affairs in order", as he describes it, but is ready to depart just as soon as he finishes his breakfast.

"Delia wants you to pay her for the beers," Clatsi told Lannet without prelude. He took a seat across the table from the halfling, keeping his distance.

"I will be leaving in 20 minutes with or without you," she said brusquely to the halfling before she turned and stalked back out the door.

She was already regretting having bothered to search for the halfling.

Lannet tosses another grape into his mouth and chomps down with zeal. "Oh, yes, that," he says dismissively. "Umm. You see. I happen to be a little short on funds now, which I hope to rectify, Avandra willing, shortly."

He looks at the gathered mess, picks at a little meat left on a bone, and quickly changes the subject. "So...it looks like you folks aren't going to sit for a late breakfast?" He favors Clatsi with a winning smile.

"If not, I suppose I could pack up the rest of this for later..."

Lannet says he can be ready to go in a few moments. He just needs to collect his things from the Cask and Flagon.

Lannet folds out a cloth napkin, places a few select items within, cinches it off, and makes for the Cask and Flagon to get his gear. True to his word, he returns with haste, quite eager to head from Fairhill at once.

The halfling is already sweating, perhaps from the exertion of being forced to act so quickly. "Warm morning, isn't it?" he says, glancing around with a nervous smile, as he wipes his sweaty brow with a handkerchief.

***

Assuming everyone has concluded their business in Fairhill, the party sets out by mid-morning on a course that leads them along a winding path north of the village...

OOC: Starting a new thread...