"All goin' together should be okay. We may not wanna say everything to him though, just in case." Talia says, glancing down at her shorter friends with a tired smile. Even with the risk, healing sounded tempting and she was anxious to get home and check in with her mom as well.

It was nice that some of his companions had friends, even family, in this small village. Arthua fell silent when they all began to chatter. It seemed that he was a simple sellsword. He did need to get gold, treasure and influence. But this new life was very different from what he remembered from his youth.

"We should all go. We all have scratches here and there. And there really isn't proof that the man is involved." He knew first-hand that rumors can stab a man in the back.

"They were nothing special." Orila downplayed Shalimar's worries "Certainly not something a bit of rest can't solve." Alyssa's warning and reaction did bring a small frown to the goliath's face "Sometimes you must face your fears. I will watch out for any danger."

Shalimar grins lightly walking with the others towards the temple at an easy gait, "We won't run into any problems or dangers yet, just have to play it down and not give away we know there's funny business going on inside its walls before we can figure out who is our individual of note."

Alyssa

Alyssa finds her family and gives them the news. They had been thrilled (and worried) that their daughter had gone out on an adventure to save the town but her alarming warnings caused them great concern. They were resistant, however, as they were still securing vital supplies and grains but they promised her that they would hurry and depart as soon as they were able.

---

Everyone
While the town was small, the Church to St. Gaed the Confessor was a surprisingly grand affair. The story depicted on the large stained glass windows was that Gaed was a high priest of helm when the kingdom of Tethyr was infiltrated by a shapeshifting demon that took the form of the king's chief advisor. Under the constant whispers of the demon the king fell into chaos and the rule of the king became that of tyranny, corruption and horrible atrocities. Gaed the Confessor challenged the demon to combat was defeated. With his dying breath Gaed called upon the divine essence of helm to reveal the demon's true form and breaking its hold on the king. The king's guard then slew the demon, freeing the kingdom from its corrupting presence.

In honor of this sacrifice helm elevated Gaed up as a saint, the Saint of exposing corruption wherever it may lurk. Thus while the church is dedicated to helm as Gaed was from Ashford the church of Helm commissioned it to be updated to reflect Gaed's sacrifice. As it was mostly funded by the central Church of Helm the Church of St. Gaed is significantly larger and more impressive then a town like Ashford could normally afford.

Over time the splendor has faded a bit and it is in dire need of some major repairs but overall the building is probably the most impressive and contains the most impressive artwork that the villagers have ever seen.

The temple is headed up by Father Beledrone who has five acolytes and a number of other servants who sweep or maintain the grounds.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:08, Wed 26 June 2019.

Father Beledrone is waiting at the entrance with one of the acolytes next to him breathing heavily. It seems someone ran ahead to inform him the group was heading their way. Both were dressed in their clerical vestments which included a tunic with the symbol of Helm emblazened on the front: the gauntlet with the eye in the middle of it.

Father Beledrone smiled warmly and waved the adventurers to come enter the church>

"Welcome, brave adventurers. I heard you were injured performing a great service for the church. Within a limited degree you are welcome to our healing services."

He led the group through the large church with its pulpits and pews into a smaller side office. There wasn't enough seating for everyone however. The smile faded from Father Beledrone's face though as they entered.

"While I would love to provide assistance I am afraid the Mayor was misinformed. Any healing services will require the standard recommended donations for the divine magic of Helm. While we appreciate the services you have performed the rules of our doctrine do not allow priests to provide favors for free, even to brave adventurers such as yourselves. To make matters worse I'm sure you have noticed that as splendid the church is we need significant funds to begin making the necessary repairs and updates to this blessed temple. While the central church blessed Ashford with the funds needed to build the Church of St. Gaed they purposefully did not include maintenance. It is the duty of the town to maintain this place and for that we need gold."</b.

He paused and the sad look in his eyes brightened.

<b>"While the rules for magical healing are very strict the guidelines are much...looser for mundane treatments. I am a knowledgable healer in my own right and I can look over your wounds to ensure that they are healing properly and without infection free of charge and while I would have to charge for bandages and ointments I would be willing to cover those from my own pockets as repayment for protecting the town. Every good deed deserves a reward after all. In addition if there are any magical items of healing or power that you would like to purchase I will make every effort to make them available. We have a few magical potions of healing  as well as some scrolls. There are also some more powerful artifacts that we could part with for a significant donation."

OOC:
To recap, no freebie healing, sorry!

For free Father Beledrone will check you for disease with his Medicine skill. He will also treat the wounds which while won't restore HP will prevent disease from forming.

Cure Light Wounds will cost 10gp a pop

Also for sale are the following:

Staff of Healing - 5,000gp
Magical Short Bow - 4,000gp
Gloves of Thievery - 500gp
Potion of Greater Healing - 200gp
(3) Potions of Healing - 50gp each
(5) Scroll of Cure Light Wounds - 25gp each


If asked about the gloves or the bow Father Beledrone quietly comments that prior to his tenure the last high priest of the church caught and killed a thief attempting to steal from the church. Without knowing what else to do with the magical items the last high priest just locked them in a store room. Since then they have just been sitting around as the priests of Helm have no interest in such items and Father Beledrone feels that the gold would be more useful to the church than securing some minor magical items.

As for the healing staff Father Beledrone will admit it is one of great value to the church but the needs of the small town don't make it necessary. Father Beledrone only has to heal a couple minor injuries a day and maybe a single major injury a month so the staff has sit unused to for years. As Father Beledrone is looking to raise close to 10,000gp for repairs he is willing to part with the item to make significant headway towards the much needed renovations the church requires.

Alyssa tried to hide her suspicion of the priest. She hung back, behind her larger friends, and did not request healing services for herself. She is all eyes, watching Father Beledrone and any of his acolytes, looking for anyone else who might wear the sign of Helm ... who might well have provided captives to the kobolds.

She was not inclined to shop. She had what she needed on her back, at this point.

Shalimar wasn't shy about requesting the temples healing services, it would cost a few gold but was better than suffering for nothing, the fact a priest of Helm was involved didn't bother him in the slightest and he accepted the service with a straight face. Though he would keep alert for the head priest or any of the under priests taking too much interest in the group. "Sadly alot of these items are outside my purses range but I'm sure in due course we'll be able to help with some of the renovations."

---

OOC:

Getting the cure light wounds cast for 10 gp

Keeping an eye for any too interested priests.
07:36, Today: Shalimar Rhann rolled 16 using 1d20+1 with rolls of 15.  Insight.
07:36, Today: Shalimar Rhann rolled 12 using 1d20+1 with rolls of 11.  Perception.

Talia shrugged her shoulders and willingly paid up for the healing services. She'd taken quite a beating from those fire spells, and getting the wounds fixed up would be well worth it. She didn't have much use for the items, so just the healing would suffice.

Shelling out 10 GP for the Cure Light Wounds

"Your church is beautiful. I am sorry to see it has fallen into disrepair. Have you had much success with your fundraising? No doubt the people of Ashford are generous and grateful for your contributions to the community, but it does not seem a wealthy village."

Glynnelis Huntinghawk rolled 11 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 6.  Insight. Want to see what the good Father has to say and how truthful he seems concerning the church's income.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:30, Wed 03 July 2019.

Father Beledrone gives a shrug.

"Helm teaches us patience for his is an eternal visage. The money will come, eventually. If I can do it in my lifetime then so much the better."

As far as Glynnelis can tell Father Beledrone seems to be telling the truth about his focus on raising funds for the church.

When Talia and Shalimar pay the priest he goes into a side room before coming back with a large staff. It is quite intricate with golden caps and glowing golden arcane runes along the side.

As he touches each person he whispers a command word and one of the glowing runes winks out and the person touched is bathed in healing energies.

Despite having only paid the amount for minor magic it seems that he expends more effort then is necessary as both Shalimar and Talia find their wounds completely healed up when the glowing energy fades.

"Father Beledrone, I will try to find opportunities to raise money on your behalf for the church." Arthua felt that helping a noble cause would benefit his own ambition.

Shalimar nodded his thanks to the priest before glancing to the others, "Lets head back to the mayor and get that bounty cleared up, there's a party beyond these walls we're invited to and I'm not one to miss it." Grinning lightly the bard would wait to see if any one had any further business with the cleric before leading the way back to the mayor and their off put debriefing...

The group left the temple and proceeded onward to the estate of the mayor. The largest house in town, fitting for a man who owned  a good portion of it. His servant opened the door and led the group to a study, past a couple rowdy rooms where his mess of children were running around.

When the group entered he closed the door to help shut out the noise of their squeals and giggles and then gestured around for those to have a seat, at least those who could.

"I'm sorry for not having enough chairs. I'm not used to having such a big group in my office at once. The sheriff should be joining us shortly but for now let me bestow upon you each a reward."

He went into a drawer at his desk and pulled out an ornate box. Opening the lid revealed seven pouches, each stuffed with gold.

"Had to dip a bit into the town's rainy day funds but getting rid of a menace like that is vital to the town. Not just for our safety but if word comes out that the roads aren't safe around us that could strangle vital trade between use and Spire Keep. Go on, help yourselves. One bag each."

Alyssa tentatively moved forward and snatched a bag of coins. She frowned, feeling a little guilty about taking the gold, then retreated behind Talia and Yyr.

Shalimar stepped forward to claim one of the pouches, lightly hefting its weight in his hand as he stepped back, "Thanks for this, though in truth we must treat it as advanced payment. While the kobolds lair was routed the job isn't quite finished yet. The problem currently at hand goes a bit more beyond a bunch of beastials set up in the hills."

Letting the others step forward to claim their gold before he continued the bard continued to lightly bounce the pouch of coins in his hand, "We've found evidence that the kobolds were middle men in this situation, the others seem to agree that on the morrow we'll head out to the swamp to deal with whatever they served, but while we're out mucking about a swamp best keep an eye to the town, if the information we've found is true what ever is slithering about the swamp that the kobolds served, also has a servant here in town."

Talia stares in surprise at the bag in her hand, her eyes going a bit wide. This was, this was a lot of gold. More than she'd ever thought to have her hands on at once. She looks up as Shalimar speaks, nodding at his words. He's the more eloquent one; let him explain stuff better than she could.

The mayor frowned a bit at the revelation that there is potentially more dangers to his village.

"I appreciate you continuing the investigation. It's important to pull out evil by the roots! I'll pen word to Lord Saxton and inform him of what you've discovered. Perhaps he'll be able to send a contingent of troops but...well I wouldn't hold out any hope for support from Lord Saxton."

The mayor frowned again but after a few moments of contemplation he perked up again, smiling broadly.

"Ahh, the Heroes of Ashford! It's been a long time since we've had genuine heroes in town. Maybe after these adventures you'll get a temple or tavern named after you!"

When the time came, Alyssa slipped out of the mayor's house after agreeing to meet the company in the morning. She intended to find Pinna and sleep with her tonight, eager to share her tale and her anxiety about the upcoming adventure.

Yry was happy with the responses Shalimar made and stayed to herself off to the side. She does smile a bit sadly when the Lord Mayor mentions having a tavern named after them-- since she was already named after a tavern and is a bit worried about it. She doesn't bring it up however.

She puts away the bag and pats Alyssa's shoulder, sensing her anxiety in the way she holds herself. "We should all try to relax a little before the morning."

The elf accepts his share of the reward with a nod. "We are grateful for this token of your appreciation. Father Beladrone was generous with his healing assistance as well," he says, though he did not actually receive the Father's blessing. It was for the best that he was not in need of healing, because he had no desire to partake of the blessing of a potentially-corrupted priest. "I was sad to see his once-beautiful church in a state of disrepair. It seems he's had some luck in raising funds to repair it, however. The people of Ashford must be quite generous," he suggests, just to see the Mayor's reaction.

Glynnelis Huntinghawk rolled 16 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 11.  Insight.

The mayor nods, beaming with pride.

"Oh yes. The church of Helm is very important to us. We sit on the edge of a wild and dangerous forward so Helm protects us with his vigilant watch. On a more personal note I have directed quite a bit of gold his way. That temple represents such a critical part of our town. I remember as a youth looking up at the stained glass when the sun caught it and being in awe. It used to draw worshippers from the whole region and travelers are always excellent for the local economy. Strengthening the temple means strengthening our town and our faith. It's a win-win so why shouldn't we give generously?"

OOC: He seems to be telling the truth

"So true." Arthua agreed with the mayor. He stepped forward and took a pouch of gold. "Is there a master plan for expansion in Ashford beyond the temple? You will need investors. Surely others will join you in the effort to build the church of Helm?"

Mayor Osric smiled and nodded.

"But of course! I believe Father Beledrone has been working on getting funding from the church of Helm for awhile now. There was a high priest that visited a few months ago who seemed quite enthused by the project and promised aid although I haven't heard anything that came out of it. We continue to donate what we can though for the cause."