"Seems you got lucky, Master Harbek," Raven quipped. "Not a village of abstainers after all. Come on," she added with a smile, moving to walk alongside the dwarf toward wherever this house of hospitality lay. "Let's see if we can wrangle a meal out of all this too. I'm starving!"

Mari shook her head when Todrik Eirfot started to speak. How in Bright Lady's Light was it possible for someone to be so obnoxious? Still his words gave the opening needed, so she approached the bailiff even when the others walked towards the forming celebration.

"Bailiff Eirfot, I need your assistance as you promised. I need to borrow some writing implements to write letters to Lord Phelmus and Mother Amelin, then I need you to find me a runner that can take those letters there today." Mari straightened and faked confidence she didn't completely feel, but hoped that her changed appearance and gear might fool the man. "It is urgent." It might be that her best option would be to speak to Emi about the runner, but at least the man had writing tools. Any plead for assistance would be needed to be delivered soon if they planned to go back and eradicate the goblins.

Todrik seemed at first not to catch Mari's words, his usual self-possession temporarily knocked out of him as his eyes stared blankly in the direction his wife was leading the crowd; lost in thoughts of how long it would be before he'd see such a fine, Evandan vintage again; or whether he would ever be able to afford genuine Dwarven ale in future.

He turned to focus on Mari at her insistent tone "What? Letters? Oh, yes! yes!" Seizing an opportunity to reassert some authority, he straightened his back and squared his slumped shoulders. "Come Mistress Mari, you shall tell me what you have seen and I will pen a missive to his Lordship this instant!" at which he strode imperiously in the direction of his cottage, in the midst of being converted to makeshift tavern.

He is going to write a report? Mari sighed silently. Well, couldn't blame the man for trying to do of his job, at least she would be there to make sure the facts would be right and all the helpers would be mentioned by name.

"Very well, bailiff. While you write your report, I'll write mine to Mother Amelin." Technically there was no requirement for Mari to report to the older priestess, but she thought it was only polite to make sure she would know all the facts. Well most of the facts, Mari thought as she remembered the jade figurine that was still in her belt pouch. Somehow she didn't think that Mother Amelin would be as open to studying goblin religion as she was. Mari wanted to back also for taking a closer look at the room they had found the goblin shaman in, there had been something unnerving but also interesting about it.

When Ellantha had breathed life in the world, hadn't she also created the goblins? Their evil was not off of her, but surely they retained some of the blessed breath still in them? That was the type of debate that had the current Wisbund in suspicion from the other branches of the church.

Mari's mind was filled with theological theories and debate as she walked after the bailiff toward their cottage. She had a small frown on her face and she was oblivious to the celebrations around her.

Todrik lead Mari through the rapidly filling living room to a tiny, little room off the side, casting a wistful look at the drinks being poured as he went. Despite living in the largest building in the village, excepting the shrine, space was still at a premium, and it was already crowded and noisy out the front.

"I don't think it's necessary for you to write anything, my dear. Todrik said with a certain sniff, as he fastidiously arranged his materials on the single small desk. "I would be happy to include whatever additional details you want to share with the good mother."


More noise and commotion out the front signalled the return of the remaining miners with the wounded Zarth, sparking another round of greetings and interrogations. With the discovery that the bailiff's private booze stash was opened, all thought of work and chores were forgotten, and the whole village was soon acting as if it were a festival day; a festival of thanksgiving for the return of their children.

Accepting Mistress Raven's invitation to accompany her to what turned out to be the baliff's home, Harbek walked alongside the Human female, following the lead of the villagers who knew the way.

Once he had moved inside the house, he was quick to spy a barrel that had seemingly already been brought up out of the cellar -- one that was marked with Dwarven runes.

"Look here, Stonebrother!" Harbek cried out gleefully.

"They have Dwar ale here! Real Dwar ale -- not just that prot-laus rakki-ausi* that the Humans seem to prefer."

---

OOC: *weak dog-water (stream, flow) = colloquially, weak dog-piss.

"I would appreciate if you would not interfere with me performing my duties to Lady Ellantha and her church," Mari bristled. While she was fairly laid back in many regards, nobody liked to being talked down to like they still were 10 years old. "My report to Mother Amelin has nothing to do with you."

Taking a calming breath, she continued with a more soothing tone. "Let me get us both a drink while you sharpen your pen and then I'll tell you what happened, so you can write your letter to his lordship. When you are done I can do mine, it will not take long."

Turning around without waiting for an answer, she braved the crowds to go pick up a mug of ale for the bailiff and wine for herself.

Muttering quietly to himself, Todrik looked at Mari with a slightly worried gaze, but one tinted with a respect she had never seen from him before. He accepted the ale and looked at his quill silently for a moment. Eventually he held it towards Mari. "Perhaps it's best if the story comes direct from the source, Mistress Taysley. I must, of course, review what you write to Lord Oterhal before we send it."


Stepping away from the study with a frown on his face, Todrik was intercepted by the recently returned Zarth, still slightly pale from his wounds, who placed a hand on the bailiff's chest. "I seem to recall talk of great rewards if we returned with the children."

The blood rushed to Todrik's face, his eyes darting everywhere but looking directly at Zarth, thoughts evidently rushing one after the other through his head. "Why, er... yes.. that is.. I mean..." Zarth leaned in a little closer "I am sure his Lordship would be happy to arrange a reward!"

"Thank you, bailiff. You can take a look at the report as soon as I finish it." Mari gave a nod of appreciation towards the man, before taking the quill and then a seat at his desk. When she gathering her thoughts she heard the talk between Todrik and the wounded man, she felt a momentary pity for the bailiff who had promised more than he had the means to give.

So she called out, "I'm sorry, I don't think I heard your name before, could you come here and introduce yourself so I can include it accurately to my report. I could also inspect your wounds, although I think rest will be the best remedy."

After learning Zarth's name, she composed the report. She tried to be as informative and brief as possible, taking note of those that had helped and the amount of goblins that they had killed in total. She described the goblin tunnels and how close they were to the mine. She explained the things they had learned about the goblin shaman and the big one, Skliz.

At the end she stressed that it was utmost urgency to return to the tunnels to get rid of the rest of the goblins, so they could not continue to terrorise Criplot and other villages, that some of the same people were willing to help again. She also mentioned that help and supplies, even some monetary reward might be in order to compensate for danger that they had been and were willing to face again, even when it was not their duty. She herself would not need compensation.

Mari then copied the report to Mother Amelin, only leaving out the plea for payment.

Finally she spent some time sketching out a map of the tunnels, leaving blank space and room to add more in the directions they had not explored yet. Of this she made one copy to attach to each letter and one for herself.

Spending few moments in thought checking the report, Mari allowed herself to enjoy few sips of the wine, before she raised from the seat and went to look for the bailiff.

---

OOC
22:19, Today: Mari Taysley rolled 12 using 1d20+4.  Calligraphy Tools check to make the letter extra fancy and official (with dex mod.).
22:21, Today: Mari Taysley rolled 6 using 1d20+4.  Cartographer's Tools check to make map sketches (int mod).
This message was last edited by the player at 20:33, Sun 08 Dec 2019.

Harbek's ears perked up when he heard the Human whose name he remembered as Zarth, of the Willowstriker family speak to the Human bailiff about a reward for chasing down the Goblins and freeing the Human younglings -- actually, "great rewards" were the words used.

The Dwar could not hear the bailiff's quietly-spoken response, but from the Human's body language, it did not sound as if the bailiff was eager to honor the arrangements that had been made.

Now that Zarth of the Willowstriker family had jogged the Dwar's memory, Harbek did recall the short-of-stature bailiff rather self-importantly standing there in his bright red leather coat before the group of rescuers set off and speaking in those very words -- "great rewards".

Seemingly the entire village had turned out to help consume the bailiff's supply of ale and wine, and it took Harbek a moment to wind his way through the press of people to where the compensation was being discussed. By the time that the Dwar arrived, Mari of the Taysley family had also joined the discussion, only to step away again, seemingly to work on some sort of a report -- then to return again a relatively short time later.

~Most commendable,~ Harbek thought to himself, ~to render reports to one's superiors above oneself in the chain of command. Truth be told, even having a recognized chain of command is quite commendable for these Humans, who are oft-times inclined towards being a bit too breezy and spur-of-the-moment oriented for my tastes.~

"I am delighted to hear that you plan to honor your promise concerning the compensation, good sir bailiff," Harbek intoned, addressing the Human who was not that much taller than the Dwar himself, his deep voice sounding rather formal amidst the hubbub of background conversation in such close quarters.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:42, Mon 09 Dec 2019.

Downing his beer and rapidly refilling the glass, with much of his braggadocio gone and a wide-eyed look of panic, Todrik took the papers from Mari and quickly scanned them, before sitting down at the table himself and raising the quill. He paused a few times, and absent-mindedly smoothed his red coat, before finally adding a few lines with a shaking hand.

"I've... erm.. added a note about your due compensation" he said without meeting anyone's eye. Stepping back into the common room he grabbed a boy of about 14 by the shoulder "Eron - hurry and run these notes over to Oterhal. If you don't hang about you can be there by dusk. His lordship will see you with a meal." After some brief protestations about missing the party and a clout around the ear, Eron was off.

Todrik nodded respectfully at Mari. "They have certainly taught you well your letters at that temple, Mistress Taysley. Though obviously they taught you little about maps." So saying, he poured himself a rather full tankard of ale and set about downing it with great rapidity.

Mari kept an eye at the bailiff to see how he reacted to the report.  She didn't blame him for being nervous when confronted by people expecting to honor his word, although she knew that he hadn't really thought that he would need to do so, or really had the means to reward anyone by himself without Lord Phelmus.

"Indeed, they taught me many things, Bailiff Eirfot." Mari wasn't going to let herself feel insulted over a quick and rough sketch, she would be able to make a proper map of the goblin tunnels after more proper exploration and measurement. For now the version would suit to remind them about the tunnels, especially those left unexplored.

"But where are my manners..." She said to change the topic and also because Harbek joined the conversation, "Master Harbek, let me introduce you to bailiff Todrik Eirfot, he is the representative of Lord Phelmus Oterhal in Criplot." Quickly explaining in dwarvish the human habit of introducing those above you, [Language unknown: "Oun nc toal hiul taofch lameon lare'tein pencne. Ratoerous ive us ardeausta wa le om niel sanove-ntiect ich ithad ere eaustidaycom ovees befona."]
"Bailiff Eirfot, this is Master Harbek of the Hardstone family of the Stoneshaft Clan from Krak Vestri."

After the men had greeted each other, she said with a light chuckle, "I must apologise my prank earlier, master Harbek. While there indeed is no tavern in Criplot, there still are those that appreciate a proper dwarven brew, as you can see." She took a sip of her wine glass, marking her not belonging to that group.

"I'm not sure if there will be others offering, there might be, but if you find yourself without a roof to sleep under tonight, come to the shrine of Ellantha. While it will not be comfortable, since the only cot is meant for the visiting clergy, it will at least be protected from the elements." Mari felt the growing need to separate herself from the ever more loud growing party and wanted to spend a little time in the silence of the shrine. However, if the visitors didn't get invited to the homes of the people of Criplot the shrine was the only building large enough to accommodate them all. "This invitation extends to all of those that helped in the tunnels." Technically the shrine was part of Mother Amelin's duties, but since she was not present at the moment Mari felt justified in using it.

~Hmmm -- seemingly this one does not plan to honor his previous pledge of compensating those who put themselves in harm's way to rescue the bnarr -- rather, he is looking to his lord to do so -- if it is to be done at all. This bailiff is a weak, poor leader -- a weak leader, indeed,~ Harbek thought to himself.

The Dwar inclined his head to Mari of the Taysley family in recognition of the Human female's quite commendable recitation of the Greeting Ritual. Harbek then turned his attention to the slippery bailiff. "The pleasure of the meeting is mine, Bailiff Todrik Eirfot of Criplot, local representative of Lord Phelmus Osterhal," he intoned formally. The fact that the Human's shillyshallying on the matter of fair compensation had left Harbek with a poor opinion of the bailiff did not, to the Dwar's way of thinking, excuse him from honoring tradition and the time-honored formalities.

Harbek smiled when the priestess made the offer of a cot in the local shrine of her goddess. "That is most generous of you, Lady Mari of the Taysley family. And 'tis most commendable that you may be relied upon  to honor your own commitments, instead of merely hoping that your superior will do so."

The Dwar gave the bailiff a sidewise glance, curious as to whether the Human male had understood the intended slight. Now that the formalities of the Greeting Ritual had been satisfied, Harbek felt that he was justified in airing his personal opinions . . .
This message was last edited by the player at 22:42, Mon 09 Dec 2019.

Entering the house with Harbek, Raven was content to let the dwarf wander off and mingle while she herself went looking for a meal and perhaps a nice pot of tea. She eventually found her way to the kitchen, where a pair of elderly, grandmotherly-looking women were more than willing to set her up with a plate of bread, cheese and cold mutton, along with a promise to bring the tea out to her when it was done brewing.

Balancing the plate in one hand, Raven wove her wave through the rapidly crowding room to find a chair at a table which had been just set up near the fireplace, snagging a glass of white wine along the way. 'Twas probably not the best pairing, white wine with a red meat, but she had found herself avoiding red wine of late and she really wanted to steer clear of anything that might cause the good folk here to unnecessarily exercise their imagination -- especially where she was concerned.

Settling into her spot by the fireplace, she politely engaged with those few who approached her -- mostly mothers thanking her for her aid in rescuing the children -- but for the most part the folk tended to avoid the pale-skinned, dark-haired foreigner... and Raven was pleased to just let that particular quirk of social gatherings happen naturally.

Enjoying the state of having effectively faded into the background, at least in the minds of the locals, she ate and drank slowly as she watched the people around her with careful interest...

Reddening noticeably at the obvious slight, the bailiff cleared his throat nervously and mumbled a serious of generalised pleasantries and gestures of respect towards the group, while simultaneously trying to vanish into the throng and escape any further questioning.


Todrik's embarrasment and despondent mood were at complete odds with the rest of the villagers, however, for whom the party was in full swing. Karadin was quickly surrounded by a gaggle of curious boys who, after overcoming their initial nervousness, were now peppering him with questions about his tattoos, his scars, and what life was like in a Dwarven city. Was it true that dwarfs ate rocks? And that dwarf girls had beards?

Daniel was cornered by a crooked backed old man, missing most of his teeth, who introduced himself as Erich and expressed enormous interest in the craftsmanship of his bow.

Mari found herself rapidly intercepted by her family, smothered by her mothers hugs and a panoply of rejoicings that she was safe and admonitions for putting herself in harm's way. Her father remained oddly quiet, eying her with what seemed an odd mix of respect and worry.

Daniel thanks Erich, "Its not bad, according to Fletcher. He allowed as how it was adequate to protect me when I left home. I was happy with it when I finished it, but I'm nowhere near as good at this sort of thing as he is."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:11, Thu 12 Dec 2019.

Meeting her family was lovely, but also a reminder of how the time in Merinth had changed her. She smiled at Morfyn, who gave her a quick hug, then went with the other kids to crowd around Karadin. The twins were little more reserved and soon disappeared to be with other teenagers, leaving Mari to deal with with her parents alone.

Meri tried to treat her daughter like she had not changed from before at all, but Mari could see how Michael was trying to cope with the new situation. "No Mama, it was not unnecessary risk. I could not have left the children in trouble with good conscience," Mari replied with mild annoyance to her mother. "Lady Ellantha has blessed me with abilities and I need to use them to help those that are less fortunate than I am."

When her mother was distracted for a while taking care of Morfyn, Mari whispered to her father, "Is everything alright, father?"

---

OOC
I've got couple of conversations with NPC's I'd like to have, but those can be done in PM's or the next day, if everyone else is keen to move on.

Michael took hold of Mari's shoulders and forced a smile, speaking in a low tone. "Everything's fine daughter, now that you're here again." He sighed, and looked down with a wistful expression."But I'm fearing that you may not be here too long. You've changed so much, Mari - it's hard to believe you're still my little girl. My girl - hunting monsters! He gave a short laugh that didn't have a lot of mirth in it, before fixing her with a serious look. "I'm worried what's going to happen to you."

Across the room, Erich nodded approvingly at Daniel's handiwork while chewing on a dirty fingernail with his few remaining teeth. "Fine work, young fella!" he observed with a fine spray of spittle. "We ain't 'ad a decent fletcher in town since the Lady took old man Berik. You plannin' on staying a spell?"

Daniel shrugs, "For a bit, I suppose. I am curious about the goblins hereabouts. We didn't have them back home."

Mari gives her father a hug, then looks at him directly and sighs. "That is one of the reasons I came to visit. Of course I wanted to see you all, but I also needed to tell you that I would be going back and staying in Merinth. There is still so much more to study." She sighs again. "You'll need to help me explain this to Mama. I... I would not really fit in here anymore."

Michael glanced across at his wife while she struggled with her unruly brood and nodded. "I think in her heart she knows, lass. It's clear the good Lady has different plans for you." He looked back to Mari. "But I'm worried what they are. Studying in the Temple is one thing, daughter, but I don't like the idea of you hunting down goblins!"

--

"Filthy little things!"| Erich exclaimed, before spitting out of gobule of yellowish phlegm. "I'd steer clear of the little buggers if I were you!"

Karadin was exalted to find the dwarven ale that the bailiff had stored in his basement was actually a good quality. "This will certainly lessen me pain!" he exclaimed. The injured dwar relished in the attention the children had in stories of his home. It reminded him of the many years he spent working in his ma's tavern, cooking all sorts of meals and experimenting with different brews for their patrons. The more he drank that night, the less his wounds pained him and the wilder his stories for the children became. He was quick to share many of the tall tales he heard other dwar telling one another while enjoying tankards of his ale and plates of the meals he had cooked.

While refilling his ale, he over heard Mari's family raising concern over her involvement in the goblin tunnels. "Ya know, without yer daughter in those tunnels with me and my Stonebrother, we would both be dead. And those children would not be home either. She has a gift. I felt it first hand."  He winced as he touched his wounded chest. "If she wants to continue down this path, I swear to ya that I will stay by her side and keep her safe. It's the least I could do for her saving me life."

Mari was about the reply to her father when she heard Karadin. Instead she smiled to the dwar and gave him a nod, "Thank you, master Karadin. I'm sorry that I could not do more to your wounds later, but hopefully there is enough rest to be had."

Turning back to her father, she continued more seriously, "I understand what you are saying, but it needs to be done. And I don't think there is anyone else nearby that will do it. The goblin burrow is so close, it's just next to the mine and within reach of many villages. If Lord Phelmus sends men to deal with it, then I'll be happy to let them do it and only provide them with healing, but if he doesn't... Who is there to keep all of you safe?" Mari was genuinely worried about the well fare of her family and other people in Criplot and nearby villages if the goblins would keep getting bolder and bolder.

Michael nodded in the direction of Karadin, his expression clearly showing he was not at all comforted by his words. "I thank thee kindly, master dwarf, for your praise..."</Brown>

He was interrupted by his wife, who placed a protective arm around her daughter and tried to steer her away from Karadin. "Oh, what rot, Mari! His lordship and his soldiers are the ones to deal with this sort of thing. You're not going anywhere near that horrible nast place again."


-----

The festivities continued late into the night, much to the chagrin of Todrik as he watched his precious supplies run thin, but one by one the revellers returned to their homes, aware that work still awaited them in the mornings as ever.

The next morning dawned bright and clear, to the sound of hoofbeats churning up the turf. The shepherds and miners had already departed for their days' work, and the square was occupied only by children, those not obliged to rise early having opted for a few extra winks after the night before.

A foppish young man rode into the square, long black hair ruffled from the quick ride, and glanced about with a look of sullen irritation. Fixing his eyes on the nearest child, he nodded in his direction. You, boy! Where is the bailiff of this place! Chop chop, I haven't all day!" As the young lad started to head towards Todrik's home, the rider raised a hand. "Oh, and also fetch me.." He paused for a moment while he consulted a crumpled parchment in his pocket. "Er.. Mistress Toylesy."

After finishing her conversations with family and friends, Mari retired to the shrine for night. She did some praying and meditating, before finding the cot in the tiny back room that was reserved for members of the clergy that found themselves in need for sleep in Criplot.

In the early morning she found water for washing before going out to gather autumn flowers and some wheat stalks from the edges of the nearest field. These all she arranged in the altar of the shrine, before settling down for her morning prayers.

That is where the boy found her, running excitedly to tell her that Lord Phelmus' son was there demanding to see her. Mari was disappointed that the lord didn't think the goblin situation was important enough to visit himself but she couldn't refuse to meet nobility. For a moment she thought about gearing up first, but in the end decided against it.

So when Mari approached Lord Anton, what he could see was a young woman in simple green dress, with single long blond plait and bare feet. The only thing that set her apart from the other villagers was the holy symbol that marked her as one of the clergy of Lady Ellantha.

"You asked for me, Lord Anton. Blessing of the Good Lady be upon you this morning." Mari spoke formally to hide her nervousness that was never the less revealed by her flaming cheeks.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:59, Tue 17 Dec 2019.