Jevin, you head back to Grat's Packets after thanking the farmer for the roof.  Spots makes a yowling sound but trots behind you, glancing around as you go.

It's still early.  The fishermen have gone out.  You can see their boats far out in the distance on the ocean.  Other townsfolk are hurrying along, finishing up morning chores or heading to work.  A few people look at Spots with some surprise. But no one makes a fuss.  It seems as long as Spots minds his manners, no one will mind him.

The front room of the inn is clear.  A drunken dwarf is laying next to the hearth, barking out snores.  Next to him, a halfling with a tray filled with red roses is also asleep, muttering in his dreams.

Lori Grat looks up when you enter.  She frowns when she sees Spots.  "He's with you I take it?  As long as he knows to do his business outside...

"Anyway. I'll have a room for you after the second morning bell.  You want breakfast?"

Jevin walked along the street and kept his new friend close by.   He'd give a head nod to anyone who looked his way, but was walking with purpose as he headed to the inn.

Once inside, he nodded to Lori's question.

"Yes ma'am.  I am responsible for him and will make sure he behaves.  Can I get a big country breakfast and some raw meat for him?  His name is Spots, and he really is friendly when ya get ta know him.   Also, can I get a couple days dried rations.  Heavy on the dried meats please."

Reaching into his belt pouch, Jevin actually handed Lori two gold coins.

He took a seat at a table and tapped his lap.   He held onto his new pet as he waited for others to show up.

A large bobcat rested in Jevin's lap as he sat waiting for any friends to show up or his food to come.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:55, Sun 09 Oct 2022.

In reply to Jevin Holt (msg # 2):

Jevin, a platter is brought to you by a young lady.  Probably one of Lori's daughters.  She looks just like her mother.

The girl doesn't move away.  She stands there, studying you, twirling the end of her long, auburn hair.

She suddenly points at Spots.  "Is...is he really your pet?"

Jevin's eyes grew large looking at the platter of meats and breakfast food.   As the girl put it down, he immediately grabbed a hunk of meat and fed the cat.

Stuffing his face, he couldn't answer her question right away and scarfed down a big bite before answering.

"He's very wild, but yeah he's mine.   Not friendly and you should never get an animal unless you can control it and care for it."

Jevin nods to the girl with a serious look on his face.   He started to get the food together and wrap it up to be eaten over the next couple of days.  Dried meat doesn't require much tending, and he leaves the fresh meat and raw meat out to feed the cat.

He looks around to see if anyone else is waking up or stirring as he eats.

In reply to Jevin Holt (msg # 4):

The door opens and Moon saunters in.  She nods at you Jevin and calls out for Lori to bring her two eggs and some toast.  She takes the seat across from you, glancing at Spots.

"New recruit?"  She gives you a grin Jevin.  "All the people we rescued are doing okay.  One of them has a slight fever, but I'm not too worried. I'm thinkin' a' namin' the dwarf kid Fred.  Whaddya think about that for a name?"

She looks around.  "The others about? I thought we should talk about the whole Alfie thing."

Kozibi slowly descends the stairs after leaving his room. He had cleaned himself up a bit, and appeared to be in a good mood. He looked around for a moment and then saw Jevin and Moon. He walked that way, flashing a smile. "Good morn to you both. I hope you are both well."

He glanced down at one of the empty chairs at the table. "Would it be alright if I join you? No offense will be taken if you don't want my company. I'm an acquired taste."

Breya, by sheer contrast, came gloriously stomping onto the scene, whistling.  She'd put a couple of braids in her hair to keep loose strands out of her eyes, which had the benefit of giving her something to play with.

She did not ask, merely grabbing a chair with her toe and pulling a chair out, and spinning it around to sit in it backwards.  She yawned with a big stupid grin.

In reply to Breya (msg # 7):

Lori brings over more plates of food.  Moon waits until she's gone and then glances around.

"Others not up?  Or are they still in town?

"I was thinkin' about what what you guys told me with the whole 'Alfie' thing.  Wilma told you that whoever would put messages in a scarecrow, right?  I think I know which scarecrow it is."

Bellinha stormed into the inn, walking purposefully and with a scowl on her face.  She was wearing her morning practice gear, worn leather pants and a slightly off colour vest.  The strap of her sword hung from her shoulder and her hair was mussed from vigorous practice.  "....move like an ape.  I don't move like an ape..." she muttered sourly under her breath.  In her teeth she held a blue ribbon.


She seemed pre-occupied as she slowed her pace.  "...bad form..." she grumbled, taking the ribbon from her mouth to tie up her hair into a loose ponytail.  "...I was trained by one of the finest swords masters in...bad form indeed..."

As if acting on instinct, Bellinha joined her friends table and sat down heavily.  She looked over at them.  "Good morning everyone." she said after taking a somewhat calming breath.  "Sorry...sorry...practice was...anyways.  There are a couple of things that we need to go over from the mano..."

Bellinhas eyes went wide and she let out an 'EEP!' sound as she finally laid eyes on the large cat sitting beside Jevin.  So distracted was she upon entering the Inn that she had failed to notice the animal until now.  It's presence startled her.  "Je...Jevin.  There's a big...big cat sitting there."

Lori brings more food and you are all soon grazing like the cattle-being-fattened-for-the-slaughter-you-are...er...heroes.  The heroes you are.

Moon wipes her mouth with a cloth napkin and pushes her empty plate away.

"So I was thinking it over.  I know all the farms around here.  Been out to 'em to tend the sick and what not.

"There's two fields I can think of that fit the description that Wilma gave you guys.

"There's the Pasterston place.  It might be that one.  They're just east two farms of the Neshie place.

"But...I think the one you're looking for is the Brangham place.  They are the farthest farm out of town.  Northeast of Orus' place Bell.  Nice family but a bit...odd.  They keep to themselves quite a bit.

"Anyway.  Their place is farthest away and kinda isolated.  So if this "Alfie" character is around and using a scarecrow to pass notes, I would bet they're using the Brangham's place.  Their scarecrow is...unique."

Breya looked over at the big cat.  She'd been forced to fight enough animals, she knew the score, or thought she did.  Show no fear.  They prey on your fear!

"The scarecrow better not be a damn magical crab statue.  I swear if it is, I'm kicking someone's ass."

Kozibi smiled and gave a small bow of his head to Bellinha when she arrived. He took note of how she seemed when she walked in but wasn't sure if he should press it, so instead he said, "Good morning. I hope you are well!"

He listened to Moon and gave a small nod. "Hm. Okay. That's good in-" He glanced over at Breya with a confused look on his face and then let out a small chuckle. "That's...not really a scarecrow then, my lady."

He only now seemed to have noticed the..."cat"...in Jevin's lap. He swallowed but didn't comment.

 Cassandre eventually deigned join the others for breakfast. It wasn't clear where she had been in the hours between dawn and whatever this was, but she appeared quite awake and sprity. She sat at the table, grabbed a plate and helped herself to some toast.

 For a minute or so she remained quiet, sipping on very stewed smoked tea of some sort, then as if a whole thesaurus had been contained between her horns for too long she delivered in one smooth chant:
 "Fred is a terrible name, next thing you know he'll insult your intelligence and you'll have to send him on a boat. Jevin, love the new cat, Apollo will be thrilled, what do you name him? It is a he, right? We don't want to end up with little Cat-Bob-Cats Kittens around cause we all know how that ends, which reminds me we never found out what happened to Jax and the Crazy Cat Lady, anyhow - good thinking on the scarecrow we should stalk it and see what is what. Koz, of course you're welcome, why ever would you not be really? Bell don't worry about training, whoever said you move like a baboon clearly don't know what they're talking about, but more importantly whatever happened with you two -we don't need to get into it now but I will need some details."

 She took a long sip of buttermilk after that. It wasn't always clear who she was adressing, and definitely spooky how she would pick up strands of conversations that happened while she wasn't around the table, but there you go.
  "I made a friend last night," she added as if that explained anything.

In reply to Cassandre Lagrene (msg # 13):

Moon looks at you Cassandre.  "Not that guy who sells roses is it?  Cos  honey...he's a player."

She then looks at you Breya.  "Why would they use a crab statue as a scarecrow?  But no.  No one in town has some kinda magic scarecrow.  Least not that I know of.

"But the Branghams' take their scarecrow seriously. It's dressed up in bits of old armor and crap that's washed up on the shore.  It's actually kind of impressive in a way.

"I can give you directions if you want.  Can't run out there.  A couple of the slaves are sick.  And I don't wanna get too far away from 'em.  But I can give you directions if you want 'em."

Bellinha picks at her food a little, eating sparingly, though she does drink a lot more than she eats.  There is a lot of talk at the table, and a big cat, and she does her best to keep up.  She makes an 'aw' sound upon hearing that Cassandre made a friend.  "Regardless, I think that it's great that you made a friend, Cassandre." she said, her mood cheering up considerably.  "But yeah, just watch where he puts his hands."

"I suppose that it couldn't hurt to check out the scarecrow." Bellinha said.  "We can check for any messages that Alfie might be trying to send, or maybe we can watch them for a while and see if he or she shows up at regular intervals to retrieve anything."

In reply to Bellinha Grunnel (msg # 15):

Who all is heading out to check out the scarecrow?

And if not, anything you mean to do instead?

Thanks

Breya suggested.  "Actually, you better draw a map.  Never underestimate my ability to get lost."

Kozibi narrowed his eyes slightly at Cassandre. She seemed to be...friendly...this morning. He shouldn't be, but he couldn't help it, and he was a little suspicious, but tried to push it away for the moment.

He gave a shrug. "I'm game to check it out if you all are. Who knows what will happen to the poor defenseless scarecrow if only Breya checks it out." He flashed her a friendly smile, trying to indicate he was only teasing.

"Again that depends on whether it's, in any way, a crab."  Breya paused.  "I have made that very clear."

Cassandre replied to Moon and Bel: “Oh no, my friend is not the florist. And he doesn’t have hands really, so I’m safe there. Maybe you’ll get to meet him today, who knows?”

 “I wonder how Lief and Zale are faring…” she added with an thoughtful gaze to the ceiling and beyond.

“Our friend may very well be watching the scarecrow himself… it would be wise to no all go there like a troupe of minstrels looking for a new recruit… how about we observe from a safe distance, to start with? Look for clues, tracks, prints, what have you…”

In reply to Breya (msg # 19):

Moon coughs a bit after Cassandre about absent comrades.  She claps a hand against her chest.  "Sorry.  That went down the wrong pipe.

"And gettin' there is no problem. You take the path out by the Merskin place and go right at the first fork, then left at each next one until you get to the oak that they used to hang lanterns on...

"Yeah.  Lemme just draw you that map..."

---

Salt Lick is up and at work as you all head towards the Brangham's place.  You head north and east out of town.  Farmers you pass by wave at you.  Seems word of you has spread rather quickly.  Everyone is friendly.  One farmer offers you a basket of squash.  Another one offers you all some water from a bucket he just pulled out of his well.

You soon come up the road to what must be the Brangham place.



As Moon said, the scarecrow is unique.  A rusted chest piece from some old suit of plate mail.  A dented kettle helm perched on top of an old, petrified cabbage which is serving as the scarecrow's head.  One of it's arms is a thatch of sticks tied together.  The other is bracer stuffed with hay they stuck an old glove on.

It's definitely distinctive.

The scarecrow sits by a cornfield next to a small stream.  On the other side of the path is a wheat field.  You can see the farm proper not far away.  It's a little run down looking, but no one seems to be around at the moment.

Bellinha stood in the road, her hands on her hips and her head tilted to one side as she looked at the Scarecrow in the distance.  "Maybe the crows find the armor intimidating?" she asked.  Shrugging, she carried on along the path and across the small bridge towards the scarecrow.  "Guess there's nothing else to do but check it out."

"People sure have gotten more friendly around here, huh?" about all the farmers and their niceness and generosity.

Kozibi, when they stopped and saw the scarecrow in the distance, leaned towards Breya without taking his eyes off of the thing. "Sayyyy...do those look those arms end in...crab claws to you?" He quickly took a step away from her, smiling.

He nodded at Bellinha. "Sure, let's go say hi."

"I'm going to invest in some crab traps.  Real big ones."  Breya responded.

Part of her just wanted to drop kick this thing and see what fell out, but she wasn't going to do that.  If they were shoving love notes in it or something, surely it couldn't be that hard to find.

In reply to Breya (msg # 24):

The "scarecrow" is even more odd up close than it is from a distance.  There's an odd insignia on the breastplate.  What looks like a blue and silver Ocean Lion The monster that's half lion and half fish.  Used to be called Sea Lions in D&D.  There's some kind of flower in it's mouth and a coat of arms behind it. But the rust is too thick and the scars are too much to make out more than what you have.

The helm has a gate style face plate.  It's still attached and in working order.  It swings open easily, as if it's been freshly oiled.

As you are examining the scarecrow, the front door of the farm house bangs open.  An old woman with a quarter staff ambles out.  She glares at you and then shakes her fist.

"You damn young'uns!  You leave my boy alone!  He ain't botherin' none a' ya!  Stop tryin' ta feed him them mud pies!"

Bellinha put on her most friendly smile and held out her hands in a placatingly warm gesture.  "Good morning, Ma'am.  You need not worry yourself.  We were admiring your scarecrow and wouldn't dream of putting anything like mud near it."  she said diplomatically.

She reached over and grabbed Breya and Kozibi, pulling them close.  "I was just telling my friends here about how fascinating it is to see such care given to a scarecrow.  Why, the breastplate alone was...un-crablike...and that is not something that you see every day in a corn field.  Oh, but where are my manners?  My name is Bellinha.  And you are?"

Cassandre left all pretence  behind, it was obvious that the locals will have noticed them, seen them go to the scarecrow, and if a spy was about, they would know that the secret of the scarecrow being a formidable letterbox was known to them.

 She walked with Belinha towards the farmer, waved amicably and grinned politely.
 “Cassandre is the name! We’ve come from afar to see your scarecrow! He’s a local celebrity, is he not? Now pray tell though; who’s been feeding him mud pies? Who dares? We’ll bring them to justice, I tell you.”

Apollo the Cat was circling around the place, ever the little scout, ready to report anything he find noteworthy—which would range from a group of goblins hiding behind the farm, to a stack of fish pies on the window sill.

Breya just contemplated what her life even was at this point in time.

In reply to Breya (msg # 28):

The old woman studies you all, especially the smiling Cassandre and then spits over the side of the porch.

"Well, if ya'll are gonna try to bullshit me, you might as well come in and have some coffee while you do tha bullshittin'.  I'm Claudia.  This is my damn son's damn farm.  He's out in the damn fields with his damn sons.  My daughter in law went to gather some berries.  So if you're plannin' ta rob the place, jokes on you. Cos we got shit.  Now who takes milk and who takes honey in their coffee?"

The inside of the house is much nicer than the outside.  It's a large kitchen with a table capable of seating all of you.  Claudia shambles over to the stove and pours you each a mug of coffee from a coffee pot even the boisterous <purpl>Breya</purple> would call gigantic.

"So what about our scarecrow's got you young'uns panties all wadded up?"

Kozibi smiled at the woman as he finally spoke up. "No, you're quite right. To be honest, however, that scarecrow is...quite a monstrous masterpiece. Did your son put that together?" He waved one hand. "So many different pieces put together to make an interesting whole."

He gave a light shrug. "A little honey couldn't hurt, thank you."

"Thanks."  Breya accepted the coffee as offered.  She was now very, very used to things not being sweetened, and drinking coffee gave her something to do.  She decided to let the others do this with finesse.  If it didn't work, Breya was going to launch plan B.

In reply to Kozibi Januson (msg # 30):

"The 'crow?"  Claudia glances in the direction of the scarecrow, as if she could see it through the wall.  "That's been somethin' we been puttin' together for years.  Hell.  I think we put that glove on it when I was a little bit of a thing.  Or maybe it was the helmet?  Anyway.  Whenever we find somethin' washed up on shore that looks kinda interesting, we slap it on the scarecrow.  Hopin' we'll get a new bit of armor here soon.  That breatplate's gettin' kinda rusty.  Worried it'll rust up the corn.

"Anyway.  Why you folks interested in our 'crow anyway?  Too many folks been comin' by, stickin' their noses into it.  It's gettin' a bit worrisome if you ask me."

  "Worrisome indeed!" Cassandre exclaimed, as she slammed down her mug back on the table, having drained it all of its content of black coffee no milk no nothing.

  "Have you a list of names? We're with you on this, scarecrows should be left to their endeavour, of well, scaring crows away, is that not right? So well chase down these people you say have been feeding him mudpies, and talk them out of the habit."

 "That crest on it, the seahorse that's really more of a lion... you happen to know where it's from?"

In reply to Cassandre Lagrene (msg # 33):

Claudia perches her warty chin on one fist and grins.  "That crest?  I've seen it before somewhere.  Now where was that?

"More coffee anyone?"

Apropos of nothing, can everyone roll me a d20 please?

Mmmm.  That's good coffee.

You know these paranoid players who never drink anything given by anyone? THey exist because of you Mr. Whetstone. Yes yes.

Cassandre Lagrene rolled 11 using 1d20.  intuition.
Cassandre Lagrene rolled 5 using 1d20.  ominous post-coffee roll.
 (darn I should have been content with my roll of 11!) 

  "Coffee? Yes please!" Cassandre chimed cheerfully, but also wary of something being afoot... maybe this bitter beverage was making her paranoid.


 Cassandre Lagrene rolled 18 using 1d20+4.  sense motive

Kozibi took a sip of the coffee to be polite. It wasn't bad actually. He declined taking more but did sip at what he had.

"Who else has been interested in the scarecrow? And why?" He waved a hand. "It's just a scarecrow, right? I mean, unique, yes, but just a scarecrow nonetheless?"

OOC: Heh. I mean if there's a chance to roll a 1, I take every opportunity.
18:35, Today: Kozibi Januson rolled 1 using 1d20.  Cake (Coffee) or Death?

Breya drank more of the stuff.  "Yeah, I don't like the sound of someone messing with the scarecrow."  She figured she'd pile on just a little, Kozibi seemed to have the right idea here so far.

20:04, Today: Breya rolled 11 using 1d20.  No reason.

In reply to Breya (msg # 37):

Claudia nods slowly.  Very slowly.

"Oh yes.  It's just a scarecrow.  No one's usin' it for anything other than scarin' crows anymore."

Breya, you feel...fluffy.  Like a little cloud wafting about on the wind.  Waft waft waft.  A joy, a childlike joy spreads through you.  Everything is charming.  Everything is fluffy.  Even the way Kozibi and Jevin seem to be drooping sideways and laying their heads on the table.  Oh my!  A nap?!  That sounds fluffy!

Cassandre, you notice Claudia seems a bit more spry than she did a moment ago.  You think maybe she's not as old as you thought she was.  The good news is that the only thing Apollo has found of interest in the yard is a dead squirrel.

But damn!  That's good coffee!


So yeah.  Coffee was drugged.  Breya, you are up for the moment, but are about to go down for a snooze.  If you want to take an action, I will allow one action at a -4.

Cass...let me know what that roll gets you.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:37, Wed 02 Nov 2022.

Bellinha stayed silent as she let Cassandre and Kozibi lead the conversation.  It was interesting however that the scarecrow was wearing pieces that had washed up on the beach.  As she sipped her drink, she pondered the implications of this.

OOC:
Bellinha Grunnel rolled 19 using 1d20.

Cassandre felt the numbing effect of the coffee, and it seemed she was about to go down for a snooze… and then she did.

But something in the back of her head tingled, and whispered: “not today…”

She feigned sleepiness, and then collapsed from her chair and under the table. But she wasn’t asleep, through squinting eyelids she kept an eye on the scene, and an ear as well. Or was she dreaming all this??! Maybe she did fall asleep and only dreamt that she was so clever as to feign a sudden slumber…

Cassandre Lagrene rolled 15 using 1d20.  Reroll — is it enough though??

Breya realized what was happening too late.  With a final surge she lunged for their "hostess", hoping to take her with them.

Of course that won't work because no one past level 1 gets knocked out with a single shot anyway in this game system, but Breya would try.

05:46, Today: Breya rolled 13 using 1d20+4.  Punch after modifiers.
05:46, Today: Breya rolled 14 using 1d3+13.  Power Attack.
05:47, Today: Breya rolled 2 using 1d4.  Bleeding Attack.

In reply to Breya (msg # 41):

Sorry Cass.  You missed it by thiiiiisss much

Cassandre, you start to feel fuzzy as you slump towards the top of the table.  You see Breya lurch forward, trying to haymaker Claudia.  But Claudia proves to be quite spry, much more sprightly than she should be at her age, and sidestep the juggernaut that is Breya.  You see your Big Buddy go down as your own eyes close.

But not you Bellinha.  The coffee makes you feel a bit...off.  But you seem to be keeping your feet.

For the moment.

Edited my earlier post Bell.  At the moment, you are the only one up.  Your actions are at a -2 though.  It is very good coffee.

Claudia starts waving her hands in the air...Like she just don't care...

"Breya!" Bellinha shouted as she saw her friend collapse on the table.  She knocked over her chair as she shot to her feet, the coffee mug falling to the floor.


Claudias waving hands immediately made Bellinha think that she was trying to cast a spell of some sort.  That meant that there was little time to think.  Bell had to react.  "Isifutho..." she chanted, gathering up arcane energy causing her hand to glow with a swirl of colours.  "...Sombala!" Upon uttering the last of the incantation, Bell unleashed the colour swirl into a cone directed at Claudia.

OOC:
Casting Color Spray at Claudia.  Will save DC 15

In reply to Bellinha Grunnel (msg # 43):

Bel, let's roll a quick init please.  I got a 14.  Need to see who's spell is going off first here.

OOC:
I rolled a 13 :(

In reply to Bellinha Grunnel (msg # 45):

Sorry Bell.  Will save 15- or you got the Hideous Laughter for 6 rds.

OOC:
Will Save 20 (Yay Bell.)

Bellinha was not as fast as Claudia.  It was probably the result of whatever she had added to their drinks.  Bell felt the spell wash over her, compelling a small giggle to escape her lips.  She fought and suppressed the third giggle, one that threatened to erupt into a full blown laugh, and focussed on her own abilities.   "Isifutho..." she chanted, gathering up arcane energy causing her hand to glow with a swirl of colours.  "...Sombala!" Upon uttering the last of the incantation, Bell unleashed the colour swirl into a cone directed at Claudia.

OOC:
Casting Color Spray at Claudia.  Will save DC 15

Claudia stands, seemingly unfazed by your spell She rolled a 17.  Better luck next time though

She stands with a speed that belies her age, and picks up her chair with an ease that really belies her age.  She throws it towards you Bellinha...

And misses!  By like a lot.  But the chair bounces off Breya and Jevin, annoying them greatly and causing them to come too slightly.

Breya and Jevin, you both take 4 HP damage.  And can act at a -2 on your rolls if you wish.

Speaking of Jevin...his new friend launches out from under the table at Claudia and slices her leg rather nicely.

Ya'lls go.  Bell, there is a table between you and Claudia.  About 7'.  It's a big, round table

Breya, getting whacked, managed to shock herself into action.

She was Not Happy.  She lunged, extending her hands.  She was going to grab any part of that old woman she could put her hands on.

  First fixed my HP.

So I think I have enough movement to stand up and... well grab, essentially.

The feat gives +2, the circumstances -2, so this is a straight CMB roll

06:48, Today: Breya rolled 26 using 1d20+8.  Improved Grapple Attempt.

Breya "hits" (wrong word really) a 26 CMD.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:40, Tue 08 Nov 2022.

In reply to Breya (msg # 49):

The beauteous Breya suddenly lurches forward like a tsunami of loveliness and grabs Claudia in a firm, comforting embrace.

Actually, <puprle>Breya</purple> lurches upwards and snatches Claudia like a bear snatching a picnic basket.

Claudia is grabbed

Bellinha moved quickly around the table, drewing out her sword as she moved, the welded rings along its back chiming softly.  Turning the weapons blade slightly, she struck out at Claudia.

OOC:
Attacking with a non-lethal strike for 12 to hit.  9 NL damage, if she hits

Breya twisted, grabbed and tried to lock it in.

Let's go for Pinned to inflict a big fat AC penalty, keep her from doing much and hopefully make it easier for everyone else.

07:30, Today: Breya rolled 21 using 1d20+8.  Grapplematic 2000.

23 if the penalty doesn't persist.

In reply to Breya (msg # 52):

Poor Claudia.  "She" didn't stand a chance

Jevin joins the free for all and soon Claudia is down on the ground, pinned by the loving embrace of Breya

Except Claudia stops being Claudia.  She's now a he.  A tall thin elf with bluish silver hair and a big wart on the end of his nose.  His face is turning a pasty white from the pin.

Breya was pissed.  This elf was going to find himself choked with her left arm and his ankle shoved up his own rear end with her right arm.

Bellinha calmly returns her broadsword to its scabbard and kneels down near Claudia...Claudio?  She was angry, not as pissed as Breya seemed to be, but running closely behind.  If she hadn't resisted what ever was in the drink, she could have been knocked unconscious like the others.  Who knew what that could have led to.  Thoughts of pirates and bodies crammed into barrels filled her head and it only served to harden her mood.

She frowned at the elf.  "Bit of a pickle, friend."  Bellinha said calmly.  She put a hand on Breya.  Hopefully Breya wasn't too angry to not play along.  Hopefully.  "My partner here is not happy with what you did and is going to squeeze you into jelly, and I'm really not sure if I want to stop her from doing that.  I don't suppose that you'd like to say something to sway us into mercy?"

In reply to Bellinha Grunnel (msg # 55):

"Ah...khkkk...cahnt...khkkk...bweavh..."

Apparently he can't breath.

Cassandre and Kozibi, Jevin rouses the two of you.

"just one more time ple..." Then Kozibi stirred slightly and made an uncomfortable groaning noise as he was woken. He worked his mouth like it was super dry or had a bad taste in it as his eyes struggled to open. "I don't feel right. so...tired..."

He cleared his throat and slowly looked around, very confused about the situation and how things looked when he woke up.

Cassandre woke up under the table, puzzled as to what had happened. She crawled from there to a safe spot in the kitchen, and gathered her wits. Where was the farmer gone, and why was Breya chocking on an elf?

She silently sent for Apollo, hoping he was all right and hadn’t found anything troublesome around the farmhouse.

In reply to Cassandre Lagrene (msg # 58):

Apollo found a squirrel.  He chased it for a while, but decided it was too undignified (squirrel got away)

The elf is acting like Breya is cutting off his air supply and so he can't answer any questions.

Bellinha pulled her attention away from the Elf to make sure that Cassandre and Kozibi were waking up.  They seemed to be.  That gave her a moments relief.  If they hadn't woken up.....

Bell didn't want to think about that.  She turned her attention back to the Elf.  "Breya, be a dear and loosen your grip on our new friends throat."  she said in a sweet voice.  "He looks excited to tell us something."

Breya did it, but only because Bellinha asked her too.  Breya was not a fan of this elf and still felt like crap from the coffee drugs.

In reply to Breya (msg # 61):

The elf gasps and manages, "If you...didn't like...the coffee...you coulda just said somethin'..."

Kozibi looked around slowly. He saw Breya was choking...someone. An elf? Someone new. He hadn't seen them before. Wait... "Where...were is our host? The nice old lady?"

He then pointed at the grappled on in Breya's deadly embrace. "And who is this now?"

Breya rooted around in the wreckage until she found the coffee pot.  The lid was missing, but that was okay.

"Someone who's about to get a coffee pot shoved right up his arse is who it is!"

In reply to Breya (msg # 64):

"Okay! Okay!  Jeez.  Don't they feed you?"  The elf tries to sit up a bit.

"It was just a harmless drug.  Woulda knocked you guys out for a bit 's all.  I mean, it's not like any of you had trouble waking up, right?

"Just a guy trying to defend himself is all.  So can you stop with the hugging?"

Breya stared absolute murder at him.

"I'm going to kill him now."

Kozibi blinked a few times, looking at Breya and then her...prisoner. "Wait...drug." He frowned, ""you...were the woman?" He shook his head.

"Uh...also...I'd stop joking around and making Breya made. Trust me. You wouldn't like her when she's angry."
This message was lightly edited by the player at 04:26, Fri 18 Nov 2022.

In reply to Kozibi Januson (msg # 67):

The elf gives you a look like you've just stated the obvious Kozibi.  And then groans in an exagerated manner.

"Okay.  Fine.  You got me.  Way to go.  There's five of you and one of me.  How did you ever do it?

"So I was gonna rob you and be on my way.  What's the big deal?  People in our line of work do it all the time.  I mean...when you guys go tromping into a goblin warren to take their stuff, don't you normally kill 'em?  I at least was just gonna knock you out.

"So let's let bygones be bygones.  'kay?

"You can let me up now.  What am I gonna do?  Huh?  I'm just a lil ol' elf."

In my notes I told myself to make this guy annoying.  I think I'm succeeding

Bellinha was studying the Elf, her expression hard.  He may have stated that his entire goal was just to rob them, but that was a little difficult to verify.  He could have been planning to kill the lot of them, slit their throats while they were unconscious.

Barrels.  Bodies in Barrels.

"I doubt that you are just a little old Elf." Bellinha said, taking a deep breath to calm herself and drive away those terrible thoughts.  "Still, we should have a talk."

She leaned close to Breya, wrapping an arm about the warriors shoulder in a light embrace.  Her other hand reached for the coffee pot as she spoke softly into her ear.

Breya took in a sharp breath.  After he admitted to his plans Breya really was ready to just kill him, he was just going to do this to others if they let him go.  She was about to threaten him again, but, well, it probably wasn't going to help her ambitions to get onto Bellinha's favor to lose her temper here.

So she settled on a bit of light yelling.

"Who else have you robbed you cur!?  This is an elaborate setup for stealing pennies from farmers!  You're connected, this is too sophisticated for someone as stupid as you to carry out by yourself!  And what about the people who actually live here, what did you do to them?"

The last was said with much more anger.  She was perhaps going to kill him after all.

In reply to Breya (msg # 70):

The elf raises an eyebrow.  "Look.  It's a tough world.  I'm just tryin' to get by.

"Anyway.  Maybe we can negotiate here."  He looks over everyone of you.

"You guys were interested in that scarecrow.  Were ya maybe lookin' for something specific?  Like...messages gettin' stuck inside it?"

Kozibi was starting to wonder if this elf had a death wish. He was seemingly intent on seriously pissing Breya off enough to get himself killed. He winced and started to look away but then the elf spoke up again.

Kozibi rolled his eyes. "Ohhh of course you have information to barter." He shook his head. "I suppose in return you want us to stop Breya from killing you?" He glanced at Bellinha. "Does Salt Lick have a jail?"

"They only need a rabbit cage, I will stuff him in it!"  Breya promised.

Bellinha had carefully removed the coffee pot from Breyas hand and carefully put it back on the table.  She had no doubt that Breya could accomplish what she had threatened with the pot, and the Elf would probably have deserved it.  He seemed so annoying and...and annoying, which would hardly justify having pottery forcibly inserted into him, but the more that he said and the nonchalant way that he said it had her wondering if maybe Breya had the right idea.

"Salt Lick does have a jail.  Norvis Potts oversees it." she replied to Kozibi.  She decided to embellish a little. "It hardly looks very comfortable.  It's a little unkempt and I can't remember the last time that Norvis said that they had cleaned it out.  There's not a lot of crime here that requires time in the jail so they tend to neglect cleaning it.  The cockroaches don't seem to mind though."

As she spoke, Bellinha eyed the Elf.  How did he know that they were looking into the messages that were being traded in the Scarecrow?  Was this elf Alfie?

In reply to Bellinha Grunnel (msg # 74):

The elf seems to brighten up when you mention the jail.

"That sounds like a fine idea!  Let's put me in jail!  Right away!

"Well?  Are we going to jail or not?"

He glances at you Kozibi

"Yeah, I got info.  I mean you didn't come out here lookin' to buy some eggplants, didja?  Than what are you lookin' for?  C'mon.  I haven't got all day."

Kozibi rolled his eyes and gave a theatrical sigh. "Yes, very true, I do not have all day and Breya wouldn't wait that long to snap you like a toothpick."

He glanced over and gestured towards the Scarecrow. "Let us start with the scarecrow. And the messages you mentioned." He leaned forward. "Who sends and receives them? Have you...pilfered any and read them, or still have them?"

Breya was about to break him into pieces, but Kozibi asked the right question.

Breya had a theory, but given how cockamamie this whole situation was, who knew if it had any merit.

In reply to Breya (msg # 77):

The elf grins broadly at the rather astute question.  "Finally!  Someone who's more brain than brawn!  Well.  Not that you seem to have much going on with the brawn..

"But yes!  I do know something about the messages!  And yes.  I do have a couple of them."

He narrows his eyes.  "Get She-Bull here off me, and I'll tell you where one is right now.  It's close and I won't move until one of you goes and gets it.  How's that for proving my good intentions?"

This Elf seemed far too eager to go to jail.  That was odd.  Who would want to go to jail when they could have made some deal for their freedom, offering what they knew in trade for their freedom.

"I somehow doubt that referring to my companions in such a manner will endear you to them."  she said, kneeling down at the Elf side and lightly tapping him on the forehead.  "That will only get you squashed into jelly.  How about you tell us what you know about these notes as a way of making nice."

The veins on Breya's forehead were visibly bulging.  She just wanted to kill him so much at this point.

She was actually under control at this point, but she was letting her anger visibly boil on the surface, figuring it was helping.  Somehow.

Kozibi's eyes narrowed at the haphazardly-insulting elf. He glanced down at himself and then gave a shrug and half-nod of agreement. He was not overly-developed in the muscle area. Partly on purpose.

"The less you insult and the more you help, the better your chances are, really." He smiled too sweetly.

In reply to Kozibi Januson (msg # 81):

The elf wriggles his mouth as he thinks and at last, shrugs.  "Well.  Not much to tell.  This guy comes by the house...what?  Maybe once or twice a month.  He sticks a note in the scarecrow.  A day or two later, someone comes and gets it.  I usually don't see who.  Whoever they are is sneaky as hell.  But I do know they head into the woods to the north.

"I got curious and looked at a few of the notes.  Wrote down what they said too.  Just in case.  I'll tell ya where the page with my scribbles are and you let me loose.  Deal?"

Kozibi leaned forward. "Describe the person who sticks the notes in the scarecrow in as much detail you can muster." He paused and then smiled wickedly. "As if your life depended on it." He left unsaid that it might actually, but Breya was making that point for him.

"Unless you know their name, of course? That would be simpler."

In reply to Kozibi Januson (msg # 83):

The elf eyes Breya and then sighs.

"I think it's one of the fishermen.  Looks the type.  Overalls.  Fishing boots.  Little hooks stuck through the brim of his cap.  Ya know.

"Le's see...unshaven but not quite a beard.  Brownish hair?  Maybe towards the blackish side.  About as tall as..."  He gestures at Jevin.

"Oh.  And he kinda smells like fish guts.  Got downwind of him a couple of times."

Kozibi and Belinha, that sounds like every fisherman you've met thus far in Salt Lick.

The elf shrugs again.  A shrugger, this elf.  "That's the best description I can give ya.  If I see him again, I can point at him.  But...that's the best I can tell ya."

Kozibi rolled his eyes and let out a loud dramatic sigh. "That...is unhelpful, unfortunately. That describes like...90% of the fishermen in town." He shook his head.

"Alright. Fine. Sorry, our fault for hoping there would be something...distinctive about the person. Let's go with YOUR suggestion instead. Let's check out one of the notes you copied I guess." He shrugged. "Point the way please."

In reply to Kozibi Januson (msg # 85):

"Well I would like some show of faith that you'll let me off, but..." he glances at Breya. "I guess that's not happening.  Fine."

He reaches towards his boot.  "Relax. It's in my boot.  My feet may smell bad, but it's probably no worse than Big Bertha here's breath."

He pulls off the boot.  Wrapped around one leg is a parchment.  He peels it off and offers it to whoever is willing to take the oddly damp and fragrant scroll.

It seems to be some kind of diary.  He makes little notes to himself like

Fri. Day 288.  Had some toast for breakfast.  It was a little too crisp.  No butter.  Great sadness.  Saw this chick with a huge rack.  Great joy

Tues. Day 302.  Had toast for breakfast.  Not quite done enough.  Still a little chewy in teh middle.  Good boysenberry jam for it though.

Thurs. Day 304.  Toast was really disappointing.  They only had rye bread.  Who only has rye bread?  They deserve bad things.  Great sadness. Much anger.

And so on.  Yes, most of the entries seem to deal with toast.

But you do see intermittent notes throughout, all marked Scarecrow Note

Today's Scarecrow note:  (Ship named Gibbeon's Dog.  Bound from Coinhaven in two weeks.  Shipment set to include furs.  Definite)

(Ship named The Creamy Dumpling.  Talked to crew at tavern.  Return trip back from Burkersburg to LongHall.  Taking on lumber.  Skip it.  Not worth the hit.)

(Grunnel patrol came through.  Disguising themselves as a tug called Pull This Finger.  On hunt for Yo Ho Hos.  Skip 'em)

The scarecrow notes are all in a similar vein.  Notes about ships.  A pattern emerges.

Whoever "Alfie" is, they seem to be tracking ships that come through Salt Lick.  Since many ships stay over for the night, it wouldn't be hard to mingle with the crew and get intel.  Like what their shipments are.  What their schedule is.  If they are actually pirate hunters working for one of the families.

Alfie seems to be feeding targets to the Boss Pirate.

The elf grins.  More of a leer.

"So.  I think I know what you're all interested in.  I mean, it doesn't take a abjuration specialist to figure out what these notes are about, right?

"And I might have an idea about how you can use this to your advantage.  But of course, it's gonna cost ya.

"I'll tell you my idea.  And point out the guy planting these notes to you.  And you let me walk.  I'll be outta here so fast, it'll make the ugly one over there look good."

He doesn't specify which one of you he is referring to as "the ugly one".

Breya had been silent and feigning rage (well, perhaps not feigning, but she'd gotten it on a leash), but now she spoke up.

"How about you spill him, or I'll spill you?"

She cracked her knuckles.

Looks at charsheet-
Updated for Bellinha's calculations. Thank you Bellinha!

Also my skill ranks weren't updated last time I leveled up, so I fixed that.

I'm ignoring any possible circumstance bonus here.

19:35, Today: Breya rolled 10 using 1d20+8.  Intimidate .

lol well that was craptastic

Belinha re-read the notes for the third time.  The contents of the notes were worth the icky feeling of knowing where the papers had been kept.  She was really going to have to scrub her hands clean after this.

"And where are you going to run to?" she asked, distractedly.  The thought that someone was spying on ships passing through Salt Lick was disturbing.  No wonder the pirates were able to acquire so much wealth.  Bellinha looked up at the Elf.  "How long have you been staying here to know the schedule of when the notes are placed into the scarecrow....mister...what do we call you?"

In reply to Bellinha Grunnel (msg # 89):

The elf sighs.  "Okay.  Don't laugh.  Flea.  I Flea.  The "I" stands for Ichabod.  But everyone just calls me Flea. Okay?"

He shrugs.  "I noticed the guy coming to the scarecrow...what?  Six months ago?  Seven months ago?  You can tell by the dates in my journal."

The dates on the scroll seem to jibe with what he's saying.

"Anyway," he waves a hand impatiently towards the front door.  "You wanted to find this guy.  And I wanna stop seeing the lot of you.  So shall we head to the village?  We can look around and I'll point him out if I see him."

"Fine.  But we're holding hands because we're such good friends."  Breya made it very clear this was not negotiable.  "Stick out your wrist.  Jevin, search him.  And I mean check everywhere."

In reply to Breya (msg # 91):

Flea laughs and holds out his wrists, hiking up a leg so Jevin can have an easier time searching.

"Wow.  Two at once.  And I don't even have to pay for it.  Just promise me you'll still respect me in the morning."

The elf has a spell book, some components, a couple of ordinary daggers, and other basic adventuring type stuff. Nothing exciting.

Unless there is anything else you want to do at the house here, you may all move on to the "Hijinx Ensue" thread.

Thanks

Bellinha took the spell book.  "I'll just hold on to this for you in the meantime." she said.  Since Flea was a spell caster, he would probably put a high value on his spell book.  If Bell had it, she was sure that he would behave, or he'd not get it back.  Of course the threat of being squished by Breya made for a good threat, so the spell book would have to be option B.

Before they bust a move, Cass would check out the spell book.
Evidently she’s be interested in stealing a couple of spells from it. Maybe she meant sharing, but she definitely thought stealing first. To be fair, it would be the least she would expect, as retribution for being drugged and very nearly besmirched by the sad excuse for an elven wizard…

anything interesting ?
 Sorry about the delay!!

In reply to Cassandre Lagrene (msg # 94):

Hi Cass.  See Koz's reply in OOC.  And please head over to the "Hijinx Ensue" thread.  We are wrapping up a combat there.

Thanks