Lethal Reword 2: Broken World

Lothar strode up to Angela and Frost. "Need another for the job?"
 
as Kunxaarm spoke, a tall, broad figure stepped out of the shadow where he had been reclining, the figure, clad in both worn darkish red robes and chainmail ran a grey paw like hand through it's shaggy 'hair' as it approached them.

standing somewhere between six foot seven to six foot eight, Myrdyn towered over the three figures, even as another came out of no where and spoke, Myrdyn could tell that he was being scrutinised, not just by the four, but also by onlookers, he could feel their hate-filled glares and he conciously ensured he was not holding his weapon and that his body language radiated a peaceful calm.
"Forgive my intrusion, but I could not help but overhear your intentions and quest, perhaps you would like some more assistance? I am Myrdyn, oft spoken with the epithet 'the marked' as a presit of Kelemvor, perhaps my skills can be of use to you" he said clearly but without harsh emphasis.
 
Frost turns to look at the other person, raising her eyebrow. "Make me an offer, then. At least this guy," She thumbs towards Kunxaar, "Said he'd lend a blade to the job. Despite not seeing a weapon on him, at that." She shakes her head with a scowl. "So we've already got him to look out for, we don't need another useless person. Leave me be."

She walks right past, moving towards the center of town, where she assumes the city hall or whatever might be. "The tough part of this is, of course, none of us seem human enough for this... well, I do, but I don't like taking off my hood, and most people aren't fond of dealing with creatures that hide their face. Think it's dishonest, and I don't blame them."

She looks over her shoulder at Angela. "Ah. Divine magic, with the gods and stuff. Met a few clerics of the dragon-gods back where I grew up. Nice folks, happy to have one on the party... granted, you're probably not a dragon-god-cleric, so that's neither here nor there. I agree with that plan, though. We'll check some stuff out, equip-up, and set out early tomorrow. 'Less there's some sort of attack on the town, in which case we'll have to adapt as it comes." She nods, shrugging. "My thoughts on divine magic goes for you too, Myrdyn... more than happy to have a bit more divine magic behind me." She looked him up and down, biting her lip a bit. "And you seem... muscular, too. I'm sure you handle yourself just fine... I'd love to see your skills in action. Come on, then."
 
Lothar scowls for a moment and then shrugs and walks back to the tavern.
 
"Well, I don't particularly favor any one god...though Bahamut is nice." Clearly, there's some reason why they'd take a shining to her. Also rather clearly, it should be left unasked for now.

"If you want, I can do the talking. I'm sure that any mayor would be more than glad to help weirdos get out of their town. And if we help take care of this lizardfolk issue, well, two birds with one stone."

((Also, think that Angela would be able to unshape soulmelds without shaping new ones/taking an hour? The rules are..iffy. If she can, then she can get away with more talking/normalcy.))
 
Rhidel stood as his new compatriots spoke amongst themselves. The cleric looked competent, and he had few doubts about Frost, though she seemed young to him. Of course, on reflection, all humans seemed young to him. On the subject of Kunxaar, he spoke up after the man stepped back. "If I recall," he said to Frost in a rumbling whisper, "his kind are called Xephs. They are not common, but neither are they unheard of in my home city. I have heard tales of men such as he growing blades from their hands, although I have never seen it. He may even be as useful as he claims."

Standing straight, he said in a more conversational tone, "Of the fall of Osell, there is not much to tell. Half of the city was suddenly destroyed - I did not see by what, and did not have the time nor inclination to wonder - and began sinking into the swamp. Then a screaming warband of lizardfolk came pouring out of the destroyed portion of the city, slaughtering anyone they caught."

Nodding, he then turned to the gnoll priest. "Myrdyn. If I have not met with you in the course of my duties, then I will gladly fight alongside you. < May our enemies cower in fear! >" he finished in the harsh Gnoll tongue.

Finally, he turned back to the smaller cleric, addressing her. "I apologise, but I do not believe I know your name yet."
 
Frost gives a surprised look up at Rhidel. "Is that so?" She turns to look at the xeph with a much kinder expression under her hood. At least, she sounded a lot kinder. "You sly creature. Magical weaponry is something I can definitely appreciate, if that's indeed the blades you're speaking of."

Which a happy giggle, she stretches, showing that she does indeed have some feminine quality despite her lithe form. "How glorious! Next time though, I would have liked to know your capabilities before - it aids in making proper assessments of situations we might come across." As for you - she glances back to Rhidel, eyes shining under her hood. "I like you. You're not just size and muscle, you've actually got a head up there."

She offers him a congratulatory thumbs-up, along with a smile that glinted in a monstrous way under her hood. "Firsthand experience, knowledge of otherworldly things, and a grip of the gnoll language... thanks for the heads up." She nods, looking to Myrdyn, "Not that the gnoll himself would be lacking the ability to express himself in his own language, but the skills of my allies are of great interest to me." She pats Rhidel in the knee happily. "When we get out of this, how would you like a more permanent job, Rhidel? Unfortunately, I've given you most of my gold already - being honest, there - so I won't be able to pay you outside of an equal share of what we come across." She continues to address Rhidel, and nods with a smile. "It's nothing big, but it'd be more fulfilling than... well, I can only assume you get mistreated for your size..."

She thinks that over in her head, turning and folding her arms over her chest. "Scratch that. No one really picks on the big guys." She pouts after that, quietly walking forward. She does, however, give a grateful smile to Angela. "Would you? I'd appreciate it if you'd do that talking. I feel comfortable around you guys... but I'm not into talking to some human I don't even know."
 
Alright, if I'm to do the talking.." Angela shurgged, and the wings scattered into dozens of loose feathers that drifted a short bit before turning into nothing more than blue wisps. The purpleish tint faded from her skin, leaving her a rather normal (If heavily armed) woman. Well, the eyes were slightly golden, but that was within the realm of plausibly deniable nonhumanity.

"I'm Angela, Rhidel."
She looked the gnoll up and down. There certainly were some odd people around...and yet they seemed somewhat familiar.
"Certainly Mrydyn, you can come along. We might consider that...gremlin..thing. If nothing else, Rhidel can throw him at people. We should probably go pick him up now and then get to searching for information and a place to stay."
 
"We'll look for that other thing later. We're here." Frost points up at the town hall, labeled, conveniently, 'town hall'. One could also assume it was an important building from the two guards standing out front, who seemed a bit alarmed at the large group standing out front. One wouldn't even need keen ears to hear one lean over and whisper: "Freaks" to the other, causing the other to chuckle.

Frost frowns, walking right up - ignoring the guards and trying the handle to the door. It was locked - and, apparently, the guards did not expect this, as their slack-jawed expressions showed, and one put his hand on Frost's shoulder, trying to pull her away, but coming up short in the physical strength department - Frost didn't budge, which seemed to alarm the guard. Frost frowns up at the guard, holding her hood in place, before looking back to the others.

She sighs, mentioning, "We're here to see the mayor. There's no funny business. Promise." The guards didn't seem convinced, and Frost sighs, stepping back a few paces and taking the spear off the holster attached to her back, leaning it against a pillar. "There. See?" Now convinced, one of the guards knocked on the door, letting the group in - but not until they've disarmed themselves. "Angela. You better do the talking here-on. M'not fond of talking to humans."
 
"Alright then.." Angela hazarded a glance back over the group before going forward. It felt slightly strange to not have anything bound to her or her sword. And..they were a strange lot. Hopefully the mayor would be okay with all of them helping out.
"Well, here goes nothing.."
And with that short phrase muttered under her breath, she stepped inside.
 
Gevel - an adventurer before he was crippled - meets the group in his private offices. He stands with the aid of a crutch. Looking over at the group, he offers a soft smile. "Let's see here..." Matching each one in the face, he lets out a small chuckle, "Either you're a group of adventurers, or you're here on behalf of some sort of monster rights campaign. Either way, this'll be good."

He hobbles around to look at Angela, who set herself as the speaker by standing a bit closer than the others. "If I might assume you're here to aid us, then I might call you all friends of Banik... I am the Mayor of Banik, Gevel. Welcome."
 
"Pleased to meet you, mayor." Angela bowed her head briefly to the mayor.

"I'm Angela, and...these are some people I found who want to help out. We heard about what happened to Osell, and we figured that we might want to resolve this whole issue. Right now we're here to get any sort of information, advice, or aid you would want to give us. Everything you know would help."
 
"That whole mess. I was hoping I'd get a few mercenaries... or do you prefer 'adventurers'...?" He shrugs either way, "To go check up on that. That fool of a merchant, Jenkins, stirring my people into a state of panic... Despite what you may have guessed, I am not interested in retaliation." He swipes his hand dismissively, limping towards them.

"The lizardfolk traded with Osell for nearly twenty years. They attacked for a reason. Before I commit troops against them..." He nods, "I should like to know the reason. That's where you come in.I shall pay you men... and ladies... a good deal of money - two thousand gold pieces, more than I make in several years of governing, I might add - to go and investigate this matter. I'll pay an extra five hundred gold if you discover the cause of the lizardfolk ire and root it out. The people want justice, and those responsible are held accountable... I will not slaughter needlessly. Osell wasn't the most important trade center in the region, but its people deserve an explanation... is there something more you'd like to ask?"
 
"Actually, I was hoping you'd say that...not too fond of needless combat myself. If there's any information on what capabilities they have-magic, skilled warriors, tamed beasts-that would prove useful. A short summary of their internal politics would help smooth things over when we get there."
 
"I've no idea. Osell was the city that traded with the lizardfolk, not us." He shrugs slightly. From the descriptions of the attack, I'd say there's some magic involved - if you take the town exploding to be literal. Near as we know, Osel''s got two ways in - the front gate, and the great bloody hole the lizards tore in the side of the place. If you people fancy yourselves lucky, you may want to consider the front entrance. The hole's unstable, probably dangerous and sinking into the swamp. Taking the front entrance will either get you attacked, or show a sign of peace, depending on whether this was a real attack or not. Preparation for both possibilities is probably a good idea. You're not going there for heroics, after all - just to sniff the place out and find out what the lizards are up to."
 
"Mm...that's not too much to go on. Anything else you have before we get going?"
 
The mayor shakes his head. "No, I'm afraid that's about it. We don't have anything to give you - this is just a little village. We don't have the things a port city or a major city would have... I mean, we don't even have a single magic-user in the place." He lets a shrug pass. "There hasn't been much need until recently... which, I guess, explains the massive expense I'm willing to pay you folks to handle this for us."
 
"Well..Then I guess we'll be going now. Right now we plan on setting out tomorrow, so we have some time to plan ahead, prepare spells, so on and so forth. C'mon, everybody."

With that, Angela walked out of the town hall. The very next thing she did was get her sword back.

ah, how she missed it...Angela gently stroked the scabbard before putting it back on properly.
 
Frost stretches a bit as she walks out, putting her hands behind her head as she walks, kicking up her spear and catching it behind her head. She chuckles a bit, "Wow, I've never been able to do that right before. Normally end up hitting myself with the blunt end. Looks like a sign of good luck from lovely old Astilabor."

Frost shrugs a bit, "So, diplomacy eh? Well, least none of us seem extra human. I get the hunch that a bunch of lizardfolk wouldn't take kindly to a group of armed humans walking over... 'course, with the lot of us, we might be mistaken for wandering monsters. Not like it hasn't happened to before." She 'huffs', following it with a long sigh, shaking her hooded head. "So... preparation time, eh? I'm pretty much ready to go, so you lot do whatever you need to do... I'll meet you tomorrow. For now..." She looks wistfully away. "...I don't like towns. I'll be waiting - and sleeping - outside the walls. Feel free to join me." She shrugs, walking away from the group towards the front gates.
 
As the dragon-blooded female walked out the gates, the small lizardfolk got up and followed. Wearing nothing more than a loincloth and carrying nothing more than a crossbow and some bolts, Noise didn't look like much. However his appearance belied both his training and his blessings bestowed upon him by the mighty Bahamut. Afer walking for a while, Noise spoke up. "Where ya headed to, miss?"