Into the Mists

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Reaching up he slid his shield back into place leaving his hands free as he took a few paces towards the strange his half smile at its full potential. “Unfortunately going back isn’t an option tonite you see there are some rather ambitious wolves in those woods and we aren’t in a position to take on the whole pack.”

Taking another few steps he smooths our his hair and tugs on his leather vest adjusting it. “The name is Friend, perhaps we can make your acquaintance and come to a communion. I will gladly head home, but we may need a safe place to take rest tonite.”
 
Giving Kore a short wave back, Jon lets out a small chuckle and shrugs when Kore mentions Jon to be the only smart one. "Not taking risks for a stranger."

Following Reyeara as she leads the group to wherever they might go or be, Jonathan walks after her as he looks around for any sign of the aforementioned wolves that were supposed to be nearing. Seeing that the possible danger had faded away, Jon stuck a bit more to the back and did some absentminded roadwork in order to keep him pumped up in case anything might show up later on.

When Reyeara lifts her hand and looks backwards, Jon takes the hint and stops advancing forward. Now also noticing the lone stranger walking towards them, Jon clutches his fists momentarily in order to check if the wrapping cloth is still tight enough for a possible encounter. Though it seems that it might not end up in a brawl as the stranger speaks up first and asks for her companions.
 
Listening carefully to their responses she wonders if their encounter with the wolves had gone bad, but then relaxes at the mention from the green skinned one mentioning they couldn't take on a whole pack. 'That's probably for the best.' She turned her attention to woman as she finally processed the names. "Ireena, and Kolyan? That would be the Burgomeister and his daughter."

She went over what the lady had said prior about not knowing where they were. That fit the bill of outsider near perfectly, and their accents were a bit odd. "Your currently in the land of Barovia, ruled by Count Strahd Von Zarovich III. The nearest town is a bit further into the valley. Vallaki, but if you're looking for a place to rest and that you can get to, the Village of Barovia will have to do."

'Speaking of which maybe I should check in on the troublemaker there. She was nice enough to provide us with some money last time, maybe I can introduce her to these people where she might be able to finally start trying to make her way home. Or at least somewhere safer.' Faria motions off behind her down the road. "Since my friends seem to be making a long trek I could show you to the village at the very least. There's an Inn there. Blood of the Vine." She starts to head away towards the village.
 
Lucan removes his hand from his sword as the conversation settles a bit. Looking around to all his road weary companions, he nods, "Best we get ourselves to an inn. If you can take us that would be appreciated."

Time for a leap of faith, lets see if she attacks or not. He stepped forward keeping pace with the woman and extending a hand, "I am Inspector Lucan of Baldur's Gate." He nods to Rey, "This is my second, Reyeara of the Gate's City Watch. Friend has already introduced himself, the blue one is Geyser, and that leaves Jon." He seemed tired, as he droned through the introductions and did his best to emphasize his weaknesses: only leather to protect him, sheathed weapon, dominant hand extended from his body. If she was hostile this would surely bait her into taking advantage of the moment. He played it up, yawning and lifting his left hand to cover his mouth, fully exposing himself to attack.

"Sorry, it's been a long night. Please, lead on." He follows as she walks away, motioning for the others to join along.
 
Faria's brows momentarily furrow at the sound of the word guard but she accepts Lucan's handshake hesitantly, her scale armor rattling at the movement. "Faria, and towns not far. It's not good to travel at night with poor visibility." She noted the elf's step to match hers and after the hand shake moved to keep a modicum of distance between them. 'Why are they out so late? I've never heard of this "Balder's Gate" but it sounds like whoever named it must have the same humor as the person that named the village. It was probably a human.'

As they continued along the road Faria didn't really seem to be the most talkative of people. She seemed content enough to walk in silence, though her eyes scanned the woods every so often as if looking for something that might jump out at them.
 
Svalich Woods:

The trek westward down the road is largely uneventful, aside from the occasional rustling of leaves from the wind or a small bird or two darting off into the night sky. As you keep going you still hear the intermittent round of howls - not as close as before, but the persistence keeps you moving with some haste. They continue at a steady volume for another 10 minutes or so - almost like they were keeping pace with you - before finally beginning to trail off to the north, the sound being muffled by wind and trees.

Soon enough the trailing road through the woods opens up to a larger clearing, still surrounded by woods all around though the extra space was a breath of fresh air at least. A cool breeze drifts about, and in the relative quiet of your travels you can hear the not-so-distant rushing of a river to the south.

After about another half-hour of walking the muddy ground underfoot begins to give way to slick, wet cobblestones as you find yourselves at the edges of a small village, seemingly still and lifeless in the dead of night. As you walk on the full moon shining down is your only source of illumination, casting a soft glow on the various run-down and rickety houses that make up the streets of the town. There doesn't appear to be anyone walking around, not at this late hour.

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Lucan shivered slightly, it was unsettling to see a place so devoid of life. As they walked through the streets he felt as though he'd entered a ghost town. Though the emptiness reminded him of the small Elven settlement where he grew up, and reminded him of past mistakes that weighed heavy on his mind, he felt all the safer to be in a town rather than in that forest being pursued by that strange mist or those wolves.

As they walked into the village, Lucan broke the silence, "Faria, you said there was an inn, but this place seems particularly... Empty. Will we even be able to find service there?" Lucan paused for a thought before adding, "Do you intend to stay the night and catch up with your friends in the morning?"

Lucan glanced to Rey, giving her an uneasy look. Though Geyser seemed impulsive, at least he was drunk and made for good company, this elf seemed far more suspicious, setting off all the wrong alarms in his mind. She seemed to be hiding a great deal.
 
Faria kept an eye out on the streets pointly not looking down one of the side streets where the kids normally asked for help. Ghosts of some horrible tragedy she had guessed, long ago. When Lucan spoke up again about the state of the town she shrugged for a moment. "There are more houses than people now adays," said Faria noncommittally. 'There was a time when this place was a bit more lively.' She thought back to when she had first arrived in the vicinity of the town. She wondered if anyone even remembered when she had first arrived.

Despite the late hour she could already see the faint light of the inn up ahead, and she pointed to the intersection containing the Inn. "The Inn is just up here. Too expensive for my tastes, and I have to check up on someone in town before I forget." Faria intended to see them to their destination take a quick peek into the Inn before heading to the 'tea-fling's house to make sure she hadn't burnt the place down with a poorly aimed spell.
 
Lucan laced his fingers together, and let out a small laugh, "I suppose you wouldn't call this 'someone' a friend, would you? No, you don't seem the type to have many friends." His face split into a slight grin, "I, like to make friends. I find they're useful, for information and money and all sorts of other tasks." He glances back to Reyeara and the others, "Hell, with Rey, I can almost be in two places at once - which is surprisingly useful in our line of work." His grin turned to a smile. "You say this 'someone' needs to be checked up on 'in town', which implies they're not staying at the inn, and our pockets are not so heavy ourselves. Why don't you introduce us to 'someone' and let me make some friends." Lucan took a few steps forward, getting ahead of Faria, still with a friendly smile, making some eye contact, "Please?"
 
"If they were, than I probably wouldn't introduce them to a group of relative strangers," says Faria continuing at the same pace towards the Inn. "I'll give it some thought." With that she went back to being quiet once more, locked within her own head as the thought of the potential ways to convince Lexi that this group of strangers might be good for her. She might fit into the mix band of Calibans that traveled with this group. She had never seen so many together in once place which was a bit surprising to her, though she was glad the tales of them eating people didn't seem to be true. At least at the moment.
 
As the group walked, Reyeara ocassionally adjusted her gauntlet, keeping an eye around the group while they continued. She definitely was more used to having buildings on all sides, the constant drone of a city and its people. When the town started to come into view she felt a little better, the cobblestones under her boots ... but the silence was intimidating in its own way. Though, it did seem to be pretty late in the night, perhaps that was why? The Gate was almost always awake, but maybe not all places were the same.

Catching Lucan's glance back, she gave him a slight nod -- this person was perhaps being ... too helpful? As she started trying to lead the group again Reyeara stepped up a little closer, "Sorry, I'm used to the Gate and how lively it is -- this silence is kind of throwing me off. It's ... too quiet, if you catch my meaning. I know it's late and all, you seem to have things to do, but I'd like to do a walkabout before too long." She smiled towards the woman, trying to look pleasant, "Habits of a Guard, I'm used to knowing the streets of a place better than the back of my own hand. Could walk with you to the other person -- don't even need to go in, just wanna make a mental map if I can."
 
"Not many streets you need to memorize," says Faria as they finally come to the large square in the center of town. She begins pointing about as she speaks briefly. She starts to the right first pointing to the building that was the Inn, and then down the street past it. "The Blood of the Vine Inn is the only Inn in town. It's on the main street that holds anything important running north to south. North end up there is where the Church of the Morninglord is. If you seek communion I'd head there." She then shifts her hand down the street toward the south. "On the opposite side we have Bildrafts Merchantile, and further past him on the opposite side of town is the Burgomeister's house. You mentioned something about Ireena and Kolyan, well that's where they live. The two streets we passed on the way here just circle back to this main road. I'll warn you one of the streets we passed has some sort of trickster spirit that tries to lure you into a house. I've seen it burn down before and yet it's still there. I wouldn't listen to anything trying to get you to go in there."

With that Faria heads into the Inn for a moment glancing around looking to see who might be up at this late hour. She sees one of the usual ladies sitting at a table. Her colorful clothing marking her as one of the Vistani people she knew hung around this bar. In fact she remembered seeing this lady occasionally when she brought late night deliveries of game she had managed to drag back to town. Behind the bar is the same ol' bar tender that seemed to always be there no matter what hour she came by. "No food delivery today, Arik but I did run across some potential customers for you Inn. Figured I'd send them you're way. Would you mind getting me a drink before I hit the road?"

Last time she was here Ismark had been here. That had been pretty late at night as well but not this late. Sometimes she wondered if she was more nocturnal than most people. She took three rat-tooth pieces(cp) from her pouch mentally keeping track of what that would set her back to and slide them over to Arik knowing he really wasn't one for small talk. Something about the interaction was calming.
 
Lucan entered the inn behind Faria, immediately turning to a corner, perching himself on a stool at an empty table with a view of the whole bar.

His mouth had grown slightly numb from the metallic taste of the copper toothpick, but he finally saw an opportunity to make use of it. Pointing to Reyeara under the table, he used his other hand to cover his mouth as though he was about to sneeze. "I don't trust this Faria character. I've been in this line of work too long to be ok with being dumpped like this." He looked up at the lights and brushed off the sneeze as Rey's adjusted her armor and her reply whispered in his ear, "She was keen to bring us to town, and then now seems to want to dump us."

Lucan took in the sight of the inn. Noting the lack of patrons before pointing with a mock sneeze again. "No village in Faerun is this dead. We stick out like tieflings at temples in this place." While she was seemingly fixated on her rapier he received a reply, "Even late at night someone should be out and about, either this is a camp for something, or someone cleared it out and is using it as a base."

He makes eye contact with Reyeara for a moment before turning back to watch Faria some more, "It seems like a trap. Wherever she goes I'm following. I'd rather talk to the boss than the lackeys. I'm sure I speak their language." He pinched his nose and shook his head. As his hand fell from in front of his face it revealed a smug grin. Reyeara bowed her head, her hair covering her face. A moment later Lucan heard her voice in his ear, "I can try to follow as backup, be we both know I'm not the quietest."

Lucan finished with a final message, "Stay back and I'll holler if I need you. By the way you're getting pretty good at this. Keep up the good work, kid." He followed this message with a loud sneeze, "Ahh-choo!" drawing attention from the patrons, but also away from Reyeara as intended.
 
Through the gloom of the night, Reyeara tried to follow the directions Faria pointed, attempting to build a mental map as best she could with the simple instructions. Following the rest of the group into the Inn, she leaned against a wall, still feeling a bit too restless to sit, and not comfortable with the small town. Even though it seemed to be pretty late, she wasn't in the mood to sleep -- but at the very least the others now were at a tavern. Should be reasonably okay to leave them to their own devices for a bit, right?

In her ear she heard Lucan's voice once more, replying as she shifted her armor where it pinched, covering her mouth for a moment so she could respond without drawing too much attention. With his next message she bent over slightly to adjust her rapiers, and his third message she leaned down like there was something stuck in her boot.

With his final message, she smirked, scratching her nose for a moment as she replied, "I'm trying, old man. I'll be near, signal when you leave." As he sneezed she quickly dipped back out of the Inn, following the edge of the building to wait in an alley way, attempting to stay in the shadows from the moonlight. Her rapiers were tucked behind her to try and prevent the gleam of metal, draping her hair as much as she could over her chainmail. Periodically she looked behind herself in the alley, before returning her gaze to the front, waiting to hear anyone exit, a hand on the small dagger she kept as a trophy, just in case anyone thought she was an easy target.

The silence of the town still made her uneasy ... though she was glad to have cobblestones beneath her boots once more.
 
Geyser followed alongside the rest of the group wearily, the clarity in having sobered up being quickly followed by an overwhelming sense of exhaustion. He managed however to keep up with the rest of the group, although his entire thought process was involved in making sure he wouldn’t pass out on the ground right there. A small burst of energy flowed through him again once he saw the inn, and eagerly followed the rest of the group inside. He followed the strange white haired girl up to the innkeeper and quickly cleared his throat, butting into the conversation in his haste to get some sleep. "Hi, potential customer here, would I be able to get a room for the night? I am absolutely exhausted."
 
Blood of the Vine Inn:

As you enter through the creaking wooden doors of the inn, you're greeted by a bit of light and warmth from the fireplace in the corner - though this late into the night, it has mostly subsided to flickering embers without anyone bothering to stoke the flames. Slightly more luminous is the light from the oil flasks scattered around the room - one by the bar counter, the other accompanying a woman at a corner table next to the fireplace. Swaddled in light handwoven robes and a warm shawl, she seems faintly reminiscent of the gypsies you found outside of Baldur's Gate though the style seems a bit different. She tilts her head up slightly to survey the new group of arrivals, noting that the only familiar face was Faria, before continuing to hunch over the small pile of books and records she was inspecting by lamplight.

At the counter a pudgy man in a roughspun tunic and apron mindlessly wipes down a wine glass in the faint lighting, seemingly more to keep his hands and mind busy at this late hour than to make the shining glass any cleaner than it already was. Arik - you think you heard that name at least - nods once to acknowledge your arrival as soon as the first person steps in, then minds his own business until Faria approaches and drops the rat-tooth pieces on the counter. Setting down the glass and dishrag he reaches downwards and grabs a tankard before leaning over to one of the few looming casks behind him, pouring a mug and sliding it over in her direction.

Without skipping a beat he takes the copper and sets it aside before grabbing a room key with the same sweeping motion, setting it on the counter with a clack in front of Geyser as he stepped forward. "Seven rat-tooths," he says clipped, holding his hand out expectantly. While he waits he glances at the rest of the group, seeming to ask without words if they wanted anything as well.
 
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Geyser raises an eyebrow as the innkeeper Arik asks for...rat teeth? He tries to get a glimpse of the money that Faria had slid across the bar but it was quickly swept up before he could tell what she paid with. "Umm, I'm sorry I haven't encountered any rats recently so I'm fresh out of rat teeth. How much would a room be in, say, silver?" And Geyser reaches into his bag and pulls out a couple of silver pieces to show to Arik. Geyser, being very tired, manages a smile as he does this, assuming this must be some kind of prank or joke of some sort. He looks around the room to see if anyone else is looking at him expecting a punch line of some sort, but only notices the gypsy woman with the books. With a shrug Geyser turns back to the innkeeper and looks at him expectantly.
 
Faria looks over to Geyser for a moment at his confusion. She had been right, these people were definitely from far away. "Rat-teeth are made of copper, Raven-Claws are made of Silver and if you're on the wealthier side of things Wolf-fangs are made of gold," says Faria as she finishes her drink. She had gotten the drink more to observe the people as they went about their business, and she noted how they almost immediately dispersed with one another dispelling some of the thoughts she had of them being perhaps a tightly knit group. The elf remained in the corner and the human lady had stepped outside. She gave brief thought to that wondering if she had indeed went for a walk around town to learn the streets, or if there was an ulterior motive.

Setting her cup down she gave Geyser one last look giving a brief thought to why the man looked damp since he hadn't exactly rained recently. "See you around Arik," says Faria waving towards the man without looking, knowing the reply would be minimal. She headed out the door taking a moment to take in the fresh night air, and then headed down the south street that she had said went to the Burgomeister's house. Faria walked down the center of the street until she came to a particular house, and opened the door entering it.

There was darkness within the first floor of the house, and as her dark eyes began to adjust to the lack of light she brought her hood down off her head. She examined her surroundings to see if the young mage had been practicing her art more, and if it looked more controlled than last time she had entered. Last time she had come she had tripped the alarm with another friend coming along. Her eyes adjusted to the dark she moved forward towards the stairs to head up to the second story where Lexi had picked out room for her bedroom and had been reading the books left behind by the family that once lived here. Moving up to the room she knocked twice before opening the door to enter the room.
 
As the group carries on chatting about inns, noblemen, foreign lands and everything else, Jonathan is found walking after them at his own solid pace. Nodding a few times when certain questions and answers came up, staying mostly quiet. Though when Lucan introduces Jonathan to Faria, he lifts his hand slightly to indicate his presence. "That's me."

When they arrive at the village, Jonathan looks around curiously. "Real quiet in here, quite the change of pace from the Gate. Not that I don't mind some silence, but this takes the cake." Shrugging off his slight discomfort as the group moves towards the Inn. He considers getting himself a drink while the opportunity is present, but sees Geyser have difficulty with the currency in this village. Considering it not being worth the effort at the moment, Jonathan sighs as he walks over to Lucan and takes place on a stool nearby.

Leaning on the table with his elbow, he briefly glances around the bar, noting Reyeara's absence before looking back at Lucan who's currently cupping his hands in what seems to be a long sneeze. When he eventually sneezes, Jonathan gives him a small smirk before speaking up. "Bless you." Looking over the inn from his bar stool, he sees Faria walk out of the inn. Wrapping his arms over eachother, he wiggles back and forth on his chair as if he's waiting for something to happen.
 
After his sneeze, Lucan nods to Jon, "Thanks." He tries to hide his smirk, knowing that the brawler was obviously onto him. Lucan watched as the strange elf finished her drink and left the inn. He turns to Jon, "I could... use some fresh air. Make sure the others don't get swindled, mugged, or murdered for me?" He waited a moment before following her out, pulling a dagger from his belt as he stood, just in case she'd decided to catch him outside the door.

Outside the inn, Lucan was pleased to find that there was not a woman ready to capture or kill him. With a light sigh he looked around, spying her headed south. He sheathed his dagger and points to Reyeara in the alleyway. "Away we go. Once we know which place, I'll check the back and you wait out front." He skulked off down the street after his mark. He kept to the darker patches near the buildings off to the side of the street attempting not to attract too much attention, however with Reyeara tailing him, he opted not to dip into any alleyways where he might be entirely out of sight.

As Faria entered the building, Lucan picked up the pace, worried she might bolt through to loose a tail, as he would. He circled around the back of the house, spying a door in the overgrown garden. Cautiously he approached and tried the door. Unlocked. What is this, amateur hour? You could be a better criminal on accident. Lucan placed his copper wire in his pocket and retrieved a small wooden whistle. Clentching it between his teeth and with a hand on the hilt of his rapier, he opened the door...
 
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Blood of the Vine Inn:

Taking a few seconds to process what Geyser had said, Arik reaches over and plucks a silver piece out of his hand and holds it over the lamplight. "About the same size," he seems to note, setting it aside and then mechanically sliding a stack of three copper pieces back over to Geyser. If he inspects them more closely he'd notice that they look a bit different from his own currency: they're shaped a bit more crudely, stamped on one side with the rough silhouette of a man's head and the other with a triangular tooth shape.

The woman over in the corner glances up questioningly as Faria leaves and Lucan and Reyeara trail off afterwards, then turns to the rest of the group and raises an eyebrow. "Well I don't recognize the lot of you and it seems your guide has left, so did you plan on staying or buying a drink or something? I'd rather not have any loiterers staying around without paying." She fiddles with a quill between her fingers as she waits for a response.


Small House:

The house appears to mostly be in the same state as the last time Faria visited. One half of the main room is fairly clean and clear though with a faint layer of dust settling in at this point, while the rest has scattered belongings and objects strewn about like one would imagine in an abandoned house. To one side a round side table has been dragged across the floor and pushed up against one of the walls, with a few misshapen rings drawn on it in charcoal like an archery target. There's a few singe marks on the table, but many many more around it.

Another side of the wall appears to be covered in scribbled charcoal scratches, vaguely resembling arcane formulas of some sort, and there's some basic alchemy workings scattered across a larger dining table. A decent amount of the stock of dried food in the kitchen has been eaten, and it smells a bit nicer at least now that the dead and decomposing stuff has been thrown out just outside the backdoor towards the garden.

As Faria creeps up the creaking stairs, about to open Lexi's door, she's suddenly greeting by the all-too-familiar sound of a blaring, beeping alarm sounding out through the halls and echoing into the quiet streets of the village.
 
BEEP BEEP BEEP!

A small, pale skinned, robed figure flailed as she tumbled out of bed, bumping her head with a thud. Dazed for a moment, she rubbed her head, checking to make sure that the small ram's horns poking through her ivory white hair. She quickly scrambled to her feet, hastily grabbing a small pouch from under her bed before looking around the room, her faintly glowing green eyes scanning the area fearfully. Mittens! Where are you? A long furry black form emerged from the girl's hood, and draped itself over her shoulder, chittering softly to her. She nodded, seemingly to herself, before digging into the pouch in her hands and pulling out a small vial, gripping it tightly in her hands as she carefully approached the door, taking a moment before swinging it open to see... "Faria? Holy Hala, you scared the crap out of me! What's wrong, does one of your friends need help?" Lexi smiled to her friend, her grip on the vial relaxing as she returned it to her pouch.
 
Lucan sighs, removing his whistle from his mouth and placing it in his pouch. He takes his copper out of his pocket and places it in his mouth, tucking it between his gum and cheek with his tongue. The pointed ends dig into the tender flesh of his mouth. With one hand he removed his rapier from its sheath and tossed it on the ground in front of him. The other pointed toward the front of the house and Reyeara, "I fucking hate magic. Hold tight kid, I might talk it down. If you hear screams kick in the door." He placed his hands behind his head lacing his fingers together and dropped to his knees, waiting for someone to find him.
 
Faria looked back down the way he came and shook her head. Of course the nosy outsiders probably followed her here. She reaches up to pull her hood back on and thinks for a moment but decides to be on the safe side. "I might have brought unwelcome company. Sorry about that. Met some people on the road and showed them to town, and apparently they are a bit nosy. Not quiet sure I trust them," says Faria in a hushed tone before she takes out a light crossbow out from behind her cloak and walks over to the edge of the stairs and sits down with it on her lap. Speaking with her voice to project it downstairs she speaks. "Might as well come on out."
 
Following at a distance, Reyeara tracked Lucan through town, trying to keep her steps as reasonable as she could without making too much noise. Eventually she saw him dip around behind a house and placed herself near the front door -- quietly drawing one of her rapiers in case it was needed. Not seeing any windows on the first floor, but one along the top, she pressed herself against the wall, not long after she heard a loud blaring of an Alarm and Lucan's voice in her ear.

Though she knew he couldn't see it, she still gave a quick nod, "Ready and waiting." Through the door she heard the muffled voice of the woman from earlier, unsure if she was talking to Reyeara or calling out Lucan.
 
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