Hack & Slash Em IC

[Izaka Sazaka]

Izaka's lips immediately broke into a smile upon hearing news of a reward. Clearly he was motivated by no baser an instinct than greed, which was basically fine with him. The only things he required in life were challenges, most often brought on by travel or adventure, foes to do battle with, so that he would have a source of food once they were dead, and a steady supply of gold with which to maintain and purchase new equipment.

Pausing for a moment to note first the picture of the missing children, then the indicating finger of the rather strange, almost synthetic looking creature which he took to be one of his new traveling companions, the halfling declared suddenly his intentions. "Well, since we're all hear for the same reason, it seems rather prudent to form a team, at least until this endeavour is over and done with." Motioning with his off hand, he waved it forward, indicating the location outlined by the grey synthetic. "This seems as good a place to start; are there any objections?"

[DangerClose]

As Sera was listening to the various members of the group speak, she noticed a strange grey creature among the group..... And it appeared to be staring at her! A few words from the other elf penetrated the confusion caused by the creature and made her focus once more on the conversation. A small human child was missing, she noted. This is an intriguing development. My poster only said that there was a goblin problem. I suppose it was outdated. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the creature was still looking at her. The elf cocked her head to the side and flashed a quizzical look at it. A few moments after, the female knight whispered something to it and the grey thing turned its head and pointed to a map someone had unrolled onto the table. It was pointing to a rock formation outside the village. Sera had seen it when she entered the village, but she could not guess why it was pointing there.

As quickly as that thought entered her head, it was made clear. Goblins had been sighted there. Just then, another man, one with a mop of black hair on his head, suggested that they should all form a group. I suppose it is a good idea. There's strength in numbers, and it'll be good to have some companions. She opened her mouth to voice her opinion on the matter but quickly thought better of it and shut it again. Half-content to watch, follow, and listen.

[jimi]

Finishing his spiced potatoes, Cael takes the last gulp of his ale and rises from his chair, "Please, excuse me for a moment." He departs from the group and cautiously approaches the old drunkard huddled in the corner of the tavern. The man, slumped over the table in a drunken stupor and mumbling to himself, fails to notice the elf's presence at first. Cael politely interjects, "Jowns?" The old man grumbles and makes a feeble attempt to lift his head while Cael studies his features. Jowns could pass for about 60 in human years. His skin is wrinkled and weathered. Long strands of gray and white hair hug the sides of his thin face. A scraggly gray beard covers his chin. "Whaddaya want?" he growls through his random bits of mumbling. "I was wondering if you could tell me about the hobgoblins kidnapping children," Cael responds. The old drunkard manages to lift his head. His eyes are dark and empty. Cael struggles to maintain contact. "It's gonna cost ya," the man says with a burp. Cael covers his nose as the smell of stale alcohol and rotten breath waft through the air. "Whatever you want."

+++++

The red-haired barmaid approaches the two men huddled in the corner and sets down a tankard full of ale. "Here you go," she says kindly. Cael slips another gold coin into her apron pocket, "Thank you ma'am." She smiles and departs back to the kitchen.
Jowns takes a swig from the tankard and sets it down with a thud as he lets out a series of burps. "Whaddaya wanna know?" he grumbles. Cael covers his nose again as the smell of rotten breath wafts through the air. "Where did you see them at?" Jowns struggles through his drunken haze to remember, "A small clearing up in th' mountains to th' east. I r'member...a rock up there, shaped like a dragon claw."
Cael retrieves a rolled-up piece of parchment and unravels it onto the table to reveal a map of the landscape. "Can you show me exactly where?" Jowns studies the map as he continues to struggle with his memory. "Why do I gotta answer all these questions? I jus' wanna sleep." Cael responds with a slightly irritated tone, "Just point to where you saw them." With a bony old finger, Jowns points to a specific area on the map, "Right there." Cael shifts his gaze to the spot on the map. "You're sure?" Jowns nods, "One hundred percent." The elf continues, "How many of them were there?" Jowns counts with his gnarled fingertips, "Ten of 'em. Big fellers too. I wouldn't go messin' with 'em." Cael interjects, "What were they up to?" The old man lets out another burp, contaminating the air with his rotten breath, "I think they were gettin' ready to head north 'er s'methin'. Had a bandwagon and ev'rything." The elf nods in understanding. "Thank you," he says. "No probl'm," Jowns responds as he slumps forward and face plants onto the wooden table.

[Knighthawk]

Alabaster waited and watched. Observing the flow of everyone and everything before acting. When the male man in green cloak stepped away from the table, he took his vacant seat and presented his own notification, as if that alone would be reason enough.
"Alabaster of Kron, fighters guild member of good standing."
He was suddenly struck by something odd, did that gray one have a wound in its chest? It didn't seem to bleed, was it a construct of some sort? He got back down and circled around to get a better look at the being.

[Miss Nikki]

Cambria stared at the map where the finger was pointed. She brought her own finger down circling the area between them and dragons claw. "What about all this? What creature infested this area? Also is the terrain fit for horses? I would also rather not walk into any possible ambushes." She brought her arms up folding them under her chest.

Her eyes went to every person at the table then to the elf with the green cloak. "I would suggest we take the rest of the day to get supplies rest and then set out first thing in the morning. Can we all agree to that? Ah by the way everyone I am Cambria Paladin of Ilosh."

[Izaka Sazaka]

With a sly grin, the obsidian eyes of Izaka dashed about the table. Finally, they could get introductions out of the way; a forked tongue escaping the confines of his lips form but the briefest of moments, the wanderer made his acquaintanceship with all due haste. "Izaka Sazaka, warrior and novice magician, at your service~" Sweeping his right hand against his waist, he made a sort of half-mocking bow from his seated position, obviously enjoying the fact that he was being rather over dramatic.

[Cerius]

Lyra stood from her table, highly interested in the discussion that had been going on at the gathering. She had been craving some sort of action since she had come here, along with the chance to maybe acquire some valuable loot, or otherwise, cause some sort of havoc in the countryside. That was her forte, and she wouldn't think twice about taking such an oppurtunity. She stood dignantly, and walked over to the crowded table. The large, grey humanoid, the man with black, long hair, the large barbarian, a dwarf with an extravagant beard, the elf woman with coppery hair, and the armoured woman, they were present. Lyra tossed her head a little to reveal a little more of her mostly hidden right eye, the cold blue iris did not even gleam in the warm tavern light, and spoke. "Excuse me, gents and ladies, and pardon me for overhearing. I'm not sure if this expedition of yours has anything to do with me, but I am interested in what it entails," Lyra clasped her hands behind her back. "I would like to come. Do a girl a favour and let me tag along, eh? I'm quite a hotshot with my blades." Lyra was confident in her abilities. Indeed, her skills in swordplay were very remarkable, and that coupled with the fact her enchanted blades caused severe frostbite at the site of the wounds they inflicted; it was quite a deadly combo. A village at the base of the Northwall mountains was witness to this, where Lyra single-handedly (or double-handedly, counting both weapons she carried.) defeated and butchered two, fully armoured, veteran warriors in hand-to-hand combat.

Lyra was ambitious, although, she had the feeling, strange as it was, that she too was involved in this parade somehow.

[Lucius Cypher]

The grey creature looked to the Paladin, who named herself Cambria. This reminded the grey creature of the name his creator gave to him after he had showed to his creator of the soul gem; Veritas. The grey creature thought that name was somewhat strange to him, what with it's meaning and the fact that it was a female name. But a name was but a name, and the grey creature may respond to it, but had no particular care for it. But for conveniences sake, from here on out the grey creature will be refereed to as Veritas. So Veritas looked to Cambria as she inquired about the layout of the location he had pointed out. He only remembered minor details about the location, such that it was located near a road in the mountains, where bandits had made camp. It would be possible to reach the Dragon's Claw by horse, but traveling beyond the road to it might prove difficult. He also thought about the various threats around the area. With a sharp talon, he etched a crude drawing of a hobgoblin's head. He would also had told them about the bandits, but he already drove them off. Aside from that, he didn't know about any other threats in the area, aside from probably wild animals.

After silently telling Cambria what he knew, he looked to some of the other members of the group. One had introduced himself as Izaka Sazaka, who labeled himself a warrior and magician. The woman who sat away from the group also came nearer, offering her services. She had a cold glare of a remorseless murderer in her eyes, making Veritas initially distrustful of her. It was one thing for him to work with someone who liked to fight; that was just a personal preference. She had the eyes that made him think that she actually just wanted to kill something; be it the hobgoblins or them. That was dangerous. Still, it wouldn't be fair for him to judge her simply by her appearance. Her actions will determine her worthiness. He let his arms hang by his said as he looked around him. Once again, when his eyes laid on the elfish woman's hair, he just kept staring.

[Syd]

"Well, it seems like we've got quite the group here." Turgon interrupted. "I suppose while we're making our introductions its best that you know me as well." His gruff voice standing out from the soft murmur of the others. "The names Turgon, Turgon the Mighty they called me in my village. Sword for hire and all round bad bastard." He took a seat and smiled at them, looking at the Cambria in particular. "My methods might be a bit unsavoury but just a warning, if I'm in a fight best try not interfere. I get a bit carried away..." He trailed off for a second while the others looked at him and butted in again "Horses wont do us any good. It'll be harder for us to get the drop on them, especially with how many people we have at the moment. Best to wait for that man talking to the drunkard to come back so we have a better idea of what we're getting into. He seems to be the one pulling the strings here" he intoned, nodding his head in Cael's direction.

[jimi]

Cael returns to the group, his rolled-up map in hand, as he overhears everyone piecing together a plan and giving introductions. "Yes, tomorrow morning would be best," he interjects in reply to Cambria. "According to the old man," the elf motions to the old drunkard in the corner, "the hobgoblins seem to be getting ready to depart within the next couple of days. We don't want to fall too far behind." His gaze shifts across the group of adventurers. "But we need to be fully rested and prepared before trekking into those hills."
The elf finishes with his own introduction to the group, "Cael," he says with a polite bow of the head, "Cael Windstrong of Silvaethien."