Master CrimAfter the last dragonclaw fell, Parum felt a bit sick to her stomach. She thought she'd be used to killing now, but somehow the sight of that man taking his own life, just to spite them, dishearten her. Somehow, she wished that they were facing weaker-willed foes; where a show of might and utter determination would be enough to send these ruffians running. But a cult... They were mad, deranged people who would stop at nothing until success or death. This sort of fanaticism scared her. But Parum had to remain strong. As scared as she was she had to continue onward. She can't hope for some other adventurer or hero to arrive to replace her if she falters. Too bad for her.
As the group continued onward Parum looked at the party again. Torus, while still confusing with his cryptic ramblings, was starting to make sense to Parum. Or perhaps Parum was just understanding him in ways beyond words. It was hard to describe; it was like she simply had a feeling. Kyra seemed... Still bloodthirsty, but in control. Parum thinks that perhaps now that Kyra had a chance to kill a few of their numbers, she's slowly getting over her madness. Orchid was still Orchid. Somehow that comforted the halfling; as simple as he was Orchid was reliable and consistent. Brannor was the one that Parum had the most questions about. Initially she simply thought of him as a rugged human warrior, a paladin of nature, but now he's revealed to be much more. Of course she knew about his bestial side but at the time she first saw it, she simply thought it was his paladin magic playing tricks on her and Cyanwrath. But now she knew for certain; Brannor was a skinwalker, a shifter, some sort of werebeast. She wasn't sure how to feel about that. Part of her was scared; though she knew better than to believe in children's tales, could Brannor control his beast of his? What if he only took up his oath as a means to control the monster inside? Was he born or created like this? And where exactly does his alliance lie? Is he truly a warrior of the Pale Lady, or is he simply clutching to her as a means to maintain his own control?
Parum wasn't sure how to ask these questions without offending. When they returned to Greenest she wanted to find some time to talk to Brannor alone, but the moment she got a chance to rest she did so without hesitation, and didn't wake up until a few hours later when she was hungry. By now Greenest, while not fully recovered, was being restored. Guards remaining vigilante while the dead were cleaned up and removed. People went back home to try and recover what little was left. Return to a normal life. It just made Parum remember why she was doing this in the first place; not just for the honor and glory of fighting a greater evil. Because for every great evil there was thousands of small, nameless victims like those in Greenest who go unheard, unremembered, because of a cruel tyrants greed. Parum did not want to be the person to forget them, to be blinded by her own pride or fear and think that the only person who has anything to loose was Parum herself.
It was still dark when Parum awoke. After she had eaten a light meal, she tried to go back to bed but was restless. She couldn't seem to find the lack of energy to sleep. So she simply wandered around the keep for a bit, careful not to make too much noise but at the same time make just enough so people wouldn't be surprised seeing her. Last thing she needed was to spook a guard and have him accidentally attack her. Even so, Parum couldn't help but wonder what would happen if she were more stealthy. Plenty of halflings in tales of adventure were known rogues and sneaks. They were cunning even when they were bombastic; the key to their success was knowing when to be subtle and when to be loud. And even for a bard, a occupation known for their flamboyant personalities, they too must have a certain subtly. So Parum started to walk more quietly, until eventually her footsteps just seemed completely silent. "Yes, just like that. Learn how to vanish until it's time for your roll to be played."
Soon Parum found herself on the castle battlements. She looked up into the night sky, remember that terrifying sight; the sight of that blue dragon. Just remembering it made Parum fall to her knees in a cold sweat. How is it that she could stare down gory death, lie in the face of warlords in their own camp, and even choose to fight a dragon god, and yet simply seeing that blue dragon who didn't even seem to want to attack this castle could frighten her so much? Slowly she stood up and found herself gripping her viol. Music always calmed her soul. And so Parum put the instrument to her shoulder and braced with her chin as she drew her sword, playing a song to soothe her spirits.
And at some point Parum found herself asleep on these ramparts. Someone must have stopped by and given her a blanket as well, as she was wrapped in a thick wool sheet. By now the sun was up and Parum was feeling more energetic than usual. While her thoughts from before still lingered, she was easily able to distract herself from those things when a guardsman approached her, telling her that the governor wishes to see her and the others. They were to go to the main gate; Parum could see it easily from where she was at, and so she would follow the guard to the main gate where she reunited with the others as well as the governor. There she heard his speech calling the group heroes; something that made the halfling rather bashful. She didn't really consider anything she did heroic; she got scared and threw around some spells. She didn't even remember if she fought or killed anyone personally. Even her plans, as much as she tried to do everything right, ultimately ended up failing in some way. At least they managed to get Leosin.
Not only did the group receive the governor's praise, but also payment; 200 gold in total. Divided up among the five of them, each would receive 40 coins each. Frankly it seemed rather.... Underwhelming considering everything they just went through. But Parum couldn't fault them. They were just raided of all their riches. If anything the gesture itself was more than enough; they were at least being recognized and the people of Greenest were trying to scrape together some reward for them. So Parum wasn't going to complain. But as much as Parum wished this would be the end of it, one of the monks approached the group and asked for them to see Leosin. Parum gulped; Leosin had intentionally let himself be captured so he could spy on the cult. Despite all of the damage it did to his body, he was still willing to go through with it, even potentially to the death, just to gather information. Parum had no regrets saving him, but now that he was alive he needed to tell the party what he knew; Parum doubts Leosin is in any shape to be doing espionage work himself even if he wanted to. In order to prevent him from needlessly getting himself into danger or worse, killed, they would need to see him and work with the information he knew.
"Alright than. Let's go see Leosin. Hopefully he's feeling better now."
As the group continued onward Parum looked at the party again. Torus, while still confusing with his cryptic ramblings, was starting to make sense to Parum. Or perhaps Parum was just understanding him in ways beyond words. It was hard to describe; it was like she simply had a feeling. Kyra seemed... Still bloodthirsty, but in control. Parum thinks that perhaps now that Kyra had a chance to kill a few of their numbers, she's slowly getting over her madness. Orchid was still Orchid. Somehow that comforted the halfling; as simple as he was Orchid was reliable and consistent. Brannor was the one that Parum had the most questions about. Initially she simply thought of him as a rugged human warrior, a paladin of nature, but now he's revealed to be much more. Of course she knew about his bestial side but at the time she first saw it, she simply thought it was his paladin magic playing tricks on her and Cyanwrath. But now she knew for certain; Brannor was a skinwalker, a shifter, some sort of werebeast. She wasn't sure how to feel about that. Part of her was scared; though she knew better than to believe in children's tales, could Brannor control his beast of his? What if he only took up his oath as a means to control the monster inside? Was he born or created like this? And where exactly does his alliance lie? Is he truly a warrior of the Pale Lady, or is he simply clutching to her as a means to maintain his own control?
Parum wasn't sure how to ask these questions without offending. When they returned to Greenest she wanted to find some time to talk to Brannor alone, but the moment she got a chance to rest she did so without hesitation, and didn't wake up until a few hours later when she was hungry. By now Greenest, while not fully recovered, was being restored. Guards remaining vigilante while the dead were cleaned up and removed. People went back home to try and recover what little was left. Return to a normal life. It just made Parum remember why she was doing this in the first place; not just for the honor and glory of fighting a greater evil. Because for every great evil there was thousands of small, nameless victims like those in Greenest who go unheard, unremembered, because of a cruel tyrants greed. Parum did not want to be the person to forget them, to be blinded by her own pride or fear and think that the only person who has anything to loose was Parum herself.
It was still dark when Parum awoke. After she had eaten a light meal, she tried to go back to bed but was restless. She couldn't seem to find the lack of energy to sleep. So she simply wandered around the keep for a bit, careful not to make too much noise but at the same time make just enough so people wouldn't be surprised seeing her. Last thing she needed was to spook a guard and have him accidentally attack her. Even so, Parum couldn't help but wonder what would happen if she were more stealthy. Plenty of halflings in tales of adventure were known rogues and sneaks. They were cunning even when they were bombastic; the key to their success was knowing when to be subtle and when to be loud. And even for a bard, a occupation known for their flamboyant personalities, they too must have a certain subtly. So Parum started to walk more quietly, until eventually her footsteps just seemed completely silent. "Yes, just like that. Learn how to vanish until it's time for your roll to be played."
Soon Parum found herself on the castle battlements. She looked up into the night sky, remember that terrifying sight; the sight of that blue dragon. Just remembering it made Parum fall to her knees in a cold sweat. How is it that she could stare down gory death, lie in the face of warlords in their own camp, and even choose to fight a dragon god, and yet simply seeing that blue dragon who didn't even seem to want to attack this castle could frighten her so much? Slowly she stood up and found herself gripping her viol. Music always calmed her soul. And so Parum put the instrument to her shoulder and braced with her chin as she drew her sword, playing a song to soothe her spirits.
And at some point Parum found herself asleep on these ramparts. Someone must have stopped by and given her a blanket as well, as she was wrapped in a thick wool sheet. By now the sun was up and Parum was feeling more energetic than usual. While her thoughts from before still lingered, she was easily able to distract herself from those things when a guardsman approached her, telling her that the governor wishes to see her and the others. They were to go to the main gate; Parum could see it easily from where she was at, and so she would follow the guard to the main gate where she reunited with the others as well as the governor. There she heard his speech calling the group heroes; something that made the halfling rather bashful. She didn't really consider anything she did heroic; she got scared and threw around some spells. She didn't even remember if she fought or killed anyone personally. Even her plans, as much as she tried to do everything right, ultimately ended up failing in some way. At least they managed to get Leosin.
Not only did the group receive the governor's praise, but also payment; 200 gold in total. Divided up among the five of them, each would receive 40 coins each. Frankly it seemed rather.... Underwhelming considering everything they just went through. But Parum couldn't fault them. They were just raided of all their riches. If anything the gesture itself was more than enough; they were at least being recognized and the people of Greenest were trying to scrape together some reward for them. So Parum wasn't going to complain. But as much as Parum wished this would be the end of it, one of the monks approached the group and asked for them to see Leosin. Parum gulped; Leosin had intentionally let himself be captured so he could spy on the cult. Despite all of the damage it did to his body, he was still willing to go through with it, even potentially to the death, just to gather information. Parum had no regrets saving him, but now that he was alive he needed to tell the party what he knew; Parum doubts Leosin is in any shape to be doing espionage work himself even if he wanted to. In order to prevent him from needlessly getting himself into danger or worse, killed, they would need to see him and work with the information he knew.
"Alright than. Let's go see Leosin. Hopefully he's feeling better now."