Shoe Thief

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

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Kathryn Pyke Human, Fighter (Rune Knight), Level 05 HP: 49 / 49 Armor Class: 19 Conditions: N/A Location: Avonshire Action: N/A Bonus Action: N/A Reaction: N/A

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The worst was finally over. Cavendish was defeated, and his goons scattered to the wind. His patron had backed off for the time being, and the party was finally allowed to breath. Though the battle was a disorganized mess at points the party came together and saved the day. The rest of the morning was a blur for Kathryn. She spent a lot of the morning getting herself cleaned up, and keeping the answers to those who asked her questions vague. She gave a wave to the silver smith Jacques Mallard as he moved on to take care of his family. She gave him a friendly smile and wave as he left. She found it funny how their relationship started at the tip of a crossbow bolt, where she became the tart that stole his ring, to now rather solid allies. He had given them tools to help fend off the monsters, and they had been able to finish the job. And finally given the town a little hope to get through the night. Robert still had a ways to go before things would improve for him. Kathryn wouldn't pry him on it. But she hoped the man would finally get the break he needed soon enough.

Kathryn would find herself in the public house a lot over the coming days. Firstly, to check on Robert as he worked through his problems. But as a whole, he still seemed a bit closed off. Sheriff Gregory had also arrived with some reinforcements. Granted, Kathryn had hoped for more. But maybe that was all they had to spare. The region didn't seem like it needed a huge military presence to maintain peace, or conquer lands. That is when they were all gifted their rewards. Apart of Kathryn wanted to refuse it. She hated accepting gifts from people who needed help. Even if they were rewards for her work. Then she saw the set of chain mail and held it up in front of herself. There were more pieces to it, but the main coat was something that excited Kathryn in ways she didn't expect. At a quick glance, it was clean, well maintained, well made, and most of it, it looked like it would fit. And fit comfortably at that. The set she wore now was also older, but it had also likely passed through a dozen other owners before it got to her. It was battered, beaten, chipped and patched in countless areas, and far from fit comfortably on her person. Though it did protect her enough to prevent normally fatal blows from being as such. What made things even better, she didn't watch the previous owner get brutally killed in it before she had to wear it herself. She fell in love with the new armor instantly. "Thank you." She would mutter to the Sheriff as she collected herself, and set the armor so the side to change into it once the meeting was over.

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As things began returning to normal, or as normal as they could after such events take place, Kathryn attempted to make the most of her time in town. She would continue to work on her physical training to help keep herself at her peak potential. At one point tying ropes around a bunch of hay bales in the barn, working on dead lifting them, and adding more to lift via rope over the rafters. As she found the tasks easier than they were a couple months ago, she hoped that meant she was getting stronger. At one point she had laden the party's new wagon with as many heavy objects and any volunteers who wanted a ride and would begin to regularly pull that across town in an attempt to find a more physically demanding workout routine. Strength training aside, Kathryn would take time to enjoy herself too. Enjoying the various meat products, games, and avoiding questions about what had gone on inside the municipal building when people approached her on it. Though some games she would get banned from due to most being designed for people of smaller stature, and who had more average physical strength, Kathryn still had a fun time.

At one point while going about she crossed a jewelry stand made of mostly things imported from up river! Working quickly to finish her current turkey leg she began to ogle over the shiny materials when she noticed a rather ornate pair of rings. A set of rings clearly meant to be worn by a pair of people. "Got someone special you're looking for?" The kind jeweler asked while Kathryn eyed the rings. "Yeah, I have this friend who has really helped me be more... Well she's... It's hard to explain." Kathryn said sheepishly. Struggling to describe the friendship she had with Kosara. "She makes me feel more... Like I can be myself ya know?" The jeweler clearly seeing a chance for a good sale pressed on. "Oh is that right? How long have you been with this lucky lady?" Kathryn picked up the rings and looked them over. No way in hell these would be cheap. But!! She thought it would be a great way to really kick off the friendship she had going with Kosara. Kathryn didn't really have a lot of friends when she left home. Just Ser Lucas, and people she worked with. So she wanted more than anything to keep this friendship going strong. "About a week or so. But I have such a good feeling on her ya know?" Kathryn said giddy as a child. The jeweler clearly had thoughts on the matter according to their flabbergasted face. But as he likely wanted to keep the sale, nothing came out of his agape mouth. "How much for the rings?" Kathryn asked as if she were a giddy school girl preparing for a date. "Uh... Three gold... each." Kathryn was a bit startled at the cost, but the rings were rather fancy, pretty, and she was sure Kosara would love to enjoy this matching set with her. Fishing out six gold from her pouch, she handed it over to the jeweler hoping she wasn't getting ripped off. And hoped she would be able to make some of that money back soon enough... She would be given a box for the rings, and move on her marry day to explore more of the festival.

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Kathryn enjoyed her breakfast beer with her new found friends when V had walked in. Kathryn stood up to meet her new bard friend and gave her papers a good once over as she talked about them. What really got Kathryn going, is she was familiar with the writings. "You said the goblins had this?" She asked, mild concern in her voice as she spoke and looked over the papers V had brought to the public house. Kathryn did role her eyes at the part giant comment. "My dude, that was a joke. I was honestly surprised anyone took that seriously when I said it." Kathryn chuckled surprised that the joke was still being brought up. But as she read it... "Huh... I don't know about Giant speak. But the untranslated words are oddly close to an old tongue popular with the mountain clans of Arconaple. You can still find traces of it in their villages and keeps. My uncle had a ton of that sort of thing back home. It's... definitely familiar..." Kathryn eyed the paper closely, and debated about filling in a lot of potential pieces of her training. Though, now she was regretting not studying the old tongues more when she had the chance.

She wouldn't sleep much that night. Attempting to write down whatever she could remember of her rune training and her speech lessons on the old tongue she could remember. Though if memory served she wouldn't need to vocalize commands once she had things down. By morning, she looked like she had slept maybe 2 hours, held a whole kettle filled with hot tea, and held a plank of wood with the crudest looking runes carved into them. Collecting anyone from the party she could, and any passerby who may wanna see what cool tricks she was about to pull off, she would attempt to show off just how great this form of alternate magic would be!

Had it worked. As she began her trick, she spoke a string of vocal commands, and the crudely carved runes on the plank began to glow. Flickering as if they were a candle threatening to burn out before it could really kick off. Kathryn instantly began looking woozy, but the effects were immediately visible. First only a couple inches, then soon enough a whole foot. The half giant of a woman would grow to a height of nearly 9 feet by the time the rune burnt out, explosively cracked the board, and shrinking Kathryn close back to her normal height. Not before last nights dinner, beer, and breakfast came back up. Glowing as if it were still possessed by what was left of the rune's magic. "I'm gonna... I'm gonna go back to bed..." She would mutter before stumbling back into the barn, limping as if she had just suffered some sort of grave wound. The glow from the contents she left behind soon fading away as well.

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When she woke, Kathryn decided she needed answers. Firstly, she needed to know why the runes didn't work. Was it her craftsmanship? Her skill with the runes? Their summoning? Maybe she wasn't properly trained with it yet? She would need to practice more to know for sure. One thing for sure was, that was a miserable experience, leaving her so unwell she felt like she was fighting off the worst hangover of her life. Annoyingly ontop of that, she was pretty sure she was taller than she was before trying out the runic magic. Like any sane person who just had their body violently reject a magical injection, the first thing Kathryn did when she was dressed and cleaned up was prepare to travel. Not to the vineyard yet. No, she wanted answers. Kathryn now dressed in the armor given to her by Gregory, and the hammer she got from Cavendish, she returned to the goblin attack site. Now it had been cleared of goblins, corpses, and much of anything else she left behind. She needed to know where the creatures had gotten such notes. And if they had more. Maybe whoever supplied them had known more about this? When Kathryn remembered they had found something akin to a deer trail leading away from the camp, and she was determined to find it again. But when she looked now, she couldn't find it again. "Fuck me life." She uttered. So they may never get more information on the goblins, or who had sent them here. Apart of her was still convinced of that. That someone had wanted the party to face off against the goblins. And that Mr. L'rose just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Even with Marita's reassurances, she couldn't help but wonder about them. Shame none of the goblins could tell them more on who hired them, and how the hell they got Runes from the old tongue of Arcanaple all the way out here in Avonshire. Ideal as far from Arcanaple one could get while still being attached to civilization.

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In the remaining days before leaving for the vineyard Kathryn would wrap up some smaller loose ends. Practice with the runes more, make herself sick at least once more, enjoy some more festivals, spend time with her new drinking buddies and giving them all a good farewell before preparing to leave herself. She would wish Marita a good fair well before heading out. Thank Sheriff Gregory again for the armor she now wore proudly, and let him know to reach out if ever he needed assistance again. Not looking for another chance to earn more coin, but to genuinely try and assist the good people here in such uncertain times.

Kathryn would help load any party supplies that no individual had claimed into the wagon. Things including short bows, spare daggers and short swords, and some food stocks that they may have had left over. As well as any packs the party didn't want to carry. Kathryn did eventually end up with the whip the constable recently possessed in her pack. Not open or at the ready, but close enough that if she wanted too she could look it over some more. Still working on strength training, she would keep her pack well loaded up. Not that it was heavy enough to actually weigh her down. But she thought it was the idea that counted.

Walking on foot besides the wagons, helping them navigate for the road as needed, and in one case helping them pull out of mud tracks. "Southmoor. Interesting name for a town." she spoke up as the party and wagons passed the road sign. At that moment! She remembered the rings in her pouch! Making sure to return the wave to the fisher as they passed, Kathryn ran over to find Kosara. Her poor friend seemed to have been struggling a bit since... well... everything. But the constable's patron really seemed to push her over an edge of some kind. Kathryn hoped she could help, but she worried the most she could do would be to just let her friend know she would be there for her should she need or want the help.

Kathryn found Kosara 'lazying' in a wagon, snapping head around in almost paranoid and nervous manner every now and then as if hearing or seeing things at the edge of her vision and her attempts to write in her journal turning in a lot more jagged lines than her usual writing style _{(Thanks Riv for the description)}. "Hey Kosara." Kathryn spoke calmly with the biggest smile she could muster. "I got something for ya, thought it would be really cool to get us something cool like this." Kathryn said excitedly, trying to approach without spooking her friend. Then! handing her the box with the ring in it. A giddy smile across her face as she did so, and also reached into her pocket to pull out a matching box.

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

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Kathryn Pyke Human, Battle Master, Level 03 HP: 15 / 31 Armor Class: 19 Conditions: N/A Location: Town Square --> Municipal building Action: Regretful Corpse Looting Bonus Action: N/A Reaction: N/A

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Kosara's ignorance of her own breakdown was concerning to say the least. She worried about her good friend, and worried what would happen to her should she keep having these breakdowns. She was clearly not doing well, and Kathryn hoped to help her friend. But she was unsure how to. Was Kosara's behavior a result of trying to keep a positive tone when things were not well? She wished she know, or understood these sorts of topics more. "Kosara..." She hesitated, and eventually dropped it. "I uh... Nevermind." That seemed to work best for now. Kathryn was in no position to help her friend other than be available to her. Plus, she seemed rather amused with the... Evil and cursed artifact that Cavendish had in his possession before being turned into the pile of cloth and bone bits. Thankfully, Kosara was a lot more on top of the fire situation than Kathryn was. Using a magical booming voice to call out for aid and help with the fire. And to Kathryn's surprise, many showed up to their aid. Many armed with whatever could be mustered up. She saw spears, mallets, knives and an assortment of tools. Not soldiers, nor guards, nor a fire brigade. Just people who wanted to see their home make it to daylight hours. Kathryn turned to the rest of the party as they discussed the plan. "Marita's right. We need answers, and we still need the fire brigade. Too many of the guards got away. If we wait, they could destroy what leads and information we may still have to discover." The ability to disengage was also appealing. Kathryn was in rough shape, but there were those in the party in far worse shape. Kosara and Blackberry were near death more time than her liking would allow. Victoria was far from a front line fighter and had taken some blows already. Marita was hard to gauge, but she seemed like if she was struggling she wouldn't let it show for as long as possible.

"We're on the final leg of this people." Kathryn called out, looking a bit worse for wear herself. Blood soaked through several points between the rusted links of her armor, bits have been chipped away from blunt force and sharp blades. And what felt like a potential bruise on her face from where the constable attempted to take a cheap shot on her, but her helm deflected the blow well enough. "We're going inside to find answers, and to find the fire brigade. The rat man have been defeated. Those not killed running as far as they can from here. We will be back as quick as we can." Kathryn wondered how many realized that those beasts used to be their friends and neighbors. Kathryn wondered just how bad the damage would be. How many wererats there were, and just how many people have gone missing. She hoped they would find them.

Kathryn turned to the remains of the constable. He had now been picked rather clean by the party, but she wasn't here for loot. She wanted to make their mission go as smoothly as possible. She had no idea what to expect once inside, but she figured it was a safe bet that the constable had some keys. She figured it was an even safer bet to assume he had all the keys, or some sort of master key to the building. She found the key ring fast enough. Six comparable keys, that to her best knowledge, were definitely keys. She hoped these were all they needed to get about. It would seem odd if the constable locked himself out of places to his own building. Then again, he clearly wasn't thinking in the best of ways leading up to his demise. Then that is when she started to get sick with herself. Much of her gear was run down, ruined, and the best gear she owned she had pulled off corpses. It wasn't so bad when it was just a nice blade or some coin here or there, but when she had to start wearing armor from those killed in rather gruesome fashion, the idea of looting a body had left a sour taste in her mouth. But Ser Lucas and herself could never afford anything that would fit her. So when she saw the dagger, her first thought was how pretty it was. Blades and weapons were like Jewlery to Kathryn. The really nice ones held her attention, and she wanted it. It even came with a nice sheath. She slowly pulled the dagger and sheath doing her best to ignore the remains of the constable, having a look of either panic, or trying to resist puking, before getting the sheath and Dagger out and tossing it into her bag. Letting out a deep breath she was glad it was over. In another comparable series of events, the belt that could comfortably hold the hammer also looked nice. And also soon found a place in Kathryn's bag.

Then she caught it. The pouch of gold. Her eyes widened, and she opened it to see what had to be roughly 50 gold. This was more than Ser Lucas's entire savings. Between that, and what she had on her person, she may be able to properly replace her gear. Her armor at least! She could finally have a nice set of armor that was hers and hers alone. No corpse thoughts, something she felt not only protected in but safe! She wanted badly to keep it to herself. It could solve so many of her problems having this sort of money. But then she thought of the other party members. How much they have fought, how much this fight had quest had cost them, and how many of their own problems could be addressed with this sort of money. No... she couldn't keep it to herself. Even if she really wanted too. She prepared to stand, before taking note of the constable's badge. Her face soured as she looked at it, took it, and threw it across the town square. "Bastard." She mumbled to the remains of the corpse as she held the gold in one hand and turned. "Blackberry, there's a sheath for that blade. May come in handy for ya." Kathryn said trying to get her mind off of just rifling through a corpse for loot.

Kathryn walked up to Marita. She seemed rather responsible herself, and seemed like an honest woman. Even if a bit blunt at times. She seemed like the best person to give this task. "Marita, I have a favor to ask." She gave the Cleric the bag of gold, not wanting to hold onto it for herself. In big part, for her shame in wanting to keep it for herself. "The constable had this on him. I think we need to talk about what we're going to do with it. But I don't think now is the time. But I think you're the most qualified to hold onto it until the time is right." Kathryn didn't risk saying it out loud what the contents of the bag were. Though she held respect for her party members, some were louder than others, and others were a bit more self serving than others. Now was not the time to talk gold. Once the Cleric took the gold, Kathryn would wait and listen if she had more to add or ask, otherwise, Kathryn would make her way to the gate.

Reattaching her helm to her head, and attaching her shield to her arm, she walked past the hammer she set down and strode towards the gate. Her posture was relaxed, though much of it was keeping limber, ready to react should the need arise. Kosara was in the lead a bit more than Kathryn would have liked, but the tiefling could take care of herself rather well. The place looked almost... abandoned. That was somehow more unsettling than anything Kathryn expected to find. The only signs of life being a pair of horses that Kathryn took note to stop and take care of on the way back out. Right now, they needed to get inside. Though she felt pity for the poor beasts. Stepping into the open doors, the glow of the hammer lit up the room just enough to see. She wondered what she could do in this situation should she not have the hammer. A torch maybe? Always an option. But she'd have to forgo a weapon, or her shield. The hammer that she now cared for would server her well. Inside was worse, but closer to what she expected. The place looked like it had been ravaged by wild animals. Doors and furniture destroyed, was this all those two beasts they fought? She feared what else may be present here. And to her surprise, nothing but rats. Maybe this all was finally over?

The smell stuck out the most. She wished she could do something about it, but with how much of a challenge it could be to breath with a steel helmet on, it was rather hard to block airflow even more to lessen a smell. As Kathryn walked through the armory to look about, she saw the leather armor, and did briefly think of taking it. It would be cheaper to replace, and she wasn't bad with fighting with lighter weapons. But she wasn't that good either. What did catch her attention, was the crossbow sitting off to the side. She opted for it, being much more comfortable looting from an armory than a corpse, and decided she was carrying a lot. And when she had the chance, she would reorganize her gear some, and likely offer off the crossbow to someone else int he party should they be better suited for it. The more she thought on it, the more she realized that maybe she wasn't the best pick for it. But like the gold, this could be brought up later. With a quiver of bolts on her back with the cross bow, she set off for the back.

The horrors that set upon her made her want to heave and hurl. She had to agree with Kosara, the best thing they could do would be to burn this place down. She may have had a point on getting experts, but Kathryn was beginning to regret not going with the plan from earlier in the day, and just burning this place to the ground. She dropped the shield to the ground, and put the hammer back on her belt. Her steps were full of intent and purpose as she stepped towards the third table. The table with the third and she hoped final beast. The incomplete pile of parts. She wasn't sure if it was a need to make sure the incomplete beast could never rise, or to make sure it was infact not alive, but as she pulled the newly acquired crossbow off of her back and loaded a bolt into it, she stepped within ten feet of the creature, and fired a single bolt into the side of it's rat beast head. Nothing happened. She set the crossbow onto her back, and walked back over to her shield. In this moment of shock, she was unsure just how successful they actually were. She just hoped that it was over.

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

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Kathryn Pyke Human, Battle Master, Level 03 HP: 15 / 31 Armor Class: 19 Conditions: N/A Location: Town Square Action: Investigation Check Bonus Action: N/A Reaction: N/A

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They all seemed to be trying to process what happened in their own ways. Some did so by passing over the remains of the constable for loot, others by trying to take control of the situation. There was still caution, the other guards were still about. Blackberry had asked if she was okay, Kathryn took a moment to catch her breath before answering. Trying to figure out where she had seen the beast before. Parts were... uncomfortably familiar. "I'll... I'll be okay. I don't suppose you can place where these two came from?" She asked before looking over to the second one, burning to a crisp. "Well... this one at least." This was a moment she really wished her mentor was present. He had life experience that she simply lacked. Maybe he could figure this out faster than herself? Maybe he wouldn't have let things get as bad as they went. Less casualties, better focus, and maybe he would have confronted the constable sooner. Before he could enact his plans. Would he have avoided Cavendish when he casually threatened them? Or taken him up on his offer to face him out of sight. Could he have won? There was no way to tell. But now, she was here, and both Ser Lucas and Cavendish were dead.

Marita had brought up organizing people into a fire brigade. There was solid reasoning there. Though the fire wasn't spreading yet, there was no promise things would stay that way. Checking on Cecily was also a good idea. After the night the party has had, they needed to make sure everything and everyone that was left was holding up okay. Kathryn pulled the strange looking stone from her belt pouch and held it up. "We could let Mallard know things are better. That Cavendish is dead, and his goons have fled. And that a fire brigade needs to be organized. I think we have other things we should be focused on." She turned back to the municipal building. She hoped it had answers. Maybe that is where the guards fled too? Maybe that is where the rest of the missing people are? She didn't know for sure. But it seemed to be Cavendish's place of operation. So it was worth checking out. "I don't think this is over just yet. But I think we're getting close." She tried to say confidently. But the longer this went on, the more she felt out of her league. She held few skills outside of her ability to fight, and to muscle through situations. She was gaining experience here, but Cavendish was clearly a few tiers above her. She'd need to improve herself.

In that moment, dots began to connect. She looked down at the partially burned remains of one of the beasts. She paused as all of the dominoes began to fall into place, the clues beginning to make sense. She recognized scars of workers of those who do hard labor. Tools, supplies, trade skills, the whole thing seemed odd. But it wasn't until she saw the marking on the forearm that pieces began to really sink in. "Uafás na n-ifreann thíos." She mumbled in her clan's old tongue. She didn't remember the exact translation, but she remembered it being associated with atrocities, abominations, and horrors that should never be brought to light.

"They're people..." She followed up with after taking a moment to catch her breath. "They are made from pieces of... people." She was reminded of the screams at the beginning of the night, and wondered if these were those attacked. And why no more were needed. She wondered just how many people these creatures were made from. She turned back to the constable's remains, and decided the fate he got was not harsh enough. And he would never have to face those he betrayed with his merciful death. She was angry, disgusted, and wondered what could turn a person into something so evil. She realized, they still had time to figure that out. She figured there was more than just corruption from the patron that spoke to the party. What drove this man of the law to do such vile things.

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

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Kathryn Pyke Human, Battle Master, Level 03 HP: 15 / 31 Armor Class: 19 Conditions: N/A Location: Town Square Action: N/A Bonus Action: N/A Reaction: N/A

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To Kathryn's surprise, the net had actually worked. She had full intentions of taking advantage of the constables restrained state. Hoping to unleash heavy punishment to the constable, she began to draw her new hammer. It was hard to think of it as hers, but she was now responsible for making sure it was no longer used for malicious purposes. So she figured that made it hers. By the time the shaft had cleared her belt, the deed had been done by the party's Cleric. Cavendish found himself choking at the party's hand and powerless to stop it. Marita had taken a magical spiritual blade, and had opened up the constable like a piece of meat. Kathryn watched. Not in horror, nor with sympathy or malice. This was not the justice she had in mind for the constable, but with his evil deeds, it was still justice. She did wonder how the Sheriff would take the party killing his cousin. And, this would likely be the end of the biggest problems this quiet little town would face. "Conniving Bastard." Kathryn mumbled as he choked.

She almost regretted opening her mouth not long after. When the voice spoke, Kathryn froze. She felt small in her ill fitting armor, as if she was shrinking, and the weight of all of the metal threatened to crush her. There was no outward Malice, but the tone held a sort of... undertone to it. As if every word was a threat and promise. As if saying, you do not want me as your enemy. You do not want me to show what I do to people who are not my friends. Kathryn had seen some pretty gruesome events. The razing of her home ranking high up there. But even the cruel fate that many in her family keep saw failed to compare to what she saw now. The way Cavendish seemed to rot away before their eyes, experiencing all of it. What she was witnessing, was a fate that seemed far worse than death. The way his flesh melted from his bones, eroded to dust, and broke down to be one with the dirt between the stones.

Then... The offer came. A potential arrangement. There was nothing such a creature of evil could offer Kathryn that she couldn't either get herself, or would be worth siding with something so... Vile. The thought of Cavendish passing through her mind. His corruption to the monster he became. She would never want to live a life such as that. That would be too much for her. But... she still found herself listening. Listening to the words this being spoke. She couldn't get them out of her head. She wasn't weak willed?! And she wasn't desperate for anything! She hoped... There were... temptations though. The way it brought up Ser Lucas. And those who had stabbed her and her family in the back. Last time they came... She had a fortress, knights, veterans of a hundred battles to protect her. Magic far past her comprehension even. She had her parents who spent their lives to buy her time to flee. Her uncle who fought to fend off those who would pillage her home. She had Ser Lucas, and the other veterans of many wars by her side. And Ser Lucas, being by her side until mere weeks ago. Fallen only to time itself. There were those from the Codswealth family who could care less of her state. And others who would gladly take her head. Some for petty revenge, others to make sure there was no contesting the ownership of her family lands. She remembered the mercenaries Ser Lucas had fought. One of them being the previous owner of the armor she wore now shy of her old colors. The ill fitting, body filled husk of metal. One of the few things that make her feel safe, and sick at the same time. She was still scared. Not as much as she used to be, but the thoughts lingered. It had been nearly two years since any sign of tracking had been seen. And so much distance was covered. But two years was nothing compared to the time she had fled. And the distance was nothing compared to how far she had come. What could this vile creature offer that had any chance to improve her situation, or to lessen her fear? She had almost responded such a question, when she noticed Kosara.

She was on the ground, scared. Kathryn moved to assist her friend, but found herself unsure what to do. What terrified her even more... Was how quickly the tiefling bounced back. As if nothing seemed to have happened. It made Kathryn worry about how much Kosara was pushing down. "Are you okay Kosara? That looked... upsetting." She took a moment to pause, and looked at the rest of the party with a worrying gaze. One thankfully not visible through the visor of her helm. She rested the hammer on the ground, shaft up, blunt end resting comfortably on the stone. She unstrapped her shield, and attached it to her belt. And began work on her helm. The dented, scratched, and beaten mess of steel putting up a fight again. But it was off before too long. She looked at the rest of the party, now wonder on her face. They had banded together, rather messily, and defeated the evil over the town. But there were still questions to be answered. Some old, some only coming to light in the last few moments. She wondered how many others considered this power. How many thought that their abilities were not up to the par they needed them to be. How many of them were considering that extra kick to get what they wanted. And in that curiosity, there was concern. Firstly, becyause she worried who would take that offer. And secondly, because she was considering it. A chance to hurt the Codswealth's like they hurt her. For stealing her home, taking her family away from her. For refusing her a life outside of that of fear, and worry. Everything had been taken from her, except an old man who had spent his dying years trying to hold out a little bit longer in a slim hope to prepare her for the real world. With no hope to ever return home. Let alone restore her family name.

"I think we need to take a moment, an enjoy this victory." She spoke softly to the party. "Even if things are a bit... weird. This is a good win. Afterwards, we should sit down and talk over a few things." She needed to know where the party stood on the patron. She needed to know what they meant by those deep words. The ones that cut into her, like how they likely cut into the other members. And they needed to figure out the last few puzzle pieces to this mystery. There were still missing people. There were still the goblins. Even if they were only a minor piece. There was what Cavendish said about the beasts. Kathryn turned to the closest one, the one Cavendish had stabbed and killed. She was trying to figure out what the constable meant by the creature being familiar. She took a couple steps, her steel clad feet landing on the ground with thoughtful intent. As she stepped closer, she couldn't place it. She couldn't put her thumb on it. She looked down on the burning husk, and couldn't place what the constable meant. Was it some sort of mind fuck he had presented to the party as a distraction? With her hands free, she grabbed an arm from the beast with both of hers, and began to drag it out of the inferno. She had to drop it a couple times to avoid getting burned herself. "Including these." Kathryn said with a strained voice with a final tug, pulling the creature free of the flame. And jumping back to avoid the loose burning tar like substance that aimed to catch her feet.

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

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Kathryn Pyke Human, Battle Master, Level 03 HP: 15 / 31 Armor Class: 19 Conditions: N/A Location: A11 Action: Super Net Bonus Action: N/A Reaction: N/A

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Kathryn was used to taking punishment to some degree or another. That didn't change the fact that getting stabbed hurt like hell! Though she had been distracted on the constables comment. "I am going to pry you open." She figured that was a comment regarding her armor, and she also figured she had a pretty solid chance of not letting that happen. Kathryn opened her mouth to reply. "You should at least buy a lady dinner before making such Bold comments to her." She retorted to the constable. He couldn't see it, but she grinned at her own joke, that was until he made his move. She attempted to block with her shield, and found that his blade had already passed it before she could properly deflect it. In it went, and quickly back out. "Shite Fucking Bitch Fucker!" Kathryn blurted out as she and the constable separated again. Sure, she could take a punishment, but she had been caught off guard. And she had been struck with a wicked looking blade. It wasn't a pretty wound, but she hoped it wasn't too bad. With the shock quickly passed Kathryn moved to quickly block his following attacks. Blow after blow, he struck with such speed as if he was going for the finishing blow and the kill right in this moment. She felt the blade press against her armor the second attack, but she was pretty sure it didn't pierce. She hoped it didn't...

The blow that struck her helm spooked her. But between the helm that protected her head, and just her arms being longer, the blow could do little more than scratch an already dented and scratched helmet. She had been forced to back peddle, and she was beginning to regret putting away the hammer. But she was committed now. The clunk against her shield was a relief. Sure, good armor made everything nice. But an armor was still attached to ones person, and all it needed was a gap, or a weak point to fail. A shield could take punishment with far less risk to the user. But now, she had a window to attack. Now she had a window to strike back! She briefly debated grabbing the hammer again, striking him down and keeping him down. Though he was a better swordsmen, and he was far faster than she was. She needed to stay committed to her plan, and hoped it paid off. She took a step back as the rats began to swarm the constable. No... not rats. Rat corpses. She shivered at the thought, but she let them do their work. She pulled the net died down to her back, releasing the pull string and letting it go free.

Swinging the net above her head she gave it a few twists, building momentum as the rats kept the constable busy. Blackberry making sure to get his fair share of hits in himself, Cavendish had to drop any moment now... Right? She hoped. She hadn't taken note of the crossbow users in a hot moment. But she hoped that they would back off until the fight was over. Maybe even outright surrender! But she couldn't plan for that. She let loose of the net, letting it fly a few feet in front of her onto the constable. With the weights on the end spinning it and wrapping the constable into a nice and rather uncomfortable looking bundle of ropes. With the weight and force she put behind her throw, Cavendish had been pulled off balance, and sent face first into the cobblestone roadway. Now was her chance! "He's down! Get him!" She would be lying if she said she wasn't looking forward to giving back some of the punishment he had given out.

@Sigil Cavendish may attempt his net check now. Or anything else should he choose to do so.

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

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Kathryn Pyke Human, Battle Master, Level 03 HP: 21 / 31 Armor Class: 19 Conditions: N/A Location: C11 --> A11 Action: Whack a Law Bonus Action: N/A Reaction: N/A

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That Bastard. That fucking Bastard. Kathryn was going to make him regret that choice. He had a short window of opportunity to dish out punishment to Kathryn before she was in striking range of the bastard. AND! He went and targeted Victoria! Even when she was trying to get shot Victoria took the hit instead! She hoped the bard was okay... She really did. But she needed to pull Cavendish's attention off the small woman. The Thwack of a crossbow bolt could be heard. It appeared that maybe Kathryn's attempts to isolate Cavendish were not as successful as she hoped. She hoped that her luck would improve with experience. She saw it was Kosara who got hit this time. She had already taken such a beating and she worried about her too. She worried that the party didn't have the ability to take punishment as much as she hoped. The beasts had already dished out more than a fair share of punishment to much of the party. And Cavendish's and the guard's skirmishing abilities were going to be a problem.

Kathryn was surprised to see the flaming pole fly past her and into the constable. The party may be taking a beating, but Cavendish wouldn't be able to take much more either. But he was still putting up too much resistance. Kathryn, doing what she did best, was determined to cave his chain mail into his chest, knock him flat on his back, and make him yield, or send him into the dirt. Through rats both dead and alive she stormed up to him, hammer drawn, and out stretched as she prepared to strike him down. With a wide swing she gave it all she had, and had she taken a moment to calm down and take more control of her situation, she may have made her ploy less obvious. As the hammer was about ready to strike, his short blade came up to meet her. Parrying the blunt weapon, and for a brief moment, holding more control over it than she did. Though she didn't let go, the hammer was almost gracefully forced to bypass the constable. Kathryn regained her footing and made sure her visor was locked to his face. She had to remind herself that Cavendish was not only well trained, but he held experience that she likely could never comprehend. This would not be as easy as inverting what direction a goblins face is supposed to be pointing.

Deciding that maybe direct hits against the man may not work, she figured control was her best option. With her shield strapped too tightly to quickly remove, she stowed her new hammer on her belt and reached her arm behind her back for one of the nets she had purchased the day before. But she kept her shield facing the constable as she prepared her next stage of attack.

@Sigil Cavendish is up! May his dice rolls be comparable to ours. And may his go drop faster than ours…

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

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Kathryn Pyke Human, Battle Master, Level 03 HP: 21 / 31 Armor Class: 19 Conditions: N/A Location: E13 --> C11 Action: Contested strength Check against Rats Bonus Action: N/A Reaction: N/A

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Kathryn wouldn't say she disliked rats in particular before the events of this quest. Sure, rats tore into pantries, and bold rats would steal from any fool not paying attention to their belongings, but as this quest went on, she was developing a distaste for the creatures for sure. She caught Cavendish complaining about something, reminded her of villain monologues from her old storybooks. She wasn't here to feed his ego though, she was here to save people. As he sword and broke out, Kathryn heard the ticking and scratching before she felt it. Taking a moment to bend over and look down, a feat of its own with how her helm rested on her head, she couldn't believe her eyes at first. Then it clicked as the rats began to tear at her through the gaps in her armor. "No! Shite Shite Shite fucking Shiteheads! Fucking shite fuck shite fuck." Kathryn wouldn't say she was panicking, but she wasn't far off. She didn't know if it was the feeling of something breaching her armor, or the fact that is was something so small and that she would normally consider inconsequential. But she was spooked none the less. In a moment of clarity, she realized that maybe trying to whack the creatures off herself with the hammer was a poor idea.

Taking her shield, she pressed it to her chest before forcefully sliding the shield down her person, forcing off the rodents and sending them to the ground. She needed another push or two to make sure they got off her legs, but seemed to have cleared them up rather fast before too much damage could be done. Once she cleared herself of the infestation, she prepared to give the cage another blow, only to stop when the distorted sound had come about. It sounded like the world was falling apart, ready to collapse and cave in on itself. Magic was truly an impressive feat, but it was also a terrifying one. Kathryn taking a moment to look about, she saw the carnage caused, and almost wanted to pity the former constable. Almost. Taking note of Victoria being exposed again, she realized that they were very close to a recreation of the goblin encounter. Only this time it was a crazed power hungry warlock. With trained knowledge of how to kill.

Kathryn deciding the best course of action was to prevent just that, she kicked off a rat still clinging to her boot and pushed her way tot he constable to apply pressure against him. Practically bouncing off the tree next to her as she moved around the barrels, and stomped through the piles of rats both living and dead to bring herself closer. If he wanted to dish out a blow, he would be hard pressed to get a shot off around the half giant warrior. And a damn fool. The distance was nearly closed, and given the chance, she would begin to pound into him as if he were some sort of carnival game. She hoped his ability with a short sword was less than that of the blast he gave Kosara... She also found, her boot was back ontop of more rats. A thought that very much did not please her. But she made sure to lock eyes with Cavendish, and make sure he knew wish wish was granted, and he had her full attention.

@Sigil Kathryn is all good to go! No problems whatsoever! Setting up for a perfectly safe turn! Cavendish may cower in fear now. c:

Call of Cthulhu - Talbott's Investigators of Mysteries Enlightened

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Margarete O'Bryon

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Location: Dodge Brothers' office, Gamwell Massachusetts.
Hit Points: 13 Sanity Points: 46 Luck: 75
Mental State: Sane
Skill:

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The heavy footfalls that could be heard as Margarete stepped into the office could be mistaken for heavy combat boots to an untrained ear. In actuality, they were a nice, well built, durable, and very solid dress flats. Her determined stepped and her shear size had put a lot of force into each and every step. Each step more sure of itself than the last. Stepping into the office, it was much what one could expect from Lawyers. It was organized. Enough so at least. There were things that could have been done better, but nothing her eyes had locked onto. But she was on guard. When she had stepped out of her vehicle she had taken note of who she presumed were the Dodge brothers looking down on her. Three of them. She couldn't read their facial expressions from this distance. But she also knew that they were here to get the same job done. Though, she feared ulterior motives. Though without any reasonable suspicion she would not need to go at this like they were at ends. But she needed to keep enough control of the situation so that way anyone thinking of trying anything would think twice about it. She did debate taking her grandfather's service revolver with her. But she also worried that would send the wrong message. She wanted to be imposing, not intimidating. She was here as an intellectual, not a hired gun. So she'd leave the .45 in the glovebox. She supposed if worse came to worse, there was always the brass knuckles that sat in her purse.

Stepping up the stairs made a comparable sound. The heavy footfalls approaching closer and closer to the office as she stepped forward. Stepping into the office, she realized that trying to be imposing without intimidating would be a challenge. Not because there were three of them making it harder, but because they came across as rather timid. She'd need to be careful. But much like herself, they were apart of the intellectual community. Even if Lawyers were... well Lawyers. As Margarete stepped forward to the desk, the brother in the middle had offered his hand to shake. This was already going poorly. She had no idea where this man's hand had been, but there was no one else to shake it. She could reject the gesture. Ignoring how rude such a reply would be it came with other complications. These men came across as men who would buckle the moment she gave a stern tone towards them. She needed to keep things as professional and as civil as possible. That would mean sucking up her pride and touching whatever this man had touched since he last washed his hands. She hoped to god this town had running water.

Margarete reached out with her own hands, hiding her reservations and giving a firm handshake before speaking. "Gentlemen.". She spoke in a deep and professional tone. Then she quickly withdrew her hand to straiten her blouse. As well as to subtly rub her hand against her it. She really hoped this town had running water, she would need to do laundry while she was here. She sat in her chair and listened closely as the brothers explained their situation. Making sure to not interrupt, or to miss too many notes. She was far from the best listener though. She had near crippling focusing problems growing up, problems her parents had aggressively hammered out of her with the help of various education systems. But remnants still stayed.

As she listened, she took note of Walter seeming to imply she was little more than a tool to be guided. Her smile grew at the comments. She wouldn't mention it though. Maybe he didn't mean it that way? Maybe he actually thought of her that way. It didn't matter. Margarete showing her disdain wouldn't help anyone. Her forced smile would hide that well enough. The job seemed pretty strait forward, but as a whole there was so much still unknown. But that is where the big dollars came in. And if she was lucky, answers. And though she was by far not the smartest lass of the bunch, she had a decent skill for asking questions and collecting information. Even if she couldn't always utilize it. Margarete leaned in on her seat as Walter finished talking. Her emotionless scared face locking onto his almost as if she was a haunting dream. When he did finish speaking she eventually leaned back, seemed to mentally pause a moment as she pondered the situation, the questions asked and the offers given.

The imposing force of a woman stood, walked to a bookshelf along the side of the room, and swiped her finger across it, pulling off the dust with a hint of annoyance. "I'll make this work. But you will need to meet all of my requests. Any that fall short will hinder the investigation." She turned back to the brothers, standing tall and proud with her arms behind her back as she spoke. "The very first thing I will need are two lists of Mr. Cornthwaite's financial dealings for the last six weeks. One list for anything $50 or more, and the other for everything else." She figured the big ticket items would draw be the biggest hints, but she didn't want to leave anything to chance. "I will want to know what the transaction was for, when it happened, who was getting paid, the more details the better. If you don't know, mark it so. Unknown is still important information." Margarete began pacing across the office, as if walking helped her focus on her thought process, and helped keep her thinker working up to par. As she walked and talked, one of her hands would break free from her grasp behind her back, and seem to go about in front of her and move as she spoke. As if guiding her words as she spoke. "As well gentlemen. I will need a record of all known locations for the last month. Days and dates would be best, but if you are unsure, mark it so."

Margarete paused mid stride, her train of thought stumped. She began to look frustrated as she attempted to regain some semblance of a thought process, soon taking a deep breath, and began a mental recap of the points she covered. She took another breath and continued pacing. "We will need keys, and a list of all known valuables in the house. If something is missing, or is present we were unaware of, it could be a clue to his location or his thought process before he went missing. As well, any locked doors we should have access too. If we have unobstructed access, I would like to know if we should be concerned finding a room we don't have access towards." She paused, remembering the firearms she kept in the car, and remembered how jumpy she would get after she came home from the war. "Does Mr. Cornthwaite keep any firearms in his home? I'd like to know if there is a risk of getting shot by a man who thought he was hiding if he gets found in some sort of half hidden room." She had gotten better. She still slept with a loaded gun by her side, but she was nowhere near as jumpy as she was when she got home. If this whole thing turned out to be some rich asshole who got spooked into hiding in his basement, Margarete would be thoroughly pissed. She'd still get paid, but she wouldn't get any answers. And crazy loons with guns were very low on her priority list to meet.

Margarete took another look around the room before looking at the brothers again. "And if I were in your shoes, I would hire a maid. This place needs to be touched up. These are no conditions for a professional environment." Her tone was serious, but apart of it almost seemed like a desperate plea. "How soon can you get everything I requested? I shall be meeting with the others soon enough." She could have let them think she was the only one, but alas, apart of her enjoyed keeping and air of mystery about her person.

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

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Kathryn Pyke Human, Battle Master, Level 03 HP: 27 / 31 Armor Class: 22 Conditions: N/A Location: F11 -->E13 Action: Attack action against Right most Cage Bonus Action: N/A Reaction: N/A

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"KOSARA!" Kathryn would call out seeing her friend getting blasted. The blow looked bad, very bad. One that would outright kill many. The quick glance that Kathryn got, the blow looked near lethal on its own. To Kathryn's relieved surprise, Kosara began healing up rather fast. Magic? Must have been. How else would one recover from such grievous woulds so rapidly?! She took note to see what she could learn of magic. But even as Kosara healed, Kathryn saw a rage within the small tiefling that spooked her as well. She hoped Cavendish knew just how much trouble he was in. Though thinking of it, maybe better he didn't. Kathryn really didn't want to give chase if she didn't have too. Once her thoughts cleared of the danger present, Kathryn took a split second to look about. Marita and Blackberry were working on dismantling one cage with those trapped inside. She pondered if she should help there, but the two of them likely had that in hand. Looking behind her she noticed the second cage. They had made some progress with the short sword they had been given, but they still had a ways to go. Kathryn hoped that getting the hostages out would maybe make it harder for Cavendish to cause as much damage as he could. If Cavendish wanted to land blows, he would need to do so in self defense.

Kathryn made a beeline for the right most cage. Through her battered and beaten helm Kathryn's voice was muffled by steel as she spoke. "Nice ta see ya again Daisy. Now, stand back." She gave a glance to everyone else in the cage as well. "The rest of you lot as well! Step back!" Kathryn tried to put her step behind her blow as she whacked the hammer into the bars. There was an audible crack, and she she could see the bar visibly splinter as she withdrew the blunt weapon. "Fuck." Kathryn mumbled. Albeit, sharply. It was rare anything not made of metal didn't just bend or break to her will, and when she really needed it to for once it failed to do so. She turned to keep an eye on Cavendish, only to see him fighting his own rats?! Then upon a closer look, saw that they weren't his own. They were the ones that had been squashed, burned, and otherwise had faced rather gruesome deaths. Her first thought was Victoria, and taking a glance back to her, she saw that was very much true.

It took Kathryn a moment to completely process that the necromancer she had met who had a walking undead pig with her could reanimate the dead. In that moment, she felt like a fool for not putting that together sooner. "Oi! Victoria, can ya please clear a path to the Bastard? Or just keep him pinned?" Kathryn said in her most polite tone. As least as polite as one could muster in the heat of the moment while their head was encased in steel. She also had no idea what the extent of the abilities their lovely bard had. Seeing how Cavendish was reacting though? She hoped that the former constable wouldn't be able to do to much more damage before Kathryn got a go at him.

@Sigil OKAY! Got some Kathryn stuff's in, time for our lovely Constable to return the favor!

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

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Kathryn Pyke Human, Battle Master, Level 03 HP: 27 / 31 Armor Class: 22 Conditions: N/A Location: G11 --{Swapped with Victoria}--> F11 Action: Bait and Switch/Attack Action X2 Bonus Action: N/A Reaction: N/A

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The moment the beast lashed out at Victoria Kathryn was reminded of the battle with the goblins. This thing however, would hit considerably harder. She saw Marita already taking place to block the path as Cavendish had ordered the beast to take revenge against the princess. Kathryn once again, found herself sidelined while several other party members found themselves in the line of fire. This would not do, this would not do at all. Though she appreciated the thought from Marita, Kathryn needed to make sure that they didn't take too much more of a beating. And she hoped that the beast would have a considerably harder time dishing out punishment to her than the others. Kathryn was already in action by the time the beast had finished its second strike against Victoria, and was determined to give the beast as much of a punishment as she could muster.

Kosara being the amazing tiefling she was made sure to remind Cavendish that this was not a fight he would be able to sit out until he was ready. Making sure to continuously pound him with magical blasts. She knew there were other things going on in the battle, such as Cavendish killing his own beast, and Blackberry backing off a bit to give a helping hand to those trapped within the cage still. Though she couldn't afford to pass more than a glance to him, she was glad to see him getting a moment to not be beaten into a pulp. She wondered how he had taking such a beating, and wondered if monks were able to take punishment far better than she thought? But again, these were background thoughts as Kathryn slid into place in front of Victoria.

Kathryn's hammer had been placed in front of Victoria as Kathryn's shield took the lead, the hammer gently nudging Victoria into safety behind the half giant fighter as if a concerned parent was directing their child away from the stranger who may have had ill intention. As the shield was brought close to the beast Kathryn's stance in a smooth transition that would take less than a second in real time would switch from a run into a stance that would plant her boots firmly into the stonework as the once gentle hammer that had guided Victoria to safety behind her had begun to speed up in the other direction, giving a wide arc off to Kathryn's side as Marita finished dishing out her share of punishment. And with a fleshy crunch sound Kathryn's hammer made contact with the beast's head causing a violent jerk, and causing the beast to finally stumble. One step, two steps, and a third to correct itself. Then as it fell to its knees, otherwise just as motionless as it had been after every other blow it had taken. The party would have been able to have a great look at the back of the beast's head now that it's orientation had changed, and Cavendish would be able to should he have chosen so be able to look once final time into the beast's eyes as it's massive form fell over between the party, and this town's villain.

Kathryn was speechless. The last of the beasts were dead, and the goons were nowhere to be see. Kathryn felt like forever had passed since she stopped looking at the now dead monster, and her head had quickly turned. The visor of the dented, scratched, and blood stained helm locking with Cavendish in a flash of a moment. In reality, between the killing blow, the beast falling, and Kathryn locking eyes with the former constable, barely a few seconds have passed. Kathryn had no offer of surrender this time. She had given the man three chances now. And the third, he had elected to target the locals. He made his views clear on how much he valued his life, and if he wanted to live to see a trial, that would have to be his choice. Kathryn had given him plenty of chances to back down before things escalated. And she hoped the rest of the party felt the same way. Kathryn returned to her fighting stance, shield up, hammer ready to swing.

@Sigil Ready for our next challenger!! Unless Cavendish is out of cards.