Sigil

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

@GingerBoi123

Please feel free to read the rules and guidelines at the top of the OOC and fill out a character sheet at your convenience, maybe familiarize yourself with the IC so far. That being said, I cannot guarantee a storyline appropriate opening immediately, and there is one person in consideration before you. So... yes and no.

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

@Dragoknighte@rivaan@Remipa Awesome@Sigil@Lurking Krog

Well hello there, Theydies and Gentlethems! (I got heat for stuff last time I attempted inclusivity, so bite me) Update is updated. You will notice that it's a little light. This is for a good reason - there aren't a whole lot of NPCs with which one may interact, nor has the setting altered from previous updates. As per usual, if you have any questions, considerations, or wish to make a roll, let me know in the Discord.

Also, if you're going to be changing your character's location, same deal. I live to serve. Or at least describe. Huzzah!

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

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Weather: Almost freezing, but not quite.

Time: Quite late.

Ambience: The fog is still present, still limiting visibility as only a cold night next to a body of water following a mild day can. The almost-full moon diffused through it as best it could, but this is more of a suggestion of a pleasant moonlit night suitable for a stroll rather than the genuine article. The streets are dark and quiet. If one listens carefully, one might hear the muffled sounds of a local fellow scream-vomiting into a storm drain intake along the main thoroughfare. Good news, though! Someone appears to be checking on the guy, with the very clear phrasing of, "Mornin'! Nice day for fishin', ain't it? Huah huh!"

Neil & Bob's Public House

Curly gave a slightly unfocused look at his shiny new pity ale, gave a shrug, and horked it back like a seasoned professional drinker. A beer was a beer, and this was one was delivered directly in front of him. Having been bested twice by a woman didn't seem to bother him as it might other burly, masculine types. oh sure, it might have bothered him. But hey, BEER.

Lawrence and Maurice finished up their drinks in short order, paid their bill with swaying postures, belying their levels of intoxication, and staggered toward the door. The errant shout declaring the great time they had could be understood, as well as a promise to do some more partying later on with their new friend(s). But for now, it was time to go. Maurice gave a long, squinty look at the unconscious man near the door, stating, "Hey, I know this arsehat! Lives just up the way. C'mon fellas, let's drag him home."

Be it not the most comfortable method of transportation, he was moving nonetheless.

Robert was done with the evening. His voice sounded once more as he locked the booze away behind the bar, "It's time. Unless you have a bed here, GET OUT." It wasn't delivered with any particular venom, just a no-nonsense cadence loud enough to be heard by the few people which remained. The party comprised about half of those people, looking around. Steadily, feet shuffled out and away, giving their gratitudes and goodbyes where necessary. Lamps and candles, most of which were not needed now that things were closing down, were snuffed one by one as Daisy and Lea went about their work. A streak of vomit still lay by the door; nothing that a mop and bucket wouldn't make short work of.

On the outside of the Public House, things were quite settled aside from the last few people getting back home. The Hayloft stood quietly, diagonally and across the street from the Pub with its doors closed. For just a moment, a flicker of warm, orange light could be seen from a crack along the shutter of the loft's second floor, promptly righted by the shutter softly closing all the way from the inside. Across from this was the stable, quiet and shut down in the manner of an almost purely day-operating business.

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

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Victoria Belmont Half-Elf, Bard, Level 3 HP: 23 / 23 Armor Class: 15 Conditions: N/A Location: Neil & Bob's Public House -> Exiting Action: N/A Bonus Action: N/A Reaction: N/A

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The next few moments saw Victoria's psyche enter into a state of social self-defense, hoping that her natural charisma and senses of both performance and subtlety in appropriate doses allowed her to separate herself a little from the new fallout of the previous few moments. Admittedly, the first bit was her fault. Her flair for the dramatic and desire to remove the harassing obstacles from her path kicked this off, to be absolutely sure, to the point of making herself an object of suspicion moving forward. Nothing that couldn't be smoothed over by public interactions over the next day or two (she hoped); spinning a good tale about the event while making her assailants look foolish. She was marvelously good at this. But what followed, funny as it was, reminded Victoria that while she craved attention, the wrong kind of attention brought with it complications that might get someone like her run out of town or set ablaze, depending upon the overall mood of the community. This one seemed pretty laid back (mild paranoia because of disappearances notwithstanding), but she had already drawn attention to herself in a potentially very negative way. Be that as it may, it did give her an inward chuckle.

It was just about time to get herself low and quiet until morning.

When Kosara took it upon herself to explain the justification for her actions as well as launch into a tirade of misunderstandings concerning everything that was spoken aloud, Victoria's ordinarily cheery yet reserved visage began to fray at the edges, curious as to whether the Tiefling was playing some sort of joke on them or if this was truly the extent to her worldly experience. Victoria was not a font of great wisdom by anyone's stretch of their imagination, prone to acts mainstream society might deem foolish - even naive - but this line of suppositions and conclusions truly threatened to break her brain. The extroverted smile remained, but her eyes widened in disbelief and secondhand embarrassment as more and more verbiage came careening out of Kosara's mouth only to crash clumsily upon Victoria's ears. She thought to say something, anything really, but no piece of sage advice from history nor any of the teachings she could remember of the various deities of her study bore any sort of weight here.

Thankfully, this spell was broken by the expedient arrival of Victoria's order. One benefit of having an extremely limited, batch-produced menu was that minimal preparation was necessary. By extension, the wait time for her meal was also minimal. In this case, long enough to ladle it into a bowl and top it with a piece of coarse milled bread. A spoon might also have been involved, as the general consensus of the employees was that Victoria was a fancy lady, presumably of culture, who was probably accustomed to the cosmopolitan use of a spoon. To their credit, they weren't wrong. This wasn't the upscale sort of repast that the might have gone for in her home city, but an adult life spent on the road gave her some appreciation (read: tolerance) for varied qualities of cuisine, if this can be referred to candidly as cuisine. But it smelled good. A quick sampling unveiled that it tasted pretty good, too.

After that first taste, the lack of food she had consumed over the last several hours became apparent to her, evidenced to her by a sudden audible complaint from her stomach. She paused briefly to listen to Kathryn and her later plans for wine, and how this related to her money. This was the really expensive stuff, she realized. Well, it was only money. It's not like she couldn't find more. A silent shrug, that same smile but tinged with patience, and she nodded her assent. It was a brief agreement that, once made, allowed her to devote her attention to the bowl in front of her. The delicate young Half-Elf devoted the next few moments of time to destroying the contents therein, deftly using said spoon like a maestro conducting a meaty orchestra, its finale coming with gravy blotted away by rough bread and likewise consumed. When she finished, Victoria looked around to see if anyone had noticed her. An involuntary belch piped out of her, small and high-pitched, followed by a satisfied giggle.

Thusly ended Victoria's desire to remain within the walls of Neil & Bob's Public House. The budding conversation about potential pregnancy was not one she wished to be a spectator of, let alone take part. V was done. She drained the wine in her glass, gave a lingering look back in Lea's direction, then addressed her group (plus Rickard). "This has been just a lovely evening. Thank you all for being a part of it. But a lady needs her beauty rest and I have to feed Morty, so, I'm taking Marita's advice and retiring. Gentlemen, ladies; good evening." Victoria twirled her cloak about her shoulders, took up her oh-so-jaunty hat and placed it upon her head with a flourish, slung her violin case across her back like a seasoned professional, and made for the door with a confident gait.

Victoria stepped over the once-again unconscious lump of a Human on the floor, unwilling to give him more thought than it took to avoid tripping over his limbs, and exited the premises. A brief muddling of colder temperatures drifted in as the door opened and closed, leaving the Bard seemingly alone in the foggy night.

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

@rivaan

Sure, go right ahead.

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

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Victoria Belmont Half-Elf, Bard, Level 3 HP: 23 / 23 Armor Class: 15 Conditions: N/A Location: Neil & Bob's Public House, Bar Action: N/A Bonus Action: N/A Reaction: N/A

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Well, Victoria did say that the guy on the floor deserved worse. Part of her felt that this might have been too much. This part was quiet within her as other, less forgiving elements of her psyche narrowed her eyes and brought a dark smile to her face. It was small; it was subtle. But the mirth at the man's suffering was apparent to one watching closely. The young Half-Elf had to stop herself from swaying her hand back and forth, as if conducting an invisible orchestra playing the man's tortured screams. Victoria did not believe the assault was necessary, having already done her part to traumatize the ruffian for his transgressions against her, but was not going to protest this with any real conviction.

Somewhere, in the back of her mind, Victoria gave a shade of thought to the far-flung possibility of the man slipping into the Great Hereafter from the shock to his body, and if his body might be claimed in a lawful manner (owing to her promise to the Cleric) for her own curiosities. They even had access to a very nice, richly appointed coffin This thought was shaken off quickly, however. As much of a villian as he had played this night, he very likely had a family that would want better for his earthly remains. Maybe she could even perform the ceremony...

Present reality summoned Victoria's attention. This was most likely a good thing. It was Kosara, positively gushing about her evening. At first, the Bard cleared her mind and readied to take in any information that Kosara might have picked up in the course of her investigation so far this evening. V soon discovered that, instead of trying to find leads, she had gotten herself into a bit of fun. The Half-Elf kept her face neutral, carefully taking another small sip of her wine. Responding to her question, Victoria carefully explained, "Adventures, no. Not really. I interred Monsieur L'Rose in accordance with his wishes. Or, his family's." That last addition was because, not knowing the man, he had to trust what his daughter-in-law and granddaughter had told her. "It doesn't sound like I had as much fun as you did. But it was rewarding." She kept the odd feeling of being watched on her way back to town out of the conversation, at least for now. "Several bottles of local vintages were donated on behalf of the bereaved." If nothing else, they would be flush on wine for a while. The extreme openness with which Kosara initiated camaraderie with this Elf in front of them was a gamble, to Victoria's estimation. Time would see if it paid off.

But speaking to wine, Victoria looked on almost expectantly as Kathryn picked up the entire rest of the decanter of the very expensive wine, waiting quietly for the imminent glug-fest which was to occur. There was a tiny amount of disappointment about the sudden switch to ale, but that was probably a pragmatic decision, considering the potency difference. As the tall, powerful woman selected and motioned to her with her beverage of choice, Victoria smiled and raised her cup slightly in a silent toast before sipping once again herself. Draining a full glass was not her style. Polite imbibing in answer to a collective invitation to drink, however, was.

Victoria glanced about to make sure that she still had a line of sight to Marita, just to confirm that her adventuring group was fully present. Satisfied, she directed her attention back to their new acquaintance, Rickard. She still wasn't sure what to make of him, even if they had a similar reason to be in town. Some of this was a willingness to put up money for perfect strangers. Some of it was the way he carried and described himself. She might have labelled it as youthful exuberance except that he was much older than the rest of them, thanks to his heritage. Perhaps it was just exuberance. "I have a nice, warm spot to stay this evening, thank you," she said in response to Rickard's inquiry.

Looking around for the barmaid, she absently continued, "I could really go for a bowl of something warm, though..." She had neglected to find much at all to eat since that pear she purchased on the way into the Township initially.

Catching Lea's eye, Victoria blushed slightly and gave her a little wave. A demure smile crossed her lips when the Human lady approached her and V addressed her with a sweet, melodic voice, "Hi... The man said it was last call for food?" She paused, nodding, eyes falling upon hers. Her smile broadened into something more warm and welcoming, voice developing into nigh hypnotic tones, "I would absolutely love anything you could bring me, this late in the evening, please." The Bard gently took Lea's hand and placed the requisite coins into it, and carefully closed it back. "Thank you so much."

When the cheerful barmaid left to procure the stew, last batch of the evening, Victoria let out a short, frustrated sigh. It was quickly covered over by her practiced, cultured demeanor. "I think rest should be in order soon," she mused. It had been a day.

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

@Dragoknighte@rivaan@Remipa Awesome@Sigil@Lurking Krog

And we are good for another round. There was a lot more interaction between characters this time, prompting less in the way of NPC reactions. This is a good thing, sometimes, and makes sense considering that the party is all back together in one location. In any case, the scene cannot go on forever, hence Bob sounding Last Call. Wrap up what you need to within this place, get your last few rolls in for checks and the like, and be thinking about what the group is going to do next. There are options. Of course, it has also been a long day, what with the travel, fighting, unloading cargo, investigation, and heavy drinking (for some of you).

So... what do you do?

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

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Weather: Remains cold, just above freezing. Occasional light winds, picking up a little.

Time: Late.

Ambience: The fog is still thick, like puffy clouds clinging tightly to the earth. The large, one-phase-away-from-being-full moon diffused its light through with some effort. The town is in its last stages of closing down for the night, respectable and less respectable businesses, both, with lamps being extinguished except in the last of holdouts. The darkness is made more complete by the oppressive fog, preventing even darkvision from penetrating very far into the night.

Outside of Town: Most campfires are low and dark, reduced to coals which might be revived the next morning for breakfast cookery. It is quiet out there, in the fields around the Township, with the vast majority of people down for the evening. A few are still awake in differing stages of drunken torpor.

Neil & Bob's Public House

The Public House appears to be clearing out now. The exodus is helped in part this night by two of the most attractive and potentially disturbing women that this Township had witnessed thusfar. From both displays just inside of the front door, a possible broad opinion was that one of them was potentially demonic (and the other was a Tiefling). For better or for worse, the group will make the Avonshire rumormill come morning. But let's get to the details of the mess we're mired within.

Conversation is much easier to have now that people are clearing out. Tables are readily available, too. The bar area is now about halfway emptied, allowing for any number of social folks to amble up and take a seat; likewise the stage area is completely cleared. Perhaps this is why the whole place went silent when the incident occurred.

The attention paid to the semi-conscious man by Marita was taken as a kindness, with the poor guy beginning to reach a hand up to take whatever assistance he might from the benevolent and kindhearted Cleric. The start of a relieved smile crossed his face as he came to realize that, despite his very recent scare and trauma, someone was going to look out for him, soggy pants and all. This idea was thoroughly trounced when Kosara took a couple of steps back, using it as room to pick up speed before a grape-bursting pain, as sharp and invasive as a glass pinecone suppository, exploded from his nethers. The Human sat bolt upright, cross-eyed, screaming at the top of his lungs in an octave that was better suited to a childrens' choir singing about kittens; halfway through it began to gargle, soon to spew a projectile of boozeish liquid and once-semi-foodish chunks, which itself was cut off in a dramatic and toothy manner just prior to collapsing back to the wooden planks of the bar's flooring just inside of the door.

Lea stood, shocked and unspeaking. Robert looked utterly pissed off. The latter said nothing about the assault upon the prone man, but did growl out, "LAST CALL. Food's getting put up in five minutes. Booze is cut off in fifteen. Everyone out in a half hour who doesn't work here or have a bed."

As if on cue, Lawrence and Curly arrived back in the doorway to see a much less occupied establishment, an unconscious man with a damp crotch and a line of vomit leading back to him, partly clutching himself in his unconsciousness, a shocked bar staff, and a couple of unfamiliar faces. Also somehow beyond the capacity to verbally express a coherent thought, it was Maurice who piped up, "You missed all the fun, boys. C'mon, it's last call!"

"...good sprinkles..." finally mumbled Curly. The two of them stepped inside and returned to their table. Lawrence agreed. The two of them, like Maurice, were showing the effects of their evening celebrations.

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

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Victoria Belmont Half-Elf, Bard, Level 3 HP: 23 / 23 Armor Class: 15 Conditions: N/A Location: Neil & Bob's Public House, Bar Action: N/A Bonus Action: N/A Reaction: N/A

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The fact that Kathryn did not want another drink gave Victoria a touch of surprise, owing to memories of the last time they all sat down for supper and drinks. Not that she recalled the massively proportioned Knight lady being prone to keg stands, nor challenging people to feats of strength for free booze (none to which she had borne witness, anyway), but it just seemed off color for her. Maybe Kathryn was taking the investigation more seriously than herself. It made sense, Victoria had to admit. When she was part of another group of adventuring types, she mostly went along with the plans of more headstrong types and relied on her natural proclivities toward social interaction to get her through. And if Kat was the kind that took on a more professional demeanor when on-site, especially as compared to her, then this was probably a good thing.

Yet, despite the refusal of drinks, Victoria could not help but notice a fair amount of alcoholic beverages being assembled in front of the woman. She eyed it with some suspicion but said nothing, preferring a cocked eyebrow and slight head tilt to direct confrontation. Maybe a little smirk. Definitely a little smirk.

What did give Victoria a mote of concern was the assumption that Kosara and Hugh had followed. Were they not accounted for now? She had gone off with the L'Rose survivors only, to the best of her knowledge. This news was a little disconcerting. Almost as disconcerting that Marita was "working with the locals", even if those Cleric-y types leaned toward getting in good with the people. But to more serious affairs, Victoria hadn't seen Hugh since she left, and Kosara... A glance back in the direction of the door gave her a twinge of relief. The Tiefling woman had just arrived. And was administering aid to the person who had tried to (with his friends) solicit very non-consensual affection from her. Concern went to annoyance. This annoyance was followed up with a dismissive shake of her head when Marita got involved. For all Victoria cared, the man could be drug outside and piss himself, hopefully with the end result being that his own urine froze him to the wooden planking of the front porch and his dangling unmentionables got claimed by frostbite in the night. That thought brought a smile to the young Half-Elf's face.

Introductions were afoot, and so Victoria was bound by the guidelines of public engagement to respond accordingly. As the conversation began with words in the Common tongue of Humans, she answered in kind, "Well met, Sir Rickard Barriden," extending a hand to greet with a more formal air. Her way of speaking his honorific of Sir, much like her address of Kathryn earlier as Dame, was indicative of the area of her own upbringing. Victoria recalled mentioning her family's place of origin around the rest of the party earlier that day, admittedly being an easy thing to forget. In any case, her words shifted effortlessly to the tongue of the High Elves, her words flowing melodically from her with flawless pitch and accent, "It pleases and surprises me to see one of your lineage this far into Human lands. And I would be remiss, Knight of the Sylvan Realms, to miss an opportunity to converse in the speech of my ancestors." She giggled a little and reached for the decanter of wine and a glass upon the bar in front of them. If Kathryn was finished drinking for the evening, the Bard was certain that she wouldn't miss a glass of ...very fine wine... she realized, inhaling the vapors therein through her perky, slightly upturned nose. And if someone did happen to miss this wine, she had silver to compensate them.

A small sip and a satisfied smile later, Victoria continued speaking in Elven, "I lack, I notice, the fundamentals of manners when addressing a new acquaintance and beg your forgiveness. To repair; I am called Victoria Belmont, of the Ashhaven Belmont Clan, student of the Bardic College of the Grey Requiem. It is a pleasure, of course, to meet you." One thing to note from the presentation of her full name was that it was Human of origin, as was the city from which she claimed to hail, for those who had cause to travel to such places. Mixed ancestry could easily explain this, but it occasionally took people by surprise, for whatever reason.

Another smile, warm and cheerful. Another sip of wine, cool and sweet. Her crystal blue eyes studied this Elf as she attempted to puzzle out the coincidence of their meeting and attempt to ascertain whether this was a fortuitous event, or an obvious, bald-faced trap. In the end, Victoria shrugged. It was what it was, and the end result would reveal itself sooner or later. Victoria switched back to Common, saying, "I am sorry about your friend, Sir Barriden. The understanding is given that there are a few disappearances here as of late." She looked back to Kathryn with her glass of wine raised, declaring, "This is really good. Oh, don't mind that man on the floor. He deserves worse." Her smile returned, this time just as menacing as it was amused.

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

@Dragoknighte@rivaan@Remipa Awesome@Sigil@Lurking Krog

And we are back on track. Update is posted; again with my apologies on its lateness. Everyone has one additional day to get their posts in this posting cycle. Now, with that out of the way, a couple of caveats:

First, please forgive the terseness of this update. The issues which made this late are the same ones that are affecting the level of detail. Hopefully this will be better resolved by the next one.

Secondly, there is a discrepancy in word selection. In a previous post, I used the word "tankard" to describe the container of wine which was about to be served. The word I was groping for (and missed) was actually "decanter", as mentioned in this post. Apologies, these are two very different things in terms of usage and amount held.

Anyway, enjoy the post and the extra day to respond. Thanks!

EDIT: If I did not address something that I should have in this update, please message me privately and I will let you know and/or make an appropriate ruling. Thanks again.