A New Barovia: Chapter Two

[steveflam]

"Them guards give me tha willies, they smell funny."

"'Smell funny?'" mutters Khalfani in confusion. "I smell nothing to be amused about... ahhhh, I understand the meaning now. Although perhaps I wish I had not." Khalfani looks down at the table, seemingly lost in thought. "Valanth senses undead... and now we have new arrivals who 'smell funny.' Not a happy coincidence. Yes, perhaps we should wait here for a short time."

He then looks up, trying to gauge the reaction of the various animals at their table to the presence of the newcomers. "And perhaps, too, others may sense what we do not."

Though the Owl Lupzig does not talk, years of belonging to a certain deceased Balfour de Casteeles has given it certain advantages. She looks at Khalfani and hoots at the Gnome twice. She appears to shiver before flying up into the rafters. The woman and man pay no heed to the bird but the two guards look at your table then at the retreating owl, smug smiles on their faces.

Rizzen, on the other hand can speak and does. "I go now, Master Thomas and friends. Beware those three men. They are blue, not red in my eyes. I wish you a good evening, everyone." The tiny pseudodragon disappears in a tiny puff of smoke, which illicits no reaction from the newcomers.

[Ail]

"Ahhh... I'd be guessing that Rizzin's comment could be useful to someone who knows about arcanisms. I do not, but can you, Khalfani or Valanth, confirm if that means what I think it does? That the... presence Valanth felth actually walked inside?" Robert speaks lowly. "You think they mean trouble? I don't exactly know what we can do against such... things. Barring from trying to pierce them into pin-cushions."

[kintire]

Marilee meets the gazes of the two men and bristles at the smugness, giving them a challenging stare. Her eyes assess the group at the table, flicking a little dismissively over the woman, and assessing the man and the two guards a little more carefully. She continues to watch them as the others talk, waiting for one of the arcanists to reply.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"I can not," Valanth replies curtly. "Most spells have a set duration. It may be stretched, sometimes even made permanent, but this was not such a spell. It ceased functioning shortly after I gave you all that warning, and I will not be able to cast it again before the morning. These people may well be perfectly innocent."

[steveflam]

Marilee meets the gazes of the two men and bristles at the smugness, giving them a challenging stare. Her eyes assess the group at the table, flicking a little dismissively over the woman, and assessing the man and the two guards a little more carefully. She continues to watch them as the others talk, waiting for one of the arcanists to reply.

The two guards look back at Marilee. One yawns, putting a hand over his mouth and turning back to his preoccupation, both man and woman. The other guards eyes flare and he peers deeply at the young woman. The elder man turns and simply looks at Marilee, giving her the once over. She has the impression he is sizing her up like a lion would size up a gazelle.

[VAN]

"Well I have an ace upon my sleeve if they are indeed what we think they are...Don't forget that I'm a cleric. But I don't want to try anything right now. Just play it innocent and don't get any unwanted attention. And no I don't have the spell Valanth casted before prepared right now, but I can sense if they have magic on them."

Says Adam in such a low voice so only his companions can listen to him. Then in a normal voice says:

"Excuse me now, I will go up to the room to wash my hands before dinner."

Adam stands up and goes to his room. There washes his face and hands but also gets his holly symbol and prays in low voice. Then goes back to their table making sure though to get in the spell's cone all the newcomers.

[steveflam]

As Adam walks by one of the guards says out loud " We like priests, priest. You look good enough to eat. Have a pleasant evening now." They stand back and the man and woman rise from their seats. The woman leaves a few gold coins on the table and they exit the dining hall after Adam.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

As soon as Adam returns to the table, Valanth growls at him in a low voice: "Congratulations. You have just confirmed for us that at least one of them is a spellcaster. And you have confirmed for them that you are one. What do you wish to do for an encore?"

[VAN]

"I confirmed nothing, my spell can be casted by both arcane and divine spellcasters plus I casted it on my room and not here in plane sight. When I came down they were gone. I don't know how the found out I'm a cleric. I'm more worried about what the guard said though...He said priests are good to eat which actually confirms our thoughts."

[Ken of Ghastria]

"Alas, Adam," says Khalfani, "in my years living here and in learning the local language, I have discovered that, in many instances, words are not always meant to be taken literally. For instance, the phrase 'cooler heads prevail' when discussing arguments does NOT actually require the application of cooling substances to the head. Embarrassing moment for me, I confess. In any event, while the description of you being 'good enough to eat' is ... unpleasant, it does not offer conclusive evidence of their nature. If you had, oh, accidentally poured holy water on one of them, well, that would have been interesting." He manages a slight smile.

"Now they are gone. And we still have much to do tomorrow. I suggest we rest now... but none of us should be alone."

[Ail]

"Well... let's go then. The coast is clear, but I'd like to know what they wanted."

[BigBadQDaddy]

Thomas sits idly scrutinizing the empty table which the strange lady in scarf and her pepper haired man had until recently sat in. It was obvious to him that whoever they were they had a stake in the game that was being played. Fortunately such high profile and distinct individuals wouldn't be too hard to identify by asking around.
Getting out of his chair and joining the others he listens as they toss their rhetoric back and forth. Once an opening in the conversation presents itself Thomas chimes in, as if what he is about to say is what they were talking about all along, "Tomorrow I mean to procure the identity of the woman and her man. Individuals of such standing and strange fashion sense shouldn't be terribly difficult to pin down." He pauses a moment before adding, "I cannot abide a wild card."

[VAN]

"Well pouring holly water on one of them could also be seen as an attack. I didn't want to risk have an encounter here and risk to injure the other patrons. I do trust Valenth and Rizzin, they were a kind of undead most probably. Has any of you noticed if they ate or drunk anything?"

Adam looks over at their table counting the glasses and the plates.

[Ken of Ghastria]

"Tomorrow I mean to procure the identity of the woman and her man. Individuals of such standing and strange fashion sense shouldn't be terribly difficult to pin down." He pauses a moment before adding, "I cannot abide a wild card."

"I agree, Thomas," says Khalfani. "We have more than enough mysteries already. At this point, answers are a precious commodity that we must acquire at every opportunity."

"Well, pouring holy water on one of them could also be seen as an attack."

Khalfani looks at Valanth. "Is it me...?" He then shrugs.

Unless there is anything else to do, Khalfani will retire. He agrees to share space in his room or someone else's for protective purposes.

[steveflam]

Morning

The evening passes without incident for the most part. It is raining outside, cold and damp. Not many people are in the dining room this morning.