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Loose Ends (Post Session 27)

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Levinath

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Loose Ends (Post Session 27)
« on: February 17, 2018, 12:58:01 PM »
After hours of reading through the Black Spider’s notes, Catriona found herself well versed in the rotations and placements all the watches around Neverwinter. She memorized rosters of troops and their regiments and shipments of materials, weapons, and goods imported and exported from the city.

She also found a strange map of the region within his notes, there were no written markings on the magical parchment, though runes and lines of pure energy coursed across it at indecipherable angles. The parchment felt hundreds or thousands of years old, though its integrity remained despite its age.

(click to show/hide)

-------------------------------------------------------------

Ser Ironheart was on his knees as Westra entered the familiar old church. With a scrub brush he cleaned main aisle leading up to the alter of Helm. The movement of her armor drew the man’s eyes. “Ahh, Lady Goldbrooke. So good to see you again.” He dropped the brush into the nearby bucket and stood slowly, using the nearby bench to steady himself.  “Please join me for a prayer.”

After a short prayer Ironheart lead her out an opened door to the back of the church. The area behind the church was a place Westra had been many times before. A small guarder sat to one side with a fountain to the Watcher, the other had a small training yard for the recruits of Helm. “The watcher’s wisdom has instructed that I pass on a special training to you.” Over the course of the next several hours Ser Ironheart instructed Westra on the use of this ability.

Westra learns Goading Smite.

(click to show/hide)
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Westra Goldbrook

Re: Loose Ends (Post Session 27)
« Reply #1 on: February 18, 2018, 10:40:44 AM »
Westra eyed Catriona for a beat in speculative silence, wondering at what it must be like to live inside a head that looked at the prospect of facing down werewolves as a prime chance for scientific study. Most people would be horrified at the prospect and run the other way. Catriona seemed to have no issue with it whatsoever. Then again, she'd already proven herself stout of heart, Westra reminded herself.

"My thanks, Doctor. Come. Let us deliver the orc's payment to him and then be off to my home. We can refresh ourselves there and make plans for setting out. It will be no light journey to the North." No, they didn't know exactly where Wolfe had gone. But really, how many seedy bars could there really be in Neverwinter? Westra was guessing he'd head for the first place he encountered. So once she and Catriona had retrieved their gear and horses, she set out to find the nearest shitty bar.
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Doctor Catriona Wicker

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Re: Loose Ends (Post Session 27)
« Reply #2 on: February 18, 2018, 01:45:11 PM »
"Half-orc." she says, as if for the record.  She was half-elf after all and was just called "elf" quite often by the humans and gnomes of Lantan.  It wasn't something she much cared for (if only due to inaccuracy!) and assumed a half orc wouldn't either.

"With transportation available, I imagine that would be a umm a  week-long? journey..." Her tone rose in the middle of her words as if she was considering a calculation in her head.  "Probably best to make some proper preparation for that kind of extended trip. A shame Neverwinter has no dirigibles on hand for expedient overland travel."  #zepplinlife

Moving through the city was still something Doctor Wicker found fascination in.  To her, it was an experience of being submersed in a vintage environment.  Waterdeep was far different, given the sheer amount of arcane influence that permeated everything.

Neverwinter was a city of craftsmen and its aesthetic was far more intriguing to one such as herself.  As they moved through the cobbled streets, she could not help but constantly looking about, distracted.  Every so often she would see the authorities and guardsmen moving about -- a callback to the Black Spider's suspiciously accurate intel.

As they began bar-searching for the warrior, Catriona just plain out asked a random citizen if they'd seen a half-orc fitting a description.  The late afternoon sun was low in the sky and no doubt more persons would be crowding the watering holes.  It wasn't as if he wasn't hauled through the city, anyway.   

"I think I see him." she said at the third place, holding the sack of coin tighter.  Who knows what kind of undesirables would want to mess with a foreigner carrying money in this place!
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Doctor Catriona Wicker

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Re: Loose Ends (Post Session 27)
« Reply #3 on: February 20, 2018, 01:23:41 PM »
Addendum -

Catriona would catch Zimran before he left with his money to give him the hard evidence documentation that surely the Harpers would find important.  The relevant ones anyway.  The map and other stuff she would keep.

She had compiled the Black Spider's intel taken on Neverwinter City (the guard rotations, shifts, rosters and that other suspicious stuff about imports/exports) into a docket.

She also gave him the strange note from this "Z" person talking about test subjects and serums. 

Keeping all that info to herself would probably prove dangerous.  At least she knew the Harpers had a network that could get that info to those that could best use it.

(click to show/hide)

After that she'd go with Westra, per above post.
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Wolfe

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Re: Loose Ends (Post Session 27)
« Reply #4 on: February 20, 2018, 04:11:33 PM »
Wolfe had settled into the bar and had a couple beers when Westra and Cat arrived. While he'd listened to the local talk, he mostly kept to himself and went through and tried to review his thoughts and actions over the last few weeks ever since he'd put his hands on the gems that had filled him with terrible avarice.

Selective avarice, he found. Only when it came to Dwarven treasure had the insatiable greed reared its head, a possessiveness he recognized he had but could no longer feel nor find the reason to. It was disconcerting in a way, to have been a passenger to one's own body and words. He thought back to the fight over the gems just a couple days prior, to his near killing of Westra, and though he felt shame for those actions it was counterbalanced by the bitterness of what he'd endured in their company once they returned to Neverwinter. The humiliation he had suffered for being chained up like some wild beast and mocked by Zimran in turn while the others sat quiet or simply nodded along filled him with a deep-seated anger.

So when he saw them both enter, he sneered in disgust. He had something he wanted to say to Cat, but there was nothing more for him to say to Westra. Rather than evade them, though, he figured it best to get their business over and done with. So he just drank his beer and made no effort to rise or avoid them; neither did he offer any sort of welcome either.
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Westra Goldbrook

Re: Loose Ends (Post Session 27)
« Reply #5 on: February 20, 2018, 08:48:37 PM »
Westra nodded at Cat's estimation of the time the trip to the north would take.

"Yes, it won't be a short trip. I'll need to come back and speak to Lord Neverember again anyway.  On reflection, I think it wise to share with him how much of the guard's routines were catalogued by the Black Spider and his cohorts. While I have him, I'll ask him if the task he has for us can wait long enough for me to find Anthony."

She sifted through the nearby bars with Cat, though she was noticeably more comfortable in carrying her wealth than the doctor was. Her expression and bearing remained neutral when they at last found the half-orc, and Westra said nothing as she crossed the bar to reach him. She set the bag of coin representing Wolfe's cut of the payment onto the bar top beside him.

"Your pay." 

She lingered only a heartbeat, just long enough to ensure that Wolfe was going to accept the payment and not throw it back in her face or something equally unexpected. Then she turned to the doctor.

"Are you comfortable finding your way to the estate on your own? Or will you be accompanying me to the temple?"


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Doctor Catriona Wicker

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Re: Loose Ends (Post Session 27)
« Reply #6 on: February 20, 2018, 09:20:59 PM »
“Best to make sure we are well supplied for such an expedition, I imagine.” she added as an afterthought to Westra’s statements.

The doctor found lots of “interesting” sights in this establishment, bespectacled gaze darting from side to side at manner of grungy activities afoot.  This was not the smalltown public house that one would find in the likes of Phandalin.  In Waterdeep, she had no reason to properly visit one and thus was not properly inoculated to the city pubs and their personage.  Lantan pubs were usually gnomes yelling mathematics equations and one upping each other about theoretical science. 

The sound of the coin purse hitting the bar whipped her attention to focus and she looked over Wolfe for signs of remnant effects.  Catriona’s had the opposite of a poker face ; the concern was easily read on her features if the swordsman was properly alright.

“I can have..uh… Gizmo, follow you and report back to me the route.” she answers the paladin.  “I think I saw a few things I wanted to purchase before settling in.  It is getting late and the shops are soon to close, if I assume correctly.”
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Wolfe

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Re: Loose Ends (Post Session 27)
« Reply #7 on: February 21, 2018, 12:23:17 AM »
Wolfe looked over at the bag that Westra set down on the bar with its loud clang of bouncing coins. The Half-Orc looked grim for a moment, then up at Westra with a narrowed gaze. Was it a bait? Some sort of trap? Seemed odd that Neverember would have an oversight that would profit him. Really, though, maybe the bastard had so much money he didn't notice.

"Already got paid." He said with a slow shrug. "So not sure who's share got taken. Given it to Cat. She earned it." He nodded to the doctor then, and though it would have been easy to just take another drink and pretend that he could just go back to things, he paused.

"Sorry about the curse thing." He said despite his pride wanting him to just ignore it. "All of that... wasn't how I woulda done things. Not saying it wasn't me, cause I did it. But it wasn't what I woulda wanted." It was clear he was talking more to Cat than Westra with the way he was looking at the Half Elf. She was, after all, the one who stood up for him.

He took a drink of his beer to give a pause to his thoughts, then lifted his head up to look toward Cat again. "Where you two headed after all this? Gonna go run more errands for that fuck Neverember?"

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Westra Goldbrook

Re: Loose Ends (Post Session 27)
« Reply #8 on: February 21, 2018, 12:59:01 PM »
"Very well, then," Westra said. It was strange to think he'd been paid in advance, but she wasn't going to argue the point. She handed the bag to the Doctor then, and nodded. If Cat objected or looked at all uncomfortable, Westra would nod reassuringly. "Treat it as communal funds for the Watch, if that makes you feel better. Use it to prepare for the trip north."

She started to bid farewell to the doctor, but Wolfe spoke up again and apologized. Not to Westra, of course, but the moment was no less surprising to the paladin. She watched as he regretted aloud the way he'd acted, and felt strangely conflicted for a moment.

Of course, that only lasted as long as it took for Wolfe to open his mouth again. His continued disrespect of Lord Neverember drew a tsk of annoyance from Westra, who shook her head and turned to leave.

"Until later, Doctor."
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Levinath

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Re: Loose Ends (Post Session 27)
« Reply #9 on: February 21, 2018, 01:22:25 PM »


Gundren had remained silent during the remaining travel back. He waited outside with Leroy at the castle as the group spoke with Neverember. The Dwarf was quiet and pensive as he watched Wolfe depart first, then the remaining Watch began to split up, opting to stay with Cat at least at first. As they found the brood half-orc he turned to the Doc. “Thanks Lass, I think I shall stay ‘ere for bit.” He waddled up to the bar and ordered a pint. As the two women completed their short conversation with Wolfe, the dwarf sat down next to Wolfe and took a long draught of the dark brown liquid.
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Doctor Catriona Wicker

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Re: Loose Ends (Post Session 27)
« Reply #10 on: February 21, 2018, 03:48:56 PM »
The  geekish blonde looked perplex at the notion that somehow Wolfe was already paid.  She didn't even know they would be getting paid at all, and now he was saying  she should keep his supposed share?  Gond's titanium tongs, this was weird!

"I... uh.." she half pointed in one direction, then another, as if trying to explain some unfathomable thought process couched in confusion.  The doctor looked at Westra, as if the paladin were some harbor that held an explanation she had yet to arrive upon.  Nope.  The captain seemed utterly ambivalent to the very reason they came here and Catriona realized she shouldn't be surprised. 

With the extra bag set in her arms she dumbly nodded at Westra, not knowing what else to add.  And Catriona looked uncomfortable a good half of the time, surely something most were used to.  Being in the center of this odd tension was not helping.

"Its, okay. You weren't yourself.  Sorry, I called you a bozo when I didn't know the truth of the matter." As someone who fell into lucid personality "adjustments" beyond her control, she didn't feel the desire to cast aspersions.  Catriona gave a single nod to Nundro as he addressed her, then watched the rough ending of the interaction between Westra and Wolfe.

"Will do." she replies as the Captain departs, somewhat grateful her attention wasn't being pulled in several different ways.

Awkward, pregnant pause.  She shifts the coin-purse in her hands, glancing about at the seedy people about.  "Her brother is apparently missing.  I think he is a soldier, too... Lost contact near a place called Lurkwood?  There is talk of lycanthropes in that location."

"Nothing of that came from Mister Neverember, though."

"She wants to field and expedition to see what happened to him.  I said yes because... uh..."

Barely hiding her enthusiasm, even in this dark matter, she says.. "Werewolves!"
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Wolfe

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Re: Loose Ends (Post Session 27)
« Reply #11 on: February 22, 2018, 10:51:07 AM »
Wolfe noticed Nundro settle in beside him and gave the Dwarf a solid nod. The man had lost both of his brothers to the Mine and gotten nothing for it, so he felt some empathy for the fellow. It didn't sit quite right to Wolfe in the scheme of what ought to be. But seldom was the world kind.

His eyes watched Westra leave with narrowed contempt, but then returned to Cat as she apologized for calling him a bozo, and he nodded slowly. He didn't speak, but waited for Westra to leave and Cat to breach the silence that had settled between them. The revelation she made of Westra's brother missing didn't concern him -- for as much as he cared, both of them could sod off. But the last bit, and the excitement that laced Cat's words caught him.

His hand moved subconsciously to the wolf head pendant around his neck. His thumb grazed over the nose of the jewelry, and he frowned.

A slow breath was taken in, and he lowered his hand as he looked up to Cat. "Sorry about the bird. The... Curse, I guess.. it made me just want to reach for anything and everything that was Dwarven jewels or wealth. Didn't care who or what got in the way of it. I'm glad you were about to fix Gizmo. I'll make sure to look out for the little guy in the future.

Does he think, by the way? Gizmo. Does he feel or anything?"

Wolfe waited for her answer on the topic of Gizmo, wanting to resolve that first before he moved onto the next topic. "I've got no love for Westra or Zimran after the shit they pulled with me. But I'll go along to make sure you're alright, Cat."

He looked down at his mug for a moment, his jaw grinding for a second. "I've got some business in Lurkwood anyway."
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Doctor Catriona Wicker

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Re: Loose Ends (Post Session 27)
« Reply #12 on: February 22, 2018, 01:53:57 PM »
As socially awkward and clumsy as she was, the Doctor was cognizant to the fact that she was standing near two really upset men who both just suffered calamities borne through no fault of their own.  At least Wolfe seemed to be somewhat used to such things and likely stronger than Nundro in the face of it.  Still Catriona would reach over and inelegantly place three gold crowns on the bar for the barkeep.  More than a couple of days wage for sure, but who knows how the economy was doing now in Neverwinter.

“Bar...master... keeper? Mixologist?” Her voice barely carried over the bustling ambiance of the tavern. Where she came from a steam-powered construct would take your oder by push of a button.  “Please make sure that our good dwarven friend here has all the libation he.. Um.. wants.  And same for this gentleman.” she says, indicating Wolfe.  Because he was a gentleman… right?  Right.

She chews  a bit on her lip as she casts another look around at the ecclectic citizenry partaking in standard public house fare.  Maybe some of them were adventurers with weird stories and the like.  She’d always heard at how on the Sword Coast, benefactors would troll taverns to hire intrepid types to go on od quests.  A strange way to go about things, but interesting all the same!

Wolfe’s apology about stomping Gizmo called back her attention and her eyebrows slightly rose in response.  “It is no uh..worry.  Any interaction with a new invention can be learned from.  He’s been well field tested against quite a few different scenarios which is educational.”  beat.  “He isn’t a combat drone, but.. I appreciate that.  I should keep him out of hazardous circumstances unless necessary.”

Catriona’s face scrunches in a squint and laugh, complete with a little snort. The dorkish giggle might be the final evidence that her anger was more about the lack of an apology than the act of offense itself.

“He has no nerves, so no pain receptors.”  She laughs a little more and  sobers up enough to add. “I instilled in him parameters of behavior and a rudimentary personality that would fit a loyal pet., Everything else, I control actively through a mental link.”  Shifting the bags in her arms, her fingers drew back some of her shoulder length hair to show her partially pointed ear.  Along the arm of her spectacles was coin sized device making contact with her temple.

“Without me, he has contingency protocols regarding my…our safety… but not much else. Would need a bigger brain-matrix.”

On Zimran or Westra, the Doctor didn’t provide commentary one way or the other.  It seemed most of these people had hard edges in one way or another, which is likely why they all seemed abrasive to one another.  Zimran was a Harper, though, and there was no denying the man’s spellwork’s efficacy when facing Nezznar.  Westra was confident in her convictions and strong; something the Catriona wishes she could be.  That being the case, she did not disagree with Wolfe’s position either.  Stuck in the middle, she just didn’t add to it.

With a brief spell of bashfulness playing on her features, she shrugged with a half smirk.  Verbal chest puff incoming: “I do dangerous things all the time, you know.  But, I think it would be helpful if you came with.  To beat back aggressive creatures that probably scoff at mundane weapons and .. like… average carrying them.” 

“Oh, that is admittedly odd coincidence.”   responded the blonde about his mysterious business in some scary woods.  That’s totally normal!

“On the way here I saw some formidable coaches and carriages for sale.  The proposed journey is pretty ...uh protracted”  beat.  “I am considering purchasing one to accommodate us.”  At least the last part stoked her enthusiasm again…

Kind of like  Korg from Thor: Ragnarok, she asks unceremoniously asks  “Wanna come?”
« Last Edit: February 22, 2018, 01:57:59 PM by Doctor Catriona Wicker »
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Levinath

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Re: Loose Ends (Post Session 27)
« Reply #13 on: February 22, 2018, 03:09:15 PM »
Nundro looked to the Doctor and gave her a thankful nod as she paid for his entire night of drinking. The young, at least in dwarven terms, explorer intended to drink at least three gold worth of ale himself tonight. He would drink for himself, and for his brothers. He drank quietly as the Doc and Wolfe spoke at length, staring blankly ahead, lost in his own thoughts.

One of the men Wolfe had overheard before looked to Cat at her mention of Lurkwood. “Best not travel North of Longsaddle, folks getting killed left and right on The Long Road. I’d reckon taking the High Road up to Luskan and then cutting over to Mirabar. Wild days we live in.” He gave her a last crooked smile before turning back to the jittery man across from him. Wolfe and Cat continued their conversation while Nundro stared ahead blankly.

Cat paused after asking Wolfe to come with her the Dwarf spoke to no one in particular. “Aye.” He paused for a beat. “Aye it is.” He took a long drink and emptied his pint. “I think I‘ll do just that. Is time to go home.” He looked to Cat and Wolfe. “Thank ye lot for rescuing me, and try’n to ‘elp Gundren. I’ll ‘ead back to Mirabar tomorrow. Time to lay me brothas to rest.” The bartender refilled the Dwarf’s mug and grabbed the gold from the counter before wanding down the way to smack a man yelling at the other end of the bar.

“But until then…” He raised his mug towards them and went back to drinking.
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Westra Goldbrook

Re: Loose Ends (Post Session 27)
« Reply #14 on: February 23, 2018, 02:56:16 PM »
Quote from: Levinath on February 17, 2018, 12:58:01 PM
Ser Ironheart was on his knees as Westra entered the familiar old church. With a scrub brush he cleaned main aisle leading up to the alter of Helm. The movement of her armor drew the man’s eyes. “Ahh, Lady Goldbrooke. So good to see you again.” He dropped the brush into the nearby bucket and stood slowly, using the nearby bench to steady himself.  “Please join me for a prayer.”

After a short prayer Ironheart lead her out an opened door to the back of the church. The area behind the church was a place Westra had been many times before. A small guarder sat to one side with a fountain to the Watcher, the other had a small training yard for the recruits of Helm. “The watcher’s wisdom has instructed that I pass on a special training to you.” Over the course of the next several hours Ser Ironheart instructed Westra on the use of this ability.

Westra detoured to the office of the city guard on her way to the temple. She found the officer in charge in Cullen's absence and shared with them that the guard's schedules and rotations had been compromised and should be altered. Only afterwards did she make her way to the temple, her head full of heavy thoughts.

Praying with Ser Ironheart did her a great deal of good, as it always did. Being led in reverent worship always granted her a measure of peace. She happily studied the training the man gave her, and thanked him graciously for his help. It was only afterwards, when she was resting after the exertion of training, that she confessed to the cleric what doubts she'd had recently. Dying had done much to shake her faith, and she had questions about what it could've meant for her faith to not have sustained her through her recent battles.

"My compatriots paid dearly for a scroll from a criminal in order to revive me," she confessed, her brow furrowed with dissatisfaction. "I don't understand. With all the Watcher's power, why was my fate left to such disreputable means? My associates and I are now indebted to a man who may have no moral compass to speak of; how can that be the will of Helm?"
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Levinath

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Re: Loose Ends (Post Session 27)
« Reply #15 on: February 23, 2018, 04:00:05 PM »
The older paladin wiped his brow with a cloth as she recounted her troubles. The heat of the day and the exertion of the training Westra clearly sapped some of the man’s strength. Though Ironheart had been a strong warrior in his days, his time managing the church over the years left him less fit than he may have otherwise been. He drank from a bucket near the steps before looking back to Westra, his light smile on his face.

Ironheart sat quietly for a time after she finished. “We are mortals and cannot expect to understand the will of the gods, my dear. The Watcher sees all, and in his vision he saw fit to provide a path for your continued service. If at the hands of a man such as you speak, perhaps you are blind to what the ‘He’ can see in the man. Perhaps even this man is blind to himself. Recall The Ancient Texts of the Watcher tell us: 'The mortal races are blind, only by trusting in the sight of He of the Unsleeping Eyes can we hope to see. Patience, vigilance, and valor will guide you to providence.'”

He passed the cloth to Westra so she could clean the sweat from her brow. “This man may harbor evil in his deeds and heart, but perhaps these are for a greater good.” He looked to the setting sun and paused to gaze at it before giving her another smile. “Or…perhaps The Vigilant One weighed these evil deeds against the greatness within you, Westra.” He stopped a beat to let that sink in. “It is not a decision we can hope to understand, we can only trust in Him and know he will guide us.”

He paused for another beat, allowing her to absorb his words. "Speaking of The Watcher's visions, the cleric that removed Wolfe's calamity within the keep has, offered his services to us. I believe he may be able to aid you in wherever you may be preparing to depart to. I believe he has arrived for just this purpose."
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Westra Goldbrook

Re: Loose Ends (Post Session 27)
« Reply #16 on: February 23, 2018, 04:53:28 PM »
"If his purpose was to raise me up and nothing more, then why would he have let me fall in the first place? I did not feel my faith in him waver, Ser. I trusted him without question to gird me as I went into harm's way for his will to be done." This, perhaps, was the more poignant worry in the paladin, rather than the issue of being aided by a criminal. It was unusual to see uncertainty in the Lady Goldbrook, as she was a practical woman who preferred to deal in absolutes. Absolute vigilance. Absolute faith. Absolute relentlessness. Yet here she was clearly conflicted, perhaps even fearful of her own doubts. How would it change the life of a woman such as she if she was forced to confront the possibility that her chosen god was not the ever-vigilant, all-seeing being she believed him to be?

The cleric's assurances caused her to nod her head and thank him, though if she'd been honest they rang a little hollow. Trust in Helm, he advised her, in essence. Trust that he can see what you cannot. She tried to cling to that, tried to accept it and let it assuage her worry. She was only partly successful.

Of course, her questions about her faith in Helm hadn't been aided by the seemingly flighty dedication of his other servants, two of which had joined and then left Westra during the last weeks. Neither Hjalkohn nor Yvaine had explained their leaving adequately, by Westra's count, and though she wouldn't speak ill of them aloud, it felt an awful lot to her like they'd abandoned a sacred duty.

So when Ironheart told her that Helm had provided another servant to aid the party, her response lacked the jubilation it might've once held. She simply nodded, and lamented the fact that, so far, a couple of half-elves and a half-orc had been more faithful to the cause than Helm's other servants. Granted, their motivations were different, but endurance counted for something, didn't it?

"I will need all the assistance I can gather," she told him. "Not only has this mysterious fog bedeviled Neverwinter, but I fear the were-beasts in the north have brought harm to Antony. His detachment hasn't been heard from in weeks. I feel called by duty to wade into the fight against the fog, but Antony is my family. I cannot abandon him to whatever fate has befallen him."
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Levinath

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Re: Loose Ends (Post Session 27)
« Reply #17 on: February 23, 2018, 05:47:47 PM »
His soft demeanor never wavered as Westra continued to struggle, it even seemed to widen as she revealed the true crux of the issue. “Come, let us go inside.” He led her into the small chapel and into the office where they met three weeks prior. He took a piece of fruit from a bowl and offered her from the selection. With a load groan he sat into the chair.

“When I was a young lad, my best friend Artavius and I were dispatched to eliminate some undead in Northern Neverwinter Wood. We traveled for four days North, through the rain and the snow, uphill. We dispatched nearly twenty zombies and several ghouls before we were able to locate the corruption causing these poor souls to be resurrected. I held the fiend back as Artavius struck the killing blow, sending the spawn back to whichever of the nine hells, he had ventured wince.”

The man frowned in one of the only instances Westra had ever witnessed. “I saw my best friend, my greatest ally, my brother fall that day. The ground beneath him gave way in our moment of victory, and he was sent to the bottom of the gorge.” He paused then fought to collect himself. “When I was finally able to recover his body, and get him back to the city, it was too late. I scorned The Watcher. Why would he do this? We devoted our lives to the church, we strove and suffered in his name, we never wavered in our faith.”

He folded his hands. “After several days of indecisiveness, I collected myself to leave the church. I woke the following morning to turn in my tunic. I started down my stairs and tripped, toppling down and breaking my leg. As I lay in agony awaiting a healer, Artavius’s fall flashed back in my mind. Why did we fall?” He held up a finger. “Because we were not vigilant in that moment. It was only an instant, and something neither of us realized at the time lead us to treacherous ground. Though we did not realize as it occurred, it happened nonetheless. Perfect vigilance, just as other virtues can only be striven for, never obtained.”

“I do not have all the answers my Dear. And few things will lead you to question your faith as much as your own death. In time and prayer you may realize which of your virtues wavered in that moment. He cannot protect us from our failures forever, we all must pass eventually, in a manner we oft not agree with. That doesn't mean he does not value our service nor that it is all for naught.” He took a bite of the fruit and his smile returned.
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Westra Goldbrook

Re: Loose Ends (Post Session 27)
« Reply #18 on: February 24, 2018, 01:19:56 PM »
Westra followed Bishous inside when he asked, and though she politely declined his offer of food, she took a seat across from him and sat comfortably. The temple was a familiar place to her and Ironheart a familiar man. There was comfort here, as her trust in this place and the holy man before her allowed her to lower her guard and speak more truthfully and openly than she normally did.

In turn, Ironheart shared a story with her that she'd not heard before. The paladin was quiet and respectful as she listened, fascinated both by the tale and how it clearly still affected the old man. When he began to speak of vigilance Westra's eyes slowly drifted away from him so that she could process what he was saying more carefully. When he finished she was quiet for a long moment, something grave and somber still in her bearing.

"So it was... I that failed..." she summarized, bringing her gaze back to the cleric. This wasn't the most pleasant revelation, of course; Westra was unaccustomed to being the weakest link in a given chain. At the same time that it humbled her, though, it lit a fire of determination in her. Her hand clenched, already anxious to be wrapped around her polearm again. She needed to practice. To train harder to be better. Helm had, in his mercy, used the resources available to see her brought back once, even while all around her, heretics and apostates had lived. She had failed to represent the stalwart strength of the Watcher before, and she must be vigilant now to see that she did not fail such a task a second time. This path was confirmed for her when she considered the guidance Ironheart had claimed to receive earlier, the leading he'd felt to teach her the special technique he'd shared just moments ago. Helm wanted her to fight harder, to be better.

And so she would.

"Thank you, Ser Ironheart," she told him, with a nod. "I think I understand now, what I must do."
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Westra Goldbrook

Re: Loose Ends (Post Session 27)
« Reply #19 on: February 27, 2018, 10:07:38 AM »
Westra spent the remainder of the afternoon tending to errands and then decompressing at home. Her family had no more word of Antony's fate than anyone else had, though most of them brushed the matter off in a show of sincere bravado. They would not count Antony out until they saw proof, and until then would assume he was reaping glory for the family name, and would return triumphant any day. Westra tried to talk herself into feeling the same way, but it didn't work for long.

The next morning she rose early to tend to her prayers and exercises. As soon as it was a reasonable hour by court standards, she made her way back to the Keep and asked to see Lord Neverember.
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Levinath

  • *****
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  • If it works, I can break it.
Re: Loose Ends (Post Session 27)
« Reply #20 on: February 27, 2018, 10:28:12 AM »

Westra was ushered into a waiting room where she remained for nearly an hour. It was to be expected to see the Lord of Neverwinter and the Captain would find herself thankful she was not turned away. As she waited, she heard his powerful voice in a hallway. “Get it done, damn it!” The sound of boots on the stone floor came closer before becoming silent.

A moment later and door opened and Dargath strode into the room, the usual bemused smile on his face. “Captain Goldbrooke, you are six days early. Are you so eager to move forward on your new task?”
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Westra Goldbrook

Re: Loose Ends (Post Session 27)
« Reply #21 on: February 27, 2018, 10:36:37 AM »
Indeed, Westra knew the odds were high that she'd be unable to see the Lord as she wished, but she was willing to wait. There was little else to do, really; as terribly as she wanted to look into the matter of Antony's disappearance, it did not feel honorable to take off to the North without getting leave from her commander to do so. Normally she would have sought out Rutherford for the matter, but he was deployed elsewhere at the moment and it was Neverember himself who'd spoken of giving Westra her next assignment.

So she went, and she waited, and when Neverember entered the hall she shot to her feet and gave him the expected courtesies.

"Good day, Lord Neverember. I apologize for coming without invitation, but I have received troubling news. My brother's detachment has not been heard from in weeks, and I would like to go north and determine whether he might be in some kind of trouble. As I'm sure you know, however, he was sent some distance out, and I fear that if I go, I will not be back before the week is up." She hesitated, feeling self-conscious about speaking of her personal matters before the commander of all the forces in Neverwinter. She'd come here hoping to ask for a more extended leave, but while standing before Neverember, she couldn't quite bring herself to do it.

"I wondered if the coming assignment was one that I could see to immediately, rather than in a week's time. I could then take my leave after, and see to Antony without returning late to your service."
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Levinath

  • *****
  • 0
  • If it works, I can break it.
Re: Loose Ends (Post Session 27)
« Reply #22 on: February 27, 2018, 11:08:01 AM »

Westra caught a quick frown cross over her Lord’s face, but he quickly covered his distaste for her decision. The man’s smile returned while he studied her in silence for a beat. The longer they remained in this state the more Westra felt Neveremeber was bemused with her dilemma.  He raised his head and stroked the stubble on his neck with a hand while continuing to look down at Westra.

“Cullen was adamant that you were the correct soldier for our dealings in Luskan, but if your duty is to your family...” He paused again ”…you must do as you deem fit.” He turned his head and barked towards the closed door. “Hogarth!”

An odd older gentleman that Westra vaguely recognize by face, “My Lord?” Neverwinter’s voice returned to normal. “The banquet is in two weeks?” The old man nodded and he turned back to Westra.

“You can depart now, but it will not expedite your completion of tasks from Luskan. If you feel the need to locate your brother, you may have your leave and I will find someone else for this task.”
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Westra Goldbrook

Re: Loose Ends (Post Session 27)
« Reply #23 on: February 27, 2018, 11:25:40 AM »
Westra schooled her countenance as best she could to be professional, but she was no practiced liar. It was clear that Neverember had found the strings to pull to make her doubt her choices. It almost physically pained her to think of not rising to meet a challenge set to her and allowing that honor to go to someone else.

She didn't understand the question about the banquet Neverember mentioned, or why he asked about it right in the middle of what seemed to be an unrelated conversation, but neither did she feel it was her place to inquire. Surely the timeframe was relevant, however, if he'd asked about it.

"Forgive me, Lord, but what exactly is that you want done in Luskan? Is it an open-ended assignment to protect the people there from the creatures assailing them? If that's so, then perhaps I could head that way and just include a detour to Lurkwood. I could spend the remainder of the week looking for Antony, and then move on to Luskan once I've found him."
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Levinath

  • *****
  • 0
  • If it works, I can break it.
Re: Loose Ends (Post Session 27)
« Reply #24 on: February 27, 2018, 11:38:06 AM »

 “Oh no, if all that was required within Luskan was a force of soldiers I would have no issue with sending a regiment of less trained fist. Your work in Phandallin was not unnoticed Captain Goldbrook. We require a more politically adept group of professionals to deal with the unrest in the city and its leaders. It is a dangerous game I intend to play, and thus requires a group with special skills.” He considered a moment, Hogarth caught his attention. The old man still stood there quietly. "DISMISSED!"

The man dropped a scroll in shock before grabbing it quickly and heading back out the doorway. “I would much prefer you find your brother if you are adamant about his well-being. I cannot afford your thoughts be elsewhere in such a precarious situation. It is already a risk that you have that rabid dog of a half-orc with you. And though rabid dogs do have their uses when the time comes, another distraction during your duties I cannot accept.”
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