River's Campaign

[Shadeofshade]

RushingRiver Thanny Experienced Optimist DreamingBlackbird clarinetti pointmango

Now Therion knew who it was that needed treatment, the Wood Elf that called them over, he raised himself so that he could take a better look. “May I do a closer examination? After all, if you were hit by some debris then you might have a fracture to your bone and I would rather you are not in any discomfort.” He said, indicating to the injured part of the arm.

 

[Experienced Optimist]

“Darling, I am locked up in a wagon for a fire I had nothing to do with, with really little evidence of that situation changing any time soon. Discomfort is kind of a given” Gaelen sighed, though the elf was quick to accept Therion’s offer of help, motioning him closer so he could inspect the bruised arm. He wasn’t sure if their ruse would hold up under the scrutiny of a healer, in fact it likely wouldn’t after a healing spell failed to clear it, but the cleric had shown to be sympathetic towards the group inside. He might just play along, or at the very least not call them out.

Casting a last furtive glance at the guard that was supervising them, Gaelen put his trust on the others to hold the man’s attention as he used his ‘good’ arm to subtly grab at Therion’s sleeve and gently tugged him closer. “There’s a piece of paper hidden under a bush. Right next to a sign post by the Sandy Ox” Gaelen spoke in a rushed hushed voice, his general impertinent tone replace by a more serious demeanor “These guards don’t trust us, but I can tell you hold more sense than they do, and that paper might hold the key to proving we’re innocent. Please bring it to us. It might be our only chance”

He loosened his hold on the other, subtly glancing back at the guard to see if he’d noticed anything. “You’re far too kind, good cleric” Gaelen spoke normally again. “Lucky you were here, or I might have lost the arm”

Rolls:
Stealth to whisper without being caught:
Nat 20! + 7 = 27

 

[DreamingBlackbird]

Oooor we could do that, Andryn thinks, giving Gaelen a thumbs up for the alternative and easier solution of calling Therion over. So far, so good, Now all that's left is to tell Therion about the thing in the bush, and fate help us from there on. Seeing the cleric approach almost makes her grin. Almost. Any semblance of a small triumph immediately crumbles once Andryn sees one of the guards approaching as well. Internally, she groans. That ought to put a change in plans.

The wagon becomes more crowded upon the entrance of both Therion and the guard, and Andryn presses her legs against her chest to make more room. A sharp ear would catch her quiet growl, not being exactly happy at the guard joining in. It didn't help that he was facing the seats opposite to hers, with his armor pressing close to what little personal space she had.

"By the gods, you've got soot and ash all over you, sir!" she remarks, pointing her finger at his armor and casting Prestidigitation, regardless of whether it actually was covered in soot and ash. Perhaps she could try and catch his attention for Gaelen and Therion's benefit? "Are things looking messy out there? Please, do tell. That tiny excuse of a window over there isn't helping out very much."

She considers casting a spell to charm the bastard, but decides to press her luck. "I truly need to ask, good sir, as I've been the bartender of Bok's Bar for six years. That establishment is like a home to me. Is the fire out? Has anyone been hurt? Have you seen Berley Bok? Is he alright?"

Truth be told, she didn't actually care for her boss. He probably doesn't even know her name. But distractions were distractions, and Andryn was trying her best.

Rolls:
Persuasion: 17 + 5 = 22
(ignore the 20, wifi fudged me up again)

 

[Shadeofshade]

RushingRiver Thanny Experienced Optimist DreamingBlackbird clarinetti pointmango

With the Wood Elf giving his permission, Therion began the examination with light pressing on the skin. As he was doing the examination, the Wood Elf whispered something that was incredibly important, “There’s a piece of paper hidden under a bush. Right next to a sign post by the Sandy Ox. These guards don’t trust us, but I can tell you hold more sense than they do, and that paper might hold the key to proving we’re innocent. Please bring it to us. It might be our only chance.”

With just that, it told Therion everything he needed to know. “...From what I can tell, you don’t have a fracture. Thankfully it’s just a bruise. This brush isn’t something so serious that it can't be healed given a small amount of time...say...about an hour or so and your body will naturally heal it. I do suggest not moving it around as that will make it take longer to heal. Besides that, no need for a healing spell.”

With that now ’sorted out’ Therion smiled, stood up, turned around and said, “Now, is there anyone else here that has any injuries that they would like to be checked out?”

 

[RushingRiver]

The guard opens the door and grabs a lantern on the wagon floor. He then leans forward and carefully examines Gaelen's dark purple bruise and scrapes across his shirt. "Yikes that looks like a nasty bruise... Definitely get that treated." He sighs before continuing. "Look. I don't mean to insult you by following you inside. And I'm sorry for not believing your story, in fact, I do believe you. But I could never admit that in front of the other guards. Actually, I need to ask you something..." He trails off and lowers his eyes to the ground. "Nevermind. I'd get in big trouble if anyone ever found out. Just fix these people up and we can all be on our way." He stepped away and sat down in an empty spot on the bench, resting his head in the palm of his hand.

He looks up at Andryn, "The fire is out completely, just in time too. Any longer and the fire would've spread across the whole town. We don't have any official statistics yet, but there are four injured, two of them are critical. From what I know, there are no deaths... yet. Now Berley?" he shook his head slowly. "Poor guy. Been missing for a couple days. His wife called yesterday, reporting his absence. You're a bartender here? Have you seen him?"

As per usual, the Sheriff can be heard shouting and yelling everywhere and at everybody. This time, however, there is a sudden urgency to his deep-throated raspy voice, and all officers on scene are summoned, but for what? The group does not know. The guard looks up at the crowd around him. "Hey, I could be fired if someone heard me say this, but now's your chance to get out of here. Honestly, I know you didn't do it." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a roll of parchment and a pen. He quickly scribbles something down and hands it to Gaelen, who's standing beside him. "Meet me here at 11 tonight," he says before hopping out of the wagon and sprinting towards the group of cops surrounding the Sheriff. The paper reads 61 Coaterie.

 

[Thanny]

Swats-at-Light-a-Lot

The Tabaxi glanced up from the finishing touches of her work, sans the signature and name of the doctor, trying to carefully analyse the situation. It seemed that both the guard and the cleric were in the know, which . . . seemed strange. What is the situation with the guard? she wondered. Very curious. Maybe this will be the change she needed, this time as a sleuth rather than a thief. That would be interesting, though that would mean she would have to learn how to speak Common a little better and easier. A girl can dream.

Corking the ink pot and wiping the pen free of ink, she flashed the cleric Therion a toothy smile.

"Swats thinks she is all good, as are others. Save those spells for those others in bad pain outside. Swats knows medicine and can deal with things here." She got up and purred, stretching her limbs as best as she was able under the low ceiling (at least for her). "Guard was nice, nicer than expected. Swats wants to meet guard again with Gaelen and will join at requested time. What does paper say? Will cleric come too? Others too, maybe? Maybe money will be given, which Swats likes very much. Very much copperless now, this one."

She upturned her pockets, the only thing within them being a small envelope knife which fell to the floor.

"Forgot about cutlery," she said in defense.

 

[Shadeofshade]

RushingRiver Thanny Experienced Optimist DreamingBlackbird clarinetti pointmango

When Therion heard about the two critically injured patients, he wished that he could just run straight to them. With the comment from the Tabaxi, he assumed was called Swat, He felt a bit of relief. “Thank you.” He said to Swat with a smile. With that off his mind, he jumped out of the wagon and ran to the nearest Guard and said, “Can you take me to the critically injured patients right away please. If I can, I want to keep the casualties to zero if possible.”

Roll
To persuade the Guard
11+3=14

 

[Experienced Optimist]

Shifting his attention from the cleric, Gaelen shot the guard a curious look. He was letting them go, the elf should be overjoyed at that, but the entire situation was questionable at best. This guard knew something the others didn't, and why he felt he could trust this rag tag group that had be scrounged together by sheer dumb luck as opposed to his fellow officers was beyond him. Still, this was not the time to question things. They had a shot at their freedom, and something distracting the sheriff and those who worked for him, Gaelen was not going to sit put and hope for another one.

Slipping his hood over his head, and the piece of parchment into his pouch, he paused long enough to address Andryn. "You actually live here. Know this town. If there's a place to hide, like an abandoned building, sewer system, anything like that, this would be a good time to lead the way. Otherwise our best bet might be to leave town" And perhaps sneak back to meet the guard tonight. Gaelen wasn't sure about that part just yet. Hoping the tiefling might indeed know of a place to go, and knowing they had no time to waste, he gave the group a nod and exited the wagon, breaking into a light-footed sprint in the hopes of reaching the relative cover of dark alleys and curving roads before they were spotted.

There was one last thing he was interested in before they left though. Making a beeline for the Sandy Ox, and hoping that he had a good idea of where the paper Andryn had described was, he ducked down just long enough to attempt to grab at the suspicious parchment before he could continue after the rest of the group.

Rolls:
Stealth:
6 + 7 + 4= 17

Sleight of Hand to grab paper:
8 + 7 = 15

 

[DreamingBlackbird]

The guard's sudden...change of heart catches Andryn by surprise. What was up with this guy? She squints hard at him as he expresses his probably-true intentions, not exactly sure what to make of him yet. She does feel relieved that, at least, someone believes them. It wasn't much, but it was better than none at all. Andryn listens closely as the guard begins to ask a question, but immediately sags once he changes his mind. That wasn't very nice. Now she probably wouldn't be able to sleep trying to think of what exactly the guy wanted to ask them. She had to find out, eventually, come hell or high water.

The rest of what he said simply slips through her ears as she starts wondering, hard, about the discontinued question. At the mention of Berley's disappearance, however, she visibly becomes serious. Sure, she hadn't seen her boss for a while now, but missing? There was definitely something deeper going on. At that moment, Andryn decided that she definitely had to know.

Just when she thought the guard couldn't get any more surprising, he decides to let them go. Unofficially, at least, but nevertheless the door was open for them. For a moment Andryn simply blinks, then looks at the people around her and gives a lopsided grin. "Alright, we've got one chance, so let's not screw this, guys!" she whispers, but the energy of her delivery almost makes it seem like a shout.

To Gaelen's question, Andryn ponders for a moment before her face lights up. "I think I may have an idea where to go, but first we'll have to leave this place undetected," she answers, waiting for the others to exit before sneaking out herself.


Roll:
Stealth: 3 + 2 = 5

(Gaelen, Swats, and Orryna have all been given Bardic Inspiration. Therion doesn't need one because he's badass enough and doesn't need to stealth )
RushingRiver Experienced Optimist Thanny clarinetti Shadeofshade

 

[Thanny]

Swats-at-Light-a-Lot

Picking up her collapsed knife which, thankfully, was not the sort to penetrate anyone's skin but rather a letter opener, Swats looked around shyly at the group, then out the door where Gaelen and Andryn went out.

"Okay, everyone. Nice and slow venturing out. Follow Swats and don't alert guards." She smiled a very feline grin and shoved her rucksack on her shoulder. "Swats leaving now."

Slipping out of the door soon afterward, she made a hasty retreat alongside Andryn, inspired by the girl's actions and following her footsteps, only a little bit better. She strode long, gliding motions across the ground, sometimes picking up a pebble with her half-shoes (she did not have soles under her shoes) but otherwise not harboring an issue with noise and missteps.

"Swats hope that others will be fine," she spoke up to Andryn quietly. "For better or worse, Swats and rest are all in on this together."

Stealth roll:
8 (roll) + 4 (bonus) + 5 (inspiration) = 17

((Ignore the d20 roll of 11.))

 

[RushingRiver]

"And who are you?" The guard eyes Therion thoughtfully, searching for a name he had perhaps heard before. "Theriod? Therior? You're that cleric... Anyways, they were sent to the hospital immediately. I appreciate the offer though." In the background, Gaelen exits the wagon and quietly sprints to the side of the Sandy Ox and peers into the bush. Low and behold, a piece of paper is wedged between the branches, just as Andryn claimed to have seen. He carefully extends his arm and slides it out of the shrub, resulting in nothing but a small tear in the corner and a lightly scratched wrist. Upon examination, Gaelen confirms that this is not common language.

Patiently waiting for Gaelen to retrieve the paper, Andryn begins to subtly walk towards him. A squirrel descends the tree beside her and she veers sharply to the left to avoid stepping on it, stumbling straight into the arms of a nearby guard. He catches her and boosts her back up to her feet. "Someone's had a bit much to drink" he chuckles as she dashes off. The others from the wagon follow her lead and they meet up with Gaelen beside the Sandy Ox.

 

[DreamingBlackbird]

"Ohohoho!" Andryn ends up exclaiming as she collides with one of the guards, deciding to play it even further once he remarks on her apparent lack of sobriety. Getting back on her feet, Andryn walks in a zigzag line for a bit, turning around one last time to give the guard a groggy salute before dashing off towards the Sandy Ox. Wow...that was easy, she thinks, rather surprised that the guard didn't even get one bit suspicious. Or did he? That wasn't good. She takes one last look at the cluster of guards surrounding the Sheriff, trying to see if said guard was still looking.

Then, turning her attention back to the task at hand, she peeks over Gaelen's shoulder to take a look at the piece of paper he'd fished out. "If that ain't Common, then what language do you think is it?" she asks, squinting at the paper's writing.

Rolls:
Intelligence: 2+2 = 4

 

[Experienced Optimist]

With the paper secured in his hand, and dipping into the relative cover of shadows, Gaelen turned back to the rest of the party. He wasn't surprised that Swats had no problem sneaking her way from the confines of the wagon without being seen, though was pleased that she had made it safely nonetheless. Adryn, however had him wincing when she all but ran into the arms of one of the guards. The elf immediately lowered his free hand down to his dagger, ready to react if it seemed she was about to be detained again, but much to his surprise, she seemed to have been let go with no more than a chuckle. He furrowed his brow, looking past Andryn as she fake stumbled her way towards them for any sign in the guard that he'd caught on to more than it seemed. Luck wasn't a steady companion in Gaelen's life, and we he wasn't about to start believing it would be now.

With the small party of near-strangers reunited, Gaelen turned his attention back to Andryn, shaking his head. "Unless it's elvish or thieve's cant, I don't know it" He admitted, though he hadn't taken all that close a look at the paper, more concerned with not staying in the open for too long. "We can study it later, in the meantime, you said you had somewhere we might be able to go? Could you lead us there?"

Roll:
(very pathetic) Insight check on the Guard to see if he suspected anything:
2 + 2 = 4

 

[Shadeofshade]

RushingRiver Thanny Experienced Optimist DreamingBlackbird clarinetti pointmango

Breathing a sigh of relief, all the injured patents were now being sent to a hospital where they will be treated. He noticed that the Tiefling had stumbled into a guard and then ran off, stumbling and zigzagging, as the Tiefling was straightened up by the guard. “If that’s the case then I do believe that I am not needed here anymore. I will be taking my leave now, I hope everything works out in finding who started the fire.” He said to the Guard as he headed off.

As Therion headed past the Sandy Ox, he had hoped that he might bump into the others from the Wagon. He remembered what was said and thought that it might be a good idea to have him around the innocent group as what the Guard in the Wagon said sounded like trouble, trouble that he wanted to help that group resolve if possible.

Roll
Perception to find the others.
6+3=9

 

[RushingRiver]

Gaelen cannot tell whether or not the guard suspects anything.

Unfortunately for Therion, it seems as though the party had left without him, although he could've sworn he heard their voices not too far away. Maybe a shout or a wave could draw him closer hint hint

 

[Thanny]

Swats-at-Light-a-Lot

Upon Gaelen's return, Swats gave the roguish individual a slight nod, then snooped in to check out the piece of paper, barely catching a glimpse of it and tsk-ing when she couldn't make too much heads or tails of the first few words. Maybe a few words, but it was unfamiliar.

She did not give it much more thought as she moved on to surveillance, gauging the wealth and intrigue of the area . . . although admittedly mostly the wealth. Without money, she was going to be stranded here and in poor standing of bettering her life. Just a little coin would help her a lot in the long run, though she had a little more ambition than pickpocketing only one individual. She started eyeing the fatter coinpurses a bit more zealously, her mind slipping into that one state that she hoped not to enter: a deep, meditative state of tunnel vision. Such was her benefit as well as her curse, but now was definitely not the time.

She jumped upon the first distraction she came to witness, a man dressed in the same cloth as . . . no, it was the same man. That was the cleric from before: Therion, if memory served her right. She waved her hand over and between the passersby, then approached him with catlike dexterity and digitigrade feet.

"Swats wishes to give cleric her thanks," she said, foreigner's accent still rich. "Without cleric Therion, Swats and others might have been in makeshift prison for a longer time. So grateful."

She gave a slight bow from her slender form with eyes closed and rose immediately after it was performed, eyes opening shortly after as well. Unfortunately, it really was the wrong man, who looked her over and waved her off saying, "Uh, that's not me. Carry on and follow the teachings of our great god by staying out of prison, and you'll go far. Now, um." And he left, taking her for a crazy person.

Swats looked defeated for a moment before aiming to return back to the group, thankfully in front of Therion and relatively close by, within earshot, at the least. Therion would have to initiate the conversation, however.

"All furless ones look similar, though last cleric did not have beard hair. Swats take that into account next time."


Intelligence roll: 15 + 2 = 17
Perception: 2 + 3 = 5

 

[Shadeofshade]

RushingRiver Thanny Experienced Optimist DreamingBlackbird clarinetti pointmango

As Therion looked around he couldn’t see any of the people in the wagon. He decided to stop and think. “Ok, I can’t find them or they have just moved on from here.” His thought began, “Now then, who do I know the names of from that wagon?...ummm...Wait! What about that Wood Elf? I think they were called...Gaelen?...Then there’s that Tabaxi...Swats?”

Therion then looked around himself and noticed that most of the Guards were on the other side of Bok’s Bar. “Well, it’s better than nothing.” He thought as he took a deep breath and then shouted, “Gaelen! Swats! It’s Therion! If You’ll allow it, I would like to help you! I’m By that bush you mentioned!”

 

[Experienced Optimist]

Finding that apparently no one in their little group could read the paper, Gaelen decided to tuck it safely in his pouch, along with the address the guard had handed them earlier. Once they'd found somewhere to hunker down and be safe from the eye of the local guards, they could decide what they wanted to do with both pieces of information, but as it was, their little band was far to noticeable to stay in the open.

He was about to suggest they get moving when the sound of his name being shouted out, startling the wood elf for a moment, before recognition took its place. He knew that voice, it was the cleric that had been willing to help them earlier. From the, a bit too loud for his personal comfort, sound of it, he was still eager to help them clear their name, and Gaelen was more than happy to have another ally at their side. Following the voice, and the cleric's own directions, it took him no time at all to retrace his steps back to the bush where their mysterious slip of paper had been, and the elf paused only long enough to confirm this wasn't some trap before making his way towards him.

Coming up behind Therion, the elf slipped a hand over his mouth. "I'm sure we'd all would be more than happy yo have you, friend" He spoke immediately so the human would know it was him, taking his hand away and raising it along with the other to show the cleric he meant no harm by sneaking up on him. "Could we do so a bit more quietly though?"

Rolls:
Stealth to sneak up on Therion:
9 + 7 = 16

 

[DreamingBlackbird]

"Ah! Almost forgot about that..." Andryn says in response to Gaelen's question. She starts looking around the area, hoping no one was following them. "Alright, so everyone in Seligen thinks this house is haunted, so hopefully no one's gonna be around it toni--" She doesn't even get to finish the sentence before a rather familiar voice shouts out Gaelen and Swats' name, prompting Andryn to whip her head around to search for the speaker. It takes her a few seconds to finally figure out who it was--Therion, the cleric, whose voice she never expected to associate with shouting. The guy always seemed calm and serene, at least to Andryn. Shouting? It was at the very bottom of her list of Therion-y things.

She watches as Gaelen slinks out from the alley they were hiding in, sneaking over to approach a figure who she could only assume was Therion. Hopefully no one was attentive enough to hear what the cleric just blurted out. She thinks, become slightly wary. None of the guards knew their names, as far as she could tell. Once the two were near enough, Andryn begins to speak, "That was...rather enthusiastic," she remarks with a chuckle, nodding at Therion. "That said, we should really get going now before the guards realize the wagon's empty. Follow me."

Andryn gestures over to the north and begins walking, occasionally taking a look at the surroundings, until they all finally approach the silhouette of what seems to be a crumbling house. Looking up, one could easily make out the outlines of a house frame, revealed after years of its exterior walls peeling off, though there was still enough to cover the house's interior. The roof--if it could still be called one--had numerous holes dotting its surface.

The tiefling resists the urge to gag at the musty, old smell wafting from inside the house. Waving a hand across her face as if the swat the smell, Andryn casts Prestidigitation--at least the odor, the dust, and various other messes could be removed. The place was still old and abandoned, but at the very least it was clean. "Aaaand here we are!" she says, turning to face the group. "Welcome to Alderich's...uh...house, folks. Though I don't think it could be called a house anymore."

Rolls
Perception to see if someone is following them: 4 + 3 = 7
Advantage: 11 + 3 = 14

 

[Thanny]

Swats-at-Light-a-Lot

When Swats heard the unorthodox manner of screaming of the names of the escaped party, she winced thinking that all was over, tail stiffening as much as the rest of her muscles, but she was pleasantly surprised when she looked over and found the real Therion not too far off. She wanted to head over there to shush him up before he yelled any more loudly, but Gaelen was quick on his feet and slipped close enough to silence him. She glanced further into the crowd to see if there were any more guards, but a flash of memory served her well: neither the Sheriff nor the guards asked for their names, and the Sheriff only seemed to pay attention to Therion's name. With luck, nothing will be the matter, and nothing seemed to in the end.

Andryn the bard led them into a house that had clearly seen better days, but maintained a quiescent sense of order. Some holes were in the rooftop, but that was fine. It made viewing the stars that more grand, and at least the place had four good walls. She walked up to the exposed siding, knocked on it, as if testing its soundness, and smiled approvingly.

"Swats likes this place. Not quite like estate back in my homeland, but maybe a getaway. Shame about its condition. Swats is no builder and cannot help much . . . at least, not yet." She turned around at the others, looking almost perturbed by her own thoughts. "Swats hates to impose, but like said before Swats has no money for even an inn room. Does Andryn mind if Swats stays here to rest sometimes. Even the rafters would be good enough for Swats."

 

[Shadeofshade]

RushingRiver Thanny Experienced Optimist DreamingBlackbird clarinetti pointmango

Therion flinched for a moment as a hand came over his mouth but was realised that it was Gaelen. When Gaelen’s hand moved away, Therion turned around to see Gaelen. “Consider it done.” Said Therion in a more hushed voice, he then made a gesture with his hand and said, “Please, lead the way.”

When Therion met up with the rest of the group he received a comment that only made him smile, Sister Hilda had always said that he had a good pair of lungs. He followed the group to the place he might call his temporary home. What he saw was a house that needed some...OK a lot of care and repair. “I wouldn’t say that.” He began as he looked at the exterior of the house, “From what I can see all it needs is some tender love and care, the exterior walls to be redone, the roof to be fixed along with some general maintenance and it could be a lovely home.” As he finished he came to a decision and nodded firmly, “And if you want, I would be more than happy to help as and where I am able to inside and outside the home.”

 

[Experienced Optimist]

"Much appreciated" Gaelen offered a slight smile in return, nodding his head in the direction of the rest of their group and quickly leading the way back to them. He was happy to trail behind the others as Andryn led the way to what would hopefully serve as a safe house long enough for them to decide what to do, keeping an eye out for anyone that might be following them. Thankfully, it didn't seem to take long until they arrived at their destination, and Gaelen could easily see how the house before them might have gathered a reputation for being haunted. With its peeling walls and crumbling roof, it was "Perfect" The elf commented half to himself as they all entered "You're a life saver Andryn". Out of view, naturally avoided by people, and the sort of place no one would 'really' want to live in made for a good place to hide short of leaving town altogether.

Gaelen had lived in tents and sleeping bags under the moon for most of his life, so the decayed state of the house was hardly a bother, though he did certainly appreciate the bard getting rid of the musty smell that permeated the room. Giving Therion a pat on the shoulder as a sort of welcome-to-the-team gesture, he stepped past him and sat himself down on the floor where one of the holes in the roof offered enough moonlight to read the two slips of paper he now pulled from his pouch and flattened out on the ground before him. "So we've got two mysteries to solve, or more likely two sides of the same one" he commented to the room in general. "This one note that I haven't the faintest idea what it says, or even what it's written in" He frowned, trying to see if he could at least pick up what language it was, and perhaps they might be able to find some help. "Then there's also the guard. Gave us an address to meet up with him tonight" The elf sounded uneasy over this. He naturally had a healthy aversion to being around any sort of law enforcement, given his lifestyle, and wasn't super thrilled with the thought of meeting up with a member of such. Especially since they could technically be considered on the run now. On the other hand, there was some nutcase going around burning buildings with people inside them, and some mysterious figure skulking about town, if this meeting could help them connect the dots, it might be worth the risk.

Rolls:
Intelligence to try to figure out what language the note is written in:
18

 

[RushingRiver]

I don't really know what to add except that Andryn is too preoccupied leading the party to thee abandoned house to notice anyone following them, and Gaelen knows the language of the writing is Goblin. He can pick out a few words, Grako, which seems like a name of somebody or somewhere, and a word he assumes to mean thanks.

 

[clarinetti]

A great deal occurred in the subsequent moments, so much so that Orryna found herself swept up in the proceedings. The cleric from before came to their aid, and along with the aid of a compassionate guard the group from the wagon managed to escape, the paladin hesitantly taking up the rear. To flee the scene of a crime in such a fashion rubbed her the wrong way… but more suspicion might be directed towards her should she be the only one to remain. She’d kept a watchful eye on the Sheriff and the rest of the guards as they fled the scene, and hoped that if nothing else they’d succeeded in leaving somewhat undetected.

Andryn guided their little band of misfits through the cities’ sidestreets, eventually leading them to a dishevelled building. It was not perhaps as comfortable as an inn might have been, but it gave her a roof over her head and was better than sleeping on the streets. Plus, it meant she could save a night’s accommodation. “I’ve slept in worse places- it’ll do.” Orynna grunted as she entered the house, carefully closing the door as she did so. After giving the space a once-over, the half-elf sets down her gear before leaning up against a beam and listening to Gaelen’s words.

“What do you all make of this? The man helped us, true enough, but why would he wish to meet with us? And what of the Sheriff, immediately pointing the blame to us while disregarding the shady figure who fled the scene? It doesn’t sit right… feels like a setup, this whole damn thing.” she muses aloud, gaze shifting between the party members as she does so.

Stealth (Escaping wagon): 15+0 = 15

Perception (Watching for guards/ anyone following them): 10+3 = 13

Experienced Optimist Thanny Shadeofshade DreamingBlackbird RushingRiver

 

[Experienced Optimist]

Goblin. Well he certainly didn't know much of that, and it's not like there was often friendly bands of traveling goblins in town to ask them to translate. They might have to find someone else to read it for them, or perhaps a spell of sorts. The elf wasn't sure, but what he did know was that there were more pressing matters at the moment. They had a time limit to decide what they wanted to do with this guard, and it was approaching quickly.

"Everything about today has gone from sketchy to highly suspicious, at this point I think we're deep in it" He reasoned in response to Orryna's comment, looking up from the slips of paper to the group. "For all we know, they're just setting up an ambush and now they can arrest us for resisting arrest in the first place. Honestly everything about this seems like a terrible idea...I think we should go" Even if every one of his instincts would be screaming to stay away, it was their best chance at information. "I don't think we should all just go openly though. Maybe just a couple, Therion isn't in any trouble. Perhaps me and Swats can follow at a distance, provide support if things go south?"