Fellowship of the Dice

Arent shivers at the reminder of the centaur hides. "Yeah, I'd certainly be upset if people were skinning my neighbors."

The debat takes the company into the evening, you fire up the stove and make dinner for yourselves. You find the kegs still fresh enough to drink, so you help yourselves to a few points of ale. Its strange to have the entire tavern to your selves, but after a while you grow right at home. There are clean sheets on the beds, and doors to lock. Long has it been since you had a private room with all your time on the road.

You spend a few hours going through the books and papers, the note, and all the other material you've found. What you can piece together is whatever this Vordakai is it must be ancient, very ancient and is tied some how to the Nomen Centaur of the region and this bracelet that Maestro Pendrod has sketched out and noted. The bracelet itself however is no where to be found. Packing up all the tomes and texts, you have a good collection, and Arenhal knows a black market dealer that might give up upwards of 900 gold for the set, then again each one is marked with the Kitharodian Academy in Brevoy, they may offer a reward for their safe return. That remind you of a few wanted posters and rewards offered back home.
You barricade yourselves in the inn, lock the doors, and go to sleep. Morning arrives and you find no one has bothered you all night, nor have they made you bacon and eggs, but you quickly fix that and are cleaning up the dishes shortly after the cock's crow ready to explore the town some more.

"That was a rest much-needed," Nimiriel says at breakfast. "Horror and weariness sapped into my bones more than I had realized, but I am ready to make a fresh start. Where would you two like to check out next?"

"Well, we need to keep working our way through the town, towards the keep. There might be some survivor who locked themselves away in a basement or cellar or something. Or more writings we could discover." He takes the time to organize the retrieved documents so far, believing there will be more to add later. "It appears the rumors and missions we were given regarding riled up Centaurs are correct. Although it looks like Varnhold might have picked a fight there, given those hides. Not playing the blame game, just being realistic from what we know."

"It would also explain the people who have gone missing. We don't know who started whatever this is, so we'll be cautious." He draws a ring out of the pouch he kept under his pillow and puts it on, an onyx raven graces it. "Councillor, can you handle any negotiations if we meet with something more intelligent that that lobstrosity?"

"I can," answered Nimiriel. "Though I am not the kingdom's official ambassador, I will do what I can."

With the dishes done, the books and papers packed up and stored, you are ready to set out once more. You come down out of the inn and stand in the town square looking around. A raven on a nearby tree takes flight as you disturb its rest. Gazing about you see various shops and buildings from here. To the east is a strangely shaped one, a temple you guess, a good place to pick up your quest, and offer a few morning prayers. So you head up the way to the roundish building.

A small church stands here, its whitewashed walls and stained glass windows gleaming in the sun. The bow symbol of Erastil shines like a beacon above the doors. Behind it on one side sits a neatly kept parsonage, and on the other a low hill holds the beginnings of a small cemetery. You offer respect to Erastil as you enter. The interior is simply
furnished with wooden pews and a humble altar. It looks to have been been looted as pews are knocked over, and the alter is in disarray.

"Well this is different." The aasimar's metallic eyes scan over the building. "All the houses looked like the people just up and walked away one moment. This is different. Someone deliberately did this. Perhaps for the joy of destroying something good, but I am assuming it was to send some sort of message. Pushing away foreign gods, that sort of thing."

"Maybe," Arenhal offers, casting his gaze over the temple, "It would be hard to determine if anything was stolen, even with a thorough search, we just don't know what was here." He steps out into the morning light again, "I guess we can check the large building over there, but I assume the town is abandoned, and any answers we seek, if we can find them at all, will be in the keep."

"We should still search the temple," Nimiriel argues. "Old Deadeye is practical and his priest may have secreted away something useful for time of need. But more importantly, I would have to overlook any clue we might find."