Reabyne steps varily towards Algar, keeping her eyes and ears on the supposedly wild elves. Then she translates to the guard, and from the guard, only changing some context or words to make it more smooth and diplomatic.
In her room in the inn, Aiko opens her eyes, awoken by the sounds of fighting from the outside. (Having travelled through the previous night to get to Autmnvale by the morning, the young priestess was disappointed by the sudden change ofschedule, and, foreseeing another sleepless night ahead, decided to spend a day to gain some well-needed rest).
Hiding her coin purse inside the massive glittering ceremonial tiara and donning the contraption on the top of her head, Aiko then wraps a lon silken shawl around her body - despite being semi-transparent, the cloth, wrapped in several layers in carefully designed pattern, manages to preserve the priestess modesty... most of the time.
So equipped - with the mace-like weapon sitting in the corner of the room forgotten - Aiko steps out and heads towards the source of commotion. "What happened here?" she asks worriedly, looking around, "Is anyone hurt?"
Nina blushed as the beautiful girl started approaching.
"Uh no. We're all good. These elves were spying on the inn." She started, trying and failing to keep her gaze at eye level. "We were just. uh. trying to figure out why."
Eris had had a very long, very hard week. She'd heard about the trouble going on at the brothel but was on the other side of the country at the time, and resolved to travel quickly and help out as best she could. Unfortunately, a well-wisher who she'd recently helped save from destitution had a coughing fit, and what she'd intended to be friendly, helpful advice to make sure Eris rode in style and safety in a horse-drawn coach turned into a very deviant order. Luckily, traveling over 100 miles strapped to the underside of a horse pulling a carriage with a horse-cock crammed into you for the entire journey has a way of taking one's mind off the situation, and Eris was in no state to worry about how shameful she appeared as they finally arrived in town earlier today.
Only the driver and passengers know the sordid details of everything that happened on the journey, however, as Eris was unconscious for most of it, just as she was a moment ago. It was the sound of battle that finally called her back to reality as she sat up, looking around in a daze. She was in the stables, that much was obvious, but she couldn't for the life of her figure out how or why she'd passed out there or what the strange, sticky, white substance she was laying in was, but there was quite a lot of it on her body, face, and in her hair. The memory of the trip seemingly repressed, the cum-soaked dhampir quickly takes stock of her situation, neglecting the fact that she's not wearing any clothes as she notices her weapon sheathed just outside the stable door. While her armor was there too, there wasn't time to don it, and so, still naked, with blade in hand she rushes outside and toward the sounds of battle that woke her up, seeing a strange priestess talking to a bunch of elves and other folk.
"My, my, is that so?" Aiko cocks her head, looking at the elves, "Well, it appears no harm's done, is there?"
Her further thoughts on the matter, however, are interrupted by the arrival of a beautiful naked woman brandishing a strange-looking sword. Aiko, in her turn, doesn't even try to pretend she isn't looking over the new arrival. Why, it would be simply impolite - sacrilegious, even - to not appreciate the beauty one chose to display. So, her eyes wander freely over the dhampir's uncovered body as she replies, "Just a little misunderstanding, it seems - there's no need for violence... these elves were, apparently, caught spying on the town - but, as I said, no harm's done, though I'd love to hear their part of the story... too bad they don't speak Common - or at least pretend not to..."
Scenting the air, Reabyne - a tall, red haired elf - slowly turns towards the newest arrivals. "Well, well, smells like a stable, or more like horse... Whoa, miss, are you one of the missing girls?" she shakes her head then turning towards the others "Anyway, I will translate if you want to speak with them, but it is obvious that they are not trusting us, and have some kind of problem, maybe similar..."
Then she proceeds to translate all what she had said in elf, a little bit more loudly, to make her voice reach the two almost fleeing cousin. Not too loudly, as she knows how sensitive their ears... and she does not change her words, just translates them, so it comes out like she was telling the two wild elf that the others was not too trusting towards them, as in also her, and maybe all elves...
"We weren't!" the one elf answered Nina indignantly. The injured elf stepped somewhat closer to his fellow, and nudged him, who in-turn took a small vial from one of the pouches at his waist and passed it over. The pair shoot a glance toward Aiko, as goes Algar, and Tugara; the elves, most of all, seem concerned about yet another newcomer, further increasing the amount they were outnumbered by. That wasn't helped by the nude woman suddenly running out from the stables, which made several there pause and give a double-take...
For several, long seconds.
"We weren't spying!" one of the elves finally snapped back, in elven, for a second time.
Algar waved his men over, motioning to the nude girl. He was still mostly stuck to his horse on account of the tanglefoot bag that had been thrown at him, however, the hardened substance was starting to turn brittle, and he was able to break some of it free with a bit of twisting about, though not yet all of it. The two men, who were caught out gawking at the nude woman who came into the picture, only snap to when Algar let out a shout to them, and snapped them from it. One of them removed his cloak, and brought it to Eris before offering it to her.
Tugara brushed herself off, and crossed her arms. Appreciative eyes upon both Eris, and Aiko, the former of which she gives call of, "I'm a bit curious as to what you'd been up to... "
"I'm not," Algar stated with a snort, then he shot a glance over toward where Ophelia had been, however, the matron had taken herself, and Skylar, back inside the brothel for the time being.
A bit of silence falls upon the elves, then the injured one spoke up, dodging another jab from his fellow. "We were attacked by them!" he stated, almost snarled, pointing at Algar. "And this isn't no better! We'll be telling the others of this... " With that, he reached out and grabbed his fellow elf's arm, nudging the other into slowly starting to back off, though they kept facing everyone there, especially the naked woman wielding a weapon... the pair gave her look as though they both thought her crazy, and what she would do is anyone's guess.
Upon hearing that there was no need for violence, Eris quickly moved out of her defensive posture and went to sheath her blades only to finally notice she was, in fact, entirely in the buff. She let out a small 'eek' of panic as she realized just why everyone seemed to be staring so intently at her and quickly grabbed the proffered cloak, wrapping it tightly around her breasts with one hand while using the other to hold her naked blades to shield her naked sheathe.
Once situated as best as she can be, she turns to the translator and Tugara, shaking her head, "No, I came to help find them...I'm not quite sure what happened to my clothes though," she admits with an embarrassed blush. "I just woke up and heard fighting so I came running, I only just got to town."
Shaking her head, again, "But you elves can't leave until we figure out what happened. Peeping or no, who attacked who, and why," she asks, having missed the start of the confrontation.
Tavish let out a low groan as he tried to adjust his rear in the saddle. He had been riding for about three weeks and his butt felt like it had fallen asleep during the last two days. He looked up from his misery, hoping to see some signs of the town that he had been traveling towards. It was then that he caught sight of a couple buildings in the distance. With a weary sigh he pushed his horse 'Sam' into a canter, and reached Autumnvale proper in a few short minutes. He was just in time to watch the end of the short scuffle. Seeing that everything seemed to be under control he didn't bother to draw any of his weapons, and made his way towards the stables. It took him completely by surprise when a naked woman came running out of the building, weapons in hand. Tavish paused, pulling on the reins of his horse, and stared at the girl, his gaze dropping lower and he was soon inspecting her butt, hearing nothing of the conversation around him. There was something familiar about the girl, but he didn't get it until she spoke. "Eris?" he asked in confusion, his eyes going wide as recognition finally dawned. The last time he had seen her she had been clothed, and they were hunting a minor dretch demon. He tried to avert his eyes, but they kept drifting back to all that skin on display.
He heard her question and raised his hand over his head "I would like to know the answers to those questions as well" he added, having only arrived a few moments ago himself.
"We were looking for the people who attacked us!" One of the elves answered Nina, in elven, once more casting an angry glance toward Algar. The other one, seeing there was no point in trying to fight it anymore, nodded, and added: "We know they came from here. And one way or another, we'll be finding our missing people... " With that, after sharing a look, the two turn heel and take off running once more, towards the woods. The skittish pair seemed quite uncomfortable with remaining--either they didn't understand nor agree with Eris--and likely another scuffle would be needed to get them to stay.
Algar practically snarls at this, but ends up just spitting at the ground. "Let them go, I suppose... we'll get out answers soon enough." At the very least, the guardsman couldn't seem to be bothered.
Tugara laughed, letting the elves flee for the moment, and strolled over to Eris, looking her up and down. "Only just arrived? Were you starting your own brothel, then? Seems like you made a few friends already... care for another?" The words lingered for a beat before Tugara turned toward the brothel, "In there, I mean."
Algar motioned his men over once Eris had the cloak, getting them to help take the reigns of his horse and start them back toward the stable. One of them called the man 'Captain,' but otherwise the guards with him kept to themselves. Algar made a note of Tavish as he rode into the scene and over to Eris, but didn't comment on him for the moment, nor the question of answers.
"So, Captain Algar, about those proofs..." Reabyne, the redheaded elf asked with a little bit of extrta questioning in her voice. "It seems they are missing their people too, and thinks their attackers came from this village. Can you show me, and tell me... us... all about it?" She was not that comfortable with the extra crowd loitering around, even less as they seemed to be eccentric and attention-grabbing too. Neither being helpful to a little detective work. Oh, well, she could always wait for one of them to get grabbed...
As the elves ran off, Nina's cat emerged from her bust and out her shirt climbing and crawling around her shoulders. "Oh. O.." Nina said her breath starting to catch in her throat. "Tabby... D... don't. A... achoo." She let out rubbing her nose.
"The elves have some missing members too. What's going on?" She questioned starting to get distracted by Tugara's closeness to Eris.
Tavish watched as the elves ran off, watching for where they would enter the tree line. If necessary he was confident he could track them down wherever they went so long as he didn't wait too long. From what he could gather there were people missing from the elves and the town too he guessed, now that Eris was clothed-ish and he was no longer distracted he was able to pick up on what was going on. I've been on the road too long he thought warily, shaking his head to clear it, though to be fair the woman had been stark naked and no man should have been able to concentration with a view like that.
Dismounting he lead Sam to the stable, where he tied the chestnut mare to one of the posts outside, passing close to Eris and the Half Orc. His gaze locked on the green-skin, he saw the signs of a half breed, but that did not put him at ease. He had a deep dislike for Orcs, seen too much destruction from them, and hunted their kind too often for his liking. He stood just next to Eris, a slight scowl on his face. "Instead of flirting, how about you tell us whats going on?" He asked, his eyes intense on Tugara, his hand resting on the pommel of his sword.
"There's nothing wrong with flirting", Aiko smiles supportively, "Gods know this world can use a little more love - that said... what happens here can't be allowed to continue. So..." she approaches the captain, "can you tell us about the girls who disappeared? When did it start? Was there anything in common between them? Anything at all?"
Tugara looked to Tavish as he returned from the stable, and to his scowl, she just grinned, then shrugged. "I know as much as you do, I just arrived and found out about it myself and it sounded quite interesting! We could follow after them or... we could take a look inside there," the half-orc noted before she nodded toward the brothel, then gave a suggestive glance toward Eris.
Her grin only broadened at Aiko's words, and she gave the more angelic woman a somewhat suggestive look. "I don't suppose it can... " With that, Tugara turned on the heel of her sandal, and started her way toward the brothel, using both arms to broadly push the doors open before she slipped inside.
~~ Captain Algar & The Barracks ~~
"Let's talk about this around less prying ears," Algar noted with a glance back upon hearing Reabyne's voice. "Anyone else who wants to know the answers she's seeking, follow us." Once back at the building he came from, Algar is helped down from his horse, one of the guards leading it away as the other helps get the last of the tanglefoot back off him before Algar headed inside the building.
The main floor was nothing to write home about, though it was spacious and open. A small square of padded mats took up a good third of the room, near the wall, with benches along the three opposite sides. The middle of the room had some training dummies, and archery targets against the wall, a few of which were pincushioned with both bolts and arrows, and off to the right were a trio of small cells with buckets, and small cots, all empty, and all having the doors hanging open.
Algar made his way inside, removing his gauntlets as he did, and took a seat upon one of the two long benches that seperated the jails from the training area. He motioned for those who joined him to sit. "I doubt they are missing people, given they are responsible. It was likely just some more falsehood that those elves are known for," the Captain started, muttering something further under his breath. "There's not much to tell... "
He trailed off, silent for a moment, then continued. "The disappearances started about three months back. Only brothel girls, and nobody else, so far, that and being female is about the only common thing I know between them. You'll have to talk to Ophellia about what steps she took herself or for information about the girls, but I know I had my guards out every night watching the brothel, and keeping an eye on town. Never helped, never saw anything. No matter what we tried, we couldn't find much information, or many leads, or a way to stop it until about two weeks back. One of my guardsmen saw a group of elves in town, at night, and heading away with what looked like a body wrapped up in a cloth."
He motioned toward the ceiling. "Think they are upstairs resting right now for tonight's duty, if you want to go talk to them. We checked in on Ophleia and sure enough, that night someone was taken. That's all the proof I need, as far as I'm concerned. The only thing that's been stopping us is we haven't been able to track them down in the woods. I imagine that'll change soon, we're expecting a tracker to return tomorrow with news of their wheeabouts."
"If the elves were responsible for the kidnappings? Then why the sudden clumsiness. You see nothing for months, and then suddenly it's plain as day?" Nina replies cocking her head slightly.
"Why do you think that those elves are telling falsehood? Have you run afoot of their lies before? Or all elves are lieing scum for you?" Reabyne, the red haired tall elf asks, a little bit intimidating. Waiting for the reply, she does not say another world, just would start walking upstairs... After all, Algar did not seemed to know anything, really. Still, that only one guardsmen had seen anything, and at night, making them sure it was elves, and kidnapping someone - what could have been a heap of clothes, nothing more.
But... Reabyne does not know these elves personally, nor she has any fanatic trust in her own race, as individuals can really vary in their words and doings. Still, after asking around upstairs, it would be time to visit the brothel. Reabyne was not ready to just go and visit these elves, not without some kind of reward or prize for her time and troubles. And maybe some of the others loitering around would be more helpful, than they looked, and acted like.
Tavish watched the half orc make her way to the brothel, his featuring smoothing as she moved away. He looked long and hard at the building, longing in his eyes, he had been on the road for too damn long and wanted to unwind for a while. But from the sound of it he wouldn't get very much peace and quiet. With a sigh he turned away from the building, and followed the captain into the Barracks. He check his hood as he did so, making sure his ears were covered, a nervous habit developed from his childhood. The Half Elf leaned against the wall when the captain motioned for them to sit, he had been on his ass for too long, and preferred to stand.
He perked up when Algar mentioned that only brothel girls had been taken, Things might be looking up, the girls would probably be grateful for a rescue, very grateful he thought. His eyes glazed over for just a moment, but he shook himself, no time for that just yet.
The elves had claimed to have had kidnappings as well, which sounded like a third party might be involved. Tavish considered for a moment, it might be time to check out the brothel after all. Silently he left the barracks, walking to the brothel, however rather than going inside he circled the building, his eyes scanning the ground and foliage nearby. If I'm not too late there should be something he thought.
Perception Skill check - Looking for tracks or other small details, 26 (or 28 if this area counts as Forest)
There was lots of things Aiko wanted to say to the guard captain. Unfortunately, none of them were fitting to be spoken in public and - worse - she didn't really expect them to have any effect of the bone-headed man.
With a sigh of desperation, the priestess heads inside the brothel. She was goint to ask some questions of the girls working there even before she found about the disappearances, anyway...
Algar settled on the bench, and began to undo the straps on his armor as he spoke, at the same time fishing some of the gunk he had been covered with out of nooks and crannies. "I'd hardly call it plain as day, they slipped up. Everyone does. You can't do something perfectly all the time." He glances up from his work to look at Nina. "And I'm glad they didn't given there people who are missing."
Then, he snorted some, and glanced over to Reabyne. "Because I've never met a wild elf around here who hasn't lied to me. I said those elves, not all elves, if you won't listen to my words and put others in my mouth I'll see no further point in speaking to you." There's a slight hint of irritation in his voice, but only just. "The barracks is the room on the right, leave the others be," he warned as Rea headed for the stairs.
The stairs creaked as Rea moved up them. At the top, they opened into a small common room, with a few long couches and chairs for rest, and a wide oval table. To the left is, sure enough, a firmly shut door, with a sign that reads: "Barracks." Ahead of Rea is a door leading to an unmarked room, and in the far left corner, next to the barracks, is a door with the sign, "Captain's Quarters."
~~ Visting Autumnvale Brothel ~~
Quietly, Tavish made his way out of the barracks and over to the brothel, seeking some kind of clues or evidence... of which he found none, at least, none of what he was looking for. There were footprints in the dirt of the road circling the two-story building, and in the small back yard the brothel had, but nothing out of the ordinary, nothing that stood out. There wasn't any clear sign that something had came from the grasses or trees anywhere around the brothel itself, however...
When he made one last sweeping gaze over the brothel, his eyes picked out some scorch marks around a window on the second floor, and a bit more around a window on the third floor. Across the street, there was a burned-out building, but there was a far distance between the two, and there didn't appear to be any damage to the small backyard or small building behind the brothel, or anywhere else but those windows. From the looks of the remnants of what was once a house, it must have burned relatively recently.
Afterwards, Tavish headed inside the building and was joined by Aiko. A bell hanging over the door jingled. The room opened up immediately, to a large sitting area with many long couches of red, pink, and violet along the walls filled with pillows, pillows on the carpeted floor, and long tables. To the right is a long counter, and behind it, a door to a side room, the door slightly cracked and a light visible. Just next to that room is a second sitting area, and a set of stairs leading upward sat against the far wall from the door.
Tugara was inside, and seated on one of the couches, next to Skylar. The poor boy was absolutely red-faced, mashed in a sandwich between Tugara, and another woman who neither of the pair knew. She was tall, and dark-haired, wearing a simple dress with a low-cut top which showed more than a fair bit of her ample chest. She was talking, and joking, with Skylar and Tugara, and though she gave a wave toward the newcomers, she kept her attention on the others.
"Something is definitely fishy. Still, there are disappearances... Why don't you go and ask all about that ... man ... and what he had seen that night, which seems to be the only 'evidence' they have. I will take a look at the good captains room..." Reabyne would be using her dexterity and some basic cantrips to gain access and then take a good look around the boss man's room, hoping to find any evidence why he is so ... angry at the wild elves around. And what else interesting does he has.
Careful to not be seen through the window, or when she is going through the door, the redheaded elf is trying to leave the money alone... but would have to really concentrate to not pocket some precious art object. *Lets see, what kind of man are you, Captain Algar... and what are you doing outside your job description!* she thinks, while sneaking around.
But she is no thief, no robber, just a little bit of an outlaw and highway-woman...
Tavish took note of the burns under the windows, and the burnt out building behind the brothel Odd he thought. He checked for signs of damage in the area between the two structures and found nothing, which puzzled him There should be something, some sign of the fire spreading he thought. The young man glanced back at the window for a moment, wary, before walking back around and entering the brothel, he had a question or two.
He walked into the brothel, and paused, his gaze sweeping over the interior. The cushions and pillows looked so inviting, and Tavish felt the familiar ache in his back from days on the road. He let out a long sigh, purposely turning his gaze from the padding. His gaze fell on the Half Orc and her companions, he focused his gaze on the other woman, ignoring the greenskin. "Excuse me, where could I find mistress Ophellia?" he asked her in a pleasant tone.
Hearing someone behind him, he turned his head slightly, and caught sight of the priestess from under his cowl. He nodded his head slightly at her "Did the good captain have anything useful to add?" he asked her, eyebrow quirked.
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