Stings sat and waited by himself for the group to return from the house. In retrospect he wished he would have went with Deathstalker. All this sitting around doing nothing was driving him a tad nutty! And the slow drizzle of the rain was making his mood less then pleasant.

Finally the group returned and Gunther reported what the farmer had said. Stings, not being of any one faith, found all the talk about Deities and Gods rubbing against him like an itchy wool shirt. He knows it's there to keep him warm but, damn is it irritating.

He got up when the report was over and gathered his bag and prepared to move forward...

Severous Thane massaged his head to ease the pain. "stange feeling this drunkeness. I shall have to reconsider the next time somebody tries to buy me a drink" he grumbled to himself. the last few days were still a blur in his mind. He could still recall his master tossing him out on his ass from his tower. it had all come crashing down when his master had caught him breking into his personal library. "all in aquest for knowledge" he chuckled to himself. since then he had wandered for sometime before taking up residence in this tiny pisshole of a town. he didn't like it much here. "people always eyeing me funny" he thought as he went about gathering his things together. he would have to move on soon. "well at least nobody stole any of my stuff. now to find out exactly where in the nine hells i am" he whispered to himself as he shouldered his pack and opened the door.

After reporting back to the group, the halfling shoulders his backpack and decides to climb a nearby tree while "waiting it out" until they moved forward as a group. He thought maybe he could see something more from a loftier perch. He was ready at a moment's notice to part with his small group and head towards the mayor. He decided, once again, that when they addressed the mayor he would listen more than speak, and be ever observant. He would follow the humans lead, but ever ready to react quickly as needed.

Haiden reports with her group and prepares to pursue the group's direction.

Kyuss gets ready to travel with his group to the temple. He is waiting on the druid to get them started.

Kitai is waiting patiently for his group to start exploring the town for anything untowards...

Well, it seemed everyone was prepared to split for the moment and find information where they could in the town of Orlane. The charismatic paladin and his group were headed toward the mayor's house, while the second group went in search of Garrus.

Upon hearing the local goddess was Merikka, Valerus had decided it may be best for him to go to the temple. The Oerth Mother Beory was the druid goddess, but Valerus knew he would have much in common with the priests of Merikka. That was, if any priests actually resided in the town. He would have to wait until they reached the temple before he would decide how much was to be gained by the trip.

Valerus is going to lead group 3 to the Temple of Merikka. When we arrive, Valerus will ask the questions as designated and submitted by the group on the Q&A forum. One of the others in group 3 can feel free to write up the questioning encounter. If this is not acceptable since I will not be on for a few days, I will relinquish the questioning to Kyuss, Haiden, and/or Stings to the priests/workers at the temple

Seeing that Valerus had gathered the rest of the group to start off to the temple Kyuss took his place in the lead. The druid may have been the leader of the group but the front of the group was not the best place for him. Striding away Kyuss was followed by Valerus, Haiden and Stings who was bringing up the rear.

Following the suggestion of Valerus Kyuss lead the small group of adventures to the north. The group was in no hurry and took advantage of their pace to take in their surroundings. It was always Kyuss's thought to know everything he could about a problem before falling head first into it. Taking a few moments now that could save people later was fine with him.

The group follows the road to building 6 then north to building 25 where they turn east to follow the road to the temple.

The group is calm and courteous to anyone they see/meet along the way.

They will investigate anything they notice out of the ordinary. They arent wandering aimlessly though looking for it. Sticking to the road and what they can see from there

Haiden was a little suspicious of the farmer's words as described by Gunther. Could the farmer be hiding what he knows for fear, or was it a genuine lack of knowledge on the farmer's part? Either way it did not matter to the task at hand.

She gathered with Kyuss and the other members of the group she was assigned to and started to walk with them, cautiously looking at her surroundings to see if there was anything out of the ordinary, and masking her concern whenever a townsfolk would look at them. Walking with all her weapons secured was a hard thing to do in this new environment, but she continued to walk normally, and tried to restrain from reaching to a weapon whenever anyone walked around the group.

Haiden follows the group in formation, being friendly to all townsfolk and looks for anything out of the ordinary.

Precious time was slipping away and even more precious daylight was burning. Gunther waited for a reply to his questions, but the long agonizing moments were becoming almost too great to bear. He watched as the rest of the group seemingly argued among themselves as to a specific course of action.

His blades thirsted to avenge the deaths of his father and his father’s father against the evil that tried to supplant the good in the land, but the young Paladin had long ago tempered himself with the disciplines necessary to accomplish his personal goals while possessing a lifestyle of obedience to serving the True and Living God.

Gunther took several more steps and prayed to his God, asking forgiveness for his impatience and to lead, guide and direct his way to make the best choices to accomplish his goals of fighting against the Evil in the land that opposed the forces of Good.

The young Paladin recalled the words of advice that his maternal grandfather had given him countless times during his years of training: “Not every battle is won by the strength of your sword. Many battles are won by the strength of your brain!”

This was such a time to rely on the strength of his brain. Gunther would follow the road East to Mayor Ormond’s house on the lake. Using the strength of his brain was vital to asking Mayor Ormond to identify the key locations on the map that Gunther and his companions were each carrying. A warrior is well prepared before entering a battle and knowing which buildings on the map represented where the people had disappeared and what exactly each building on the map represented was a vital key to be prepared for any battle that was inevitable to embroil the adventurers at a moments notice.

Besides the locations already noted on the map, Mayor Ormond would certainly be privy to any knowledge of anything not drawn on the map that may provide hidden clues to the mysterious forces at work in the surrounding area of Orlane.

Gunther walked a bit further and turned to see if anyone would follow his lead. He noticed that Kyuss, Haiden, Stings and Valerus had banded together again and were pointing to the others that they would head North.

It was obvious that Aelbric, Doogan, Katai and Elkin were regrouping and discussing some type of strategy among themselves. Hopefully that strategy would include finding their absent companion Garrus who had obviously grown impatient with the proceedings at the farm and struck out on his own to quench his thirst for adventure.

Gunther did not fault the actions of DeathStalker to want to do something instead of standing around and waiting, he only questioned the wisdom of such action in going off alone at the present time when there was so little known about the town and the fear that was obviously gripping the people of Orlane.

Finally Gunther noticed that Sentinel was climbing back down the tree to join Oriel and Fandil, but what were they doing now?

Gunther was doing a slow burn inside as he realized that his companions were bringing the donkey and wagon with them to join the young Paladin on the way to Mayor Orland’s house. Gunther was inclined to make a rapid beeline to Mayor Ormond’s house, but seeing the donkey and wagon being coaxed along by Oriel made Gunther slowly realize the wisdom of his God in arranging the circumstances to give them the appearance of a group of strangers who were in Orlane looking for possible land to purchase and at some point in the future to settle and raise families.

After offering another prayer of consecration and thanksgiving to his God, the young Paladin started walking along the East road at a much slower pace, allowing his companions with the donkey and wagon to overtake him and accompany Gunther to Mayor Ormond’s house on the lake.


Gunther and Group 1 will make their way to Mayor Ormond’s house as quickly as traveling with a donkey and wagon will allow. They will take note of the buildings and surrounding area as they make their way to their destination. Just as people looking for land and homes to buy would do, although they continue to their destination as quickly as possible given the circumstances of the donkey and wagon.

They will be courteous to anyone they meet and mention they have business with Mayor Ormond and politely ask if they are heading in the right direction. If pressed about their business, the group will be as polite as possible and mention asking about available land to possibly purchase to settle and raise families, but the group want to meet the person who is governing the town before making a final decision on purchasing any land.

Gunther is especially relying on Oriel to be ready in case of any unexpected or unprovoked attack and he is especially relying upon Sentinel and Fandil to take note of everything they see for later discussion when planning a course of action, plus utilizing their special talents in case of an ambush.

*** Sentinel and Fandil hide in the wagon to secretly watch all proceedings on each side of the wagon while Oriel and Gunther walk on either side of the donkey where they can discuss strategy and be ready for any attacks.***

Finally, in case his question about which inn to go after meeting with Mayor Ormond has gone unanswered before resuming his walk down the East road, Gunther and company will just make a decision about accommodations for the night dependent upon what transpires at Mayor Ormond’s house.

Now where had that Deathstalker fellow gone? Doogan tells group 2 that Deathstalker had told him he was heading to the Temple via the south road. Doogan also tells the group that he saw Deathstalker head out to the east. He suggests that the group start off to the east and scout out the town.

Doogan packs his gear up and waits for his group to head out. He has his weapons and shield currently put away. If he encounters something/one that would concern him, he will pull out his shield then battle axe if need be. If he encounters something/one that he would consider dangerous, then he'll pull out his battle axe then shield.

Oriel leads the donkey and cart along the road with Gunther, Sentinel and Fandil.

While he understands Deathstalker's eagerness to see some action - he was frustrated by the mans inability to have a little patience. In was hardly wise to go running off alone before learning anything about the problem. Plus, a large warrior named "Deathstalker" wouldn't exactly put the towns mind at ease. Understandable, yes. Acceptable, no. This was a group.

As the group heads towards the mayors, Oriel, as usual, holds his bow. It is not threatening, but it is in his hand - and would be ready quickly. While he is responsible for leading the donkey, that generally doesn't take any real attention. He is looking around carefully and discussing what he sees with Gunther over the cart. (If Fandil and Sentinel are in the cart they could contribute to this discussion as well - quietly)

Oriel smiles to the people he sees. he is not specifically looking for conversation, but if the opportunity arises, he will not pass it up. He will be friendly - generally making small talk leading into questions about purchasing land. He will follow up comments about trouble, being willing to ask direct questions if needed.

*Last two paragraphs should be in italics, if I can figure out how to do it.

Stings took his place at the back of the group and cursed the annoying drizzle that fell. He was glad to finally be moving out towards the temple.

As he walked he was attentive to his surroundings and ready for any surprise that might come about. Any time he felt uneasy he fingered one of his concealed throwing daggers and it gave him piece of mind.

Stings is walking with weapons sheathed and daggers concealed. He is ready at any time to be able to throw 2 of his daggers in the face of danger. He is observing the surroundings for any clues and/or danger and judging the people the group comes across!

Kitai gathered his gear and shouldered his pack. The dwarf , Doogan, had mentioned Deathstalker had wandered east thru town. So east it was ... Kita gripped his staff and scanned the streets of Orlane as they walked. Appearing casual but staying wary Kiati wondered when they would get some sort of solid lead as to what was going on around here. Patience had never been Kitai's strong suit like most of his long lived race. This lack of patience had gotten him into trouble before and would no doubt do it again... Kitai slipped some of the figs that Gunther had given him earlier in the trip into the sleeze of his loose fitting travel robe, where they disappeared in an instant and a low humming noise issued from the sleeve's depths....

*** Kitai is going to let Doogan lead .. I will be friendly with anyone i should meet but always be ready for any funny business... As we walk i will try and stay as close to Doogan as possible since i am squishy and would rather not get pulped in case voilence arises ...

Aright fellows, let's move out. We'll go to the east of town. We should walk in a causal non-threating manner. We'll do a little bit of small back and forth. The person who is not talking should do quick scans and then join back into the conversation. Make mental notes on the outlay and anything that seems out of the norm.

Group 2 heads out to east of town. They will walk in a group and carry on with small talk. They will take turns doing quick scans and look for anything out of the ordinary.