Algernon merely looked at the assemblage around him before looking at Esk, who seemed to take in the scenery a bit more than he would have liked.  Not as though Algernon had ever attempted to tame the psicrystal or anything along those lines - that would be impossible.  But in any case, the small psicrystal tended to be the more social element that Algernon lacked - mainly because of his species which surpressed the rage that they had been afflicted with by the Gods.

"Look! A hobgoblin!  A drow!  Fun stuff Algernon.  I think you'll like this group...."

"You shouldn't draw attention to us, Esk."

Algernon telepathically sent to Esk, knowing that it was futile for the psicrystal had already gotten his words out and he had already attempted to, although he was thwarted at the last minute, jump off of Algernon's shoulder in order to play with the others.

"Don't do that again Esk..."

Esk's focus, settled on the hobgoblin, and while Algernon had thought he had a good grip on the psicrystal, it was able to nimbly pull itself out of his grip and jump down, growing legs as it approached the hobgoblin, smiling as Algernon jumped up from his seat in order to try and prevent the disruption which was likely to occur when the two met.

"Hello, I'm Esk, and you're a hobgoblin.  What's your name?  Can you understand me?  Do you speak common?  Are you smart enough to speak common?  Are you sure you're really a hobgoblin?"

He might have continued on that string of things, but Algernon quickly lunged forward and grabbed the psicrystal and forced it into the rather large pouch on his waist where it could fit and where it would be unable to leave.  With a telepathic command it stopped, and he hoped that Esk would at least have enough tact to stay in there...

---

"... if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for Destruction Ice is also great
And would suffice."
- Robert Frost

Rutgar looked down at the odd creature in surprise, he started to open his mouth to say something but was cut off by the curious thing’s next question, and the question after that… A slightly annoyed look on his face he was about to ignore the rambling crystal all together however this need was made unnecessary as it was scooped up in a bag.

 

He just looked at the pouch for a moment then up to the man holding it with a look that on any other face would clearly display puzzlement but with his permanent snarl he just look angry and dangerous.

Shaala cautiously approached Algernon, and expression of puzzlement and curiousity on he face. Drawing back her hood, she asked "What is that thing... and how did it know I was a drow?"

---

I swear, now you're just doing it to piss me off.

Again, without a word Algernon just sighed, looking down at his pouch as he telepathically told Esk to calm down for the moment it took him to open up the bag and pull the psicrystal out.  It didn't look like much in that state, just a crystal with something of a body, but then it grew legs and smiled as it spoke carefully and slowly, not it's normal rapid fire manner.

"I'm a psicrystal.  I'm sort of connected to Algernon and that gives me the ability to talk.  That and I know what a Drow looks like."

He looked at the frustrated hobgoblin, and Algernon gave him a stern glance which spoke far louder than even the telepathic conversations which existed between them, telling him not even to tempt it, but the psicrystal wasn't one to be wise, and as such spoke quickly to the hobgoblin.

"Why are you growling?  Did I anger you?  I didn't mean to, I just anger a lot of people it seems."

Algernon slammed his face into his palm and once again sent a command to Esk, this time in a much more annoyed way, figuring that Esk would get the point better if it was a bit more eloquent than his usual concise answers.

"Don't reveal too much.  Don't irritate the others. And, don't talk to the hobgoblin."

"But I want to!"

"Don't..."

With that the psicrystal made a verbal whine and then hopped up onto Algernon's shoulder, pinching him as hard as he could, although it probably made little difference to the tough skinned Maenad.  Algernon, in the meantime, decided it probably best to appologize for the psicrystal's behavior.

"Ignore him.  He's just exciteable."

---

"... if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for Destruction Ice is also great
And would suffice."
- Robert Frost

((That comment about "How did you know I was a Drow?" was meant to display her surprise at being regognized when, up until my last post, she was wearing a hood specifically to hide the fact that she was a Drow. ))

---

I swear, now you're just doing it to piss me off.

(Note: Rutgar wasn’t growling or making any noise for that matter; his brow was furrowed in confusion but since he has a scar that pulls his top right lip up in a permanent snarl he just looked angry.)

 

Rutgar just shook his head and went back to leaning against the wall, waiting for the meeting to begin.

(OOC: Sorry for the absence last evening, but severe thunderstorms in the area were wreaking havoc with the power. Power was off and on all night. Off and on. Off and on.)

Torbin let his pack rest in one corner of the room. The tall human who identified himself as Fellaxe looked the type that swung his axe first, and asked questions if he remembered to. And the hobgoblin he named Rutgar looked awfully familiar, and Torbin doubted that there was more than one hobgoblin in town. There was a slender female, all covered by hood and cloak, though there were a few strands of white hair showing, and Torbin's eyes were able to make out a slender female face, and slanted elven eyes. Elven-eyes, white hair, doesn't take a half-mad wizard to figure this one out. Finally there was the tall humanoid male, whose bare skin glittered ever so slightly in the light, who seemed to have a rock for a pet. This is going to be weird, I can tell. Suddenly Torbin was thinking he should've wrapped his arms before coming this morning, but it didn't matter, he knew that there wasn't going to be any fighting. At least not here and now, in the temple of Lathander.  Later was another issue altogether. Rubbing his hands together, as was his habit when slightly nervous about an uncertain situation, Torbin found a nice portion of the wall to lean against, but said nothing.

---

"Apparently getting your ass kicked is now part of a complete breakfast." - Roy Greenhilt, Order Of The Stick


- An Answerer of questions, and Questioner of answers.

After the oddness with the talking jewel, Shaala had retreated back to her corner, her hood down, figuring it pointless to hide her face after the crystal had identified her as a drow.

((I guess we're waiting on Adre now, huh?))

---

I swear, now you're just doing it to piss me off.

Sorry I'm late.

 

Everyone

 

 As a few minutes passes into half an hour,Fellaxe becomes more and more irritated and begins to pace restlessly,his frown making the scar on his face even more pronounced.Finally he completely loses his patience and,snarling in a way to compare to Rutgar,strides to the door.His men following behind like faithful hounds.But,just as he reaches the door,it opens.

 A towering man,passing six feet tall with ease,walks into the room as Fellaxe steps out of his way.The man's dark hair has a light dusting of silver but it does not make him look old,merely distinguished.His pale green eyes look as though they brook no arguement.This and his fine robes embroided with Lanthander's symbol reveal him as the High Mornlord,Meldrick Elchanan.

 A respectful three steps behind him,another paladin steps into the room and Shaala is able to recognize him as Rhys,the Lanthanderite she met yesterday.He flashes her a genuine smile as he quietly closes the door and takes his place by his commander's side.

 The High Mornlord studies each and everyone of you with a long,measuring gaze before he finally begins to speak:

 "Welcome,friends.Excuse me for the delay,circumstances beyond my control required it.To continue,I know why each of you are here and I wish it wasn't the reason."

 He sighs and you see a flash of sadness in his eyes.

 "Two weeks ago my close friend,the previous High Mornlord,Devlin Mikal was assasinated.I'm sad to say it was no enemy from without but one from within.Cassia Searle was one of our best warriors,trained by the High Mornlord himself and well on her way to becoming a Dawnmaster.The High Mornlord trusted her inexplictablely,despite past indiscretions.Not to mention Searle was extremely loyal to him."

 "That's probably why we believed her when she stumbled into the chapel,screaming that the High Mornlord was mudered and that the murderer had escaped.We comforted her...until we discovered that the daggar in the High Mornlord's back was the very same one he had gifted to her as a gift for becoming a paladin.Unfortunately the traitor slipped away before this discovery."

 The High Mornlord then pulls out a small daggar,its pommel chased by small rubies and topazes.

 "We completely searched the city and had a wizard try to divine her location with the daggar with no success.Apparently Searle has allies helping her and she slipped out of the city."

 He looks you all in the eyes and you can see the raw anger there.

 "That's why I called out to you for help."

---

Ever so slowly I slip into the depths of madness...

Rutgar stepped forward at his approach and listened to what the man had to say; once he had finished Rutgar spoke up.

 

“You have need of my services; I was sent this letter requesting my abilities, I assume you where the one who sent it but regardless my purpose here is clear, my quarry however is not.” He opens the letter written on the wanted poster, “I have studied her face but I am going to need all the information you can provide; her habits and preferences. I’m going to need to see her quarters, speak with her friends, her trainers.” He looked down at the woman’s face on the poster. “To effectively track my prey I must understand my prey.”

Shaala met the High Mornlord's gaze evenly, after giving Rhys a glance of recognition.

"There's not a place she can go where I can't follow." Shaala said in her soft voice. "Once I've found out where she's gone, rest assured I will catch her." she stated with more confidence than she felt. Inwardly, the doubts she had originally had about this job deepened. This woman, this Cassia Searle, did not sound like the type to murder the High Mornlord- who, from the sound of things, she had been intensly loyal to. And, if her plan had been to claim another had done the deed, wouldn't she have had the sense to not use a dagger that could have been conclusively connected to her? Shaala shook her head lightly to clear away such thoughts.

"You mentioned "past indescretions". What sort of indescretions?" she asked the High Mornlord.

---

I swear, now you're just doing it to piss me off.

   Still leaning against the wall, Torbin folded his arms and rolled his eyes. This was all very proper, but as such things usually demanded, very boring. Staring at the ceiling for half an hour, punctuated by the occasional grunt from Fellaxe, had dulled whatever interest Torbin had originally seen in the venture. Oh it was all very sad, and quite tragic as well, but these were city problems. Not many murders out in the wild that didn't have straight up answer to it. Either it was wrong, or it was just, and either way, everyone usually knew who did it. This situation of murder, by a seemingly close friend in the same religious order, just didn't make any sense. Of course, sense usually went out the window when dealing with the bigger folk. So there he was. Listening to some high priest, tell his sob story about big city folk troubles. Scratching the back of his bare head, noting that he would need to shave it again soon, he waited patiently for the part about promised payments, and terms of retrieval.

---

"Apparently getting your ass kicked is now part of a complete breakfast." - Roy Greenhilt, Order Of The Stick


- An Answerer of questions, and Questioner of answers.

  Everyone

 Elchanan nods at Rutgar and Shaala's questions and gestures Rhys forward.

 "Good sirs and lady." (Fellaxe snorts rudely at this) "I was asked to this meeting because Cassia Searle was a good friend of mine.While I honestly have no idea what drove her to this atrocity,I will answer questions and direct you to her quarters and other friends."

 He looks at Shaala to answer her .

 "As for her past indescretions,Lady Shaala,Cassia was brought to the temple as a small child.She was quite a hellion then and it scarcely improved as she grew older.While an excellant warrior,Cassia prefered to follow her heart instead of commanders and sane logic.I'm quite frankly amazed she made it to twenty alive and without being thrown out of the order."

 "But about two monthes ago on a simple week-long mission to deliever a message to the Durandir Clan in the Etherian Forest,Cassia disappered for five weeks.She came home in the middle of the night twenty days ago.The council didn't accept her explanation of a band of marauding gnolls and she was severely reprimanded."

 "Cassia was understandablely upset but it was no reason for her to do what she did.Particularly since the High Mornlord to defended her.So her motive remains a mystery."

 The paladin,finished,steps back to stand beside his commander,who now says:

 "Because we don't know the motive behind this slaying,we are willing to offer ten thousand gold to each person who assists in her live capture."(Elchanan throws a pointed look at Fellaxe and his men at this statement) "Even if Cassia dosen't cooperate,the Church of Lathander will get to the bottom of this."

 

 

 

---

Ever so slowly I slip into the depths of madness...

((Esk could see your face cause he was short and went up to you, sorry that I didn't make sense of that quick enough to change it and allow a different going around.  Just the sudden onslaught of posts + the release of Guild Wars Factions has left me a bit tumbled about.  I am trying to keep up!))

Esk's relative disinterest at what was going on suddenly perked up at the mention of ten thousand gold, and gave Algernon and interesting look, which Algernon smiled and returned with relative quickness, before motioning for Esk to not speak, deciding it time to pick his words with great care, as the Maenad was known to do, and hopefully giving off the impression that he was smarter than his silence may give off.

"I'll do it.  The money isn't the point, but further enlightenment achieved in the endeavor as well as the possible future endeavors which can occur from money may lead to greater enlightenment.  I search for greater understanding, but aside from that I am no monk without worldly desire.  Esk here is merely my assistant, but if you wish to pay him he won't say no."

"No I won't!"

Esk pipped up suddenly, knowing full and well that his comment would be accepted at this point, deciding after that to solidify his position as an assistant by staying quiet after Algernon's stern gaze.  Algernon then proceeded to nod his head in the direction of the other's present, making it clear that he at least respected them, his decision to speak having taken a bit out of him, but he then decided to make a further impression, and spoke again.

"I am talented in the art of fire, and tend to enjoy it's usage.  I'm not a mage, but you could think of that if you wish.  That's all you need to know, but my quiet isn't because I dislike you, just because I dislike to speak."

"That's why I speak!"

Esk pipped again, and again Algernon's gaze fell upon him.

---

"... if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for Destruction Ice is also great
And would suffice."
- Robert Frost

"I'm in." said Shaala. "But unlike him, I do care about getting paid." Frankly, the the statement that Cassia Searle was to be captured alive releived her greatly. Something was wrong about this, that was certain.

---

I swear, now you're just doing it to piss me off.