Kayne holds the door open, following directly behind the blonde haired abyssal. The massive swordsman's cloak billows around his large frame as a breeze forces its way past him through the entryway of The Risen Phoenix Tavern and Inn. Patrons turn to face the quartet with interest, curious to see who is disturbing their meals. As they make their way to a table in the rear of the Inn, several pairs of eyes linger on the party as they settle into seats.
Tegeus Cromis smiles to the barkeep who makes his way to greet the small group. The Doombringer intercepts the man and tosses him a few coins before settling down at the table. "
A round for me and my companions, Sam."
Kayne makes his way to the table, the floorboards of the Inn pounding loudly with the heavy footfalls of the inhumanely large warrior. After settling onto a chair, it creaks in protest as it bears the weight of the heavily armored genasi. Kayne glances down briefly with his obsidian-like eyes and spies a small piece of parchment with precise and elegant penmanship. Being a man of exceptional intelligence he reads it over with disinterest, then turns his attention to the three sitting around him; Talisen already seated and yawning loudly, Farryn settling gracefully into a chair, and Cromis just arriving at the final open chair.
The Priest of Hoar takes a slow and careful seat, placing his cloak carefully under him as he sits. He glances up to Sam as their drinks arrive and gives him a forced smile.
Talisen grabs for his drink and quickly takes a deep gulp, sinking back into his seat. "
So. Introduce us."
Nodding his head and speaking in a lowered voice so as to not carry about the room, Cromis begins by gesturing his hand to the elf on his left. "
Farryn, a devoted of the Lord of Three Thunders and quite skilled with the long blade." He then nods to the tiefling across from him and proclaims, "
Talisen, another of our number and an accomplished investigator." The Priest then raises his hand to wave in the Genasi's direction who sets his mug of Mesemban Dark on top of the piece of parchment, using it as a coaster. "
...and Kayne. He does not worship the Doombringer but he does his work, and uses his great blade with much power and skill."
The silver-haired elven woman dips her head. "
Very Good."
Kayne gives Farryn a once over, appraising her slim features, to which she lifts her chin. Turning his attention to Talisan, his gaze shifts to the egg-white orb dangling from the chain around his neck, before he tucks it back into his collar. The genasi says nothing and sits in taciturn silence, waiting for a reason to speak.
Talisen nods his head to the swordsman on his left. "
A pleasure to meet you." Raising a brow in curiosity, he queries, "
Interesting. Who do you follow, if you don't mind me asking?"
"
My options are open..." Kayne states simply in an effort to deflect a potential religious debate.
"
Yet ye venerate one over another, do ye not?" the dark-eyed rogue persists.
The hulking earthsoul grunts in irritation and a slight hint of a scowl forms on the edges of his lips. His words are spoken in a flat tone, devoid of any emotion despite his less stoic facial features, "
I have had a predilection to Torm's code of Honor and Loyalty."
"
Fair enough. I'm not one to try and convert someone unless they seek it. Tormite or not, you seem smart enough to know the flaws of the Radiant Heart, so I see no disagreement there."
The Mountain wrinkles his nose and reaches for his drink. His swordhand closes around the stein, the heavily gauntleted left hand resting on top of the outstretched arm lazily. Kayne nods his head thankfully in Talisen's direction, but says nothing more and turns to the Doombringer as he begins to speak.
Talisen offers off-handedly after his brief exchange with the swordsman, "
The Radiant Heart's code is their own, and should not be applied to all who venerate common deities."
Farryn interrupts her own brooding for a moment and proposes, "
The Grandmaster of the Radiant Heart needs to be replaced. Perhaps through politics. Were there any others who were to take up the position after the debacle with their previous leader?"
Talisen smirks. "
Seems Arkaine has driven the Order into the ground quite effectively. They seem to have little activity or interest these days. They need new, less corrupt blood."
The genasi breaks his silence and a slight hint of a smirk reaches the corner of the typically stoic warrior's lip. "
Rumour has it there was a scrap outside of the Gate involving him. The sodding twit got his arse handed to him."
Tegeus Cromis glances to Kayne and a similar smirk crosses his lips.
"
Do they even have anyone left aside from Erza?" Farryn inquires, continuing on with the conversation.
"
No one worth knowing by name. At least, not so far as I know."
"
Perhaps it is time we recruit someone for them," the grey-eyed elf suggests. "
Someone we can put in his shoes."
The Doombringer shifts his gaze from right to left, looking from Kayne to Talisen, then to Farryn. "
How do ye mean, Farryn?"
"
We send in someone we can trust. Not an infiltration, but an actual paladin or even an ex-member. Someone whom we can nudge and poke and mold to the correct ideals," Farryn replies, her intelligent grey eyes gleaming. "
Create ourselves a strong ally and give the people someone they deserve."
"
Our version of correct ideals might not be the correct ideals of the Radiant Heart..." Talisen interjects with a hint of a frown. "
Someone who actually follows their ideals; That could be done, if we can find someone."
"
That is my thought," Farryn replies with a slight nod. "
Either way, even having someone who understands our cause might be enough."
Cromis nods and offers his thoughts. "
My disagreements with the ideals of the Radiant Heart are not significant in theory, but their actions are inexcusable."
"
Technically, the order is supposed to follow the paladin's code. Arkaine is the exact opposite of this. I think if we were to find a replacement, we could then tear down Arkaine and have him replaced."
Kayne's eyes shift between speakers, sitting in habitual reticence. He removes his gauntleted left arm from atop his swordam, then lifts the stein to his lips. Leaning back slightly, he dumps an ample amount of ale into his gullet and slams the mug down. The swordsman lifts his ungauntleted arm to his face and wipes the dribble from his mouth with the back of his hand, letting out a content sigh.
Cromis glances over to Kayne in response to the loud slam and grimaces in conjunction with a few patrons disturbed by the sound, but then looks back to the Elf in silence.
The elven swordswoman continues uninterrupted,
"It would take time of course. The replacement would have to build themselves up within the order, unless they were an old member returning."
"
Considering that the Zhents managed to take it over... I don't see why not," the tiefling remarks with a smirk.
"
Merely a thought," Farryn retorts. "
Perhaps something to keep in mind, should any paladin or ex-members even remain on the Coast."
The Priest of Hoar squints his eyes. "
That would be... an ambitious operation, but one that I would enjoy seeing completed."
"
I do not know any who fit the profile you would want," Kayne states in a regret undertone.
"
When it is time, we will find whom we need."
"
Valiant?" Talisen chuckles as he glances down to his cup, to which Tegeus Cromis frowns visibly.
Farryn snorts. "
You make a terrible jest."
"
I hope that we will," the priest replies in earnest. "
The Sunite Erza Scarlet is the only member of that Order I know of who is not of Arkaine's ilk, but she is unlikely to be sympathetic to our cause. She..." Cromis pauses and lets out a brief sigh. "
...disagrees with our ideals, but she would be better than the incumbent."
"
I will keep an eye out." The grey-eyed elf nods stoically. "
I have ideas should we find a suitable target."
"
It's sad when the Zhentarim plant seemed to do a better job than the incumbent..." Talisen asserts off-handedly.
"
I heard he was killed. Some priest was talking about it the other day," Farryn divulges after the mention of the previous leader.
"
Aye, slain after a battle for his very soul between Bane and Tyr," Cromis offers in response.
Farryn shrugs her shoulders faintly. "
Killed by his former squire or something. I don't know. I was on the way out, so I wasn't really listening."
Looking from speaker to speaker, the genasi growls in frustration after remaining silent through most of the conversation, "
I doubt I will be of any aid in this endeavor. My skillset is... limited..." Kayne lifts his stein once more, leaning back slightly while tipping the remainder of the alcoholic beverage into his mouth. A small amount dribbles down the sides of his mouth and splashes onto the chest plate of his armor. Setting the mug back down onto the parchment, made coaster, he takes his cloak and wipes away some of the spattered ale from his chest piece before wiping his mouth again.
"
Everyone's got their talents," the tiefling chimes in, to which Farryn nods her head.
"
Yer skill with the blade is not forgotten, nor useless, Kayne," the Doombringer reinforces in affirmation.
"
Indeed. I believe everyone at this table has a unique skillset. At any rate, what else have we missed?" she asks, staring at Tegeus Cromis in wait.
A light breeze suddenly enters The Risen Phoenix, ruffling loose cloth as the door to the front entrance swings open. The eyes of the quartet immediately shoot towards the newcomer as he steps past several tables towards the bar. Talisen, Farryn, and Kayne all stare after him in ungesturing silence, with Cromis offering the man a shallow nod. The man politely tips his hat, confers with the a man at the bar, then leaves a gold coin on the bar.
Talisen quirks a brow and then squints a little before muttering, "
...nice hat." Yawning again, he wonders aloud, "
Any more word on our pirate friends?"
"
We know pirates?" Cromis asks, whether in earnest or rhetoric is unclear.
Farryn answers his question regardless, a faint smirk finding its way to her lips. "
The skanky wench."
The Cleric sighs slightly, "
Ah... our privateer associates."
"
Word on the other pirates, actually..." the rogue chuckles. "
The Northmen."
"
Ah, of course." Cromis nods slowly.
Farryn lets out a brief, "
Hmm?"
Reaching for his empty mug, the genasi plays around with it absent-mindedly. He places it on the edge of its bottom rim and rolls it from hand to hand. The stein rolls away from his hand and off the edge of the table, clattering loudly as it strikes the ground. Luckily it doesn't shatter and the large warrior retrieves it, setting it back on the table upright. His gaze then goes to the Doombringer. His tone is flat, but his furrowed brow intimates an inquisitive nature to the word, "
Northmen?"
Cromis glances between Kayne and Farryn, then turns back to Talisen. "
I do not believe they are aware of the operation, Lord Talisen."
The tiefling rubs the stubble on his chin and pronounces, "
Mmm... well. It might be wise to inform them. We may need their assistance. Depending on how things turn out."
Tegeus Cromis smirks slightly and nods in Talisen's direction. "
Farryn, have ye heard of them?"
"
I have not," she responds simply.
The Doombringer of Hoar nods swiftly and looks down for a moment, his eyes wander for a moment. "
They are a nation of searaiders from the far west, across the sea. Along the Moonshae Isles, they terrorize the native Ffolk peoples and sacrifice them to the Lord of Murder." Cromis leans forward on the table and his gaze shifts between Farryn and Kayne as he delivers his tirade. "
There is a young merchant with... some talent in the arcane arts..." He glances to Farryn briefly as he says, "
A good man, by all testimonies including my own. His name is Gwydion, he came to the Sword Coast recently... when exactly I do not know... but he left his native Isles of Moonshae because his village was razed, his family and friends slain by a band of these Northlanders."
The elven woman's lips twitch briefly. Her nose wrinkles in a slight sneer at mention of the arcane.
Cromis's eyes hover on Talisen for a moment before continuing on their circuit about the table. "
Since then, I noted an arrival in the Roaringshore..." he pauses as Kayne speaks and turns to him.
"
Are we to deal swift justice to these wretched sods?" A sly, almost sadistic smirk creeps across the edges of the genasi warrior's lips as he reaches back and taps the hilt of the massive blade with his index finger.
"
Aye, we are." The Priest of Hoar clears his throat and continues,
"I noticed the arrival of a vessel in the Roaringshore. It was of foreign make, one I've not seen before in all the North, East, and South, and bore the markings of Bhaal. A fortnight past, Talisen, Gwydion and I were able to track down one crew member of the ship. He was cast off of the band, a band we now know as the Goreskulls, and..." Cromis glances around the room and lowers his voice again. "
...and we gathered what information we could from him, then gave him his just reward."
Talisen pipes in with a humorously feigned notion of insult, "
Give me some credit for besting him in the arena and dumping him down the toilet hatch, now..."
The Priest's eyes settle on the tiefling across the table again. "
I believe that is where ye were in the tale, Talisen." He smirks slightly. "
Ye fought well."
"
You didn't see. He mostly just kept calling me cheater." The rogue says as he grins wide which slowly fades to a smirk. "
Anyway... It was fair and square. But, ah... the tale now. Well, we managed to learn that the rest of the crew had set sail, and we know now their destination as well as their associates. We intend to watch, and possibly intercept them, upon landing. That remains to be seen."
"
Since then, I do have news that is unknown to all of ye, I believe..." Cromis begins to states before pausing as the familiar breeze forces its way into the Inn, following the entry of another patron, the faint scent of lavender following.
The silent and stoic earthsoul watches the patron with intrigue, his stone-like face betraying his curiosity. The newcomer was a woman of average height and most-likely athletic in build, if the curvature of her black and crimson armor could serve as an indicator. Her armor seems to be well maintained if you disregard the caked up dirt, mud, blood, and the gods know what else she carried with her from the battlefield. Despite the filth on her armor, her visage was practically flawless. Violet eyes regard the four at the table behind pristine ivory skin. Raven black hair falls raggedly around her face, giving off the appearance of what Kayne would consider a dark angel.
Talisen's words break the large warrior's trance. "
Information?" he asks not paying much mind to the sound of the door opening, only pausing when he hears the woman's voice behind him.
"
What's this? An assasin meeting?" laughs the woman.
The tiefling glances over his shoulder and smirks. "
That's harsh."
The violet-eyed woman sidles towards their table and places a hand on Talisen's shoulder. "
Good to see you again."
The silver-haired swordswoman turns slightly and stares at the woman through narrow unblinking eyes. Her lithe elven body tenses ever so slightly, her fingers inching toward the hilt of her blade.
"
A fine round of drinks, that is all," Cromis remarks nonchalantly as he offers a slight smile.
"
What are you all drinking?" the strange woman asks curiously.
The Doombringer lifts his mug to her. "
Marsemban dark is what was ordered."
"Sam!" The darkly armored woman yells towards the bar. "
A round on me! ...for Talisen's companions."
Talisen quirks a brow and states in a tone that seems hesitant, "
Thank you..."
The large genasi's eyes continue to look over in the direction of the woman, but he remains silent, his arms crossed as he leans back in the chair. His gaze shifts to regard the Doombringer who casts a sidelong to Talisen, throwing him a curious frown.
"
I bid you goodnight, just a few jobs..." the stranger proclaims before offering a bow. Without another word, she tosses some gold to the barkeep and turns on her heel and exits the Risen Phoenix Inn unceremoniously.
"
Take care, then..." the tiefling says with a slight cough.
The Priest of Hoar glances up as the drinks arrive, and mutters a few divinations as they are set upon the table. He offers a faint nod and discerns, "
They are safe to drink if ye yet have thirst."
"
I don't drink anything bought by a stranger," Farryn growls as she pushes away the drink set down in front of her, spilling some of it. The brooding elf shakes her head slowly, her fingers finally moving from the area surrounding her blade to scratch irritably at her neck.
Talisen shrugs slightly once the woman leaves. "
Met her a few times. Not someone I know well..." He pauses briefly in silent thought, then remarks, "
That's rather odd, actually." He shrugs once more, reaches for the mug in front of him, and takes a sip.
Kayne remains sitting motionless with his arms folded across his chest. The large warrior doesn't bother reaching for the drink, thinking better of it, and simply observes Talisen's nervous reaction in silent observation.
"
Ah, where were we?" the rogue muses aloud as he composes himself. "
We know where they are headed. Not too far from here, actually. Where they go once they make landfall, and what we do, remains to be seen... but you said you had new information?" Talisen then gives Tegeus a meaningful glance.
"
Yes, I spoke with a navigator... The landing site is quite close." The Doombringer speaks slowly, his gaze shifting between the three before him. "
We had guessed where it was, but he was able to confirm out suspicions; the only stretch of coast between the Roaringshore and Athkatla is just north of here, near Candlekeep. The only stretch that matches the pirates' description, that is."
"
Figures," Talisen remarks. "
Are we decided on our course of action once they do make landfall? Observation at first?"
"
Reconnaissance is of the utmost importance for this enemy that we know so poorly. We don't yet know their purpose, nor their strength in men. It may be that we would do well to delay our attack for another day, in fact, though I doubt this." Cromis licks his lips, looks at his mug, then shakes his head to slightly and continues. "
In any case, we will not simply charge them upon the beach."
"
Of course. We can observe them for as long as possible, and only strike when we have to."
A slight frown appears on the genasi's dusty face, a sign of disappointment. The Doombringer cants his head and glances at the earthsoul beside him. "
Ye will have plenty of opportunities to test yer strength against those unwise enough to earn our ire, Kayne." Talisen grins a little as the rogue looks between the two men.
"
The only thing I want to test is their bodies' resistance to my blade cleaving them in half..." Kayne mutters in a low tone, practically growling.
Tegeus smirks slightly at Kayne's comment and is rendered speechless for a second before he continues, "
There is... one other matter that has developed since I last met Kayne and Farryn..." The priest nods to them in turn. "
...a matter I would not discuss within a tavern."
The tiefling grins even wider, but says nothing for a moment. He finally offers, "
We can go elsewhere if it is preferable... or save it for later."
"
I am eager to hear," Farryn utters.
Cromis nods his head and stands up, then stalks across the room to speak with another man, to whom he mutters something in a low voice. The priest retrieves a few coins from his purse and hands them to the man, who hands him a key from the wall in return. Tegeus turns to face the trio seated at the table and nods swiftly, gesturing in the direction of the door to the stairs leading to the rooms on the floor above them.
The chair creaks in relief as Kayne stands, the burden of supporting the hulking genasi's weight finally lifted. The swordsman plucks a few gold pieces from his coin purse and drops them on the table, the precious metal currency clanging loudly as they bounce along the wooden table. One gold coin spirals violently long after the others stop, spinning off of the table and onto the floor, where it rolls into the boot of a cloaked man watching the quartet ascend the stairs of the Risen Phoenix.
((Taken from the in-game chat logs of Marauxus, macuser7, Butterscotch, and Killington with some flavor from Cleftin_Twain and Akroma666))
)