Born with the Blood of Angels (Iko)

[DM-Delfon]

The High Lightbringer nods as you lay out the basics of your plan. “We do send out missionaries across the river to help the poor folk over there. It would not be a stretch to send a troupe to an orphanage.” He pauses for only a moment, and you can almost see the pieces falling into place in his mind, “Will three suffice? A Lightbringer to check on the health of the children, an entertainer to entertain the children and for a bit of a distraction, and a nurse pass out an extra meal or some snacks.”

He pulls out a piece of paper, and jots down a quick note. “I will send this along to one of our holdings in the Harbour District, they will prepare for a host of children in case things go sideways.” He gives you the address, and directions to get there. “Is there anything else I can provide you with child? You mentioned pressing matters.” He leaves it hanging there, allowing you to offer more information if you wish, but not implying that you should if you would rather keep your own council.

[lilmsdarknes]

"Three will be plenty thank you," she says listening to him, grateful to have allies in this current fight. His words give her pause and she is unsure if she should reveal what else is going on but perhaps he will be able to offer assistance in this matter as well. " i have learned that the captain and members of my crew that i thought had been killed by pirates are actually alive, though for how much longer i do not know." she says as she looks down at her lap fiddling with her fingers, obviously upset by the matter. " i do not wish to anger Pelor so i will take care of this matter before seeing to my own personal issue." Sitting up a little straighter she looks up at him as if bracing herself for the fight she knew was to come.

[DM-Delfon]

He smiles when you say that your crew members are still alive, "Pelor's light be praised! That is fantastic news." He asks you how you know, and is surprised when you mention that The Captain is the source of your information. "I actually thought that the man might have just been a legend. You know, like everyone just attributes things that other adventurers do to The Captain." He leans forward in his chair, "If you've actually met the man, then the information he gave you must be true." He leans back in his chair, and you can see that he's thinking again. "I can call in a couple favours, and have the navy cut off the pirates escape by sea. I don't think they can approach though, or the pirates will cut their losses and kill their captives. A small overland party might approach unseen..." He trails off, lost in thought. A few moments later he snaps his fingers as whatever thought he was having reaches it's conclusion, "I know of a Dwarven fellow that has been to the Wayvern Straight before. There is also a security consultant I have some dealings with that would be willing to help. With the Dwarf as a guide, and one of my Light Bringers and the consultant as backup you should have no trouble reaching the Wyvern Straight and dealing with the pirates there. Sound good?"

[lilmsdarknes]

"that would be greatly appreciated, any help in rescuing my friends would be wonderful as i doubt i could do it alone." she looks at him, her solid white eyes seemed to sparkle with happiness even though there is no pigment in her eyes to see anything. Now even more determined to finish her mission for Pelor so that she could move on and rescue her friends. She just hoped her plan would go well and she would be able to get rid of the man from the orphanage and not risk the children's lives at all." thank you very much for all assistance in these matters." she says as she looks over at him.

[DM-Delfon]

"Just doing my job." He says with a smile. "You're trying to bring Pelor's light into the dark places, the least I could do is offer my contacts to assist you." He pulls more paper from his desk, and uses a fine quill to write out a formal note to explain your presence in the orphanage. He sands the note, and carefully pours the extra sand back into the bottle. Next he folds the note, and drips sealing wax along the seam. He presses his ring into the wax, and blows across the fresh wax to set it in place. "Here, this will explain your party's presence in the orphanage. Return here when your task is completed."

[lilmsdarknes]

"thank you again for all of your help in these matters. i am forever grateful" Takes the note and places it in her bag so that she doesn't loose it for the moment before standing up and looking over at him. Eager to be on her way to the orphanage to hopefully get this situation handled quickly and be on her way to rescue her friends. Hoping that this mission would go smoothly but knowing at the same time that it could go very wrong.

[DM-Delfon]

"Happy to help. I only wish I could do more." The man stands, and circles his desk to open the door for you. "Thank you for your service to the light." He exchanges a few words with the acolyte that's been waiting for you, who nods and hurries away. Another acolyte waits with an older gentleman with plate armor that shines like the sun. You notice a crest on the chest piece of his armor that looks much like the holy symbol of Pelor you've seen hundreds of times. This symbol seems odd though. It's blue instead of gold, and has more points to it than normal. His expression is stern as he looks up when the door opens. There is a brief awkward moment where everyone just stares at each other in silence, then the Lightbringer calls the plate clad fellow into his office and you make your way out to the courtyard of the Light Shrine.

After a short time a fellow wearing clerical vestments approaches you, "By chance is your name Iko? My name is Ronath Windcaller. I've been tasked with assisting you." Within the next several minutes a woman with the look of a nurse approaches you as well. "Hello Master Windcaller." She says nodding to the cleric. "My name is Janesse Artren." She says simply, offering you her hand.

[lilmsdarknes]

"yes i am iko," she says offering a small smile and then when the other woman approaches she shakes her hand. "I'm Kamiko Ferison but you can just call me iko, thank you both for your assistance in this matter." she gave them both a genuine smile, unsure how much the high light bringer had told them and deciding the less they knew the better for their safety and her own. " if you are both ready then shall we head to the orphanage?" She asked looking at both of them, hoping that this plan would work and she would be able to gather info about the man to bring him down, though Pelor wanted him dead, killing the man would put the children at even greater risk than they already are.

[DM-Delfon]

The two of them look at each other, then back to you, “Is Anvas not coming then? Or is he just arriving fashionably late as usual.” She says it with a smile, but you can feel the undercurrent of truth about the tardiness of this Anvas fellow. “Here he comes now actually.” He says pointing past both of you ladies to a man with a multi coloured jacket and cloak. The colours are all mis matched and jumbled. The patches are all different sizes and various shapes. The colourful man announces himself in a booming voice, “Greetings friends, Ansom the magnificent at your service.” He gives a deep bow with many flourishes of his patched cloak.

[lilmsdarknes]

"my apologies, I got ahead of myself" she says as she glanced towards the third fellow now joining them. She cant help but smile at his colorful outfit, glancing back at the others should couldn't help but feel even more out of place among them and was unsure how believable this act would be since she definitely stood out dressed as she was. in her worn clothing and exotic features, hopefully the man wouldn't question an angel touched being part of the missionary group and their cover would work in this situation. "hello Ansom, I am iko." she gives a slight nod of greeting careful to keep her gaze averted because she knew how unnerving her pupil less eyes could be to most. So she had learned to never quite look a person in the eyes instead often looking just past their head. " shall we be on our way?" She asked once more since their entire party now seemed to have gathered.

[DM-Delfon]

Ronath, speaks quietly out of the side of his mouth to you, "Hardly. We never know if he is going to bother showing up." Janesse matches Ronath's tone and volume, adding, "Don't get us wrong, he makes an excellent entertainer. Just not the most reliable adventuring companion." Anvas laughs has he arrives, "You two should know that I have very good hearing." He shakes his head, mocking sadness on his features, "Disparaging me in front of the lady is hardly becoming." He waggles his index finger back and forth like a mother scolding a child. The admonishment is short lived, and Anvas is back to smiling a moment later.

You lead the troupe out of the Light Shrine, and down the main thoroughfare of the High District back to the High Gate. The racist guardsman gives you a scowl, but doesn't accost you this time. Turning left onto the High Road, you make your way back to the Harbour Gate, where Guardsman Jackson gives you warm and welcoming smile. Climbing down The Stair is almost as difficult as climbing up them, mostly to avoid loosing ones balance and pitching forward for what would be a nasty tumble down a lot of stairs.

Along the walk the group ask you what your goals for this mission are, explaining that they were each only told what they would be doing. Ronath mentions, "I've been told to tend to the sick, and heal any wounds." Janesse adds, "I'm to comfort the children and pass out some food." As she says this she pats the large wicker baskets she has at each hip. Anvas exclaims, "And I am to entertain!" His voice is quite loud, and draws a lot of attention from those around you. He basks in the attention and flourishes his cloak. Ronath then asks, "What's your job in all this? We were just told to support you in whatever you need on top of the duties we just mentioned."

[lilmsdarknes]

"i have information to gather, i simply need some cover so that i can do my job. pelor has asked somethings of me and i need to gather the info to take care of it. if things turn bad, gather the children and leave," she says and then shows them all the paper with the address of the safe place to take the children. " the children must be protected at all cost." she says and then pockets the paper again before turning her attention back to their path, being careful not to fall down the stairs and hoping the information she gave them was enough with out revealing everything. The less people who knew all the details about her mission the better, the less risk there was to others if they were captured or threatened.

[DM-Delfon]

Anvas suddenly pitches forward down the stairs. You and Ronath gasp at the sudden stumble, but as he casually summersaults back to his feet a half dozen stairs later you realize that he meant to do that. Now facing you, he smiles and says, "Cover is my specialty. I will keep everyone focused on me." Janesse rolls her eyes, mumbling, "Show off." under her breath, but still loud enough for you to hear. Ronath shakes his head at Anvas' display, "We will do our jobs, you just take care of whatever you need to take care of in there." As Ronath finishes speaking you see the second story of the orphanage peeking up over the closer buildings.

You will arrive soon, anything else you want to do or say before you arrive?

[lilmsdarknes]

"thank you all for your assistance in this matter, i am forever greatful " she say and smiles at all of them still shaking her head a bit at anvas's antics, hoping that this will be enough cover her for her mission. Though she still wasnt exactly how she fit in with this group of people and just hoped that the man at the orphanage didnt question things to deeply. She needed to gather proof to make the killing of this man justified at least in the eyes of the law. just ready to get this over with as soon as possible.

[DM-Delfon]

You and your party walk along side the twelve foot tall fence toward the main gate. Ronath glances up at the angled barbed wire, "It's weird that the barbed wire is facing inward. Normally the wire is angled toward the outside to keep people out." Anvas and Janesse both look up as well. Janesse makes a disgusted sound, while Anvas only raises an eyebrow. The two large gardens inside still look well looked after, though you don't see any children tending to them like you did last time. The gate is tall and imposing. The crushed gravel path still leads from the gate to the house proper.

What now?

[lilmsdarknes]

she nods in agreement to their statement about the barbed wire as its yet another thing that is extremely unsettling to her about the way this place is run. Curious as to why the children are not outside and hoping they haven't been taken else where and that they are safe well as safe as can be under that mans control. "guess its time to face the music" she says and smirks amused by my own statement as I push on the gates to open them. Hoping to find that all the children were safe and that they could get the job done and take down this man quickly and quietly and save the children.

[DM-Delfon]

The gate is unlocked, and opens easily. The gravel crunches under your feet as you begin to walk between the two gardens toward the house itself. The door at the main entrance opens, and a familiar lanky man with short cropped brown hair emerges. He smiles warmly, and limps to the top of the steps. "Hello again Mistress. I see that you've brought friends with you today." His shaggy beard waves side to side as me trundles down the stairs to meet you about half way. His thick sideburns are oiled today. The hair at the sides of his head is slicked backward giving him the overall appearance of a mohawk, even though his hair is not shaved. He still wears dark brown leathers, with silver studs and buckles. Today he has added a gray cloak to his ensemble. Once he meets up with your party he nods deeply, more like a shallow bow, "Was there something I can help you with tonight?"

[lilmsdarknes]

"hello, we are here on behalf of pelor and the light temple to visit with the children, im sure it can get lonely so we have come to visit with them, if that is alright with you?" she asks curiously as she glances at her friends and then back at the man, seeming to glance just past him hoping to catch a glance of her little friend or any of the other children. "we simply wish to share some snacks and let the children be well children for a bit." she says motioning to her companions as she turns her attention back to him once more.

[DM-Delfon]

Anvas steps forward with an exaggerated bow, cape flourishing out behind him, "I Anvas the Magnificent will entertain the children!" The man steps back from Anvas, "Yes, quite right." Turning back to you he says, "Please, for security purposes, do you have any documentation from the Temple? I can't just let anybody near the children you understand." When you withdraw the paperwork, he limps forward to examine it. You watch with building anxiousness as the man trails his finger along the words. You notice that he mouths the words as he reads, and that he stops several times and goes back to the beginning of a line. He is either being very through, or he isn't that great a reader. You're not sure which.

After a full minute of him examining the document you brought along, he nods, "Everything seems to be in order." He says as he hands back your documentation, "My name is Fletcher Potts, I'm the caretaker for the Adrift Orphanage. You will have to excuse the mess inside, half of the main floor is currently undergoing renovations." He leads you and the rest of your party up the stairs toward the main house, pausing at the door, "Give me a few minutes to let the children know what is happening." With that he opens the door and slips inside, closing the door behind him.

Janesse scoffs, "He is all prim and proper, but something about him rubs me the wrong way." She says it quietly.

[lilmsdarknes]

She nods and turns to her companions. "there is a darkness that hangs over this place when it shouldn't." she says before looking back at the building, glancing towards the windows hoping to spot some of the children or perhaps her little friend. She needed this mission to go smoothly and was as hopeful as she could be that she would be able to gather the info needed to bring him down and save the children." make note of anything that seems out of place that could be of importance, there is more going on here beneath the surface." she says as she glances back at the door waiting for fletcher to let them in.

Perception: 1d20(19) + 3 = 22

[DM-Delfon]

Your companions nod, giving you a brief look of determination before they get back into character. Anvas with a huge smile that shows his teeth, and the other two with smaller smiles. Just a group of Pelorians out to help spread the light to some needy children. Master Potts returns not too long after, opening the door wide to allow you access.

You enter the room through the main entrance, a large set of double doors set in the North wall. The main floor of the foyer is thirty by fifty, while the second floor is a fifty by fifty. Aside from the main entrance, there are four other doors that leave the Foyer. Two doors are set in the Southeast corner, one leading South and the other leading East. Another two doors are set in the South-West corner, one leading South and the other leading West. The base of the stairs is in the middle of the room, ascending ten feet to a landing where it splits to the East and West to ascend another ten feet to the balcony above. The above balcony fully overlooks the Foyer along all four walls. The door that leads East out of this room is covered by a heavy canvas tarp. "Again sorry, renovations you see." Master Potts says gesturing to the tarp covered door.

The walls here have large portraits of previous caretakers of this facility. Many of them are stern looking, and all of them look to be prim and proper men. All of the men pictured are well dressed, some even seem to have noble bearing. A few of them are pictured with their wives, and one larger portrait depicts a man, his wife and three young children. You are distracted from the portraits when you hear a faint smack, and a yelp of pain from the direction of the canvas tarp. Master Potts shakes his head, "Clumsy construction workers." Master Potts leads your party up the stairs, stopping on the landing and gesturing to your right, "This way please."

He leads you to the top of the stairs, where he turns right and almost immediately left into a long hallway lined with doors on either side, four on the right and three on the left. The ones on the right are evenly spaced, while the ones on the left match up with the ones on the right except that there is no second door on the left. Master Potts leads you to the first door on the left, which is already open. Passing through the open doorway you find yourself in a large rectangular room some thirty feet long by twenty feet across. Four long picnic style benches are central to the room, while the entire southern wall is lined with low shelves that do not obscure the three windows that face into the narrow back yard. The shelves have a few books, and a small collection of well used toys. You see at least a dozen similar hand made stuffed animals scattered around the room, and a few more held by children. Seated at the benches are children ranging in age from two or three all the way up to teenagers. There are about fifteen children seated in the room at the moment. Scanning the faces, you don't see Annabelle among the children.

Master Potts puts his hands together in three rapid claps, drawing the attention of every child in the room, "These are the folks I said would be visiting. Please show them your best behavior." Anvas steps into the room, drawing every eye, "Hello ladies and gentlemen!" He exclaims with another exaggerated flourish of his cloak, "My name is Anvas the Magnificent, and it will be my pleasure to entertain you today." He begins moving through the crowd doing small tricks and otherwise distracting the children.

Your attention is drawn away as Ronath asks, "Is there another private room where I might set up a temporary clinic, and give the children a checkup?" Master Potts draws his attention back from Anvas' performance, nodding, "Oh yes, we can make use of the room across the hall. The children won't mind if we make use of their room for a time." He points to the door across the hall, and Ronath takes your elbow to lead you across ahead of him. As he does so Janesse steps between the pair of you and Master Potts, "And where would be the best place for me..." You loose the rest of her words because of distance, and the laughter Anvas is already pulling from the entertained children.

Ronath quickly takes stock of the room, picking up a pitcher of water and handing it to you. He leans in close an quietly says, "I will buy you a few minutes to look around. You went to fill this up with water for me in the kitchen. Be fast."

[lilmsdarknes]

once she realizes Annabelle is not here she becomes even more worried that something had happened to her friend. Taking the pitcher she nods and slips from the room, to anyone passing her it would seem she was headed to the kitchen to fill the pitcher but to her she was looking for anything and everything that could possibly help her destroy him. Her attention was caught once more by the door that was closed off for renovations. She could only hope that Annabelle wasn't in there or there would be even more trouble. knowing she only had a short window of time she heads for the room that is closed off, the room that sound came from earlier, she wanted to make sure that no children were being hurt. her quest for water was forgotten as she tried to slip into the room closed off for renovations.

[DM-Delfon]

You dart from the bedroom, turning left and heading back to the balcony that overlooks the foyer. Passing the stairs you ascended to get here, you circle around the balcony until you're on the opposite side beside the heavy canvas tarp. Glancing back, you see Master Potts making his way out of the common room, and heading toward the bedroom he suggested for you and Ronath. Not wanting to be spotted, you gently pull back the heavy canvas and slip inside. You're not standing in a forty foot long, ten foot wide hallway. There are seven doors, four along the South wall, and another three set in the North wall. Doors along the South wall are set at five, fifteen, twenty-five and thirty-five feet from you. There is a staircase which descends along the South wall between the last two doors. In the North wall the doors are set at five, fifteen and thirty feet from you. The third and fourth doors on the South wall are slightly ajar, and you hear a child crying from the first door on the North wall.

[lilmsdarknes]

Knowing she doesn't have long in here before master potts will begin to suspect something she heads towards the first door on the north wall, where she hears the child crying, hoping to save who ever it is behind the door and gather more evidence as well. Silently she sends up a silent prayer to Pelor for strength and protection as she does his bidding.

[DM-Delfon]

You open the door to find a simple bedroom. Plain white walls with two beds against the left and right walls. Against the far wall, under the window is a wash stand. Sitting on the bed to the left are two young girls. The one that is crying is twelve or so, and the other is Annabelle. As the door opens, both girls jump. Annabelle stands, turning to face the door, while the other girl quickly wipes her eyes with the blanket. Annabelle looks confused for a moment, “What are you doing here?”

[lilmsdarknes]

"here to help, told you i would." she said and smirked at the girls as she walked over to them wanting to make sure both girls are ok. "annabelle i need information or proof, i have friends who can help, can you tell me where his office is?" she asked as she looked at annabelle, hoping that the girl would help her, "i dont have much time" she said glancing towards the door. Doing her best to keep her voice down.

[DM-Delfon]

Annabelle scoffs, “Everyone says they will help. No one ever does.” As you try to approach Annabelle steps forward into your path, holding up a hand in the classic stop gesture. The girl on the bed pulls the covers up mostly obscuring her face. Red rimmed eyes peeking over her scant protection. “It was her first night downstairs.” She says that like it should make sense to you, but it doesn’t. “Their office is down the hall, last door on the left. Now get out of here before you get us both in trouble.”

[lilmsdarknes]

"I will help by pelors light i will get you all out of here." she says as she stops where she is heeding the unspoken words in her gesture. Once Annabelle gave her the location she nods and slips out of the room hoping not to be spotted as she heads down the hall towards his office, still not sure what she was looking for but hoping she was able to find something in here to destroy him. She definitely intended to tell the others and the high light bringer about what Annabelle had said about it being the girls first night downstairs. She could only guess that it was something that children shouldn't be used for but she was praying that she was in fact wrong, Because that would make him even more vile than he already was.

[DM-Delfon]

Annabelle crosses her arms under, and leans her weight back on one foot, “Look lady, we’ve heard that all before.” The girl behind her groans, her hands moving to guard her lower stomach. She begins to weep again, though this time it’s muffled by her blanket. Annabelle glances back at her, clearly worried. She turns back to you, seeming impatient now. As you turn for the door you hear her move back to the other girl.

Slipping out of the room, you glance right and see the canvas right where you left it. Glancing left you see the same doors along the hallway. Passing one you reach the next. Checking the handle, you find that the door to his office is locked.

[lilmsdarknes]

cursing silently when she realizes the door is locked she glances back up and down the hallway wishing she had the key or a lock pick to open the door. Knowing she is running out of time, she glances around before reaching up to the top of the door frame, hoping maybe she will be lucky and find a spare key, "Pelor help please" she mouths not daring to speak and risk being discovered here.