Special Delivery? [Plot]

[Darastrix]

Thoth adjusted his glasses and stroked Iah's back nervously as Acoia came into view. He'd thought, at first, the two there would probably be the easiest people to approach. It was Efil's home, and he had rings for them from Efil. But the more he thought about the pair and how broken and dispirited they had seemed in his vision, the less sure he felt. If they were suffering here, where their prayers would reach the Giver of Life most easily, would they take something from her?

"How many people live here outside of the priesthood?" he asked his Templar companion. Nuo and Kaylin also were clearly not living in the temple.

[Kender Bard]

The templar, an older woman who carried a mace (and strangling wire, hidden on her person), with long, braided silver hair and a noble bearing about her, blinked as though surprised at the question. She'd evidently been lost in thought. "Oh, well, I'm not entirely certain," she admitted. "It's been quite some time since I came here. Not since my daughter got married. But the last time I was here there was about... Oh the size of a small village? Not much smaller than Villarain, hrm, a hundred people? That's just a rough estimate mind you. And a number of those are somewhat transient citizens.... Pilgrims who come and stay a while, a few years even, but then move on. The bulk of the population can be found around the village circling the primary temple. A few are farther flung, but they're recluses."

[Darastrix]

Thoth grimaced a little at the mention of recluses. "I hope the two I need to find aren't that far off from the temple," he murmured. "I have more I'll need to find after this. Should we apply to the temple first?"

[Kender Bard]

"It couldn't hurt," Malena agreed.

The two were greeted with smiles and murmurs of welcome by priests and pilgrim alike as they entered the temple. Malena grinned, seemed to preen under the attention a little. Before long, a priest acolyte approached them and bowed low.

"How might we help you?" the acolyte asked solemnly of Thoth. She was a young girl, no older then thirteen.

[Darastrix]

Thoth smiled a little at the girl; children could sometimes be easier to talk to than adults. Beside him, Iah let out a croaky greeting.

"I'm following a vision I received from Efil," Thoth told her. "I need to find two people who live in Acoia, but I don't think they live in the temple. Who might I be able to speak with about this?"

[Kender Bard]

"Wellllll," the child drawled, thinking about it. "I guess it depends on who you're looking for! I could get a senior priest! They tend to know people pretty well."

"That would be good, child," Malena suggested.

The child scampered off and before long returned with Arthur, the lovebird affinity Beast. Arthur smiled at Thoth--it was good to see another Beast of a similar affinity--and greeted Iah with a chirrup. Hello there, feathered friend. He bobbed once in greeting to Thoth. "The little one told me that you're seeking residents of Acoia who do not live in the temple. That could be quite anyone, my friend. Generally, only travelers, priests, and templars live in the temple proper. Everyone else lives in the village."

[Darastrix]

Iah bobbed his head and greeted Arthur in kind. It had been a while since he'd seen another human who could speak to him other than Thoth.

"I'm not sure they live in the village, either," Thoth admitted. "I'm looking for a young man and a woman--Nuo and Kaylin. I don't think it would be hard to remember seeing them; they both have mismatched eyes and pointed ears."

[Kender Bard]

Arthur's eyes widened. "Kaylin... Now there's a name I hadn't heard in a while. She was a ward in the care of the temple for her life, but a few years ago she disappeared along with that gentleman. I'd forgotten his name, but hearing it brought me back. Nuo, yes... A friend of hers by the name of Sirius left too, but we haven't seen hide nor hair of any of them. If they're in Acoia, they certainly aren't in the village then. I figured that she'd gotten tired of the temple life and run off on some romantic escapade."

[Darastrix]

If that was any sort of escapade, something must have gone terribly wrong at some point. "Are there any old buildings outside the village?" Thoth pressed. "Made of...thick stone? Maybe something that was abandoned at some point?"

[Kender Bard]

Arthur considered it and nodded. "A couple," he said. "Several cottages which lay farther on the edges of our jurisdiction on both sides. People fled their homes and came here or left for other lands once Morilanta and Ekaitz decided to make themselves comfortable on our flanks. There's also an old abandoned keep not far from here. You have your work cut out searching all of that, though if you want to start with something close at hand, the keep would be the best place to begin. You should be fine as long as the templar continues to escort you. Unsavory folks and animals sometimes wander into these abandon buildings to make a home there, so tread carefully."

[Darastrix]

Unsavoury folks. Ekaitz. Morilanta. He could have done without thinking about that. Thoth swallowed hard and stroked over Iah’s back for comfort. “W…will one templar be enough or should we bring another?” He knew he’d be no use in a fight. His first instinct for survival was to run to the nearest body of water and dive in.

[Kender Bard]

"For investigating near to the city, one should be enough," Arthur replied. "Just be careful. But once you start heading out farther, you might want to come by and ask another to join you."

[Darastrix]

Thoth gave a quick nod. “We will, thank you.” From what he’d seen in his vision, though, he thought the keep was their best bet. “Which way will we need to go to get to the keep?”

[Kender Bard]

"Head west for two marks," Arthur told him, pointing in the direction. "You can take the main road part of the way there, but after that you'll be going trackless. There's not much in the way of landmarks, so I hope you have a compass. If you go down the main road for a mark, then turn off it for true west, and don't waver too much, you shouldn't get lost."

[Darastrix]

"We have a compass," Thoth told him. With all the travel he was needing to do, it had seemed reasonable to acquire one. "Thank you for your help."

He turned to Malena and asked, "Are you ready to go on now?"