A look of comprehension and curiosity passes over Aesamar's face as he remembers what he'd heard about the Ogre King. He turns on his heel and heads towards the tavern in order to see what this wizard knows about the matter.

As Tsuujin and Aesamar reach the tavern door, it opens and two members of the Loudwater Patrol emerge, scanning the square for signs of what has occurred. They ignore the heroes and move out towards the well as a larger group of men arrive from the north.

"What happened here?" The man in charge of the group asks the two.

"Some travelers," replies one, pointing out the five adventurers. The first man nods and orders the rest to gather up the corpses. A moment later, a tall elf arrives from the west, a bow slung over his shoulder.

"Damn."

"Captain," says the volunteer leader, "the goblins have been put down."

"I can see that," Harrowleaf nods. "Get this place cleaned up."

Within the tavern, life seems to be slowly returning to normal, as people slowly come out from under tables and back rooms, eager to order a drink. One such man seems to have come directly out of some sort of history of magic--middle-aged with a long black beard, he's clad in a robe stitched with stars and moons. He has a staff set with a fossilized raven resting against his chair, and a large pointed hat crumpled on the table. This man would stand out even amongst a school for wizards, let alone a tavern full of average citizens.

Meanwhile, Ralzik re-enters the southern square to see the elven Captain directing clean-up duty.

Distracted by what looks like someone in charge, Ralzik walks over to the elven Captain to ask him what he knows of the goblin invasion, and to find out if he needs any help.

Captain Harrowleaf arches an eyebrow at the Githyanki who approaches him.

"I only know that a runner came and got me. I was on patrol to the west where some bandits have been giving us trouble. Who are you?"

"I am Ralzik, one of the travelers that destroyed the goblin invasion. I heard from Ganwar that these goblins plan to raise the Ogre King."

Harrowleaf scoffs at the idea.

"I'm sure they do," he said, pausing a moment and looking around. "Though, I wouldn't quite call this an invasion," the elf added. "Goblins raid. It's what they do. And we kill them. That's how we deal with it."

Ralzik quickly turns away from Harrowleaf at the disrespect and walks towards the tavern to hear more from the wizard.

((Sorry for my inactivity. I'm pretty busy with work for the next week. Assume that I walk with the party silent.))

Seeing the wizard emerge, Aesamar approaches the bar and sits down next to him.

"Greetings, sir. I have heard it mentioned that you might know something about the recent raid that myself and some other travellers dispatched. Would you be so kind as to share?"

Tsuujin quietly retrieves the dagger from his pack and holds it firmly in his right hand. Without a hint of subtlety he sits down on the other side of the wizard with a loud, intentional movement and, keeping the dagger still firmly within his grip, he sets his right hand down in front of him in a manner that not even the dullest of idiots could miss. Tsuujin says nothing, but catches the wizards eyes with a purposeful glance.

Ralzik watches the group around the table, and listens to what is happening.

"By Mytra's lost spell," Curuvar says, "I didn't think I'd be seeing that thing again. What an utter disappointment. However, I don't know that I can help you," he adds. "The goblins attempt to raid all the time, nothing out of the--" Curuvar catches Tsuujin's glance once more and then stops.

"Well," he added after a moment, "maybe I did sneak into the Barrow of the Ogre King. By Mystra's lost spell, you wouldn't believe what a dull race goblins are! My stupendous feats of wizardry easily incapacitated their entire army. How ever, I didn't find what I wanted." The wizard sighs. "What an utter disappointment."

"I did, however," continues Curuvar, "take the horn totem as a souvenir. But tell you what, as a sign of good will, if you go and recover the matching skull totem from the barrow, I'll tell you the truth about the Ogre King."

The wizard goes back to his drink, nodding to himself, as if the adventurers couldn't possibly want anything else from him.

"Perhaps you should think twice before assuming so little of us, Wizard," Tsuujin states quite bluntly to the wizard. "Were it so easy as you claim, this Skull Totem would already be in your possession. So, rather than trek out to do this little task for you, why don't I start cutting off your fingers with this little trinket and see how long it takes for you to treat us with a little respect? Sounds' the better deal to me."
Glaring directly into the wizards eyes, and not waiting for a response, Tsuujin adds, "Or, of course, we can act as allies and you can just tell us what we need to know to help you. Whatever works best for you, because I'm really only looking for a decent fight."

Aesamar rises from his seat and, glaring with evident distaste towards the fighter, says "Do you honestly think that a threat to attempt to cut off a couple of fingers is the least bit concerning to an experienced wizard? Besides, had you been paying attention before storming in here and harassing people, you would have noticed that there is a fairly competent-looking guard patrol just outside the door. If you're looking for a fight, then cut away, so long as you're not looking to see another."

With this, he turns back to the wizard.
"If you'll give me directions to the barrow, I'd be happy to attempt to obtain this skull totem for you. However," he looks down at his stained and bloodied clothing and the wounds across his person. "It would probably be best if I, and any who would join me, set off tomorrow." He pushes a few silver coins towards the barman. "A room for the night, if you please."

((What happened to that Good alignment of yours, Isuka?))

The wizard glares at the fighter momentarily before he downs his drink.

"For someone who wants a fight, you seem awfully scared about going to face a few goblins," he snapped, tapping the bar for a refill on his glass. "By Mystra's lost spell, I'd say you want me along just so you don't have to fight."

As the dragonborn stands up, Curuvar looks over to him.

"Here," he said, waving his hand and causing the directions to the barrow to appear inscribed on a napkin. "These should get you there just fine. But," the wizard added, "I'd watch my step." Curuvar nods to himself, picking up his now filled glass and returning to the act of drinking.

The halfling behind the bar scoops up Aesamar's silver and nods.

"Finest in the house," he chimed, "for a hero of the day!"

((You guys can do whatever you want before you head to bed, but when you're ready to move on, just give me a !ready, and we'll assume it's the next day.))

Obviously going to be unable to get some sort of gold payment or material help from the wizard, Ralzik follows the actions of the dragonborn and gets some sleep.

!ready

Before he heads towards the tavern's guest rooms, Aesamar turns back towards the barman. "Another favour, sir, if it's not too much trouble. Do you think you could tell me about the Shadow Queen? Someone mentioned her in the town, but I'd never heard of her before today."

The halfling behind the bar suddenly gets very nervous, letting his gaze shift around the room as if looking for someone in the crowd.

"Lady of Shadows?' he says hesitantly. "C-can't say that I've ever heard of such a person, no." The tavern keeper looks down, ashamedly, returning to wiping out the glass he has in his hands.

Ralzik hears the hesitance in the Haflings voice and turns to ask him the same question. His intimidating demeanor is obvious.
1d20+5=16

The halfling shakes his head, accidentally dropping the glass and swearing softly.

"I said I don't--"

"Leave Marsh alone." The voice comes from a tall, red-headed woman of about middle-age. "You want to know about the Lady of Shadows? I can tell you what you want to hear." It is more than noticeable how much quieter the entire tavern becomes at her rather loud declaration. "But you're no better than her thugs," she says, directly to the githyanki, "with your threatening of such a hospitable little man."