A Fork in the Road

*sense motive check 20* I start to let out an angry grunt. I try to hold it in, and stand up noisily to mask the sound. The stool scrapes the wooden floor. I take a few quick steps toward the door and face the room, folding my arms.

I stare down the halfling. *intimidate check 22* I want this nonsense ended fast.

*save versus intimidate =10* "Alright ya got me. How bout I just give back the silver I stole and we forget this ever happened?" I walk over to the bar and place the half of the stolen coins on the counter. "That's everything I took with an extra ten silver as interest." *bluff= 23* "and just to make sure there's no hard feelins, I'll buy a round of drinks fer everyone." I slam 2 gold pieces on the counter. "that goes double fer the big guy." I point at the orc.

Through the front doors burst three armored and armed guard fighters and one robed cleric wearing the crest of Holtburg. The Cleric seems to be the leader of the guard troop and steps forward.
"Everyone freeze! No one moves and no one gets hurt. Wilomine, what seems to be the problem here?"
Wilomine stares down at the little man who got caught stealing then at the pile of silver and gold on the counter. (Sense Motive = 1)
"This halfling here was stealing from and groping this nice young elfess here. It seems that he has repayed the money he stole, but I can't have people going around stealing grabs from me patrons. I won't be pressing charges for the stealin', but I leave it to the elf about the grabbin' and feelin'."
The two patrons that tried to grab Gejjin shy away from the gaze of the guard cleric as it seems they have had a few run ins in the past. The guards turn to Inwe and wait for a response.
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Kogan take 150xp
Jasper take 50xp
Gejjin take 100xp

Writing in my journal...

"...and in that moment, not a sound could be heard in the entire tavern. So silent was it that were a feather to hit the ground, it would be heard as if a thunderstone had impacted a surface. Eyes dart from guard to halfing to elf, as the decision on whether blood is to be spilt this night rests in the heart beating underneath the beautiful elf's breast. The same breast mind you that was defiled by the little man."

I begin to chant almost inaudibly under my breath "Justice, justice, justice..." hoping some of the patrons will hear.

Some of the patrons pick up the chant in low voices.
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Jasper take 50xp

Seeing that some of the patrons are willing but hesitant to see justice served this night, I try to egg things along a bit.

I cast Ghost Sounds in the form of patrons seeking retribution. From dark corners of the room, we begin to hear things like

"Throw him in jail!"

"Yeah, teach him a lesson" as well as other approving rabble.

More of the patrons start picking up the mood of the "crowd" and even Wilomine's daughters Sarah and Michelle come downstairs to see what the commotion is all about. Wilomine quickly scoops up the pile of silver from the counter before the guards can collect it as possible evidence.
One of the fighters closest to the guard cleric takes a step forward, then pauses and looks to his boss for approval. The Cleric shakes his head and steps toward Inwe, puts his hand on her shoulder and says,
"If you were the one wronged by this halfling, then you have the final say in the matter. Do you think he deserves a second chance, or shall we throw him in jail as a thief?"

Inwe walks up to Gejjin. She takes one of his hands and smacks it as hard as she can. "That's a bad little man!" she say in her most stern voice.

She turns to the guards and says "That is for being all handsy with me. You gentlemen can do what you want with him, but if you ask me he's probably done this sort of thing before. So it may not hurt to question him at least."

She returns to her table and her wine. She starts humming the tune she was before the events had happened.

Gejjin-
The Guard Cleric nods slightly to his fighter companions, and they all jump on you at once to hold you down for their boss.
(Touch Attacks: 27, 21, 17, 25)
(Grapple Checks: 19, 11, 18, 9. Can make a save vs each grapple individually)

The Cleric pulls up a chair in front of where the fighter guards are wrestling with Gejjin. He removes his gilded helmet and places it on a table beside him. He fishes out a small golden sun medallion on a chain from inside his tunic, holds it up and whispers a few words to himself. A wave of energy eminates from the medallion and passes through everyone who is within 20 feet of himself and Gejjin.
(Zone of Truth, Will Save DC=16)
He tucks the medallion back into his tunic and leans forward in the chair even while the guards still try to hold Gejjin down, and he says,
"Now now, little one. There is no reason to put up such a fight. We aren't going to harm you, I just want to have a little discussion with you."
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Inwe take 250xp

*Will save 16*

I watch attentively for the next few moments will greatly impact my story. My mind is already rich with embellishments and I'm thinking hard of how I may be able to 'help' make the situation more interesting.

After watching the singing man try to rouse the commoners to violence, I was glad to see the guards. I was even more impressed by their tactics. Where I am from, justice is not a matter of revenge, and authority is not a matter of raw power. When someone interferes with another's life, the community does what it needs to balance the scale. While the singing man wanted to incite a mob, the priest asked the offended party what she thought would be necessary. A fair approach, and unusually civilized for such a town, I thought - until I saw the talisman.

*will save=10*

I can't tell what he's done, but many faces in the bar go blank for a brief moment as the cleric performs his magics. I shift my stance; I can still control my movements. This must be something much worse. I notice only now that the guards have paid me no attention, which, ironically, is concerning. I wonder if I will have to prove myself worthy of attention before the night ends.

I catch a quick glimpse of the cleric's talisman. I try to compare it in my mind to the images Teacher tried to etch into my mind so many times. *Knowledge (Religion) check=10*

A stocky form approaches the tavern door, lured to the warmth and light and the sound of people chanting in unison. Covered from head to toe in a varied melange of mud, dirt, sod and dust, one can barely distinguish that this is a dwarf and not a earthen golem formed in a hurried and slipshod manner. Beneath his bushy brown eyebrows twinkle a set of eyes like crystalline graphite. He takes a deep breath of the night air and the mingled odors of the tavern's interior. He mentally picked through the smells, ignoring the heady aroma of the sweaty masses who simmered on the edge of excitement and tense threat of violence. His grim facade slowly split as his lips pulled back to show a crusty smile as he slowly entered the building. Shambling up to the bar, the dwarf gently pushed his way through the crowd, careful so as not to cause his many tools strapped to his back to clang about with his movements. Pulling himself up onto a stool, he reached to his side and unclasped a leather strap as he brought about his wooden bucket to rest on top of the counter. He fished about in his pocket and laid down 10 silver pieces with a happy sigh.

"Barkeep. A bit of supper and a gallon of ale, please," his gravelly voice rumbled.

(Will save 23 having entered the Zone of Truth)

*grapple check= 1* *will save=13* As the guards grab me I struggle a bit but quickly come to the realization that my attempt to escape its futile. I look to the cleric "So what is it you wanted to ask me?"

The Cleric leans forward in his chair and smiles dryly,
"Well now, little halfling. Now that you are under my spell, perhaps you can answer me a few questions, and then we will see about your fate here in Holtburg."
He sits back, and looks to the four guards holding Gejjin.
"Why don't you get him a chair, so that he may be a little more at ease here."
The two stronger fighters retain hold on Gejjin, holding him by the arms so his feet dangle a few inches off the ground while the remaining two grab a chair much too large for a halfling and shove it underneath him.
"That's better, isn't it?" The cleric smiles at Gejjin. "Now then, How long have you been a thief?"

Eitri-
The commotion in the tavern has drawn everyone's attention and your arrival goes largely unnoticed. Wilomine, the barkeep, seems to have to make a great effort of will to break his gaze from the scene with the guards. After a second, he regains his composure and looks you up and down and can't help but let out a little laugh that almost sounds like a cough.
"Hello there, master dwarf. I'm so glad to have some shorter folk here that have a slightly more noble reputation. Supper is 5 copper for a cut of venison and some roasted taters, and the first ale is always on the house, thought i must admit, I rarely offer it into a bucket."
Wilomine takes the bucket, rinses the dirt out of it, and fills it with a very dark, rich smelling ale that foams up merrily around the rim of your bucket. He slides it over the bar to you and walks away for a second before returning with nearly a full pound of herb cooked deer meat sitting like a sentinel atop a mountain of potatoes.
"Is there anything else I can be doing for you?"

Kogan-
You recognize the medallion as the symbol of the sun god Pelor, known to be a herald of good things and enemy to all things evil. Clerics of Pelor understand that people can be driven to do evil deeds in order to survive or when it is necessary as part of a plan that is ultimately good, but they are very unforgiving of those who willingly choose the path of evil and deal with those people harshly.
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take 50xp

Eitri surveys the food before him with a smile and shakes his head.
"This will do nicely for now, sir. I shall be needin' a bit more ale but this should tide me over for the time bein'."

As he starts to eat, he looks over at the cleric and guards whom he can now see from his perch on the bar stool. His curiosity is drawn out by the spectacle of such a small person being held down and menaced over by four armed men; provoking him to whisper to the bartender,
"Is it a bit o' dinner theater or some kind of magic trick? A good show would go very well with such a fine meal as this."

He shifts on his stool to better see the robed gentleman seated across from the halfling. Bringing the bucket to his lap, he drinks the ale slowly at first with a messy slurping sound.

Eitri-
Wilomine leans over the bar to speak to you, but keeps his eyes on the guards.
"'Tis no show, master dwarf. That there halfling stole the purses off near half my customers this evening. What makes matters worse is he got caught stealing a grab on that nice, pretty elfess over there. The things one sees these days. What is the world coming to?"
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take 50xp

I shrug my shoulders "I don't know for sure. I've been stealin fer as long as I can remember." I shift uncomfortably in my seat "what did you do to me?"

Gejjin-
(Will save vs Zone of Truth = 18)
The Cleric laughs and says, "It is just a trick that I have for dealing with situations where I feel the truth is more helpful than lies. So, as far as you can remember, is it? That certainly doesn't help your case. Let me ask you this. Are you a part of a thieves' guild?"

"No I don't really work well with others. I did try ta join one once but they kinda get upset when ya steal from their members so they kicked me out."

Gejjin-
"So let me get this straight. You were too much of a thief to join the thieves' guild? I do not think that this information will help you tonight."
The Cleric pauses for a second, apparently in deep thought.
"Now for the real questions. Are you sorry that you stole from these nice people, or are you just sorry that you got caught stealing from them?"

Inwe notices the stranger enter. She thinks to herself "Another short one? Well he isn't get to touch these like the other one. I'll set him right."

With her arms crossed as to cover her chest she walks up to the dwarf and says "Don't even think about it... You know what."

She stares intently at him before speaking again this time in a much softer tone "By the stars in the heavens you are a dwarf. Not another filthy little leprechaun man. You aren't a dwarf of the Stonebeard clan are you? Stories of them have made their way all the way down south. Oh I would so like to meet them. The only dwarf I have met was Dorent the Hairy. At least that's what I called him. Come to think of it that probably wasn't his title. Anyways I am Inwe and don't even think about touching my boobies. That's only for me and perhaps someone who's really cute."

She rambles on almost incoherent for about a minute before she stops and turns to the barkeep. "Another wine please."

"Well, I am definitely sorry I got caught but I do also feel some remorse for stealing their coins. It's just that when I hear people walking and their coins jingle in their purses I feel compelled to take them, like the coins are calling me just begging to be stolen and I just can't help myself."