Gone with the Wounds

The party wakes(9:17) the following morning. Leona asks Maudit about some tricks he promised to show her from his days at the circus. He offers to tell her fortune, but says that she needs to come up with a question for him to try to answer. She decides to think about the question for a while.

They decide to stop(15:11) at the armoury on their way back to the children's home. Keg agrees to lend Kesra an old breastplate while they're working to fix up hers.

Eventually(22:18), they come to Agatha's children's home. They stand watch while Leona goes to visit with the children. She finds herself talking to several tiefling girls, who seem not particularly welcoming to her. Meanwhile(43:10), Kesra and Maudit discuss the tavern bartender, and Deirdre watches(45:25) a man with a cart give some free apples to the children. Leona approaches the man(50:32), who introduces himself as Noah, and gives him some gold for his kindness to the children. He tells her that there are a few others that also give things to the children.

Leona gathers the children(54:01) and tells them a story. The group watch for any shady behavior, while Deirdre casts an illusion of a kid who splits off from the rest of the kids and goes off on his own. Kesra asks Maudit about his relationship with Deirdre, and the future of the group. Nobody seems to take the bait of the illusory child, however.

The group decides(1:08:57) to go find a temple of Avandra, since the boogeyman the children saw seemed to be wearing a holy symbol of Avandra. They go to a nearby baker and ask for the nearest temple of Avandra, and the baker tells her about a shrine, so they head there.

At the shrine (1:21:35), they find an older man who says he knows nothing about the missing children. They see Noah again(1:32:21), and Deirdre asks him if he's seen anything around the children's home. He says that his wife used to be the keeper of the shrine, but there are a number of followers of Avandra. She died about 6 months ago, killed by goblins. Deirdre feels like he's not telling her everything, but isn't sure how to proceed. The group considers trying to deal with the goblins that are causing problems, and Maudit secretly tells Deirdre that he won't kill goblins. She takes him aside and asks him why, and he tells her that he's been told bad things about goblins before that didn't really seem all that bad.

They walk to a nearby farm(1:47:18), and see a young boy in the fields. They ask him if he's seen any kids he doesn't know, but he gets freaked out and runs off. They run into a human woman, who says that she doesn't know anything about the missing kids. A little tiefling boy runs up, calling her "mama", and the group continues to press her. Something about Leona triggers a terrified reaction in the woman, though, and she admits that they illegally adopted her child. She does seem to love the child, though. She admits that others have also done the same.

The team finds Noah's home(2:18:08), and tell him what they've learned. He admits to having helped a number of couples who were deemed "unfit parents" to illegally adopt children from the home. He assures them that the kids are all loved and well-cared-for.

As the sun begins to set(2:33:34) they head back into the city. Several goblins and a hobgoblin attack them. Leona goes unconscious, and as Deirdre is healing her, Maudit goes own as well. Seeing her friends go down(3:12:57), Deirdre suddenly manifests a golden pair of wings from her back, flying to Maudit and healing him. They finish off the remaining attackers, and Deirdre collapses, in tremendous pain. While Kesra collects goblin and hobgoblin ears, Leona and Maudit rush Deirdre back to their inn, asking Konrad, the barkeeper, to call for a cleric.

As Kesra arrives(3:31:24), 2 clerics of Sarenrae do as well. They rush into the room where Deirdre is and begin to try to heal her. Meanwhile, Deirdre is dreaming of darkness(3:34:00), and is terrified. A voice tells her to wake up, and she does. She tells the others of the pain in her back, and the cleric examines her burn, applying a cooling salve. Deirdre explains that she got it when her village disappeared in fire, about 7 years ago. The cleric introduces herself as Aimee Stormwilde, and, after Deirdre is feeling better, she takes her leave.

Kesra asks about the wings(3:45:40), and Deirdre tells them that they were a gift from her patron. Kesra heads back to her room, and Maudit gives Deirdre a tarot card(3:48:42) with a lily on it.

Leona asks Amaryllis(3:52:42) to keep an eye on Deirdre, and goes for a walk. She unintentionally winds up at Sarenrae's temple, and enters. She prays, thanking her for her assistance, and speaks with Aimee for a while.