4) Back to Saltmarsh; The doomed leading the blind.

[coil23]

Doubtful's brow furrows in confusion. The lad is handsome? Really? Perhaps the priest should look to his own self regarding fibbery. Why encourage the boy? He shrugs off the mystery and then nods in acknowledgement to Burly's response. Damn fool gnome probably went off on his own. Will we find his body on our return trip? My mother was right- nothing good comes from consorting with city councils. Once everyone is patched up, hopefully we can return one last time and resolve the mystery to the council's satisfaction. Or maybe just burn the whole house down. Mother Nature's renewal project, may Pelor bless.

[OGRE MAGE]

Actually, Jervis looks handsome to all of you. (except Umrick)

He wears a magical ring of human influence.

[Scott308]

That kid is pretty homely if you ask Umrick. But then again, most of the rest of the group is really ugly!

[Hotgoblin]

Jonas doesn't remember his friends around him, but does answer the question...Yes, I do feel pretty good, except for my arm, it kinda hurts. I just don't remember what happened! He rubs his arm some and keeps drinking more water.

[OGRE MAGE]

Father Wilfric smiles and shakes his head at the blind mans meager offering. Hmmmm. Perhaps I will be able to find a way for you to work the cost off for me sometime, instead.

After a sour look towards BF Burly, he turns back to his young acolyte. Now Keilif, you say that poor Jervis here is elaborating but, his words sound pretty sincere to me. I certainly hope you aren't trying to delude my thoughts with trickery. In fact, his words are strangely quite powerful in their presentation.

Because of this, I will cure his sight malady for the few coins offered on one condition. If I need you boys to do a little errand for me sometime, you will be at my service. Do we have an accord, then?

Tell me.......what did you do with this "wickedly evil sorcerous man" after you "slew" him? Are you quite certain of his demise?

Jonas doesn't remember his friends around him, but does answer the question...Yes, I do feel pretty good, except for my arm, it kinda hurts. I just don't remember what happened! He rubs his arm some and keeps drinking more water.

Let me have a closer look at the wound.

As I am sure some of you already know, the sea is filled with many strange and wonderful creatures. If you were bitten by something from the deep, there is no telling how it might affect you.

If you really feel better, I must imagine that the poison inside you has been neutralized. This memory problem might just be a lingering effect. Though I can't swear to that.

Tell me Jonas, do you know where you live? What is your mothers name? Do you remember your uncle?

[hedgeknight]

After a sour look towards BF Burly...
Because of this, I will cure his sight malady for the few coins offered on one condition. If I need you boys to do a little errand for me sometime, you will be at my service. Do we have an accord, then?
Tell me.......what did you do with this "wickedly evil sorcerous man" after you "slew" him? Are you quite certain of his demise?

Burly returns the look and then looks at his finger. He listens to the priest's proposal and shrugs. "Sounds good to me. What about the rest of you fellows?"

[coil23]

Doubtful keeps his expression mild but inside he is not pleased with the idea of this priest forcing an obligation on the group- especially considering how resentful he seems on account of the amount of the money offering from Jervis. A true man of the faith, like Keilif here, would be gracious about the gesture, not begrudge the amount. Let's nip this in the bud. The city council already has us dangling over the precipice because of their strings so the last thing we need to add is a new master. And while we're thinking of needs right now, ol' Blue Finger over there may be walking and talking right now but this town is liable to lose a baker at any moment with how that finger looks.

Speaking up, With our current obligations I would hate to muddy the waters too much. Or more importantly, I would hate to slight anyone whom we owe a debt of gratitude. We appreciate, high priest, your assistance thus far. Pelor blesses your beneficence. But let us meet and cooperate as equals. I would offer you 20 gold if you would also see to our baker's injury here to make sure that blue finger of his does not signify something insidious and advancing like poison. While that amount speaks to your skills and generosity and time, it also allows our relationship to remain one of mutual benefit, rather than an uneven one of great debt. Meeting as equals- that is when true generosity of spirit will bloom. That is how I wish us to discuss your request for assistance in the future, for it makes for a stronger and more lasting relationship. Is this agreeable to you?

[Mant72]

Keilif:

In response to the Father's questions about Sanbalet, "Yes, Father, I am completely certain he was simply a man learned in the arcane arts of illusion and deceit."

Keilif knows Father Wifric to be a good and righteous man, and he knows that it requires coin to keep the temple running; however, he is a little disappointed in the Father's request for compensation for the healing. Of course he does not breathe a word of his disapproval, and he continues, "I assure you that I would never try to lie to you, Your Immanence, and I am at your service. The Church's needs take precedence over any other obligations that I may have."

[Hotgoblin]

Jonas stops gulping down his water as he thinks about the question...Yes I do! Better to remeber family than all of you! He gives the group a half-ass smile!

[wolfpack]

Jervis sighs

he reaches out and lightly places his hand on the priests sleeve and when finding him turns his head and gives him a charming smile.

Good priest there is evil threatening the good people of Saltmarsh, and we are tasked to face this evil and try to stop it. I am our groups strongest warrior and without my sight I am of little use, and that makes our extemely dangerous task near impossible. If you could help to restore my vision it would be a boon for all the people we are striving to protect. I would consider it a personal favor and I would speak well of your diety to those who would ask my opinion.

[OGRE MAGE]

I know I always say that the books are just guidelines but if you think NPC spells should be free, please see pg. 103 in the DM's Guide. (if you have one)

Even after Jervis's eloquent and well thought out words of encouragement, Father Wilfric does not seem at all convinced. He lets his patient rest for the moment and looks at Keilif with disappointment in his eyes. My son, you know as well as I do that churches and temples do not simply dole out magical aid at will, especially to non parishioners! Temples in the bigger cities charge as much as 1000 gold coins for such a spell. But, because I have taken such a liking to you personally, and because of this nice young mans elegant, almost childlike persuasion, I thought I would be lenient and offer you an alternative. If you are truly at the service of the Sea Mother, this shouldn't be so hard for you to understand.

The high priest takes a long look at the mild mannered Doubtful during his speech. He is definitely not used to being talked to in such a less than cordial manner.

You can address me as Father Wilfric if you please, sir. And as far as your "deal" is concerned, it is most certainly NOT agreeable. I will pray for Shileil to guide you and your god in hopes that you will be able to make the right decision concerning this matter. If you think that the two of us are equals, you certainly do not understand the meaning of hierarchy. You and your friends here are mere pups compared to the power that I wield. When I was your age, we showed respect to our elders and didn't consider ourselves to be equals to them. The mere notion of that seems preposterous to me.

If you have no interest in doing me a small service in the future, that is fine with me. Since I can see that you lack the necessary coin at the moment, it would seem that we are done here. Though I would very much like to hear more of your tale of this spell wielding demon man, my other duties in the church are actually quite important and taxing. Good day to you boys! You may take back your few coins if you must.

As the priest moves to leave the room he takes a quick look at Burly's blue finger. A wide smile covers the old mans kind face as he shares a bit more of his nearly infinite wisdom.

I have cured every possible ailment that one could think of but, I don't think even my skills can help you with this malady, although I have seen this occur many times in my long career. Tell me son, have you been poking your fingers into places that they don't belong? A locked desk drawer or chest perhaps? Have you ever heard of the old saying that "there is no honor among thieves"? Let me guess, you aren't experiencing any ill effects form this discoloration in the least, right?

Trust me.........I think you will be just fine. The priest smiles widely again, knowing full well exactly what the blue discoloration is.

[coil23]

Doubtful's eyes widen at the priest's unexpected reaction. I beg your pardon, sir. I did not realize that offering all the coin I possess would be dismissed as trivial, nor that my intended respect would be met with disdain. I was hoping to throw in my last 6 gold as a thank you. A lifetime of humbly serving the creatures and people of the countryside have evidently taught me the wrong type of manners. That is evident to me now. I will trouble you no further though I wish you would care for Jervis here who only wishes to help others but has been so cruelly handicapped in the course of that service. The druid shrugs. But perhaps my reason is as misguided as my courtesy. I will return to helping the people of Saltmarsh without recompense as instructed by Pelor. Good day to you, Father Wilfric, and I apologize for the imposition. Doubtful bows to Father Wilfric and then turns to Keilif, if I can be of service to Shiliel when our first task is done then please let me know.

Doubtful then quietly gathers his things as he prepares to leave and muttering to himself, now where is that damn cat?

[Mant72]

Keilif:

Keilif's discomfort is blatantly evident. The awkward situation leaves him taciturn as he slowly looks at each of his companions and Father Wilfric. After a moment, he is finally able to speak, "Good Father, we meant no disrespect, and it seems my naivety has once again gotten the better of me. I am truly sorry if I have caused any offense or disappointment. I am a devout servant of Shileil, and I am dedicated to the needs of The Church. Please see past our transgressions and heal poor Jervis and Master Burly."

[OGRE MAGE]

As Doubtful leaves the room, Keilif gives the high priest one more chance. He gets another earful for good measure.

Look around you my boy. Do you think that we were able to build this massive, beautiful building off of the few coins tossed into the offering plate during worship? Of course not. We use the money collected for our magical services to fund such things.

That in turn is what allows us to do good things like helping the sick and the poor. Now, since none of you are sick any longer, and I really doubt that any of you are all that poor, I cannot simply offer up free services to you.

Do you want to agree to doing me a service in the future or not. I think I already know what answer your departing friend would give. Do the rest of you feel the same way? If so, there is simply nothing that I can do for you.

A future service of my choosing to the church or 1000 gold coins is the price that you must agree on. You have 5 seconds to decide before I must be off. Is it really that hard to understand? Why wouldn't any of you be willing to help out in some way? I am somewhat confused by your indecision.

[Mant72]

Keilif:

The young cleric answers without hesitation, "Of course, Father. What service may we provide?"

[hedgeknight]

Burly the Blue Fingered Apostate

"Good to know, Father," Burly says, looking at his finger and walking off. He has no interest in helping this priest add more gold to his coffers. "Let's go, Jervis. When a church can't help the needy, we got no business being here."

Burly walks outside and waits for the others. He looks at his finger again and smiles.

[Hotgoblin]

Jonas sits up...Father Wilfric, I am sure the work you do tremendously helps the people of Saltmarsh...so, I will also be there for you and the Sea Mother..you are not asking much from us and the others should offer their help as well. He then nods his head at the group in the room.

[wolfpack]

I am unsure of what the issue is but i wish you all the best preist. Perhaps I will find a solution to my blindness and can stop the danger the town faces before it befalls your temple. I cannot ask the others to take on a burden on my behalf that would be dishonerly.

With that Jervis stands and bumps his way out fo the church.

[OGRE MAGE]

Father Wilfric throws his hands up in utter disgust when 2 more of the group also decide that they want no part in doing the church a favor in the future.

As the three men politely leave the temple, the high priest addresses his acolyte one last time.

Keilif, I think you need to find a better type of people to hang around with. Those three don't seem like they have a clue as to how the real world works. I certainly hope that you two weren't offended by my offer of a compromise. Oh well.

Since the person that you wanted me to fix has just left, I would say that we are done here. Best of luck to you both on your future endeavors. Tell your blind friend that he wont have any better luck getting healed somewhere else. I believe that I may be the only person in Saltmarsh who could help him anyway. No matter I guess.

Good day to you both......and thanks for offering your services. At least I know that there are 2 of you that might be called upon in times of need.

With that, the priest leaves Keilif and Jonas alone in the room so he can attend to his real duties.

[Hotgoblin]

Jonas is surprised by Jervis's response...how unfortunate for him...Jonas doesn't remember past experiences with this group, but he surely would hope them to be respectful of Jervis's need for sight. So, he asks...Kelif, why do some of the others fear being in the service of Father Wilfric?