Farmer Kalvin outside the Sheriff's office

Out side the Sheriff's office in the street a farm drops a dead calf on the ground and starts talking in a loud voice;

"They did it this time! Those damned tresspassers poisoned my cattle! 10 head are dead and 5 more soon will be! My family survived zhents, orcs, and worse...now some coward killed my CATTLE! My family will starve! I want you to hang those who did this"

He continues on a rant until some comes to talk to him. In a very short time casual passer bys and street venders gather to hear the man.

//feel free to RP if your toon walks around SD.

It wouldn't take long for Arjay to come out, size up the situation, and motion for a deputy to remove the dead calf.  "First things first, if you have cows alive that have been poisoned, we have to take care of those.  This is Shadowdale... we're not going to let anyone starve, this will get taken care of.  Now let's hurry before it's too late."  He'd have antidotes, as well as a restoration wand and Heal spells, to head back to the Farmer's farm with, trying to get out of him along the way what trespassers he's talking about.

*Simon notices the scene, overhears enough about cattle and poison, and approaches the deputy tasked with removing the cow*

Meat is a terrible thing to waste. If you are just going to throw it out, I would take it off your hands *nods*

*Jarrin, in his normal, casual manner, slips Arjay a note with all the ones he found to be probable Zhent collaborators just before the assault on Shadowdale.*

Might wanna start with any of these folks that's still round, Sheriff.

*Gives a slight wink and grin* Just a hunch.

*Durmla doesn't say anything, but tries to track down where the cattle have been drinking from. She tastes the water, looking for poison there.*

Arjay would point out to Simon that meat is a bad thing to waste, but poisoned meat is bad for the digestion.

The deputy takes the corpse away where it is quickly destroyed. The Farmer leads Arjay (and who ever follows) to his farm in the nothern part of town. When they arrive his wife and children are in the fields.

His three oldest children and some neighbors are piling the dead cattle as best they can, his other two children are with thier mother with the last two cosa alive. They are convulsing  and foaming at the mouth. She stands there shaking her head.

"Your to late Kal, these two are done for. That leaves all but Martha, the other fourteen are dead, calves too."

An few folk are gathered talking amoung themselves, when Arjay and others arrive they are greeted with dark looks.

DeepFriedMoose wrote:

*Durmla doesn't say anything, but tries to track down where the cattle have been drinking from.  She tastes the water, looking for poison there.*

going to the water you notice nothing, no odd color or smells *beyond what you would find in a dirty under cleaned water trough mud/muck/grass*

Arjay would try to save the two cows, touching them with a rod to cast a Heal spell on them to purge the poison from them and strengthen them. Whether it would work or not was another question, of course.

As he did that, he'd try to examine the cows to figure out what sort of poison they are/were suffering from to figure out how it was administered. "Have you been having problems with trespassers for long?" he'd ask.

*Jarrin lets Arjay handle the questioning of the irate farmer and turns to smile at the others gathered around. He mostly tries to see if any of them were the women or children that had been evacuated before the liberation assault while he uses his charm and general smoothness to try and calm them as much as possible*

Imesah happening by the investigation is moved by the plight of the farmers and compensates them for the lost cattle. After doing so, she sticks around for a bit more out of curiosity than anything else; simply listening.

(Feel free to take whatever amount of gold is appropriate for the cows).

BedlamX wrote:

*Jarrin lets Arjay handle the questioning of the irate farmer and turns to smile at the others gathered around. He mostly tries to see if any of them were the women or children that had been evacuated before the liberation assault while he uses his charm and general smoothness to try and calm them as much as possible*

As Arjay and the farmer some of the onlooker leave with them a few people stay and talk among themselves. While Jarrin has been in town a while in a place like Shadowdale it's hard to remember every face that comes and goes, who is new or been around. When he tries to talk to people some are friendly enough but they are guarded. One women does offer to sell him an apple, if he buys one or not she moves on to others.

Jarrin remembers what he heard of the people in his travels...
" To an outsider, Dalesfolk seem close-mouthed, suspicious, and reserved. Until newcomers are identified as friends or foes, or vouched for by a trusted friend, Dalesfolk prefer civil silence to empty pleasantries. Once a person is accepted, Dalesfolk are generally open and giving, especially in the common defense. Once accepted by Dalesfolk as a friend, a stranger is expected to contribute to the defense of the community.-(FR lore on how dalemen act)"

[quote="Arjay"]Arjay would try to save the two cows, touching them with a rod to cast a Heal spell on them to purge the poison from them and strengthen them. Whether it would work or not was another question, of course.[/qoute]

One of the cows is saved, the other is to far gone and dies. Kaalos answers
"Well all those lazy beggers you feed wonder around not doing anything, other then that no trespassers. Our feed is in the bin there "points to the bin on the outside of the barn, we feed Martha from a special bin inside due to her pregnancy. I figured it was the food, though it looks fine."

Dawizahr wrote:

Imesah happening by the investigation is moved by the plight of the farmers and compensates them for the lost cattle. After doing so, she sticks around for a bit more out of curiosity than anything else; simply listening.

(Feel free to take whatever amount of gold is appropriate for the cows).

The wife answers "take your gold and get off our land! We don't need handouts from adventures. Our families have lived off these lands for generations, we take care of our own. Go feed those lazy bums in town." A number of the other locals nod their head in agreement. A few of the women fold come to the wife and they talk in hushed whispers.

Arjay would nod, then go to examine the food.  "It does stand to reason.  Has there been anything else off lately?  Nothing this extreme, obviously, but anything?" Whatever else the farmer might be upset about, Arjay didn't seem to be taking this any less than utterly seriously.

ADM_Specters wrote:

The wife answers "take your gold and get off our land! We don't need handouts from adventures. Our families have lived off these lands for generations, we take care of our own. Go feed those lazy bums in town." A number of the other locals nod their head in agreement. A few of the women fold come to the wife and they talk in hushed whispers.

"I am a Monk of the Sun Soul not an adventurer, and it is my duty to help those who are in need of it. I understand your anger miss, but you must understand I'm only trying to help. Humility is a virtue; there is no reason that pride should prevent you from being compensated for this grievance. If, however, you do not wish me to help you, that is your decision to make."

Dawizahr wrote:

"I am a Monk of the Sun Soul not an adventurer, and it is my duty to help those who are in need of it. I understand your anger miss, but you must understand I'm only trying to help. Humility is a virtue; there is no reason that pride should prevent you from being compensated for this grievance. If, however, you do not wish me to help you, that is your decision to make."

The woman stops and turns, "You people...you think we need or want your piety? You show up and give gold or make pleasent words, but when there is work to be done you all disappear. Sure you build your fancy houses in town and those high walls, while out here we do as we always have. The Sheriff will find who kill our cattle and when he's got a hangman's noose around his neck I will be "compensated" just fine. Neighbors and family will help each other, just as we did while living under tyrants. So take your pity and sod off. We are just fine."

Arjay wrote:

Arjay would nod, then go to examine the food.  "It does stand to reason.  Has there been anything else off lately?  Nothing this extreme, obviously, but anything?"  Whatever else the farmer might be upset about, Arjay didn't seem to be taking this any less than utterly seriously.

As Arjay walks towards the feed bin Kal and four other farms join him. They stop as Kal's wife tells off the monk.

Kal speaks in a low voice; "There she goes again. A lot of anger bundled up there."

The others nod agreeing "has been a hard number of years"

Farmer straw hat "Well after her brother was killed standing up to that Zhent commander..."

Farmer bald "Tommy was a good man, him and a few others got drunk" pauses" and well may they rest in peace"

Kal "yeah, still she's mad that all those people the zhents brought in still are here and living in some of the farms. Says it's an insult to her brother"

Farmer wool shirt "Ha! remember when that one guy tried to fix his fence? Nails half out and bent. Roberts cows all got out. Luckily we took them in before that guy even noticed they were gone." grins" I think his fence is still busted"

Farmer straw hat "yeah, but he still lives in Roberts house after he got dragged off and hung for..what not saying hail you know who. At least we will finally see one of them pay when they hang that wizard." The group nods in agreement

The woman finishes her harsh words to the monk and glares over towards the men, which they all turn and continue to walk to the feed bin heads down a bit. Farmer wool shirt "it could be wolfbane, had a calf who ate that and he died"

Kal "you know they have to eat leaves Jacob, got to be something else" They continue to the bin and open it when all six are there

Arjay would examine the feed bins, of course, but if the farmer who used the bins every day didn't notice anything wrong, there was a good chance he wouldn't either. At the same time, the farmers didn't have the experience with poison that someone who'd been an adventurer had. "Do you have enough of the other food for the other cow?" he asked as he examined it.

Karovir would have noticed that something is going on on the farms. He however doesn't interfere in what the Shadowdale officials are doing as they seem to have it under control. After watching them a bit he would visit the nearby farms and would try to talk to the farmers (he should know at least 80 farmers quite well as they were his trainees in Myth Drannor), asking them if they have seen or heard anything which might be related to the poisoned animals and he would check on their animals.

Arjay wrote:

Arjay would examine the feed bins, of course, but if the farmer who used the bins every day didn't notice anything wrong, there was a good chance he wouldn't either.  At the same time, the farmers didn't have the experience with poison that someone who'd been an adventurer had.  "Do you have enough of the other food for the other cow?" he asked as he examined it.

Arjay doesn't notice anything odd about the feed. No discoloration or odd smells.

Kal speaks up "yeah we have feed inside and Matha is doing just fine. So somehow the bin was messed with"

//Ajay can make a survival roll (post your base number with item buffs no spell buffs please) or decide to find someone who may know more about grain who can.

Falling Leaf wrote:

Karovir would have noticed that something is going on on the farms. He however doesn't interfere in what the Shadowdale officials are doing as they seem to have it under control. After watching them a bit he would visit the nearby farms and would try to talk to the farmers (he should know at least 80 farmers quite well as they were his trainees in Myth Drannor), asking them if they have seen or heard anything which might be related to the poisoned animals and he would check on their animals.

Out here it takes a bit to find one of the men who trained under Karovir. Also most of the local farmers are at the farm with the dead cattle.

"Cap! How are you today! Noce to see you 'round these parts."

"I heard about the cattle on Kal's farm, most of us 'round here are family after all. I've seen a lot of those beggers wondering 'round lookin shifty. Not right for a man to not work for his food" shakes his head "but not much we can do with Vincent feeding them and all those bleeding hearts determined to help the beggers."

He then continues to talk with Karovir about Myth Drannor and the war, even inviting him in to meet his wife and have lunch.

*Jarrin continues to mill about for a while. He listens to the farmers and asks the ones he knows if there is anything they need since he will be making another supply run in a few weeks and can probably negotiate them some good deals in the markets along the coast. He offers no charity, just his services as a trade negotiator since he will be there anyway. After some time, he makes his way back to the inn and goes to the supply rooms for some time. Arjay seems to have the investigation under control, so he doesn't see a need to offer his fairly non-existent experiences in farms to it.*

ADM_Specters wrote:

The woman stops and turns, "You people...you think we need or want your piety? You show up and give gold or make pleasent words, but when there is work to be done you all disappear. Sure you build your fancy houses in town and those high walls, while out here we do as we always have. The Sheriff will find who kill our cattle and when he's got a hangman's noose around his neck I will be "compensated" just fine. Neighbors and family will help each other, just as we did while living under tyrants. So take your pity and sod off. We are just fine."

*obviously hurt by the words* "Very well. Just remember that the sun doesn't shine only when you will it, and pride is a fool's fortress."

*She then goes to find Arjay to see if he needs any help with anything*

Karovir would tell the farmer: "I know what you mean but keep in mind what I trained you. I didn't only teach you to fight but also what knightly virtues are and feeding the poor and helpless is right. That it is no permanent solution is true though. So you think the beggers brought the disease to the farm animals or poisoned them? How do you think they did that?"
He would also accept the invitation and stay for lunch and talk or also help out a bit. Hours later he would leave a pack of bandages and two vials of holy water just in case it might be useful someday.
Then he returns to Kal's farm and walks along the street looking out for beggers, watching what they are doing.