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[h2][color=6ecff6][i][b]Hugh Caphazath[/b][/i][/color][/h2][i][b][color=6ecff6]Half-Elf, Monk (Way of Shadow), Level 3[/color][/b][/i]
[color=6ecff6][i][b]HP:[/b][/i][/color] 24/24	[color=6ecff6][i][b]Armor Class:[/b][/i][/color] 17	[color=6ecff6][i][b]Conditions:[/b][/i][/color] NA
[color=6ecff6][i][b]Location:[/b][/i][/color] Darenby, The Infamous Pear
[color=6ecff6][i][b]Action:[/b][/i][/color] N/A
[color=6ecff6][i][b]Bonus Action:[/b][/i][/color] N/A
[color=6ecff6][i][b]Reaction:[/b][/i][/color] N/A
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[right][img]https://i.imgur.com/4a0uP44.png[/img][/right]
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Hugh suppressed a sigh of unrestrained relief, as the portal to the room admitted Victoria. He then sighed in truth and turned about face at the sight of her casually stripping, affording the Bard what privacy he could in these circumstances, as she stowed her little “friend” and slipped beneath the covers.

Clearly, he’d been right to take initiative on this matter. While he was somewhat wary of laying his head to rest in the same room as a Bard -or necromancer, for that matter- out of sheer caution, it was shamefully all too preferable to dealing with the tiefling. As things were, he’d not have been able to sleep a wink.

That said, it seemed that social landmine had been defused for the time being. He’d not seen hide or hair of Naivara, but… In hindsight, she was a Druid, and a not so well socialized one at that. Honestly, if she’d decided to make her lodgings for the night elsewhere, even outside in the cold, he’d not be able to find it in himself to blame her one bit. He just hoped she didn’t turn up dead or traitorous overnight; that would be rather unfortunate. With that in mind, one spellcaster charge was good enough for the time being, and Hugh allowed himself to drift into the land of dreams for a while, where he was visited by some rather bizarre dreams involving a national dance-off and a pig that looked suspiciously familiar.

(/._./)

Hugh, as was his habit, woke with the dawn, grimacing beneath the sheets at the notably more biting autumn chill seeping into his bones. He blinked lazily, quietly rubbing the morning crust from his eyes, before deciding to stay right where he was.

After all, his charges were still sleeping, if the sight of a slumbering Victoria was any clue. Rolling his jaw, Hugh grumbled under his breath at the realization that he’d likely have no time to train seriously for the foreseeable future, as he contemplated where exactly he’d misstepped in life. Eyeing the letter at his bedside table, he sighed quietly.

Probably the second he’d subconsciously promised to take up this blasted mission.

Gripes aside, at present, he had a job to do. Training would have to be postponed in large part due to the still non-zero chance of his charges suffering an “accident” were he not present. He’d wait until at least one of them had already greeted the day before making his own way down.

Speaking of which…

Victoria stirred, and Hugh shot her a dry two-fingered salute in greeting. He rolled over to face away, as she began to -with some notable haste in the sound of her movements- pull on her clothes and freshen herself up for the day. Once the sound of rustling clothes had come to an overall halt, Hugh sighed and relinquished his own fluffy shield from the chill, grimacing, as he hopped a bit in place to start warming up his muscles somewhat.

As he wasn’t much of a sweater when sleeping -and the chill being omnipresent as it was, he hadn’t bothered to change out of his normal wear for the night, aside from shedding his cloak, which he promptly re-donned from where he’d slung it over the edge of his bed. He set about combing his short, shaggy brown hair, so that it at least didn’t come across as bed hair and ran a hand across his jawline, mulling over the presence of a light amount of stubble. It was nothing long enough for him to bother shaving so early, certainly not anywhere close enough to make his neck itch, so he decided to leave the ever so faint shadow be for now.

His quarterstaff appeared to have remained undisturbed in the night, which was a relief, and he gladly removed it from where it was propped precariously against the window, giving it a small comforting thump against the blue carpet spread across the majority of the room’s center.

Briefly, he glanced over to the stirring form of Naivara, recalling the Druid’s rather conspicuously late arrival in the night. If he hadn’t already consigned himself to taking watch for a portion of the night, he honestly might not have heard her enter. But between his own nerves and the sound of the door opening, her arrival four hours into the group’s collective rest had managed to be both relieving and further nerve inducing, considering the circumstances.

There was no use making a mountain out of a mole hill at this juncture, however. He had already resolved himself to approach potential suspicions with as objective an eye as he could manage. While a disappearance at this juncture was potentially extraordinarily suspicious, he didn’t yet feel as if he’d misjudged the quality of her character and experience. It was quite unlikely that she had the will or capacity to be an insurgent.

Well, nothing for it now.

Hugh slung his pack over his left shoulder and entered a somewhat warmer hallway, the heat from downstairs having managed to linger somewhat longer without many windows about to help it vacate the premises. Plodding lightly downstairs, he smiled lightly at the far more toasty dining area.

His own personal prep being far more meager in substance and length, Hugh arrived to the distant sight of Victoria just now reaching the reserved table once more, the place rather surprisingly -if pleasantly- populated by the entirety of the other room that had been allowed to their “adventuring” party. It did also appear that the rather… underdressed Guido was currently present

As he approached, Hugh couldn’t help the gradually rising brow at the sight of the rather exorbitant amount of food laid out on the table. It was visibly far more than the party could hope to consume in one sitting unless several of their number happened to have a Bag of Holding for a stomach. Additionally, he was starting to get a bit unnerved by how accommodating their patron was, especially given that there were twice the expected number of hires present. He couldn’t help but feel a small pit begin to grow in his stomach, as he wordlessly sat down -once more as far from Kosara and now Marita as he could manage- and claimed a loaf of bread, some cheese and a couple sausages for himself.

He eyed the large platter of sausage and bacon with an amused upturn of the lips, eyes flicking briefly over to Morty. Coincidence or snark? Who could say, but it was certainly amusing all the same.

The smile died in its infancy at the news of their patron’s absence. Could nothing in this job go right? First, a compromised mission. Then, unreasonable associates. And now, their client was oh-so-conveniently absent at a most critical time? Surely, whatever business called for his absence wasn’t more critical than personally assuring the security of this quest from the get-go?

  Also, who was he meant to present his revised reward request to: the Sheriff’s subordinate? Would such a person even have the authority to speak on behalf of what he might or might not be able to request?

He only just barely managed to bite back a sardonic response to Victoria’s either optimistic or naive assertion. “Fate” was a fiction, a farcity that only the weak-minded clung to in order to justify their own shortcomings and misfortunes. To any with the will, such a fantasy as “Fate” was merely an inconvenience, nothing more, and inconveniences were all quite overcomable… and far more easily so than any might imagine. He would take “going according to plan” any day over a so-called “adventure”.

That said, he’d hold his tongue on the matter for now. No reason to potentially breed animosity between himself and the third member of their troupe. So long as such thinking didn’t directly impact the party’s performance and results, he’d not be bothered. Besides, her optimism carried a certain world-weariness to it. Perhaps, she was merely trying to keep the group’s spirits up. Personally, he’d rather have frank reality than a hopeful fantasy, but he could hardly begrudge whatever let the others function properly.

His appetite was already waning, but Hugh forced himself to eat regardless, frowning pensively. He managed to smooth over his expression enough to politely receive the strong warm tea being delivered by May. He shook his head in amusement at her acidic attitude and responded, [color=6ecff6]“This is all quite more than sufficient. Nothing further for myself.”[/color]

Kathryn’s bevy of rather… [i]interesting[/i] suggestions (especially the last one) for proceeding gave him a fresh appreciation for her inexperience in this sort of job. She even explicitly mentioned such. For her sake, at least, Hugh did feel some need to clarify things. [color=6ecff6]“The disappearances aren’t significantly numerous in Darenby’s area to provoke even an offhand mention, so I can think of little reason to stay here beyond investigating the mailing system and hopefully presenting Naivara’s and my own revised reward requests to a qualified associate of our client. I can, however, say for near certain that openly interrogating the people of this sleepy town will not go well, unless we are rather lucky. Unless anyone has pressing business beyond that, the Avonshire Township proper is where we are best bound as soon as possible.”[/color] He ensured his tone was merely clinical and not correctional throughout, presenting the facts as he knew them and leaving off with a rather open-ending… opening for others to present their own cases. Personally, he was quite partial to the idea of performing initial investigations in Darenby, but with a mere week to bring back initial results, they couldn’t afford to stay away from the epicenter of trouble for even a single day unless absolutely necessary.

Buttering up a slice of bread and humming thoughtfully to himself, Hugh mentioned somewhat offhand before returning to his meal, [color=6ecff6]“As an aside, considering their worth as potential leads, I did take the liberty of ensuring our letters were not lost in the ruckus last night, since the rest of you seemingly abandoned them. I’ve already returned Naivara’s to her, but if the rest of you would like your own, merely say the word. I’ve no attachment to them beyond ensuring we keep hold of them.”[/color]

(/._./)

AN: So I don’t have to waste time in my own posts for it down the line, simply assume that if anyone asks for their letter back, Hugh will retrieve the neatly folded stack from his bag and wordlessly hand over the correct one, having kept track of which was which by his particular investigative/obsessive means.