GM Aest's Wandering Eye Solo Game (Inactive)

Game Master Aest



The Once and Future Kingmaker Battle Maps, Kingmaker: Svetlana's Tale Battle Maps

Hundreds of feet below the tallest towers in the Dura ward, the district of Underlook exists in shadows. The two of you look around as you cross a bridge between one round tower and another, the depths it spans obscured by humid, hot fog from the Cogs far below. The warm, yellow glow of the magic streetlights would be pleasant if they were closer together, but patches of shadow mingle with those cast by the passersby to create the effect of perpetual twilight.

On the other side of the bridge, the streetlights continue, circling around the tower on the outside of a narrow walkway. There, near the bridge, is your destination. The sign hangs on two short lengths of chain, squeaking occasionally as a breeze blows by. The paint is relatively fresh, depicting a beholder with a hobo’s bindle in one tentacle staring luridly at a scantily-dressed elven woman. Below it, written in a flowing hand, are the words The Wandering Eye Inn. Below that, in a slightly less pretty hand, is another short phrase, crossed out: Seeking Permanent Business Tenant, Inquire Within. You open the stout oak door and file inside, surveying the tavern.

To the west, a wide glass window braced with iron framing across it, offers a view of the steamy fog covering the district. A few tables sit nearby, empty and waiting in the mid-afternoon lull after taverns open. At the bar tucked below a flight of stairs to the second floor, a large, grey-haired man with a thin beard stands, finishing pouring a cheap yellow beer for another man who’s all too comfortable on the barstool. He nods, finishes his pour, and looks over. ”Can I get you something? I’ve got a selection of Brelish brews, or accommodations if you need those instead.”

The Contract:
This rental lease shall serve as evidence of the terms and conditions agreed to by the signatories (hereafter referred to as Tenants) and the Landlord, Talvor Oriom.

Terms: The Tenants agree to pay, by the fifth of each month, 300 Wroats of gold or its equivalent. The first months’ payment has been paid for. Payments will be made month to month in exchange for continued use of the premises.

Payments: Payments are to be made at the Wandering Eye Tavern, directly to the Landlord, and under no circumstances to his daughter.

Security Deposit: A one-time security deposit of 500 Wroats has been made, and will be returned provided no unnecessary cleaning or repairs must be paid for when Tenants move out. The Landlord will require a walkthrough and inspection form both before occupation and before move-out to assess potential damages.

Pets: Pets will be permitted.

Inventories: The premises contains the following items the Tenants may use: armchairs (2), desks (2), desk chairs (2), beds (5), fireplace (1). Additionally, a number of lamps, books, and papers were left by previous tenant, which may be disposed of or used as Tenants see fit.

Keys: Tenant acknowledges receipt of three sets of keys for the premises, which may not be duplicated.

Signature:

Underlook Background (no check needed):
Underlook used to be a thriving center for inns and taverns, and a common place for people to stay. However, other, newer districts popped up as Sharn grew, and today, Underlook is a district that has seen better days. A few taverns and inns struggle on, but many have closed down.

Wandering Eye Background (no check needed):
For most of the Last War, the Wandering Eye housed not only a raucous, fight-ridden tavern on the lower floor, but a Tyrant-run brothel upstairs, as well as a small investigative agency. In the last weeks of the war, the Redcloak Battalion conducted a sweep of Underlook, driving out most of the three major gangs’ influence and shutting down both the tavern and the businesses it supported. It wasn’t until two years ago that Talver Oriom, a veteran of the War, won the tavern at auction and went into business with his youngest daughter, Tolri.

Today, the tavern does modent business, while the brothel has been converted into a handful of rooms for rent, but until recently, Talver struggled to find a purpose for the old investigative agency. The five-room suite remained in a state of disrepair; though some parts of it could have made a decent luxury room, others screamed business establishment. Put together, it wasn’t much use except for as its intended purpose, and until you came along, it just sat there. Now, all that Talver has to do it have you sign, and he’ll have a permanent business tenant.


Male Human Slayer 3 / Hunter 3

Though the warmth rising from the Cogs is thick and oppressive, Amos makes no move to remove his armoured coat, nor the well-worn knapsack that hangs over one broad shoulder. One hand rests deep in a pocket, the other clutches a birdcage under one arm, holding a sleek, glossy-feathered crow, who alternately preens herself and peers curiously at the world outside. Trailing slightly behind his heels, Amos feels Bear, his breath coming in short huffs as he keeps pace with his master; a pang of pity strikes him, and he slows his pace for the old dog.

Staring up at the sign, he takes a deep breath through his nose before looking to Emerson. "This was the best you could do?" he asks in a tone that betrays his irritation and resignation. Shaking his head, he presses through the door and makes his way to the bar.

"Whatever he's having, and a saucer of water for my friends." Without waiting for a response, he sets the cage on the floor; the crow is out within moments, hopping across the floor and fixing her beady eyes on Bear. The dog regards her for a moment before yawning, laying on the floor and resting his head between his paws.


Male Human Slayer 3 / Hunter 3

Dressed more smartly than his shabby friend, Emerson takes a deep breath through his nose, his overcoat slung over one arm, a satchel hanging from his shoulder, bulging with various potions and tinctures. His other hand grips the handle of an upright cart, a portable laboratory of sorts - it was far from the lab he was used to, but it would have to do.

"On such short notice, yes," he admits, shaking his head slightly as Amos makes his way inside - he'd always been far more direct. No eye for finesse, he muses, leaning on the bar and dodging the animals at his feet. "Mr. Oriom, I presume?" he asks, taking a neatly-folded sheet of paper from his satchel and smoothing it on the stained bartop.


The Once and Future Kingmaker Battle Maps, Kingmaker: Svetlana's Tale Battle Maps

”Ah, that’s what this is about.” The barkeep’s demeanor brightens, and he quickly pours a few drinks, setting aside the requested water near the door of the Wandering Eye. Once that’s done, he looks the contract over quickly. ”I knew they’d be able to help get it rented. Right. That’s my name, and this is my business. You’ll be upstairs. It’s a five room suite. Two bedrooms, a combination office/lobby, kitchen, and privy room. I expect you’ll be wanting to look it over before you sign.”

After reaching under the bar for a set of keys, he clumps over to the stairs. At the top stand a few shut doors, each with a number on it. One, Two, Three, and Five also have small red ribbons hanging from hooks below the numbers, each with a key dangling from it, while Four does not. Talver Oriom ignores these doors, heading for a door at the very end of the hall. He fiddles with the lock for a bit, then pops it open.

”It’s a bit dusty. Sorry about that.”

A bit dusty is an understatement. The door opens on a small sitting room, complete with overstuffed, hideous orange armchairs, old, yellowing newspaper clippings from the Korranburg Chronicle and the Sharn Inquisitive tacked to the walls, and, of course, dust everywhere. A counter sits off to one side, partitioning off about half the room, which seems to have been some office space. Behind that are a couple further doors.

Further investigation reveals a pair of small bedrooms, which Talver looks apologetic about. ”They’re not in the best shape. You’ll probably be needing to upgrade them a bit. In between them, against the outside of the tower, is an even smaller privy, while a kitchen sits tucked next to the left-most bedroom. Everywhere is dust. It’s not dirty, filthy dust, just the dust of a long unused and forgotten place.

[b]”If you’re looking for some help cleaning it up…” Talver begins, then pauses for a moment before continuing. ”I know a lass. She’s a hard worker, good paper skills, she’d make a good secretary too if you find yourselves needing one.” He stops again, then bellows downstairs. ”Tolri! Tolri, get your lazy behind up here! Your pa’s got questions!” Though the tone is friendly, almost playful, Talver scowls at the door as his daughter doesn't arrive...and doesn't arrive.


While Amos takes a moment to gather Bear and... whatever the crow's name was, Emerson follows Talver upstairs, taking note of the other doors. Odd. Is four also occupied? he wonders. I hope Bear doesn't cause the occupant too much trouble.

The door swings open, and the thick smell of dust and neglect immediately dries his throat; he coughs a few times, waving a hand in front of his face as he steps into the room. "It certainly is," he muses, peering at the grimy windows and crumbling papers. "No matter, though; we'll have it cleaned up in no time. Going to need some reupholstering as well, maybe new carpet in the bedrooms..." He opens a journal, sits in one of the overstuffed chairs, and starts jotting down ideas as they come.


Male Human Slayer 3 / Hunter 3

Amos doesn't follow immediately, taking a few minutes to finish his beer and help the crow onto his shoulder where she perches, nervously digging claws into his coat and looking around. "Come on, Ethel," he mutters, before whistling sharply to Bear and heading upstairs. The dog pads heavily behind him, water dripping from his floppy jowls as he goes.

"You're taking this better than I thought you would," he remarks dryly, wiping his stubble on his sleeve as he looks incredulously around the suite. 300 wroats a month for this? he sighs internally, setting Ethel's cage on a side-table and propping the door open with an old stack of books.

"Best not to yell. Bear doesn't much like it." As if in agreement, the dog lets out a single, soft, low, "Boof" of annoyance.


The Once and Future Kingmaker Battle Maps, Kingmaker: Svetlana's Tale Battle Maps

”Your dog doesn’t like it? Have you considered not living over a tavern?” Talver grins, eyes twinkling, but he does lower his voice the second time he shouts. ”Tolri, let’s go!”

After a few minutes, a girl of perhaps sixteen or seventeen trudges up the stairs, scowling sullenly back at Talver. Her face has some of the same roundness as his, and her thin, blonde hair sits similarly to his where it’s not tied back. She crosses her arms over her ample chest. ”Whattaya want, then?”

”Don’t give me any of that lip, girl.” Talver scowls back. ”Just give me the address of that half-elf lass that’s been hanging around with you. She’s got a bit of sense in her head…” After a few more moments, Tolri scrawls down a name and an address on a scrap of note-paper from her apron, smacks it into her father’s hand, and stomps back down the stairs, her dramatic exit ruined by missing the last step and the loud gasp that accompanies it.

”Kids these days…” Talver shakes his head slowly and disappointedly. ”When I was her age, I was training with the Tenth Brelish Sappers. Worst job you could have in the army, but I was happy then. Now, they get to live at home, work easy jobs, and what do you get? Attitude...” He stares off into the distance for a moment before handing Emerson the paper. ”I expect you’ll want to find Tolri’s friend. She’s a booky one. Let’s get this contract signed and the place’ll be yours to do with as you please. Renovations, repairs, and so on, I’ll go 50/50 on, but only if I can justify it. Otherwise, it’s on you to find the funds.” He brushes off a spot on the counter running through the room’s center, sets the contract there, and produces a pen and ink.

Address:

Jesaeli Cantor
#23 Middle Halway Tower Houses
Highwater, Dura


Male Human Slayer 3 / Hunter 3

"Wasn't even close to my first choice," Amos mutters, nudging Bear with a well-weathered boot. The dog yawns indignatly before padding over to a corner, turning around thrice, and laying down, his large head in his paws. He sizes up the girl, Tolri, noting the characteristic sullenness of young adulthood. He snorts as he hears her miss the last step, a well-deserved comeuppance. Teach you to storm off in a huff, he thinks, as he signs the contract in a thick scrawl before looking around the apartments.


Catching a look from Amos, Emerson quickly stands and crosses over to the contract. No doubt he wants me to go see this Cantor girl, he thinks as he signs his own name in a cramped, spidery hand. "If you'd be so kind, Amos, perhaps you can continue my list of possible repairs," he suggests, handing the taller man his paper, which lists, among other things, replace lamps and wallpaper bedrooms. Ignoring Amos' bemused and disgusted expression, he shoulders his bag and shakes Talver's hand. "I'll be sure to contact you regarding anything we think may need replacing, repairing, or refurbishing," he smiles. "In the meantime, I'll go see this girl you recommend."


The Once and Future Kingmaker Battle Maps, Kingmaker: Svetlana's Tale Battle Maps

I wrote this like 4 days ago, but never posted it. Whoops!

Amos
Sure enough, many of the lamps are so filthy it might be more efficient to replace than to clean, while others have missing parts that would make them impossible to use until repaired. The wallpaper, such that is left, is pretty shredded and faded in the bedrooms, and depicts ferns and grapes in an alternating pattern in the left bedroom and red-green-gold-blue stripes in the right one. Neither is in good enough shape to look respectable.

A quick assessment of the lobby and office areas reveals a few minor problems. First, a set of old, moth-eaten drapes on the western wall have their sliders rusted, leaving them permanently in the closed position. A bit of tugging reveals a window that looks down the bridge Amos and Emerson arrived across, then down a thoroughfare that winds around a pair of towers before being lost in the mist. Additionally, the overstuffed, hideous armchairs, though in style 50 years ago, simply crowd the room now. It’s difficult even for Amos to make his way across the room to the counter.

Once he’s at the counter, Amos finds a few things of interest. First, a stack of contracts on a shelf behind the counter shows a list of who the old Wandering Eye worked with, and who they were investigating. There are dozens of contracts, some with ten to twelve pages, and it’s clear it’ll take some time to look at them all. Of more interest is a single drawer, only a couple of inches high, that’s sealed with a padlock. Though rusty, it’s clear it’s a well-build, Brelish lock, and won’t give easily.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Emerson

The trip up-tower to Highwater gives Emerson an opportunity to more thoroughly get his bearings in Dura. Not that there’s all that much going on in Underlook; a few cheap-looking inns, tenements, and an occasional restaurant give no indication that at the beginning of the Last War, the district was a high-population hospitality center for the city. Here and there, a hooded halfling ducks into an alley as Emerson approaches, while once, his journey is interrupted by a Redcloak patrol, manacled bugbear in tow.

Knowledge (local, DC 10):
The bugbear is decked out in symbols belonging to Daask, one of the three big gangs in Sharn. Daask is mostly made up of the monsters that ‘civilized’ society finds repugnant, and they tend to stay in the lower wards of Sharn.

Once Emerson makes the climb up into Highwater, the scene looks a bit less bleak. More than mottled sunlight makes its way onto the streets, which have trees planted here and there, as well as wide, grassy parks strung between the towers. There are no shops here. Instead, buildings are either apartment-style with multiple tenants or, more commonly, large, entire layers of towers owned or leased by one person.

Middle Halway Tower Houses is one of the more apartment-style residences. A plaster front that’s clearly meant to mimic marble pillaring opens onto a long, circling hall with thirty or more doors opening onto it. A few people stand in the hall, chatting about trifling things like the weather or who’s in the running for the last seats on the Aurum, but for the most part, things are quiet.


Male Human Slayer 3 / Hunter 3

Of all the things in the apartment, it's the wallpaper that disgusts Amos the most. He snorts in distaste as he runs a peeling strip between his fingers. "Glue's cracking," he mutters to no-one, counting no fewer than three unsalvageable lamps and many more barely worth saving.

As he tugs and forces the curtains apart, making a note to talk to Emerson about replacing them as well (the pea-soup-green colour wasn't doing them any favours), he's pleased to see the window, and gladly cracks it open before placing Ethel's cage carefully on the sill. The crow hops along her new perch before cawing once in delight. Amos strokes her breast feathers with a wry smile, before looking over the counter.

The drawer immediately draws his interest and he runs his fingers over the keyhole, face briefly twisting. Got to get Em to look at that when he gets back, he thinks, before turning his attention to the old contracts. With a sigh, he sits down in one of the better armchairs and gets to work.


Knowledge (local): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26

Emerson makes his way up-tower, past the ramshackle buildings of Underlook and into Highwater. He enjoys the sight of trees and sunlight, and briefly considers heading back and sending Amos instead, knowing how much the older man enjoys the outdoors. But he's here now, and decides to make the most of it, walking in the sunlight as it hits the ground and enjoying the cleaner air.

Reaching Middle Halway Tower Houses, he briefly checks the address in his pocket before pacing, searching for #23.


The Once and Future Kingmaker Battle Maps, Kingmaker: Svetlana's Tale Battle Maps

Amos

Most of the oldest contracts are emblazoned with a red rubber stamp that reads Solved and Paid, with a few only reading Solved. The oldest seems to date back around forty years ago, and the vast majority of the older ones involve hunting would-be spies across Sharn. Notably, Cyre, Breland, Thrane, Aundair, and Karrnath all have at least one contract.

Toward the end of the Last War, a number of contracts for House Cannith appear. Most of these aren’t stamped with anything, or with a blue stamp reading Paid. Almost all of these include a large amount of censoring, with black ink running across the page in long swathes, including one in particular that catches Amos’s eye. Massive loss of life due to [REDACTED] in Cyre. Please investigate related [REDACTED] in the upper levels of [REDACTED] society.

Knowledge (local or nobility, DC 15:

House Cannith is one of the Dragonmarked houses, and was responsible for many of the technomagical improvements that enable communication and transportation across Khorvaire. They were also responsible for making the Warforged and other weapons used to fight the Last War.

In addition to the House Cannith contracts, a number of smaller contracts, marked only with Solved, show that toward the end of its time, the Wandering Eye Investigative Agency was working on a lot of simple cases for people who either couldn’t or didn’t pay.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Emerson

#23 turns out to be almost the entire way around the tower’s circular path. As Emerson knocks the door, a high-pitched voice from inside calls. ”Just a moment!” A minute passes, then the voice calls again. ”Just a moment more!”

After five minutes or so, a small sliding peephole opens, behind which are a pair of dark blue eyes and a bit of wet, curly black hair. The eyes narrow a touch as they look out at Emerson, taking him in. ”Can I help you?”


Male Human Slayer 3 / Hunter 3

Knowledge (local): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23

"Hmm." Muttering to himself, Amos clears a space on a crowded coffee table and starts sorting the contracts into piles, using the stamps as a guide. "Looks like our predecessors started falling for sob-stories," he sighs, looking across at Bear. "Stories won't put food in our bellies, though, will they, old boy?" He begins looking more closely through the contracts from House Cannith, looking for interesting leads and details.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15


"Jesaeli Cantor?" Emerson asks, leaning slightly toward the peephole and holding up his empty hands. "My name is Emerson, and I come with a business proposal. May we talk?"


Male Human Slayer 3 / Hunter 3

Poke?

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