The man listens to the sudden flood of conversation as his produce seems forgotten. "Wait, you think I would know what the Lord Foxglove would look like?" he asks, incredulous. "Have I been giving off airs?" he wonders aloud.
"Well, I ain't seen any nobles' carriages coming through here, but they don't usually come by until later, so I doubt I'd see him here, let alone know which one was his." he says as he strokes his fuzz-covered chin. "You might try someone else. But, there aren't really any high-falutin' merchants around here who'd keep an eye for that sort of thing. Maybe try at the gate?"
At the mention of an inn, the man tries to help. "Well, what inn are you staying at?"
"Also, don't drip any snot on the produce, son!" he says as Zie's head gets closer to the carrots. "No sniffing unless you buy..." he says, but the dwarf's interest in purchasing seems to have flicked a switch. "Well, I could sell you a these carrots for five copper a pound, but you could get these here turnips with em for a total of eight coppers per two pounds. One pound of each, obviously." he says with a wink to the dwarf.
As the morning progresses, the merchant's square seems to get busier and busier.
After stopping a few passing travellers with no luck, he finds a woman carrying a basket of apples and pears into a townhouse two doors down from the manor. He stops her as she is about to enter the walled courtyard.
She turns and Jim finds her to be oddly enchanting despite her obvious status as a servant. Her blonde hair reflects in the morning sun, giving her a halo of gold around her smiling face.
"Oh, that's the Foxglove townhouse. Rumor was it was haunted when it was vacant, but Aldern and Iesha came back a few weeks ago. House was boarded up before they got here, but it seems they haven't done nothing about it." she says, clearly getting the better deal on looks over eloquence.
"You'd think they'd clean up the look of the place, but ain't nobody gonna talk out of turn against 'em. His old man was rumored to be a demon in disguise." she says, her voice lowering for the second sentence as if she is sharing a secret.
Elena thinks for a moment, then talks to the boys. "Well, we look like idiots just standing here. Do any of you think you can find your way back to the Manor? I'm spun all around and don't think I could get us back there with a compass and a map! That's a pretty good deal on the veggies too, Zie."
Zie mocks looking offended at all of the jibes, but those root vegetables do smell good. "Deal!" he shouts, paying the man a silver for his wares.
Turning to the others, he says "We found the place once, so I expects we can find it again. Meanwhile, though, let's check the gate. I fear our friends may be skipping town."
Certain he has impressed the woman, Jim moves on to figure out his next step. "Hmm... her story doesn't quite match up with Aldern's. 'Aldern', anyway. I'd better think on this over a drink."
With that, Jim heads back to the tavern and orders an ale while he stews.
"And where did that Jim get off to? Was he following any of you? I sort of lost touch with all of you and I've not seen him in a long while."
"He stayed behind to watch."
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Jace heaves his bag back onto his shoulder as Zie buys his vegetables. he begins to make his way back to Aldern's place, or at least the direction he believes Aldern's place to be. "We are at a lose here. Let's get back to Jim."
Looking down at Zie he smiles. "Do Dwarves really need all that fiber in their age?"
Jace hefts the bag of vegetables over his shoulders as he and Elena seem to wish to head back towards the Foxglove Townhouse, but Zie clinks down a silver piece on the man's stall and expresses an interest in following the advice of the shopkeeper and heading towards the gate to check with the guards there as to if Aldern had passed by. Raj is largely silent and immobile.
After receiving the two copper tip, the merchant beams brightly and extends his hand to shake the dwarf's hand. "Thanks for your business, ser dwarf."
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She nods her head quickly and rushes into the manor, eager to leave the bright and bold presence of the man, likely before she become too enamored of Jim.
Jim heads into the more upscale tavern across from the townhouse and sits down at the table near the window and the barkeep makes his way over as Jim appears to be the only person in the tavern at this early hour between breakfast and lunch.
He sets down a mug of brown ale that has been slightly chilled, a sign of affluence in Magnimar. The foam seems to stick around and leaves a light lacing on the glass when it finally does settle, showing off the fine craftsmanship that went into the beer. "Can I get you anything else? Flapjacks or a thylacine egg omelette, perhaps?" asks the man to Jim.
Raj nods to the merchant and follows Zie to the gate.
Raj, in agreement with the dwarf, heads to the gate. They trundle through the crowd as they hear various calls for goods and services.
"Get your assorted breakfast noodles here! Prepared fresh by the God of Cookery!"
"Finest chain in Magnimar sold here! Prepare before heading out into the goblin infested hills!"
"Axebeak eggs and chicks sold here! We have all colors except black and gold!"
At the gate, the pair sees a rather busy set of guards. They seem to be checking various wagons and carts and writing down various notes on clipboards before ripping off portions of paper and handing them to the cart owners.
The carts and wagons leaving the city are also handing over bulging, jingling bags, which is likely the taxes and tariffs levied on the merchants. These over-worked men seem to be a bit rushed as they merely chuck the bags of money into the warded shack near the gate before rushing to the next wagon.
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Zie and Raj trundle off, leaving Jace and Elena at the vegetable farmer's stall. "Carrot stick?" the man says as his stubby fingers off a few sliced root vegetables to you.
"Cmon Jace, no sense in splitting ourselves up further. Jim will stay out of trouble I hope. Let's follow the dwarves to the gate. If anything, we can keep them out of trouble."
"Maybe if we got Aldern to come back to the mansion..."
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"Those guards would have seen them leave. Let's ask them - but they look busy, so we better make it worth their time."
Zoe pulls out a couple gold pieces to warm the approach.
"I thought we were only following Aldern--were there others? In any case, do not use his name, only his description unless the guard identifies him."
"Right."
Jace and Elena partake of the man's carrot sticks and the man eagerly accepts the copper piece from Jace. "Cheers, captain!" he says as he bites down on the metal disc before tossing it into his belt pouch.
Jace and Elena quickly follow after their pair of compatriots that headed towards the gate and find that they seem to be debating what to do and Zie is fondling a few pieces of gold in his hands. They seem to be holding off on doing anything at the moment.
The guards seems very busy at the moment and could care less about the four people standing around near the gate at the moment. In all honesty, they probably haven't even noticed that you are there and are unlikely to start speaking to you unless you appear like you are going to leave the city.
Replacing the lid, he moves back and sets down the bowl for you and pulls a spoon out of his pocket. "Anything else?" he asks.
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Jace heads towards the gate and group of guards as if he is going to leave the city as he is sure Aldern has. His breastplate armor clanks as if he is heading to battle as he is more armored than most of the guards within the bustling city.
"Excuse me!" he waves his hand at them. "You guys just see a noble with a bow come through here? Elena! ELENA!"
Jace calls her over. "Describe Aldern to them."
Zie chuckles at Jace's approach, and holds up the two gold coins in hopes to help entice an answer. "Glad to see you joined us."
Waiting for Elena to give the description, Zie watches to see the guards reactions.
Raj follows the duo up, looking around at the crowd in case Aldern surfaces unexpectedly.
"A handsome nobleman. Typically wears a pointy hat. Dark hair. Wears a bracelet of rubies on his left arm."
The guards look the group over and see the dwarf holding up coins. "Are you trying to bribe us?" the taller one says with a scowl. "I don't know where've you come from, dwarf, but we have pride in ourselves here and follow the laws. Now put away the money." he commands.
"We don't divulge information on passersby to anyone who asks, especially information about nobles." says the same man.
The shorter man rolls his eyes a bit at the sternness of the taller man. "Yeah, we can't tell you who has been by, but no one has left yet today." the second man offers.
As you talk, a pair of adventurers come in, clearly apparent by their gear. It appears that one is an archer and the other is a shield-user. They take a seat at the bar and the barkeep nods to you before moving over to get them some ale.
"Sorry if I offended, I intended nothing illegal or untoward. Thanks for the information."
Then back to the others, "Well, I guess we are back to square one."
"That means he, or who ever that is, is still here. We could head back and poke around the house more. Perhaps Jim has learned something while we've been on this wild goose chase."
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"Yea, maybe we will find something." Jace is truly at a loss of what to do in this situation.
"Though we can't exactly go breaking into the man's house again in the middle of the city without getting arrested. Plus are we even sure we aren't following an innocent man. That could have been some undead creature that dressed in Aldern's clothes that took over his manor for all we know."
Jace looks to the others for any suggestions as they make their way back to Alder's Townhouse and Jim.
Raj shrugs. "There are too many unanswered questions. Let's rejoin Jim and get some rest, then watch again tomorrow."
"Agreed. Let's find Jim."
You head back through the town to find Jim sitting at the tavern. A half-consumed mug of ale sits beside an empty bowl with the residue of food remaining and the man himself looks fairly satisfied.
As you enter, the barkeep nods and begins to pour four mugs of ale to serve to you.
"Hey Jim. Move over - I am exhausted. And hungry. But did get some nice vegetables while I was out."
Jim makes room for the dwarf without making eye contact. He stares off as he speaks.
"You know fellows, I've been doing some thinking. Aldern's story is that he came straight back here after the goblin attacks and boarded up the house. A woman I met on the street said he came back with his wife, but she said she was already here. Not that strange women are credible, but... Maybe we should ask a city official about the status of the property to see if it's been condemned or seized. And maybe we should offer to Aldern to help take down the boards. And maybe we should ask to go hunting with him tomorrow.
Maybe..." Jim swirls a spoon in an empty bowl idly as he thinks.
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"Or maybe we can just sit down with the two of them and be honest this time. Tell him what we saw, ask him if he knows the name everyone uses to refer to Foxglove Manor in Sandpoint. If he doesn't know it's 'the Misgivings,' then we know he's an imposter and we do what we have to do then. That's just a random thought," Elena adds as she plops herself down on an empty seat
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"Seems good enough to me. Lets get some rest. I walked all over this damn city." He claps Jim on the shoulder and goes off to stagger to his room as his aching legs nearly give out on him.
"So much walking.....was up all damn night.....why are we walking everywhere......I am getting a horse....." he mutters all the way up the stairs.
Raj looks quizzically after the paladin. I don't think we walked that far. He sips at his ale and signals for some food as well. This drink is not what I am used to, but it does grow on one.
As you rest and eat at the tavern, you sit by the doorway. Over the course of an twenty minutes, several more groups have entered, taking up seats around the place and ordering food and drink. Based on the orders of those nearby, you find that this place is known around town for its in-house liquor: medicinal aquavit.
Shortly after you receive your bowls of soup, you see Iesha leave the house with a rather large wicker basket. Aldern has not returned yet, though it is not odd as hunting generally takes at least a few hours.
The man with a bow slung over his shoulder at the bar leans back and calls to the tavernkeeper. "Oi! Two more pints, good sir! And a few 'vit chasers!" he yells, gnashing down on a hunk of fresh bread.
Ziebodug enjoys his soup, and orders a round of medicinal aquavit. "Always good to see what the locals have brewed up."
The clearish soup with ground beef meatballs and diced root vegetables is quite light on the palette, however the savory meatballs also give the sense of satisfaction as you eat.
The barkeep nods as you order the alcohol. You see him move behind the bar and pour two ales and three shot of aquavit. He drops the former, along with two of the shots, with the two adventurers and places the small glass cup in front of Ziebodug.
"One of you boys go get Jace. This is our chance and he wouldn't want to miss it," Elena whispers as she sees the woman leaving the home. "Its time to clear up this mystery!"
Raj tosses back his ale and stands. "I will do so with haste. Would you mind settling up?" He follows the paladin upstairs.
Jim tosses up his hands in disgust. "Isn't that just the way of it." He heads to the bar to pay Raj's tab and nods at the other adventurers. "Hey, how's it going? Jim Seeker, hero of Sandpoint." He extends a hand proudly.
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Jace runs into Raj as the bearded man rushes up the stairs, visibly winded.
He sighs as his mind was set for bed and rest and slams his closed fist against the railing. As he is tired the anger, frustration and rage that was seen with Nualia quickly rushes back to him. Perhaps that is a part of him that he will never let go. He is ok with that. It was a part of his life.
He turns around and follows Raj back down the stairs. "Alright.Alright. What is going on?"
"Iesha has left the house, and we are thinking to pay a visit."
As Jim moves up to the bar and greets the pair of adventurers, they cheers their new mugs of ale together and take a deep drink off the top. The shield-bearer stops and looks a bit oddly at Jim and notices his friend hasn't picked up on the awkward man holding his hand out, so he nods knowingly. "Yeah..." he mentions as the other guy shifts away uncomfortably from the Hero of Sandpoint.
"We're with The Falcon's Wings." offers the shield-bearer as the barkeep comes by and holds out his hand for payment.
"Two gold pieces and three silver for the lot of you." he says gruffly. "Also, stop acting weird in my tavern." he adds, noticing the adventurers' uncomfortable stances.
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Jace moves back down to meet with the Travelling Circus and notes that Jim is paying their dining tab, while Ziebodug is quickly shooting his aquavit and chasing it with the ale. A few other empty mugs sit on the table of the rapidly-filling tavern.
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Jace looks to Raj. "Well what are you waiting around for? Did you come get me so you feel good about doing it? Some sort of moral compass?" Jace says irritated and angry, though not directed at his companion, more due to the lack of sleep.
"Something odd is going on here and we need to get to the bottom of it." Jace walks out of the inn towards the townhouse.
You walk towards the townhouse from the entrance to the inn, drifting in an amongst the people walking down the street. He reaches the entrance to the courtyard and finds that nothing is stopping him from entering the Foxglove property.
Elena follows close behind. "Let's do it. We all know there's something not right happening here. Only way to get to the bottom of it is to break in and explore. If we can keep from being hauled off to jail, I think we will get our answers.". She turns and calls out to the others, "the rest of you boys coming, or are you going to sit there slack jawed?"
"Right, sorry. Nice meeting you fellows. We should adventure together sometime." Jim says with a wink as he drops coins into the bartender's hand and hurries away.
"Who's going to bail you out if you get picked up?" Jim asks as he arrives at the pair determined to let themselves in. He grins optimistically.
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"We can work on our running away, if it becomes necessary." Raj trails behind, looking around for watchers. "Elena, I suggest you look for magic on the house."