"...Also, if you wish to file a complaint or a protest, you can always see Lord Lonjiku Kaijitsu. But you better hurry, I think he is about to leave the town for business"
Jubrayl chuckles.
"From what I hear, we are likely to have a better relationship with Lord Kaijitsu than you are. Though down here at the docks we are more friendly with the Valdemar family."
"But this tavern isn't owned by any of the council members. So they have no right to determine what goes on in here as long as were not making any trouble for anyone else. If Master Tenniwar doesn't want you in here, you've no right to barge in like that."
Rig perfectly parrots the Sczarni's dance, as though he'd been born doing it. Following the dance's ending flourish, he repeats the tap dance twice, getting faster each time. By the third tap, his feet are a blur of motion. "I could also do it in reverse, if you'd like," he says to the Sczarni with a gleam in his eye.
"A performer! Let me guess: you must be Cyrdak's 'latest discovery.' I dabbled on the stage for a while, but you should know that Cyrdak never gives the male lead to anyone but himself."
...the big warrior grunts an acknowledgement and starts moving towards the stairs to the basement, brushing past Vhiski. "We've said why we're here, let's get this over with."
"Easy, there, big fella. There's no cause for that," Jubrayl says with a soothing voice.
He looks over at Master Tenniwar.
"If you folks are so intent on doing your civic duty, I'm sure Master Tenniwar can make an exception. I'm sure he has everything in order. Provided of course, that in compensation for the trouble you've given him, if you find nothing perhaps you ought to buy a round of drinks, to show that you mean no harm. What do you say?"
"And no, there's no point in me going down there with you... I'd probably get lost down there. Master Tenniwar is the one who knows where everything is."
Master Tenniwar looks at Vhiski for a long moment, and then with a grunt and a shrug he puts away the club and goes to the end of the bar where a set of keys can be found.
The other people in the tavern sit back down and resume their conversations.
Tenniwar grabs a lantern hanging from the ceiling and points to a hallway behind the bar.
"This way then," he mumbles.
He heads towards the hallway where a door reveals a narrow stairway going down. He opens the door and begins to descend, when suddenly the group hears a scream coming from outside. It sounds like a woman's voice, but it is indistinct and likely at least a block away.
Kargas goes tense at the scream, tilting his head to hear better. After a moment her turns to the others, face skeptical. "Convenient timing..." he growls.
When patrons stand up to oppose them, Flo starts to raise her hands up, palms forward. "Woah, woah, there is no need for violence here," she begins but is cut short by Vhiski's change of heart. What is he playing at? Is he just showing off his power? When the scream comes, Flo's head snaps in its direction.
"What was that?" she asks her friends. "The timing is convenient Kargas, but what if it is a real problem? We have those whistles, think we would all be ok if a couple of us checked it out? I would hate to learn someone was in trouble and we ignored their scream..." she says with her eyes falling to the floor. "With Densa's blessing, I'm the fastest runner here. What if do a quick pass? Whistles mean I need help, otherwise I return," she offers, smiling now at the thought of being able to continue doing their job while maintaining the safety of the townsfolk.
Asmodeus' Knickers...
Cade starts to laugh at Master Tenniwar. He continues to laugh as he walks out in the open with his hands out wide and a smile on his face.
You are correct that you are a free man...We get it..you are the big man on the bar top right now.
He looks at the weapon that he pulled out.
I am impressed that you were able to grab the correct end of that meat stick. Are you sure you want to cross that line...You do not like the council and that is fine but if you think that this will go your way....I would think long and hard about the next words that come out of your mouth.
He shrugs at the man.
Think the scandal when you are laid low by a Halfing...
Cade shakes his head
Tresspassin...there is a g at the end...trespassing...and we will be very happy to leave...your....establishment when we have concluded our task.
Cade turns and looks at the people standing up.
Now this is a predicament....who to play with first..hmmm.
Cade lets his right hand fall to the hilt of his rapier and his left hand rests casually on the hilt of his Main Gauche. His fingers flexing as he is ready to defend himself. All the time he has a smile on his face. He turns and looks at several people as he recites a children's counting game.
Eeny, meeny, miny....
Out of the corner of his eyes Cade sees Kargas confront Jubrayl and then he looks at the bartender. As Jubrayl agrees to lets the companions down in the cellar...
On behalf of the council we thank you for your support and apologize for the inconvenience.
He follows the rest down the stairs and when the scream is heard.
Yes that is a damn coincidence. Might I suggest...Go and check it out. I will stay behind with the Sergeant to conduct the search. Send some of the other guards down her to aid us. We will make it quick and catch up with you. I am sure Master Tenniwar will help us so that we can get out of his hair sooner than later.
Laurana's confusion continued to grow. Why was this patron throwing around orders like he owned the place? Well, no matter. It seems like we will be able to do our job now. She started forward with the others until she heard the scream. Her eyes grew wide as she looked at the others for a clue of what to do.
"With Densa's blessing, I'm the fastest runner here. What if do a quick pass? Whistles mean I need help, otherwise I return,"
"I'll come with you. The boys can take care of things here. You can move ahead and I will catch up." In truth, she wanted to get out of the tavern. It stunk and she felt like she was being eyed like the menu.
Kargas goes tense at the scream, tilting his head to hear better. After a moment her turns to the others, face skeptical. "Convenient timing..." he growls.
Master Tenniwar turns back at the sound and looks at the group in confusion, and then at Jubrayl Vhiski.
Jubrayl shrugs, and looks around the room inquiringly. Those who meet his gaze shrug or shake their heads.
Jubrayl turns back to Kargas.
"Beats me what that is. Check it out if you want; we're not going anywhere."
"I'll come with you. The boys can take care of things here. You can move ahead and I will catch up." In truth, she wanted to get out of the tavern. It stunk and she felt like she was being eyed like the menu.
"I'll come with you, ma'am," says the guardsman. He gets up to escort the two women outside, and seems relieved to get out of the tavern.
When Floredana, Laurana, and the guardsman return to the street, they can see three people up at the corner of Salmon Street and Razor street, perhaps 60 feet away. A woman is doing the creaming, and she is dragging an unhappy-looking young boy by the arm, while a man seems to be trying to console her. It looks like she intends to head north away from you towards Market Street.
None of you can make out what she is saying.
Once on the street, Flo pulls out her Holy Symbol of Desna. "Goddess of Fortune, bless my travels!" Then, with an unnatural spring in her step, she runs off towards the woman. Please be ok, please be ok!
________
Rig puts his hand on Cade's shoulder. "Come on, let's get this over with," he says as he starts down the stairs. Bending his head as though to avoid bumping it on the ceiling, he whispers in Cade's ear. "Do you HAVE to threaten someone in every room you enter?" He says it with a smile, and the tone is good-natured, but there's a trace of concern in his voice as well.
Cade listens in to what Rig has to say. He chuckles a bit.
Rig you wound me...in the docks this was down right cordial...and it is not every room..just most.
I am sorry I could not clue you in on what was going to happen...I had to shake the tree till the real owner of the Fatman's Feedbag fell out as not all puppeteers show their strings. Suffice it to say we were never in danger...the true owner had too much to lose if a fight broke out.
Luarana follows Flo as fast as she can Please let this be a domestic dispute. She thinks to herself.
Bartle lets out a sigh.
"You lot go ahead. Me, I need a drink."
Sergeant Bartle goes up to the bar and slaps some silver onto the counter as he sits down. Master Tenniwar glares at him for a moment before nodding to one of his staff to pour the Sergeant a drink.
...Suffice it to say we were never in danger...
Master Tenniwar leads the group of men down to the cellars.
The first room is a pantry where dry goods and various foodstuffs are stored. Master Tenniwar has laid in a good supply.
The second room is the largest and contains a great many barrels stacked against the walls. Three walls are completely covered by the racks.
Adjacent to the room with the barrels is a room containing apparatus for brewing beer. Cade thinks that the equipment is fairly normal though it doesn't look like it gets a lot of use.
The fourth room is a small chamber separated from the others by a curtain. There are two sets of bunk beds here. One of the beds looks made but the other three are rumpled and haphazardly put together. There is also a table and a few chairs, and an unlit candle sits on the table in a candlestick.
"Apprentices sleep here," Master Tenniwar mumbles.
Colvyn was about to follow Flo, but then with his tiny legs, he would probably get there last no matter. With a shrug, he follows the barkeep to do the inspection. In the first room, he takes a few moments to look around. Making sure that there is no sign of any goblins. In the second room, he makes just a quick survey of the place. He then pokes his head in the brewing room, notice that it is not used much by anyone, including goblins. Finally, in the fourth room, he walks around the room. He pokes at the bed with his bow a few times and look under the beds. When he is done, he stands back up and look at the man.
"There, our duty is done. The council will be pleased. I don't know what all the fuss was about. This could have been done in half the time if we didn't have to argue about it earlier." He walks back out of the room and start heading upstairs. When he reaches the main room, he looks at the sergeant. "Come along now, the day isn't over yet."
The group searching the basement finds little, noting that at least Master Tenniwar likes to keep his tavern clean. There are a few rat traps in the corners of the pantry but otherwise the place seems quite tidy. The walls are stone and so are the floors; the building is surprisingly well-made.
The only exception is the apprentice's area. Some of the beds are unmade, and a few personal items are scattered about.
Colvyn is almost prepared to call it quits, when he notes that the unlit candle on the table in the apprentice's room is still warm. It was lit recently.
Floredana and Laurana run towards the screaming woman.
As they approach, Laurana can make her out as Amele Barett, a local washerwoman. She is clucthing her baby Verah to her chest and dragging her son Aeren.
The man talking to her is Olaf Agnerssen, an elderly Ulfen man and former sea captain, who sold his ship and retired here in Sandpoint. It seems like he is trying to calm her down.
As they approach they can hear more clearly what Amele is saying.
"...we didn't think it was real but it was right on top of my boy! Alergast chased it away and told me to get Aeren out of there! I'm telling you, you stupid viking! "
We were too late! I'm glad we came to check though, this would have been a horrible thing to ignore because it was inconvenient for us. Flo keeps running until she is in front of the woman, stopping gracefully despite her speed. "Ma'am, please point us to your house!" she asks, panting a little. "We will make sure it doesn't escape!" she declares, ready to bolt off again.
________
Cade follows the others and keep his eyes on Master Tenniwar.
Luarana finally caught yep was doubled over wheezing, "Wha.. What is going on?"
"Ma'am, please point us to your house!"
"Ja, her haus is båk thaar," says Olaf. He points down Razor Street towards where it meets Whisker Street.
"Gorum's Codpiece," mutters the guardsman. "I swear we did that one two hours ago. There was nothing!"
"We have no choice, but to check it again!" Flo says as she heads off down Razor Street, blasting her whistle. How many could there have been? Did they come in afterwards? Or is there really another invasion brewing?
Cade sees little that is unexpected, and certainly no goblins or evidence of their presence.
As the group looks around, they can hear faintly the sound of one of the guard whistles, coming from outside.
"You have GOT to be kidding?!" Rig exclaims, heading back up the stairs at a jog. "Heads up, folks!" He swiftly moves to the front door and peers out to see where they need to head.
Colvyn doesn't react to what he found and store the information for later use. He slows down just enough to be the last one out of the tavern. As he crosses the doorway, he gives Jubrayl one last look. When he knows the is looking at him, he mouths the words: candle still warm . He waits a few second to see if that gets a reaction, then hurry up to join the rest of the group.
Rig gets up to the street, and he can make out Floredana and Laurana talking to a woman, man, and child. The woman is screaming hysterically. Floredana is blowing her whistle.
When he knows the is looking at him, he mouths the words: candle still warm . He waits a few second to see if that gets a reaction...
Jubral Vhiski frowns as Colvyn walks by, his face a mask. Colvyn doesn't think Vhiski understood him, but he is not sure.
The group quickly reaches where the incident is occurring in the street.
"Hurry up everyone, she said she has goblins in her house!" she tells them, waving to catch up.
________
"I'm with you. Let's see what there is in there." She tried to sound brave but acting instinctively was a lot easier than knowing what they would be facing.
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Kargas give Vhiski and unfriendly grin as he stomps back up the stairs, but it turns to a slightly confused expression when Colvyn mouths...something, at the human. "What was that about?" he asks the wapriest as they leave.
Loping up to the townsfolk in the street he points to the man. "You! Did a blue lady come through here? She's about this tall, possibly armed with a wooden spoon?"
Cade hears the distant whistle and keeps his eyes on Master Tenniwar. He thinks that the human was just as confused as the rest of his companions. He continues to watch him as the rest of the group runs up the stairs. He walks up to the human and looks up at him with a slight smile. He then looks around the room as he talks to the human.
You keep well stock and well organize cellar. Impressive to say the least. Your brewing equipment does not get used much it appears. If ever you wish to part ways with it...I may know a person or two that could take it off your hands...for the right price.
He turns his attention back to the human.
Master Tenniwar...I apologize for taking you away from your duties. I personally do not care what it is you may or may not do here....that is none of my concern nor any of my business.
Cade pauses for a moment
You run a very well managed tavern here.....Sometimes we must do things for the greater good. We may not like it but at times it has to be done. I am sorry for the way things went and it might have gone much differently if we could have seen eye to eye on the matter. I will try to be a better guest the next time I am here. I wish you a good evening and once again sorry for the intrusion.
Cade makes his way upstairs just in time to see the others filing outside. He makes his way to the bar and nudges Sergeant Bartle.
Break time is over..we are needed elsewhere.
Cade does not even wait to see if Sergeant Bartle gets up or not as he is already moving towards the back corner of the tavern. Smiling all the time, Cade walks up to the table. He keep his hands a good distance away from his weapons...but not so far away that he can not act if needed.
Gentlemen, I thank you for your time in allowing us to search the establishment. I hope that we can refrain from such harsh words in the future. Please accept our apology for any inconvenience we may have caused you this evening.
Cade gives a slight bow at the waist, turning and walking away. He stops and looks over at the bar. A bright smile crosses his face as he tosses a gold piece onto the bar.
Per your request, to show that there is no hard feelings. Next round is on me.
He starts to walk out and stops as Colvyn holds the door open so that Cade can exit before him. He turns and tosses another coin on the bar.
What the hell...make it two rounds on me.
Cade starts to run towards the group outside as they are talking about goblins. He sees that Flo is waving at them to catch up. He hears people talking about goblins in someones house that they had just searched.
Sergeant Bartle, I suggest you stay here with your guards. Make sure no one else enters that house. Protect the citizens and keep your eyes open and if you see anymore goblins...make sure the Gods can here that damn whistle.
He looks at the rest of the group with a smile on his face.
So what is the situation...we are we dealing with now?
Floredana, the fastest in the group, heads for the Barett house right away. It is a small single-story dwelling, and the door stands wide open. Light from inside spills out into the street.
Peering inside, she can see a large common room, both kitchen, dining room, and parlour all in one. The door is at the south end of the house, and on the far side of the chamber there is a hallway going north. A couple doors are visible on the hallway; both are open, but from where she stands Floredana cannot make out what is beyond.
The Sergeant looks up from his drink as Rig emerges from the basement at a run.
"What? Oh, crap, the whistles!"
He staggers to his feet and lumbers out the door, following the group.
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Meanwhile, Rig, Colvyn, and Kargas pour out of the tavern at a run, followed by a tottering Sergeant Bartle. They see Laurana up ahead talking with a very agitated woman, accompanied by an elderly man and a child of about eight.
As Kargas pulls up (being slightly faster than the others), he hears the woman continue to rant.
She holds hup the boy's arm. It is, in fact, covered in bite marks.
The elderly man looks at Kargas and blinks.
"Oh, ja, de blå voman mit der spüne? She vent ofer thaar," he points down the street.
Meanwhile, Cade remains in the basement and talks with Master Tenniwar. It seems to Cade that Master Tenniwar has not even noticed the whistle, or if he heard it he has no idea what its significance is. Master Tenniwar watches as the others file back up the stairs and then turns to Cade.
...Your brewing equipment does not get used much it appears...
Master Tenniwar shrugs.
"I brew some o' my own stuff, but the Two Knight Brewery is just a couple blocks away, and they give me a discount. Lets me spend more time wi' the customers."
... I wish you a good evening and once again sorry for the intrusion.
bluff: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24
He follows Cade as they return to the taproom.
Per your request, to show that there is no hard feelings. Next round is on me.
At first Jubrayl watches Cade warily, but when he sees the coins he smiles.
"See? I knew there wouldn't be any goblins there! Or anything else to concern you."
He picks up the coin and tosses it to Master Tenniwar.
"I do appreciate a good sport. But next time, when someone tells you that there's nothing to see and to mind your own business, perhaps you should listen."
"Don't let me keep you," he says as his eyes wander to the door.
Cade pulls up to the group in the street a bit late.
Sergeant Bartle, I suggest you stay here with your guards. Make sure no one else enters that house. Protect the citizens and keep your eyes open and if you see anymore goblins...make sure the Gods can here that damn whistle.
"Right," says Sergeant Bartle. "We'll escort Missus Barett back to the guardhouse. I'll send some reinforcements when we get her settled. Come along, Missus Barett."
Flo slows as she reaches the house and looks back. She enters the house, confident that her friends in the distance will support her soon. Where could those goblins have been...
Carefully stepping through the threshold of the house, she draws her starknife and peers around.
________
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Carefully stepping through the threshold of the house, she draws her starknife and peers around.
Laurana, seemingly endlessly chasing Flo, sprints after the cleric. Close quarters were really not her thing. She reached for her bow and sighed, unsheathing her rapier instead. She had never used it and it only felt slightly less awkward than the boar spear from yesterday, but at least she had practiced with it some.
Kargas' long legs eat up the distance to the indicated house, and he catches sight of Laurana at the doorway. "She go in already?" he asks the elf, reaching back to draw his falchion and heading inside.
"Flor! See it anywhere?"
The main room is lit with flickering firelight from the hearth, and a small candle on the table.
The house is quiet, but Floredana can hear a sound coming from the next room. It is faint, but sounds like... chewing.
"Yes." was all she answered to Kargas' question. Feeling bolstered by the strong orc, she pushed into the room to come to stand on the right side of Flo.
Flo continues to creep forward and motions for the others to come in. Pointing to the next room, she makes her best impression of a goblin's face. If it is eating, we might be able to take it by surprise! Reaching the threshold of the first room, she peers inside.
Though the room is dark, Floredana's darkvision reveals a chilling scene.
A dead dog lies in the middle of the floor in a pool of blood, it's throat clearly cut. Close to the far wall there is a man lying on the floor face down, and his head and shoulders along with his left hand are inside the closet. He is moving very slightly, as if perhaps he is working on something very small.
The sound Floredana was hearing is coming from the closet.
Cursing as he bumps into a side-table, the half-orc comes up behind Flor and glances in the room, face confused as he glances at the man partway in the closet. "Uh, what's with him?" he asks, even as a grim certainty starts to take hold.
Rig moves quickly behind Kargas following him into the house.