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Saul was happy when he went in the counting room, but he's ecstactic when he comes out. Whistling a sprightly tune, and seemingly having to fight the urge to do a little jig step as he goes, he distributes the group's pay: 10 gp each, plus 5 gp more - their shares of the first real profit that the Goblin has made.
Although Saul seems thrilled as he hands around the profit split, his floor manager Larur Feldin keeps frowning slightly as he follows behind his boss.
The new week begins with an air of confusion and uncertainty in Riddleport, even if things seem to be going fairly well at the Gold Goblin. Investigations into the recent strange events, both by the Goblin's staff and other city authorities, don't seem to be producing any real information - with an air of forced resignation, most in the city seem to be shoving the incidents into the backs of their minds and going on with their lives. The air of fragile normalcy, however, seems to crack Toilday morning, when Saul - thus far immune to any sense of foreboding, wrapped in the glow of his newfound success - approaches Tsadok with an expresion of concern and worry on his face.
"My friend," he says, pulling the half-orc a few steps away from Sam for privacy's sake, "I'm... worried. Last night, I sent Larur on an errand for me, and, well... he hasn't returned yet. I didn't expect any trouble, but in retrospect, maybe I should have."
Sense Motive:
"So, Saul, what was this errand he was on? Would it have taken him into any places Clegg Zincher's men would have gone after him? Would he have gotten... distracted... by a 'friend' of some sort?
This is only a small list of thoughts for you off the top of my head, I'm sure that there are many things that I am not worldly enough to think of. I do believe that I can find him with help, specifically Tippello, Lyre, and Mario's help, as they are much more world-wise than myself. I'm good at seeing the openly bad intentions and the lying, not reading people so much.
So, what say you, Saul? Should we get to it before we open tonight?"
Saul sighs. "I fear your dark thoughts parallel my own, my friend. You see, when I was opening the Goblin, I was forced to find funding in quarters I would not normally have pursued. One of these was a man named Lymas Smeed, a local moneylender. The loan was for 2,000 gp, and I was forced to use the Goblin itself as collateral. Until now, I haven't been able to cover much more than the interest payments, but our recent financial success allowed me to arrange for a 500 gp payment, by far the largest I've managed so far. I sent it to Smeed last night, using Larur as the courier. There's been no word, however, and I am growing worried.
"The complication is this, however: Smeed is a bagman for Clegg Zincher. Smeed arranges the loans, but the money comes from Zincher's pockets; Smeed's basically a glorified accountant. I gambled that Smeed would give me the loan without the specifics reaching Zincher's ears, and I think it worked at first - Zincher wouldn't have approved the loan if he'd known. Now, though, I'm afraid he's found out, and has decided to strike at me through Larur."
With a worried shake of his head, he looks around the casino at the rest of the group. "Yes," he says, "take Tippello, Lyra, and Mario - and Antianel too, in case you need that oversized toothpick of his - and see if you can find out what happened. Smeed's 'office' is his townhouse on Rat Street; you should be able to find it easily."
Tsadok approaches the party and says, firmly,
"Someone's taken our dear Larur from us... and a sizeable amount of gold. We need to find him this afternoon, perhaps before the Goblin even opens up shop. I'm going to visit the moneylender that Larur was going to be paying, anyone else up for a trip... perhaps we'll even get to mete out some justice, Antaniel." Tsadok smiles.
"Anyways, if you're coming, get your things, Saul needs to make sure that his payment was received, and that Larur is safe." To everyone, much quieter, he whispers "Hopefully we just find Larur in bed with a mistress, rather than stabbed dead in an alley."
Smeed's townhouse is a rotting, two-story building crammed in between the tenements along Rat Street. A narrow alley runs along the west side of the building, which faces south to the street, and a small plaque next to the door reads, "Rat Street Loans - By Appointment Only." The floor-level windows have all been boarded over, and those on the second floor are covered in grime and filth.
There is a small sliding plate in the door, which - after some faint cursing - scrapes aside to reveal a pair of piggish eyes staring out at Tsadok. "What is- Oh. It's you," the owner of the eyes spits. "Go away. I got nothing to say to you, 'cept to tell you to go back to Saul and warn him, if he sends his thugs around to hassle me again, the interest is gonna double!" And without waiting for a reply, the sliding plate is slammed closed again, leaving Tsadok staring at a blank door once more.
Tippy tries to get the attention of the others with a stage whisper.
Pssst! I've found something down this alley, and it doesn't bode well for Larur!
Tsadok will look down the alley, stepping away from the door... And see the cloak. Looking to Antaniel and sighing heavily. "Justice it is then, my friend."
"Find another way in. I'll go in front."
Tsadok knocks loudly. "Look you little twit, I haven't got all day here, if you won't let me in to pay a debt, you're the one who's going to have problems. You have until the count of five." At which point he begins counting.
Intimidate:
Strength Check
OK, I can't stand it. If I can't play it I might as well run it (I got the first module free at Paizocon).
Anybody still around who'd like to play?
Sorry about your game -- losing 2 DMs in a row is rough! You might consider making a post in the Gamer Connection forum to get your old companions' attention; the Play by Post forum moves so fast, this thread probably fell off the front page before they even had a chance to see it, especially since they're not expecting any activity here.