Lizardfolk do not have very expressive faces. They are just not made that way, but somehow, after reading the short note, Ffethpaar's face manages to convey shock, shame, fear and resolution more-or-less all at the same time.
Ffethpaar first turns to Laralie. "My thanks. You have done me good service. Here are the 30 Gold I promised you on your return. Please tell Lu that her recommendation was excellent."
He next turns to Renkar and hands him a further 10 Gold pieces. "Renkar, there is a mug that I commissioned from Clarion Copperman which I will be unable to collect for a while. Please can you pay the remaining cost and keep it for me here should I be able to return for it. This will mean much to me."
Then he turns to the others. "I am afraid the thing which I feared most, that which brought me here in the first place, has happened and I must return home to help my people. Please know that there is a place in my heart for each of you (and a very special place for Mercutio). Can you convey my regrets to my friends her and explain why I have to leave."
He places the note he recieved on the table.
"May your fears be unfounded, may your burdens be lifted. (would that it were so for me)"
And with that, goes up to his room to collect his belongings before leaving.
Greep nods his understanding. He and Ffethpaar make their exit.
Unless Ffeth wants to do something else, it's off to gather the troops. Do we stand a chance of catching up to them in time? I've lost track of when everyone else is.
Coo! what a lot we found out while I was gallivanting about playing Blackbeard yesterday!
Ffethpaar, wisely, kept silent during the conversation, and now agrees to go back with Greep to tell the others.
"We have heard unpleasant rumours of innocents being taken from here." He says to the ninja kobold. "We consider this disrespectful to our kind and would like to do something to help stop it. So if you have any information on that score, we would very much like to know."
Ffethpaar sighs. "Very well then, 50 gold. There should be no dangers for anyone who keeps to themselves. The lizardfolk of the region are more interested in their internal politics than any passing travellers. My tribe are the Arrlgo and they live in the land between the Central Ocean and the Great Lake Bazzari just beyond the borders of Len. I will give you a map with directions from the gate you will arrive by."
"The letter is for my sister Sseltir and I would appreciate it of you could try to give it to her directly, although that may not be possible."
He hands her the letter (sealed), the key and a map with directions.
"Here are 30 GP now and the remaining 20 I will give you when you return the key to me at the Copper Cauldron."
The letter:
Spoiler:
To SSeltiir, my sister, from Ffethpaar.
Greetings sister, and I hope this letter reaches you when you have found forgiveness for me. You most wanted me to stay and yet I left. For that reason I ask your forgiveness first.
Be assured that I do miss the Arrlgo but I am not sorry that I followed the urgings of my mind and left our safe home with its inbred manners and culture of mutual respect. You must know that a mere 60 miles from our home the world is a very different place. The nearby tribes with which we do occasional business look upon us with tolerable amusement. Those who do not know us directly think we are weak and foolish. They leave us alone for now but only because we have nothing they want. Should they discover such a thing I do not think we will last long despite our individual strength and virility.
I have conceived the idea of finding artefacts that can help to protect us from the predations of others. The less peaceful tribes are not organised (thank Gozreh!) and would not know how to fight something they are not expecting, particularly if it involves no claw.
I have found my way into a place called Sigil. It appears to be a path to many worlds and other places. As I wrote that last sentence the thought came to me that I am no longer on my own world – this I find too astonishing to believe. I must think that I am still on our world and you must think so too lest we lose our senses. Sigil is full of many different races and creatures from other worlds – I should not stand out here, but I still do. I think few lizardfolk have made it here before. There is much to be gained here and much to be lost. A person just needs to read the desires of the people he meets and, if his own needs loom larger than his conscience, he could become very wealthy. The desires of the people of Sigil are so strong! But then my desires are no less so. I am here because of the need to protect my people. Perhaps strong desires are what keep all the diverse people here all together.
I have joined a company called the Silver Rose whose purpose is to help others who are unable to help themselves. I gather that the help needed requires courage and the ability to defend yourself. However I do not fear on that score. My new comrades are a confident group although I do see some friction between the members. It is my hope that, once we have worked together for a while, the friction will lessen.
The important thing for me is that, in Sigil, you can find, buy or commission almost anything. So once I have sufficient funds I will seek out the artefacts that will protect you.
I do not know if you can find a way to send a message back to me. If I am honest with myself, I do not know that this letter will reach you either. But if you can, and if the Wise have forgiven me, and if They think of a thing They desire to protect the Arrlgo, let me know and I will endeavour to procure it.
I do not believe that I have ever put so many words together in one go.
Tell the others what I say.
Ffethpaar.
May your fears be unfounded, may your burdens be lifted.
[Afterword] I wrote this before our first commission. Now there is much I would add, but that is for a different missive. I am tired and I need to send this now.
"I thank you and hope to do further business with you in the future."
Then he turns to Greep. "And now, my friend, let us get on with our other business."
"I was recommended to you by Lu, as a matter of fact. But, if this proves a successful engagement, I would want to send more letters and, possibly, even receive letters from home. But I do not think I can afford 100GP per letter. It is a personal letter to my family and tribe which I very much want to send, but is nothing earth shattering. I was hoping for a price more in the region of 30GP plus expenses which would be two days travel there and back with accommodation as necessary."
Ffethpaar greets her and indicates the drink. "I am pleased to meet you. You have come recommended. Shall we sit down at a table and talk?"
He pays for the drinks and (I'm assuming) they sit down at a table. Once they have sat down, Ffethpaar begins. "I am told that you can deliver messages to my home world. I have need of a courier to carry a letter home for me and wonder if I could engage your services for this purpose."
"If you have anything non-alcoholic, such as berry juice, that would be admirable. And what can I get for you, friend Greep?" Then to the barkeep, "And maybe, you'ld like a drink? Also, if you happen to know what Laralie likes, can you pour a drink for her too."
Ffethpaar looks at Greep in surprise, but doesn't say anything. "The poeple in this place never say what they mean to say. I see now, this is how some people ask for money", he thinks. He makes a note to refund Greep his money since it is not Greep's errand and also tries to remember the nuances of the exchange so that he will be better prepared if it happens when there is no-one to interpret for him.
No worries. PbP is a very flexible story-telling medium. What's the adventure?
...
Fortunately Mercenary Street is a main thouroughfare. A few polite inquiries gets the two to the Grinning Slaad, an inn with a sign sporting a happy-looking toadish being hoisting a beer.
The two enter. The clientele are sparse this time of Peak. A few beings eat a late breakfast. An older man sits at the bar with a rusty helm on his head, morosely sipping a drink.
The publican looks up from his mug washing and takes the two of you in.
"Hoy cutters. What's yer fancy?"
It's a world of my own that I have been keen to try out for the past 10 or more years. It's only just started, so the players are not too aware of what is really going on yet other than that a catastrophic fault has developed on the island where they live and several hitherto unknown creatures seem to have appeared.. I can't say too much because two of the players frequent this site. *winks conspiratorially*
Ffethpaar nods politely to the publican and says that he is looking for Laralie if he would be so kind.
"I think your idea is a good one Greep. Perhaps you could check out this neigborhood with Ffethpaar It is also near the Swordhold District Ffeth. I think that knowing the factions could be good Karrin, but I am sure all of your faces are well-remembered in the neighborhood. There is no way we are going to be able to penetrate Goblin politics."
"Friend Greep, I will gladly accompany you to the saurian district to see what there may be to see there if you will let me carry out my errand on the way."
"Would you like some kippers?" -greep- "Here, take mine; I haven't touched them."
greep looks relieved to find someone who might take them off his hands. Sorry Ffethpaar, but the thought of eating fish for breakfast doesn't excite me- Let alone eating a 'preserved herring'. niel is not a big fan of fish.
"Coffee for me too, please."
-grEEp-
Ffethpaar understands that there may be people who don't eat fish for breakfast, but the concept is alien to him. Why would anyone not want to eat fish at any time? But Greep can rest assured that Ffethpaar takes no offence.
Ffethpaar appears soon after Karrin. Greets everyone there and then notices that someone is eating kippers.
"Good morning everybody. I feel as if I have finally had enough sleep." To greep "I am well thankyou and I hope you are too. And Ramona, if you have any kippers spare I would entreat a plate or two of them, if that is not too much bother and that will be a perfect start to the day."
Ffethpaar still has an appointment with Laralie in the Swordhold district. If there is time he could go there. He also has his special mug to pick up (if it's ready). But the kippers come first.
BTW I'm not expecting Greep to lug the goblin at him by himself. I'm assuming we are both holding the bag ready to throw it, so it would be a joint effort
"Should slow him down a bit. Hopefully enough to close the portal on him."
Ffethpaar isn't actually too concerned if he gets through, he is sure thay can manage him and they don't really need him out of the way anymore. He is just not too enamoured of having an angry Rab raising a fuss. But if he does get through and people do take note, they can always say he was attacking them.
Is it dark already? if so Karrin's dark spell will should not be too obvious but will hide the actions of Ffethpaar and Greep as they pull the wishbone and shove the body through.
They will, of course make sure to look in all directions, including up before committing themselves to any action. Then tack the message to the door and wander off looking disconsolate as if they are annoyed with their missing friend.
Ffethpaar feels that this is a good plan and spends so much time considering its merits that he forgets to actually LOOK. But then he looked before and there was nothing then so there probably won't be anything now...
"In the absence of any other knowledge, we should assume that it is. Besides, having seen what goes in on this place, if it were well known, we would probably be having to wait in a long queue of people waiting to throw suspicious bags like ours through the portal."
"It might be best if you two stand between me and the door so that at least I will obscure the wishbone-breaking ceremony from any observer. You can break the bone and throw the sack through at some moment when we are sure nobody is looking."
"Do we have some paper and ink? Could we leave a message tacked to the door to some imaginary friend so that anybody watching might think that we had agreed to meet here, but given up waiting?"
BTW, are we anywhere near Laralie, or the Swordhold District? If so, Ffethpaar may take a detour on the way back. If it's a large detour, he'll go back with the rest though.
"As you say my friend. Unless it affects me directly or endangers me, it is not my place to determine the fate of others. I am not yet among the Wise of my kind."
"My regret is that his punishment will be so light. Friend Ffethpaar, how would your clan have handled his crimes?" -greep- "Were my Guild elders his captors rather than us, he would be loosing the hand he used to sacrifice and the eyes that guided his hand."
-GreeP-
"That is, if the Elders had recieved sufficient payment from his tribe to prevent his death."
"For sacrifice and slavery? We are a principled tribe and do not believe in unnecessary torture and punishment. If he practised sacrifice on our kind, we would probably simply have bound him and thrown him to the sharkfish that thrive near our coast. The Wise of our tribe are very strict about personal freedom."
"But you are talking about punishment without death. It would be a nuisance, but if we had promised such we would bind him to our service so he knows what it is to be a slave first hand. He would be assigned a single task to spend his days on for the rest of his life. My vote would go for 'clean-up' duty."
"Come, let us pick up a wishbone and go on our way. Are you sure the world at the other side of the gate deserves him?"
"If I were you I would take the opportunity to have a bath and something pleasant to drink. It always made me feel better after 'clean-up' duty back home."
Ffethpaar nods at Swift as if to say he understands. then turns to Renkar
To Mercitio (draconic)
Spoiler:
::Patience, little friend. We have things that we must do, but I will see to it that you do not go hungry. When did you last eat?::
"My dragon friend here says he needs feeding. Do you have a morsel handy? Then let us go and minister to Nurkrak. Perhaps he could do with some food too. I might even try talking to him myself. And when we have finished there, I could do with some food too - I don't remember eating for a long time."
As Eir is in the room interrogating Nurkrak, Ffethpaar still seems to be struggling with things. He turns to the others.
"Pardon my naivity, but is running a rival salt business actually wrong? I understand that we have been hired to stop their undercutting in the salt supply business, but does that really mean we should be treating all of their staff in such a degrading and inhuman way? What exactly are we actually hoping to find out from this unfortunate goblin? I accept that he is probably very dangerous if let free ... now ... and I know we need some answers. But I will say, here and now, that I will not be party to any heavy handed means of extracting information and if anyone resorts to torture or anything like it I will leave the company forthwith."
Ffethpaar looks up and looks around to see if he has permission to speak
"I am sure it is not my place to say since I am the least experienced of all of us in the ways of Sigil. But I was brought up with the three Rules of Encounter: Speak first, even to your foes as they may turn out not to be your foes; defend yourself if you must for you have a right to keep your own life; and once vanquished, respect your enemy for though they may be dead, there will surely be someone who grieves for them."
"For my part, I must apologise to you all if I left to pursue my own purposes. Though it is no excuse, at the time, I hardly knew who I was. The brief time away from here did much to help me find myself again."
He looks around awkwardly, starts to say something else, and stops.
Ffethpaar wakes slowly, aware that there was somethng he wants to do, but can't quite put his finger on it. The world feels wrong for the morning. He pulls himself out of bed and prepares to go down to breakfast, when he realises that is isn't morning at all. That explains the oddness, now what was it that he was supposed to be doing?.
Ffethpaar smiles at Greep (or the lizardfolk equivalent of it anyway)
"I thank you for the offer, but I think I should catch up on some more sleep if I have the time. I had an errand to run earlier - well. I still have to complete it - but I feel I can afford to sleep now."
"My sincere thanks for your help... Lu... I hope we meet again soon. May your fears be unfounded, may your burdens be lifted."
He takes the address and walks into the street. Despite the expense he feels much more whole again now that he has a key to get him home. He wonders if there is time to visit Laralie or whether he should go back to the Copper Cauldron where he might be needed.
"Well, you must understand that I would never do anything that went against the principles that I was raised to follow, which includes the trading of favours. We are firm in the belief that help is freely given and should be freely accepted. I will gladly do you a similar favour, but I will do so because we are friends, not as an obligation. I am always happy to help those who help me."
He lays down 250 ladies.
"I am sure we will find time to talk about many good things while I am here. Do you like fish? I have some fine recipes."
"I will certainly look up the gentleman who sells the Carceri crickets, they look most delectable. I was hoping that the ring would cost near the amount I first paid for it before coming here. That was 125 gold, though the merchant looked quite pleased with himself when I paid for it. Though you are my friend, I must reserve some money to pay the courier too."
Ffethpaar looks around at the other customers and then back to Alluvius. The price seems outrageous to him as everyone in Sigil must be buying portal keys or holding them at least. He tries to assess how much he needs that particular ring or whether he could wait for another day. Waiting doesn't seem like an easy option but...
"I am intrigued by the dish you were partaking of downstairs. We have a limited cuisine back home and I am sure there would be some interest in new flavours and textures. Would you mind telling me where I might find some to try for myself?"
"Oh and my name is Ffethpaar of the Arrlgo. We try to make our way as traders. Anything new we could trade in would be of interest to us."
Up we go to the fourth floor to look at the pretty rings.
Actually, Ffethpaar seems to have ample funds, so is probably not quite right when he says that he sold it to support himself. But he doesn't have the key anymore anyway. Sigil can addle the brain that way, I guess.
Ffethpaar looks at Alluvius and guesses he can trust her with a little information
"I came here from the Prime plane as you say, from a world called Seculan by the menfolk who live there. My tribe live in the land between the Central Ocean and the Great Lake Bazzari near a land of men called the Len Republic."
He pauses but realises he needs to say more.
"The portal I came through was outside a small village near the border of Len. I believe they called the village Templeville or some similar name. I had to sell the key when I first arrived here to pay for my lodging and upkeep, but it was a ring with a design upon it that looked like some kind of flower."
After so many words, his mind starts wandering a bit and he wonders what the insects must taste like. Not as good as a fine fish, of course, but could be tasty nevertheless.
As the other shopper moves off, the kindly-looking old woman peers out at Ffethpaar and croaks in a quavery voice:
"Is there summat I can help yeh with cutter?"
"If you are Alluvius Ruskin, I hope that you can. I have a letter which I would very much like sent to my home tribe and I was advised that you may be able to help me."
