"So what's the plan new friends? We doing this tonight? I could use a good nights sleep after being exploded near to death, But It's your call, I doubt I could do this all on my lonesome, Even with my tremendous power."
Prestigitations some party streamers from her fingertips, A Display of her mighty power.
"I believe a short rest is in order. Would you like to join us at the Mad Shark, Shea? You're welcome as long as you promise not to introduce yourself to the other guests by bludgeoning and setting them on fire them like you did us."
"Sure, and sorry about that business with the fireball, You know how it is, When you got a fireball in your hand you're looking for any excuse to throw it. I'll make up to you all."
Or electrocuting them. Cyrus thinks to himself as he holds open the door for the others to exit.
Your return to the Mad Shark goes without incidents.
It's still relatively early in the evening when you get there, so there's still movement in the tavern. As usual, a few customers are passed out on the tables, while others rest on the gutters (you get the suspicion that where each customer gets to sleep is more dependent on the staff's opinions and then on any objective criteria).
Somewhat unusual, there's no one greeting customers this time. Instead, Marcie is serving drinks at the bar.
Near the center of the tavern, Red Brenda is at a table, chatting with three other people who, like her, are wearing half-concealed breastplates under formal clothing. Aside from Brenda, they are a tall, balding fat man in his early 30s, a male half-orc with slick black hair styled in a sailor's ponytails, and a somewhat muscular dark-skined woman with dreadlocks and a scar on her forehead. All four of them carry swords and daggers at their belts, and seem to be legitimately enjoying their conversation.
They are indeed enjoying their conversation, but you notice the four of them, specially Brenda, sometimes look around to check the rest of the tavern.
It's more apparent when there's a loud noise or when someone raises their voice too much. They don't anything other than glare, however... Sometimes "cough" loudly, which seems to be enough to make most customers tone down their volume.
Other than that, you can't notice anything suspicious about them. Although you can tell Brenda drinks very slowly and very little compared to her friends. Specially the fat man to her left.
A young man you've never seen before comes out of the kitchen door. He's wearing a chef's outfit and carrying a plate with two bowls of what you assume is duck stew, which he swiftly places on the bar's balcony before ringing a small bell and rushing back to the kitchen. The food is then taken by Karina, who nervously but quickly takes it to a nearby table.
There's no sign of Ayren (you do remember seeing both him and Jenny in the VIP room back in the Silent Rolls casino. Jenny was still gambling when you left, But Ayren wasn't there anymore).
Most notably, Brenda is a captain of the Red Eagle Company, one of the seven government-sanctioned mercenary companies in Blue Shell. She's is actually pretty famous in the city for reaching the rank of Captain at a very young age.
She has long red hair and green eyes. Usually has a very composed and serious posture, and generally wears needlessly formal attire. You have literally never seen her not wearing some kind of armor or not visibly carrying weapons, usually a sword and a couple daggers.
She seems to have a generally positive opinion of you guys, but doesn't know you very well.
Shea goes to find the Tavern keeper to rent herself a room, The guys seem nice and all, But she wants a room to herself.
"Hello Yes Ma'am, Do you have any rooms available, I might be in town for a few days so I'll pay in advance, It does not need to be big or anything, Give me a Bed and a Washtub and I'll be happy."
Shea puts a smile on her face, Time to use some of that goofy charm, seems like it might be useful
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Brother Cyrus sits down at the bar and waves at Marcie.
"Hey Marcie, where are the Ironbloods and could I get some of whatever is hot right now and a beer? It's been a long day." He suddenly has an epiphany.
I knew I saw Cedric's friends before...they were on the same boat when I got here!
"We have as small or big as you want, miss. If you want your own room, I suggest you pick a simple individual room (which has 2 beds), it's only 2 gp a night. They have their own bathrooms, but you'll have to light the coal by yourself... We're short on hands tonight. But if you want something really nice, it's only 10 gp for one of our finest rooms, which come with either 1 or 2 large beds and are really spacious. If you plan to stay for longer, we have cheaper deals for weekly and monthly pays too."
"Well... One of them is right in front of you..." Marcie replies with a friendly laughter. "But if you mean my parents, they've been working too much lately... So I told them to take a night off for themselves. They didn't want to do it because today is Jenny's and Liz' day off too, but I kicked'em outta here anyway." she adds with a proud expression and triumphant tone as she pours a mug of beer and handles it to you. "Sit down anywhere, I'll have Karina bring you a hot meal soon. If you want, I can add it directly to your room's tab."
"That would explain why I saw Jenny earlier. Don't work yourself too hard. If you need any help tossing out the drunkards, give me a holler. Your parents treat me pretty well for a customer." Cyrus replies and sets his sword sheathe leaning against the bar counter.
"Thanks, but don't worry. I can handle a little extra work for one night... And I doubt anyone will cause any real ruckus with Brenda and her friends here." she replies. "Besides... I've been helping my dad kick sailors outta here since I was 6. I'm pretty good at it!" she adds while laughing.
A couple minute after you arrival, Karina shows up with a hot plate of rice, roast chicken and steamed vegetables, which she places in front of you.
"Here, Mister... Your food." she says as the makes a quick curtsy with her blue skirt. "Bennie is helping tonight, so it might be a little spicy, but it's still delicious!"
"One of the small rooms will be good, I'll just push the beds together to make a mega bed... Here 12 gold for a week then, Work might mean I don't come back every night, But having a room available for when I do will be nice. Oh also a glass of wine too please."
Shea counts out 12 gold pieces plus whatever it costs for the wine, and hands them to the nice tavern lady, then goes over to the table with Tai and Cyrus.
"Friend of Cyrus? I'm Shea, hello.""
She said, offering her hand to the Half Orc.
Tai was considering not ordering any food, but at Karina's explanation he perks up a bit.
"Spicy food goes quite well with alcohol, so I believe I'll take a plate myself. And a cup of rice wine if you have it. If not, surprise me."
"Pleasure to meet you, Miss Shea. I'm Marceline Ironblood, but you may call me Marcie."
"Oh, and this is too much. It's only 10 gp for a weekly stay." Marcie adds while sliding two golden coins towards Shea.
"I'm sure we got some. There are many Tian customers in Blue Shell." says Karina as she writes down Tai Leng's order.
When she is done writing, she nods politely, then leaves. She returns a couple minutes later with a meal exactly like the one Brother Cyrus got, but accompanied by a cup of Tian sake, rather than beer.
"Here it is!" she says with a triumphant tone. "I knew we had it!"
The food is indeed considerably spicier than other similar meals, enough to please those who enjoy more piquant flavors, but not so much as to offend more delicate palates. Whoever the cook is, he or she must be very skilled with herbs and pepper seasoning.
"So Tai, should we go to this horse track first tomorrow or save that for when we return? Honestly, I kind of want a break from Blue Shell for a bit. Also, how is that...what did you call it? Rice Wine?" Cyrus chats a bit in between bites of his meal.
"Thank you, Karina" Tai Leng gives her a nod.
To Cyrus: "The wine is good; the Mad Shark knows their stuff. It's got a dry flavor, perfect for meals like this. I have no real preference on where to start, though starting nearer to home seems more sensible."
"You're welcome, sir." says Karina before she scurries off to take the order of another customer.
Marcie talks to you while serving ale to a different customer. "I'll put the meal and drinks on your tab. You can just pay it all together with rent at the end of the week, if you want."
"I suppose you're right. Horse track it is then." Cyrus finishes his meal, leaves coins to pay, and heads to his room for the night.
Shea gives the two gold back and uses it to order food and drink, and when she's done she retires to her room for a bath and a rest.
You calmly finish your meals and drinks. Marcie was right, and there's no trouble of any kind in the tavern that night.
The rest of the night goes without incident... You find your way to your beds and make yourselves comfortable.
Walking on empty air, you look to find that thousands of miles below, a house, a neighborhood, a city, an island...
You look up. The moon and stars shed a bright purple light that tint the sky into a darker hue of the same color, as if you were seeing the heavens from behind a violet glass window. Something about the stars seems... Wrong.
You walk. Clouds envelop you, and when the wind takes them way, you see yourself in a open field with tall grass reaching up to your shoulders.
You don't know where you are. And can't see any landmark or landscape you recognize. In fact, except for the heavens above, everything farther than about 90 ft from you blurs into a red and blue haze.
A few feet to your left, a 10-tall vaguely humanoid figure slowly turns to you at the exact moment you look at it. It seems to be made of shadows, and you can't tell where its body ends and the scenery begins. The only well-defined feature you can clearly make out are the two bright blue eyes with no visible iris.
With no visible mouth or movement of any kind... The creature produces sound...
"Ashal... Visahjal... Mue... Ocalas... Ettu..."
Its voice is as phantasmagorical as its appearance... And you feel like you imagine the words more than you hear them.
The world leaves, like paint being washed away in a river.
Suddenly, you're back on your bed. The memory of the dream is hazy, but not gone. And a cold shiver runs down your spine for just a second.
After a pleasantly cool night, you are all well-rested and ready for another day. It's around 08:00 AM when you wake up.
Shea had made herself at home, With the Aid of her invisible buddy she had pushed the two beds together as promised. She had strewn the contents of her bag of holding all across the room, most of it clothes, She had a lot of clothes. As well as a large collection of books she "borrowed" from the academy, reagents, souvenirs, and a sizeable seashell collection, The Place felt like a home now.
She casts a few she leaves her room to rejoin her companions, she has ditched the cocktail dress for the more vocational appropriate gown, A plain black robe and a cliché pointed hat.
"Morning everyone." She greets her companions and the nice barkeep.
Tai comes downstairs, troubled, and does his morning workout.
When everyone else is up and ready to talk, he shares what he saw.
"It was a strange dream, and I don't usually have such vivid ones. If I were more mysticlaly inclined I would attribute it to some kind of portent, though those seem like they'd be more directed at you, Cyrus."
Cyrus wakes early to go downstairs for some exercise, but finds Tai already there for his morning workout and joins in for some light sparring, even if it means he is little more than a punching bag. Cyrus has developed an amateur's interest in hand-to-hand fighting from watching Tai Leng fight.
Never know when a weapon might not be on hand!
Afterwards, he listens quietly while eating a light breakfast with no small amount of worry.
"The gods do not send dreams lightly. Whatever this is...I imagine it bodes ill. You...haven't been marked by some creature have you?" Cyrus' eyes briefly flash a shade of white-gold before returning to normal.
While there are many dream-related myths and legends all around the world, Brother Cyrus can't think of any religious dogma that correlates to the specific visions Tai Leng described.
As far as the Paladin can tell, there's also no lingering aura of evil on Tai Leng or anything different from his normal self. Perhaps it was just a nightmare... Having alcohol and spicy food shortly before sleep does that sometimes.
- - -
The sun shines outside, and the smell of baked goods already fills the air.
There's quite a bit more movement than usual on the streets. More ships have arrived, more shop-owners adorn their stores, more guards patrol the street, more street-artist entertain the crowds... Visitors from all walks of life seem to fill the docks.
If this continues, in a few days, Blue Shell will have at least a couple hundred thousand extra mouths to feed (and just as many coin-purses to empty).
"Well let's go to this Glittering Hooves then." Cyrus says as he tightens the straps on his breastplate and flexes the fingers within his gauntlets.
Following the hand-made map is relatively easy, and soon you find the Glittering Hooves. Despite it being described to you as a horse race course, it's clear the place is more about hosting, raising and breeding horses than about racing.
Behind metal bars, you see large field, several acres wide, so large it's actually kinda amazing it's within city walls. The race course proper is just a small part of the whole complex, and it seems completely empty at the moment.
You see guards, employees and care-takers here and there, but for the most part, the field is pretty empty, with a good amount of horses grazing freely all around and a handful of riders enjoying their time.
You approach the main gates, where two bored gate-keepers stand watch with spears on their hands.
"Sorry, sir." says one of them. "There are no races this week. Come back next weekend."
"Could you let us through? I'd like to ask a few folks about a man who went missing recently. He was known to frequent places like these. A "Priest Ritto" devoted of Sarenrae."
"Never heard of him." says the guard shrugging his shoulders.
"Isn't 'Ritto' the name of that shoeless guy with the big kitchen on the docks?" adds the other guard. "Wasn't he traveling or somethin'? I'm pretty sure I heard the sisters say so. Maybe he's back and stopped by to leave a horse?"
The first one sighs deeply. "Look... You can see if he's riding around somewhere in the fields or feeding his horse or whatever you think a priest would be doing here... But the racetrack is off-limits today."
The guard then opens a nearby gate and allows you in.
"Thanks!" Cyrus then goes and looks around, occasionally asking random people if they have seen the priest.
Few riders pause their activities to hear Brother Cyrus. Its nearly always their servants or the Glittering Hooves' employees who end up talking to him. But after an hour of asking around, he learns a few things.
From what the Paladin can gather, most of these people do indeed know who Priest Ritto is, at least by reputation. However, few of them are aware of his prolonged absence, and those who are seem to be under the impression that he's on pilgrimage or holy mission of some sort.
Impressively, no one seems to have any ill will towards the man. Everyone who talks to Brother Cyrus appears to have at least a vaguely positive opinion of the man.
One other thing that is made clear from Cyrus' questioning, is that at least as far as anyone knows, the man never set foot in this place. Apparently, he dislikes gambling (and isn't wealthy enough to keep a horse here).
Brother Cyrus wonders why your party was sent here...
"I don't get it, if he doesn't visit or care, why did they ask us to come here? Maybe it has something to do with this 4-LKSB on the card?"
Tai sighs.
"Who knows? Let's check one of the other sites we were given, since nobody in town seems to know anything useful. It seems at this rate, according to what you learned, we'll find out the man was on a short trip to the next town over and our new employer just really wanted to get back at us for not being prescient enough to predict an incursion of unknown constructs from assaulting her father's workplace."
"I don't think someone would do that, would they?" Cyrus frowns and then we make our merry way for the next nearest location.
"Not like it matters, really. If there's even a chance the man really is in danger we have no choice but to pursue this to its logical conclusion regardless."
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"Yes"
Lacking any guile, Cyrus bluntly locates the nearest important looking employee and shows them the card they had received.
"What does this 4-LKSB mean?"
"Is it some kind of acronym, maybe?"
Brother Cyrus finds a nearby field care-taker and asks him his question.
"Hmmm... Looks like an stall code. You might want to check the stables."
"To the stables then, I'm always up for petting horses."
You easily find the stables and ask around about the mysterious letters. A couple employees confirm it's probably a stall code, and direct you to the stable manager.
"Ah! You must be the ones Lord Krieger told me about." he says while walking down a large stable filled with horses of various breeds.
"He instructed me to lend you some of his endurance animals... So feel free to pick your animal."
As he says that, he opens a small wooden gate that leads to asmall field where 6 horses calmly graze... The animals are large and muscular even for warhorses. Their fur ranges from light grey to pitch black, and they all have golden eyes.
"Remarkable beasts, they are. Can march days without food or rest... Just stopping a few minutes a day to drink some water. They aren't particularly fast, and can be a bit stubborn sometimes... But as long as you don't try to push them into enclosed spaces or against predators, they'll serve you well. Even wait for you until hunger, thirst or danger forces them to move."
The man sounds positively amazed by the animals.
"I wish Lord Krieger would tell me where he found them..."
Shea looks over the horses, Petting each one. She's not too knowledgeable on horses, There is no way she could judge their stock, So she does what a lot of superstitious gambles do when it comes to picking a race horse.
"What are their names?"
She'll pick the one who's name she likes the most.
"I'm not much of a rider so trying them in a fight is probably a bad idea. In any case, we appreciate the loan. They should help get our investigation done much faster." Cyrus picks a horse at random since he's not some kind of bad ass horse trader knight or anything. That would be cool.
Tai Leng frowns slightly and pokes at the nearest horse.
"Can we not simply walk? These horses aren't MUCH faster than us, after all. And we could do without all the...jostling."
"It adds up, for a long travel ahead of us, I'd rather us get to wherever we need to be not exhausted."
"What are their names?"
"I wouldn't know, miss. I never heard Lord Krieger call them anything... So I just gave them nicknames and they seem to understand."
(...) These horses aren't MUCH faster than us, after all. (...)"
A horse neighs and taps its front paws when Tai Leng pokes it.
"Uh... Try not to annoy the horses..." says the animal-handler. "They are generally docile, but can e a bit moody. My wife says I'm crazy, but I *know* horses can hold grudges!"
He seems to be absolutely serious.
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Shea picks a light gray one.
"Ok, I'll name you.. Glitterhoof."
Digs through her pack for her rations, And feeds Glitterhoof a stale biscuit.
"I have to agree with Cyrus, We Need these horses!"
(...) These horses aren't MUCH faster than us, after all. (...)"
A horse neighs and taps its front paws when Tai Leng pokes it.
"Uh... Try not to annoy the horses..." says the animal-handler. "They are generally docile, but can e a bit moody. My wife says I'm crazy, but I *know* horses can hold grudges!"
He seems to be absolutely serious.
"Even more reason not to truck with them. There's not telling when they could show their spite." he says, giving a horse the side eye.