"Okay, we go now." Gornak agrees, although the exact details of the plan flew over his head somewhat.
Kappasc nods at the Half-Orc, "Yes, we really should get going once the disguise is ready."
"Should the meeting turn to confrontation, I have some...services still to offer...If the meeting is kept civil, I can attempt to charm them, and should it turn to battle, hopefully I can render our opponents...less than useful."
"Wondered when you two would show up," Thumparr growled, grinning at Gornak and Kap. "Where's that other elf feller? He coming or is he mopping the floor?"
"I can tell you my dwarven friend, I'm not one for mopping. Now if we are all ready to depart, I will just add that if things go smoothly, maybe it will be better to let the man go and have someone follow him back to his boss. If things DO go bad, I'll be close by with my blade ready to help deal with the situation." with that, Beriadan falls in line with the others as they prepare to head for the meet sight.
Thumparr grins at the elf's comments and nods at his suggestion. "Good idea - might lead us back to the real crime boss, eh? By the way, don't believe we officially met while we was slingin' blades at those thieves. Name's Thumparr Ironfist."
Thumparr sticks out a meaty hand to shake.
The hastily disguised woman extends a dainty hand.
"I am Sevegny Veilstar, priestess of Calistria. Pleased to meet you, Sir Thumparr."
The darkness hides the curl of Mel's lip at the womans reaffirmation of her calling.
"Right now that everybody knows each other can we get on?"
The hastily disguised woman extends a dainty hand.
"I am Sevegny Veilstar, priestess of Calistria. Pleased to meet you, Sir Thumparr."
Thumparr blushes slightly as he wipes the sweat on his breeches before carefully taking Sevegny's hand in his own. "Me lady," he replies and then smiles. "Never been called 'Sir' afore; kinda like it."
Then he turns to Mel and growls, "Lead on, lad. Ye seem to be itching to spill more blood tonight. Well, I reckon ye'll get yer chance soon enough."As they proceed, Thumparr stays close to Sevegny...
"I am Beriadan, tracker and swordsman." the elven ranger says as he takes the dwarf's meaty hand in his own then turning to Sevegny, he says "It is always an honor to meet someone else who follows Calistria's teachings. I too am a believer in the Lady of Revenge and am most pleased to meet you Lady."
"Aha, I sense Calistria's hand in bringing us together. This is a good portend for tonight's adventure!"
Mel leads the party down to the docks. He tries to decide which part of the area will be best for a lurking contact to be but honestly hasn't a clue.
"Ok" he asks of no one in particular "anyone got any idea where matey might be hiding?"
"Ngozi has no idea, unless he hides at Besmara's shrine. Still, Ngozi is silent and cautious, so maybe should look around, yeh? Maybe others are good stalkers as well?"
"Ahh, just stand over there under th' lamp. We'll all 'ide in shadows o' 'round th' corner an' jump out when 'e appears."
With that, Ebe slinks away to a dark spot in the street, finds an inconspicuous place to hide Stealth (1d20+12=19), and peers keenly into the darkness up and down the street looking for their prey Perception (1d20+7=27).
Thumparr nods at Ngozi and loosens the hand axe at his belt. He stays close to Sevigny and waits, searching the shadows for any sign of movement.
Ngozi will follow Ebenadar over to a dark part of the street, trying to stay out of the light, and keeping an eye out further down the street.
Kappasc stays with the group and lends his keen elven eyes in their search...
Kappasc, with a furrowed brow and obviously slightly annoyed mumbles, "What are we even looking for..."
Mel looks at the disguised priestess "Yeh what he said...go on you should be used to hanging around under streetlamps"
As he moves into the shadows he whispwrs to kappasc.."We..my friend, are looking for the golden goose..unfortunately it might be a wild one"
Gornak stands in the middle of the street, confused. "What is Gornak supposed to be doing again? We have fight soon?"
Mel rolls his eyes.."Gornak stand over there in shadows..bad guys come..gornak thump em mighty quick ok" he says speaking slowly for the half orcs benefit
Mel rolls his eyes.."Gornak stand over there in shadows..bad guys come..gornak thump em mighty quick ok" he says speaking slowly for the half orcs benefit
"What the lad said, ye doorknob!" Thumparr growls. "Come over here with me and the lady."
"Oh, okay. Gornak go stand over there. Let Gornak know when it's time to stab."
The rapier in the half-orc's huge meaty hand looks like a toothpick.
Gathered by the dockside of Riddleport, and doing your best to keep quiet and to the shadows, your group keeps a close watch on the goings on. Over the course of what's left of the night there are a number of young men fitting the Bearded Man's general description who pass by, but they are either on their way somewhere specific, or when questioned have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.
Morning arrives in a gray fog off the bay, cold and smelling of yesterday's fish. The Blot hangs in the early morning sky, its position unchanged.
You stamp the cold out of tired feet and wonder if it may be time to head back.
In the sea-mist Sevegny's red tresses hang damply over her face.
"You know, I get the feeling we've been waiting for nothing."
Ebe emerges from the shadows and wanders over to the rest of the group.
"Well, worth a try, eh? Shall we 'ead back?"
"Seems the golden goose was a wild one after all...I'm going home to my crib and getting me some sleep..I'll see you all later"
The youngster slips off into the foggy maze of streets heading for Leeward and his garret
Ebenadar nods at his departing companions, and heads off on his own. He returns to the river district where he spent the previous night, collects his meager belongings he had hidden in a rooftop corner, and heads back to the Golden Goblin. Feeling the effects of fatigue weigh heavily on him, he stumbles through the main hall, finds an empty bunk in the common room, and almost has time to appreciate the fact that he's lying on a warm, dry bed before passing out.
Gornak slaps Thumparr the dwarf on the back. "Gornak looks tough. Probably scared that guy away. He go home, crying like a little girl. He never come back, job done. Gornak ask Saul for a raise tomorrow."
The half-orc shuffles back to the inn closest to the Golden Goblin and flops down on the common room floor, dreaming of gold.
In the sea-mist Sevegny's red tresses hang damply over her face.
"You know, I get the feeling we've been waiting for nothing."
"Hmph. Ye reckon?" Thumparr growls, trying not to shiver in the cold morning mist.
Gornak slaps Thumparr the dwarf on the back. "Gornak looks tough. Probably scared that guy away. He go home, crying like a little girl. He never come back, job done. Gornak ask Saul for a raise tomorrow."
"He prolly smelt ye a mile off and it brought tears to his eyes...much like meself." Thumparr looks up at the big half-orc and grins and then says, "Make sure ye wake me up when ye go ask Saul fer a raise. That's sommat I gotta see."
He then follows Gornak back to the Golden Goblin, finds a room, and collapses into bed.
With nothing more than a shrug and a mumbled, "Wait for Ngozi, yeh," Ngozi will begin to trudge back towards the Goblin, a room, and a bed.
With nothing more than a shrug and a mumbled, "Wait for Ngozi, yeh," Ngozi will begin to trudge back towards the Goblin, a room, and a bed.
"Ye got a room?" Thumparr asks on the way back to the Goblin. "If not ye can share one with me. As long as ye don't snore any louder than I do." He says with a grin.
As customers start rolling back into the Golden Goblen throughout the coming week, Ebenadar takes advantage of his small size to get lost in the crowds and keep a wary eye out for cheaters or troublemakers. Several times he's caught cheaters and thieves red-handed and send them bounding out the door.
Kappasc nimbly moves throughout the crowds as the people come and go from the Goblin. Sometimes pretending to have interest in a game, or chatting it up with a waitress, but always Kap keeps an eye on the people, searching for cheaters or anyone else that might not have the Goblin's best interests at heart.
1d20+7 =19
In the following week, Thumparr does his best to provide some much needed "muscle" to the Golden Goblin. He makes himself very visible on the floor, eagerly breaking up (or joining in) fights and tossing folks outside per Saul's orders. In a pinch, he may even ask Ngozi or Gornak for help.
Gornak practices his inimitable orcish dancing, but it seems to drive away as many customers as it brings in. Fortunately, his intimidating presence (combined with Thumparr's steely glare) is able to get Saul some sweetheart deals with suppliers.
Sevegny's god Calistria is the diety of luck and trickery. So the priestess regards the casino as a holy place and the gamblers as its worshipers. She wanders the great tent, giving blessings when asked and attesting to the fairness of the games when needed. Whenever there are disputes, she tries to resolve them through reason and compromise.
Much like Ebenadar, Ngozi spends his time wandering the gambling hall watching for cheats and thieves. While Ebenadar is watching one area, Ngozi will watch another. This proves fortuitous as his keen eyes manage to pick out a number of small time thieves, who Ngozi then hands over to Thumparr and Gornak for some "discipline".
Mel places himself outside the Goblin during the late afternoon and early evening
"Come on then Ladies and Gent's the Golden Goblin finest gambling hall in all of Varisia invites you to try your luck at the tables..we've got free entertainment..beautiful women...including a priestess of Calistria..and you know what that means fellas...and the best booze this side of the inner sea...come on now who's first to try their luck..free drinks for the winners."
Off course the free drinks are watered down so far they are barely alchoholic.
The next afternoon everyone drags themselves out of bed and back onto the main floor of the Gold Goblin. The place is still a wreck and only a handful of the Goblin's employees can be seen wandering about, cleaning and making repairs.
Supervising the activity is Vancaskerkin's floor manager, the brown-bearded dwarf Larur Feldin. Upon seeing you he makes his way over and nods with approval.
"Glad to see you're up. There's much to be done! Mr. Vancaskerkin went out to hire more people, since most of our staff walked out last night. All that's left are two bouncers, Hans and Beyar, and the beast wrangler Bojask." He points out two men sweeping the floors. "The one on the left is Hans, the one on the right Bojask. Bayar is out with with Mr. Vancaskerkin.
"Until we hire some cooks I'm afraid the kitchen is closed. I just hope Saul can find some good people this afternoon, otherwise we might not even be able to open this evening."
Feldin gestures all around him, "Take your pick with the cleaning. The main problem areas are the main floor, the bar and the kitchen. They're the worst ones off."
He waits for a moment in case some of you have questions.
Gornak stares at Feldin.
"Gornak is dancer, not janitor."
Gornak stares at Feldin.
"Gornak is dancer, not janitor."
Feldin looks back at the half-orc, shaking his head a bit. "Yes, yes, I am aware of your skills Master Gornak, but right now, if the place looks like this when its time to open this evening, the only dancing you'll be able to do is out on the street for coppers."
"Well...the place won't clean itself and as shareholders we need to make sure it's fit for purpose...We'll need a holystone for the blood stains though"
Mel grabs a brush and begins to sweep
Ebenadar grabs a mop and gets started without complaint. Ahh, feels good to have work again! He happily throws himself at cleaning up the mess, completely absorbed in his job.
Kappasc is more than a little annoyed that he should be asked with such a menial task as cleaning...travelled all this way as a learned wizard, only to be reduced to menial labour!
Kappasc grits his teeth, and fails to hide his annoyance (which, granted, his not necessarily aimed at Feldin) as he replies, "... alright, I'll be in the bar seeing what I can clean up, I guess..."
Kappasc then proceeds to the bar area, keeping his hands clasped in front of him as he casts and concentrates on Mage Hand to do all the cleaning up..
Thumparr growls under his breath and follows Kap toward the bar. "Wonder if there be anything in here to wet a man's whistle?" he murmurs looking for an empty mug or glass. If he finds one, he helps himself to a mug of whatever is on tap.
If questioned, he quips, "All this here work makes a man thirsty!"
Once the bar is done, he goes to the kitchen...looking for something to eat.
Beriadan goes about the work of cleaning up quietly and without complaints. He had done much menial work while in the forests of his home and wouldn't let others see his discomfort. Besides an Elf never lets others see his discomfort.
Once things have been organized and customers have once again come into the Goblin's Halls, Beriadan mostly uses his keen elven sight and sharp perception to make sure no cheating goes on around the gambling floor.