Checking in.
With cohort.
And...checking in again.
Now with 100% more cohort.
Sirith checking in.
Sirith's cohort, Prakar, checking in.
Sakaans cohort Osik checking in.
Checking in
and here is Amara's cohort.
"Ssakaans posst got eaten... only Sakaan doess the eating."
Yep, I'm here. Glad to see you all finally made it (chuckle). This is my associate, Fist.
*nods*
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It is a grey and relatively cold day in Absalom, the 15th of Pharast in the year 4712. A light rain is falling from the overcast sky, and people throughout the city ride huddled in their hooded cloaks, the ubiquitous camels used as pack animals and pulling carriages all stoicly soldiering on despite the weather which doubtless to them is miserable.
A ship docks at the Absalom harbor. Now, of course, this happens several times every day. So why is this ship, the Broken Bough, of particular interest? Perhaps it's not. But some of the citizens of Absalom, up-and-coming business leaders and potential future movers and shakers, all have one reason or another why this ship, among the other ships, is something they might want to pay attention to.
For Sakaan, the reason the ship is interesting is the most obvious: it has docked at his pier. He does not know why, for this is not somebody that he has a long business relationship with. However, the captain (one Veddig Gorn, a human of Keleshite descent) quickly paid the docking fees, and the interaction with your dockworkers have been cordial. The captain has travelled further into Absalom to perform further negotiations, leaving his first mate in charge of unloading. Since it looks like the Lizard Pier doesn't have any dockworkers on staff (please forgive me if I missed it!) I assume you use contract day laborers. It seems that their hold was not full, for the amount of cargo unloaded was actually quite small, all in crates.
There is a small amount of repair work needed on the outside of the ship; your people have been told that nothing inside needs any work.
Your information sources tell you that the captain of the Broken Bough-- A Keleshite man by the name of Veddig Gorn-- is not the simple shipper and merchant that he claims to be. He's known as a slaver, but not just any slaver. (Some slavers, of course, sail openly under the yellow sails of Okeno.) Rather, he specializes in high-value slaves, and illegally obtained slaves. What's more, he sometimes docks in ports in Andoran, so he wants to keep this information quiet.
A month ago, Darksteel Smithy recevied by courier an order for a masterwork trident, made out of your trademark black steel. There were some specific stylings on the trident requested as well. The order came from "Veddig Gorn, captain of the Broken Bough".
You don't know why, but you've heard rumors that the Broken Bough has a dark secret, something that the captain of the ship (whose name you don't know) wants kept secret. The information you've been given also suggests that this is a secret that you in particular might be interested in knowing.
You are quite familiar with Veddig Gorn, the Keleshite captain of the Broken Bough. He has been to Absalom before, and has been a client of your organization. Indeed, last time he visited absalom (about a month and a half ago), he told you that he believed that some vicious rumors might have been spread about him. He's asked you (and paid you) to keep your ear to the ground and find out what rumors might be being spread about him, so that he might confront them (and get revenge, as appropriate). You expect him to visit you now that his ship has docked at Absalom again, but you haven't heard from him yet.
When you got word that the Broken Bough was a ship that was visiting Absalom, you were surprised. One of the prominent paintings of Maricelli displayed in the gallery shows a three-masted ship sailing on clam waters in front of a shoreline, with a sunset behind it. Although small, if you look closely, you can see the name of the ship in the painting is "Broken Bough". You don't know if this is coincidence, or it this portends something. The painting is one of Maricelli's earlier works, completed some time ago. (Would deacdes make sense for the background? How old was Maricelli when she went in for the test of the Starstone?)
Let me know how you proceed.
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Well, we know someone who would want this information, don't we, Fist? Sarath or whatever her name is?
Amara reacts quickly when getting her assignment from Veddig. Knowing full well that Esha is exceptionally skilled at gaining information, she sends out her protege to attempt to search for any rumors and waits for the results before heading down to the Docks. If Esha fails to uncover any rumors Amara heads to the Nameless Librarian for further information, while likewise if Esha uncovers anything particularly troubling Amara will investigate them. If neither of these things occurs, then Amara heads directly down to the Broken Bough (disguised) to pass on what she has learnt directly.
Sirith. It's Sirith. Fist says with a heaving sigh, Calistran priestess.
Yes yes, her. Perhaps we should set up a meeting before the ship moves too far. The Librarian says while stroking his chin, debating what to do.
Finally, after a good thirty seconds he slaps his legs and stands from his chair, head nearly hitting the lantern hanging above him and jovialy shouts Come, Fist! We have no time for a letter, we shall go meet her personally! It's been far too long since we've seen her anyway, as he heads to the door, taking a moment to look at the painting hanging on the back wall and muttering perhaps we should pay a visit to that Turanerra girl as well... as he strides out the door, Fist trailing close behind.
Sirith had heard of rumors that the captain of Broken Bough had some sort of secret that they didn't want to be known. The undine was curious but most of all greatly interested. Her curiosity had served her well in the past, most of the time unless you count the time she accidentally walked into some Hellknights torturing a Steel Talon knight from Andoran, which then led to an attack by some medusa crime lord followed by everyone getting caught in the middle of a blood feud between an ogre mage cultist and efreet sorceress. That was...not a good day considering she had lost most of her hair and her skin had been turned turned pink! Cost a good bit to find a wizard to undo everything. Before leaving she put her abbot friend in charge while she was gone. As she exited the Ocean's Passion followed by Prakar, she noticed Esha as well the tiefling Fist and the tiefling's master.
Ah I see some of my friends have arrived, she said with a smile as she skipped down the steps of her temple.
What brings the protege of my fellow priestess of Calistria as well as the Nameless Librarian here to my steps? Would it be that you are also seeking to learn more of the Broken Bough just as I do? And Prakar! Put on some damn pants!
Her half-orc bodyguard and apprentice shrugged as he paid her command no heed as he came up behind her wearing nothing save a loincloth.
"Ossik go find information on thiss sship and it'ss captain pleasse, I sshall sstay here and "Clean" the sship, we don't want any ssuprissess"
Taking a slightly aggressive stance
"no we've worked this out before, you need to be out there gathering information and doing the legwork with me, let someone else keep an eye going on, your image and capabilities are too important out there"
he says indicating the city
"I bow to your wissdom friend, yess I musst force myself out, letss go find what we can then, maybe one of the Templess of Calisstria?"
Sakaan heads into the city central with Osik in tow.
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Sirith! Just the woman I was hoping to see! The Librarian says with a large grin, displacing his scarf enough to reveal his gills. And Esha, what a pleasure to see you again, how is Amara?
Without waiting for a response, he turns back to Sirith and says Actually, I was hoping you would want to know something about the Broken Bow, as I have some information you may find interesting. I was searching for you so we could set up an arrangement. Perhaps we should adjourn momentarily to the sanctity of your beautiful temple? he says with a gleam in his eye, speaking to his interest in making a deal.
He also turns to Esha and says I'm sure you'd be interested in hearing this as well, if Sirith is fine with you joining out little meeting
Sirith smiled and bowed to the Nameless Librarian nodding her head in agreement.
That would be wise. It is better to share information with other like minded friends. I'll have my abbot Ilana fix you some tea if you like. Or we could get right down to business.
Sirith and Prakar led them into the temple, although the half-orc then stood just inside next to door to guard it.
Tea would be lovely The Librarian says with a smile as he sits in a chair something Tian, if you have it. Taldan is good as well.
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Esha smiles courteously. "I'd love an opportunity to discuss information as friends" she remarks to both The Nameless Librarian and Sirith.
"No tea for me though thanks, business is business and I personally prefer getting down to it sooner rather than later"
While The Nameless Librarian sips his tea, Esha gestures and summons a harp, carefully plucking at the strings and working at a melody. In truth, the activity is more to keep her busy than anything else, Amara having taught her to make the most out of any given situation, and practising a skill would always come in handy.
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"By Torag's beard clasp, this 'ere is by far tha most frustratin' thing Ah've ever 'ad ta deal with! Runlok! Runlok!" he calls out.
A dwarf dressed in a soot covered smith's apron turns from the forge, a pair of tongs in hand, clasping a small bit of metal he had been working while doing his morning prayers held firmly in their grasp. He looks quizzically at Dolgrin.
"'Ave one o' tha boys get me armor an' such ready, if'n their nay busy. Ah've almost got this finished and Ah don't wanna keep tha client waitin'."
Runlok nods and steps out to have one of the other dwarf smiths get Dolgrin's armor prepared. Moments later, a black haired dwarf steps out of the storage room and into Dolgrin's private chambers to do as he was asked.
Dolgrin adjusted the lens over his eye to make the final adjustments to the weapon. About an hour later, it was finished. The weapon balanced perfectly, and every inch of it was a testament to the craftsmanship that had went into it.
He placed it proudly in the fine cedar box he had for it, the inside covered in fine rabbit fur, before closing the lid down and carrying it with him into his quarters. After donning his armor and strapping Thunderer to his hip, he threw his shield over his back and considered momentarily on the helm, but decided against it. I don't want the man to think I came ready for battle. Just want to show off some of my finest work is all.
Dolgrin picked up the weapon box and walked through the forge and into the main storefront of the Smithy. Lithandra was there, using her magic to bring all the items on display to a lustrous shine.
"Ave William keep an eye on tha place for a bit, lass. Ah 'ave a delivery ta make, an' yer better at navigatin' this tangled mess of a city better than I."
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Once they got to the docks, she started asking around as to where the Broken Bough could be found.
As they are wandering through the streets making their way to the city centre, Osik is always on the lookout for potential threats.
"No I sshall not revere your Ssmiad, the Empyreal Lord is the pitilesss Dragonsslayer and it would not be appropriate to my racial coussinss for me to pay tribute to him. I do resspect his goalss of defeating opponentss no matter how difficult though."
Sakaan puts his hand out to forestall Osiks next words, he looks at the Temple before him
"I think we may be here, The Heart of the Ocean'ss Passsion if I remember correctly, Ssirithss temple, the beautiful watery themess in the artwork givess it away, lets enter and se what we can find"
Sakaan and Osik enter the temple giving a small obeisance to the image of Calistria
The Broken Bough is here, in Absalom? Turanerra mused. I don't know what that means -- but it has to mean something.
She walked over to the section of the gallery which displayed Her work, and studied the small piece. It was classic early Maricelli -- Absalom harbor, at sunset, with an ethereal, otherworldly quality to it despite the meticulous rendering of the individual objects. One of the first where her talent shone through -- to such an extent that She refused to sell it.
But the question at hand -- is this a historical? Or an oracular? Because a documented oracular, of this age, could mean great things for Her legacy.
Turanerra hurriedly gathered a sketchbook and charcoals. "I'm going out, Kvallen. For most of the day. I'll be down at the harbor if you need me -- but make sure it's an emergency."
Then she left to get a view of a ship so blessed that it had a Maricelli named after it.
The Librarian slowly sips his tea, savoring the flavor of it this early in the morning. It's not very often he gets to enjoy such luxuries while on a job.
After a couple sips, he lightly sighs and sets his tea down.
I do so hate this part, but you do understand I'm not here completely altruistically. The information I am going to give you is going to cost you. Not immediately, of course, but the payment won't be negligible when I come to collect. What I am about to tell you is... he lets out a deep sigh, Well, I could probably gain more by extorting the captain than by revealing this to you, but I figured my friend should have the chance to act first. Is that arrangement fine? He will say with an apologetic smile.
He will turn to Esha, maintaining his apologetic smile as he says, The same will go for your partner, if you stay to listen.
Esha frowns "I'm looking for any rumors around this captain, so the better question would be whether this is factual information, or something otherwise useful to me. I leave it up to your judgement but I'm warning you, Amara won't suffer payment for something she might already know, or information she cannot use correctly"
Tell me Esha how is your mistress doing these days? You should tell her to come visit. As a fellow priestess of Calistria it would be good to know what my fellow priestess is doing.
When the nameless librarian spoke she listened, before nodding her head.
Ah I see. Well, I've heard rumors that the captain of that ship would prefer his secret stays secret. And somehow he has a connection to me that I do not know of so I wish to find out what it is.
A shadow crosses over the Librarian's face as Esha questions his information, but his tone remains as pleasant as ever, I assure you Esha, my information is correct. If you don't wish to know it, you don't have to remain. But I do have a business to run, so you'll understand if I can't give information away for free.
He will then turn his attention back to Sirith, leaning in as his face brightens again, Well, my dear Sirith, my sources tell me that the captain of the Broken Bough-- A Keleshite man by the name of Veddig Gorn-- is not the simple shipper and merchant that he claims to be. He's known as a slaver, but not just any slaver, as he does not fly the yellow sails. Rather, he specializes in high-value slaves, and illegally obtained slaves. He also frequently docks in Andoran, so obviously he'd want to keep his true business a secret. That's perhaps why your networks may not have dredged up his dirty little secret.
He takes another sip of tea to let the information sink in before continuing I am waiting on another source to confirm whether he has any... cargo... on his ship at the moment. I'll be sure to let you know when I get confirmation, as part of our transaction. When he is done, he pours himself more tea, leans back, and calmly waits for a response.
As Turanerra trotted into the Coins, she considered the best vantage for observing the Broken Bough. Somewhere in the Docks, certainly, but not so close that she would draw the attention of the crew. She daren't spoil the sanctity of the moment with any sort of intervention.
It would be best, of course, if she had the same viewing angle that Maricelli used in the painting. The general direction was one she was quite familiar with -- an elevated view of the harbor, fairly centralized, but with a better view of Dawnfoot than the Graveyard. So that meant...
"The Undertow," Turanerra said aloud.
The Undertow had been one of Her favorite set up spots in those days, it must be where She had painted it. So that would be the best place to make some sketches, and see if Marinelli's painting had been something from the past, or from the future -- or well, today. Things were so built up now she might need permission to sketch from his roof, but surely the proprieter -- whose name eluded Turanerra for the moment -- would allow that. This was sacred business, after all.
Maricelli came to Absalom 12 years ago (in 4700) (at the age of 20) -- if alive today she would be 32. She painted the whole time, with an increasing reputation, but the gallery was started 5 years ago. (in 4707)
Turanerra is 28 years old and has been in Absalom for 6 years (since 4706), the first of which she spent pretty much in isolation.
Kvallen has been in Absalom for 9 years (since 4703), and involved with Maricelli for the last 8. He is currently 35 years old.
Does Amara/Esha already know that the captain is a slaver, and does this information count as a "rumor"?
To Sirith:
Esha has a coy smile at the ready. "I'll pass on your invitation to Amara, as for what she has been doing lately, the affairs of my mistress are largely her own, although I am sure you could ask her yourself. Alternatively, a pre-arranged visit to Amara would also be fine"
To The Nameless Librarian:
Esha is quick to respond. "I don't doubt the success of your information network, nor the truthfulness of whoever granted this yet to be heard information. I was merely pointing out that Amara doesn't take kindly to paying for something up front, especially if its something she might already be aware of". Esha shrugs slightly before continuing "I'll listen, but only because you have been vague so far, and I'll pay your price down the road. Whether this information is actually news to Amara and I would determine the nature of any future actions we might take with your business."
Anyway...
Ah I see now. This information would be quite useful to the Golden Eagles and Gray Corsairs. I appreciate you telling me this. Even in Absalom, such activity is illegal. Which means he might be working for someone more powerful.
I'll keep that in mind. In fact, I'll try and get an appointment set up to meet with her real soon. There's much that we need to discuss.
As she said this she happened to see the lizardfolk Sakaan coming.
Ah Sakaan! A pleasure seeing you here! How are you doing? And how's your business doing?
"Well thankyou, the bussinesss and my people are thriving, you remember my friend and aid Ossik.
Sakaan motions to Osik, Osik bows to Sirith.
"I see you have company. .. Namelesss, Essha it is good to ssee you both, I can come back later if you wissh, but I have a sship at my dockss called The Broken Bough under a captain Veddig Gorn. You all are excellent purveyorss of information and I wissh for information on this sship and it's captain"
Esha gives Sakaan a nod of acknowledgement and quickly strums a note from a music hall suspense theme from her harp. "It seems that the good captain enjoys trading in live cargo" she remarks in a disinterested voice. "I admit, I did not personally know this information but it comes as no surprise to me although I don't speak for Amara".
Esha turns to The Nameless Librarian, tilting her head slightly as an idea came to her. "You know, I'm sure I could work on achieving that confirmation without too much inconvenience...let me know how you decide".
Heading towards the door, Esha throws a casual remark back at Sirith "I assume then, that in the light of this information, you would want to make contact with Amara at an early opportunity. I understand that she is free late this afternoon if you want to make contact but I otherwise leave it up to you. Sakaan, it was a pleasure meeting you as always, and if you require further information either Amara or myself would be happy to oblige you, now if you could all excuse me, I have pressing errands to run."
Esha heads off, and informs Amara what she learnt (I can roleplay this out if you want). If this information is sufficient enough for Amara to fulfill the terms of her employment then she heads straight to her client for an in person meeting asap.
When Turanerra arrives out of breath at the Undertow, there was a kitchy Gone Fishin' sign in the window. Must be nice to have such an uncomplicated life.
So she picked a spot nearby, pulled out her sketchbook and some charcoal, and began making detailed drawings of the Broken Bough. Focus on what's here now...put Marinelli's painting out of your mind until you've caught it accurately.
To that end, here are the types of specific things she's looking at: Is it the same ship? Is it structurally similar, or have there been changes (maybe repairs or sections that are a different color than previously)? Is the rigging set up similarly. Is it berthed in the same location? What about crew? She'll make sure to take note of all people on board (what she can tell from this distance, which is probsbly no more than an approximste count.) for comparison later.
She has no nautical training, so might not know what any of those things mean -- but she's trained in noticing visual detail, so she should at least be able to see it.
She's not worried about weather yet -- we'll see how that compares come sunset.
Ah, Sakaan! Just the man I wanted to see. The Librarian says with a smile as he stands from his chair, I understand you are to clean and repair the ship in question, the Broken Bough?
He will also turn to Esha and say If you were willing, I believe that would be enough to cover the cost. If Amara was already aware of this, well... I'm sure we can work something out. I'll be sure to spend some time around The Undertow to make myself available. He will then wave lazily as she takes her leave, mumbling something along the lines of "toodles."