"Something that burns but won't kill me. Got anything to eat?"
Yako scoffs and pulls out a glass and fills it with a dark liquor. "Two coppers. We got stew, three silver." As she slides the shot over the bar she shoots you a look and asks if there is anything else you need.
It is clear that she knows you're there for something beyond a drink and food and wants you to tell her without saying it out loud.
"A little private entertainment would be enjoyable. Please bring the meal up to the room, if you don't mind.". With that, he places four silver on the bar. "For your troubles."
Yako frowns slightly for a half-second. "I don't service clients personally, you know, but give me a few minutes and I will come up and show you a menu of our offerings."
Once upstairs she closes and locks the door. Speaking loudly she says, "So, sir, why don't you tell me what you're looking for," then adds in a whisper, "Quietly, please."
"My companions and I are looking for Whitechin. We wish to try our hand at ending his reign of terror. If you have any information on the goblin, or any other never-do-well plaguing the local populace for that matter, besides the Hellknights and dottari of course, we would be happy to dispatch said villainy."
In a louder voice, he replies "quite the establishment you have here. I believe I'll have one of those."
Yako nods and leans in close, "Whitechin is being a pain for a lot of folks, even the other, uh, villains who operate the Dusk Market. They've been looking for someone to dispatch that goblin and have a bounty out for him. They've been avoiding the old River Inn since that's where Whitechin is rumored to lair. If you kill him, take his head to the Dusk Market and find Giovanni Bordello. He is in charge of the reward."
She gets ready to leave and stops, "Garidan...I know more about you than you would probably prefer, so please listen hard to what I'm going to tell you next. There are some criminals who are needed in society. More so in our society here. Take a few minutes in the room for appearances. I'll send your stew up."
"No city exists without some criminal element. I am only interested in those the prey on the lowest members of our society. Those who operate the Dusk Market are of no concern to me. Thank you for your assistance. The risk you are taking in assisting me, regardless of guise, is considerable. I will assume that our conversation shall remain confidential, for both our benefit. I look forward to the stew."
Tanrov sits impatiently at the bar
Rurik, meanwhile, is busily trying to not draw too much notice, but staying nearby just in case anything untoward should suddenly happen.
Martino is staring around the bar, wondering whether a brawl will break out.
The whole lot of you are drawing some pretty nasty looks. One guy spits on the floor and whispers to his buddy, who whispers back. The spitter's eyes widen suddenly and he glances at Tanrov before disappearing into the back. His buddy avoids eye contact entirely.
Yako reappears after a few minutes and continues to ignore everyone.
Garidan finishes his stew before leaving the room. He walks up to the bar and stands next to Tanrov to order an ale. He mutters under his breath "the old River Inn is our next stop." He sips his ale before walking away and heading towards the exit. He takes a moment to make eye contact with Rurik and Martino before nodding to the door, and then exits the establishment.
Mimazaran thought twice about entering the tavern as he went with the party, and decided to just stay outside the door, keeping to himself.
Rurik falls in behind Garidan, occasionally glancing back to see if they're being followed.
Tanrov orders an ale when able drinks it down and after Garidan has left he tosses a silver to the barkeep and leaves
Mimazaran notices a grubby looking individual double-timing it away from the alley beside the tavern. The man walks with purpose to where a group of armigers from the Order of the Rack are lounging about. The man points excitedly toward the tavern. One of the armigers reaches into his belt pouch and hands over a few coins. The grubby man stalks off and one of the armigers sprints down the street.
Being a little rash and hasty, Mimazaran quickly sneaked his way into the tavern, not sure just what the exchange was about, but he was certain it would be bad news for them. He did his best to find the party mixed in with the rowdy crowd, and when he did spot them, he hissed in a whisper, "We need to clear out of here. A man seemed to just tip the Rack off to something in here, and I don't want it to be us."
"All right, let's go," Martino whispered.
Garidan tries to slip through the shadows to an alley or side street.
While the other members of the group fade off into the shadows, Rurik lingers near the bar for a short time, then he mutters to himself -- but just loud enough for the people next to him, and the bartender, to hear, "Time to get the dottari. Maybe there'll be a few coppers in it if they catch someone." Then he pushes himself away from the bar, like a man eager to collect on the self-same people who just left in a hurry, and not at all like someone who is in fact trying to avoid notice.
Everyone manages to evade the armigers, who took their time waiting for a superior to arrive on-site.
Rego Cader is a district in ruin. Addicts of all sorts drink, smoke, and fornicate in abandoned buildings and down alleys choked with overgrown weeds. Groups of youths prowl the streets looking for easy marks to rip off. The Dottari assigned to patrol this area make more money off of bribes than their salary.
The River Inn may have been a really nice place before the district fell, but it's once proud walls are collapsed in several places, the roof is falling down, and a massive sinkhole provides obvious access to the sewer tunnels below.
Garidan summons his magical force armor before moving closer to the structure. "Weapons at the ready folks. Let's expect the worst."
Rurik takes up a defensive position with scimitar in hand, staying close to Garidan.
Tanrov readies his earthbreaker and moves 30ft towards the building
Garidan tries to focus his vision, but it would appear the alcohol has left his sight...fuzzy.
As he moves up behind Garidan, Rurik spots something, and he carefully places his left hand on Garidan's back and tugs slightly to get his attention, then crouches and quietly points to indicate the goblin by the wall opening.
Garidan peers where Rurik was pointing as he crouches down to one knee, but still struggles to make out anything. He points to Rurik and mimics firing a bow and arrow and points back to the structure where Rurik was pointing with a quizzical look on his face.
Rurik nods, sheaths his scimitar and unlimbers his crossbow and loads it.
Trying to keep himself hidden as he crept up with the rest of the group, Mimazaran had his crossbow at the ready, his eyes peeled for anything suspicious. He took note of Rurik pointing something out, and looked over in that direction, hands shaking as he prepared to fire if he had to; he was certain that he would misfire, though, having never actually used the thing.
Martino drew his bow, and crept into the shadow of a nearby boulder. He peered in the direction Rurik pointed, trying to spot whatever had drawn Rurik's attention.
Larko holds back a bit and crouches low. He scans the ruins, focusing on where everyone is looking. His eyes narrow when he spots the goblin and a slight grin spreads across his face.
Garidan moves up to the main steps while trying to be quiet and stealthy before diving onto the ground to keep low.
Tanrov moves 30 ft behind cover approaching the goblin as stealthily as possible
The goblin stops swinging the battered rat corpse and his ears twitch. He cranes his neck and peers through the hole in the wall outside. His large eyes widen and he takes in a deep breath, getting ready to scream out an alarm.
Tanrov puts his earthbreaker to his off hand, draws a dart as he moves 30ft towards the goblin then throws the dart at it