Current Map: Link To Map of Thurmaster
After stowing their gear on the small cart once again and Fronar taking the drivers seat the group headed off, finding no barge currently docked in Milborne they forded the Churnett river to the north bank and turned east in the direction of Thurmaster. The trip was mostly uneventful, they stopped at farms here and there and stopped journeymen along the route and inquired if any had seen Jelenneth but no one admits to even a glimpse of her.
Thurmaster is a walled village of some 100 people. As your group approaches closer you all see a great many abandoned houses, now falling into ruin, lying just outside the rickety wooden walls surrounding the village. The walls look like they were built many decades earlier. As the group approaches the village gates they see it is manned by two bored looking militiamen as you arrive at the gate one of the men speaks up "State your names and reason for entering the village of Thurmaster." he says with a yawn.
Siann walks boldly up to the slovenly guards, and states, "We are delivering an important package to Tauster. Either notify him of our presence or make way."
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Fronar turns his head to the side and puts a hand in front of his face as if the guards would be able to read his lips. "From the looks of things, you would think they would be have to get some fresh blood in this place." His eyes open fully as he keeps the hand covering his mouth, but with his other hand closed to a fist with the thumb sticking up. He makes a few repeated jabs with his thumb towards the town and lowers his voice slightly, "Kind of a dump, if you know what I mean."
Grommund frowns at the tiny village. Let's get this over with as soon as possible so we can get back to civilization and the comfort brought with coin. He crosses his arms over his chest waiting for the "militia" to answer Siann.
Even one of the many dives and slums in Waterdeep had some architecture worth admiring. Thurmaster looked to be a place in its death throes. Athelwyn quickly finds herself wondering about the nature of the man they are to deliver the mysterious package to. In Halruaa, rare was the mage that sought to sequester themselves so far from true civilization. More often than not, the implications of such isolation were experiments and pursuits in fields best left untouched. Athelwyn hopes it's simply a man who prefers rural life and privacy, and not some mad wizard preying on the weak. For the time being, she resigns herself to hoping that Siann's swagger will see them to their destination in short order.
Current Map: Link To Map of Thurmaster
The guard just kinda shrugs at your reasoning for coming here. "Go on about your business seeking a delivery from tester or whomever." he then waves you on by.
As soon as they enter the gates, Dorin notices the large Tavern on his side of the cart.
Some of us need to be stayin' with the cart and chest while the others head inside t'see where we can be findin' this Tauster fella.Keep yer eyes peeled fer the lass too.
Current Map: Link To Map of Thurmaster
As the group entered the village proper and approached the tavern they could clearly make out the name 'The Hound and Tails'
Like much of the village, this tavern has seen better days. The 'Tails' of the name are those of foxes, as the battered painted inn sign shows. As you open the door you can see only a couple scraggly looking patrons and a surly looking barkeep that one of the patrons refer to as Weismar. A half broken sign behind the bar reads 'Shared Rooms 5 silver per person. No exceptions.' A yawning waitress in dirty clothes sits with her head down at a table. As soon as you enter she hops up and wipes her apron clean and stumbles over to you "Kin we he'p yo' wif sumpin?"
"Siann, would'ye rather stay with Dorin or talk tae the folks inside?"
Siann curls her lip at the unprofessional manner of the gate guards, walking into the unremarkable town.
Her eyes pass over the shabby buildings, having seen the same many time before. Those towns however had been beaten down by constant warfare, this was just a slow , neglectful descent.
As it was, she slaps down a few unpleasant memories from those times, finding herself surprised by Grommund's question, "What? Dorin? Inside? Oh, ah, yes , I will stay outside with Dorin."
A bit embarrassed, she hops up onto the wagon and sits on the chest.
Athelwyn saunters into The Hound and Tails as some of the others volunteer to remain behind and spare some vigilant eyes for the cargo they are hauling. She is half-startled when the waitress lurches to life from an apparent nap in the dismal establishment. Athelwyn considers the others in her company, then slowly nods in response the waitress's query.
"I hope so. We may need to make arrangements here shortly, but for the moment what's important is that we locate Tauster. We are to deliver something to him. Would you happen to know where his abode is located?" She allows the question to hang for a moment before abruptly recalling their time in Milborne and the perhaps-missing person. "Oh! And Jelenneth—Tauster's apprentice. Has she been around?"
Current Map: Link To Map of Thurmaster
Responding to Athelwyn's inquiry the rough looking waitress replies "Oh yo' lookin' fo' thet old wizard, cuss it all t' tarnation. He is probably down thar in his tower as usual cookin' up sumpin terrible ah's sho'nuff an' knows ah ain't see his li'l gal aroun' eifer. Thought she went home t'th' high an' mighty Milborne.
"
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Fronar's excitement get to him and he excitedly responds, "A TOWER! He's got his own TOWER? Wow! You know that's some prime real-estate. Not just anyone can have their own TOWER." He spins around and addresses the rest of the party, "Can we go, can we go, can we go! Maybe we can take a tour."
His eyes gloss over as he appears mesmerized by his own imagination, "Just think of the exciting, magical, wondrous things someone with their own TOWER might have lying around."
Shaking his head as his fascination wears off and he comes back to reality, "Can y'all get your drinks and such... 'to go' so we can head there NOW!"
As the group regathers and heads the cart over toward the tower were the wizard is supposed to be and as they arrive they can clearly see a small two-story stone tower nestled next to a plain looking wooden house. The tower looks to have a very large, very high quality lock on the door.
Grommund looks about for anything suspicious near the tower, and then approaches and knocks on the door. "Hello, is anyone home?"
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Fronar slowly scans the height of the tower, eyes wide, from bottom to top and back to the bottom again. "Oooooooooooo. Look at that. Someday I'll get myself one of those."
He turns to the party and shrugs his shoulders. "So... do we just go in? Should we knock? Do we just leave the chest on the front doorstep?"
Confused by the wonderment in Fronar's exclamations, Athelwyn looks on at the paltry "mage tower" before them. She had grown up among no shortage of derisive remarks about those magic-users that dwelt further north, but thought them more jest than truth. What stood before her seemed less a wizard's bastion and more a miller's abode. "Let's see if any one answers the knock before we try barging in."
After getting no answer by knocking on the tower door the group tries knocking on the door of the normal looking wooden house next to it.
A man answers the door who appears to be in his mid seventies. He is 5‘ 3” and thin, but paunchy, and has little of his sandy-colored hair left. His light blue eyes are rather watery as he eyes you suspiciously.
"Can I help you?"
"Are ye Tauster, sir? We've come a'far tae deliver something to the wizard."
Dorin maintains a serious guard on the chest, waiting to see how this plays out.
Siann also maintains her vigil on the chest, watching the others advance on the tower.
Her lip curls a bit a the sight of the equally dilapidated tower, commenting to Dorin , "Not much to look at. Do you think it's an opulent mansion inside....like in the stories?"
His suspicion soon breaks when he hears of a package for delivery and now seems delighted that you have arrived, he exits his home quickly and shuts and locks the door behind him as he walks over to the door to the small wizard's tower. He says some quick arcane words and a symbol glows on the door and then quickly fades. He then unlocks the tower door with a rather large looking skeleton key, but he does not open the door yet.
"Ok where is the chest. Quickly now let me get it inside without fuss."
Who knows? But my gut be tellin' me it looks the same in as out...
Grommund whistles through his teeth at the others. "This appears tae be the wizard we done worn our feet out findin'. Bring the chest over would ye, he wants it inside," he calls.
Dorin raises and eyebrow, and he looks askance at the supposed Tauster.
If ya be who yer sayin' ya are, then who be sendin' us t'ya with this chest?
He looks to the others as he motions to Siann to help him with the chest.
Be knowin' we need his mark on that paper given t'us to be gettin' paid the balance.
Siann hops down from the chest, dragging it to the end of the wagon with Dorin, nodding as her own suspicions were seconded by the Dwarf.
She waits to lift the chest until the would-be Tauster responds.
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Fronar rushes behind the wizard and admires the Arcane Lock Tauster just opened. "Wow. Brilliant. I can't wait to see what wondrous things are inside. What's in the chest we brought you? Can we see it? What is it for? Please don't forget to confirm our delivery." Fronar pauses and takes a deep breath. Then tries to finish his line of frantic questioning. "Is your apprentice around? We have a message for her as well."
Athelwyn finds the sudden turn to suspicion strange, but trusts that her companions are a bit more savvy about such interactions than she is. She watches silently—almost meekly—while the exchange continues to unfold.
Tauster walks over to the back of the cart and looks at the chest "hhmm, yes it seems to be in order." he takes a small vial from his pouch and drops a single drop of mercury into the air before him. Waving his hands and saying a few arcane words the drop of mercury is suspended in the air. As he hovers his hands over it it spreads out to form a shimmering floating disk.
"Ah yes, you can place the chest on the disk. Once I have it firmly locked away inside then I will sign your paperwork, I am sure you would like to get paid for your troubles." he says and then after an awkward pause he adds "Er, well, I suppose since you've come all this way you'll be expecting some hospitality then?"
"I reckon I could pay for a meal for you over at the Hound and Tails when we are done here."
As the chest is loaded on the disk and Tauster walks toward the tower with the disk floating behind him is when fronar makes his move an accost the old wizard wanting to see the inside of his tower and the chest, but when he mentions the old wizards apprentice Tauster stops dead in his tracks and turns to face the little gnome "And exactly what is this message for my apprentice? and exactly how do you know of her existence? Did you run into her family in Milborne?"
He then smiles widely "Of course, you had to come through Milborne on your way here. Jelleneth put you up to some trickery now did she. She's off visiting her parents there so if you were there then obviously you met her. Yes she can be quite determined I am sure. But you'll have to get up pretty early in the morning to fool old Tauster."
He then opens the door on the tower and you get a peek inside. You can see past the door and the ground floor of the tower is covered with lumber and junk as if it has not been used since being built. As soon as Tauster sets the chest down he comes back out and closes the door and says some words as the sigil on the door flares again.
"Safe and sound. Now where are those papers?"
"The lass is missin' actually. We were hoping tae find her here..." Grommund responds, waiting for whoever had the papers to hand them over.
Tauster looks somewhat pale at hearing the news of his apprentice being missing. "I never wanted to take on 'the girl' as an apprentice, and only her sheer determination made me do so. However, I was impressed by her willingness to learn and I came to have a soft spot for her, thinking of her almost as a grandchild. To learn that she is missing worries me considerably. I have not seen Jelenneth since she left for Milborne just over two weeks ago; she was due to return from her family and resume her studies during the coming week. I am at a loss to know where she may be."
"We were attacked by brigands on our way to Milbourne, they tried tae kidnap our spellcasters. You wouldnae know aught about that, would ye?"
"Haven't heard about anyone going missing... spellcasters aye. This is worrisome. Do you think the same ones that were after you may have gotten Jelleneth as well?" he answers worriedly.
That's why we be askin'. Do ya have a way to find her or talk to her, with magic an' such?
"That would be our gnomish friend's assumption...aye. We really don't know anything about them. Perhaps you could divine something? Do you know anyone or anyhin' in the area who would have a use for spellcasters? Most importantly, how much are you willin' tae pay us to figger it for ye?"
Looking a little puzzled at the responses "You overestimate how far magic can reach I am afraid. I might have an idea of how to locate her." he says as he clears his throat...
"But before we enter into a new bargain, shall we not first take care of the old? So where are your papers?"
Tauster takes the papers from Grommund and looks them over and then turning to the blank page in the back of the contract he waves his hand and writing magical appears which seems to be another copy of the contract, Tauster looks up from the paper when he notices everyone looking at him "To prevent forgeries..."
He goes on through the document and then more than happily countersigns the document.
"Squire Marlen will be happy to exchange the document for hard coin. He is the local representative for Count Parlfray here in the village." and with that he points you in the direction of the squire's house. "I will send word that you are to have a meal on me at the Hound and Tails, but beware the mutton pies they can make a man awful sick in the bowel if you know what I mean."
"I will meet you there once you have taken care of your business and we can discuss the other matter of my missing apprentice."
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"It's been eating away at me since we were hired, would you be willing to tell us what was in the chest? I'm gonna go crazy if I don't find out." Fronar tries to convey his best "puppy dog eyes" to help persuade the wizard to divulge the information.
"Let's go see Marlen then, and collect on our earnings. We can turn our attention to other pressing concerns after we've got fuller bellies and coinpurses." Athelwyn turns to eye the building Tauster indicated in reference to Squire Marlen. Truth be told, the tavern didn't seem like the sort to offer cuisine worth exploring, but any opportunity to venture away from the trail rations they had been provided was still a hard bargain to pass up—especially when the meal was being provided for free.
"Do you think we should introduce ourselves to Count Parlfray while we're in the vicinity? Maybe he would know more about the goings-on around here if they are his lands?" Athelwyn asks hopefully. "Might be worth asking the squire if that would be acceptable, at least."
"Sounds like a good idea tae me," Grommund agrees. "I'll take any chance I can tae earn more gold a'fore headin' back tae civilization."
As the group walks to the inn, Dorin speaks to the group at whole.
That wizard be givin' me the Heebie Jeebies. I be needin' a cold draught. Also, I'm not too happy 'bout only havin' a piece o'paper to secure our pay. Somethin' ain't right.
Siann's lips curl at the Wizard's ostentatious display of magic and she nods at Dorin's comment, "They'd better not be thinking they can cheat us..." she says simply, stomping along towards the inn.
Current Map: Link To Map of Thurmaster
After receiving your signed document you head for the house that the wizard pointed to and head in that direction. The house is probably one of the nicest in town, a small mansion really. As you knock on the door a guard answers and upon making your request shows you into a sitting room and you are told to wait. Soon Squire Marlen enters.
He is an old, rake-thin man with a beak of a nose, beady eyes, and a whiningly ingratiating manner. His hands are palsied
and he has a high-pitched voice, and a long legged, uneven gait.
"I am Squire Marlen, what possible business could you strangers have with me." he huffs.
"Are you needing to pay a fine perhaps? Or your taxes?" he adds as he looks over the group.
"Or perhaps you want to open a banking account to the wonderful bank of Thurmaster. Which is me." he groans.
"State your business or get the hell out!" he says as he takes a seat behind a desk.
Dorin looks to Fgrommund,
Ya wanna' be givin' him the signed document, or should I just be stuffin' it down his throat.
Squire Marlen eh?” Grommund chuffs. ’Bout 50 years too old to be a squire if he were anything but s#~*e. “We be needin’ to make a withdrawal from the bank of Thurmaster, sgainst this promissory note on the wizard’s account.” Grommund offers the Squire the papers.
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Fronar looks around and then gets a devious looking smile on his face. "It's always a good idea to invest in the future. What kind of interest rate do you offer?" He lowers his head slightly and mumbles softly.
"Veritas, Credo, Oculos."
A small chest materializes in Fronar's hands. The lid is open and the glow of gold coins is obvious. "How much is required for a initial deposit?" His eyes light up as he asks, "Oh, oh, oh! Is there a free gift for opening a new account? Carved wood pipe? Small orb that snows when you shake it? Oh wait! How about a nice inkpen emblazed in arcane writing with 'Thurmaster Savings and Loans'?"
Fronar's head nods as waits for the description of a free trinket from Squire Marlen.
Current Map: Link To Map of Thurmaster
Squire Marlen turns to Dorin and says "If anyone is going to be stuffing anything, anywhere, it shall be me." he says as he snaps his fingers and four guards suddenly appear in the doorway.
The squire takes the papers from Grommund and looks them over carefully. Once completed he opens a drawer on the desk and counts out one hundred and ten gold pieces and sets them on the table. "I believe this completes our business, yes?"
Then Fronar, well happens. Pulling his minor illusion prank which the squire did not find funny at all. Promptly having the entire group removed out of his house and into the street by his guards. The one hundred and ten pieces of gold flung out the door with you.
Not likin' that bloke at all!