Waiting for Gaius was interminable, but Tolenn leaned on her training and maintained her vigil.
Tuning out the obvious sounds of pleasure coming from the adjoining rooms, she strained to hear what went on in the room behind her.
Hearing only muffled conversation, she kept up her pretense when both Daud, then Pyron emerged from thier recreations.
She merely nodded when Gaius finally emerged himself, waiting for him to precede her, then following closely, only sparing a quick glance for Pyron and Daud.
Seeing everyone else being done Daud will return the mugs back to the bartender before making sure Pyron is also leaving the building before leaving as well.
When they all reconvene off the boat, Gaius addresses the others.
It looks like you enjoyed yourselves. Did you manage to acquire any useful information during your...pursuits? I did. Devargo is a hard man, not easily spooked, and will bristle if threatened. Humility will serve us better. And he has some weird thing about spiders.
At this Gaius intones a prayer to Calistria and burns an image resembling a crude spider-tattoo on the top of his right hand.
There, that's better--he might get a kick out of that. And Devargo does have what we need after all. This fool of an ambassador has a mistress and writes letters to her, which Devargo somehow acquired and sells back to him piecemeal. If we can beat the offer in a lump sum, he should hand them over to us. Just don't try to push him around.
Yes actually, the girls might not like their lowered income but they do appreciate the thorough security. Anyone who does get too rough with the workers is almost immediately taken care of. Permeanently. This Devargo obviously doesn't take slights or attacks on his business. So when we are dealing with him use your best words, you won't get a second chance."
I heard about his spider fetish too. I heard that sometimes people go to his ship never to leave his ship again. Also, his cronies are always vying for his approval and for more power. When we talk with him, let me know if you need assistance. If your conversation with him starts to go sour, then I can easily pipe up to help smooth out any wrinkles that might occur. Otherwise, I'll let you lead the way Gaius.
The group walks its way to the middle ship, the Eel's End.
The largest of the five ships tied off to the pier is a warship bearing
the name Eel’s End, its figurehead a coiling eel with a woman’s
head. Several drunkards, sailors, and revelers dance and drink
on the large open main deck here, while the aft deck is relatively
clear. A pair of large double doors bearing a complex painting of a
spider allows entrance into the stern section of the main deck.
Two guards stand sentry in front of this door. One of them steps forward, holding his hand out to stop you.
"Wait a second, mate. Where do you think you're going?"
"Business." Daud says flatly but plainly to the approaching guard.
Pyron takes a step forward, politely. What my friend here means to say is that we've heard your boss has created a mutually beneficial opportunity, and we would like to discuss the details with him.
Daud arches an eyebrow towards Pyron. That's what I just said...
Daud continues to stare flatly at the guards as Pyron talks.
Seeing Pyron's words not holding much sway, Gaius steps in.
We're here for business, not trouble. We'll leave our weapons at the door if we must.
The guards initially look like they are going to refuse, but Daud's stare and Gaius' proclamation has them nodding at one another.
The lead guard grins, nodding. "The Spider expecting you, good sirs? Let's just see those weapons, k?"
Pyron puts down his weapons.
Still playing her part, Tolenn looks at the guard expresionlessly, then to Gaius. At his nod, she begins to divest herself of her weaponry; scimitar and flail from her belt, crossbow from her back and a dagger from each boot.
She piles all of these with a clatter at the guards feet. Then stands up and waits, arms crossed.
Daud allows himself a slight eye twitch in annoyance but removes the meat cleaver, terbutje, and whip from his person and puts them with the rest of the weapons.
Gaius will also follow suit, then start walking past the guards.
Pyron moves past the guard too.
Taking one last look at his weapons Daud will then follow the others inside.
One of the guards remains behind, while the other leads you into the room, through the double doors.
This large room, once a captain’s cabin,
has been converted into a throne room of
sorts. The walls are thick with spiderwebs,
in which scuttle dozens of spiders—
some as large as a fist but most
considerably smaller. These spiders
seem content to stay in their webs and
do not venture into the room itself,
which is furnished with two sturdy
oaken tables surrounded by chairs.
Aft, a wooden stage supports a
large leather chair, itself covered
with cobwebs and scampering
spiders. A narrow door stands to
port, hanging ajar and revealing
a flight of stairs leading below.
An iron birdcage hangs from
the ceiling like a chandelier, inside of which
lingers a tiny, tired-looking purple dragon.
Sitting in the 'throne' is a tall man with close-cropped black hair. A spider-shaped shoulder baldric adorns his black leather armor, and thick chains are draped all over his chest in the shape of a spider's web. You see a couple of spiders scurry over him as you enter. His gauntlets have blades fixed over the knuckles, and he gazes at you with a warm smile and cold blue eyes.
"To what do I owe this visit?" His question seems to be as much for the guard as your group. Six other thuggish personalities are in the room, clustered near Devargo. They are dressed similarly to the guards outside.
Pyron looks at Gaius to see if Gaius will take the lead or leave it on Pyron's shoulders.
At the man's inquiry Daud simply raises his arm above his waist and points at Gaius.
The dark-haired man smirks, turning his attention to the Inquisitor. His sycophants stop talking, turning to face you all as spiders climb up and down the boss man's body, a somewhat unsettling sight.
Greetings, Gaius says, approaching the throne and extending his hand (marked with the spider brand) for a handshake.
We just came from the House of Clouds, and let me say--this is an outstanding setup you have here. My friends and I have enjoyed the entertainment that you offer and, since I want your business to thrive, and our interests are aligned, Gaius displays his holy symbol now as he continues: I wanted to share some disturbing news. This Darvayne Gios Amprei, the married fool who writes letters to his mistress--he intends to push for trade sanctions or even an embargo, try to establish a foothold for himself. A guy like that is bad for business. I know you have him on the hook to buy back the letters--good move. I just want to buy one of them from you. What's Amprei's price? I'll match it.
Daud nods here and there as Gaius barters with Devargo.
Pyron clears his throat to get attention. We understand that business is important and that politics always comes into play, especially during times when someone has an opportunity to gain power. Mr. Amprie has a lot to gain now that he has a foot in the door. We would prefer the Chelaxian not to swing all of his weight around here throwing his beliefs on everyone. This is why we have come to you to make it work out for everyone's benefit.
So that gives Gaius 10 + 2 + 2 + 2 for a net of 16.
Devargo completely ignores Gaius' extended hand, waiting for the man to move back. Once he does, the King of Spiders listens to Gaius & Pyron's pleas, chuckling in his deep voice.
"It is true I might have these documents you speak of. However, I have my word to honor, and it would take much to get me to betray a client's trust." He grins, his gleaming white teeth on display as a spider scuttles across his face.
"Little does it matter to me who is in power, as long as they accept my vice taxes and leave me be. However, why must we talk as such? Perhaps you would enjoy some entertainment? I know I certainly would. A game of knivesies always puts me in a dealing mood!" The man laughs as he gestures to his sycophants, who clear a table in the room.
Seeing a chance to avoid having to talk Daud will stand as he removes his coat and shirt and moves toward the table. Doing a couple of flexing swings with his arms as he approaches gives the room a good view of the tapestry of various scars running over his body, inclucing all the too perfect checkered grooves running up the entirety of his left arm.
One of the thugs in the room, a short young man with a oft-broken nose, clambers up onto the table, grinning. "What kind of freak are ya?" He laughs, looking back at his friends for encouragement as he awaits his challenger.
Meanwhile, Devargo nods approvingly, settling down to watch. He hands a few gold coins to one of her men, who toss the five coins on the table.
"Bets? Stand at the end you're betting for!"
Daud's mouth begins breaking into a grin at the man's taunt. "Freak? No, freaks are harmless. I come once from Kaer-Maga, where the strangest of strangers call home. But first I come from wicked Ustalav, where your ancestors still get up and roam. Freak? No, freaks are harmless. I'm a monster, and monsters are not harmless." The grin takes a feral tint as he finishes.
Tolenn enters the room, following Gaius closely. Her eyes adjusting to the dim light, she takes in all of the spidery decoration as and the thugs dispassionately.
She looks at Devargo closely, but refrains from her impulse to cast out her awareness and determine the nature of his heart, not wanting to spoil her ruse.
When Daud steps forward to participate in the 'game', it us all she can do to not toll her eyes st his dramatics.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Pyron laughs. Now this conversation is getting somewhere good. Daud, I expect you to win without losing a finger, he says as he tosses in 5 GP.
"Little does it matter to me who is in power, as long as they accept my vice taxes and leave me be. However, why must we talk as such? Perhaps you would enjoy some entertainment? I know I certainly would. A game of knivesies always puts me in a dealing mood!" The man laughs as he gestures to his sycophants, who clear a table in the room.
Outstanding! I've never seen this game before.
Gaius gestures to the challenger's broken nose.
You've the look of someone who's lost enough at this to have learned a thing or two. Now prove me right!
The half-elf splashes 10 gold in front of the thug, standing in his corner.
Wednesday notices that the thug has kept his armor on. Although he likely doesn't care. Like most men, the thug is more worried about getting stabbed than any of the other possibilities available. The thugs throw some money on the table, too, and the coins are scattered roughly symmetrically around the two men. There are roughly 40 gold coins in all.
Another rough-looking young man grabs a strand of leather, indicating Wednesday and his foe to extend their right hands. He straps their hands together, locking the two men together. He then attaches a belt pouch to each of their waists. Finally, he takes a dagger and sticks it into the table, leaving it quivering between the two men's feet. He backs away, going to the head of the table where the other thugs and Gaius gather.
Pyron is the lone person at Daud's end of the table. He stands to gain roughly 15 gold pieces on a Wednesday win, but more importantly, Devargo leans forward eagerly in his seat, clearly interested in how this plays out.
All of a sudden, a man shouts, "Go!"
The thug, as unimaginative as he looks, lunges forward with his left hand, grabbing the dagger and pulling it from the table. He tries to stab at Wednesday with his new-found weapon.
The dagger adds another scar to the patchwork on Daud's chest, leaving a bleeding mess in its wake.
"Good one!" his voice is riotous as blood starts to stream from his right nostril as well as the wound on his chest as he aims a fist at the mook.
I have never seen you so happy Daud! Looks like you really like this game.
The thug looks unsettled at the flowing blood from Wednesday's face, but is cognizant enough to slash at the man as he strikes at him.
He strikes out too early, though, his anxiety causing his strike to be off target. Daud hits with his fist, but connects with the man's chain mail.
Undaunted (well, a little daunted), the man again tries to stab Wednesday, showing no pretense of there being other ways to win the game.
Again, another small slash joins the latticework that is Wednesday's body.
"Sometimes you need death to remind yourself that you're alive." He jokes back to Pyron as he throws another punch.
The thug again reacts to Wednesday's punch, slash him across the ribs, as the scarred man just bulls through the attempt and lands solidly on the young man's yet-again broken nose, the idiot actually looking like he was attempting to raise his dagger hand as though he wore a shield. Blood spatters in a flow to match Daud's face, and for a moment they look like grim parodies of one another.
"You shon of a b&+&*!"
The man yells at Wednesday, any effective strategy lost in his fear and bloodlust. He stabs wildly at his opponent.
Another slash, this time across the midsection, has Wednesday bleeding from yet another wound. The small injuries are starting to pile up on the pressed man.