Yes, the dawn always does come on the morrow. Very dependable. She grins at him.
Zane grins back at the half-elf, "We aim to please, my lady." The priest gives a shallow mock bow before remembering they had other company. The young man is glad that the neatly-trimmed beard hides his blush as he resumes eating the rich fare.
"An elf Councilor here? Odd.
Regardless, if we wish to make a difference here it seems a Charter will have to be procured. I wonder what sort of use it has in a city that is largely held by factions that would slay the Council, traitor and patriot alike. Doing so today is as good as doing so tomorrow better perhaps".
Helm shall guide our steps to ensble each of us to do his--or her--duty. We dhould follow the correct path to save this city.
After seeing the color of your money, Vinters the Barkeep becomes really quite friendly. "Gentlefolk please do make yourselves at home at the Cracked Crown. Our valued customers are of course given their own keys, this one is for your room and this other one opens the rear doors. If you're heading out tonight please do try to keep the noise down, some of the floorboards squeak that can't be helped but try not to slam the doors. But of course I say that to everyone! I'm sure no such admonishment is required for a fine group such as yours, full of holy men and fair folk!"
You inquire about the Council and Vinters tells you, "Traditionally there where five councilors, these days there are five. The head of the council is Ulrich Eberhard old it's true all but all the sharper for it. By tradition he always votes last to break any tie. Under him as the deputy is Werner von Urslingen, long ago he was a famous mercenary captain commanding half a thousand men. He's in charge of the reclamation. Then there's Bishop Braccio of Tymora, our collective conscience and a fine drinking man! Next is Elbert Earhart who acts as treasurer and rumor has it is extraordinarily wealthy. Finally there's Porphyrys Cadorna, the youngest one by far. Comes from a good family but he seems to find the council chamber something of a bore."
He gives you good directions for how to find the chambers in a converted former merchant house a short walk away.
Your pockets considerably lighter but now sporting room keys, you head out of the Cracked Crown into the busy streets of Phlan. Various street hawkers call out offering to sell you delicious morsels, others promise to lead you to hidden riches for a fee, and then there's a constant steam of tradesmen towing and throwing. Many of the buildings where badly damaged during the reclamation and there is much work to be done and fortunes to be made.
The council building was particularly badly damaged during the fighting. It use to be the private residence of a rich grain merchant, but it was gutted by fire and has been almost entirely rebuilt. Inside it's surprisingly spacious with one wing housing the town hall and the other with private offices for the councilors.
When you walk into the foyer an official greets you and inquires about the nature of your business. He asks you to wait for a few minutes while Councillor Urslingen deals with some defense maters. You are offered tea (undistinguished but drinkable) and water while you wait. After about half an hour you are ushered into the town hall proper. Inside is standing room for several hundred people and a stage. On the stage is a table and five chairs. Only one of the chairs is occupied by balding but powerfully built older man in full plate (minus helm) which he seems to wear as if it weighed nothing.
He favors you with a friendly smile as you enter, "Ah another group of adventurers come to answer the call! My but you are an interesting group! I can't recall seeing so many of our Elven friends together before, welcome! I'm sure your wisdom shall temper the fire of the younger races." He nods at Kardas, Ishta and Zane before adding, "Looks like every corner of Faerun has answered the call. This is most gratifying! Well before I ask you to sign anything a few points of order. I'm sure it probably goes with out saying but only groups with a valid charter are allowed to participate in the reclamation and only in authorized areas, wanton looting is a capital offence. A charter is valid for one year and can be renewed at any time for a one off fee of fifty gold, that may seem a lot but you are allowed to keep half of anything you find. Rebuilding is very expensive and money has to come from somewhere, however Phlan used to be very wealthy and it's likely if you do well you shall never need to work again. Another point, a charter doesn't place you above the law. No fighting in civilized Phlan please. It saddens me but we had to execute four sell swords only last week for instigating a riot. You lot look rather brighter than most so I'm sure that won't be a problem. Finally signing a charter is entirely at your own risk, if something awful happens then I'm sorry the council will accept no liability. However we protect our own, if its in our power Bishop Braccio is more than happy to intercede with of Tymora on your behalf should you be wounded in the course of duty."
With that done he picks up a piece of paper and hops down from the stage with surprising agility, "Right then that's done sorry for going on. Lets take a better look at you..." He then exchanges words with each of you before saying, "Right well here's charter, what I'll need from you is the deposit, your names and the legal name for company. It can be anything as long it's unique and not vulgar. We actually had problems with that earlier in the year..."
Ishta is just coming through the door when she overhears something that catches her attention. She asks for something to drink, since she doesn't want to look weird, and carefully listens to the man who was speaking. When he finishes, she intervenes.
"Uh, oh... Excuse me, sir... Did you by chance say Cadorna? I am looking for one Jandark Cadorna. Are they family?"
The priest listens to the barkeep go over a short synopsis of the current Council members, an attentive look on his face. While the young man had little interest in politics, it would serve him well to know the movers and shakers in the Phlan area and what their motivations might be.
Zane accompanied the others to the repurposed warehouse, impressed with the work done to turn the building into a serviceable town hall. Feeling somewhat chastised for his impatient behavior the last few days, the Cleric stands against the wall while they wait for Councillor Urslingen to become available. Of course, he starts tapping his foot not too long afterwards.
Zane listens to the rules of exploration and conduct impassively, rather surprised at the steep fee for a license. Good thing he had hoarded his stipend, or he might already be broke! And only half the loot found? The young man was glad he had a non-monetary motive for cleansing Phlan, and only hoped his new companions had enough eagerness to continue.
Shrugging, he digs into his coin pouch and pulls out 9 pieces of gold, taking a couple of steps forward and placing them in Urslingen's hand. "Fen-, I mean Zane Levallis, follower of Lathander. That should pay my portion of the charter, sir." He gives the older gentleman a respectful nod before stepping back to allow another forward. There was that matter of a charter name, as well...
Ishta's expression shows her disappointment at the news of Jandark's death, even though she was warned by her father. However, now she knows where to find the Cardonas, and hope's there that the descendants still know about the past facts that led her here.
Hearing about the charting thing, she wonders if she might join a company. That would give her freedom to investigate, and also would allow her to help in a situation that she thinks needs as much help as it can get.
Speaking aloud, and asking for a round to kind of pay for the chatting, she inquiries, "Um... thank you, good sir. About what you said on the charter thing... can you recommend me a good company to join?"
"Yeah, I also think that's the best option. Let me just..." She looks in her bags and comes up with a certain amount of money. "Here, this is my part. There's some change, but let's use it to pay a round to celebrate, shall we?"
Vinters strokes his chin as he thinks, "Well now there's the Red Ravens, they helped clear much of this area hear. Still since their captain Alanyna Tavour took ill some months back they haven't done much of note. Then I suppose there's the Black Company, they have a bit of a sour reputation mind, but they're always looking for new recruits, the page gets good after a few seasons I'm told." He pauses for a second, "You don't seem particularly taken by that prospect. Well if you want to avoid the whole rookie thing you'll just have to start your own company. A lot of folks have tried that, some of them went onto great things!"
Ishta agrees that joining a new company could be a great idea. She doesn't know of anyone wanting to form a new company, though, so she tries one thing.
"That's a great idea. Let's do one thing. I have 5 golds here, which I'm going to give you because you were so nice and kind to me. Will you, if the case arrives, inform me if you find anyone interested in the new company thing? After all, you seem a wise and trustworthy man." She smiles and offers a handshake.
When the Paladin and the Arcanist come in, Azarra nudges Zane and says in a low voice. Those two, I think. Are you thinking the same thing? That weird "attraction" thing? I thought at first you were wanting to ask me out when you waved, but then these other friends of yours and those two... it has to be something else. Lliira maybe, telling us that we need to ... help each other? Is it just me? It can't be... can it? That's what you meant earlier when you said you've been feeling like this a lot lately. ... If you feel the same, let's grab those two now before they join anyone else.
If he goes along with it, she joins him to ask the two people to join their group.
Azarra pays her part of the charter money to the Councilor as well, stepping back to make room for the next member, and still working on a good name.
Hmm, Dawn Dragons? Dawn Over the Moonsea? Why am I even trying to put the word Dawn in the name? She looks up at Zane.
Oh. Wow. I have it bad. Next I'll be doodling his last name with mine during class. I need to snap out of this!
Kardas frowns upon hearing that half of the monetary gains are to be given to the new city council. The man's voice is devoid of sarcasm when he speaks, "Keep only half? To me, this sounds like you have already accepted the reconquest of Phlan to be an established fact. Is the reclamation of Phlan going that well? Still, a warleader that demands the lion's share of his soldiers's loot must either be a person worth following, or a person who won't be warleader for long. I accept."
He eyes his (unlikely?) companions and wonders if sticking to Ishta through all of this and hasting himself to such a commitment is the right thing to do. But to back out now could mean he'd have to find new companions, who'd most likely be of less reputable reputation than these individuals, or join an existing company where he'd be at the bottom of the ladder .. and thus, be the last recipient of any loot and bounty.
Seeing how the Lathandite gave the man nine gold, Kardas reaches into his coin purse and pulls forth a single platinum piece. It's decorated with a view from sea of the city Telflamm. Surely it should carry its weight and worth here. "Wealth is fleeting and faster than any horse. Here's my contribution to our charter."
Councillor von Urslingen counts the money and says, "All right that looks like the correct amount, thank you folks. Now then I'll sign and seal your charter, we'll also keep a copy in the archives - we'll need you to sign that too of course. The only thing left is a name, did you have one in mind?"
When the half-elf jabs at him lightly with her elbow, Zane looks up from his plate to see the woman's face close to his. His green eyes widen for a moment, until she mentions the new arrivals to the Inn. Looking over the pair, the young priest does in fact feel the same pull to the man and woman that he had felt with his new elven companions. As she mentions his motives for waving, he internally contemplates if maybe he should have done just that. He quickly shoved aside his reverie...he could moon over possibilities later.
So she followed the Goddess of Joy, it seemed. He knew Malstei followed one of his obscure elven gods, and Ser Armithia was a Helmite. A divinely diverse group. At least they were all more or less good-aligned deities. He nods his agreement to Azarra, "That is exactly what I meant...let's go introduce ourselves. Malstei, Ser Armithia, are you coming to meet our new potential companions?" He grins at the two elven men before walking with the half-elf to talk with the new arrivals.
As Kardas hands over a shiny platinum piece to Urslingen, Zane nods approvingly at the man's words. Very wise, it seemed. And very blunt. He respected that...not having to guess a person's motives made for easy dealings, usually.
As the others go forward to give their names and pay their portion of the charter fee, Zane looks to his remaining companions, grin on his face. "I guess that's it, then...we're officially stuck to one another. A new beginning for all of us...good thing the Morninglord smiles upon such things." He gazes at each of his new friends, his eyes lingering on the half-elf a little longer than the others before he adds, "Now, about a company name... Zane settles in to discuss the name possibilities with the others. He's more of a diplomat than an alpha, so he doesn't offer too many ideas, preferring to remark upon ideas that he likes.
The tall elven knight signs his name upon the chater, after handing over his share of the fee.
The name should invoke a sense of protection and watchfulness. The Watchful Company, perhaps?
"The Watchful Company, perhaps?"
Councillor von Urslingen nods thinking that was a fine name, although his quill hovers over the parchment waiting to see what the consensus was.
Let's go with Watchers of Dawn says Azarra, looking around at everyone to make sure they are okay with it.
Ser Armithia nods in agreement.
"It is a name as good as any."
Zane, pleased with the company name that has been agreed upon, gives a wide smile as he nods. This venture was blessed indeed!
After giving some coin to the man and trusting in his good will, Ishta directs her steps to the Cadorna state. There, she lets her intentions clear to whoever lackey receives her.
"I am here to help the city, but I was also looking for some information about my past that the Cadorna family might help me unveil. I will gladly make an appointment, if they wish, for today or any other day in which they have ten minutes to talk to me."
Ishta approves the name chosen with a thumbs up. Names are important, there can be magic in a name, but sometimes magic comes after picking the name. They'll have to work out that magic.
"Watchers of Dawn! That has a certain ring to it." exclaimed the councilor as he wrote the name down onto the pair of parchments, "Now would you all countersign here and here. OK very good, congratulations Watchers of Dawn, you are now a company legally authorized to adventure within the unreclaimed areas of Phlan! Currently there are no missions available, but tomorrow morning we're opening up the Sokol Keep area on Thorn island. Our scouts report it's full of mindless undead, skeletons, zombies that sort of thing. Supposedly there's a great charnel heap were they're all coming from lorded over by some kind of barbarous ghoul king. There's a 2000 gold reward for clearing it out and of course you get to keep fifty percent of the value of any spoils you find within. If you decide to go for this, just remember this part of the Stojanow is tidal. The water is fine when it's clear seawater but when the orange taint flows it's deadly. Oh and I guess it goes without saying but bring as much holy water as you can carry!"
Zane signs the document in the appropriate places along with the others, glad to have this formal business done with. He is about to ask which areas of the unreclaimed Phlan might currently be off limits, but the mission to Sokol Keep draws his attention. His green eyes shine with zeal at the mention of the undead plaguing the island, his left hand gripping his holy symbol tightly.
As the Councillor continues, talking about the polluted Stojanow River, the priest asks, "Is there a ferry to the Keep, then, that runs the tides?" The reward itself is a substantial sum, but Zane is more interested in purging the undead from the area and discovering what might have happened to the last of the defenders of the doomed city fifty years ago.
When the others are ready, the Cleric offers a nod of respect to the Councillor, then departs with the group. The young man was eager to get a good night's rest and start the new day off, though if his racing mind wouldn't slow down sleep might be hard to come by...it had been an interesting last few days.
the other rolls within the spoiler:
Azarra tells the others
I read something about this. "The Stojanow river is polluted by something ghastly. The orange taint as it's known contains something that eats through metal and wood alike as if it was a powerful acid, yet it's effect of living flesh is even more disturbing. Even the smallest drop causes flesh to mutate and twist into a bizarre tentacled mass before it rapidly dies off and starts to decay at an accelerated rate. The only things seemingly impervious are stone and glass. Even short journeys in a boat across the river are inadvisable and longer ones are invariably fatal due to the toxins eating holes in the hull."
and "the orange taint has been present for at least fifty years, and it's origin appears to be the so called sorcerers island."
She signs the document, and asks the councillor where to go to buy some holy water.
The Councillor replies, "There's no ferry I'm afraid sir, but we can lend you a rowboat. As for holy water, I'd imagine Bishop Braccio would have some for sale Ma'am. Failing that you might want to buy some Alchemist's fire, there's at least two hedge alchemists in town so you should be able to find a supplier. Unless I'm mistaken their names were Carucius Cradock and Johan Vitriol."
The priest listens attentively as Azarra imparts a mass of information about the polluted river. His interest is piqued at the timing of the pollution...right around when the city fell to the evil army five decades previous. Surely no coincidence.
How the half-elf had been able to figure that out in such a short time in town baffled the Cleric. She certainly seemed resourceful. "So these undead polluting the river are on this Sorcerer's Island? Perhaps we should head there next after clearing the Keep." The young man speaks confidently, green eyes fairly ablaze with divine purpose.
He turns to the older Councilor, "Thank you again, Councilor. We won't let you down." Zane asks about who to procure the rowboat from, then turns to leave with the others.
"Sorcerer's Isle? There's been many sightings of terrifying monsters in it's vicinity over the years, gibbering mouthers and worse. Some day we'd like to clear it out, but that mission is reckoned to be very dangerous." interjects von Urslingen.
"Thank you, Vinters, much appreciated."
Ishta closes in to the group, and introdices herself. "Well met. I am Ishta Khosiv, and I am looking to join a new formed adventurers' company in order to sign a charter. Vinters, there" she signals at the man, "has told me that you were maybe recruiting. Would you like me to add my arcane knowledge to your arsenal?"
"Yeah... sounds like someone used a mutagen and augmented its potency dramatically. If done intentionally, whoever did it is evil beyond reasoning."
---o---
"Sorcerer's Isle, uh?" Ishta's curiosity is clear for anyone hearing her. However, she asks one final thing to the Councilor. "By the way, sir, is there a fee or any other way to access the archives of the Cadorna family here? I am looking explicitly for old information about Jandark Cadorna, since it might be related to my childhood and my origins."
Zane's brow furrows at the lack of corroboration about the cause of the soiling of the Stojanow, green eyes cutting to Azarra briefly after the Councilor and Ishta speak. Still, he was thankful for the warning from the Councilor. They shouldn't bite off more than they could chew.
As Ishta seemed to be inquiring about a personal matter, the priest took his leave, walking to wait outside until the arcanist finished her business with Von Urslingen.
Noticing the green eyes on her about the Stojanow, Azarra felt a little guilty. This whole spy thing was hard, and she needed to find these things out, but she couldn't live with deceiving and alienating her new ... friends either. She waited until they were outside and then Azarra said
I was wrong about that member of the council. I obviously have been listening to the wrong people. Better stick to the mission from the Councillor since my information seems to be bad.
She thought
I wonder who Talia Dumourne is, if she isn't a member of the council. I could have sworn that's what he said. ... I'm an awful spy.
Addressing the Stojanow, she added
The rumor about the source of the problems with the Stojanow also seems to be just a rumor. ... Still, we should follow up on the source of the river's corruption at some point, when we think we're ready to face that kind of danger. Can you imagine how many people that would help? That would be a truly good thing to do.
Von Urslingen raises his eyebrows, "Oh aye? Well the archivist Friar Jenkins can search the official records with you for a nominal fee, a platinum piece if memory serves. I understand some of the civic records where saved but a lot were left in the old library. I'll ask him to come and see you."
Councillor von Urslingen leaves momentarily and a few minutes later an aesthetic looking man of indeterminate age with a shaved head enters Von Urslingen nods at Ishta and Friar Jenkins bows to her, "Greetings Ma'am, I am Friar Jenkins of Oghma, I also have the honor of being Phlan's official archivist. I understand you wish to consult the archives, how may I help?"
No worries. I went back and read it before I wrote that, and I'm sure I just got it wrong, tying two sentences together that actually weren't supposed to be. I'm just trying to figure out a way to make it part of the story... figured I should go the "bumbling spy" route instead of trying to retcon because the player didn't get it right. :)
Now that the business of obtaining a company charter is done, I propose a company dinner tonight. We shall be battling and adventuring together. I should think that we should know each other's strengths and weaknesses.
The tall elven knight looks to each of the new company.
Say, 8 of the clock?
"I agree, Armithia. I'll be attending a small matter here with Mister Jenkins and be with you later for dinner."
She repeats the petiton she had made before, but this time with special focus on the matter.
"I wanted to know about Jandark Cadorna. Mind you, about twenty years ago, some babies were found by a group of adventurers who were cleansing the land around Phlan, and I was told he was in charge of taking care of them." She doesn't think she has a big chance, but she tries anyway. "I know also the names of two of these adventurers: Durendal and Shania. I would like to be informed of anything related to those babies..." she makes a small pause, deciding whether to go on or not, "since I am one of them."
There, she said it, for better or for worse.
The knight stiffens slightly, before bowing.
My apologies, Ms. Khosiv, but I am a knight of Helm. I have earned the Ser.
The elf smiles.
Perhaps, once you have saved my neck a few times, we may dispense with formalities.
He motions for you to follow and you are lead past a series of tidy offices to a staircase leading down to a basement cellar. The basement is softly lit by numerous disembodied and obviously magical lights. Stacked neatly is row after row of filing cabinets and shelves all stuffed with great ledgers. Jenkins walks down several rows and collects three, each fully the size of a small table. You suspect they're very heavy but he walks as if unburdened as he takes them over to a reading desk.
He flips through the first ledger and starts reading. After a bit he frowns, puts it down and opens the next. It takes a good ten minutes but eventually he cries, "Ah look here, one master Durendal McGee and a miss Shania Gest got married on the 15th Eleint 1318. Naturally the wedding was held elsewhere, looks like Deepingdale, but they wanted it registered with Phlan in case the city of their youth ever got retaken. A romantic notion! Now then let me check those birth certificates again..." He picks the first ledger back up and continues scanning it. After about half an hour he picks up a chalk and starts making notes on a slate. Feverishly he works for another twenty minutes before telling you, "I have no reason to doubt you Miss Ishta but I'm afraid I can't find your birth certificate. The thing that's strange though is I can't find any births recorded from Mirtul to Uktar in 1320. Sure the survivors had scattered but there was a sizable refugee town. I'm not willing to believe Phlan's diaspora had no babies for nearly six months! I would question my predecessor Brother Geraint but I'm afraid he died suddenly about ten years ago of apoplexy. I'll check up about Jandark for you now in the payrolls." It takes Jenkins about ten minutes to find the right page and he flips through the next fifty or so pages. "Well Jandark was in charge of refugee affairs for nearly twenty years. I'm not sure why he'd personally have been in charge of babies there where staff - wet nurses, nannies and so on. He supposedly retired 1321 before dying several years later. It's odd there's no mention of where he's buried. There's some more archives in the vault I can check if you like, however that's got a time lock. Wondrous thing, made by an archmage. It's a sort of portal except it only appears at certain times of the day. Unfortunately it'd not due till the morning. I suppose I'll have to get back to you if I find anything."
The Cleric studied the half-elven woman as she spoke to the group outside the town hall, trying to discern whether she had been mistaken or had been misleading them. In the end he shrugged...her motive didn't matter as long as it was of good intent. He could hear in her voice her sincerity as she spoke of cleaning up the foul Stojanow, and that was enough for the priest. He smiled slightly, giving a small nod of agreement to the woman's assessment with an amused twinkle in his eye.
As the Helmite spoke, Zane swung his attention away from Azarra, listening to the man's offer of a dinner and his gentle rebuke of Ishta at not using his proper title. The young man sighed internally...you could always depend on a follower of Helm to be a stickler for the details. Still, it wouldn't do to upset the poor fellow. "I think that a very prudent idea, Ser Armithia. Eight it is!"
The Dawnbringer proceeded to walk back to the Cracked Crown to freshen up before they met to eat. He probably still stank of brine, and his beard could probably use a trim. He stole a glance at the half-elf as he walked, chuckling self-deprecatingly. Aye, Zane...at this rate you'll be scrubbing yourself with those lavender soap bars and composing ballads. When he got back he DID make sure to pull out his least wrinkled sky blue tunic and slip it on, however.
"Oh, I see." Ishta is a bit disappointed, though she tries not to show it. "Good, so... how should I call you? Ser Armithia-Seendren of Helm seems a bit too long for an emergency. I mean, if I need you to save my neck" she adds, winking.
"Oh, it would be great if you could check those archives." Ishta was delighted with how nice people were here in Phlan. At least at the moment.
Of course, this public servant was charging her, but still, he could have been rude and charging her.
"I think I won't be able to be here in the morning anyways, so how about you check what's in it and I come for the info later? I'm going to pay for today's service right now..." she says as ten gold coins change sides, "and tomorrow you tell me what's the new fee, right?"
The knight actually smiles at Ishta.
Ser Armithia is fine.
"Well, I guess you're a busy public servant. The time you dedicate to my queries should be compensated to the Council anyhow. This donation could buy food or other needs for the people of Phlan."
Ishta directs her steps towards the tavern, her empty belly already calling for fuel.
Ishta smiles back. "Alright, then. Please, call me Ishta. See you at the tavern?"
Ishta can't help think that the Helmite has a stick up his... nose, but that doesn't mean he's bad folks. Just a bit strict. Who knows, maybe one day in the future Ishta has her neck saved thanks to tha pally's strictness.
There'll be time enough to polish these details.
Mal hands over some of the last of his Gold for a room for the night. His face impassive, after all, if he needed to stay in the streets so be it. At least until there was gold to be found from further adventures.
The Elf does not hide the look of disdain upon his face at the shockingly high fee. Only humans would try and rob those that travel to their lands to help them!
He hands over his last 4 gold and turns to his companions, "My apologies, gold is not something those of my order covet and I spent much of my wealth simply journeying here.
My share of the charter I shall at back to you whence we locate gold. I've little need of it where I will be going once my aid here is given".
Mal shrugs at the idea of dinner, "Certainly, food before a hunt is warranted. You are correct Ser Armithia, the better we know one another, the better chance we have of surviving the foes we do encounter".
As the Archivist enters the room, Mal remains quiet and listens.
When Zane and Armithia leave, he leaves with them.
The knight nods.
Ishta it shall be. I shall see you all at 8 for dinner.
He bows to the ladies present.
Until then.
Ser Armithia reaches into his purse. He hands over 5gp to Malstei.
A wise investment, I am certain.
The elf then vacates the building.
Mal of course hands over the remaining 5 gold for the full charter payment.
He leaves with the Paladin to head back, he assumes, to the Inn.