This is for side quests for the Doom Comes To Dustpawn game.
Lefty signing in.
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Paul glances around the place.
While it seems like there are plenty of people around, yet the silence seems staggering.
He rubs his chin thoughtfully as he looks at the others; clearly something needs to be done about all the quiet!
He looks around again.
Huh - not very chatty folk, I reckon - well, we'll fix that soon enough...
Paul watches the others head to bed and his eyes flick to Ayreth.
”Well – now it looks it’s just us,” he says with a little nod.
He leans forward in his chair and studies the young woman intently.
”So you’re ready to do a thing – no questions, just action, eh?” he says, watching her with a small smile.
”Good,” he says to her.
Glancing around the room, he lowers his voice and outlines his plans…
”So here’s what’s going on – this berg is small-time; but I recollect that we’re not going to get a good haul unless we talk to the top-dog around here; she runs by the name of ‘Elladas Demos’ and she ain’t too far off.”
”First thing we do is get a message to her – let her know that we’d like to meet.”
”That’ll be easy; we’ll get the kid out in the stables to deliver her a note and send one of her lads to meet.”
He pulls out a scrap of paper and makes some quick notes –
To the Lady Demos:
Greetings!
I am Paul Antairis and am new to your town. I am looking for a reliable source with which to buy unusual and interesting gear. You come highly recommended from reliable sources and I would like to meet to do business.
I understand that even in such places the need for caution is useful; as such I am authorized to name as references to the quality of myself and my companions: Delvis – the owner of The Mineshaft and Sister Alyssia Turpin, a priestess of the goddess Sarenrae. Both of them can vouch for my worth and trustiness.
If you are interested in setting up a meeting, please let me know through whatever sources you find best. I am currently staying at Dalvis’s inn at this time, though I will likely be gone on the morning of the 16th for some business during the day.
I look forward to the chance to meet with you soon,
He then shows Ayreth the note and waits for her to read it.
”We’re going to give this to a runner; the stableboy – afterwards we’re going to do something else,” he says as he glances around again, his eyes suspicious.
Beckoning her closer he says to her softly –
”The lads upstairs leave this joint a little after sunset and I don’t trust them worth a damn.”
”After they skip out what’s going to happen is that we’re going to track them, find out where they go, and what the hell it is they do at night – cause I sure as hell doubt it’s mining.”
”When we get the tip on that we let the others know in the morning after they get their beauty sleep,” he says with a confident nod.
He leans back and studies her.
”Alright then; that’s the plan – before we do this, what do you think? Any other ideas?” he asks, curious to know her thoughts.
"Sure Mister, I'll deliver your note but then I need to go to bed.", Tommi takes the letter after Ayreth has read it and will deliver it into the hands of one of Elladas Demos' people.
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He leans forward in his chair and studies the young woman intently.
”So you’re ready to do a thing – no questions, just action, eh?” he says, watching her with a small smile.
"I definitely did not say that, quite the opposite," she interjects.
She listens to his plan, and then reads the note. She holds it up, as if trying to see through it, then turns it over, fully inspecting the parchment. "You wrote this? But you did not wreck one thing in it," she teases. She folds it in thirds. "It will do nicely, Paul, quite diplomatic."
"As to the rest, I agree that finding out what these 'miners' are doing, is a good idea."
"I definitely did not say that, quite the opposite," she interjects.
Paul rolls his eyes.
"Well I reckon that now you know the plan," he says with a bit of an exasperated voice.
Seeing that she is now interested in reading the note, he nods; glad that they can get down to business and start behaving seriously.
"You wrote this? But you did not wreck one thing in it."
"Hill-air-ious..." he mutters, his voice attempting to maintain a sense of professional detachment from her ribbing, yet nevertheless his lips quirk into a little smile at her teasing.
He watches her fold his note into various sections.
"Well, anything else to add, Little Miss," he says eventually, staring at the saucy teen in front of him, a strange mix of emotions in his eyes as he waits for other input.
"As to the rest, I agree that finding out what these 'miners' are doing, is a good idea."
"Well, thank gods," he says with a somewhat bemused grunt.
He looks around the room and realizes that everyone has gone to bed already; despite the fact that sundown isn't for a few hours yet.
"Alright then - we'll give that note to the stableboy - he'll pass it on; meantime - as it's still pretty damn early we need to hang around this joint at least until sundown - then we can make our move and follow these basterds," he says, as he thinks a little.
"We got to be nearby, but if we're just hanging around doing nothing we may draw too many eyes - and we got time to kill..." he adds that last part almost to himself.
"Hey - why don't we wait in the stables until them folk skip out; then we get a good view of the joint without looking too obvious. Meantime I saw how you were with your horse; that's good, I like horses, too - well, we can maybe look at the horses or something like that while we're killing time. At least, if anyone asks, that's what we'll say - 'just checking on the horses', right?" he says, hoping the stables would make a reasonable place to wait until sundown and the others leave.
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"Hey - why don't we wait in the stables until them folk skip out; then we get a good view of the joint without looking too obvious. Meantime I saw how you were with your horse; that's good, I like horses, too - well, we can maybe look at the horses or something like that while we're killing time. At least, if anyone asks, that's what we'll say - 'just checking on the horses', right?" he says, hoping the stables would make a reasonable place to wait until sundown and the others leave.
Ayreth arches an eyebrow. "Sure, but if I hear the words 'roll in the hay'...," her voice trails off ominously as she scratches at the table with her very sharp nails.
Ayreth arches an eyebrow. "Sure, but if I hear the words 'roll in the hay'...," her voice trails off ominously as she scratches at the table with her very sharp nails.
Paul nods with enthusiasm and heads toward the stables, then pauses, as if her words just registered with him.
"Wait - 'roll in the hay'," he says with surprise.
He turns on his heel and his eyes flick over the shapely nineteen-year old; he sees her flashing multi-hued eyes blazing from under an errant lock of red-tinged raven hair which tumbled over her creamy flesh and he notes her delicate hands clenching into fists as her freshly painted nails claw deeply into the oak table.
He strides to the petite woman in front of him, his eyes serious.
"Hey, don't flatter yourself, princess," he says sternly as he moves up to her, extremely aware of the soft light that shimmered from her silky skin like starlight and was suddenly self-conscious of the smell of sweat and leather which clung to him.
"We're here to do a job and that means we're going to be watching for these basterds who try to slip out at night; it don't mean we're going to be out in the stable and, uh... and going at it," he adds.
He scratches as beard absently and glances around the now empty common room, then looks back at her, clearing his throat a little.
"Now, I ain't trying to be rude or nothing, but we're going to be out there watching this joint and waiting for them lads upstairs to head out - when it happens, we watch to see where they go; we wait a bit - follow 'em to the edge of town and track 'em and see what they're up to - that's all."
"Stables are close enough for a good hiding place that we can watch this place. If any nosy folk ask questions on what we're doing we got a good story to tell them; that we're just checking on the horses, and that's all."
He clears his throat again, glancing around the room.
"Just doing a job; that's all," he says, almost to himself, then he gestures to the door, waiting for her to lead the way to the stables.
** spoiler omitted **
** spoiler omitted **
** spoiler omitted **
As the night goes on, Paul glances from Ayreth to the space beyond and suddenly pulls her back out of site, then points quietly to the four men slipping out of the tavern.
He gives her the nod and then slips off with her to follow the men...
** spoiler omitted **
Apologies - since they're human I assumed that they got a +2 bonus because of Stealth. Unfortunately, after re-reading things; it turns out it's Survival, not Stealth.
Sorry for any issue.
If I get noticed, please let me know as it will effect my actions.
Hopefully the bonus to Stealth for Distance will be enough to cover things, though :)
"Flattering myself? uh-huh... as long as we understand one another. Sneaking around is not one of my skills, I am quite honest and forthright, after all. Are you certain that you want me to come along?"
Paul pauses and glances at the flushed cheeks and smoldering eyes of the young woman in front of him. His eyes settle on her for a moment as he studies her.
"Oh yeah - I'll want you close..." he says to her slowly, then shakes his head as if to clear it.
"What I mean is that my thinking was that we wait 'till these basterds head out; then we follow their footprints in the dirt... Way I see it, four guys walking through scrub terrain? Hell, I reckon I could track that in my sleep," he says moving on somewhat rapidly from his earlier uncomfortable statement.
"But the way is it now... Well, I ain't clear, but I guess we got to move after them fast and close... So, that being the case, we may get pinched - if we do get pinched, then I guess instead of just spotting what they're up to and reporting back to the others in the morning then I'll have to take care of them the hard way... because I ain't going to give them another excuse to go after my mates," he says with a growl.
"Having a lass nearby who's good at healing might be damn handy at that," he says with a nod to her.
"I reckon though we'll play it by ear - who knows; maybe you'll get lucky," he adds with a wry grin.
The four strangers get to the edge of town and pause for a moment to light their lanterns. One pulls out several bottles, and you can hear rather hearty laugh as the others seem quite pleased. From this distance it's hard to tell exactly, but you get the impression they are sharing some sort of alcoholic beverage. About twenty minutes into their journey, one takes out a parchment as they all gather around.
Paul looks at Ayreth and scowls.
”Gods damn it,” he mutters.
”We been made…”
He slides the musket off his shoulder and flings himself to the ground, pulling Ayreth next to him.
”Those basterds ain’t miners; an no miner’d be looking for ore in the middle of the night anyhow… Nah, I reckon all that talk they’re doing ain’t nothing but a bluff on account of the fact that they saw us,” he says quickly.
”Being that they saw us following us means that next time they’ll be more tricky to track, and they’re sure as hell likely going to go after our folk in town.”
”I reckon that means that the only thing to do to protect the folk in town is to take ‘em out now,” he says grimly as he cocks the hammer back on his musket.
He glances at Ayreth – ”Unless you got any other ideas to protect our pals back in town without dealing with them now…” he says to her.
Ayreth looks at Paul and whispers, "You think that I will let you murder people?! Are you insane?! We have no evidence of anything!"
[dice=Sense Motive: Throwing us off?]1d20+10
Paul glances at Ayreth and decides to spell it out -
"Oh come on!" he says with a harsh whisper.
"They got the same bloody gear as the other basterds we knifed; they're even dressed the same - explain that if they ain't part of the same crew..."
"Meantime, they spend all day in town locked behind closed doors, don't go out drinking downstairs, nor gambling, nor whoring - they don't do nothing but hide in their room 'till dark, then head out and pretend to look for silver in the middle of the night?"
"Hell, no prospector at all would be wasting time looking for ore in the middle of the night when there ain't no daylight to see by; it's too damn stupid for a real miner to even consider... But even if they did do business that way then it means that they only been doing any real work for maybe only two hours before they call it a night?"
"So of course we been seen... Of course all that jaw ain't nothing but talk to make sure we don't know what's they're up to... Of course they're going to head back now..." he says with a growl.
Putting the lead man's head in his sites he prepares to take a shot with his musket - clear that the sound will likely be heard for a good distance.
But Paul's counting on it - every one of his crew knew he had a firearm; when they heard the firing they'd likely come to aid him and Ayreth!
Still - despite all the facts; his eyes flick to the girl next to him and he sees in the multi-colored pools of her young, deep eyes a look of incredulity mixed with a genuine concern that he might be killing innocent people.
He turns from her and glances at the men for a moment; yet somehow he can almost feel her look of reproach on him and he scowls.
Gods! Why the hell do I even give a damn what that she thinks about me... She ain't my boss... She's just some little - Oh, don't be asking me about rolling in the hay!' - Yeah, sure, like I'm going to be doing that when we got a job to do... Who does she think she is anyhow...
He glances back at her sprawled out against the ground next to him; his eyes flicking over her petite frame that's bathed in the moonlight. He sees the stern fierceness on her face and observes her full lips curved into a frown; aware that her eyes are still on him, watching to see what he will do next.
He he bites back a curse and lowers the hammer on his musket gently and turns to look at her direct.
"Fine, you win, princess. Happy?" he says with a harsh whisper.
He glances at the men and back to her.
"Look, just keep flat now; at this range maybe they don't see our faces or gear so they might not recognize us yet and I'd rather keep it that way... If that's alright with you," he grumbles, then presses himself closer against the ground, hoping that even if the men have noticed two people following them that they wouldn't recognize their features at this distance.
The four prospectors continue to argue and laugh among themselves. The two hours of trekking, in seemingly random directions, has left them and you in less than chipper mood. You note they have turned direction and are at last heading back toward Dustpawn and the Mineshaft Inn. "Maybe we'll have better luck another day", you hear one of them say, the accent thicker than any townsfolk. They keep to themselves, paying you no heed, posing no obvious danger/threat, as you keep steady pace 120 feet or so behind them. The night air has a bite and the waning moon paints a silver, ghostly pallor over the flat landscape.
The four quieten as they near the door of the inn, extinguish their lanterns and slip silently inside the dim lit interior. You wait just inside the stable entrance and watch to see if they leave again, but they do not. Main street is devoid of any person or creature. You slip inside the inn 20 minutes after them to make sure they do not see you.
The time you return to the inn is 10.20pm on the 15th Erastus.
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As Paul lowers his musket, Ayreth releases the breath that she didn't know that she was holding. In moonlight this bright, Paul can see the tension leave her body as well as a faint glimmer leave her hand. She had definitely been ready to act. "You think I win? I simply prevented you from losing." And those slightly cryptic words are the last that she speaks for the night.
As Paul lowers his musket, Ayreth releases the breath that she didn't know that she was holding. In moonlight this bright, Paul can see the tension leave her body as well as a faint glimmer leave her hand. She had definitely been ready to act. "You think I win? I simply prevented you from losing." And those slightly cryptic words are the last that she speaks for the night.
As the people pass them by and the area is now as safe as can be, Paul gets up and heads back to town with Ayreth.
He glances at her as they head back, his eyes troubled and his face upset.
"I know you're pissed with me - I'm sorry about that," he says, knowing that she's not in a mood to talk, but hoping that she'll at least listen.
”I didn’t mean to be a basterd back there; I was just worried that those guys were going to try something nasty. I didn’t figure on being close enough to get noticed and I didn’t want you to be in any danger on account of me being stupid.”
He shakes his head; the feelings of self-reproach etched on his face.
”I was on edge back there – I wanted to put them down fast before they tried something to hurt you; but you were right to tell me not to shoot. I may do work for money, but I ain’t an assassin.”
He broods for a bit as they continue back to the tavern.
”Anyhow, I’m sorry I dragged you into trouble; and I’m sorry for wasting your night on account of nothing and I'm sorry for mouthing off to you… I hope there ain’t no hard feelings; you’re good people – you deserve better than that,” he says sincerely.