"We could tell him about the animals! He'll be sympathetic to their plight!" Elaina suggests when Valghaz stands. She thinks for a moment, then her tone turns sinister. "Unless he's working for the animal murderers. Then he wont want to help us. But I bet he'll change his mind if we feed him to sea otters!"
The young guard looks surprised at Valghaz's approach, but a smile creeps onto his face. "Deal, old man. Bartender, another ale!" His grin is replaced by a look of shock as the girl sitting across from him slaps the table and adds, "I'm in, too. Spiced rum, neat."
Jaxon Wanderly, the guard, starts showing the effects of the drink after six ales. The girl he's with - Belianna Crowley - however, puts down an impressive 11 spiced rums before she begs off anymore drinks.
(10)
(11)
Belianna Crowley
(10)
(11)
(12)
(13)
(14)
(15)
(16)
Arya knows from experience that she doesn't have the fortitude for drinking games, so instead pulls up a stool nearby and watches the contest in amusement, cheering on the others while taking swigs from her own rum bottle at a much slower pace.
Someone needs to be able to talk straight at the end of this or it's all for nothing.
Valghaz is as surprised as anyone else would be at the woman’s ability to down drinks. He laughs good naturedly as the drinks come on, and on, and on. When it became clear that she was not going to stop, he slapped ten gold on the table and cried out ”All cheer the lass with the liver o’ stone! Hurrah!”
Elaina didn't want to want to drink with Valghaz since he was so mean, but he did say he was paying and she didn't have to talk to him while they drank. She orders more of the warm, spicy mead she had been drinking and sets to work. The other woman was clearly going to out-drink her, which frustrated the competitive bard, but as the alcohol goes to her head and fills her with fuzzy warmth she finds it harder and harder to care. She quickly finds herself quite drunk and, unable to drink anymore, sets her final glass down, nearly dropping it off the edge of the table in the process. Not wanting to ruin Valghaz's master plan - the specifics of which she was struggling to remember at the moment - she glances around the bar for something to occupy her attention. Upon catching Arya's eye her face turns a deep red and she breaks in to a fit of giggles.
Arenel sat beside Valghaz as he was hammering them back. At first she had planned to join in but then she remembered someone had to ensure everyone got home.
As they went round after round, Arenel knocked a few more back but not nearly as fast as the others. By the time those three where done she had a total of eight and wasn't fighting the effects. "Ooooh... heh *hicup* I think I lost track while you all where cobet, I mean competing." She giggled.
Arya laughs to cover up the nervous feeling as she realises she won't be able to count on Arenel's sharp whit in the coming challenge.
"Three cheers for everyone! A fine effort by all, and a more handsome bunch of drunks I ne'er did see!" Arya winks at Elaina, wondering whether it could even be possible to make the bard blush more.
"It makes me wonder, is it possible you possess any other great talents? New friends, how is it you earn your share of the gold here in Siren's Bay?"
When Arya winks at her, Elaina feels more heat creeping further up her face and down the back of her neck and she burries her face in her hands, shoulders quivering with barely suppressed laughter. She wasn't sure why she felt so embarrassed, but it felt nice in an odd sort of way. She found herself wishing the rogue was sitting closer to her, partially to have someone friendly to lean on as she swayed in her seat. When Arya asks about talents, her head shoots up and she declares "I have lots of talents! Like....like... like amazing things you've never even heard of!"
"If we've never heard them, than ya don't have them." The drunken mercenary stated bluntly. The drink had removed what little filter with Elaina that Arenel actually had. "Like for example, I can weave spell and blade together. What ya got child?" Arenel asked with a half raised eyebrow.
After a moment she rubbed her eyes and thought popped into her head. "Hey, someone be kind enough to get me a pale of water? Gonna, gonna need that." She said.
As the drinking continues, Mimi sits quietly and takes an occasional sip of her watered wine. As the others drink more, and become more raucous, they begin to attract some notice from other patrons.
Mimi begins to feel embarrassed for her associates. She begins to feel uncomfortably warm, and maybe a little flushed. She makes herself smaller in her seat as if it would make her harder to see.
When Arenel asks for water, Mimi rushes to fetch some, glad for a reason to get away from the table. After delivering it she takes her time to wander about the room and feign interest in all the rooms decor before having to come back and sit down again.
"I do that all the time!" Elaina protests loudly while trying to draw her scimitar from its decorative sheath to demonstrate. "That's how come I could kill the sea monster!" She tugs on her sword several times, but was unable to draw it since she hadn't disengaged the retaining strap. She gives up and chops her hand down on the tabletop instead. "Schwing! Like that! Right through its scaly sea monster scales! With magic!" She hoped the people around them didn't believe Arenel. She had a reputation to uphold, and clutches at Mimi's arm when she brings water for the magus. "Hey Mimi! 'Member that time I killed a sea monster?!"
Jaxon responds to Arya, words sloshing together, "'m a memb'r of th' Ashure Guard. 'm a corp'ral."
Belianna also replies. "I am a priestess of Istanu, the Light Above." Her voice is only slightly marred by the rum. She collects Valghaz's gold with a smirk. "Thank you for your donation."
”A corporal! Impressive! I bet you know all kinds of exciting things that go on here in the Azure district we common folk never hear about!” Arya presses for more information, leaning across the table eyes wide, feining interest.
"Of coursh! But can't talk 'bout it. Confi...confin...shecret, y'know."
Valghaz laughs. ”A priestess? Gods be praised! I be a priest o’ Merodach meself!” With that he mumbled some words, stopped, cursed, tried again, and then his mug started to glow. ”A donation! Haha! From one church to another!”
Then, hearing the man speak, he tried to hold in a laugh. ”A corporal ye say? What could a corporal know anyways? Hehehe...I bet yer jus’ like...a private or somethin’. That’s why ye got nothin’ to say.” Then, leaning over to Arenel he muttered ”...what’s a corporal again?” He had obviously drunk more than what would have left him clear headed.
"Of course he's corporal, Valghaz!" Elaina looks to the guard, but her expression suddenly fills with doubt. "You...you are, right?" The bard leans across the table, reaching for the man, hesitates, then prods him on the shoulder. After confirming the man was corporeal she slumps back in her chair, a sigh of relief escaping her. "See?
He's not a ghost at all!"
"Uh, yeah, the sea monster" Mimi replies as she tries to pull her arm back from Eliana. She doesn't know what the girl is referring to, but she's happy to confirm whatever Eliana says if it will end her molestation.
Besides it might be part of some kind of plan the others are working out as they go along. She knows people do that sort of thing sometimes, and she also knows she's not good at picking up on it.
"I know lotsh of shtuff you don't! And don't go pokin' me like that! 'lessh you want me to go pokin' yuh right back." Jaxon's face falls into a sullen scowl. "Barkeep! 'nother ale for me."
Arenel rolled her eyes at Elaina's comment before she leaned on Valghaz, whispering in his ear in dwarven. "Don't we need some sort of answers from them? Maybe we shouldn't poke fun..." Then she giggled a bit from her drink. "Even with how easy it is."
”Sea monster? Shea Monster?! Harhar! Well corporal, Ye e’er see a shea monster?”
"I say that all the time!" Elaina exclaims, slapping the table repeatedly with the palm of her hand. "I tell these people all the time that I know lots of stuff they never even heard of and they never even believe me! It's very rude! We should write a book of all the stuff we know that nobody else knows."
Mimi starts to get nervous. This doesn't seem like it's going where it was supposed to go..."
She goes to the bar to fetch more water for everyone.
As the barkeep brings another ale, Jaxon looks at the group suspiciously. "Sho why didjall come over here anyway? Jusht to poke at me and ruin my chancesh with Beal...Beilla...the prieshtessh?" It seems Belianna discreetly slipped away at some point.
”To have fun! Damn bloody corshall! Buy ye free ale an’ this is how ye thanks me? Sides, she’s prolly goin piss. Iffin’ i were ye when she gets back I’d impress her. Look...look ‘ere. Tell yes what, ‘cause I’m a nice guy. Yeah. She come back, ye put me in me place? Eh? Tell me somethin’ corpal like. An’ I an’ me friends, we go wow an’ all. Make ye look good, an’ we’ll bugger off for ye an’ yer lass.”
Mimi gets even more worried.
I can't even understand what Valghaz is saying anymore.
Elaina leans across the table towards the guard, folding her legs under herself on her chair to give herself more reach. "We're on a secret mission to save the animals!" She whispers very, very loudly. "I bet Belalial loves animals! If you helped us help them then maybe she'll want to give you kisses!" She gives the man a toothy grin, her face very red.
"Ah, alright, guessh yur alright. You did buy me them alesh." Replying to Elaina, he says, "Animalsh? What animalsh are you talkin' 'bout?"
"Don't listen to her too much, she's a fool." Arenel said with a shrug. "Thinks a taxidermist is keeping and killing animals just because she didn't like the look of the guy." She explained with a laugh. "Hey! As a corporal you must have interesting stories about jobs you've done. Want to share any?" Arenel asked with a friendly grin.
Elaina resists calling Arenel all the things she had been wanting to call her. She still wanted Arya and Mimi to see that she was the victim in all this. "You shouldn't call me names though cuz' sometimes when you call somebody names somebody else hears you and they don't even want to be your friend anymore even though you didn't even call them names!" She advises the magus before rising to unsteady feet and returning to the bar to get another mead. Plying the guard for information was turning out to be thirsty work. She returns to her seat, only spilling a little of her drink on the way.
Arya catches Mimi's nervous eye as she takes a fresh mug of water from the grenadier.
It seems like the guard's tongue is getting loose enough for him to let something slip. Let's hope he says something useful before Elaina and Arenel start something.
Arya drapes an arm over the bard's shoulder, trying both to steady and to reassure her friend. "It's okay, I didn't like the look of him either."
Jaxon looks over at Arenel and returns her grin. "Yeah, I gotsh lotsh of shtoriesh. Now, you di'nt hear thish from me, you know?" He lowers his voice. "Couple monthsh ago, we wash invetes-invetsig...looking into the death of a little girl. Looked like she wash mauled by shome kind of animal. I mean, she wash tore up real good." He shudders at the memory and takes another drink.
"Turnsh out a maid saw the attack and said it wash shome kind of giant lizzhard. We ended up tracking it down to the Kellani Eshtate. Sheemsh like it wash the pet of Rowyn, the eldesht daughter." He pauses for another drink, but ends up frowning at the empty mug. Drunkenly waving at the bartender, he continues. "Any of you ever met her? Nashty piece of work. Had a way of looking at you ash if you di'nt even exisht! Right pretty, but it'd be like beddin' a viper, ya know?"
The bartender brings another mug of ale. "Last one, Jaxon. I'm not dealing with you passing out here again, or with cleaning after you sick up everything."
Jaxon attempts to nod and take the mug with a dignified air, but the effect is ruined as he spills a third of the ale on the table. Without a glance at the spilled ale, he takes a drink and continues his story. "Well, an'way, Rowyn'sh pet, which wash illegally imported, by the way, should've been put down. Inshtead, the Kellanish paid the parentsh of the little girl a fortune to hush it over. The Guard got a big donation to keep quiet, too. That'sh the way this city worksh, you know? Money buysh you anything."
Jaxon drains the last of his ale and stands up. "I'm off for home. 'Member to keep that shtory to yourshelvesh. And keep your noshesh out of the Ishlaran murder. None of your bushinessh." With that, he heads for the door in a slow shamble.
Arenel seemed to completely ignore the bard's words. She really didn't see Elaina like she did the others. To her it was like Elaina was the bratty child she'd been hired to babysit, though even that wasn't entirely correct. While she'd never bring harm to the bard, she didn't have to worry for her either.
When the guard told them not to tell anyone else, Arenel made the action of locking her lips together and tossing away the key before giving the man a grin. Finally she looked to the others. "Well, doesn't that sound interesting?" She grinned.
Valghaz finished his drink, and then the man’s ale. He had been steadily drinking the entire time. He nodded. ”I think....I think all ye can’t hold yer ale. Not...like me!” He slammed the empty mug down, swaying slightly. He looked at Mimi quizzically. Why was she still while the room was moving? No matter. ”Out drink a dwarf? Ha. I’m...goin’ to get some sleep.” He stood up unsteadily, sat back down, and then finally laid his head down on the table.
Elaina gives Arenel a satisfied grin when Arya validates her opinion of the animal murderer, sipping on her drink while the man tells his tale.
"They made a poor baby dragon kill someone! He didn't even wanna hurt anybody he just wanted some treasure!"[b] Elaina sobs loudly after, processing the mans story. She squeezes the arm Arya had placed around her shoulders for comfort. [b]"They p-probally said they had some golds for him to start his hoard and captured him when he came to get it and they didn't even feed him so he has to eat some people!" She slumps against the sailor, blubbering uncontrollably.
Hearing Elania cry, Valghaz raises his head and says irritabily ”What?! I’m not as think as you drunk I am!” and then puts his head down again.
”A horrible fate for the girl and the lizard both.” Arya muttered, holding the trembling bard tightly against her. Wild things belong in wild places. We’ll put things right Elaina, we’ll put things right.”
Arenel sigh as she softly ran her hand over Valghaz's back. "You're fine, it's alright." She told him before she looked to Arya. "Want to meet up tomorrow and check this out? I'd say we could check some stuff out not but after the ale... bad idea." Arenel said with a sigh. "I agree with you Arya, wild things belong in wild places. Else they get out a murder people..."
Mimi wasn't sure how a rich family's bribes to keep a killer pet connected to finding Lavinia's brother. Maybe I missed something while fetching water?
But everyone else seems more or less satisfied that the evening had been productive in some way. Probably best to just wait until tomorrow to ask why though.
"Okay, I'm going home now. See you all tomorrow I guess?"
Elaina pushes herself to her feet, wobbling and keeping a firm grip on Arya's arm as she does so. "C'mon Arya. We gotta go walk the streets and make sure there aren't anymore baby dragons lost out there!"
Arya helps Elaina steady herself but holds her firmly before she can run away anywhere. "Maybe... Maybe we find a bed for the night first, ay? You're no use to any baby dragon if you can't even walk straight. Mimi has the right idea, let's re-group in the morning..." Arya glanced at the sleeping dwarf, passed out on the table. "I'm thinking back here? Doesn't look like Valghaz is going far."
"I'll make sure he gets home Arya." Arenel said with a nod. "But meeting up here is a smart idea." She agreed before she leaned over and gently shook Valghaz. "Hey, hey Valghaz. Come on, lets get you home."
"Th-that's a good idea!" Elaina stammers, wrapping an arm around Aryas waist and leaning heavily on her to stop the ground from rocking. "I prolly wouldn't even wanna go outside right now with that vampire runnin' around anyways! Heey, is this what it's always like when you're walkin' on a boat? I bet even the vampire feels sick with the ground movin' around! Not me, though! I have fortitude." She starts to loosen her grip on the sailors waist to display said fortitude, but the ground makes a particularly rough lurch to the side so she reaffirms her hold and decides to display her tenacity another day.
Arya chuckles at Elaina's 'fortitude' and grips her tightly. "Come on sailor" she quips, guiding Elaina over to the bar to make enquiries with Dreb regarding the nearest available bed.
The night passes uneventfully, with some finding beds nearby, others going to their homes, and at least one making his bed where he stopped drinking.
The following morning, everybody meets back up at the tavern, some more worse for wear than others.
Arenel had stayed at the drunken dwarf's side as she was too worried to leave the fool alone. In the morning she got him something to eat and water to drink to help with the hang over.
Elaina rests her head on her arms, eyes closed. When the server brings her the juice she asked for when she arrived she turns her head away from it, groaning softly. She couldn't remember much of what had happened the previous night, but since they were going to attempt to get some guard drunk she felt she had probably played her role to perfection. Waking up with Arya again did much to start her off in a better-than-usual mood, even if the sailor refused to let her sleep a few more hours. Once everyone had gathered she yawns loudly then, head still down, mumbles "Did we find out a way to save the animals?"
Arya wakes herself up with a quick swig of whatever remains in the bottom of the rum bottle she carried up from the tavern at the end of the night. Once she is feeling a little less groggy, she decides to clear her head with a quick walk around the streets surrounding The Cracked Mast. Keeping her eye out for any fruit trees bearing something ripe for breakfast, she loads up her backpack with whatever she can pilfer before returning to wake Elaina before too much of the day escaped them.
Once she had dragged the bard back to the tavern and the others had assembled, she kicked her bare feet up on the table and stretched her arms back over her head.
"I, for one, think that was a very productive night. It sounds to me like Rowyn Kellani is a prime suspect for Islaran's killer. She's certainly the type to get involved with Lotus Dragons... if she isn't the ringleader herself!"
Elaina's head shoots up and she exclaims "That's exactly the kind of name an animal murderer would have!", then winces and nests her head again in her arms. "We should sneak in to her house tonight and make her tell us where she's hidin' all the other animals, then light her on fire like she did to the poor animals on that boat where the sea monster almost ate me." She continues with a yawn.
Mimi has a hard time sleeping. The previous evening's descent into chaos, at least as far as she can tell, has left her wondering what comes next in solving their mystery. It makes her stomach ache. Finally she abandons bed and goes to her lab to work work for a while.
When she finds them the next morning she hands each of the others a packet containing a white powder.
"Dissolve it in some water and drink it. It will help get you going" she tells her unfortunate compatriots.
Valghaz woke up to a welcome sight, Arenel. As he ate breakfast, he reflected about how fortunate he was to do so. While the duty bound dwarf in him felt that he should be focused on the mission at hand, there were other thoughts, or more specifically, a person, which dominated his mind. As they ate, and talked, he thought to himself that strange fate was, that he would never have expected to fall for a human. His entire life, there had been the expectation that he would marry a dwarven lass, most likely introduced by his parents, to cement the ties of his clan to another. The idea of him finding someone of his own was just not something that anyone have talked of, or even entertained the idea of. And a non-dwarf? It was unthinkable. He wondered how the clan would take it. And, in a most undwarven fashion, he wondered, would it even matter?