"Any place where I can get my feet up! This was no walk in the park! I'm starving now!" says Trevor as he lifts his forever dipping helmet.
"Yes, rest would be good." Quintus sets down his pack and sits on it, shivering.
You decide to head to the tavern called The Spinning Giant. You walk in and there are only a few patrons inside, most look to be soldiers or town guards. A buxom blond is serving the guards and looks up and smiles at the group. A good size stage is located towards the back.
An older woman is behind the bar idly cleaning the counter top. As you file in, she looks up and says "Oh ho! There is a good looking group if I ever saw one. You must be treasure seekers! Welcome to The Spinning Giant, I am Nimiscent. What would you like to drink?"
" If I can... I'm hungry as well. What's big, good and cheap?"
Trevor speaks as he crashes violently in a chair. He raises his boots to put them on the table, but shies away under the assault of Nimiscent's gaze.
Kelkzar laughs, a deep, booming sound, "Greetings Nimiscent. I'll take a spiced mead if you please and it sounds like you'd better not stand between my friend here and the food. Right Trevor?"
Kelkzar takes a slow look around the bar, confirming the men are what we think and seeing if any seem to be taking particular interest in our group.
He sits down next to Trevor at the table.
Rowena slips effortlessly into a chair, ordering watered wine and stew in a meek voice, then directs her gaze at the other patrons, watching for suspicious behavior as well.
Perception
Sense Motive
Looking a little queasy, Quintus asks for watered wine and plain bread.
" If I can... I'm hungry as well. What's big, good and cheap?"
Nimiscent looks at Trevor intensely, "That would be me honey!" She laughs even harder after Trevor shyly turns away after she said that."[/b]
I'll take a spiced mead if you please and it sounds like you'd better not stand between my friend here and the food. Right Trevor?"
Nimiscent puts down a mug for you and Trevor and says back "Between him and his food? No. Between him and you, for sure!" She laughs again and is joined by the men at the nearby table.
As she sets down the pitcher of wine for Rowena she says, "The wine is two silver and the mead is 4cp each for the mug. Stew and Meat pie on the menu tonight. Five copper for the stew and one silver for the meat pie. Best in town!"
Quintus asks for watered wine and plain bread
"There is the wine and you get bread with the stew. You need to eat , you are too skinny! I like my men with some meat on their bones." She winks at Quintus after she says that.
Kelkzar notice the guards have mainly kept to themselves and only piped in the one time at Nimiscent's brazen comments. One of the guard's gaze lingers on the buxom waitress every time she passes.
Rowena puts in one silver for her share of the wine, and five copper for her stew.
"I'll have some stew and an ale, please. Also, when you get a second, we're looking for somebody, hopefully you can point us in the right direction..."
Quintus flashes a brief smile at the forward barmaid in reply, then fumbles in his coin pouch and eventually pulls out two silvers; he takes Rowena's five coppers in change. He picks at his food throughout. I've seen it in others and lived through this myself often enough to know...don't eat anything you wouldn't want to see come right back up. By tomorrow night I should be able to keep a meal down.
After waiting to see what the others are getting, Trevor spends his copper on beer and stew. He can't keep his eyes off the barmaid, and thus his face develops a lively shade of purple over time.
Kelkzar lets loose with a deep belly laugh in response, "Well done Nimiscent. You'd fit right in with a few units I know. I'll take stew in addition to the mead."
He eats the stew with gusto, "You ok Quintus? Don't seem to be eating much."
Quintus starts when he realizes the large half-orc is talking to him. "What? Oh, I've been...sick for a while. I'll be over the worst of it in a day or so." He gives a faint sort of smile. "I'm a healer, I should know, right?"
Kelkzar looks over Quintus and replies, "Sure bud. If it keeps bothering you, we should get you looked at. Just let us know." With that, Kelkzar resumes devouring his stew, mopping up the remnants with the crust of bread and washing it down with more mead. "So, time to start seeing if we can find Allustan or see what we can find out here about the cairns?"
"Sounds like a plan. The food here is good, but we're here for a reason."
"We should be careful about asking around too openly, shouldn't we? Besides, it's pretty late. The streets might not be safe after dark."
Mouth full, Trevor offers: "But we just got here! And Rowena's right, it's late. Best to eat, drink then sleep, and tomorrow, Voila! We go and find this guy, no?"
At the first sign though, he'll grumble a bit and get on his feet to accompany if needed.
Without looking up, Quintus mumbles, "Lived in a place like this for years, and people usually leave a big armed group like us alone. Kelkzar, you want to finish my stew? It's good, but I can't eat it all now."
Nimiscent says she knows everyone in town, then when you talk about Allustan she says, "The Mayor's brother? Yes everyone knows the smartest man in town. He lives nearby, the best way to get there would be to follow The Vein to the square, then take the road between the church of Pharasma and the Feral Dog. After that take the first left again all the way to the end. You can't miss his house, it is one of the best maintained houses in town"
Lessien finishes up her dinner, and her drink. "Well then, we should settle up and get going, hopefully if we can meet up with this Allustan tonight we can get started in the morning."
As you finish up your meal you notice that there have been a few more people that have filed in for dinner and all of them seem like town guards or militia type. The tavern is pretty subdued, no games going on or entertainment, but you guess at some point they must have someone performing on stage.
You leave The Sleeping Giant and head down the vein towards the town square. The building next door is a place called The Midnight Salute with a number a scantily clad women out front. They call for you as they walk past, but mostly for Trevor. Dragging him past the business you pass Lakeside Stables.
One more block and the number of people walking around greatly increases and you walk into the town square. Here you are assailed on all front, sights, sounds and smells. The number of people here are staggering, you must have come here right as the mine shift was over. You notice a number of businesses here as well as food carts.
On your left looks to be some sort of jeweler called Tidwoad's. Past that the Church of Pharasma and the The Feral Dog, some sort of tavern.
To your right you see the Sheriff's Office and The General Store. Past those two buildings you see a restaurant called The Hungry Gar.
Across the square you notice two buildings on opposite sides of The Vein that continues past the square on the other side. On the right stands a large garish building called The Emporium, and on the left stands Lazare's House. Both seem to be some sort of gambling dens.
Following the direction given to you by Nimiscent you take the road to the left and follow it a short ways. At Venelle's, another armory that looks to specialize in ranged weapons, you take another left and follow it all the way to the end.
At the end of the street you see a magnificent house in perfect shape and clean whereas the rest of the town's building were covered in soot. The grounds appear to have been meticulously groomed and cared for. It almost appears like it was plucked out of another town completely. A small path leads up to the door where a sign hangs that says "An answer to any question only 20 gold."
Quintus seems easily distracted, especially when walking past the Emporium. There's something in the air that draws his attention, but he stays with the party as they head for Allustan's. By the time they get there he's shivering occasionally, and shows gooseflesh on his forearms. "H-huh. I g-guess enough people want answers that he can afford a n-nice house."
During the walk, Lessien draws Quintus aside for a moment. "Quintus - I think I have some inkling of the type of problem you're having at the moment. I am a physician by trade with some alchemical skill...I think if the two of us work together we can improve your...'situation'...going forward. It will probably take some time and some research, but please come talk to me when you need help, and I will do what I can."
As we arrive at our destination, she says, "Looks like the place Nimiscent described. No point wasting any time now." Lessien knocks at the door, then steps back to the side.
During the walk, Trevor is completely taken by the sights along the Veins. His mouth wide opened, he looks left and right, then up, then he stumbles clumsily and catches his footing back, tilting his helmet back up from his eyes.
Along the way, he asks to Kelkzar: "So tell me more about Lastwall. Who would wear an armour such as mine in its defense?"
Trevor looks with wonder at the sign: "That's it!? Twenty to get an answer... To ANY question?!? That's cheap! I wish I had that much..."
Back at the tavern, Kelkzar looks worriedly at Quintus. "You'd better build up that appetite if you want to get your strength back Quintus. An army marches on it's stomach and food is not always plentiful." He waits to see if Quintus is going to heed his advice and when he doesn't, the half-orc pulls over the bowl. "Very well. The hard lessons I've learned in the steppes of Belkzen and the mountains of Ustalav will be yours to take in soon enough. We're serving the greatest general of Heaven. I'd be surprised if we don't miss a few meals." With that warning Kelkzar tears through the rest of the bowl with relish.
Walking through the town, Kelkzar keeps his eyes moving continuously, taking things in and searching out the towns defenses and weaknesses. When Trevor asks about Lastwall, he answers while continuing to look over the town. "I know that tabard son. All that wear the sword and shield have received both the Shield-Mark and the Sword-Mark. As have I. Those that do bear these marks on both palms and garb." Kelkzar pauses for a moment to show the marks to Trevor. "To bear the Shield-Mark one must first present themselves to a Tribune, state reasons for desiring citizenship, and swear oaths of loyalty to support the crusade and its ideals, and swearing to treat citizens and strangers alike with fairness, honesty, and respect." He pauses for effect. "Aspiring Vigilant soldiers must approach a Precentor Martial in the same way, receiving the Sword-Mark, in the shape of Iomedae's symbol, swearing to faithfully serve their commanders, to protect the life of any citizen in danger, even at the risk of your own, and to temper justice with mercy and uphold the best of the crusader idea."
As we pass Venelle's, Kelkzar pauses to assess the shop from a distance. "The color on the tabard represents the Precentor Martial that the bearer served. The green on the shield shows that the wearer served the Precentor Martial for Scouting. That too is where I served. I don't know where yours came from, but my service was related to searching out threats to Vigil and eliminating them before they could endanger the city or country. Once you've served it is yours forever."
Upon hearing Trevor speak at the gate, Kelkzar replies, "I wish I did as well Trevor. Our quest. Your family. Quintus's condition. There is much to learn. Let's go in and get started."
At the knock on the door, a few minutes later a middle aged man comes to the door. He looks startled at first at the sight of you six, but quickly waves you in.
He looks around his house for places for you all to sit and after assembling some creative "chairs" he turns to you and says, "Ah yes right on time. I am Allustan Neff. You were sent here to check out the Whispering Cairn, yes? I bet you have some questions for me!"
Lessien smirks, "We probably have questions, but we don't have gold to spare if the usual price is in effect."
Trevor eats Kelklzar words: "Some day I'll get up there and get the marks! I believe this belonged to my real father, but what you say sounds strange, given the fact that he sold me when I was young to a logger... Maybe I should ask that guy when I have the gold to spare..."
As the man talks about question: Is he joking?!? They have us walk here only to get fleeced!?! What a scam!"
Allustan smiles at Lessien, "Of course there is no cost to you. Truthfully I only have that sign to reduce the amount of attention I get in town. I do not need the gold, but it keeps the amount of people coming here down. There is something sinister going on in this town above and beyond its normal shadiness. Maybe you will be able to find out what that is."
Looking a bit shell-shocked, Quintus asks, "How're you m-mixed up in all this? With the c-cairn and all, I mean."
Lessien relaxes a bit, "OK, we do have some questions then. Firstly, how were you able to recruit us in such...unusual ways? It would seem you have the support of some higher powers."
Kelkzar settles into the make-shift chair, nearly tipping it over and then electing to stand. He listens as Allustan confirms his knowledge of everything, but notes the surprise shown by the man.
He considers what to say while Quintus and Lessien ask their questions. He waits until Allustan's reply and an appropriate moment to ask. "Why do you get so much attention? And tell us more about this usual shadiness and the more sinister turn of events."
Lessien relaxes a bit, "OK, we do have some questions then. Firstly, how were you able to recruit us in such...unusual ways? It would seem you have the support of some higher powers."
Allustan chuckles a bit at that, "You have it all wrong, I do not have the support of higher powers, the higher powers have my support. Don't get me wrong, I have never been much of a devout follower of any deity, but when their Herald comes and asks you to do something, it is rather hard to turn down.
I was a successful adventurer and rising in power when the call came. Finally, these last few years I have finally begun to settle in here in Diamond Point and help my my brother, the mayor, where I can. I have not missed the life of adventure that I once had, and fear it will find me once again."
"Why do you get so much attention? And tell us more about this usual shadiness and the more sinister turn of events."
Allustan pauses as thinking on how to phrase his answer, "As a wizard there are many people that seek my aid, to questions on history, magic, and politics as well as potions, magic items, and spells. But my public and official reason for being here has always been to live near my brother. I have down played my power as a wizard to live in peace as best I can.
This town however has always been teeming with those that have less morals than most. Don't get me wrong, not everyone is like that, but there are more than is good if you don't watch yourself. Take for instance the mine managers, seven of the most competitive businessmen there are anywhere. They all had balanced each other out but in the last two years Balabar Smenk has come and grown the number of mines he owns and now has his sights on the rest. Some have allied with him and some have allied together against him, but it seems all but a matter of time. How you put so many other managers out of business so fast is some what of a wonder considering he started with an all but spent mine.
People come from all of Varisia to work here and those are mainly those down on their luck and have no where else to go. Some of those are also running away from the law and the mines give them somewhere safe from capture. Either way, eventually they have to make a choice on hard honest work, so some side jobs for quick cash. Not many men have the will to resist that.
Lately though I have the feeling like something more sinister than backstabbing businessmen and lowlife thugs beating up someone for protection money. However if I tip my hand, it might expose who I was and what I can do, and it is not time for that yet."
Rauno settles as comfortably as he can on one of the seats. How did you come to choose us as the ones to help you with this? Rauno seems more curious than suspicious in his questioning.
"Though you all seem like wonderful choices, that was not up to me. The chosen get picked, then it is our turn to prove that choice right."
"Well, this cairn...what have the gods sent for us to do? What can you tell us about it?"
Trevor's mouth slowly grows more and more agape as he makes sense of the wizard's words: "You want us to act as your agents, on behalf of... what power exactly? Who do you serve?" Trevor's attitude shifts in a flash and he focusses his sight on the man, wondering if he's being played.
"You think this Smenck found something in this Cairn that explains his sudden rise to power?" Rowena asks uncertainly and timidly.
"I have not been to the cairn, to do so would draw attention to it. It has long since been looted, but there must be a reason they would want you to go there. I doubt Smenk has been there, he wouldn't have any interest in it. If it doesn't have to do with his mines or his opponent's mines it isn't worth his time. I would guess that Smenk has some hidden help or he plays less fair then the others."
"So, if you're not wanting to draw attention, it stands to reason that we shouldn't either, correct? Any reason for us not to head to the cairn tomorrow morning?"
"Where's a safe place to sleep in town for the night?" Rowena asks.
Quintus' distractability hasn't really improved, but he pulls himself back to the conversation long enough to offer, "I d-don't think that's a p-problem, Rauno. Allustan s-seems like the s-sort to get odd v-visitors, and w-we prob-bably look like t-treasure hunters. Allustan, c-could I have some t-tea?"
"Where's a safe place to sleep in town for the night?" Rowena asks.
Trevor blushes as he thinks: Well, that lady back at the inn seemed nice...