After meeting up you all make your way to Underbridge. With the directions the captain of the guard provided you easily find the warehouse she described. Coming to the building you find a partially collapsed warehouse on the shoreline, in a particularly filthy stretch where tidal currents often cause the filth and refuse of the city to collect in stinking clots along the shore.
"Why do the dregs always have to hole up in the worst-smelling places? Why can't we go after people who dine in fine restaurants or brothels?" Krupt looks around for a way to get into the building.
Although a good postion of the warehouse is collapsed you do find, on the side of the building a doorway with no doors leading into the warehouse.
Mach wrinkles his nose at the sight of the place.
"Mostly because the law is too squeamish to look for them here." He rests his hands on his daggers. "Want me to scout first?"
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Um'bala looks around at the squalor his mission has led him into, and frowns. "I haven't seen misery this great since my Confirmation," he says, handing a few coppers to a passing beggar. "At least Hyrantam has the excuse that the tides from the Eye swallowed up their city. This is a blight upon Magnimar, no question." He looks to Mach, and nods nervously. "Y-yes, probably would be best. Let us know what we're getting into." He fishes for his spell components and mentally recites the words to a basic protection spell, letting that exercise calm his nerves.
Mach heads off to scout without another word. He takes a peek into the warehouse entrance Krupt spotted earlier.
Mach eyes the platter suspiciously. Leave a gift and wait outside?
He returns from scouting, scratching his head. "Well, I didn't see anybody in there, but I did find an odd sort of shelter in the warehouse. There's an old sea chest next to it, with a sign saying 'Leave a gift and wait outside'." He shrugs. "Anybody got some gift ideas?"
Krupt shakes his head, "Leave a gift? A gift for whom? That doesn't make any sense. I say we just go in and ransack the place and see what we can find. Our gift will be that we don't burn this firetrap down to the waterline!"
Mach shrugs. "That could work, I suppose."
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"I say we DO leave a gift, and wait outside, with those good at stealth hidden and observing our gift. If somebody comes out to collect the gift, the signal is given to everyone, and then we will rush in. As much as I appreciate brute force,a good setup is neede before its appliance.
The silver dagger will make an attractive lure for our trap."
"I support leaving a gift and seeing what happens also."
Krupt puts his hand defensively over his silver dagger, "What? My silver dagger? But I just got this! I got knocked unconscious for this!" The Chelaxian momentarily reminds you more of a small child protecting his favorite toy.
"We could just leave a bunch of gold in the dish instead." Mach says, uncharacteristically coming to Petronicus' defence. "I'm rather reluctant to just up and give some stranger a weapon, especially a good knife."
Quintus chuckles at the mental image Krupt's protesting conjures up.
"Don't worry Krupt we'll make sure that you don't have to lose the new toy that you have."
Krupt shakes his head. "Why should we leave a gift? Are we dealing with a magical faerie who enchants us with faerie dust if we give her the nectar from a pomegranate? I don't think so. I think that sign was left by some grifters who know an easy couple of marks when they see them."
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"I'm for leaving a gift," the wizard speaks up. "A handful of silver and gold, perhaps - and then when the doors are opened, I can give our friends a taste of the same magics that our friend Plutivarch used on us." He looks to Petronicus with a smile. "And if we fail to outgrift the grifters, then we have you throw your shoulder against the door. The only upside to coming to Underbridge is that nobody will call the authorities if we have to resort to violence."
Krupt throws up his hands as he storms off in a huff. "Fine, do whatever you like. Just don't come crying to me when they have your last copper."
Nimt walks up and puts the small offering on the plate. You all wait a few moments before a wretched man, more skin and bone than meat comes out. His flesh is clammy and gray in places, one of his eyes is clouded over with a white film, and his clothing is caked with filth. His breathing is raspy and gurgling and smells of bad meat — he’s plagued by a wet, hacking cough. He looks at the offering in the plate and huffs waving his hand dismissivally before walking back into this hovel mumbling "Not werth ol' Fensters time."
"Hey, hey, old fossil! Don't you run away! We can make it worth your while." Cursing under his breath, Krupt pulls out another 20 gp and puts the money on the offering plate, throwing his companions nasty glances for coming up with a dumb idea that he has to AGAIN! fix.
Hearing the clink of coins hit the plate he turns back, pocketing the coins he nods and sits on top of the chest "What yew want Fenster ta’do?"
Mach eyes Fenster with a great deal of unease. Almost reflexively, one of his hands moves towards his knives but he stops.
"We're looking for the Tower Girls. Word on the street is you know where they are."
Fenster nods with a proud look, as much as someone with such an ugly mug can present, on his face "Fenster is there landlord!"
Looking around the ruined warehouse from where you stand. There are no obvious signs of anyone except good old Fenster currently living here.
"So either you're completely insane, they don't own much furniture or are naturally invisible, or you own a different property. Which is it then?"
Mach sighs. If the Tower Girls really were paying this Fenster for a place to stay, things must be more desperate for them than he originally believed. He was being evasive enough with regards to their questions,
Still, there was the matter of where Natalya had gone, and he supposedly knew where she flew off to. Perhaps he could... 'convince' him to spill the beans.
"Mr. Fenster, if you're being evasive about where the Tower Girls have gone, rest assured that I can pay you well for your time."
He fishes around in his coin purse and pulls out a single copper piece. "You see this?" He shows it to Fenster. "This coin comes from the vaults of Heidmarch Manor. I've carried it for a long, long time, and its always brought me great luck. That's because it's enchanted to do so; whoever bears this coin shall be greatly rewarded as he deserves."
"If you tell us where the Tower Girls have gone, and where Natalya Vancaskerkin has gone, it's as good as yours. What do you say?"
Fenster looks to Krupt and shrugs "They'll be back... they always come back ta ol' Fenster!" with that he gives you the creepiest wink you have ever seen.
"That's nice, but do you know where they go?" Krupt is becoming increasingly frustrated with the old, ugly man talking in riddles.
Fenster shakes his head "No ideas. Why you lookin' fer them?"
Quintus steps forward.
"We have reason to believe that some of the Tower Girls might be in trouble and some of us being gentlemen insisted on helping them out."
Quintus gives the man a knowing wink and tries to seem as friendly as possible.
Mach pockets the copper piece, seeing how Fenster is more inclined to pay more attention to Krupt and Quintus than him.
Can't blame him, I suppose. Calling attention to myself isn't really my style anyway.
Fenster nods to Quintus "Ya seems like a good enaph bloke. So, I know the Girls been missin' for awhile. There was some trouble I 'spect with one of their members Natalya."
Krupt uncharacteristically realizes that insulting this man may not help the group. He turns his attention from the stinking, old man and takes a good look around this hovel.
The rest of the place is pretty empty and there are no apparent signs that anyone has been living in the warehouse, aside from Fenster, at least for a few weeks.
Fesnter continues "I 'aven't seen the Girls in awhile, but I seen Natalya around."
Krupt's ears perk up when he hears the "N" name. "Natalya, you say? Where have you seen her and when? Spit it out, man!"
Fenster picks up on Krupts obvious desire to get more information about Natalya "I be needin' some better coin fer such 'portant info." He flashes a toothy grin and shifts his weight so he can kick the plater toward Krupt.
Krupt's eyes narrow as he shakes his head. "You'll get no more from me, you blood-sucker. I've already spent 20gp of my own."
"It's up to the rest of you," he states, addressing the rest of the party.
Fenster simply sits their and waits, knowing he has something the group very apparently wants.
That was his cue.
"Fenster, if you're looking for something more valuable, how about this?"
He reaches into his coin purse and pulls out a single gold piece. "This coin came from the vaults of Heidmarch manor. It's said to bring great luck to anyone who bears it. In fact, I've carried it since I was little, and it's allowed me to become a Pathfinder myself."
"Sure, it looks just like any other gold piece, but that's the beauty of it: those who don't know of its true value will ignore it as being like any other gold piece. I'll give it to you in exchange for information on Natalya."
Fenster eyes the gold piece a moment then nods holding out his out. Once Mach hands it over he shrugs "I seen her lurkin' 'bout in a nearby buildin' and she ain't hangin' with the other Girls no more. Fact, she seemed to be doin' her best to stay unobserved"
Fenster grins and continues "Nuthin' in th' Shadow gits by me good peeper!" as he taps the sallow cheek under his non-clouded eye.
"Ah, yea. Head out on th' main street 'ere an' go down three blocks. Take a right towards th' cliffs and yull find it up agains' the cliff face." Fesnter uses hand gestures that really only confuse his description further, but you feel confident you can locate the building from his directions.
Fenster looks at you all questioningly "That it then? Got a furtune ta see 'bout with this new 'chanted coin!"
Mach bows. "Yes, Fenster. Best of luck to you."
With that, he leaves for the building Fenster directed him towards.
Perhaps a little faster than normal.
You follow Fensters direction and eventually find the building he described. It appears to be an old, run down boarding house. Its clapboard sides are dark with mildew and marred by scorch marks. In places fire has gutted portions of the roof's moss-covered tile shingles, but the building appears to be structurally intact which is more than can be said by a number of other buildings in Underbridge. The building stands near the stark wall of the Seacleft, and scree from several decades of minor rockfalls has piled up along its southern face. The building’s windows are heavily boarded over to the point you can't even see inside. There are two doors, one on the south and another on the east of the building that you can see.
Krupt gazes at the building warily then turns to Mach. "Burglar, perhaps some skulking is in order?"
It still surprises you that Krupt's questions have the annoying habit of sounding like orders.
Shrugging, Mach goes off to scout.