Dimral shrugs:"I told you which is the better way to start an hunt. Taking my advice or not is up to you. We may start our climb from the mountain base, instead you choose to start from a cliff. Have it your way for now little elf girl"
"That will be Lady Blackrune to you!" Valai snaps, her eyes practically shooting fire.
As you make your way through the varying districts the quality of the streets, buildings and it's people degrade the further south you go.
"Yeah, I've spent a lot of time down there. Follow me."
Entering Beacon's Point Judah leads you on to Rag's End probably the poorest neighborhood of Magnimar. With his familiariety of the city and asking a few locals you find your way to Washers' Row.
At the southern end of Washers’ Row, a tattered banner hanging over the entrance to the small side street advertises “Professor Callivario’s Stupendous Exhibition of the Outrageous and Sublime.” Beyond this overly exuberant advertisement is a squalid setup consisting of little more than a series of rundown sideshow booths and carts with assorted games and amusements of the meaner sort. To one side, urchins pitch pennies at lily pads floating in a small, scum-covered fountain while a bored carnie looks on. Nearby, the sound of cats hissing and fighting arises from behind a cart where a small crowd of ne’er-do-wells has gathered to cheer and place bets. Everywhere lurk faces pinched with suspicion or hunger — expressions worn by carnival workers and visitors alike. This is not the sort of place to be careless with a coin pouch.
At the end of the alley sits a small, well-patched tent crudely painted with mystical symbols and decorated with chicken bones and other oddments. Within the stuffy, cluttered tent is a table covered in blue velvet stitched with moons, stars, and arcane symbols. A dusty crystal ball and a dog-eared harrow deck sit upon it. Behind this table sits an aged, bald, Varisian man with threadbare purple robes and piercing eyes.
"Come in, come in. I know you are here for information. Let the Amazing Zograthy read your fortunes!" He waves his hand over the crystal ball with an air of mysticism.
Dimral mutters under his breath but doesn't speak and waits for the others to introduce themselves.
"Everyone put your purses inside your clothes while were in this neighborhood." Judah says quietly as they near Rag's End. "Anyone you see hanging laundry or doing wash is probably one of the Wringers. They run things down here. Don't tick them off."
As they close in on the carnival, Judah rolls his eyes. Carnies rated just below oozes and otyughs on the list of things he enjoyed being near.
"The only fortune we're interested in is of a woman named Natalya. Long dark hair, usually wears a red headband. About this tall. Think you can you find her with that snow globe of yours?"
"Let us not be too hasty," Valai says, as she eyes the Harrow deck. She pitches a single silver penny at Zograthy. "Go on. Predict our future."
Upon entering the tent before you speak Zograthy continues his speil "The Amazing Zograthy sees all and knows all. A double fist of silver for a turn of the cards or a vision in the crystal; a treble fist of gold for the secrets of the multiverse." He quickly reaches under the table putting an offering plate out in front of you.
At the mention of Natalya he nods and grins "Ah secrets you seek, perhaps my greatest trade! I can answer your questions for 50 gold"
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Placing a few gold (4) on the table rather than silver, "Perhaps my friend, you could help us after all. We are new to town, and trying to find an old friend. Her name is Natalya. Natalya Vancaskerkin. We had heard that she had fallen on hard times, but now we fear that it may be worse than we had thought. . .", being careful to speak the truth without revealing too much.
You are also very aware that the common street price for Pesh is 15 gold.
Zograthy rubs his chin a moment and then nods "Fine I will give you a discount since you seem to want to help Natalya. 15 gold and I will answer your questions." he nods decisively.
Valai sighs irritably and drops two gold coins on the table.
Dimral scoffs... then searches his pouch and extracts the amount of gold pieces needed to match Zograthy request:"This' better be worth it, small man!"
As Dimral lies down the rest of the coins Zograthy quickly swoops them up in his hand and pockets them away somewhere in his robes.
He rolls his eyes at Dimrals attempt to imposing and simply smiles "So Natalya then? What information do you seek?"
You are also very aware that the common street price for Pesh is 15 gold.
"Where is she?" Dimral asks directly, voice like stone grinding on stone.
Zograthy nods "She hasn’t been heard from among the Sczarni. Many folk along the waterfront, both here in Beacon’s Point and over in Dockway and Underbridge, have been disappearing of late — a few each week, in fact, with many simply vanishing out of their very beds at night. I suspect that Natalya is among those who have disappeared in this manner."
He squints his eyes, his lip snarling a bit "As long as only poor Varisians and other destitute folk are being targeted, the chances of the city doing anything about the disappearances is nil."
He sighs and shrugs "Though if you are trying to blame the Sczarni I can assure you this is not a Sczarni plot — indeed, the Sczarni are quite interested in solving the vanishings themselves. If anything, it’s harder to contact actual Sczarni leaders these days than it is normally. The leading theory on the street is that the vanished folk are the victims of slavers who then secretly sell them offshore at night to Nidalese ships. I don't know whether this is the case or not but it sounds pretty ridiculous to me."
Dimral looks at the man intensely:"People disappearing. Consistent with the information about Nindalese slavers in town. Yet this might just be a Sczarni trick to get us off their scent..."
"Mmmh and what about the nindalese slavers we keep hearing about?"
"Nidalese," Valai says, a note of distaste in her voice. "Intriguing magic, but depraved social mores. Seeing as you consider the idea so ridiculous, mayhap you would grace us with your own theory."
Zograthy shrugs "If you are interested in these Nidalese slaver rumors I would ask around in the Dockway that's where they seem most prevelant although at this rate they have spread through out the city." Turning to Valai Zograthy holds out his hand as if expecting another *donation* with a wide grin.
Valai frowns at Zograthy. "You set this sum for your information in answer to our questions," she pointedly reminds him.
He puts his hand out insistently "Some information is worth more than others."
"And the value of your given word?" Valai asks. "Especially in business such as this, when a friend of yours may be in danger?"
Dimral looks at Valai then at Zograthy, seeming more than a little irritated:"Oh, enough! Here's another gold piece! Now spill it!"
Zograthy pockets the gold and nods "Natalya was, at least until recently, a member of a Sczarni gang known as the Tower Girls, a group of cat burglars. They are themselves searching for Natalya, and word is that when they find her, she’ll be in deep trouble. I don't know exactly what is going on with them but I have heard them say that Natalya went mad or something before her disappearance."
Dimral nods:"As I said, better pay the Arvensoar a visit..."
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"I would concur. It would not seem a wise plan to kidnap Varisian's for slave laborers with their well known love of personal freedoms. As a local, what do you think?
After he responds:
"You say that the Sczarni are also interested in finding Natalya, and bringing an end to thee kidnappings. And also that their leadership has become more difficult to get into contact with. Would you be able to help us with that perhaps, as we are likewise trying to locate our friend and would aid this city to stop these vile crimes?"
Zograthy shrugs to Germain "Like I said they are hard to get in touch with, either to busy doing thier own work to try and deal with this or specifically avoiding the problem. In either case, they aren't much to help or ask for help so I doubt you would have any luck with them even if you did reach out to one of the groups."
Judah kept his mouth shut. He seemed to be partnered with decent folk. That was good, mostly. Unfortunately the realities of the city would be hard for them to deal with. For now, they seemed to have a handle on things, and the less he had to talk to the stupid carnie, the more likely they all were to get what they wanted.
Zograthey shrugs "Anything else? I'm sure I will have other customers soon..."
Valai treats Zograthy to a rather chilling smile.
"Why don't you predict our future, while you're busy?" she says. "You have been well-paid, and it is said the Harrow imparts messages from the heavens themselves to those who need them."
"Leave me out of it." Judah says when fortune telling is brought up. "I'll be outside."
He walked away pulling his cloak around him a little tighter. Clearly something about the idea bothered him.
Dimral just shakes his head and joins Judah outside.
"I don't need a fraud to predict my future"
Zograthy pulls out his Harrow deck shuffles it and lays the cards out. From the various paintings and their alignments Zograthy looks up at those inside the tent.
With a slightly mystical tone to his voice "You shall meet great challenges in the days to come. Your strength as a group will help to see you through. Although things are not what they seem and you will have a revelation that could have severe consequences." He folds the cards back into the deck and waves his hand dismissively "Good luck to you."
Dimral answers Rommin's question succintly:"The Arvensoar. Let's make sure our friend Natalya is not currently resting in some moldy old cell. And if she's not the guard might know something more about her... or these Nindalese slavers"
"What he said. It's this way, come on."
The Arvensoar looms in the southern part of the city, high above the districts of Lowcleft and Naos. The tower itself is about 400 feet tall, with the lower portion built into the side of the Seacleft that splits the city in half. There are many people coming and going both guards and civilians.
Dimral points at the building:"This way" he says, as if it wasn't obvious already.