The elf scratches his beard and thinks for a moment. "No, I don't know which way he came or went. Just the one fella, was all. And he was not happy with me for refusing the service. I don't think it likely that I'll see him or his friends in my shop again but if they're peddling stolen goods, I'd rather do business with them anyways."
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"And he plays with his beard! I can't believe in what my eyes are seeing!"
"Thank you, Mr. Jonathram. You're a good man", "and exotic!", Quinn complements in his thoughts.
As Zhaashar suggests they could go to the Forest Bounty, the investigator advices them, "just to remember that Pathfinders has not been seen with good eyes there, recently. So, we need to be very carefully and ask the right questions to the right persons".
The investigator puts his hand on Zhaashar shoulder, "and I don't share your opinion about swamps. Sorry", then he smiles.
Once at The Forest Bounty, Quinn will look for somebody that don't look to them with angry eyes, searching for any helpful member of the militia patrols, even if he has to spend some gold.
He tries to know if anyone there knows anything about these people from the river and/or the swamp, or other useful information about the missing ships of Karela.
The Forest Bounty is a popular feast hall located on the north side of Tamran. Lately, members of several local militias have taken to using the Forest Bounty as an informal meeting place, and these militias make up the majority of the feast hall’s clientele as they resupply, trade scouting reports, and compare scars.
The interior of this enormous wooden long house is brightly lit and filled with the sounds of laughter, music, and merriment. Food scents mingle with the smoke of cooking fires and tobacco pipes. Servants carry food and drinks from the open kitchen area to the various wooden benches and tables that fill the hall. Many of the patrons are armed and armored, proudly bearing the insignia of local militia groups on their cloaks and tabards, along with the sword and tree symbol of Nirmathas.
The majority of the feast hall’s customers are veterans\ of the ongoing hostilities with Molthune, and as a result they are especially irritable about questions about outsiders. The citizen soldiers are willing to grouch about recent troubles and curse the “Molthuni dogs” to the south, but they respond to Zhaasshar's questions with stony silence or by excusing themselves to leave.
Soon though you are approached by a wounded veteran clad in a green cloak bearing the symbol of Nirmathas. He walks with a noticeable limp and is missing his left arm from the elbow down.
"Now is not a good time for strangers to be asking questions in Tamran. There are rumors that spies walk among us and that Pathfinders are among those spies. I find it a little hard to believe, given Pathfinders helped me out in a time of need," he remarks, gesturing with his hand to his amputated arm.
Quinn feels that the man is quite genuine in his story and as the man catches Zhaasshar's meaning, the man nods and sits down at a nearby table, motioning with his good arm for you to join him. "My name's Imad Sharras. I assume you know Marcos Farabellus? Saved me years ago. Would have lost a lot more than an arm if it weren't for him. I'm lucky to be here and I'll never forget the debt I owe the Pathfinders. So here is my offer then. I know something of these bandits you're probably seeking, the one that've been stealing from the Pathfinders. I'll gladly tell you, but first you'll have to drink this," he says as he produces a small blue bottle from his pocket. "It's just to ensure trust."
Those of you familiar with magic items or alchemy recognize it as an elixir of truth .
he begins questioning them. "How long have you been working for Molthune? Who is your Molthuni contact? Do any of your allies have ties to Molthune?"
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I'm ready to drink it says with no malice Zhaashar. Could you tell me what thisss is ?
He answers truthfully to Imad's questions (or try)
I'm not working for Molthune but for the Pathfinder Sssociety.
My contact here is our Venture Captain, as far as I know ssshe's not working for Molthune.
I could have allies working for Molthune, but they could as well working for Nirmathasss. I prefer Order to Chaosss, but I sssets aside my believes when working for the Pathfinder.
Imad does not tell Zhaasshar what is in the vial but nods as the questions are answered. "Good. Forgive me, but you can't be too careful in these times. Now... two weeks ago, while my men and I were patrolling along the edge of the Fangwood south of the city, we spotted a group of bandits attacking a smuggler in the woods. We gave chase, and tracked them as they fled west, but lost the trail when they hit the river. I don't think they simply forded or swam; I'd bet good money your bandits have a ship capable of sailing up the Marideth River. I don't know how useful that piece of information is to you folks, but I sure do hope it helps."
The Gar's Last Meal is a reasonably priced and relatively comfortable inn, whose only downside is that is smells of fish. The taproom at the Gar's Last Meal is a fairly popular local hangout, providing you a large number of possible informants in one place.
You quickly meet Lily and Lilah, two female human musicians and sisters who earn their living performing a dueling lute act. In between sets, they sit down to speak with you.
Lily says, "I heard the thefts were fake. One of those Pathfinders was in here a few weeks back asking around about the Shining Crusade, wanting to know if anyone had a picture or a drawing of what the soldiers back then looked like. I asked her about the thefts, and she said it was all a lie to let the smugglers drive up the prices."
Lilah adds, "Yeah, I remember that elf. She gave me the willies, her and her boyfriend both. Glad I haven't seen them around town lately."
Lilah shrugs, "It wasn't all that long ago. Some time in the past few days, maybe. They had a stink to them, a strong herbal scent."
Before Lilah can finish her thought, the sound of coins clattering to the wooden floor near Quinn and bouncing against each other silences the crowd. Nearby, a young woman stands holding a raggedly cut pouch in her hand and a shocked expression on her face.
A man from teh crowd immediately steps out, seizing the woman by the arm and shouting, "Thief! Cutpurse! I saw the whole thing!" As he glances at the pile of coins still settling on the ground, he releases the woman and shouts, "Wait, those are Molthuni coins-a bride from your Molthuni paymasters? You traitors!"
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"Gentlemen, take it easy. It's only a misunderstanding. By the way, I never saw a Molthune coin before, let me check it...", says Quinn looking to the crowd.
Quinn bends down close to the coins, takes one of them and look at it with close attention. "Interesting..." he murmurs. "You, noble man "who saw everything" and your accomplice, is better to you come with us and speak reservedly, or we need to call the authorities and the things would become more nebulous to you. We can solve this in a civilized manner, without need to call the authorities. If the authorities comes, well, it would become more nebulous to you, I think".
Quinn notes that they are genuine Molthuni coins but he doesn't seem to be winning over the crowds. "Just stay right here!" another tavern-goer shouts. "You want to take them out back, huh? What? So you can cover yourselves and your tracks? Dirty spies!" This third man leaps up to defend the other two from you, putting his hand to his short sword and drawing it from its scabbard as the crowd shouts in agreement....
[spoiler=gm rolls]
The two men leap into action, trying to stab Quinn before he can move, shouting out slurs against Molthune as they dig their blades in.
Quinn surprises the ruffian by pulling a sword from his cane and digging it into the man's side, nearly dropping the man to the floor. Piety then brings bad luck upon the other. From the back, the woman calls out, "Kill the Molthuni spies!" Aramil covers himself in magical armor.
gal: inspiring!
blue: 8 dmg
red: misfortune
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Zhaashar was stunned by Quinn action when he uses lethal damages against simple people.
Usesss ONLY non lethal actions ! he says while drawing his sap.
Then he turns to the crowd his eyes glowing red and some sort of an eery light coming from inside followed by the smells of a rotted swamp.
STOP thisss non sense WE ARE NOT Molthuni agents ! Lays your weapon or fassse the consequencesss !
At Reis' command the man drops to the ground. Seeing his ally giving up and suffering from severe wounds himself, the other drops his sword and calls for mercy. The woman goes quiet in the background.
As the fight comes to a close, someone else in the crowd speaks out, "Even I've got Molthuni coins, you know! We've been occupied five times. Just having coins don't make you a spy!" The woman who was supposedly trying to pick Quinn's coin pouch backs against the wall, looking frightened. "Besides," someone else continues, "she's the cutpurse and thief!"
The woman cautiously approaches Zhaasshar as the crowd's attitude begins to turn in favor of the company and against the woman and the men supposedly supporting her. "What?" the woman sneers. "Can't we just part ways? I didn't do any harm to you."
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Quinn cleans the blood in his sword cane. "Now, you made a wise choice", he says directly to those men who tried to stab him. "You two, come here too, we need to talk. Ah, and leave your weapons there, I don't wanna another nasty surprise". Before the thugs comes to them, Quinn whispers to his friends: "Can someone of you heal his wounds?", he points to the one who was hurt by his cane.
The other patrons watch as the three troublemakers sit down with you and they go back to their own business, letting you deal with the altercation on your own. "It was a job," the woman says. "Somebody wanted you framed as Molthuni spies. Don't ask for names, we didn't get one. A big tall woman with black and white hair, that's all we know. 'Course, we won't be getting our way now."
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The other patrons watch as the three troublemakers sit down with you and they go back to their own business, letting you deal with the altercation on your own. "It was a job," the woman says. "Somebody wanted you framed as Molthuni spies. Don't ask for names, we didn't get one. A big tall woman with black and white hair, that's all we know. 'Course, we won't be getting our way now."
Quinn definitely had no reason to believe in that woman and listened to her words with caveats.
"What's your name, miss?", he asks her.
The woman shrugs her shoulders at Aramil and Zhaasshar. "Didn't get the best look at her. Looked human enough, if that's what you mean. Tough type, big for a woman."
At Quinn, she thinks for a moment before answering. "Malena. But what's that to you? Can't we just shake hands and part ways now. We're not getting our paycheck and you ain't being run outta town. Let's call it fair and I won't trouble you no more."
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Paycheck ? Did you have settled a rendez-vous with the woman after you framed usss ?
Asks Zhaashar.
After questioning the woman, Zhaashar turns to his comrades and says.
I think we have some ssserious lead on the culprits. A woman, or a man in disguise and, or the same, a varisian having a boat and an hideout in the marsh.
What do you think ?
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Quinn smiles to her. "It wouldn't be polite from my part if I don't ask the name of a lady, even when she wants my head".
The investigator takes her hand and kiss it, "nice to meet you, I'm Quinn."
Looking at her eyes, he continues speaking: "so, it seems that you still have to meet your contractor to receive your gold, don't you? As we are still alive, what do you think about tell us where would you meet her to have your payment? If you tell us, we can give you the same amount of gold that was promised to you."
"It was a drop off. You've never done this kind of work, have you? Minimal contact, that's the way they always want it. We do the job, they drop off the gold."
As soon as you finish with the woman and her compatriots, a small silvery bird flits in through the window and delivers a note to the party:
Pathfinders,
My sources tell me that the individuals responsible for stealing my cargo are bringing a shipment of my goods into the city tonight. If we act quickly, we can take them by surprise, and perhaps learn a thing or two about who’s pulling their strings. Meet me on the northernmost pier an hour before midnight, and we’ll discuss our plan of attack.
-Guaril
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Once Quinn realizes that he won't gather more information with Malena and his accomplices, the investigator takes them to the authorities.
"Hold on a second. Why do we have to believe that was really Karela who wrote this? Someone ambushed us in this place, right now! We need to keep our eyes open and get close to the northernmost pier stealthily".
The Lodge offers a convenient place to rest, although it is already getting late in the day so you only have a few hours to catch a quick nap and go over what you have found so far.
Late at night a few small lanterns illuminate this rickety stretch of shoreline and the smell of moldering wood fills the air. Ramshackle buildings line the shore, while short wooden docks protrude into the gently lapping waters of the lake.
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Reis will listen as the others talk and discuss potential plans. When she hears about an upcoming shipment possibly being hit.
I too wonder if the note if legitimate, or if we are being set up for a trap? I am not good with deciphering written word or determining validity of such documents however.
"Don't worry, milady. If Aramil can't solve this, I can try", Quinn smiled charmingly at the cleric.