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Logan takes Fhingle's hand, giving it a rough shake and jostling the halfling about.
"Nice to meet you! Logan Hawkes is my name. I help Saul out from time to time."
Dropping his hand, he turns back to Saul.
"Funny you mention being in jail. That's exactly where I was. Only just got out, in fact. Just yesterday. I stopped by the Badger for a drink and found that it had burned down. I thought maybe you'd know something about it so I came here. I guess I passed out on your stoop.
Where are you off to now? We gotta figure out this thing with the Badger. Maybe over a drink?"
Logan looks a little to happy about that particular idea.
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"That is where we are headed, but I am cutting you off until you are sober. We might need your fists, and I don't want you punching me. Let's find Salonius, Little Mac. That's another member of our recently formed, little group."
On the way over to the Academy, and eventually to the Longroad, Saul informs Logan of all the going-ons in the city since his incarceration. In particular, Saul describes the razing of the Thrashing Badger in great detail, and tells Logan of the devils running amok, and all the ridiculous proclamations. He holds back on the Silver Raven info, and how he and Salonius and Fhingle have started a grassroots rebellion.
Maybe later, when he is sober, and with S and Little Mac's agreement. I trust him, for gods know what reasons, but bringing someone new into our organization risks everyone.
Eventually, the trio finds Salonius.
"In this coffeehouse only sober guests are welcome." Laria stands in the way as Logan enters her establishment.
"You can take him to your 'backroom' to sober him up." Lara replies.
Saul whispers in Logans ear to make sure not half the guests at the coffeehouse listen in on this conversation.
Fhingle leads Logan to the backroom and down to the sewer, "There is a water tunnel there but I wouldn't go swimming in it."
Thanking Paris Salonius heads over to Rexus to inquire about his ongoing translation efforts, and assist if he feels he can be of service.
"Saul, Fhingle. Who is this?" Salonius asks, tone welcoming, but cautious.
Maggie takes a look who is calling, but decides to leave the exchange of niceties to the humans.
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"Salonius, this is Logan Hawkes. A friend of mine, a partner of sorts. He may look a little drunk-- uh... He IS a little drunk, but he has a beef with the Thrunes and is good at punching things. With both Jhen and Mels off on other business recently, I figured we needed the backup and he did magically show up on my doorstep. He doesn't know much yet. With your consent, and Fhingles, I am ready to tell him the rest of the story."
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Logan steps forward, looking over his shoulder at Saul.
"I'm not drunk. You wouldn't let me stop off for a nip before we came here, remember?"
He extends his hand to the wizard. Usually, he'd be a bit nervous at meeting someone learned in the magical arts. Logan never really understood the magical side of things, preferring to solve most of his problems with his strength instead of his intelligence. As such, he normally felt a bit uncomfortable around those for whom magic was their bread and butter.
However, those feelings aren't really surfacing this time because, contrary to what he just told his friend, Logan is, in fact, a little bit drunk.
Looking the wizard in the eyes, Logan says, maybe a bit too loudly,
"Nice to meet you. You can call me Logan. And what might I call you?"
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"He also smells like he might have peed himself." Fhingle adds
"I don't really know, maybe it will have something we need? I can always go with Salonius and your friend here. I know Maggie and her crew will want to come." Fhingle responds
Shaking Logan's hand Salonius smiles, "S, or Salonius, either is fine, depending upon your fondness for brevity. Welcome Logan, being good at punching things may well prove an invaluable skill."
Turning to Saul and Fhingle he asks, "Did you hear the latest proclamation? We may need to find an alternate communication system with the tieflings. Does anyone else think it likely one of their number is an informer? That proclamation was issued suspiciously quickly after Saul's suggestion."
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Logan shakes Salonius' hand while, at the same time, giving Fhingle a bit of a dirty look. I don't smell like urine. Do I?
Afterwards, he reaches for his hip flask but notices that the others seem to be making some sort of plans. He thinks better of it and crosses his arms, attempting to listen in. This sounds like something he should be sober for...well somewhat sober anyway. After all, the little one did mention something about a bar
He speaks up when hears mention of the tieflings.
"I know that part of town a bit. I wouldn't rule out the possibility of someone listening in by magical means. Mr Wizard, surely you could think of several ways that someone might do that?"
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"I don't suppose you are referring to the proclamation on graffiti, S? I... ahem... may have had something to do with that. Okay, everything to do with that. I channeled my inner teenager last night and scrawled "Jackdaw Lives" all over Old Kintargo and Temple Hill. I figure... give the people hope. It turns out no one knows who Jackdaw is and the Thrune's had most of it erased by this morning anyway.... Maybe we should come up with a better message."
As a side quip to Logan, Saul says, "We are forming a rebellion against the Thrunes. Our methods are a little weak until we find more people. But we do have this great hideout and even some employees. Welcome aboard!"
"So we go to Clenchjaws tonight to see what we can find out?" Fhingle asks, "What do we do in the mean time? Maybe Rexus has something for us?" Fhingle goes to search out the man as he talks
Rexus informs Fhingle on his progress which is taking up speed and he actually managed to decipher some pages.
"Ah, well that is reassuring at least, I am glad we do not have reason to suspect our allies. As for listening magic, I think it unlikely, if they knew enough about us to put a listening spell on us, they would know enough to have the Dottari drag us all into cells," Salonius says before turning to Fhingle,
"I have no objection, but is there a particular reason that you believe Clenchjaws will prove fruitful? I confess I will be somewhat out of my element, but I suppose getting out of our comfort zones is a necessary part of this endeavour."
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Logan pipes up, a bit more loudly than probably intended,
"I always find bars fruitful. Aside from something to drink, someone always knows something. That's how I got hooked up with Saul, after all. I was his informant. Maybe there's someone at Clenchjaws that could act in that same position for us."
"Thanks Rexus, do you need anything before we leave?" Fhingle asks standing beside the desk
"No I'm fine... but if you could get me another pot of coffee?" Rexus replies to Fhingle's offer.
"Does that not rather suppose having something we wish to be informed about? Is there anything in particular we wish to know, perhaps the whereabouts of figures from the various banned, or discouraged religions? Can you just ask for general news and then hone in on something that interests you, or does it not work like that?" Salonius asks, trying to picture how such a process might work.
"Perhaps we spend some time listening for gossip first?"
Fhingle smiles goes to get another pot of coffee, "this is for Rexus,"
"Sure. Maggie replies.
So you go for a visit to Clenchjaw's. On Maggie's suggestion you arrive in groups with short delays to not draw too much attention. Saul and Logan go first and take a seat at the bar next to Clenchjaw. Maggie and the girls come together and take a table close to the exit. Lastly Salonius and Fhingle come in.
The bat is nice and peaceful. Everyone sitting over their drink, the waiter and waitress hurrying around to keep everyone happy. Clenchjaw himself draws beer behind the counter and has an eye on the patrons that don't start a fight. When Saul engages him in conversation he tells of his frustration. "It's horrible. This was such a nice place. But since the customers of the Thrashing Badger come here too, they start brawls almost every evening. I won't complain about the additional sales. But the costs to replace the broken dishes and furniture makes this moot."
He tells a few more stories and shares some gossip, but nothing new. You have a few drinks yourself and keep an eye out for the patrons and the tengus. And after a while you notice, that the atmosphere becomes more hostile. Here and there a drink crashes on the ground, or someone stumbles into a table, causing quite an uproar.
Fhingle sits over a small cup of beer and chats with Salonius about magic for a bit.
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As Logan and Saul sidle up to the bar, Saul takes in the sights and sounds of Clenchjaws.
Never came back here much, not after the redhead dame and the Case of the Missing Brother-Husband. That was 20 years ago, though. Haven't seen her around town in many years. Wonder if that tall drink of water managed to get out of town. She was trouble, that dame, but did launch me on the gumshoe gig.
"Logan, did I ever tell you about that redhead dame I met in here years ago? She had me look for her brother; the promised reward was a little hanky-panky in a backroom but her brother turned out to be her husband and she played me like a sucker. That's when I learned that you never fall in love with a client. Met Kayla a year later, married her a month after that. She definitely was not a client. Made sure of that."
As Saul talks he looks and listens across the room. The vibe of the place wasn't right, like Fhingle had alluded to. The rowdiness was building, and it didn't feel like there was a good reason for it. It was too early for people to stumble about, and hell's bells, where was that voice coming from?
Saul slides over to Salonius and whispers in his ear."Someone or something is using magic in here to rile up the crowd. My guess? The Thrunes are targeting bar after bar, looking to shut them down. They just need an excuse, and all the fights in here are it."
Clenchjaw gets an angry look on his face and readies himself to set some of the patrons straight or show them the door. But then he suddenly yawns and sinks on the counter, starting to snore.
Salonius happily chats with Fhingle about magic, expounding upon several theoretical concepts he finds fascinating, and getting somewhat over enthused about the concept of imbued magical plants.
When Saul comes over he frowns and attempts to scan the room discretely. When Clenchjaw falls asleep he narrows his eyes and whispers back to Saul,
"I wonder if we are dealing with more malicious fey. They do seem to be cropping up quite frequently and an invisible, or small and stealthy creature would seem to fit. Should we wake the proprietor?"
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Logan only half listens as Saul tells him about the case that brought him to this bar many years ago. He's heard it before, although Saul may have been a few drinks in that last time.
He orders a beer and, after noticing an inquisitive look from the bartender as to his current state of inebriation, he only sips at it. He may be a drunk, but he's not stupid enough to endanger this little mission.
When Saul goes to talk with Salonius, Logan spins around and surveys the rest of the bar. He tries to look uninterested as he does so.
When the bartender falls asleep behind him, Logan puts a hand to the sliver coated brass knuckles in his pocket. He doesn't want to be caught unaware.
Salonius pulls a face, "I can, but if its a moving source I am unlikely to get anying of use. Cannot hurt to try though. may I suggest you wake that fellow up so he can stop the fights?"
He casts detect magic and begins scanning the room, paying attentions to dark corners and anything that might be up in the rafters.
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Saul heads back to Clenchjaw. "This is a strange comment, but we are wondering if your bar has been infested by prankser fey, a gremlin, and imp, something like that. Something that gets its kicks riling up other people, making them mad, causing fights. You see anything very weird recently, anything mystical or arcane or unexplainable?"
"There are some people who told they've seen a strange tiny thing, but I never believed them."
Trying not to be obvious about it Salonius moves maintaining his detect magic and glances towards the bar again attempting to triangulate and see if the aura corresponds to anything he can see. He also wishes to determine if it is mobile.
As Salonious moves around for minutes staring at the same spot again and again, the magical aura moves to another spot on one of the lamps hanging from the ceiling. And suddenly Salonius finds himself on a slippery spot.
Fhingle keeps and eye out for strange things as well, looking between the magical spectrum and looking for traces of Fiendish presence.