GM Grecko - CotCT

Game Master Dr Grecko

The teller takes the chest and moves behind a closed curtain. You catch a glimpse of whats looks like a small alchemy lab with other various tools and measures. You can assume he is verifying the gold is indeed legit and that you are not trying to swindle the bank.

After some time, he comes back with the chest in hand. "Everything checks out, and you have 2000gp worth of gold here. You say you'd like it in platinum coins? That can be arranged. Of course we here at the Royal Step bank charge a 1% fee towards transactions of this type."

He looks down at the silver case.

"That charge comes to 20gp. However, if you are no longer in need of the silver case, I am allowed to take the case as payment for this fee."

Ryder says, "Fine by me."

Assuming no objections, the teller takes the gold and the case and returns with 200pp in 4 inexpensive bags of 50pp each.

"A pleasure doing business with you gentlemen." Says the teller as he turns to help another customer.

Was the Citadel your next stop or did you want to go somewhere else first?

Dylan passes out the money bags. He puts his bag inside the compartment of his backpack to prevent it from being pick pocketed. Then says to the escort "Ready to head to the citadel."

The guards escort you down the streets towards the Citadel. They are also careful about the route to take as they would like to avoid an incident with the mobs. When you arrive at the citadel the guard whom greeted you before when you returned the drunken guardsmen is still at the gate. Word has been sent ahead of your arrival and the guard recognizes you from before. He immediately opens the gate allowing you entrance into the citadel yard.

Your escort bids you farewell as another guard from inside the citadel motions for you to follow. He leads you through the disturbingly empty citadel yard towards the central keep. He opens the door where you see a harried and tired-looking woman, whom rises from her desk to greet you.

“Ah yes—you are the ones sent by Queen Ileosa. Please, come in, sit down, we have much to discuss.” Seeing that there are only two chairs, she hastily grabs another two chairs from a corner of the room and places them in front of the desk. She then motions for you all to take a seat.

After everyone takes a seat, she moves behind the desk to take her own seat, letting out an audible sigh as she does so. From the look on her face you can tell she hasn't rested since this all went down.

”Greetings— my name is Cressida, and heroes of your caliber are exactly what Korvosa needs now. You’ve been on the streets. You know better than me how bad things are out there. It’s breaking my heart to see Korvosa tear herself apart like this. Every little bit of aid we can get from upstanding citizens like you helps, and the Guard could use people like you. We’re stretched to our limits, and it doesn’t look as if it will get better anytime soon. I’ve been informed that you are not seeking a permanent post with the guard, and I can indeed respect that. If you’re willing, I’d very much like to retain your services as agents for the Guard. I don’t need to say, of course, that you’ll be well compensated for these services.”

She waits to hear your responses before proceeding…

Dylan replies "What can we do to help?"

Ralof says, " I am in, how can we help?"

For the sake of the story, I'm going to assume that the things you've done today so far have taken you up to late afternoon approaching evening...

*Assuming the rest of you agree? If you have questions we can roll play them as coming before this part.

Cressida looks at you all with a relieved look on her face. "Wonderful!", she says with a renewed vigor. "The first thing we'll need to do go over the rules we expect you to follow as agents of the Citadel. Then we'll need to asses your combat capabilities."... She takes a look out the window realizing that dusk is fast approaching. "It's getting late, so we'll begin the training in the morning."

She then reaches into a drawer in her desk, pulls out a few official looking forms. She begins filling out four forms as she continues to talk, "If you'd like, you are more than welcome to stay here in the Citadel during your evaluation period. Additionally we also have arrangements with Theandra Darklight, the owner of the Three Rings Tavern in Five Corners."... She hands each of you one of the forms. "Theandra can provide you a place to stay as well as a place to eat, and it will be charged to the Citadel. Be sure to hand these forms to her."

Dylan replies "Sounds good to me, I am rather hungry. I have not eaten since breakfast and that was interrupted. Can you send word to the orphanage about where I will be staying?"

Amendithas squints quizzically at his form, which he is holding upside down.

Ha. I was imagining it wasn't even quite noon yet. Oh how the time flies...

Ryder scowls as he looks over the form, wondering what he's got himself into. As he's studying the form, he's suddenly struck by the fact that daylight is waning...

"Oh crap! I've gotta go! Ryder gets up and starts for the door as he stuffs the form into his backpack. "I'll be back later."

Assuming Ryder is allowed to leave:
Ryder leaves the Citadel and starts hustling across town towards the Acada-May-Not tavern where he's scheduled to do a performance... at dusk...

Indeed. It's a bit difficult to determine time in this module. After reading a bit further ahead here, it should probably be a couple of weeks since all hell broke loose, not a day. The writers subtly added that little detail well after us getting to this point.

Cressida is taken aback by the sudden departure of Ryder. Puzzled she says, "I take it that's a yes?"

*assuming its a yes

"It's fine if you have to go, just be here bright and early tomorrow at 8 o'clock"

Ryder then leaves in a rush as Cressida addresses the rest of you, "For those that wish to stay here, Loki here will see to your every need. We want you to feel as comfortable as possible." She turns to Dylan, "I'll have the next patrol that is sent out to east shore deliver your message for you."

"Now, If you'll excuse me I have a ton of reports to go over. And shifts to schedule."

You are pretty much free to do what you want tonight, Ryder is going to his show, Dyaln is going to go eat. Amendithas and Ralof, you can let me know what you'll be doing and we can roleplay that as well.

Ryder

You hustle back up to the Heights district as fast as you can. Having just come through most of the area, you can easily retrace the route you came through in in order to avoid any troubles.

You approach the back entrance to the Acada-May-Not Tavern as previously instructed. Upon entering the tavern a short and portly man with mutton chops, whom you recognize as the owner, meets you with a disappointed look on his face. "You're late!"

"Not that it's a packed house anyway." He peeks behind the curtain and you catch a glimpse of a less than full room of patrons. "These riots have got everyone on edge. Most were too scared to come out. The ones that came could use the distraction right about now. Yer on in 5"

The man then heads out to the stage and gives your introduction. You have a short time to prepare before giving your performance.

Dylan

You head to the Three Rings Tavern which is tucked away in a small business center called Five Corners in the North Point District. Getting there is not too difficult as most of the rioting is localized to the Midland/Heights districts right now.

Entering the tavern, you see several patrons eating and drinking. Behind the bar there is a vibrant younger looking woman in her 20's serving several customers. While most of the city of Korvosa has been doom and gloom since the kings death. She seems oddly exuberant. She greets you as you approach the bar. "Hey there, handsome, what can I get ya?"

Ryder would not be opposed to Ralof or Amendithas having tagged along as he left the Citadel.

Before taking the stage, Ryder peeks out into the Tavern to see if Inara is there.

If Ryder sees Inara, either right away or early on in his set, he'll put it all on the line and try for a "Great" performance (DC20, 3d10sp/day); otherwise he'll just go for "Enjoyable" (DC15, 1d10 sp/day).

Ryder spends his five minutes quickly pacing backstage, running through what he's going to do in his head - with all that's happened lately, he hasn't thought about his act at all.

Ryder's performance is part musical (some whistling but mostly ad-hoc percussion - clapping, stomping, slapping/thumping chest/legs, using silverware, tables, chairs, audience members, etc), and part comedic. There's some (hopefully) impressive percussive portions, plenty of audience participation (whether they 'volunteer' or not). When Ryder really wants to impress (i.e. if Inara is there), he'll throw in some cantrips - a harmlessly thrown Flare here or there, some Dancing Lights in the vague shape of a person with whom Ryder has a one-sided argument over why some audience member's personal affect came to be on stage (a personal affect that Ryder fetches with a Mage Hand cantrip).

Ryder spends only about half his time on stage, the other half of the time working his way around the audience (slim as it may be). If Inara is there, he'll make it a point to make her the focus of some portion of the act, after which he'll point out that she works with the orphanage in East Shore and solicit donations from the audience on her behalf.

Ryder will also make it a point to poke as much fun as possible at the Wizards of the nearby Acadamae.

Drum-roll please...
Performance: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16 yikes

Amendithas nods to Cressida. "Thank you for the offer of food and lodging. I would accept both, but first I think I shall accompany my fellow companion to his performance."

He follows Ryder.

Dylan

*Yes she is indeed extremely attractive

”Well you certainly move fast don’t you.”.. She says with a provocative smile. She then grabs a glass and pours you a pint of mead and yells back to the kitchen to order up today’s special.

She places the glass on the table and pushes it forward. She then seductively leans across the bar towards you, her revealing outfit revealing even more in the process. ”I get off in a couple hours…. Your proposal sounds great… There’s just one small problem sweetie…” She motions with her eyes to look down. ”Lower.. Lower…” She says in an enticing tone. ”Lower still.”. At this point you finally see the ring that adorns her finger. ”There we go!” She laughs as the realization hits you that the woman is married.

”I’m sorry, I just couldn’t help it. But you did just make my day! That’ll be five silver for the meal and mead”

Amendithas

When you get to the Acada-May-Not Tavern, there are plenty of open seats. The tavern currently has around 20 patrons so far, but only 15 or so are actually sitting in position to watch the show. You can tell that this is a down night and at capacity you think it could hold roughly triple that.

You take up a table of your choice and a waitress quickly comes to you to take your order. This is a rather ritzy establishment, and on a performance night, prices are higher than normal. The waitress requests 6 silver from you for the meal and drink.

A portly gentleman with mutton chops comes out to give Ryder’s introduction. The main lamps are snuffed out while bullseye lamps are illuminating the stage. Shortly afterward Ryder comes out and gives an enjoyable performance (Detailed above).

After the show is over the audience applauds in approval of the performance. Inara even gives Ryder a standing ovation for his efforts.

After the Ryder leaves the stage, several people approach Inara giving donations for the orphanage.

Ryder

Ryder peeks onstage to see both Inara as well as Amendithas in the audience. Inara took up a table close to the front to get a better view.

Although you don’t quite hit a “Great” Performance you do manage a nice “enjoyable” performance for the crowd and receive a nice round of applause for your efforts. (perhaps in your rush to get there you forgot to use your new magic sleeves to “dress” appropriately for the venue)
Payday: 1d10 ⇒ 6 Silver for your efforts

After your performance, Inara hangs around to meet you for your promised diner. ”What a wonderful performance! You really know how to work a crowd. They really respond to you.”

Soon after you sit with Inara, the waitress comes by to take your order. You're arrangement with the owner includes free drinks and meals after a performance in addition to your pay.

Retry to salvage an "Enjoyable" (DC15+2) performance:
Perform: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18

Ryder orders meals and drinks for himself, Amendithas, and Inara. Ryder will pay for whatever the proprietor isn't comping. In light of his recent windfall at the Castle, he'll buy the entire tavern a round.

Let whatever drinking and merriment may be ensue... Ryder is game for closing the place down. He's celebrating a successful performance, a night out with Inara; he's having a release after the intensity of the encounter with Gaedren (just the night before), and he's trying not to stress about 'joining the Guard' (even if he's not really joining).

Whenever the evening winds down, Ryder will walk Inara back to the orphanage, or her home if elsewhere, if he's still able to walk, that is. He'll do his best to remain a perfect gentleman...

Ryder will then return to the Citadel, or to the Three Rings Tavern, whatever whim strikes him at the time.

The next morning:
Day 4 Harrow Draw: 1d6 ⇒ 4 = Int

Ralof goes to the lodge and finds his bed. He lays down and pulls out his Adamantine arrowhead and looks at it more closely and inspects it.He holds it in his hand(kind of becoming his good luck charm, almost comforting for him if you will) after a stress full day and join the guard. After awhile he puts it away and goes to sleep.

Dylan called the waitress over after he finished eating. He presented her with the form requesting a room for the night. While being led to the room Dylan asks "So, I have a question...there have been riots in the city since the kings death. Was there anything that the queen may have done to make the city upset with her? I tried to ask one of the mob leaders, but he did not tell my why he was against her." after her response Dylan thanks her for the hospitality and goes to bed for the night. He gets up early and says his prayers before heading back to the citadel.

Dylan

You call the flirtatious yet married waitress back over and show her the official form. "Aha! in the service of the guard are we. Well I'll see to it that your room is setup for you. I don't believe I introduced myself. My name is Theandra, I run this establishment. If you need anything you come find me, OK?"

you ask your questions...

"Was there anything the Queen personally did? Yes, and No. I can certainly understand why some might be a little miffed at the prospect of her as our leader. It could be any number of things.... A Cheliax girl just barely 17 wed a Korvosan king. That queen never produced an heir in over 4 years of marriage. She's been overheard calling Korvosa a "backwater colonial village" on more than one occasion. And, quite frankly, she's has expensive tastes........ So, yeah I can understand why people might be upset."

You awake the next morning from wherever you were at the previous day.

You will be able to make it to the Citadel without issue. The guards recognize you and allow you entrance where Cressida Kroft awaits you.

She, again, looks like she hasn't had any sleep, but seems as if she has fought off fatigue well.

"Welcome my friends follow me and we'll go over some of the rules we expect you to follow." She leads you back to her office where there are chairs setup for you. While walking she engages in casual conversation "Was your accommodations acceptable? We want to make sure you're well taken care of while working for us."

She motions for you to take a seat, and hands each of you a medallion bearing the insignia of the Korvosan guard. She doesn't take a seat, but stands with a stern look on her face. "It's a short list, but here's the rules. One, don't kill unless you have to. If you do kill you will be expected to have a good reason for doing so. Two, when you wear this insignia, you will have to identify yourself as the Korvosan Guard when questioning someone. Three, you are not "entitled" because you wear that insignia. You are not to abuse your power. Four, if given an order, we expect you to follow it. You have problems with an order, you bring it up in private" She pauses and looks at your faces.. "And that's it. Simple, and effective. Just how we expect you to operate. Any questions before we begin your training?"

Dylan replies "I have no problems taking orders as long as it does not break the tenants of Tulis. My goal is to talk everyone out of violence."

during Ryder's Harrow draw
Ryder casts Detect Magic (I think he knows it's magical from when Loris Detected Magic, but Ryder is curious to sense it for himself, and in this instance). Ryder then touches his drawn card to each card in the deck, slowly and cautiously.

at the Citadel
Ryder has no questions for Cressida. He quietly inspects his Medallion, turning it over in his hands. He's struck by the gravity of the responsibility he's undertaking.

Amendithas accepts the medallion and stares at it humbly. He has rarely been given such honor and responsibility. To Cressida's mention of training he says, "What would you have us to do first?"

Ralof takes his medallion and says, "I accept this fate even though i may not like it the best. What do you want me to do?"

"I know of no personal conflicts that would befell a worshiper of Tulis" Cressida says to Dylan.

"The first thing we will need to do is assess your combat skills. Lets head over to the Archery range to test your accuracy."

She then takes you over to a small range where several straw filled dummmys are perched 50 feet across from a poorly drawn firing line. She hands those of you without a ranged weapon a well worn shortbow and asks you to fire at the target.

*Take 5 shots using a shortbow (or your own ranged weapon) at the AC-10 target.

After your demonstration with the bows, she then takes you to another set of dummies setup next to a rack of swords. "Here we will test your melee prowess."

She hands those of you without a melee weapon a longsword and asks you to show her what you got.

*Take 5 swings at the dummies AC-10

I'll see the results of the test before determining her next course of action

Ryder steps up, draws his crossbow, and proceeds to load and fire five shots:

Crossbow: 5d20 ⇒ (5, 9, 18, 14, 17) = 63 +3/ea
damage: 5d8 ⇒ (2, 7, 6, 5, 3) = 23

Ryder will recover his bolts from the target after everyone has shot.

At the next station, Ryder takes the longsword and waves it around a bit to get a feel for it. Ryder lacks proficiency with martial weapons. The longsword feels very awkward to him, but he feels that the dummies don't pose much threat, so he'll take some swings at them anyway... at a -4 penalty for lack of proficiency:

Awkward longsword flailings: 5d20 ⇒ (14, 2, 11, 11, 19) = 57 -5/ea
damage: 5d8 ⇒ (3, 5, 7, 3, 1) = 19 -2/ea

Frustrated with his inability to subdue a stationary dummy with a big metal stick, Ryder drops the sword and casts Ray of Frost at the dummy:

Ray of Frost:
Ranged Touch: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (17) + 3 = 20
Frosty Damage: 1d3 ⇒ 1

And then casts Spark to start the dummy on fire.

Dylan takes up his longsword

longsword: 5d20 ⇒ (9, 14, 14, 15, 1) = 53+3each
damage: 5d8 ⇒ (4, 8, 2, 1, 1) = 16

Dylan then proceeds to the fire 5 arrows

short bow: 5d20 ⇒ (17, 3, 5, 8, 16) = 49-2each
damage: 5d6 ⇒ (5, 2, 2, 3, 4) = 16

Dylan takes up his longsword

[dice=longsword]5d20+3each
[dice=damage]5d8 +2 each

Dylan then proceeds to the fire 5 arrows

[dice=short bow]5d20-2each
[dice=damage]5d6

ralof takes out his longbow and smiles will confidence as he fires 5 arrows.
Longbow: 5d20 ⇒ (14, 7, 13, 11, 12) = 57 +5 each
damage: 5d8 ⇒ (7, 6, 2, 4, 6) = 25 +2
scimitar: 5d20 ⇒ (4, 2, 15, 4, 8) = 33+4
damage: 5d6 ⇒ (1, 4, 5, 4, 4) = 18 +2

Amendithas unsheathes his large bastard sword.

Large Bastard Sword: 5d20 ⇒ (13, 7, 7, 1, 14) = 42 +6 each
Damage: 5d8 ⇒ (7, 6, 1, 3, 3) = 20 +6 each

He then gives his attention to the shortbow.

Short Bow: 5d20 ⇒ (8, 13, 14, 6, 2) = 43
Damage: 5d6 ⇒ (3, 1, 3, 1, 3) = 11

A couple of corrections to the dice checks above..

Dylan - your shortbow attack is a -1... 1 BAB + 2 Dex -4 Non-Proficiency

Dylan - Your Longsword attack is a +4... 1 BAB + 2 Str + 1 Masterwork

Amendithas - Your Shortbow needs a +4... 2 BAB + 2 Dex

Amendithas - your Large Bastard Sword Damage is 2d8+6 per swing.. you need to roll 10d8 for your damage.. I'll add the second dice here for each swing...

Amend Damage: 5d8 ⇒ (1, 8, 2, 2, 8) = 21

Both Ryder and Ralof seem to have the right numbers. Although keep in mind the situational modifiers.. like Ralofs bonuses for "point blank shot" would have come into play if you were within 30feet of the target instead of the 50 that was setup for you.

Cressida watches as Ryder unleashes some bolts towards the target.. She is impressed at the accuracy as 4 of the 5 bolts hit.

Dylan is next and only manages to hit twice.

Ralof then shows the rest of you how its done, nailing the target all 5 times.

Amendithas, having never really used a bow, still manages to muddle through and hit the target 3 times for very little damage.

----

Cressida takes you to the melee range where Ryder picks up a longsword for the first time in his life, and flails at the target 5 times, hitting just hard enough on one swing to knock a piece of straw off the dummy. Cressida has a look of disbelief as she wonders just what kind of help the castle has sent to her.

Obviously frustrated, Ryder decides to show off his magical prowess by first hitting the target with an icy chill and then igniting the straw dummy on fire. Cressida laughs as the dummy bursts into flames. "Ahh, a mage are we? I was beginning to wonder about you."

She lets the dummy continue to burn up.

Dylan then shows off his martial prowess by landing 4 of 5 hits on the dummy for some decent damage.

Ralof proceeds to hit the target with two of his swings, but it is obvious that he prefers ranged combat to melee.

Amendithas, the beast that he is, steps up to the first dummy and decapitates it in two swings.. Wooden pole and all. He steps up to the second dummy and while he doesn't destroy the dummy, he leaves it broken and tattered and unusable to future trainees.

-------------

Cressida looks upon all of you with a bright look on her face, "Excellent! You will all be very valuable to Korvosa. But, we can hone your skills further. For the next two days, I will personally train you in the skills needed as an agent of the Korvosan Guard. I'm going to go something to eat and meet back here in an hour."

She then heads for her office, neglecting the normal courtesy of showing you towards the mess hall or door. (She is obviously very busy and sometimes neglects the normal courtesies)

Dylan frustrated at how he did using the bow even though it was his first time ever using one "Ryder, can I try using your crossbow? I have used them in the past and are more familiar with them."

If Ryder lends crossbow

Dylan after retrieving bolts says"thank you, maybe I should get a crossbow. "

Ryder tosses his crossbow to Dylan, and then takes after Cressida, saying, "Breakfast? One of my three most favorite meals of the day."

So we’ll go with a training summary rather than roleplay it out (there is going to be one mechanical benefit that I will explain below). Ralof, if over these sessions you’d like to take time to search for clues to clear the name of your loved one, we can do that.

Summary

On the first day, Cressida takes you through some of the more basic combat maneuvers. You learn how to perform trip, grapple, sunder, disarm, ect. And you spend plenty of time in the melee range practicing melee combat. (As a result those of you who were not proficient with a long sword now have proficiency in said weapon)

On the second day, the focus is more on dexterity based skills. You learn to keep your balance jumping across the narrow high gaps (a skill Cressida says will come in handy navigating the Shingles District). You also practice stealth techniques in a urban setting. You also spend plenty of time on the archery range, again the result being that you gain proficiency in the Short Bow if you previously had not had the proficiency.

Cressida asks you to return the third morning to receive a special gift. You enter Cressida’s office a little earlier than expected. As you open the door, you see a man in clerical robes, standing next to an exhausted looking Cressida, in the middle of casting a spell that takes 3 rounds to complete.

Cressida breathes a sigh of relief as the spell is completed and immediately perks up. As the hero’s enter the room. ”Ahh, welcome friends, your training is complete and you have performed admirably. I have asked Tolran, cleric of Abadar here to help me find a suitable reward for you.”

Tolran then stands and addresses the hero’s, ”Cressida has informed me of each one of your strengths… And, of your weaknesses.”

He stands next to Dylan, ”As a cleric yourself, you know how straining it can be to keep up with the toils of combat. This wand of cure light wounds will help you in this task.”

He then stands next to Ryder, ”Cressida told me of all of your troubles navigating the challenges that you will encounter in the Shingles districts. This wand of Jump will aid you, so you don’t fall so easily.”

He stands next to Ralof and Amendithas, ”Ralof, you archery skills are impressive. I can help make them even better. I can improve the quality of your weapon. Amendithas, your martial prowess is second to none, Your weapon is unique, and finding another like it would be a difficult task. The weapon has already seen its fair share of chips and dings. I can improve the quality of your weapon. If you wish I can do so while maintaining its current appearance”

*Assuming you hand him your weapon

It will take me one hour per weapon to improve its quality. I will return here in two hours.” He then leaves Cressida’s office and into a separate work station to begin his work.

Cressida then addresses you all, ”The gift was not the only reason I asked you here this morning. I have a mission for you.”

*Assuming you agree to hear her out..

“Korvosa’s got enough troubles as it is without my own men losing their way and going rogue. As much as it pains me to admit, though, this has happened several times already. Many guards have deserted their posts, more concerned about friends and family than the city. I can understand this, yet not all of the deserters have family—some of them are simply using the riots as an excuse for personal gain. One such man is Verik Vancaskerkin. Worse than a lone deserter, he’s convinced a small group of fellow guards that Queen Ileosa is going to ruin the city.

Whether she does or doesn’t isn’t the point—right now, we’ve got a city-wide crisis on our hands, and I need all of my guards working with me to see us through. A deserter is worse than a lost resource—it’s an infection. I can’t afford to pull any of my other patrols off duty to deal with Vancaskerkin, and I’d rather not expose any of them to him anyway, since I neither want Vancaskerkin to infect more guards with his talk of secession, nor do I want some overly patriotic guard killing Vancaskerkin outright. I need impartial, skilled talent. Like you.

Vancaskerkin and his men have holed up in an abandoned butcher’s shop up in Northgate—the place was called All the World’s Meat. I need you to check out the place. Try to avoid killing any of the deserters if you can, but if they give you no choice, they brought it upon themselves when they threw in their lot with Vancaskerkin. For him, I’d really prefer it if you could capture him alive and return him to me for interrogation, Again, he may not make it easy for you, and this infection must be stopped one way or another. Finally, see if you can find out why Verik deserted—if there’s more to it than simple personal politics, I need to know immediately. Bring me Verik alive, and there’s a thousand gold in it for you. Dead, he’s only worth half that.

Any questions?”

ralof says, "No, but if you guys want to go ahead i will meet you there. I got a small purchase to make." and he goes off to a weaponry shop and buys some blunt arrows.
After he gets his arrows he heads toward the northgate.
After arriving Ralof says, "How do we want to do this?"

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13 = Ryder does not identify the spell the cleric was casting on Cressida.

What caster level are the MM and Jump wands I have? (not that pertinent for the Jump wand, unless it's CL5 or more, which is unlikely; and I'm assuming CL1 for the MM?). How many charges on the Jump wand? Ryder will ask the cleric about the Jump wand. If unknown, I'll 'suggest' to Zellara that I'm feeling curious about it.

The party has a light crossbow which Dylan can have. Sometime during the training, Ryder will go to Zellara's place and retrieve all the items left there and bring them to the Citadel. Dylan - take the Light Crossbow and remove it from the Loot sheet. J-Wo, the rest of that stuff we'll just as well sell now. Skipping the light crossbow, the already appraised leather armor, and Yargin's keys:Appraise: 5d20 ⇒ (6, 18, 18, 18, 7) = 67 +1/ea.

Speaking of the loot sheet, Ralof & Dylan, there's stuff on the Exchange sheet for you to claim, or else indicate you don't want it. I also put whistles on there for each of you that I had bought earlier - I figure they might come in handy for signaling each other in the city if separated, especially now that we're agents of the Guard.

Did everyone note the 50 platinum each we each got from the castle? That was not noted on the loot sheet, so make sure you have it on your character sheets.

Do we get Korvosan Gaurd issue longsword and shortbow? Not that Ryder would carry either...

As for the task at hand, Ryder offers a suggestion, "I say we try to infiltrate the group posing as Ileosa-hating deserters ourselves - I don't see any other way to get Verik to tell us why he deserted."

spellcraft: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16 fail

Dylan joins Ralof to buy bolts and to trade his shield for a heavy steel shield and joins everyone.

Ryder's Questions

All wands/scrolls are assumed to be at their minimum caster level unless otherwise specified. So both the CLW wand and Jump wands are CL1. As far as charges left, if you ask him or detect magic spellcraft DC16 you will find both have 22 charges remaining

You feel as if you're in the ballpark on three of those items (an assist could get you a +2 and you would be sure you have it correct)

Yes, indeed you all need to make sure you keep track of your money as I will not be doing that for you

The Guard will issue you a longsword and shortbow if you choose to take one. They will be the property of the guard and they will be expecting them back

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She did not give you a timeframe for completing the mission, but you can assume it was a as soon as possible kind of thing. You can go ahead and purchase/sell whatever you need with no issues.

What I'll need to know is how do you plan to approach this mission. Any reconnaissance, investigation, ect.. that you plan on doing before heading to All the Worlds Meat (AtWM).

Ralof looks at the place and says, "I dont know how i feel going in there blind. We dont know how big it is in there. I dont want to get in there and cant use my bow if it is too small/short range. How about you 3 go in and i will stay out here and blend in? When i hear some noise i will run in and knock out as many as i can with my new arrows."
kn.Local: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21 to know more about the place to ralof's knowledge
If no one objects Ralof will go and attempt blend in.

Dylan says "I am going to the tavern to see if I can find out anything about the complex and any info about the occupants."

if no one objects Dylan spends the next hour or so at near by bar buying drinks to hopefully loosen tongues.

diplomacy: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12

Ralof recalls that the previous owner of All the Worlds Meat was arrested for tax evasion, and that the building was boarded up and sitting in escrow. If Verik is indeed using the building as his headquarters, he is doing so illegally. As you know, it is not uncommon for people to squat in abandoned buildings (Gaedren had done the same thing)

Dylan spends some time looking for loose lipped individuals to tell him information about AtWM and of Verik and his men.

A few of the patrons reveal that AtWM is back up and running. A group of people whom call themselves "The Cow Hammer Boys" have taken up residence and their program of free meat has helped many people from going hungry during this time of unrest. With some of the supply lines disrupted due to the city breakdown, the people view the operation as a godsend in these troubling times.

Hold that though Ralof...

Ryder spends some time under cover as a common peasant on the streets in the neighborhood of the AtWM shop. He listens to overhear any conversations related to dissent against the queen, and then joins in. Without tipping his hand about looking for Verik, Ryder will ask things like, "Isn't anyone doing anything about this?", or "I heard even Korvosan Guards have turned against her".

If the conversation becomes promising, Ryder will express interest in joining up with the 'rebels', and asks to get introduced.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

You have as much time as you need so I assume you "Take 20" ensuring you create a common peasant disguise.

Ryder does indeed find a few dissenting conversations towards the queen, however he is unable to get any further in his goal towards infiltrating the group.

I figured 'peasant' was a gimme since that's pretty much what Ryder is. Ultimately all I needed to achieve was 'inconspicuous sreet-goer' which I don't think warrants a 'disguise'.

It sounded like there was interest in trying a city inpector disguise? Ryder had retrieved all items from Zellara' s and will keep them at the Citadel.

Ryder will use his Sleves and disguise kit accordingly and then go to the shop and enter if it's open, otherwise knock.

Ryder will take 20 on the diguise check. I'm assuming a +2 for the diguise kit and +2 for the sleeves. Ryder has a +4 in Disguise. Taking 20 almost seems too easy for a Disguise check... If a roll is warranted, you should do it for me secretly anyway.

Ryder only approaches the building if the rest of the party is within earshot of a scream or whistle...

Bluff: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28

If the business is operating, Ryder says, "Hello, I'm an inspector with the city, we heard this business was back in operation but we don't have record of the proper permits having been filed with the city. I just need to have a look around and I'll be able to get everything taken care of for you. "

Amendithas looks on from the corner of a nearby shop. He is ready to grab his sword if it looks like Ryder needs assistance.