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"That is very good sleuthing Zavra! I would really like to go out into nature tomorrow rather than dodge giant feet in this city. They never even look where they are going."
Placing his small finger to his chin and looking up deep in thought.
"What you say is logical, and Bert and I agree with your thought process. Onward!"
The halfling woman looks a little confused "You are going out? at this time of night? Seems highly unlikely to be conducive to your investigation.
Besides - if there is more information to be gained, you should exhaust every opportunity before tromping into the swamps blindly. Get some rest Pathfinders. Maybe tomorrow you shall continue to have luck." With that, she bids you all good night.
The party awakes on day two to a beautiful morning. They depart for The Gar's Last Meal for breakfast.
They arrive to find a fairly busy inn & tavern: a popular hangout to be sure despite the strong smell of fish. A pair of mysicians entertain the crowd with a dieling lute performance.
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Zavra sighs as she drops her backpack and takes a seat, ordering a large plate of fish, eggs and spiced potatoes. She pulls out her notebook to review the careful notes she took yesterday. "It would be great to get more information here, but I think I would settle for simply not drawing any more undo attention," she comments, eying Poncho and the bird.
Paying little mind to the music, she does keep an eye out for any other Varisians.
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Bert narrows his tiny beady eyes at Fhlangorn and scurries up at him, then as a true ninja bird would - launches himself into a deft acrobatic roll snatching the pickle mid leap while simultaneously kicking the dwarf in his giant bulbous nose with a deft bird kick.
As the dodo lands.. he turns his head upward as to keep the pickle stable and contained.. and trots into the restaurant.
"Mhm-ert!"
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Prizm walks into the establishment and pushes a stool up next to Zarva, the legs of the chair loudly scraping on the wooden/stone floor.
Climbing up next to the half orc he quips "I intend to behave! Since you seem to have lots of ideas and answers, whats the plan bos.....sss"
The gnomes words trail off as he sees Bert trot by with a very large pickle in his beak.. while the sound of a dwarf yelping outside can be heard.
"uh-oh"
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Poncho will pull Fhlangorn aside before entering the tavern.
"I would not upset the bird, amigo."
Inside, he witnesses the commotion caused by Prizm and decides to sit elsewhere--spotting Okzat sitting alone. Hung over from partying at the forest's bounty he thinks that the stoic oread is less likely to aggravate his headache so Poncho sits next to him and orders a pitcher of water, a single fried egg, and toast. Once served, he listens to the musicians, steadily nursing his water and nibbling at his breakfast.
Augusta sits by Zavra as well and also orders food. Let me know if you think there is anything I can do to help gather information.
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Hopping of his stool the things waves at Zarva. I got this!
Prizm weaves thru the crowd avoiding the giant humans and works his way to the bar rail.
"Hello my good man! I have been trying to get to the bottom of the troubles around these parts.. Prizm says quietly to the font of all information: the barkeep
"Do you know who best to help me learn a thing or two about the goings on in regards to perhaps bandits, hideouts, river raids, or general helpful stuff?"
Prizm spins a pair of gold coins on the bar, waggling his fingers he makes them dance.
After a moment Prizm looks around nervous as to where Bert has gone.
Prizm goes to work gathering information.
The bartender chats a bit to no avail, however after the dueling lutenists conclude, they walk over and chat with Prizm "I am Lily, and this is my sister Lilah. You should buy us a drink my little friend."
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Prizm moves to turn his stool and it proves a little loose as he spins fully around. Laughing he looks up at the two pretty musicians and smiles a grin that looks far too large for his tiny face.
With a wave of his finger the spinning gold coins wind and whirr toward the barkeep landing one stacked on edge to eachother.
”My good barkeep, drinks for the ladies!”
Prizm glances behind them and under the table.. his dodo is busy scarfing down the pickle.
”So what’s new with you both? Loved the music!”
Lilah takes her drink and smiles. "We're glad you liked it. We are always appreciative of fans. But we also heard you asking about some of the recent occurances."
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.”
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"Oh my! Pathfinders? And an Elf? Being a gnome I am pretty versed in elves, and being a scholar I am very interested in anyone that drifts near the Fey. Can you describe him? Do you where I can find him?"
Prizm smiles inwardly secretly proud of all his information gathering skills. And then he notices his little buddy is done with his pickle snack....
The gnome quickly orders two more rather strong drinks for his female friends!
"I would love to hear anything you ladies have heard about this fellow - I would love to meet a Pathfinder!"
Prizm nervously looks at Bert and curtly shakes his head as it to discourage him.
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Bert waddles out to stand near the first of the two lady performers, feeling that they know something as they have been talking to the master all this time. He decides to lend his Dodo skills to the exchange.
Bobbing and weaving in a chaotic pattern he tries to keep the ladies semi-distracted and away from Prizms lack of subtlety.
While Prizm is chatting with the two performers, he orders another drink. But meanwhile...
The sound of coins clattering to the wooden walkway 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. Poncho turns as she is right next to him.
A man from the 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 bribe from your Molthuni paymasters?
You traitors!” He stands pointing at Poncho and Okzat.
"Of course you don't know her - she's just a cutpurse. Too bad she missed the mark on your purse! Unlucky for you ya Molthuni sympathizer!"
The crowd is starting to get angry and shouting starts at the two pathfinders. One additional voice calls out "Wait - he's that troublemaker from the market yesterday! Next thing ya know he's a dirty pathfinder too! Let's show him what we do to Molthuni sympathizers!"
You realize this is a setup. The cutpurse and the two loudest voices appear to be working together to rabble-rouse against you. And it's working so far.
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Poncho thinks fast and can remember a scene from one of his favorite books, Ley y Orden by Ricardo Wolf. It's so crazy it just might work...
"YOU IDIOT! My friend and I are working under cover for the captain of the guard! We're only here to intercept and arrest two Molthuni conspirators,"
Poncho points to the lute players.
"Those two have been putting up Molthuni propaganda all over the city! If anything you've just driven their ringleader further into the shadows and undone 6 months of detective work!"
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Okzat stands, a look of frustration fleets briefly across his face. Quickly checked.
"Who do these people think they are. Disturbing a man in peaceful meditation over his morning meal. What's with all this local politics? Sounds like a pile of unnecessary drama"
Okzat looks at Poncho. Confused for a moment. He stands tall, intimidating in his silence, arms folded across his chest.
"Who are you and why are you accusing us of something we clearly did not do?"
The crowd looks a bit confused at Poncho's outcry. The man inciting against you is unfazed.
He laughs at Poncho. "Such a worthless lie. Now i'm certain you are Pathfinders! you and your friends! No loyal soldier of Nirmathas would carry Molthuni coin - it is no good here."
He is not having the effect he wants as the crowd starts to simmer a little to see where the stand off goes. One onlooker picks up a Molthuni coins and faces it at Poncho expectantly.
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Prizm hears the controversy and glances over at the coins and winks.
The coins marking subtly change to that of local currency.
Walking over he reaches down and picks one up and turns it looking slightly confused before he tosses it to Poncho. Pointing at the remaining coins on the floor he continues.
"Looks normal to me sir.. maybe you have had enough ale? Perhaps you should allow all these good people to go back to their meals?"
The gnome smiles up at the outraged moron.
The crowd has clearly lost interest in the development. The antagonist sees their plot has failed to turn the crowd against Poncho and his friends and they slink off into the crowd and out the door.
after a few drinks, the lutenists go back to work and the party departs to return to the lodge when a bird feather token arrives with a note.
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Prizm studies the note and tries to make out the signature and check if it is a forgery.
"It would appear that there is something about to happen this evening on the northern most dock. Just before the midnight hour - it could be legit, or it could be a trap. But either way it sounds fun!"
The gnome looks around hopeful to the rest of the group.
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"Agreed! Let's go check out the north dock a about 2 hours early. We don't want to go there and crawl around all day.. people will notice and word may get back to the tall folk before it becomes go time."
Prizm smiles at his companions. "It will be good to talk to the people who are calling themselves pathfinders! That's a bit naughty."
The party heads off to the docks to scope it out. Having been here the day before, the party sees the familiar hustle and bustle about.
The party checks it over a little before heading off for some food. They wait out the couple hours and head to the rendezvous.
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.
The party cautiously makes their way down the boardwalk... eyes peeled carefully. Zavra catches a little movement for a moment but misses what it was. could have been a cat...
As the party eyes the docks... there is no ship in the first two ports. A door slams open and a man in an iron mask, a chain shirt with a quarterstaff steps out and taunts you. "You foolish pathfinders have fallen into my trap! Prepare to die!"
Initiative Round 1 Bold may act
Poncho
Militia
Zavra
Prizm
Bert
Okzat
Augusta
Priest
Fhlangorn
The militiaman up the hill steps out with his longbow, and fires at Okzat.
Inspire Courage +1
Initiative Round 1 Bold may act
Poncho
Militia
Zavra
Prizm
Bert
Okzat
Augusta
Priest
Fhlangorn
It's about damn time! Augusta says as she moves in and Attacks him.
Prizm hists the priest but only Dazzles him.
Okzat misses the militiaman.
Zavra's throw goes wild,
and lands 5 feet short and to the right of the intended target but still splashes the enemy. for half damage
August moves in and misses her swing.
The Priest sees his intended victim step up, flex his muscles, foams at the mouth and swing hard.
Augusta is hit hard.
Inspire Courage +1
Initiative Round 1-2 Bold may act
Poncho
Militia
Zavra
Prizm
Bert
Okzat
Augusta
Priest
Fhlangorn
Poncho heals Augusta while Fhlangorn distracts the Priest.
Meanwhile, the Militiaman steps back from the Oread and fires again.
Okzat is pierced again by the arrow.
Inspire Courage +1
Initiative Round 2 Bold may act
Poncho
Militia
Zavra
Prizm
Bert
Okzat
Augusta
Priest
Fhlangorn