GM Tyranius City of Strangers Part 1 and 2 (Inactive)

Game Master Tyranius

"The beasts will be fine." After putting the bags over your heads, the men roughly grab you and, essentially, throw you into wagon. You sit in silence as none of Dakar's men talk as the wagon seems to rumble over cobblestones for hours upon end. It seems odd that you can't hear the crackling of the wheels against the rock or really anything for that matter.

Finally, the wagon seems to have stopped and rough hands grab you, dragging you across the cobblestones, then grass, then into an air-conditioned area.

The bags are removed and taken from the room by the men who also exeunt, and you find yourselves in a nice club or private residence with carpeted floors, potted plants, slaves waving fans, and a giant, backlit screen along one wall. A shape, decidedly vague in outline, can be seen behind the screen, and a voice speaks. “You’ve asked for me and now you have me. What do you wish to know?”

"Well, that was quite a trip!' Savannah remarks. "Your men aren't very gentle. It was rather unpleasant, actually."

Suddenly she smiles. "Oh! Where are my manners. I'm Savannah! We're here to investigate the death of Collgardie, and to find out what the 'Shadow Lodge' is. We heard rumours that the Shadow Lodge are Pathfinder imposters! Which is obviously troubling. We're Pathfinders on an official mission to stop whatever Pathfinders or fake Pathfinders are here in the city causing trouble. Make sense? So here we are!"

With her rambling explanation complete, Savannah asks:

"What do you know about Collgardie's death? And what do you know about the Shadow Lodge?"

"That's essentially why we are here Dakar," Yorad adds in a respectful voice, "We have no quarrel with you we just want some answers."

Dakar chuckles—a dry, raspy sound. “I don’t give anything away for free, Pathf inders, but I will give you the information you want in exchange for a future favor.”

Mahalak whispers to the group. "I don't trust him, but I think we don't have a choice here. Should we accept his terms?"

Yorad whispers back sarcastically, "Owing our good friend here Dakar a favor doesn't sound bad right?" He shakes his head slightly, "Yet I don't think we have a choice. We have nothing to offer him in return now."

"Thanks!" Savannah says with a broad smile. "But, I need to add a stipulation. This favour has to be legal. I won't perform assassinations, muggings, robberies, kidnappings, deal in slaves, rig competitions, or cheat. Do we have an accord?"

"No need to worry about the indemnity clauses if you uphold your end of the bargain." Dakar states plainly. "You either sign or I can have you leave without any understanding of the situation at hand." The voice rasps.

Mahalak nods in agreement. "Then tell us this favor that you seek from us."

Sarina is weary but says "Favors for info is fairly normal for us. Talk."

"Oh, not all of us are as inflexible as all that," Zildaastin says in response to Savannah. "I'd be more than happy to agree to a favor; someone will get it done. However, none of us are permitted to do anything that would reflect negatively on our organization, so anything like that would be... harder. With that in mind, we accept."

Savannah considers Dakar's words. "Well, alright. Let's hear it."

Yorad nods in reply, "We're all ears."

"I for one, also have no problems with the terms...well not at the moment, at least." Prakriti joins the others in supporting the proposed agreement.

"The favor will be determined at a later date. Don't die before I can collect." The man says before you hear him rasp in laughter.

The contract looks fairly standard, not that you would know. Phrases such as "on penalty of renegement, ten years of indentured servitude to Dakar" and "first-born offspring shall inherit debt upon death of a signatory" pop out at Zildaastin.

"First-born offspring?" muses Riti. "So, if I die and get reincarnated that doesn't sound like it would count!" The samsaran laughs to herself, jokingly pointing out a possible loophole.

I am trained in Profession (barrister).

Zil raises an eyebrow at Prakriti. "It would still count as your death, so your offspring (if you have any) would inherit the debt-- only difference is that you'd still be around to watch. Also, you'll generally want to argue such things after you've signed it."

If no one else wants to sign the thing, Zildaastin will.

"Wow, you sound like you know your way around contracts, Zil. Can you tell if there's a provisional clause in here, like I asked for? I can't sign this if there's no guarantee my favour won't be illegal."

Intelligence Check to understand this: 1d20 ⇒ 11

Yorad eyes the contract uneasily unwilling to trust it did not hold a nasty surprise in it. "You don't mind if we look this over right?"

Intelligence check: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

Where do I sign??!

At Savannah's words you hear a sigh. "You are free to do what you wish human. Too bad..." Two snaps echo from Dakar as the light in the room suddenly darkens and you feel yourself thrust from the reality of Dakar's room. With a stumble, the group finds themselves back on the street outside of the Augur's Entrails, but it appears that nighttime has set in and the streets are significantly less populated.

"Sounds like Dakar did want us to do something illegal. What now?"

Sarina makes sure Fluffy is okay.

"Perhaps," Yorad shrugs, "Laws are different in each city without a doubt." He looks around at the darkened sky, "Looks like we are back at square one now. Let's return to Colligarde's place for the night and plan our next moves in the morning."

Savannah shrugs. "Sorry guys, but promises are serious business. I can't vow anything. Especially not to some... whatever Dakar is. Gang lord or criminal or whatever."

As they walk back to Collgardies she asks, "Are some of you alright with what he offered? I know all Pathfinders are different. We need to embrace our strengths for the good of the group. Missions take teamwork, and mine is NOT shady dealings. If... If I'm holding us back I can hang back next time. I mean, if Dakar approaches us again I can stay behind. You guys can go without me. You know?"

"I think we should focus on looking for information on this 'Shadow Lodge' tomorrow. Maybe we'll have better luck with them than Dakar. OH! Or maybe the Augurs can help! You know, those trolls we've seen that yank out their insides to divine the future. It sounds gross, but it's worth a shot. It might give us some insight, at least."

You head back to Collgardie's house, kicking your loss and receive no further troubles.

The very next day, you see the same seven thugs waiting for you outside of Collgardie's house. They are holding the same hoods.

"Boss says you get one more chance to sign the contract otherwise we leave you to whomever may want to cause trouble with the Society." says the one with the cudgel.

"Is this a new contract? One that ensures we commit no crimes as part of his favor?"

Sarina waits for the response from the thugs and the party.

Zildaastin sighs at the rigidity of his allies. "Do you have it with you? I'll sign the thing right here and be done with it."

Yorad nods quickly in agreement, "Yeah we have wasted enough time already!"

Can my character stay behind and let them go without her? Or will they not accept that?

"I'm quite happy to sign this contract as well" Prakriti prepares for another walk in the hood. Privately she expresses her thoughts that they can deal with the possible terms of the deal if and when they become a problem, but for now it seems their best way of getting the information they need.

Yup, you can choose who goes. It is understandable based on any moral conflict.

The men stay silent and simply toss the dirty, rancid bags onto the ground.

Those that wish to go toss them on and are tossed back into the wagon in absolute and magical silence.

You arrive after a long arduous trip through rough wagon ride with your haunches sore.

"Have you reconsidered?" says the man behind the illuminated paper.

Looks like everyone wanted to sign but Savannah.

"Yes, well we're here aren't we? I for one certainly didn't just come back here for fun. One ride in that wagon would have been quite enough for this particular lifetime!"

Prakriti is ready to sign.

Yorad is willing to sign as well.

Sarina will glance at it to make sure there are not actually phrases like "immortal soul" or "first born child" but assuming there is not then she will sign.

Savannah stays behind, knowing she'll only mess up the negotiations with Dakar. Instead she heads out to pay a visit to the Troll Augurs, curious if they have any insights for her into this mysterious Shadow Lodge.

"Yes, yes, of course," pipes the gnome. "The principled sorts are certainly useful at times, but you'll notice we didn't bring her along."

Ready to sign.

Since Mahalak seemed to be the lone holdout, I will await his response.

The room seems deathly quiet as each Pathfinder moves forward to sign over an unnamed favor in exchange for information on Collgardie's death and the burgeoning Shadow Lodge.

Mahalak waits for everyone to sign and does so as well when his turn comes.

"I see that you have come to your sense. Well most as one of you seems to be missing." states Dakar with a clear hint of happiness in his voice as his minions take the signed contract into their custody and present it to Dakar behind his illuminated parchment wall.

"The Society has long rumored of the Shadow Lodge, but there has never been any proof, however you lot get to be the lucky ones and report back that you have actually found it."

"See, the Shadow Lodge is very real and they will begin their war on Society from Kaer Maga and I happen to know where one of their leaders is located for the next few days!" He says with glee.

"Visit the Naderi Theater in Bis and you should find who you are looking for along with his goblin minions that he has been preparing for battle." advises Dakar to the Pathfinders.

Yorad nods in thanks for the information. "Looking forward to repaying your favor!"

Once the group has been escorted from Dakar's abode Yorad turns to his fellow Pathfinders, "So, do we head over there now or try learning more about this Theatre?"

When the others return:

"Hey, guys! How did it go?"

Sarina smiles.

"He said he would only deal with us as a group so we signed for you. The guys have to work as bouncers for a club of his for a week and we will be working at a place called the Halfway Inn. He seemed amused by that."

bluff: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (2) - 2 = 0

Sarina has the worst poker face ever and quickly starts giggling.

"I kid. We don't know what favor he wants but he did give us a lead."

Savannah laughs. "You're a tricky woman, Sarina!"

She rubs her hands together in excitement. "So, what's the lead?"

"He believes The Shadow Lodge is involved. And that one of their leaders will be at the Naderi Theater in Bis."

Savannah offer up her hand in a high-five to each member of the group. "Great job!"

Wait...she NEVER signed the contract...no wonder she is so happy!

Yorad accepts the high-five willingly, though not eagerly. "We still could be getting set up here. We had best be ready for a trap." He warns the others.

Composing himself, Dakar speaks up one last time as he sees begin to leave immediately. "Well, it seems that you have everything you need. You'll hear from me." You hear from the hidden individual as you feel a familiar sensation as you are pulled through space and deposited back where the goons took you.

*****

As Aiden pats himself off, he feels a crinkle in his pocket. He pulls out a small piece of parchment with a map to the Naderi Theatre, signed 'Cheers, Dakar.

The group follows the map and find what they assume to be the theatre. Before you stands a run-down, wooden facade with the words “Naderi Theater” painted across the top in faded letters. The painting of a young, pretty woman soaked to the bone with water and carrying a tiny dagger in one fist splashes across the front of the theater beneath the sign, though this mural is as faded as the lettering above. The ticket window is boarded up, the walls are covered in graffiti, and the doors are chained shut and have a sign that reads “Closed for renovation” nailed across them.

"This is getting more fun all the time," Zildaastin says grimly. "Either Dakar's information is woefully outdated, or we should watch out for an ambush."

Savannah draws her spear. "Got it!"

She examines the front doors curious if the chains are locked or just for show. She also looks around the doors, hoping there's a gap, or some spot they can slip through to gain access to the building.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12

"Mebbe we can find a broken window up there..." Yorad comments as he scans the outer side of the theatre for another way to get inside.

Perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19

All doors and windows on the theater look to be well secured. Though looking around, with Savannah's help, Yorad notices something odd about the chains on the front door. They look to be fake.