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With as much dignity as he can muster, Sekhemre nods curtly to the boy, and collects the papers.
After smoothing down his clothes, and adjusting his collar, Sekhemre glances over Raimondo, sighs, and shakes his head.
"That would not be entirely appropriate, considering we have been looking for you to learn what happened to our caravan. However, you are not going to be of much use to us in your current state..."
Sekhemre then goes over to the barman, to see whether he can get a private room, or at the very least, a private booth, and to see if they have any Qadiran coffee, and if so, tinkers with the brew a little, adding some 'special' ingredients to see if he can help sober-up Raimondo...
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"Your caravan? Wha-? Ohhhhhh! Yer the Pa-" he pauses as a look of slow dawning realization passes over his face. "the client. I've been exschpecting you for sooo long... Where have you been?"
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When the red-headed boy issues his threat, Sekhemre narrows his eyes.
"I would not do that, if I were you. This man," he gestures towards Raimondo, "although he certainly has imbibed more than he should, has also been poisoned. Furthermore," he says, as he swoops down on the vial that fell from the Captain's sleeve, deftly removes the top, and carefully sniffs the contents, "I think you will find that this is the poison that was used. I dare say that it would prove rather inconvenient if it became widely known that your Captain had a habit of drugging those that he gambled with. Why don't we call it a draw, and not cause each other any further trouble?"
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When Sekhemre asks for a private room, Raimondo says, "I've got a room already" and holds up a key. "I think I need to lie down..."
The boy looks at the vial suspicion obvious on his face, "Why would I believe a word from you?" The sailor Fog punched in the gut wheezes, "It's true Trato. The old man and Scevola have a long history. I saw him slip it in when he bought the second round."
Trato slowly looks down at Captain Elanzo then shifts back to glowering at Sekhemre. He sighs in exasperation, "Just get out of here then. Leave."
The waitress who has been cowering covering her ears in the corner, stands up and looks around at the brawlers and seems to regain her composure and some measure of indignation as she points a finger at Sekhemre and his companions, "No. I don't think so. You all can clean up the mess you made. Put these tables back together and you better clean up your sorcerous goop now!" she says pointing at the grease coating a section of the floor and a couple of chairs, "I'll bring you a mop. Jarvis," she looks at the sailor with the busted nose, "get Elanzo out of here. All of you are banned for the rest of the week. Raimondo- as soon as you wake up I want you out of here too." She storms off to get the mop and the other patrons grab their things and head out the front door.
Aldred and Wadi see the sailors obviously giving up. Sekhemre and the boy begin angrily shouting at each other and Raimondo steps over to pee on a plant. The waitress stands up and starts shouting at people while pointing at the grease coating the floor and then at the door, but throughout it all you hear nothing but a steady ringing silence. All of the other patrons get up, heading for the door massaging their ears and popping their jaws.
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As the sailors file out, with their Captain in tow, Sekhemre turns to the waitress, giving her a faint smile, and a sweeping bow.
"Of course I will clean up after myself. I would not dream of leaving this fine establishment in a shambles, especially when I caused some of the disarray. One does not want to garner a reputation for leaving a mess!"
He will then re-arrange tables and chairs, repairing the damaged ones as best he can...
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Wadi is relieved to see violencee is ended. Unfortunately the ringing in his ears muted that somewhat.
He notes the Chelaxian lad, and decides to be friendly to him. Walking over to the lad Trato, he first points at his ears, then puts his hands over them, pantomiming deafness. He gives Trato a reassuring grin, trying to show no hard feelings here.
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Well, that was fun. Kayluss says cherrily, I'm not happy about bustin your nose over somethin your captian did but thats in the past now.
Kayluss helps the man he knee'd over to a a chair, Fog, I think some healing might be a welcomed while we clean up. And Miss, he calles over to the barmaid, here is something for your troubles and why not serve a round to the house on me. Reaching into his belt pouch Kayluss removes 2 platnum coins and tosses them to the wench, making sure to catch Trato's eye. Walking over to the boy Kayluss places his hand on Wadi's shoulder. What I think my Cheliaxian friend here is trying to say is that if you haven't any pressing matters to attend to maybe you would like to stay and have a drink with us.
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The waitress is somewhat mollified by Sekhemre and Fog's willingness to clean up and put the place in order. With the other patrons cleared out and Kayluss throwing out a fortune to buy drinks she relents, "Alright then, sit down, but if you start anything else I'm calling the guards." She heads to the bar for a round of drinks. Fog's prayer to Saerenrae leaves everyone more or less recovered from the brawl and the two injured sailors nod appreciatively. The one with the busted nose feels it realizing he has been nearly fully healed and mumbles, "Don't worry about it. Comes with the territory."
They both trudge over and drag Elanzo up into a chair where he wakes up scowling. "Ugh... That hurt.
Getting Trato to work as a double agent is going to require getting him to agree to go home first which is a DC 25 Diplomacy (you aren't the only ones with an interest in getting him home so you may have help there and you are at 24 right now) though you need to work on the persuasion IC. Then, DC 20 Diplomacy check to persuade him to serve as a double agent. Discretely suggesting that he aid the cause of freedom from within requires a DC 15 Bluff check to pass the hidden message without alerting anyone who might be secretly working for Cheliax.
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The ringing in Aldred’s ears continues. He helps clean up the place as best he can (what with his balance being a bit off and not being able to hear what anyone else says), and gives the sailor that Kayluss punched a hand up. He practices talking to people, trying to judge whether his voice is too loud or too quiet by their reactions ... silently he prays to Shelyn that his hearing returns soon, otherwise he might need to consider a new line of work.
When he has a moment, Aldred claps the boy Trato on the back. “Don’t take it so hard my friend,” he says, trying to form his words clearly and not speak too loudly. “Sometimes we travel halfway across the world to realise that there are bad people everywhere ... but there are good people too. Sometimes you need to travel back home to really understand that last part.”
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Wadi smiles at him, and says a bit loudly, "Sorry about this, but my hearing has not returned yet. As a fellow Chelaxian, I can understand your frustration with having to deal with these environs, perhaps you would feel more comfortable closer to home? I was told there is a family emergency, and I would advise you to return to visit them."
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Ith,
I don't know about Wadi but I forgot to add +1 to my diplomacy check for the perfume. I'm not sure it matters now since with Aldred's aid we should be above the DC correct?
Andorens,
Since Aldred also made the bluff DC all we have to do is apply it in charecter. Any idea's on how to convince someone to be a double agent wihtout saying as much? I'm not comming up with anyting.
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Captain Elanzo gingerly rubs his temple for a second before hauling himself to his feet. "C'mon men. We've got work to do before we set sail." He is halfway to the door before he realizes Trato didn't get up. "Well, what are you waiting for boy? I said we're leaving!"
Trato shakes his head slowly while staring the Captain in the eyes, "No. I won't be sailing with you Captain. I respected you- you who would poison a man to cheat him out of his livelihood at cards. We don't have anything left to discuss. I quit."
Captain Elanzo's face flushes a splotchy red and he starts to spit something back before finally turning pushing past his men, "Come on men. We need to see the butcher before we sail." When the doors swing shut Trato sighs and shakes his head somewhat dejected.
Having put Raimondo to bed, Sekhemre emerges again from the back part of the club and the waitress delivers fresh mugs of ale for those who remain.
However, as the drink circulate and you observe you glean just enough from lip reading and body language to understand Kayluss and Aldred are convincing him that it would be better to go home to Westcrown after all. Eventually Trato seems to relent.
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“How long will Raimondo need to rest do you think?” Aldred asks Sek probably a bit too loudly as he tucks into his bowl of frog gumbo. “We have that important business to discuss with him … I’d rather we handle it before we deal with our second lot of business … what? Oh, never mind, I still can’t hear a word.” He stands and looks around. “Who wants another ale, show of hands, I’m buying. Good. Kayluss, Trato, give me a hand carrying them back.” He gestures the man and the youth to come to the bar with him.
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As Alderd speaks with the young man Kayluss purposley brings his right had to his face and idle scratches at this chin, making sure to show off his Baradin Family Signet Ring.
He speaks the truth, my fellow countryman. In order to stand up for what is right we all must make sacrifices and take risks. You have unique oppertunity to serve the cause of freedom, are you brave enough to fight for the good of all people suffering under the heel of tyranny?
[edit]Any chance we can use my roll as the main roll and Aldreds as the aid? It doesn't get us to 20 but it gets us a little closer.
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Trato stares down into his drink swirling it around, then places his index finger across his upper lip and thumb up on his chin as if thinking something over before speaking, (thereby obscuring his lips for those who are deafened like Wadi) "I can't just go back to Westcrown and reap the rewards of wealth and title based in a system I do not support. House Thrune and the Hellknights, the priests of Asmodeus, the slave caste... I left because I couldn't take it anymore. But I do find your proposal intriguing. I like the idea of doing something real to help those who need it." He pauses thinking it over, "I believe I will be sailing back to Cheliax after all. Have your man contact me. Anything that would harm my own family is off the table, but I do hear things and I would very much like to take an active role in righting injustice in my homeland."
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Seeing Alie's confidence waver, Sekhemre does his best to draw attention away from her by lecturing her about the benefits of some of the local medicinal plants as base ingredients for a variety of alchemical concoctions.
When he gets the opportunity, he nods to Wadi, and tries to direct him to come to the assistance of Fog, who is still wavering a little...
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While getting him to bed Raimondo drunkenly explained that he'd invested the down payment in stronger healthier horses and they were stabled near the Northeastern border of Bloodcove as it was cheaper there. Once you make arrangements for the cargo and he knows where to go, he will get the horses hitched up to the wagon and pick up the cargo on his way out of town.
Over lunch and drinks the difference between Bloodcove and Almas becomes apparent. In Almas you can bet that setting off a sonic boom in a bar overlooking the busiest port in the city would draw the guard like flies and quickly. In Bloodcove the guard never arrives. At first you have the place to yourselves once the other patrons fled, but after about five minutes the first curious gawker pokes his head in and seeing things in order sidles up to the bar where he orders a drink and whispers low back and forth with the bartender. He sips while appraising you all. More and more curiosity seekers follow suit and within twenty minutes the place is packed to standing room and the waitress weaves through the crowd dropping off drinks and collecting empties. On one pass through she gives Kayluss a wink, "Come back anytime handsome. You're good for business."
By the time Wadi and Aldred regain their hearing the place is a low roar of midday drinkers and here and there in the crowd you can make out snippets of people telling and retelling what went down the way they heard it. Apparently Sekhemre leaped over a table to kick a pirate in the throat and Kayluss lifted one in the air and broke a table in half when he threw him down. Who knew?
It is easy enough to get directions to House Cartahegn's trade post back on the other side of the Vanji and this time you take the long bridge spanning the river. The midday heat is nearly unbearable for those unaccustomed to it and the mosquitoes are a constant annoyance. It takes a while to get there as you have to cross nearly the entire city, but most people have retreated indoors to escape the heat at this hour and the walk is more or less uneventful.
Surrounding the sprawling, two-story trading post marked HOUSE CARTAHEGN is a mass of citizens and merchants alike. Some wear worried expressions and wring their hands, while others shout angrily at a well-dressed young woman by the entrance. "AS I SAID, shouts the Cartahegn spokesperson from atop a wooden crate, "all Cartahegn resources are needed to deal with this emergency with our sugarpress, and our storefront is closed for the remainder of the day or until management resolves the situation. We apologize for the inconvenience, but for now please return to your homes and places of business." As she climbs down, most of the grumbling mob begins to disperse.
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“Sweet Shelyn, this heat,” mutters Aldred, lifting the brim of his hat for about the sixty seventh time to wipe sweat from his brow, and taking yet another sip from his waterskin. “Remind me to apply for a mission in a more northerly clime next time out.”
Seeing the commotion at House Cartahegn, Aldred pushes forward through the sweaty dispersing crowd. “Miss,” he calls after the well dressed woman, “sorry to disturb, but my companions and I have urgent business with the house ... I heard that you have a problem with your sugarpress – is there anything we can do to help so that we might then enter to discuss our business?”
He moves to stand close to the woman (but not creepy close) and smiles in a friendly fashion.
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"Indeed, as honest business people ourselves, we understand that there are sometimes... inconveniences... that get in the way of the regular flow of commerce, and we would be very willing to assist you with any problems you might be having, so that our own business arrangements with your splendid trading consortium could be finalized."
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The young woman acting as House spokeswoman takes notice of Aldred's initial offer and replies in an upper class Chelaxian accent, "Urgent you say? I would love to be able to help you, but until we can get this situation under control our whole operation is in danger. Ants have tunneled into the sugarpress and the situation is dire. We're losing thousands of pounds of sugarloaf an hour, and to be perfectly honest I don't think we're going to be able to turn them back until more of our field agents make it back this evening." She sighs and runs her fingers through her dark hair, "I hope you weren't here to buy food supplies. I expect by the time we are up and running again tomorrow food prices will have tripled in Bloodcove. It's too bad you don't have some mercenaries in your employ. Our House has a little not-so-friendly rivalry with the Consortium and when we tried to hire on some emergency muscle they put out word that anyone stepping in would be cut off from Aspis jobs in the future. Of course they own the town guard," she indicates a small group of guardsmen stationed at a nearby business, "so they are just here to protect nearby 'dues' paying establishments."
She sighs again then looks you over as if something has just occurred to her and she lift one index her to her pursed lips reappraising the situation. She comes down the steps and stands close looking up at Sekhemre, Aldred, and Kayluss then reaches out to feel Kayluss bicep. "It occurs to me that you all are a fairly young athletic group for a bunch of merchants. No, no. That would be a ridiculous thing to ask a group of business men like yourselves. Forgive me. It's a pity you didn't bring any real mercenaries or bodyguards with you" she turns and takes a couple of steps back up the stairs before pausing to turn back and add, "My housekeeper is a native and her tribe makes a sort of pungent goo to repel these monstrous ants that tunnel the Mwangi Expanse. She ran and brought some, but it was too late. Our employed swordarms are too injured to make another run at those monsters. So I guess we'll just have to wait until our men in the field can get here to put them down. If you know any other merchants who have guards independent of the Bloodcove racket, let them know we'd be willing to offer a substantial discount once we are open again to anyone willing to help us out."
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The young woman, barely twenty if that, looks down at the dwarf obviously surprised having previously paid him little attention, "Oh! We would appreciate all the help we could get Father. Please do come in." She turns to lead you all inside the trading post and waits to lock the door behind you as you enter. When Kayluss hints that the group might be more than they seem she flashes him a mischievous grin with a twinkle in her eye, "I wouldn't doubt it for a second. I can imagine you might be useful in all kinds of... dilemmas." She turns and gestures for you to follow as she leads you beyond the foyer and into a common room.
"The vermin overcame the majority of our swordsmen in the initial battle. Only Kanoro survived that first assault," she indicates a dark skinned man with a bandaged forearm and head who lies unconscious on a bench. "so after that everyone had to pitch in to save our product and the sugarpress." She indicates the rest of the injured sitting or laying down throughout the room- several older men and some women whose calling no one would mistake for warrior. Your distinct impression is that cooks, scribes, and manual laborers were all called in to try to drive the ants out and they all look the worse for the experience. Those still conscious watch you warily, clearly worried that they are about to be sent back in. "I'm afraid even healed the hands we have left are too little to turn the tide. At least the majority of their scouting party is gone now- a temporary reprieve. I am certain they will be recruiting the rest of the colony to come back and finish what they started. For now they have only left a couple to guard their tunnel, but they are large and half mad from all the sugar. More than we can hope to overcome until our caravan guards make it back."
She looks up at Kayluss then Aldred and Wadi with hope in her eyes, "But if you were serious about helping us, you all would stand a much better chance than those of us left here. We have weapons... If you could just manage to drive off or put down those last two ants and spread some of this down their tunnel," she takes the lid of of a large clay pot full of a jelly-like black sludge and a pungent sickening aroma quickly spreads through the room before she seals it again, "they can't bear it. That should keep their reinforcements at bay for days. Long enough for us to collapse the tunnel and seal up the breach."
"Ah- I'm asking too much aren't I? You can't possibly want to take on those giant ants just to get a... fifteen percent... discount on trade goods." She lets the percentage of the discount hang in the air like the opening bid of an agreement.
By the end of that little exchange you get the distinct impression that this woman is quite a skilled manipulator. You aren't quite sure whether she pegged you all as more than merchants right from the beginning or whether she was just offering lures of discounts and stoking egos by commenting on how strong some of you look to get the help she needed to get the situation under control. Either way she was obviously playing you all and she's quite good at it.