Belsiard flops down sadly from Thrynn
That is a shame, maybe this other fellow...
Jon turned to look at Belsiard.
"Ye be lookin' fer a cook? Sorry ta say I'm a bachelor; so I knows just enough about cookin' ta keep meself alive."
He frowned in thought.
"Mind ye, I DO know somethin' about spices an' flavorin'. Comes in handy when ye got to eat thinks normally inedible, like shark or such. Be that what ye mean?" He asked with an arched eyebrow.
"Or straps o' leather? Spices might be good on dat Belsiard."
Bel pops up. What spices do you have?
Jon hemmed and hawed.
"Weeelll, its not so much any spices (which I'm out of by the way), as it is a trick. Lemme just show ye." He said, looking around.
He went over to the trading post and grabbed a hard biscuit.
He broke off a piece and gave it to Belsiard.
"Here. Taste that. Regular ol' nasty hard biscuit right? Well let's see what I can do..." He said.
He stared hard at the hard tack and mumbled some words under his breath. He waived his hands as if shaking something over the biscuit.
"There!" He said triumphantly. He presented it to Belsiard.
He cast the cantrip Prestidigitation:Flavor.
"Now taste this one. Tastes like bananas, right?" He said grinning.
Belsiard grabs the first biscuit and wolfs it down in one bite. He does the same with the second and the third before Spin is able to get him to grasp the idea of just taking a bite
yum!
He gets more and holds them out for spin to doctor up
"I think you just became the cook." Thrynn says to Jon.
Jon looked startled at being given a bunch of hardtack.
"Oh. Alright then."
He concentrates mutters and gestures over them; making half of them taste like chicken a l'orange, and the other half taste like watermelon.
"Clever trick, Jon. I think the gnome might mutiny if you all didn't join the crew.". Ialda grabs one of the biscuits, and was surprised to see it did indeed taste of watermelon. "Delicious...that's a nifty trick indeed."
"Has there been anything interesting that's happened while you've been here?"
Belsiard eats and eats, until his stomach hurts then he falls over and groans
"We only arrived this morning. Only had enough time to rest some really." Thrynn takes a better look at the crew, "You are an eclectic group. Tell us your tale."
"We've been in the service of the Lady Lavinia Vanderboren for a good long time. She's a wonderful sort....only thing wrong with her is her bastard of a brother, Vanthus. He's stolen most her fortune, tried to kill us more times than I could count, and is an all around horrible person. He will die by my hand one day, is my promise. He's vanished to the wind, and the Lady advised us to go explore for a bit while she handled some things. I think she was worried that trouble was always finding us, to be honest. We hopped the boat to do some guard duty, for a while, as a change of pace. We found the gnome just a few days ago. One of our number was taken by the yellow mist just yesterday. After our mission and voyage is over, I must return to check on the lady. I don't trust that Vanthus as far as I can throw him."
I was out with a team, we were trying to figure out where my compass leads to...everyone else got eaten, then I had no food. I found these fellows and they had food. Maybe my compass leads to you!
He pulls out a bizarre looking compass and sees if it points to either of the newcomers, he frowns and puts it away.
"Well I have done some mercenary and guard work. Perhaps your lady would hire me on as well."
Spinnaker Jon shook his head in sympathy.
"Sounds a lot like my journey here, only mine was on foot."
"Mebbe da gnome's compass lead ta Vanthus someday. Dat would be a nice trick. Any idea where ta find da leader here?"
Bueller? Bueller?
Hellooooooooo!
The merchants in the mess hall make room for the noisy gnome and the party, as they clearly take a quick dislike to outsiders but realize your muscle is needed in these times of need so they bear it. Spinnaker Jon is intrigued by the vessel Ialda and her party arrived in, since he has never heard such a silent engine. Captain Esteban and the rest of his men from the River Queen engaged in unpacking the crates.
20 minutes later, while the party eats and chats, a human male, with a sword strapped at this side, commanding much respect from the others, approaches the party. "I see you are all making yourselves comfortable. That is good, you need to eat and be healthy and strong to deal with those damn elves attack. I am Mynafee Gorse, the Station Manager here at Nightfall. Yes, these elves are bad for business and anyone who messes with Aspis Consortium business is just looking for trouble. Hopefully, you won't mind staying on for a few days to help us with this problem. I will pay for your services of course. I will have two of my men show you around the compound when you're ready. Unless there's anything else, I must take my leave."
"Ya mon, we signed on ta help until da boat goes back ta Eledah. Will ya men be able ta tell us more about da elves too?"
"Yes, my men will tell ya what they know and about the attacks. We lost some good men. Things are really sour if we have to rely on natives to help us. Guess your people are good for something, Mwangi." The Manager gives Baolo a sinister smile.
Admiring the Ialda, Jon is distracted by the appearance of the Station Manager.
Leaning against the wall in the back, Jon's eyebrow raised as he recalled some of the scuttlebutt surrounding Manager Gorse.
He took another drink from his mug.
Bel makes busy mixing various alcohols together trying to create the ultimate drink!
I need a coconut and tiny umbrella!
Gruug, somewhat unfazed by all the activity within the tavern, chugs back another mug of ale. He hears the request for help against the elves, as visions of being cut down by them surface in his mind.
Wanting to forget the harrowing journey and its many dangerous encounters Gruug looks down at the bottom of his mug. He appears depressed and annoyed. The half-orc waves down the nearest waitress and taps the lip of his mug assertively.
Somewhere in the background he continues to hear the people at his table talking, but he largely shuts it out. Gruug tries to think of some good memories to help break him out of his somber mood, but none come to mind. Gruug sighs, and then shouts out for the waitress again, then points at his mug and holds two fingers up in the air.
The thought of solid land and a steady supply of ale brings a little bit of relief to the warrior.
Thrynn looks on to see how his new Mwangi companion deals with the station master's bigotry.
Ialda wasn't terribly happy with her station. So,where far back in her lineage, she was related to some of those elves. It made no difference when they tried to kill her earlier, so she would do her duty. She was already questioning their decision to leave The Lady. I wasn't quite prepared for all this means, she thought.
Baolo strikes up the biggest grin he can manage, "Hey mon! No worries. Ya not find many o' de Bonuwat around here, but we good at all kinds o' tings. Fishin'. Singin'. But Shimye-Magalla blessed me fa killin'." For a moment, his happy eyes shift into daggers and he mimicks the Manager's smile. Then just as quick, he's back to happy go lucky Baolo.
The Manager narrows his eyes in anger at Baolo and lets the comment slide. "Well, must head off. Business to attend to and such. Try and keep us safe, won't you?"
My new companions seem to have some metal "Now that we've some food in us, I believe our accommodations would be the next order of business. Where will we be sleeping and when is the next attack expected?"
"The way we are drinking, anywhere we can fall down on might be our sleeping arrangements for the night," the half elf says with a smile. "Hopefully, we have some time before the elves muster."
Ah hahahahahahaha!
Bel laughs maniacally as he completes his mixture of booze
Fort
Bel downs his booze mixture and says
It's perf- then he falls face down completely passed out
Baolo chuckles. The gnome's antics having broken the tension of the Manager's comments after his departure. "Ya said dat right Ialda. Belsiah not goin' ta be much help tonight."
Gruug looks up momentarily from his mugs of ale and mutters, "Sleeb.... sleeb isssstth for the weak!"
Spinnaker Jon waives his mug over Bel's fallen form.
"Blessed of Cayden Cailean!"
The Station manager scowls, "Bunch of fools, hope you fight better than you hold yer liquor! Officer Gareth, show them around so they can be ready." He then walks off to his office, giving Baolo a dirty look.
Gareth, a bulky mercenary, walks over, "A'right newcomers, let's go. Ya heard, Mr. Gorse. Oh and pick up yer friend." Gareth gives you the following information:
Area 1 - Nightfall station - this is where the party will be sleeping and staying alongside the servants (8 in total), Captain Esteban is given an Officer's quarters (his crew has to sleep on the River Queen), and six staff members - a boatwright (Henry), 2 carpenters (Tom and Harry), an engineer (Carlus), a blacksmith (Trevor), and the accountant (Lloyd). You notice a lot of empty rooms and Gareth comments that many have died in the war of attrition with the jungle elves.
Area 2 - Simple wooden roof structure with a boiling cauldron - Laundry area.
Area 3- Large wooden building - Barn - holds station's supply of livestock.
Areas 4 - 2 guardhouses - you always see 2 mercenaries on guard at each house.
Area 5 - Workshop - working area during day for smith, carpenters, engineer, and boatwright.
Area 6 - Cold Storage - it's where the dead Aspis Consortium members' bodies are stored on ice for shipment back to their families - the smell of decay is quite obvious. Gareth tells you they had a cemetery about half a mile away but with the elves around, it's too dangerous now to use. Hence, the need for the building. Most people stay away from it.
Area 7 - Rough building with one door and no windows - Barracks for guards. Gareth stresses, "No one but Aspis Consortium Guards guards allowed inside! Got it?"
During the tour, you see a number of mercenaries walking the grounds, but the most disturbing sight is a the number of clearings where you see elves' heads mounted atop sharpened stakes. The heads seem to twitch and move. Gareth tells ya, "Warning to those damn elves of what awaits them if they attack. It's creepy to see them move, scowl, and blink but ya get used to it. It was Petrune's doing. He's Mr. Gorse's secretary, some type of mage, I believe. He would have to be to make severed heads move, right? Anyway, those are main trails that elves have been attacking lately. There were 40 of us guards initially and 8 Officers. Now we're down to 24 guards and 3 officers. So hopes ya can end this threat. Now, ya'll get paid for yer hours and ya will be expected to be 12 hours on guard duty, like the rest of us. Just report yer wages to Lloyd. I'll post you at the guardhouses or on patrol. Well, that's about it. Ya can start tomorrow bright and early. Any questions??"
Bel snores
Gruug stumbles his way through the tour, routinely bumping into walls and often knocking objects over.
"SSSssssir, that bright and early thhhhhhing isssh not going to happen. Me sssee good at night, so maybe bessst thing is that me take tha' night watch?"
Ialda was snapped back from her drunkenness by the elves' heads on the poles. Her sense of unease about this mission was getting stronger. "So you have a necromancer here who practices foul undead magic?"
Gareth looks at Ialda and opens his mouth in shock..."I didn't say he slept with the corpses. That is disgusting! I said he is a mage and he cast magic to make the corpses twitch to give it that creepy vibe!"
Thurman casts Detect Magic to determine what school of magic is used on the severed heads. "Probably just a minor illusion.
Baolo is his cheery self again as the tour gets underway. He greets everyone eagerly whether they welcome him or show prejudice. He shares Ialda's wariness of the animated heads on sticks though.
Spinnaker Jon just nodded and said "Aye aye sir!".
Baolo will detect evil on them before he approaches the skulls.
Baolo does not detect evil.
After the tour, the guards drop off the party back at the main building where they will be staying. You are then shown to your individual rooms. The rest of the day passes along, although you sense the tension in the camp, as the threat of the elves is very real and present. After dinner, wherein none of the local guards or merchants interact with the party, you retire to your rooms for the night. Baolo finds a note on his cot, that was not there before.
It reads: Commendable to stand up to MG, but watch your back. Things are not what they appear to be…
Instead of a signature, there is a strange seal on the bottom of the note in the shape of an island.