After hiring a ferry to get to the other side of the river, you soon find yourselves on the northern edge of Riddleport. The locals happily point you in the direction of the establishment in question. To no surprise, the 'temple' of the Accidental God is an actual tavern. The Publican House is a sprawling building of rough-hewn wood and weathered shingles. Large bay windows of leaden glass provide an expansive view of the river. Loud cheers issue from the tavern, as does the sweet smell of spilled ale.
Several intoxicated patrons lift stools and tables stacked with metal cups brimming with ale. The interior of the Publican House is spattered with large puddles of ale and broken furniture, bot nobody seems to mind. There's nobody behind the bar, but people lifting stools and tables are being overseed (to an extent), by a bearlike man with meaty fists and a notched sword swinging at his hip.
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Juno walks into the filthy place, and curls up her lip.
Ale on my boots? Broken chairs? Ugh. Filthy drunks. It's better than piss, at least.
She casts a glance around the room and notices the bar. Wandering over to it she waits for assistance. Noticing that people seem to be playing some kind of absurd drinking game involving stools stacked with cups of cheap swill, she raises an eyebrow.
What the **** is with this town?
There are a few acolytes working for the temple in the room. They can mostly be recognised by having rapiers under their belt, but they don't seem to be overly concerned with security at the moment.
The man sighs a bit as his cheeks go red, gets one of his men to take over watching the contest, and invites you to the bar.
He pouts several mugs while intriducing himself: "So you're Jenk's people? High Publican Arnando Rolf, at your service." He hands the mugs over to your side, and continues. "Unfortunately, we have a bit of a predicament here. You see, I've declared a drink balancing challenge.", he points over to the people lifting tables andvarious other furniture with mugs on top of it. Rolf admits that he had the sacred mug set aside for the Aspis Consortium, but his acolytes gathered it up with other knickknacks as prizes for the evening’s competition. "It's unfortunate, but as it stands, the mug your boss desires is in the prize pool. The temple servants already announced it as much, and I admit to being at fault here. You can enter the contest and pick it from the trinkets first if you win, however."
Rols explains the rules within a few short moments. The contestant must lift their selected furniture above their head without spilling any ale. If multiple contestants succeed at both tasks, ties are broken first by furniture type - larger piece wins, then by number of drinks, and then by a drinking contest with the unspilled ale.
"You folks up for it? Pick your furniture piece and tell me how many mugs ya want. That's it!"
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Consequences thinks that so long as he picks a fairly light piece of furniture that his good sense of balance might carry him through.
He picks up a small sized piece - like a stool and asks for 10 drinks brothers! FOR THE DRUNK He removes his coat revealing a mug tattoo on his back.
If Connie sees that its going to come down to he and Juno he will purposefully try to use his drinks to drench the priest.
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Like Setare, Badriyah thin frame doesn't match itself to the competition, so instead she slips over behind the priest and whispers into his ear, trying not to draw any unwanted attention from the crowd.
"You realize of course, that those I represent don't like to play games or jump through hoops to get what they are rightfully owed." She says in a quiet whisper. "You think we are fool enough to come in here with no plan, no way of insuring your cooperation?"
With a soft snort, she nods at the casks, "You borrowed a lot of money. Put your temple in debt. That debt is due and it'll be paid. If we aren't, I won't be able to tell you which of those casks have the poison or provide the antidote."
"Make sure the dwarf wins the prize Jenk wanted." She says with a look toward Juno. "...or your congregation is going to grow quite small in the next few hours. And don't try to play the hero, the antidote isn't here, and I don't know where it is. I only know who to contact to get it to you in plenty of time. That's if we get what we came for..."
While the High Publician sees Badriyah approach him, her words leave a knot in his throat.
You are matched up in the competition with Fisheye Fwerd and “Big Arvin” Dalson. Fwerd is a smaller man, and enters the match with six cups on a stool. Big Arvin, however, remains true to his name. A man with broad shoulders, but a bit of a belly hanging over his belt. He bringsout a table with three cups.
After the competition is ready, all contestants make their attempts when Arnando gives the signal. The crowd observes and cheers for ... pretty much everyone. They're probably watching just for the fun of it, with no preferences at all.
They laugh at the failed attempts, most notably Consequences' and Miklos', and awe at the feats of strength showcased by the other contestants.
Alessio lifts his chair with ease, and manages to keep most of the contents of the mugs intact. Some spills, but it's only a small amount. Consequences does... things. Things that are amusing the surrounding crowd. Miklos doesn't spill much, but he barely manages to lift the bench above his belt. Juno, however, lifts the entire table with ease. She spills some, but it's manageable.
And your competition? Fwerd lifts his chair with some difficulty while spilling most of the ale over himself. Big Arvin on the other hand, has no issues lifting the entire table. he lacks the finesse, however, and a lot of his ale end up on the floor below his feet. It might be a close one. Arnando brings out two large glass pitchers, and sets them on the bar for all to see. He starts dramatically pouring the leftover ale from the Arvin and Juno's mugs into them, using a separate pitcher for each contestant's set. "Who could it be? Can our Big Arvin be bested by the newcomer madame dwarf?", he loudly asks the crowd while pouring in the liquids, and they watch the process with bated breath. A few seconds later, the winner is clear. Juno's container has more ale in it, and the crowd laughs once again and lift her into the air.
Rolf looks at Arvin and laughs. "Second place is still pretty good, Arvin. I have a hunch they'll want the mug, so you can grab the brandy if you wish. But wait until these folks drop our winner on the ground so she can claim her prize."
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Juno, knowing full well how amazing she is, looks proud (and completely unsurprised) to be named the winner of the competition. She lets out a laugh as the adoring crowd lifts her into the air and offers congratulations.
When she eventually finds her feet again, she sticks her nose up into the air with pride. "Thank you, thank you."
She claps Arvin on the shoulder. "A fine challenge, but the winner is clear. Better luck next time."
She saunters over to the prize pool and takes a gander...
When she spots the mug, Juno picks it up and declares, "THIS is what you owed my employers," she passes it over to her 'boss,' Thestil. Then she plucks something else out for herself. "And THIS is my prize."
With a cocky grin she claps Rolph on the arm. "A pleasure doing business with you, pal. My employers look forward to plenty more... visits... in the future."
Then she retrieves her gear from Setare and replies to her compliments, "Yes, yes, I am. Thank you. It's hard to describe perfection, I suppose."
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Consequences smirks. He knows he should do something to help spread the legend of the Aspis as jerks but he has too much love for his church.
So he takes his mug of ale and pours it all over some stranger as he leaves, a mild act of defiance all things told.
So is it time for us to go see the hookers?
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Consequences smirks. He knows he should do something to help spread the legend of the Aspis as jerks but he has too much love for his church.
So he takes his mug of ale and pours it all over some stranger as he leaves, a mild act of defiance all things told.
So is it time for us to go see the hookers?
There's no need to be so crass. The night people work in the oldest profession. Let's just make our way there and secure this magical dagger. Alessio is ready to move on from the Publican house.
The High Publician points out the mug as Juno picks her prize as the crowd around her disperses towards their tables. Back to business as usual. Though he gives Miklos and Badryiah a strange look of mixed fear and aggravation. "You got your mug, snakes. Now shoo. I hope we never have to do business again." He gives Consequences the same treatment when he spills a pitcher on one of the guests and runs over to diffuse the situation. By the time he arrives to the patron, you are already at the door, thoguht with what seems to be an escort of a few armed men. No violence, just making sure you leave.
After ferrying back to the central section of Riddleport, you move east towards your next destination. Upon first glance, it is hard to imagine the House of the Silken Veil as a brothel. It is a large, grimy, two story marble building topped with an ugly blood-red steeple. Nevertheless, its three entrances are each hung with freshly laundered curtains and the heavy, floral smell of incense wafts from the building.
Each entrance is guarded by a large, muscular man with a face fit for a headsman. Where do they get these people? Are they three brothers that were burning their faces with coal for the first 5 years of their life?
In any case, their looks do not match their manners. They greet you, let you in politely, and close the door behind you. The place is significantly darker compared with the street. This is probably due to the heavy curtains blocking sight, and sunlight, from the outside. Illumination is achieved by a large amount of candles and strategically placed items of varying shapes and sizes that produce magical, heatless light.
The dark entrance hallway ends with a silken curtain. Moving forward, you put the curtain aside to reveal a large central room with multiple large, comfortable couches placed near short tables of polished wood. multiple patrons are engaged in conversations with their company, and barely turn their head when you enter. The staff, however, does. A circular bar is dominating the middle section of the room, with at least two bartenders serving drinks to patrons or to other members of the temple.
A voice can be heard from behind you "Well hello there! You must be new in town. I never saw you here. And neither did my colleagues." An odd hint of sincere lascive polish tingles the tone of the sentence. Turning around, you find multiple temple acolytes, cladly dressed in various shades of yellow and orange. Many of them sport visible, and probably hidden (for now), ornate tattoos on their skin.
"Why don't we get to know each other?", they ask and slowly move in closer, showcasing their features on the way. "Maybe start with some liquid courage?", another acolyte asks as the group swoops in to bend or absolutely break the boundaries of personal space.
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Badriyah smiles at the High Publican and slips a small vial marked as an antidote, but filled with her own distillation of a simple, harmless lavender essential oil into his hand.
"Good work....this will remove anything. Just a couple of drops in each cask will be fine. And yes, I'd recommend you stay well clear of the Consortium from now on." She whispers and then leaves with the others.
When they arrive at the next temple, she offers a nod to the acolytes and says, "Unfortunately we are not here for pleasure or relaxation, but for business. We need to see the High Priest or whoever is in charge."
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The High Publician points out the mug as Juno picks her prize as the crowd around her disperses towards their tables. Back to business as usual. Though he gives Miklos and Badryiah a strange look of mixed fear and aggravation. "You got your mug, snakes. Now shoo. I hope we never have to do business again." He gives Consequences the same treatment when he spills a pitcher on one of the guests and runs over to diffuse the situation. By the time he arrives to the patron, you are already at the door, thoguht with what seems to be an escort of a few armed men. No violence, just making sure you leave.
Juno scoffs. "Best pay off your debts then. But, if the terms of your loan are disagreeable, I'll be sure to get the higher ups involved. They send someone else around to hear your complaints."
And with that, Juno struts out of the Pulican House, confident she did an amazing job.
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Juno looks unimpressed. "We're with the Aspis Consortium." she flashes her badge for emphasis and places her hands on her hips. "We're here to see your boss. She owes our employers and we're here to collect. So, unless you're free with the interest payments, hustle along and get your Mistress so we can get down to business."
The acolytes stop dead in their tracks, and you can see a few dissappointed faces. Faked or real? Who knows. "Come now - don't be such a bore.", one of the acolytes moves up to Miklos and starts gently toying with his attire.
"Perhaps later, then.", another of the acolytes smiles at the group with a wink. "If you would follow me, please."
Two of the acolytes takes you to a set of stairs on the opposite side of the room and move to the floor above. They move through a long hall stretching across the entire building, bringing you above the entrance you used to get in. A gentle knock and an invitation later, the acolytes open the door into a large, thoroughly decorated office. Long, heavy drapes line the walls, and thick carpets cover the floor.
A large bed in the middle of the room is encicrled with a silken canopy, only showing only a silhouette of a person laying on the mattress.
"Mistress Pamodae, these guests state they have business with you.", one of the acolytes addresses the woman.
"Thank you, my prescious honeybees. I'll handle it. Go tend to our other guests, and cancel my dinner meeting, please.", the woman responds to your companion and invites you in once the acolytes leave. "Come, sit. I'll be with you in a moment. I wasn't expecting guests. Not business-related guests, anyway."
The woman reaches out from the canopy and picks up a silken gown hanging just outside. Once she puts it on, she spreads the canopy open and adjusts her hair a bit. With a smile and a simple hand gesture, the woman invites you to sit again and points to several pillows surrounding a short table. "Welcome to the House of The Silken Veil, Ladies and Gentlemen. My name is Shorafa Pamodae."
She slowly picks up a bottle of wine walks over to the table. "Come and sit! There's no need to be shy.". she invites you again, still gently smiling. "I'm afraid you were not on my list of appointments for today, however. To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking to?", she remains standing next to the table until all of you take a seat, and pours red wine into 7 glasses. Her skin has a pink-ish tint to it and her short- and wide-sleeved gown is revealing several tattoos on her forearms. Two short horns seem to be growing out of the top of her forehead, but they seem at least partially concealed by her hair.
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As much as I hate to be the stick in the mud, we are here on business. I am Miklos, and as my colleague here has said, we are here to collect what is owed to our boss...to wit, the afirementioned dagger. We did nit come here to partake in the delicacies....not tonight, at least. Miklos says with a sly smile.
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Juno, looking quite unimpressed, picks up one of the glasses of wine and gives it a sniff. She sighs, then drinks it down in a few quick gulps. She waggles her empty glass at Pamodae.
"No need to be stingy." she remarks, clearly wanting a refill.
As she waits, Juno nods. "We're with the Aspis Consortium, and the Aspis always gets what it is owed. My superiors demand the dagger immediately, and will expect further services and payments by weeks end." With a chuckle she adds, "Interest's a b**ch, isn't it?" She shrugs. "Still, a deal's a deal. It's time to make a payment."
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Consequences toughly nods in affirmation of Juno's point of view. But as I said to one of your...lesser girls downstairs I do come bearing a business opportunity that might help de-fray the cost of parting with the dagger. Privately of course. As the lead agent I carry information the others aren't privvy to.