"We heard you took someone we want to talk to." Mr. Whiskers cheerfully replies. "If you give them to us and pay us for the trouble, I may be able to convince my large friend" gesturing to Einar "to pick a fight somewhere else."
Not likely though. If there is one thing Einar enjoys as much as eating, it seems to be fighting. That plus I'm not sure you would stay out of town if we ran you off.
The human sidesteps Einar's hammer swing.
The Ogre tries to clamber on the table, only to fall prone.
Einar smacks the ogre on the head, and it lies half strewn on the table and floor, looking dizzy and disorientated.
It then stands up, unsteadily on the table.
"And who might that someone be? I lock lots of people up if they don't pay their dues.Then have dumped into the lake if their families don't cough up."
"Dump the bodies in the lake? In a fishing village?" Mr. Whiskers eyes narrow. Bad for the lake, and it means the fishermen are dredging up bodies of friends. I don't think this leader will be left here. "Who have you got currently, and how much will you pay for us to take them?"
I don't expect Ziva will give him much longer to talk.
"Oh, and what was your name?"
As he speaks, he gets out a jar of acid and aims his spell at the ogre again.
"Pay you to take them? It should be the other way round! You pay me to take them!" He stomps his foot on the ground."Was? I'm still here,you idiot rat. I'm Marcian Enarxion, and this is my town so get lost!" He gestures at the door."That's the door!"
The ogre looks about to topple over, after Mr Whiskers hits him with an acid splash.
Crummock adjusts to a flanking position, whilst Geist continues to tear into the man.
Meanwhile, Nadya tries to finish off the ogre.
Geist only manages to get one bite on the human, with the human sidestepping the claw swipes.
Nadya shoots the ogre in the eye and it topples onto the ground.
As rgw ogre falls, Ziva heads up to the remaining human and attempts to bring him down alongside Vernai.
"I surrender!"Marcian raises his hands in the air and drops his rapier on the ground. "I'll give you all the gold and gems I have and you can get everyone I've kept prisoner free too! You'll be rich! "
Mr. Whiskers looks mildly surprised at the surrender. "You will be leaving the village as well." he says.
"I may have used the wrong tense though, when asking your name. We willl see."
Looking to the others, he asks "Shall we allow him to survive this? He might have some useful contacts."
Looking at Marcian, he prompts "You do, right Marcian?"
"Leaving the village? But this is my place!" He blusters, then thinks better of it seeing the entire party with their bloody weapons all around him."Fine, fine, I'll leave."
"Uh yeah, yeah I do." He replies to Mr Whiskers question on contacts.
Crummock and Mr Whiskers realize there's more to what he's saying. Sure he'll leave - but who's going to promise he won't be coming back the moment the party leaves the place....
His statement regarding contacts is true, though.
"I've got gold and gems, don't they interest you? If you kill me, you'll never find them!" He declares.
"Search him and tie him up!" Mr. Whiskers says. "Don't gag him, because his best value is his information."
Mr. Whiskers will then do a detect magic to find anything magical on him.
"Tell us about the local smugglers, Marcian."
His leather armor, rapier and emerald ring are magical.
+1 studded leather, +1 rapier, ring of protection +1
Einar finds in a bedroom, in a concealed floor panel, a small locker. The locker is trapped.
Einar, Ziva and Crummock hear muffled sounds coming from the floor. Searching reveals a locked trapdoor.
"I know a guy, who buys and sells items and information. But I'm not going to tell you how to contact him, unless you let me go."
He is evasive. I'm pretty sure he could give us some information, but certain he would sabotage us in any way he could. Although I like to give people a second chance, he is making me feel uncomfortable.
I think that I should probably talk to the others before making a promise.
After some hesitation, Mr. Whiskers says "Alright, well guess I need to talk to the others and most likely your prisoner before we make a decision."
He and Nadya continue to watch him while the others are searching.
Unlocking the trapdoor they find a cellar, which has been converted into a makeshift dungeon. There are 3 tied up and gagged men who have been imprisoned here.Uncle!” Nadya shouts as she runs towards the bars of the cell. ”What have they done to you?” One of the tied up and gagged men, who is somewhat battered and bruised replies,”Mmph Mmph Mmph Mmph!”
”Quick, get them out of here!” Nadya urges the party. After they are all freed, the two fishermen, Erik and Daniel thank the party for rescue.
”Nadya, thank god came here in time. Marcian said he was going to feed me to the fishes!” Then Nadya and Ringerr exchange a heartfelt hug, ”Thank Marion, she was the one who confirmed that you were at the Fishcamps. Else it might’ve been too late by the time here.”
"Nadya, pass me your handaxe. This b@stard got his goons to kidnap me and would have had me drowned in the lake. That's not to mention that he's been extorting from the fisherfolk here, and killing them when they can't pay up." Ringerr states vehemently as he steps towards him with his borrowed handaxe held high.
"No, please, don't let him kill me! I have gold and gems and I can get you information!" The cowering Marcian begs the party for his life.
"I wouldn't trust this snake here, if I were you. He'd try to sell you out at the first opportunity. The world would be a much better place without him in it." Ringerr answers.
"No, no, no! You'll set me free at the edge of town with all my gear if I give you my gold and gems and put you in touch with my contact!" Marcian protests. "I'm not going on a boat with anyone! And certainly not with any fishermen!"
”Sure. It’ll be one REALLY short boat ride for him. I can be that fisherman. Or accompany your fisherman if you have someone in mind.” Ringerr gives an evil snicker. ”And I want my gear back. He took it.” Ringerr pats Marcian down, and pulls out a ring of keys from him. One of the keys is labelled locker. ”Did any of you see where he put my gear? Or any kind of storage box?”
Mr. Whiskers looks to Einar, then Ringerr. Finally, he looks to Nadya and asks "Is this your uncle?"
Looking to Marcian, he says "Sorry, I'm going to side with the family of the person who has been a faithful companion. Even in our short conversations, I got the distinct you were calculating how to betray us."
Nadya nods to Mr Whiskers questions about Ringerr.
Marcian flinches and shies away from Einar’s bad breath. He turns pale when Einar and Mr Whiskers mention the concealed locker. ”The locker is trapped! Open it at your own peril!” He brags.
Ringerr pats the key ring that he pulled of Marcian on his palm. ”Keys here. One of them even says locker.” He gives Marcian a wicked smirk. ”Shouldn’t be too much of a problem, I’d say.”
Marcian looks noticeably defeated on that statement.
Ringerr opens the locker to reveal the following items:
A wand of spider climb (17 charges), a small pouch holding 4 uncut rubies worth 50 gp each, 179 gp in assorted coinage, a curious silver mirror engraved with the image of two lovers embracing worth 100 gp, and 3 dustburst pellets, 2 potions of cure light wounds, a potion of undetectable alignment, padded armor, club, dagger, mw sling with 10 bullets, amulet of natural armor +1, cold weather gear, thieves tools, 6 gp and 9 sp.
He takes the following items:
3 dustburst pellets, 2 potions of cure light wounds, a potion of undetectable alignment, padded armor, club, dagger, mw sling with 10 bullets, amulet of natural armor +1, cold weather gear, thieves tools, 6 gp and 9 sp.
”That’s my gear. I’d guess the rest is all the stuff he extorted.”
”You could torture me, but it’d get you nowhere. Firstly, I am a man of delicate health. Especially so in my current condition. You wouldn’t want…accidents to happen, would you? Secondly, even if you tortured me, it’d do you no good, since my contact won’t show himself if I’m not there. As a matter of fact he’d be pretty put out that I brought all of you along.” He answers Einar matter-of-factly.
"The Fence." He answers, "If you kill me, you'll never find him."
"That IS his name. He is known but none other then the Fence."
Mr Whiskers has heard of this enigmatic person known as The Fence, who operates around White Throne. He is a mysterious figure, who appears only to those who know how to leave the secret sign in the woods. He is a dealer in goods and information, buying, collecting and selling to the highest bidder. It is said from local legends there is little he does not know and he can be persuaded to give information, but there is always a price. It is also said that you cannot find The Fence, being as elusive as the north wind himself, and it is he who chooses to find you, after the secret sign has been laid.
"Firstly, it'd cost me my life if I were to show it to you. Secondly, I don't think you'd be able to learn it. It's complex. Thirdly, The Fence doesn't know you, so even if you laid the sign out correctly, he wouldn't speak to you. I'm sure if you know the local legends about the secret sign, you also know that he grants audience, only when he chooses to. And he doesn't know you. He knows ME."
"In the woods... north east of the lake, where you see a lightning struck Birch tree where looking through its branches you can see the Glittertind, at its base are a pile of rocks. You have to arrange them in the Stone Sentinel formation." He then explains the formation in detail.
"Or I could go there and set it up for you. If you set me free with all my gear at the edge of town, of course."
"Then go to the lake, stand by the Western Red Cedar and The Fence will choose if he wishes to see you. Probably not, because he doesn't know you."
"I won't be joining you. I am not travelling with that swine. I'll stay here, until you're done."Ringerr answers with a growl.
Crummock and Einar are pretty sure that Ringerr has other plans..that don't involve staying in town.
"For the thousandth time, I'm not taking any boat trips." Marcian complains. "Let me go, with all my gear, at the edge of town."
Mr. Whiskers listens intently to the description of the sign. He makes a few notes to remind himself of the details.
"I can't be sure, but I think I have it."
Looking to Ringerr, Mr. Whiskers asks "Do we need The Fence? Although it could be just bluster, the rumors that speak of him also state he asks a hefty price. Although I do value good information, if we don't need it then there is no reason to jump through all these hoops."
Einar bites through Marcian's windpipe, killing him instantly.
"Wow. That's hardcore." Ringerr nods approvingly as Einar slays Marcian. Then he uses his borrowed handaxe to lop of Marcian's head, holding it up my the scalp.
Immediately on spotting the mirror, Crummock curses, and smashes it thoroughly.
"Another agent o' the Witches!"
Crummock looks mildly uncomfortable when Einar suggests torture, and cutting the blood eagle on the man.
A clean death is one thing, but that is a tad excessive.
When Ringeirr mentions the man's 'hobbies', however, Crummock's expression sours.
Still, that be the sort o' man that disnae deserve to continue to draw breath.
Once Einar has dealt with the man, Crummock turns to Ringeirr.
"Glad we could help. Yer niece speaks highly o' ye; we desire to get into the capital, and it has been intimated that ye be the one to help us to do so. When can we hit the road?"
On Marcian’s body the party finds the following items:
+1 studded leather, + 1 rapier, dagger, mw light crossbow with 10 bolts, ring of protection +1, cold weather outfit, mw thieves tools, gold necklace worth 50 gp, 17 gp.
On each ogre they find:
Large sized greatclub, large sized javelin and hide armor.
”We can hit the road tomorrow. But there are some things I need to tell you before you even think about attempting this. I don't want to talk about it now.” Ringerr answers.
Ringerr walks out of the shack and starts proclaiming in his best towncrier voice, ”Citizens of the Fishcamp. We have slain the man who has been exacting money from you. You can now live your lives in peace, never to be bothered by him again.” He then drops Marcian's head in the mud. His statement is greeted by cheers from the fisherfolk.
The party comes out of the shack to be greeted by a whole town of grateful fishermen, having being freed from the rule of the tyrant Marcian. They have set up portable tables and chairs outdoors and have prepared a meal for the party consisting of barbequed salmon, lobster Thermidor, seafood risotto, iceberg lettuce and prawn salad and clam chowder. The fishermen work with a will, cleaning up Ringerr’s house in a space of a few hours and giving him a whole new set of furniture. The party returns to their newly furnished and cleaned up house, to discuss the plans for the night.
”Uncle, I’ll be frank with you. I came here because I need to get into White Throne, so that I can avenge my daughter Thora. And also I have another favour to ask of you.” Nadya tells her uncle.
”Well you came to the right man, I know White Throne like the back of my own hand.” Ringerr replies heartily, then blanches in shock as he hears about her true reasons. ”What happened to Thora?”
”She was slain then made into a soul-bound doll by Nazhema.”Nadya answers, her face bleak.
”Right. I can get you in. Won’t be a problem.”Ringerr answers matter-of-factly, all his good cheer gone.”Now what was the other favour?” He asks her warily.
”After this run into White Throne, I want you to retire and live with your sister Marion. She misses you, you know. And she was worried about your safety. That each trip would be your last. If she knew what had happened here, she’d never forgive me for getting you to make one more trip into White Throne.” Nadya softens her voice. ”I know you miss Laila and Siri, but after all this years of searching, have you found them? They’re probably dead by now. And you still have family. Family that cares about you. I had to leave Orm and Morjoli with Marion. I can’t be there for my children. Could you, at least be there so I know they have someone to turn to?” Nadya pleads with her uncle.
”You ask a lot, Nadya, I need to give some serious thought to that question.” He ponders. ”About White Throne…its not the easiest place to get into..”
Ringerr reveals that he was contacted by an underground resistance group called the Heralds of Summer Return. The Heralds of Summer Return are members of a clandestine cult of Milani who are trying to liberate White Throne from its Winter Witch rule, of which the cause he was all too willing to get into, since he strongly suspected that the Winter Witches played a large role in his missing wife and daughter. He is one of their agents in smuggling people out of White Throne as well as supplies into the city. The party can be part of his next supply train.
He then reveals more of the situation in the city the last time he was there.
Ever since Queen Elvanna seized power from her mother, she has removed the Iron guard from power and installed the Winter Guard, loyal to her alone. Queen Elvanna has also declared martial law in White Throne, making it extremely dangerous to go through the city’s primary gates. Traffic still passes through the city gates, but it has slowed to a crawl, with large contingents of the Winter Guards performing thorough searches of anyone entering or leaving White Throne.
As a result of the martial law, it is an offence to walk around in the city in medium or heavy armor or shields, or openly display weapons larger than a dagger without documents authorization. Also any kind of public performance (like public dancing, singing...the list continues) is strictly prohibited in White Throne.
Citizens are routinely checked even within the city, by the dreaded constructs known as the Mirror Men. To move throughout White Throne, the party will require papers authorizing movement. He describes a privileged group of Jadwiga called Stilyagi, young nobles known for their outlandish behaviour and styles of dress. Like-minded Stilyagi form gangs and adopt the cultural and stylistics trappings of other lands and peoples, even pretending to be adventurers from other nations. With their wealth and indolent lifestyle, Stilyagi are notorious for the recruitment of foreigners (even those of other races) to act as companions, teachers and advisors – at least until they grow tired of them. Ringerr suggests that the party could pretend to be Stilyagi and their foreign guests to move about the city, and he knows an eccentric forger in White Throne who not only can prepare the correct documents, but also knows the secret household symbols of many of the city’s Jadwiga clans and can reproduce them with arcane marks for added authenticity.
He knows a forger named Mortin, who lives on the borders of the district known as the Howlings which is predominantly controlled by Winterwolves. The magic of the Howlings enables Winterwolves to take human form, but they’re generally corrupt and lax when it comes to security.
Ringerr’s plan is to go into the city via the Howlings and contact Mortin, while delivering the fish to his contact Solveig Ayrdahl who is the leader of the Cult of Milani and can give the party shelter in the city and more information of the current conditions there.
Of course, the Stilyagi are not on top of the “pecking order” and to be truly above questioning in White Throne, the best disguise would be to dress as a winter witch and her escorts. Winter Witches are treated with utmost respect in White Throne, with everyone either giving them deference, or giving them a wide berth (especially for most of the humans(except for the Jadwiga clans), which are treated like chattel). The Winter Witches freely travel alone as the consequence of giving one offence within the city of White Throne itself is dire. If they do travel with escorts, they are usually accompanied by the Winter Guard, Ice Trolls and/or Winter Wolves.
Of Nazhema, he’s heard that she’s been in negotiations with some Ulfen, an Earl Bry- , he didn’t catch the rest of the name, for the purposes of providing extra security, in return of ceding one of the towns, Saarbotten to him. This Earl brought along his own raiding party as well…
And the party levels to 5! Please, feel free to level up.
Crummock looks thoughtful.
"Ringerr, do ye know for certain that yer missing family members be dead? There are certain spells that could be used, to determine the truth o' it... but they ain't cheap..."
"I've been looking for them for 3 years...never found a trace of them, like so many others that disappeared in the city." Ringerr gives a resigned sigh."I've always been hoping that maybe after the Winter Witches have been overthrown, they'll be among those we liberate..."