It was not part of our upbringing...
Constable Hemlock glares at Cade as he goes off on his monologue.
"Easy..."
Lord Kaijitsu stands again.
"Are you mocking me? Are you calling me a coward?"
He pauses for a moment.
"How dare you! You were only invited here as a courtesy. And look how this courtesy is repaid! Lady Mayor, I demand-"
"Enough! Lord Kaijitsu, I heard him as well as you did."
She looks at Cade sternly.
"Mister Goodbarrel. I must remind you that we face a dire situation here, and it serves no purpose for you to provoke the rulers of this town. You are not required to like Lord Kaijitsu. But this is an official meeting and decorum must be observed."
She rubs her chin, thinking.
"We will discuss the matter of your breach of decorum after the meeting's primary business has been resolved."
Madame Mvashti snickers behind her hand. She gives Cade a wink.
Yet another noble strides in, followed by several footmen.
"What's got old Kaijitsu in such a tizzy? My friend, there's practically steam coming out of your ears!"
Before Lord Kaijitsu can say anything, the Lady-Mayor jumps in.
"Ah! Here we are! My new friends, may I introduce His Lordship Titus Scarnetti. Lord Scarnetti, these are the 'Sandpoint Six,' the ones who intervened the other day when the goblins attacked."
"Now that we're all here, let's get things underway."
Lord Scarnetti gives the party a shallow bow.
"Pleasure, I'm sure."
With a grand sweep of his cape Lord Scarnetti sits in the chair at the far end of the table from the mayor.
"So what's the urgency with this meeting, anyway? Surely the horse is out of the barn, so there's no need to discuss how securely we're going to lock the barn door now."
"My lords, if I may," Shalelu steps forward, and clears her throat.
"The Lady-Mayor asked me to examine the goblin equipment that was found after the goblin raid was driven off. About forty goblins were killed in the attack, and from what I understand half of those were killed by these six people gathered here today."
"There are five different goblin tribes living in the area around Sandpoint. From what I have been able to discern, all five tribes were involved in the attack. This is... unprecedented. For this to have happened, some powerful leader has to have emerged that all the goblins fear, enough to take orders from them. The goblins have a number of 'heroes,' but none of these champions currently possesses the power to achieve this, unless something has changed drastically."
"The Mosswood tribe is the strongest tribe in the region, with the most territory. About half the goblin warriors in the attack seem to have been Mosswood goblins. The Mosswoods do possess the strength to dominate the other tribes through direct force because of their numbers, but a war like that would have been obvious. It hasn't happened."
"The Thistletop tribe has their territory in the Nettlewood, just north of the Mosswood. A half-dozen of the dead goblins seemed to be from the Thistletop tribe."
"The Seven Tooth tribe is a smaller tribe that occupies the Shank's Wood, a little closer to town. Five of the bodies were from the Seven Tooths."
"The Licktoad tribe lives in the Brinestump Marsh. They don't usually have anything to do with the other tribes. Six of the dead were from the Licktoad tribe."
"And the Birdcruncher tribe lives in the Ravenroost and the caverns underneath. They are a small tribe and generally don't bother us much; they know how precarious their position is. Yet three of the dead were Birdcrunchers."
"The goblins may have been driven off, but if they remain united then the danger is far from over. The five tribes acting in concert could easily stage a much larger attack. I estimate that among the remaining goblin population there are between three hundred and four hundred goblins capable of bearing arms. If they came against the town en masse, our current defenses are nowhere near ready for them."
The sudden flurry of newcomers puts Flo into a chair. She exchanges pleasantries with them as they enter, smiling and bowing her head as appropriate. When Lord Valdemar hacks up blood, she is taken slightly a back but does her best to conceal it. As a Lord, why hasn't he visited the cathedral? Surely we have a cleric who could ease his sickness! I'll speak to the Father about this later.
There to four hundred?! Her eyes grow wide as Shalelu sufficiently illustrates how dire the situation is.
She shifts uncomfortably in her seat as she waits for one of the Lord's to respond first. Kargas is right, granting us the courtesy to attend means we are probably the tools for their plan. No sense in speaking until we hear them out.
"Oh! Yes, carpenter. Good hands. Figureheads, and gingerbread work, and such. Good man. How is he doing these days?"
Laurana was about to answer the Lord's question but the conversation had moved on and she just bowed her end gratefully.
"And you would be Tikakana's daughter, yes? I'm glad to see that your studies have turned out to be valuable for the community. It's good to see a wizard make a name for herself."
Laurana's cheeks went a shade of red at the compliment, she stammered, "I try my best Master."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"I'm sure you all can turn this into an all-day affair, so I just wanna note: yes, we'll find whoever the goblins' new leader is and kill 'em. Also I charge by the goblin killed, with a bonus after fifty."
Cade keep his smile going for all to see. He looks back at the Lord and his face turns to a look of horror.
Mocking you....A coward...perish the thoughts. I would never say such words to one of your standing. Those words never came out of my mouth and everyone here, Lords included have heard my words. The word coward never was in my monologue, if you feel such that my words were an insult....Lord Kaijitsu you have my most sincere and heartfelt apology if such words have upset your sense of worth. That was not my intention.
your f#%@ing delicate sense of worth...jackass
As the Lady Mayor gives him a speaking to. Cade response with words that are filled with warm gestures. He looks at the mayor and a knowing smile crosses his face. He shows no disrespect at the mayor and find here kind and gentle.
Master...In a time like this if we are going to be throwing titles around....then I shall be called by my true title. Tavern Master Goodbarrel. It is only respectful and shows character. If you would Lady Mayor. Please and Thank You. I am sorry for disturbing your meeting but slander and disrespect directed towards those that just help to save your city regardless of birth is not a way to say thank you in any forum. I look forward to the talk on breach of decorum. Now shall we get down to business.
Cade keep his smile going for all to see. He looks back at the Lord and his face turns to a look of horror.
Mocking you....A coward...perish the thoughts. I would never say such words to one of your standing. Those words never came out of my mouth and everyone here, Lords included have heard my words. The word coward never was in my monologue, if you feel such that my words were an insult....Lord Kaijitsu you have my most sincere and heartfelt apology if such words have upset your sense of worth. That was not my intention.
your f#%+ing delicate sense of worth...jackass
As the Lady Mayor gives him a speaking to. Cade response with a smile and his words are filled with warm gestures. He looks at the mayor and a knowing smile crosses his face. He shows no disrespect at the mayor and find here kind and gentle.
I am sorry for disturbing your meeting but slander and disrespect directed towards those that just help to save your city regardless of birth is not a way to say thank you....in any forum. I look forward to the talk on breach of decorum. Now shall we get down to business.
As the other enter the room.
Cade nods towards each of them and show his respect to all.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"What's this about a 'spider creature?'"
The big half-orc grins proudly and opens his mouth, then freezes as his eyes go wide. "I LEFT IT AT THE INN!" he roars, distraught. "WE KILLED THE SPIDER MONSTER AND I FORGOT TO BRING THE DAMN HEAD!!"
Rig whistles appreciatively. "Three to four hundred. That would definitely be a challenge, especially for such a small group. May I offer a couple of suggestions, Ms. Shalelu, for us to scope out. One option would be to try to assault one of the groups. It seems likely that the group with the largest number of goblins in the raid may be the group from which this 'leader' operates.
If not an outright assault, perhaps a sabotage mission, to lessen their likelihood of a successful attack... something like a fire, for example. Another option might be to get the tribes back to fighting among one another. To convince the smaller tribes that the larger ones are trying to take advantage of the situation of a common foe."
He scratches his chin for a moment in thought. "Not sure how to accomplish that, however. It would take a solid plan. Any other ideas, Lords, Ladies, others?"
Colvyn can't help but smile at Cade speech. So that's how you do that. Maybe I should ask him to write that down later. When Shalelu explain the goblin tribe's situation and where they are, Colvyn feel that she would be someone he would like to talk more with. He is about to ask some questions about that when Kargas start screaming about the head.
Cade would be a journeyman of the Innkeepers' Guild (which covers both inns and taverns). You could insist on this title, but it is not particularly prestigious (though it would at least tell people you are a member of a guild). It would be kind of like a common soldier correcting a general, saying "no sir, it's not Private; it's actually Corporal, thank you very much."
Considering that Cade doesn't have any ranks in Craft (brewing) but does have ranks in Profession (gambler), I imagine that he spent more time playing cards in his father's taproom than working there. Considering your relative lack of skill, your rank of journeyman would mostly be a courtesy on account of your father, and you would have difficulty actually finding work in other taverns.
BTW most taverns brew their own ale and beer. But as a member of the Innkeeper's Guild, you would know that the Deverins own a major brewery in town which supplies local taverns with good quality ale, and the Deverins are connected to the Innkeeper's Guild.
Cade keep his smile going for all to see. He looks back at the Lord and his face turns to a look of horror.
Mocking you....A coward...perish the thoughts. I would never say such words to one of your standing. Those words never came out of my mouth and everyone here, Lords included have heard my words. The word coward never was in my monologue, if you feel such that my words were an insult or directed at you....Lord Kaijitsu you have my most sincere and heartfelt apology if such words have upset your sense of worth. That was not my intention.
your f*$%ing delicate sense of worth...jackass
As the Lady Mayor gives him a speaking to. Cade responds with words that are filled with warm gestures. He looks at the mayor and a knowing smile crosses his face. He shows no disrespect at the mayor and find here kind and gentle.
I am sorry for disturbing your meeting and look forward to the talk on breach of decorum. Now shall we get down to business.
"I'm sure you all can turn this into an all-day affair, so I just wanna note: yes, we'll find whoever the goblins' new leader is and kill 'em. Also I charge by the goblin killed, with a bonus after fifty."
The mayor looks at Kargas with a raised eyebrow.
"I appreciate the offer, Mister Kargas. If that becomes the plan we may take you up on it. But do you have any insight on who this leader is?"
"Mercenary, eh?" Lord Scarnetti smiles.
"I don't mind paying for that. No, not at all. We've always been too soft on these goblins in my book. Hiring some mercenaries may be just what we need."
When Lady-Mayor Deverin mentions the "leader" of the goblins, Father Zantus becomes thoughtful.
"Actually... there was a strange incident connected to the raid. Father Tobyn's crypt was broken into and his remains were stolen during the raid. I don't know what that means, or why someone would do such a thing."
He looks over at the party.
"It was Floredana and her friends here that discovered this. Perhaps they can tell us more about what they discovered."
"Nope, tracks we found at the crypt were a dead end," the half orc admits, unperturbed. "But if I were to guess, it ain't a goblin. Your elf says the tribes were united without a war, that tells me the new leader is so obviously stronger that the tribes submitted without much of a struggle. Seen it before, sometimes ogres or the like decide they like bossin' around the little wretches, but this boss seems more cunning than an ogre."
Rig chimes in following Kargas. "The goblin prisoners we interviewed spoke of a human their bosses told them was in charge. So perhaps not an ogre, but still someone bigger and stronger. They were unhelpful as to what this person looked like."
Your elf says the tribes were united without a war..
Laurana bristled at the statement and if steam could come out of her ears it would have. She began marching across the room to confront Kargas when Rig stepped in with his explanation. She was not mollified and would remember this slight against the Forlorn.
Cade sits down and watches the others discuss the current situation.
"Easy, Laurana. We have enough on our plates with the goblins."
"Is there anyone who would harbor some resentment towards Tobyn?"
"Or perhaps someone who would benefit from a Sandpoint in turmoil? It is highly uncomfortable to think about, but still worth considering. By Desna, I pray it isn't a member of our community.
Mayor Deverin thinks.
"Father Tobyn wasn't always the easiest man to get along with."
She shakes her head.
"But for someone to hate him enough to desecrate his remains? It doesn't seem likely."
"I already explained to our friends here that it seems unlikely that necromancy is the intent. Father Tobyn's bones would be no better than any other set of bones for the purpose of creating an undead."
"Well... that is not entirely true," the wizard remarks as he strokes his beard.
"If you wished to create an undead that had the semblance of someone living, the undead would normally take the semblance of the man he was before death. So Father Tobyn's remains could be used to create an undead that might impersonate Father Tobyn. Which could be useful except that Father Tobyn is known to be dead by pretty much everyone around here."
"Interesting possibilities, though. The trick would be recovering Father Tobyn's memories and implanting them into the undead..."
Professor Gandethus looks around as he realizes others are looking at him oddly.
"*ahem* Which is all strictly academic, of course."
"There are more uses for the bones of the dead than animating them, young lad," Madame Mvashti remarks.
"All kinds of rituals might use the bones of a loved one, or of an enemy."
"Not many of those would bode well for us here in Sandpoint, though. No, not at all!" She winks and suppresses a giggle.
"Or perhaps someone who would benefit from a Sandpoint in turmoil? It is highly uncomfortable to think about, but still worth considering."
"The heart of Sandpoint's economy is business, particularly our exports to Magnimar. Sandpoint's entire existence is based on providing certain commodities to Magnimar. And always, in business, you have rivals."
"If our supply of timber were threatened, not only would our own shipbuilding suffer, but so would that of Magnimar. The lumber interests in Nybor would be quite happy to see our lumber supply dwindle. They could sell more of theirs and charge more for it."
"What?" Lord Valdemar looks up, as if waking up. "What's happening with the shipbuilding?"
"Lord Scarnetti, there are plenty of other businesses in Sandpoint that could be the target aside from your lumber business. My stone quarries or brewery, or Lord Kaijitsu's glassworks, for example."
Lord Scarnetti shrugs. "Perhaps. This could be a play against any of us here, or all of us. Or it could be a plot to harm Magnimar through us. If the latter is the case, the timber industry is best target, since Magnimar is a sea power and cutting off their supply of timber huts their navy."
"In any case we should be more concerned about protecting these interests from attack than we have been."
Now we are getting somewhere! "In the interest of protecting the town, is there anything we can do to help? We have quite the collection of skills in our little group." Flo offers with a warm smile. We may have to protect their business interests for them to take action, but doing so should help the locals!
Luarana, still smarting front he insult, decided to move on for now as a thought came to her, pushing out the other thought she had, "Father Tobyn had a daughter, correct? She also died in the fire. Were her remains in the tomb with Father Tobyn?" Her rate of talking sped up as she continued to process her line of thinking, "Maybe they weren't after Tobyn, but his daughter? For some reason."
Cade sits quietly taking all it in. When at last there is a break in the talk, He chimes in.
Besides being damn good looking and charming, I am also a fighter. A duelist if you will. I am always thinking three steps ahead of my opponent. Feints within feints within feints. I try to see what my enemies are capable of and their abilities before I act....Let me see if I got this correct. The Goblin assault included most of the larger tribes in the area and that this group could consist upwards of four hundred combatants. The possibility of a human that could be from this town, pulling the strings of the tribes. A corpse that was stolen....
Cade stands and starts to walk around the room.
So if you have brought together a bunch of Goblin tribes with enough manpower to over run the defenses of this town...Why take a dead priest's bones....where is the real target. Which one is the feint....
Cade stops and look around at the others.
I am no expert, but I think the goblin assault was a feint of sort but to what end...I do not know. If you have a leader that has enough personality to bring together that many Goblins he would need to attack in force right away or at least very soon. They tend to begin infighting soon enough if left with nothing to do. If this leader was human he would have no problems figuring out what the defenses are of the town. He would not need to probe or to test us.
He steps towards the companions.
There may be something in this town that they are looking for or the stolen body was part of it. Why attack and then sneak away with a dead body.
Cade turns and looks at the mayor
Lady Mayor, If I may suggest several things in reaction to the events that have occurred...Search the town...door to door if you have to. It could be that the attack and the theft were just feints and that there are Goblin hiding inside the walls. Waiting for the right moment to come out and open up the gates. Goblins tend to destroy anything the get their hands on...they like fires more than creating economical hardships....but....If a smart leader...might try such tactics. I recommend sending some patrols to the major business' in town. To see if anything is going on in any of those places.
He pause as he contemplates his last words.
I also would call up any reserve forces you have...a militia of any sorts. You are vulnerable here....The goblins caught you sleeping and they will not be going away anytime soon. Call them up to protect the people that live here. Start to think ahead of your enemies. Plan for the worst. These are confusing time.....I remember some wise words spoken in a tavern once..."Always keep your foes confused. If they are never certain who you are or what you want, they can not know what you are like to do next. Sometimes to baffle them is to make moves that have no purpose, or even seem to work against you"....We need more information and we need it like last night. Or should I say...you need it.
Rig points out to Cade, "Well, we ARE currently here, so we're in danger as well. But I agree that we need to think about the reasoning behind the attack."
"Mister Goodbarrel is likely right. My gut says this attack is a feint."
"If it was a lead up to a bigger attack, the raid only puts us on our guard. They must have some other purpose."