"I'm pretty sure he is undead or something. He never sleeps! Beyond that," the man pauses. "Well, I've seen worse tyrants. He only leaves his home when something is going on, like how that hanged man ended up where it hangs. Normally, he lets the locals handle problems themselves. He just works from his shop and makes whatever is needed for the town. It's a ramshackle place, this village, but somehow it works." He stops again and looks at you. The air between you is expectant, as if waiting for something flat, heavyish, and golden to pass through it at any moment."What about that Hanged Man? How did it get there, and why was it not destroyed? Macavity continues lacking a clue about "something flat, heavyish, and golden."
The man looks at you slightly odd, as if he were hoping that something else, separate from reality, was supposed to happened. Then he shook his head and tried again. "The hanging man was just some guy who cheated at cards. I wasn't there when it happened, and I heard this through various peoples, so I don't know how much of this is true. But, apparently, this guy had been cheating several people at a table with a fair bit of coin at stake. Someone figured out his game by accident. He tried to run, but someone was faster and managed to tackle him in the commons. Beat him senseless, they did. By the time the Usurer came out to find out what the ruckus was about, they already had some rope out. The Usurer gave his blessing after hearing both sides, and that was it. It seems that some people don't know how to make an honest living, while others try to get by on whatever meager means they have." The man gives you a meaningful look; the sentence standing in place, with its hand out.
Macavity nods at the response and looks at the hand out. "That doesn't explain why the Hanged Man is prowling at night. Are you expecting something from me?"
Ally flutters over and takes a seat on the bar next to Numair, Ruul, Lavinia, the bar wench and Lucky. "Seems like most of the people in here are pretty soused. Something been going on to make them want to drown their sorrows?" she asks the bartender. [dice=Diplomacy again]1d20+11
"So Lucky, why do they call you that? Maybe I missed something earlier."
"O wel fanci you, wid dem big biddies of yours. Eww don' look too squeemish." As if winding up to throw something, Lucky starts in. "So as you sees, I los me tong awhile back, foun'dout you can do a ting widout it, I rekon. Los 'alf me face, an ear, an most of me 'air dealin wif a dragons. Also los' me stump 'ere wen som trolls decid'd to eats me fur dinner on night. Los some fingers 'laying on daggers. Los me leg here to gelatinous cube of all t'ings." Lucky looks at you appreciably, looking for a response.
"Big biddies?" Ally peers around for a biddy, which to her means a gossipy old lady or a broody hen, but sees nothing of the sort. Her eyes widen as Lucky shows off his wounds, and exclaims, "You must be lucky to have survived so many potentially fatal adventures! Well, I know of the existence of spells that could restore your body, but they are powerful magic indeed. I've every reason to believe that should my companion, Elen, ever manage to learn them, she would use them for you, but that might be years."
Macavity nods at the response and looks at the hand out. "That doesn't explain why the Hanged Man is prowling at night. Are you expecting something from me?"
The man sighs, somewhat perturbed. "Never mind." Shaking his head, he continues. "The hanging man prowls at night, in part I think, because of his nature. He hasn't lost any of his intelligence, and while he can't speak (noose and all, you know), he can understand you. Here's the thing though. He can't go inside a building or anything. Not even lean-to's like mine. I found out because a rat came running across here and stopped. The hanging man was chasing after it, but stopped before he got inside of here. He pointed to the rat, then pointed to himself. I shooed the rat off, and the thing smiled and waved, then ran off after it. It was strange, but at least I wasn't in any danger.
"Another reason why he only prowls at night, again, in my opinion, is that he has some kind of arrangement with the Usurer. Remember I said that the Usurer took the man in after the initial attack? Since then, the hanging man attacks anyone dumb enough, or drunk enough, to come near him at night...plus the rat and vermin of course. During the day, he'll attack someone only if they attack him first. That's happened a couple of times, some uppity paladin comes up and tries to kill it right away once it moves. Once the paladin died, hanging from the rafter himself. The other time, the paly, he must have been as green as they come, ran off when the man dropped down from the rafter. Each time, the Usurer said not a word. I heard him once say, 'it's for the economic good of this community, to keep disease and filth out of this place.' I'll leave that for you to figure out what he meant."
"Big biddies?" Ally peers around for a biddy, which to her means a gossipy old lady or a broody hen, but sees nothing of the sort. Her eyes widen as Lucky shows off his wounds, and exclaims, "You must be lucky to have survived so many potentially fatal adventures! Well, I know of the existence of spells that could restore your body, but they are powerful magic indeed. I've every reason to believe that should my companion, Elen, ever manage to learn them, she would use them for you, but that might be years."
"Oh thas quide nice o' you to say, bu' I'm ok wid it as is. Got me lucky rock righ' 'ere to kep me livin. Wanna touch it?"
Replying to the never mind comment, "My apologies if I have offended you in some way. I'm relatively new to this organization and appear not familiar with all of its traditions."
"What can you tell me about the Bender Brothers? I've met them when the group was checking to rooms, and they appear to be sisters."
Replying to the never mind comment, "My apologies if I have offended you in some way. I'm relatively new to this organization and appear not familiar with all of its traditions."
"Oh, well, I see the problem, you not being from around this side of the world and all, no offense. So the tradition is that, I give you information, such as I am doing now, and you pay me what you consider a reasonable amount. Now, given the socioeconomic factors inherited in this small community, and I'd never thought that I would say this, but, iron bits would be preferable to gold at this point. Does that make sense?"
Ruul nods at the orc's translated words, "Yes, thank you."
"Are any of your other customers present tonight worth getting to know?" the minotaur asks with glance around the room.
pointing to bar..."goof sto cat."
"Oh, I think he's pointing to the stable-master over there." She points towards the muscular elf near the end of the bar. "Be careful though, he's a bit of a pisser when he's in his cups. That came from me."
"ghumm."
"He agrees."
"Oh, well, I see the problem, you not being from around this side of the world and all, no offense. So the tradition is that, I give you information, such as I am doing now, and you pay me what you consider a reasonable amount. Now, given the socioeconomic factors inherited in this small community, and I'd never thought that I would say this, but, iron bits would be preferable to gold at this point. Does that make sense?"
"Oh!" Macavity quietly exclaims. "I see now. Well, I misunderstood then. Artemis said you would inform us and didn't mention compensation. Unfortunately, I am not our group's quartermaster, so I will have to requisition some iron bits. It would be great if you would name your price, because your information and support are entirely useful."
After the price is stated, Macavity continues, "After you explain about the Bender Brothers or Sisters, I would like to know how you last communicated with Artemis."
"Oh, well, I see the problem, you not being from around this side of the world and all, no offense. So the tradition is that, I give you information, such as I am doing now, and you pay me what you consider a reasonable amount. Now, given the socioeconomic factors inherited in this small community, and I'd never thought that I would say this, but, iron bits would be preferable to gold at this point. Does that make sense?""Oh!" Macavity quietly exclaims. "I see now. Well, I misunderstood then. Artemis said you would inform us and didn't mention compensation. Unfortunately, I am not our group's quartermaster, so I will have to requisition some iron bits. It would be great if you would name your price, because your information and support are entirely useful."
After the price is stated, Macavity continues, "After you explain about the Bender Brothers or Sisters, I would like to know how you last communicated with Artemis."
"Not a problem then, we can discuss the matter of compensation after we are done." The man gently rocks on his haunches before continuing. "The Benders are both sisters, no brothers that I am aware of. I've never dealt with them directly, although I've seen them about. All I can tell you are rumors and opinions on them, if you want."
"As for contacting Artemis, the last time I talked to him, he told me to give you this when or if you got here." From under a pile of neatly folded clothes, the man pulls out a wide disk, maybe a foot and a half in radius. The man pushes a button on the side of the disk, and the whole disk pops loose, increasing in size to over two feet in radius. Dull green light pulsates from several places. The disk is still whole, but now looks big enough for one person to stand on.
"This was given to me when I was 'offered' to come up here. Artemis said that it's experimental, based on some weird tech that had been found in Numinera. Apparently, it is locked to one location, in this case, the Society House in Nerosyan. You stand on the plate here, and tap on the button in the middle with your foot. It teleports you to the House, so that you can talk to whomever. There are only three problems with this, as far as I am concerned. One, at least from your perspective, is that it can only take one person at a time. Maybe two gnomes if your lucky, but that's it. Another is that you can't be wearing any kind of metal when you use the plate. Apparently, it's not every friendly and can send off shocks through whatever metal you have on. Finally, it has enough energy to send you back and forth once. You know, to Nerosyan, and then back again. After that, it takes a week to recharge. Once it's charged, then the button in the middle will pop up." He pushes the button on the side again to reduce the plate to its original size, and then hands it to you. "You saw me push the button to turn it off and on. That's all there is to it. Any questions?"
Macavity's eyebrows raise as his nods in faint comprehension, "Looks easy enough. So much for importing iron bits," He grins and stashes it into his haversack.
"Well the sign says Brothers. Anyway, I'll take whatever rumors you have."
Macavity's eyebrows raise as his nods in faint comprehension, "Looks easy enough. So much for importing iron bits," He grins and stashes it into his haversack.
"Well the sign says Brothers. Anyway, I'll take whatever rumors you have."
"Well that's one of the rumors, is that the former owners were in fact Bender brothers. These two gnomes came in a couple, three years ago, and took the place over. That's all I know about that.
"Beyond that, the gossip is that, sometimes, when someone stays over at the boarding house, they don't always come back out. Accidents you see. I just hate it when that happens. No one ever sees anything and everyone keeps their mouths shut about it."
Now that 'Lucky' Bjorc is not directly engaged by one of the party Imbukar address him gently in hopes of not startling him.
Greeting 'Lucky' Bjorc. I am Imbukar, servant to the one by the bar in the grey cloak. He bid me contact you mentally to let you know that we have this form of communication open to us should you wish to speak without the help or hearing of you interpreters. You may think back to me if you wish and I will "hear" you. If you would rather not communicate this way I will understand and cease.
pointing to bar..."goof sto cat."
"Oh, I think he's pointing to the stable-master over there." She points towards the muscular elf near the end of the bar. "Be careful though, he's a bit of a pisser when he's in his cups. That came from me."
"ghumm."
"He agrees."
Ruul nods.
Leaving Lavinia with the pleasant, if mangled, orc (unless she wanted to meet this guy too), Ruul approached the stablemaster.
"Greetings", said the bull minotaur.
"I was told you're the stablemaster here in the camp."
The 'stable-master' turns towards you, slowly. You likely tower over him by at least two feet , but he looks powerful, certainly powerful for an elf. He looks at you with one bleary eye, and says,
He tries to take a swing at you, misses miserably , falls off his stool (away from you) and vomits pitifully on the wooden floor before passing out.
Now that 'Lucky' Bjorc is not directly engaged by one of the party Imbukar address him gently in hopes of not startling him.
** spoiler omitted **
Oh sure, little one. You're not the first one to say hi, help yourself to some ale and nuts.
Ally gives Lucky's rock a respectful caress, then smiles and gives him a polite farewell, fluttering back to Lavinia and Ruul. She hears Lavinia's suggestion and agrees with her.
Alcohol is a poison. A Slow Poison spell should render him sober, for a while. Of course this might anger him. "Chuckle"
"Are there any other people we need to know in the Camp (stablemaster)? Also, when did you last that caravan? Did you report that to Artemis?" Macavity starts run out of questions.
"Are there any other people we need to know in the Camp (stablemaster)? Also, when did you last that caravan? Did you report that to Artemis?" Macavity starts run out of questions.
"Well, you mentioned the stablemaster. He's not what you call a typical elf, he's a drunkard for starters. There's rarely a night when he's not at the bar, especially after he's been paid. And he is certainly not a pansy, he has a pretty mean left hook." The man stops to think for a moment. "Beyond that, the only one's who are trustworthy would be the priest and his acolytes. He'll heal you up right quick, although his humor might kill you." The man laughs as if he had never told that joke before.
"There are a few mercenary companies who offer themselves up as travel guides. You'll be better remembering what mercenaries are at their core. One for one and all for themselves and so forth. Gurg and his gang of ogres were probably the best of the lot; Gurg's a hill giant, but pretty bright for it, if you understand my meaning. Anyway, Gurg will at least let you know upfront what's what; if your straight with him, he'll be straight with you.
"That actually leads into your second question, as Gurg and his band were the ones to escort that caravan out of here, about 5, maybe 6 days ago now. Gurg actually hired on some additional ogres for this one, it was a big one, that caravan was. We haven't heard from him since. Don't know really if they made it or not, but since it'll be another three days before that plate is charged, I'll, well rather, you'll have no idea if they made it before then or not."
Macavity continues to absorb and digest the information. "And what of you and your intentions? How long do you plan to stay as you are? What do you want to do next?"
Oh sure, little one. You're not the first one to say hi, help yourself to some ale and nuts.Now that 'Lucky' Bjorc is not directly engaged by one of the party Imbukar address him gently in hopes of not startling him.
** spoiler omitted **
Ally speaks to her friends who are in the tavern still:
"Friends, Macavity is stretching his legs, I think the rest of us need to return to the Inn. Tomorrow we can try to find those who might be able to talk to us more. Perhaps a few hangover treatments might make those who tied one on tonight more receptive to our questions? Does remove poison work to eliminate a hangover, Lavinia? Or would we need to brew up some Kindness tonight?"
Macavity continues to absorb and digest the information. "And what of you and your intentions? How long do you plan to stay as you are? What do you want to do next?"
"Well, Artemis asked me to stay on for as long as you need me, which is fine by me. My place in Nix is secure enough for the time being. If you need me to go out to that Desolation with you, I'll admit I won't like it, but I'll do it. Beyond that, I usually just float with the breeze, it's gotten me this far after a decent life, no need to change now."
"Well then, I'll let you get some sleep. How do you want to contact us? I'll need at least tomorrow morning to brief my team on our conversation and gather your compensation. We have a team member who can use telepathy for discreet conversations, if you are interested.
"Well thanks. I'm okay with telepathy. The less spoken the better sometimes. You might want to wait until after nightfall to deliver the money. Rarely is anyone, sober at least, out here at night."
You start to rise, when you hear a moan. The man grasps you by the arm and says, "You might want to wait a couple of moments, the hanged man is nearby. He won't bother you while you are in my lean-to, but if he spots you out in the open, he might come after you."
** spoiler omitted **Oh sure, little one. You're not the first one to say hi, help yourself to some ale and nuts.Now that 'Lucky' Bjorc is not directly engaged by one of the party Imbukar address him gently in hopes of not startling him.
** spoiler omitted **
"Well thanks. I'm okay with telepathy. The less spoken the better sometimes. You might want to wait until after nightfall to deliver the money. Rarely is anyone, sober at least, out here at night."
You start to rise, when you hear a moan. The man grasps you by the arm and says, "You might want to wait a couple of moments, the hanged man is nearby. He won't bother you while you are in my lean-to, but if he spots you out in the open, he might come after you."
Macavity nods and stays a few more minutes in apparent meditation. Before too long, he leaves with or without the hanged man still nearby trusting in his stealth or vanish if necessary.
You are able to make it back to your 'camp' in one piece.
You walk in and, although the sun has only been up for a couple of hours, the place is pretty busy, mainly with people nursing their hangovers with more ale and short ales.
What you see before you are mostly mercenaries, and in the back, one very well dressed ghoul (well, well dressed for the Camp), wearing a well-worn formal jacket and pants. He is reading from scroll of some kind.
One of the bar wenches comes out from the back, wiping her lips with the back of her hand. It looked like some kind of cream.
The woman looks at you, slightly put off by your question. She then looks over in the corner and her expression changes to one of distaste. "Oh, that? He's the town's gravedigger. He is supposed to take care of those that die here, but all the rumors say that he simply eats the bodies, being a ghoul and all. Why, did someone die in your party? She gives you a quizzical look, telling you that you have most likely met the village gossip.
She gives you an appraising look, like you're a side of beef that can talk. She smiles at you and says, "Well, dearie, for strapping young beast like yourself, it'll depend on what direction you want to walk to." She gives you a quick wink, as if you might not be knowin...