Corvus sets to work making various poisons of varying powers. Some to give you nothing more than a headache and others that will kill on contact. Some are compounds. No one item will harm you (and will therefore defeat poison-testers) but combined - say one in each course of a banquet - the result can be deadly.
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...The Next day Milax finds you all in the morning and tells you to meet her in the Eastgate District.
"Seek out a dwarf smith named Seth Salt-Beard near Eastgate. Give him this copper piece and ask directions to the parade. Listen carefully to what he says and follow his directions. Be there no later than an hour past mid-day. I must find your friends now, I hope you have all discussed your roles in this. You must all travel alone to this meeting place, it would look too suspicious to have you all walking around together."
Aeadon simply nods and sets out at once. He finds the nearest transport station headed towards Eastgate. He was not yet at the point where he could afford to rent a camel after all.
Jiri's off to meet with Seth.
Agreal quickly follows Jiri.
"Do you know where Seth lives, or works?"
A dwarf smith named Seth Salt-Beard? Should be easy enough. Torry remembers that most craftsmen will congregate along the same streets, giving them according names. Smiths Street, Bakers Street, etc. And by the faint sound of hammers he can hear its not too far off. "Follow the sound of hammers. If you can't hear them, ask for directions to the smiths.". Once Torry gets there he should be able to find it by asking around, or seeing if Salt-Beard shows up on a smithy sign.
The tiefling makes his way to the dwarf's smithy, trying to keep a hood up on his head, keeping the sun off his skin as he heads through the series of side streets, keeping quiet among the sounds of hammering until the proper time comes.
Sarvin counts the number of shops, making sure to stop once he has double checked that he is at Salt-Beard smithy. He then knocks on the door frame to try and get the attention of those inside. "I'm looking for Seth. I was told I'd find him here?"
"Only if he's working. Still Lady Black said he'd be near Eastgate, I plan on looking around there."
He'll describe how to get to the district. map
Agreal nods and simply follows Jiri to Eastgate.
Noro finishes her drink and heads out (most likely the last to leave)
she heads to the Eastgate district. following "J" directions.
Checking in with a few friends down at the docks Noro tries to get a few clues about this Dwarven smith. Of course her questions turn into threats which ends up in a small brawl.
Noro leaves the uncooperative dock worker a chance to "sleep" on the pier.
not getting anywhere with the dopes on the docks she makes her way to the Eastgate area.
Agreal nods and simply follows Jiri to Eastgate.
"I'd be happy to have you along but Lady Black was fairly specific. She wanted us to procede separately so we don't attract attention."
Fine by me. I don't want to be too close to these dirges too often.
Gerrik will make his way to the Eastgate and will not be shy about asking a local about the location of this Seth Salt-Beard. Always best to make good time when you are expected to appear somewhere. Best not leave anything to chance. If he sees anyone else in the party making their way to the smith ahead of him he will try to leave some space between them and simply follow them in.
"Oh yeah I totally wasn't following. Just you know... Hey Look at that!"
Knowing that Jiri wouldn't be fooled Agreal just ran past towards the Eastgate and then goes towards smith's street.
Jiri just shakes head and moves on with a grin. "I wonder what's going to happen when we all gather in a bunch around this Seth character." Once he gets to the general area he'll start searching.
area of the city
asking directions
spotting Seth
Maldrek went to find the dwarf at his smithy, hopefully he would be able to sort out the dwarf's smithy from the others one...They all looked the same to him.
perception to locate dwarf
Which area of the city?
Spotting Seth.
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Traveling in Absalom you notice that people have already started to gather for the parade. Guards are out in force and handing out harsh penalties for even the slightest offence. Rumor is a peasant called a Guard a cur and was beaten severely for it.
The East-Gate district is a lot quieter than the other distracts. Catering mainly to local traffic from Kortos with no access to the ports or from the main road West from Diobel, East-Gate has few foreign visitors.
Finding Seth Salt-Beard proves to be a fairy easy task. He even has a painted sign that reads Welcome Foreigners! Ask the Famous Adventurer Seth Salt-Beard for directions around Absalom 1cp!
Why the coins district my friend, just follow the road and the crowd you can not miss it. Do not go to the Precipice Quarter there be undead about at night there." While he speaks he makes some subtle hand gestures and facial expressions..
Jiri gives the man a copper piece and, after hearing his words, nods sharply and moves off.
The tiefling nods his head slowly, the short dark hair on his head just bouncing in the slight breeze coming from the street. "Absolutely will make sure of that." Sarvin responds simply, as his eyes work to catch all the subtle intricacies of the dwarf's subterfuge.
Once he has gathered what he can, he bows slightly to the stocky built smith, making sure to keep his eyes to the ground for just that moment, and makes his way along the street, knowing his colleagues will be along soon.
"Thanks for the directions, Master Salt-Beard and a blessed day to you!"
And precisely as he can, the alchemical student follows the directions, skirting the Precipice District and keeping his eyes open for what will be a quite obvious location.
Jiri follows the dwarfs directions, moving south towards the Precipice District, but not actually enter it. He'll keep an Eye out for some sign.
Aeadon has no trouble figuring out the directions and gives a nod. Following them to the letter and looking for the sign once he arrives.
"Well hello officer. Sorry about running I will try to keep it civil. I simply haven't heard of this fair before today. Will there be a lot of people?"
(Used hero point after roll)
If they let Agreal go he makes his way slowly to the smith's street and to seth's shop.
Maldrek warily studied the dwarf.
sense motive
Agreal heads towards the Precipice District and begins to look for a mark on the way.
Along his way, the tiefling tries not to make overt eye contact with those around him, just trying to seem like a student getting to view the city for the first time.
And along the way, he'll use his great eyesight to try and find the mark.
Maldrek followed the dwarf's directions as he made his way to the location... He dodged the traffic of mad camels, travelers and the occasional raving priest.
perception
Gerrik nods respectfully to the dwarf and then moves calmly off toward his new destination, sure to keep an eye on his surroundings as he goes.
Corvus focuses as much on the inflexion in the voice as much as the words.
Noro makes her way as she remembers the directions.
she walks slowly trying to keep a low profile. having never been in this section of town. she hopes none are regulars with the arena and possibly recognize her.
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As you walk down the road you see a road block ahead. Apparently the Precipice District is quarantined off. More than likely this is for the feast since all manor of nasty thing is rumored to exist in the Precipice since the quakes including undead roaming unchecked in the night. As you look around to avoid the sentry outside the entrance to the Precipice quarter, you notice a ruined gate that was probably connected to some old wall that has been destroyed, probably with the quakes that so devastated the Precipice Quarter. The portcullis seems stuck halfway down and portions of stone are missing reveling the mechanism that operates it.
Sarvin does his best to restrain a whistle from escaping his lips as he admires the size of the portcullis. Strange place...
After noticing the signs and symbols, he grins, knowing his judgment was spot on, only wish he had more time to admire the craftsmanship. Noticing the individual in the shadows, he follows, keeping several feet behind in hopes that the breakout of combat would give him the advantage.
Aeadon had no trouble finding the clues and signs. As he thought knowledge was not lost on the Smoke Knights and they made use of it. He makes his way to the contact.
(untrained)
"So I guess we are to enter the Precipice District after all." With a shrug he follows the hooded figure.
Corvus tries not to look too foolish for missing the signs as the hooded figure speaks to her. Corvus blatantly ignores the woman before subtly following her.
Gerrik looks around, peering at the gate but isn't quite sure these are the signs he seeks. Just as he is about to turn away he catches a glimpse of movement. Turning back, he proceeds past the gate.
+20=29
Agreal nods at the hooded figure and follows.
Maldrek's eyes lit up as he saw the signs of diabolism, years of effort and research were finally starting to pay off... Let the damn priests call him a godless tiefling, he would be using them as pawns and slaves soon enough. Maldrek went down the alley after the contact he kept several feet away though, now is the not the time to get killed...
Religion
Appraise
Perception
You follow the hooded figure to a basement through an outside entrance between two old shacks. This part of Eastgate is very poor, and currently very empty.
The basement is dark and damp, but there is a slight glow up ahead. The amount of mold and debris make it clear that this basement must flood often during high tides and the rain season, luckily neither are due for a few months off.
Once you get to the bottom of the basement, the hooded figure is standing in the center of a small 10x10 room. Jiri is the last one in and is asked the close the door behind him. Once he does the hooded figure casts a spell and balls of light appear from her hands and dance about the room. The light doesn't do much to improve the setting, but at least you can see the rats and spiders.
You all did well, better than I expected honestly. Now then where do we begin? Well, no more need for this. Milax says as she removes her hood and clothing, and unbinds her tail and lets it stretch. I hate having to bind my tail.
She looks at everyone smiling. Ok, let's begin. As you have noticed the Precipice district is quarantined, and there is a Parade going on. This provides us with some unique opportunities. There is a rival group of individuals in Absalom that have made some moves against us. It is time to return the favor. Her smile hardens and becomes a sinister sneer.
I need one of you to act as a Foreign Dignitary lost and approach the sentries to the south. Puurrferably one of you that can speak a foreign language, but not so foreign that it is out of place. Tien would be best since it is known that they frequently get lost in our town and are very new to the city. Second I need one of you who can pretend to be the Lady or Lord's translator who can speak well and be convincing or intimidating. The two of you will approach the sentries to the south and insist that they help you get back to the coins and protect you from the rough neighborhood. More than likely the guard will send one or two of his men to escort you up Northwest through the Merchant's quarter. That is where you and two more of you that can fight will ambush them and steal their uniforms. Luckily the men pulling duty here are not very high up the hierarchy and probably have little to no magical support. Once inside, that will change though and we will encounter patrols with veteran fighters and experienced spell casters, possibly even some bounty hunters from Alkenstar looking to put their guns to use. That is why we need the uniforms first.
Who will these people be and do you have any questions?
I can act as the translator or if you have say a crossbow and a few bolts I will see about getting those uniforms...
"I speak Common, Draconic, Halfling and Varisian. I don't know if any of those suit your needs. If not, I'm sure I can convince the sentries for an escort."
Your abilities with the crossbow will be useful, but there are currently too many sentries to take them all on at once. If we can divide them up into two groups we have better odds. Milax responds to Maldrek then looks to Jiri Yes you are a good speaker, but Varisian is too common here, and I do not know anyone that could pull off a Dragon or Halfling. Anyone else?
Corvus steps forward, her balance and poise reflecting her regal upbringing. With perfect diction she offers, "I would be delighted to assist the group and play the part of the Lady in question. With respect to languages, I can offer Elven or Thassilonian."
Corvus reels off a few sentences in each language to guage the reaction of those assembled.
Jiri shrugs, Actually, as long as we don't run into anyone who actually speaks Tien, I can pull off translating. We just need someone who looks the part, even if they don't speak the language. They can say whatever gibberish they want and I'll make something up."
Agreal nods as Milax begins to speak.
"Terrible thing to have to bind your tail. I'm no good for languages as I assume Abyssal would be recognized."