Marissel shakes his head, Let's not get ahead of ourselves. It could be just meat. That doesn't mean I think we should try some, but let's find out before making guesses.
Marissel thinks for a bit longer, I know the thugs are probably gone, so we can't get answers from them, but maybe some of us could investigate Lamm's fishery while others investigate this butcher's shop?
"If he is taking after Lamm, we're only getting half the reward. Let's hope it doesn't come to that. If we split up, I'll go with the group to the butcher shop."
Karri thinks on this information, her Legion adding it's own vulgar and profane opinions of the meat and it's potential sources. "We should all stay together. Except Lyla, if she wants to do a cursory check on the butcher's shop. Demitri? I think you are right. If they are making people-filets, they need to be killed quickly, no show, no trial. Can you imagine the upset if they were and it became public knowledge?" An odd smile crosses her face for an instance as her Legion surges up and offers an image of Korvosa infested with ghouls. Just as quickly the smile is gone, replaced by a stern expression. But we should go quickly. I think Lamm's can wait."
hahahaha!!!
"Sure, blame the wood for the termites," Ortik says. "Two people are serving up mystery meat in as many days, and Kroft here admits that Verik has the ambition of a garden slug. He didn't hit upon this idea himself, and I'd guess that whoever was backing Lamm is now moving this meat through Verik. I still have no idea why, but Verik can answer that for us...assuming we don't kill him."
Kroft claps her hands together.
"Alright, then. You have your assignment; I trust you to carry it out however you must." She rises from the table. "Well, as long as no civilians are harmed, but that goes without saying, I think."
She walks over to her desk and sits behind it.
"And Demitri... tell Nadia that I wish her well. I imagine she's been through much. Jakob, let your sister know I wish her well too." She nods at you.
"Dismissed."
"I'll be sure to tell her. Thank you." Demitri nods before leaving her office.
Innocence is no defense! Hush!
Karri smiles without meaning it.
Jakob is startled that the Field Marshal knows that his sister was ever taken, but he stands up and gives her a hasty bow.
"Thank you, Ma'am," he says, somewhat awkwardly. [b]"I'll ... I'll tell her." He gives another bow and backs out the door.
On leaving, he listens to the others' discussion of strategy. "We'll investigate these meat men and see who's pulling the strings."
Lyla waits for everyone to leave the room. Before stepping out, she turns to Cressida and pleas "Don't forget our agreement, please". She then darts out of the room to catch up with the rest of the group.
Kroft nods at Lyla as the group turns to leave her office.
You step out into the training yard of Citadel Volshyenek, the morning sun bearing down upon you.
The walk to North Point is crowded and noisy, with wagons passing by every which way you look. The looks on peoples' faces everywhere are ones of resignation mixed with fear... the memories of anarchy in the streets have everyone on edge, silently praying that such events will not repeat themselves.
You reach North Point by Harborview Boulevard, the shanties & tenements of Midland giving way to the houses and shops of the Five Corners ward of North Point. The air is considerably cleaner here than elsewhere in the city, with the possible exception of the Heights.
Harborview Boulevard becomes Sunrise Boulevard here, according to the street signs. It's about noon when you see a two-story building standing out from the houses around it. Its walls are made from stone bricks and oak wood, and it shows signs of recent renovation. A door with an image of three interlocking rings carved into it offers entrance to the building. Above the door is a hanging sign, also decorated with an image of three interlocking rings. The sign says: Three Rings Tavern.
"Let's see if anyone knows anything." Demitri will enter the Three Rings Tavern to seek out the proprietor.
As you open the door to the Three Rings, the first thing you notice is the bouncer standing just off to the side: dark-skinned and bald, clad in leather armor with what appears to be an oversized hammer at his side. His face appears frozen into a permanent scowl as he eyes you and the rest of the patrons here. He wrinkles his nose as you step in, but makes no move to throw you out.
"Don't cause trouble here." Is all he says to you.
Past him is the tavern's dining room, with many tables, chairs and a couple of booths lining the walls. Several chandeliers provide light for people to see. Quite a few tables are occupied by men & women clad in fine clothes that only spare you the quickest of surprised glances before turning back to their meals. Stairs at the far wall opposite the door lead up to where you presume the rooms are.
Against the wall to your left is a mahogany bar with a sizable drink cabinet behind it. At the bar stands a dark-haired, grey-eyed half-elven woman clad in a simple white blouse & leggings with a brown apron. She's whistling a jaunty tune as she polishes a wine glass with a clean rag.
Demitri will take a seat at the bar. "Kroft sent us." He says rather nonchalantly.
Jakob looks at the bouncer and gives him a respectful nod as they come in, but he's stopped by the tavern's dining room. Aside from his brief glimpse at the palace, he's never seen anything like it. Real glasses, chandeliers and imported wood. Even the staff are wearing richer clothes than anyone in his old neighborhood. He sits beside Demitri and attempts to gawk non-chalantly.
The bartender looks up at Jakob & Demitri as they take a seat at the bar. She chuckles at Demitri's name-dropping of Kroft.
"Did she now? You know, she told me last night to expect at least a halfling with goggles. She didn't say anything about her ex-star guardsman coming too."
She puts down the wine glass she was cleaning and leans on the bar. "So, what's she got you doing today?" She says after shooting a sharp look past your shoulder.
"Huh. Never knew she thought of me as her star guardsman." Demitri ponders out loud before leaning in closer to whisper. "Know anything about a place called All The World's Meat or the people running it?"
"Lyla," Jakob nods, confirming the name of the halfling with goggles. "She'll be here soon." Leaning a bit closer, he says in an even softer voice than usual. "So I'd always heard All the World's Meat was the place to go for the best cuts. Now that I've got a coin or two to spend, I thought I'd take a look for myself. It nearby, isn't it?"
Theandra tuts.
"Oh, aye. She was right saddened by you quitting on her. Called ya 'one of the few guardsmen I had that took his duty seriously.'" She says, reaching for another wine glass to clean.
"Yes, it's nearby. Gets quite a lot of customers out of Old Korvosa; tends to run out of meat by noon." She takes her cleaning rag and starts wiping the glass down. "It's up in Northgate, by the North Bridge heading out of town."
She pauses in her cleaning. "The place only reopened a few nights ago, and already they've got a great deal of meat. Some of the outlying farms send in a few wagons worth of food, but it's a far cry from the volume of trade Korvosa had before Eodred kicked it."
She shrugs. "I'm wondering myself where they're getting all that meat from..."
"Unfortunately, that's true. Very few have any initiative in the guard. Well in any case, inquiring minds would like to know these things. I think some of my friends need some lodging and food but otherwise I'm gonna go check this place out for myself." Demitri says as he gets up to leave.
Lyla takes a peak inside the tavern and notices all the well-to-do people inside. She lets Demitri and Jakob go in and steps back thinking of how to make a good impression; her eyes jump from the tavern to her backpack, and she decides to head out and get some coin to blend in with the rich folk.
She sifts through her backpack and checks again the treasure she took from Zellara's home, and elbows Ortik to grab his attention.
"Look, Ortik, I grabbed some stuff to sell on the way, but I didn't know we were going to come here, to the good side of town. The upside is that we'll probably get more gold for them, but we also gotta dress up a bit before walking into a pawn shop or something, or no one will take us seriously. I figure you dwarves have a knack for haggling, so... care to join me?" She scans him from head to toe. "We'll have to get you some clothes."
"Grasshead, sunshine, you can come if you want, or you can join Demitri and Jakob inside. Your call." She says, walking away.
With regards to remembering where the best place to sell the loot you have is, there is an open market called The Dock Trade in the Mainshore ward of North Point, north of the Three Rings Tavern. With all the knickknacks you've gathered, it shouldn't be that difficult to find a buyer or two.
You also remember that The Dock Trade frequently trades in items of *ahem* questionable legality. The Hellknights frequently accuse the place of selling items that were skimmed off of Korvosan merchant ships, but never manage to prove anything. Still, their influence has prevented it from growing too much, and The Dock Trade is thus the smallest of Korvosa's open markets.
With regards to clothing stores, the only one you recall that is in North Point is on the intersection of Second Street & Mainshore Boulevard, near the bridge to Old Korvosa. It's called Rosie's, and it's owner (an eccentric gnome lady, even by gnome standards) share's the shop's name. For the most part, Rosie's deals in clean & comfortable (if rather gaudy) clothing for all races.
Theandra watches Demitri walk from the tavern with a shrug before turning back to Jakob.
"You might want to ask some of the patrons for more information--there's bound to be a loose tongue or two in here, especially after a few glasses." She says with a slight chuckle.
"Lyla, I can come with you. I have some experience in dressing appropriately. And don't call me sunshine." Karri's face is a passive mask, and her eyes not quite focused. Cut her for the insult! What can she do against our power?! No, she is a good girl.
"Alright, cutepie, sorry about that. Come on, I know a place", the girl says, heading to Rosie's.
With regards to goldsmiths, you have very thorough knowledge of where they may be found. Some make their shops in Midland, at Gold Market, whereas the best can usually be found in the Heights or South Shore.
In North Point, however, there are two competitors that you're aware of: Bluetide Gold Concerns, located in The Dock Trade a couple of streets down from Rosie's, and Nash's Gold Finishing, located in the Ridgefield ward of North Point, on Palin Street. The Ridgefield ward is the most economically diverse ward of North Point, and it has the longest border with Old Korvosa of any of the districts in Korvosa.
Not only that, but you remember a particularly quiet rumor about those two competing goldsmiths: that they have ties to the Cerulean Society, Korvosa's thieves' guild. Korvosa doesn't allow legitimate workers or merchants to form unions or guilds, and enforces crackdowns on them. The formation of a thieves' guild, on the other hand, is allowed. This causes workers and more honorable-minded folk no end of frustration and anger.
As you leave the Three Rings and proceed to Northgate, it's easy enough for you to find All the World's Meat on the intersection of Northgate Avenue and Stirge Street. The butcher's shop (a two-story, wooden, recently reopened building) has a sign bearing the image of a fat, smiling cow hanging over its entrance, and a line of people dressed in ragged clothing in front of it. Many of the people there have hopeful looks in their eyes.
Demitri will stake out the place for the time being, watching from afar.
From what you can see, the line moves slowly. At the head of the line next to the door is a wheezy man in chainmail, his Korvosan Guard uniform stained with what appears to be blood. His chainmail doesn't quite fit his frame. You can see that he's also carrying a longsword, a heavy shield made of steel and a light crossbow with 10 bolts: the standard Korvosan Guard kit. You recognize him as Private Malder Fetton.
Through the shop's front window, past the cuts of meat displayed there, you can see a tall man with bushy eyebrows that merge just above his large, flat nose. He's kitted out with the same gear as Private Fetton. He's speaking to a man clad in a heavily-stained & patchwork shirt with missing sleeves, passing him a bucket filled with meat. You recognize the unibrow-man as Corporal Baldrago Westlake. Private Parns Storm & Private Karralo Sand must still be inside, along with Verik.
The man in the patchwork shirt turns and leaves. Baldrago walks over to the front window and waves his hand violently over the meat displayed there, as if to shoo away flies. He picks up a slab of meat, carrying it over to a counter before calling out to let the next one in.
Ortik nods to Lyla as she mentions selling off her goods. "You're a child of the streets, so you've learned a few of the lessons Old Hartleby has taught me, I'm sure. One of the first was you can't judge a book by its cover, but that's about as far as most people read. I'm most comfortable in these rags, but I'll gladly put on a merchant's robes and try to outswindle some swindlers of their gold. It'll do us and those children much more good than lining their coffers, and that's the gods' honest truth."
"Hm, yeah, money for the children, right."
Arriving at Rosie's, Lyla enters the store pushing Ortik inside. "Come on, those rags look itchy like hell. Trust me, you're gonna like this a lot better. ", she yells from behind the dwarf. "... and a bath for dirtbeard here, in case you got soap in the back. Oh, we'll pay extra, don't worry!" She excitedly starts running around the store grabbing clothes to try on, selecting only the fanciest dresses and steering away from the more extravagant pieces. She looks over her shoulder and yells "Miss Rosie, help my friend there fit into something nice, he's clueless about style, as you may have noticed." By the time she finishes speaking, she's already got a pile of garments on her arms. "So... dressing booth?"
"Gonna need backup in case this turns south on me." Demitri will head back to Jakob to tell him what he knows. "I've seen everyone except for Private Storm and Private Sand. It seems like any other meat market, but I'm not entirely sure on it. Either way we'll need more than the two of us in case it goes wrong."
Jakob looks around the bar for a friendly face.
Not surprisingly, nobody seems particularly friendly. Why should they, when he's so clearly not the social class that usually drinks in a place like this.
"What the heck," he mutters under his breath. He turns to Theandra. "A bottle of something strong."
"To the end of starvation!" he says, loudly, raising his glass in one hand and the bottle in the other. He stands up, and makes his way slowly around the room. "Who'll share a drink to the return of the good times? Abadar's blessing on those good lads of All the Meat in the World! All the World's Meat! Who'll have a drink with me for their good name?"
[dice=ahem ... "diplomacy" to gather info]1d20+5[/dice]
As Lyla enters the store with Ortik & Karri, a gnome lady clad in a bright pink dress with shockingly pink hair looks up with a smile on her face.
"Oh, welcome! Welcome to Rosabelle Mayweather Pennyfarthing III, Esquire's Radiant Raiments! How may I--" She's cut off when Lyla takes off running around the shop, looking for clothes to try on.
Lyla sees that most of the fancy clothes in the store are bright pink, but there are sections closer to the back with shirts, dresses and leggings that come in any other color Lyla is looking for. They're all bright shades.
"Oh my, yes! We've a dressing booth or two for discerning customers of all sorts here. Baths, on the other hand, not so much." Rosie says, skipping over to Ortik. She stops short of him, looking him over and producing a measuring tape from within her dress. She seems either oblivious to Ortik's smell or incredibly tolerant of it.
"Come along, sir! I'll need your measurements for a proper fit! And no worries, I have the next best thing to a bath!" She says, snapping her fingers and pointing at Ortik's clothes. A mote of white light leaps from her finger and is absorbed into his rags.
Almost immediately, Ortik's clothes start smelling more like soap and lavender instead of filth and Gods above only know what else. Rosie takes Ortik by the hand and begins skipping over to the nearest changing booth.
Your toast is, surprisingly, welcomed with a cheer from the tables. Theandra chuckles behind you. Even the bouncer cracks a half-smile.
A couple of men clad in merchants' garb are quick to take you up on your offer, heading back to the bar with you. "Aye, best of blessings of the Master of the First Vault upon them and all they do!" One of them says, clearly having had a few drinks already. "The Cow Hammer Boys were the best thing to happen to this city since--" He's cut off by a hiccup.
The other one leans in to you, whispering. "Even better--try askin' them for 'the night's special cuts.' They're always looking for work: tell 'em that, and they'll listen to what your problem is."
It isn't long before Demitri returns and sees you with the two men.
"Night's special cuts, eh? I might just do that." Jakob paused, thinking it sounded less and less like a request made of an honest butcher. [b]"So ... they take care of ... problems, do they?" He drew a finger across his throat and winked, grinning.
Seeing Demitri enter, Jakob waves him over with the bottle, pouring drinks for the merchants and whispering to Demitri, softly, but not so soft that the merchants can't hear. [b]"It sounds like the Cow Hammer Boys take care of problems as well as selling meat. You know, like that problem we took care of, with your daughter's lamb."
Lyla looks at Ortik just as Rosie finishes cleaning Ortik up. "Nice, Miss Rosie, a lot quicker than a bath, and we're kind of in a hurry. If you don't mind sharing that prestidigitation of yours, my hair is a bit greasy" she says disappearing in one of the changing booths.
Lyla takes off her goggles and tries on a few clothes and settles for a blue dress with golden embroideries.
Lyla steps from behind the curtain and spins before Ortik and Karri, looking nothing like the tomboy that entered the booth just moments ago. "So, how does it look? Would you buy jewels from me? I know a couple of goldsmiths who just might. How much, Miss Rosie?"
Rosie looks over at Lyla and titters. "Young lady, with a dress like that, no sane man would refuse! Still, you'll need proper jewelery to complete the outfit: about 50 Crowns worth ought to do it!" She says, skipping over to her.
"Incidentally, the clothes themselves will cost about 30 Crowns a set." She says, looking Lyla over before skipping back to Ortik, tape measure still in hand.
The merchant who mentioned the 'night's special cuts' nods. "Well, not likely... they just *ahem* 'teach them a lesson or two.' Or so I heard."
Marissel follows along with the group going shopping, but stays quietly to the back. Especially when they begin buying clothes. He looks down at his coat and britches. Looks back up at the expensive clothes, and quickly steps outside to wait across the street.
"I see. You hear anything else?" Demitri says as he orders another drink for the merchant.
Karri watches the rambuncious halfling as she tears apart Miss Rosie's brilliant establishment. SHe half smiles and thinks about how carefree the little woman can seem at times. And all the words say she has had such a rough time of this life...
To Lyla she says, "You look infinitely capable Miss Lyla. How could anyone not be interested in your jewels?" Karri blushes and then smiles a beautiful if embarassed smile, "Wow. That came out poorly, didn't it? Still, you look lovely and not at all like a lady 'selling' her jewels."
Rosie nods in agreement with Karri. "Of course of course! I've always been of the opinion that a lady never needs to show some leg to turn heads: all you need is bright, eye-catching colors! Of EVERY stripe!"
As an afterthought, she snaps her fingers and points at Lyla, causing a mote of light to enter Lyla's hair. Her hair begins to smell like soap & lavender as well.
"Now, Mr. Dwarf, shall we set about getting your measurements?" She asks, her measuring tape readied in her hands. Not waiting for an answer, she sets about measuring him.
She does so with a frightening level of focus. Every move she makes is precise and accurate: one could be forgiven for thinking she choreographed all this. It's all over in the span of half a minute.
"Done and done!" Rosie produces a bit of charcoal and runs over to the shop counter. She scribbles something on a sheet of paper before dashing off into the store.
She comes back with a series of courtier's outfits, all in Ortik's size. "GO ahead and try these on, Mr. Dwarf!"
The whispering merchant accepts Demitri's offered drink and starts drinking it down. The hiccuping one wanders off, presumably to find someone else to bother.
"Well... I've only asked after 'em once. My layabout, slackin' cousin Aventus got tangled up with 'em; never heard from him again after that. He fled town, is what them Cow Hammers told me. Said I wouldn't have to worry about him again." He's starting to look rather tipsy. "Wonder why they only have pork or fish, though... never any beef."
Theandra continues to tend the bar, but Jakob & Demitri can tell she's listening in. Her face darkens.
Demitri's face quickly turns into a scowl. He looks at Jakob and then at Theandra. "We should go now."
Jakob looks a little green as the drunk merchant tells his tale, and nods to Demitri's suggestion. He stands and gives Theandra a nod.
"Gods bless you," he says to the merchant. "And your cousin, too."
As they make for the door, he pauses to look at the bouncer.
"Pardon me, sir," he says to the man. "What kind of hammer is that?"
Theandra nods back as Jakob & Demitri take their leave.
In response to Jakob's question, the bouncer looks down at his hammer. "It's an earth breaker. The weapon of my people, wielded by our best warriors." He says, resting one hand on it. "Why, you want one?"
A flash of light and a slight tingling over his skin tells the dwarf that he's been ensorcelled. Noticing the grime and worse cleaned away in the blink of an eye, he gives a sniff to his garments. "Lilac," he says. "Very refreshing." He gives a mock protest as Rosie drags him towards the changing booth, taking his measurements. "Off I go, towards a fate worse than death!", he cries, throwing a hand to his forehead, his voice thick with melodrama. For his part, he follows her directions, only giving a few complaints as she measures him and begins making some adjustments on the clothes she's selected.
After some time, the curtain is pulled back, and Ortik steps out, dressed in bright finery. His cap is a brilliant emerald green, his tunic a light cerulean, and his breeches have been replaced with lavender-and-white checked stockings. His hair's still a bit unkempt, but he's made a quick attempt to straighten everything and make himself look presentable. "Well, it's a start," he says, clearing his throat a few times. "And I'm beginning to look the part of a merchant!", he says, his voice slightly lower pitched, the easy smile upon his face turning dour and gravelly. There's a hint of his dwarven accent in his voice, but not as bad as when he was playing up his heritage at Lamm's. "Rings and such, please, Rosie. And any silver caps you might have for my mustache, please and thank you."
"Wait, we've got some jewels here, no need to spend! Remember, we're trying to money here." Lyla reaches into her backpack and pulls out a silver ring and an exquisite garnet amulet. She puts the amulet on and offers the ring o Ortik "Stuff your beard in this and use it as a clasp," she instructs Ortik. The girl takes a good look at the dwarf and nods in approval. "Yeah, this will work." She then looks at Karri. "What about you, sugar? Just grab a dress, you'll look gorgeous in anything, anyway", she says sighing in jealousy and resignation. "If you want, we still have a tiny crown to go with your outfit, but it'll probably be sold along the rest of the stuff..."
Lyla counts her money and sets aside 90 gold pieces. "Ok guys, this is coming out of our share, I guess." She then walks up to Rosie and hands her the coins for the three garments. "That will be all, Miss Rosie."
"If you guys are ready, I'd like to pay a visit to Bluetide Gold Concerns, just a couple of streets down from here."
Rosie accepts the gold with a wide grin. "Oh, my! Thank you so much!"
She pockets most of it, leaving one gold piece out, looking at it. She appears to be quite fascinated by it. She wanders back to her counter, still eying the gold piece.
Jakob contemplates the earth breaker for a moment, and then looks at the man.
"Your people?" he asks.
"Thank you, but I doubt I'd be able to wield it with the skill of a born Shoanti." He gives the man a nod and follows after Demitri.
"It could have been a cow hammer," he shrugs.
"We should go get the others. Any idea where they went?"
Jakob frowns and scratches his head, looking up and down the street.
"The halfling said something about getting clothes," he says, and shrugs, as though such mysteries are far beyond him.
Karri looks through Rosie's collection, certain she will be disappointed by the stunning array of hues. Much like wearing that Color Spray... it seems. She is surprised when she comes across a fabric that leaves her just about breathless. "Madame Rosie. This." She points to a bolt of cloth that is a bold irridescent green, a heavy comfortable weight and though colorful is not garish. "Can you make a dress of this material for me? Long sleeves, split skirt and modest neckline."
Rosie looks at the girl for a moment, probably getting ready to advise more color. Karri's eyes look back at her, quiet, but insistent. The gnome nods and hurries forward to get Karri's measurements. Karri and Rosie move back behind a screen where they are hidden from view, and Karri self conciously drops her simple dress. For a moment she tries to hide her scarred skin, but realizes how stupid and futile that would be. She adjusts her stance and stands as tall as she can, working on being proud of who, what, she is. Rosie tsk tsks at her, and clucks the number of her measurements to herself but makes no comment about the small-clothes-clad girl in front of her. When Rosie finishes, Karri whispers "Thank you." She puts her dress back on and comes out, smiling.
"Two days hence, young lady!" Rosie calls out as she grabs the bolt of green silk and heads back to her work room. Karri watches the amazing if crazed gnome and grins, unaware of any noise in her mind or the gawking of her friends.
Suddenly, her face shifts, and her eyes flicker that sickly green. Karri frowns and clenches her teeth. No! This is mine to enjoy. Begone! Turning to her companions her smile has returned, warm and glad.
"Thank you both for having me along with you. This diversion was just what I needed." In her head, a chorus of laughter and a faint voice, We needed it too... treat yourself well, sweet girl...beauty is a weapon, too... The taunt fades away leaving Karri feeling a vague unease in her stomach.