Lars takes the big man's criticism with a hanging head, but his ears perk up when he starts talking trade. "We've a few workers who use that on the regular, so we can definitely work something out. Even spent, that cactus is worth 7 gold 5 silver, which means you can get up to 15 days' worth trail rations for it. Or some lesser number and some money." Lars looks a bit more comfortable back in his element.
Odd'n shrugs at the mention of money, but tosses the cactus to the man when he offers the 15 days worth of trail rations. "I'll take the rations.. a weeks worth for myself and the remainder for my companions here." Odd'ns cheeks redden as he gestures to the party.
"I.. ehm.. owe you all a thanks for saving my life. Please.. please accept..?"
Lars takes the cactus into the shop (southeast room) to retrieve Odd'n's trade.
He returns and gives him seven and distributes the rest.
I begin walking around the room when Odd'n begins trading. Looking for anything that will help me get back in later if I get the chance to return.
It doesn't take much for Garret to see that most, if not all, the doors to the outside are second-hand and not built on the original frame of the building, and therefore don't quite close right. This is not to mention the gaping hole in the side of the building that they use as a stable.
The inner doors are a little better, but not any more fortified than Garret's seen before.
I smile to myself slightly after my quick impromptu scope out of the place. I sure hope I have a chance to come back here, after hours.
When Lars returns. "Lars, apologies for my outburst earlier, having a near death experience can do that to a man. I am still very interested in that dagger we discussed earlier. Perhaps we can work something out, and I will be sure to have a new barrel of lantern oil sent from town when we get there with our charge, having used yours to remove the spiders..."
Odd'n, oblivious to Garrets less than sincere intentions, smiles at the man in light of his apparent new-found generosity. "Well well.. has the noble found a heart?" he jests, giving Garret a light punch on the shoulder.
Tanwen, Garret, Bronan.. Umaventi.. whatever his name is. Four. I wonder where Gwyn has ran off too? "Well, 2 rations each for the lot of you. I'm curious where Gwyn ran off too.. she.. she wasn't in the cellars as well, was she?!" for a moment he feels paralyzed by the thought of her being picked apart by the spiders or smoldering in the burning oil. "No.. she didn't come down with us.. she.. she abandoned us.." Odd'ns shoulders sag at this realization.
Once again Odd'n found himself alone. No, not quite. Alone isn't the right word.. I have these people here. A grimace crosses his face at that thought. I'm not alone.. not yet..
Lars grins and thanks Garret for his understanding. Thinking about the dagger, Lars says to Garret, "If you still want the dagger, I have a better idea for how you can earn it which is completely and entirely safe, I assure you. When you get back to town, and you send us a barrel of oil, send along an exterminator or someone else who is better equipped to handle our spider problem, since we still need that new well. When he gets here, I'll send the dagger back with the delivery person who brings the oil. Sound fair?"
Umaveti approaches the group with a sad look on his face, "It seems Gwyndolen has elected to stay behind in Fwey, something about a long-lost friend or other." Clapping his hands together in a show of hard-won patience, he asks, "So, are we ready to go?" he takes a quick glance at Odd'n "Or do we need to stay the night?"
Odd'n saddles his pack and moves to stand behind Umaveti, awaiting the parties departure.
As Mikaiela waited outside the Common for the group, she fiddled around with a gold piece while planning meals for the group she intends to travel with, using the ingredients she grabbed for a fair sum of cash (she can sometimes be entirely reasonable after all).
Once the group got moving, she'd move to join their number for the adventure.
"Been ready for a bit now." Bronan concurs.
When everyone's ready to go, Umaveti takes up the rear, staying behind with the boy during the hike.
Along the road, they come to a fork, much like the one they found on the way here, only this one was it's mirror: the left road leads up to the mountains, the right one leads out to the bandit camp.
Umaveti again defers to you, but cautions, "The bandits will not likely take kindly to seeing our faces again, I'd honestly prefer to take my chances in the mountains. But as I said, I'm just a humble librarian, I defer to your better judgment."
Odd'n trudges ahead of the group and stands staring down the left path.
His eyes drift down the length of the path towards the mountains looming in the distance, than up further still to the skies. "I wish I could give us some indication of what weather we might be facing up on the mounts path.. but the skies.. they are strange right now. I've lived in the wilderness as a child and I am no stranger to extreme conditions-- they can be as lethal as any bandit clan." Odd'n lets out a sigh and kicks at the pebbles on the ground, resigning himself to follow wherever the group decides to go.
While he waits for the others to voice their opinions Odd'n aims his eyes and ears down the left path, trying to pick out the sound of anyone hiding up ahead. We know what awaits us to the right.. I wonder what unwholesomeness awaits us down there..
Odd'n is wholly imperceptive of weather and danger. However, everyone can see that the sky above the mountain pass is clear for the moment, and the plant life all around them is moving with a brisk but bearable wind.
As everyone begins gathering their gear I say. "I just want to seal this deal real quick. I will catch up to you on the road shortly."
My intentions: Tell Lars that since my mission to find him a new well didn't go as planned, I would be willing to cast a charm on him to bring better luck in business, in return for a small discount on the dagger. Then if he agrees or not, ("No really, I insist") I will cast charm person on him so he thinks of me as a great friend and cuts me a good deal. Or if it does not work, I will wait until night and attempt to rob him, scoping the place out with detect magic to find the location of the dagger.
I will of course make any skill rolls and/or provide clarification/changes based on how you deem the situation goes.
"All right, but don't be too long, as we've seen, it's not safe to travel alone on this island." says Bronan as he makes a final check of Sky for the journey.
Mikaiela snaps her fingers and signs with flourish.
{Hey! Are you guys leaving yet? Obviously, I'll forgive you of calling me a harlot, and tag along. I'm quite certain cooked meals are better than whatever is in those trail rations.}
She smiles at the group with a coy smile, which was all part of her plan.
Odd'n looks to the dark-clad woman as she begins her bizarre hand-dance. "Hey, Umaveti, any idea what she is doing here? We lose one honest woman in Gwyn and we pick up this.. this..." Odd'n lets the sentence trail off into a snarl and a shake of his head.
Happy to hash this out without role play if that's what you prefer. Lars would happily accept any help he can get, magical or otherwise, and still kinda feels guilty about the cellar, so he lets you cast the spell. Unfortunately, he doesn't feel a thing. He even asks you if it worked, which you can answer how you like. If you decide to bluff and say yes, I'll need a roll; he'll likely give you a discount if he thinks you've helped his business.
Also, I'm retconning, I totally misread my campaign outline. It's a +1 dagger, not made of cold iron, I assume you still want it...?
If you decide not to buy it, I need a perception check and a stealth roll to steal it.
Umaveti chimes in, "Well, if she wants to cook for us, I'm not turning her down. Besides, with Gwyn staying here, we could use the help. Alright? Let's go..."
Just go ahead and roll, I'll let you ride the plot device train and catch up to them directly after.
Odd'n falls in behind Umaveti, clasping his rags close to his body as he casts his eyes around the landscape and between his companions-- new and old. "Yea.. yea.. *nonsensical grumbles*.. gunna.. keep an eye.. on her... *grumble*.. Gwyn.. why'd yea hav'ta.."
As the rest of the party makes their way slowly away from Fwey, Garret pretends to follow after them shortly after his deal with Lars goes south. A few hours later, however, he circles back to find the Common devoid of guests.
Garret finds the innkeeper napping on the bar. The archer sneaks up to him expertly, not making a sound. He almost passes him by to search the cellar when the innkeeper turns a bit and light catches a bit of metal on his hip. Garret uses Detect Magic to see a dagger-shaped glow in that area. He touches the tip of what he assumes is the hilt, and finds that it's loose enough to retrieve without the sleeping innkeeper feeling it. And so he does.
Stowing the dagger, Garret runs out the door, and at a fast pace for an hour, he catches up to the group panting and out of breath.
As Garret arrives, Umaveti greets him, "Ah, I see you've caught us up? Get a good run in did you? We were just discussing which path to take. My vote is the mountains, away from the bandits, but Odd'n is worried about the weather. Thoughts?"
"I see no reason to fear going into the mountains, however I still wish to discover what made Landis such a good archer. So, I vote to take our previous path."
"Alright, that's one vote for the bandits. Odd'n? Bronan? Mikaiela?" It was clear that the nagaji was getting a tad impatient.
Odd'n casts a worried look towards the mountains and shrugs.
"You beat Landis once, twice should be a cinch, right?" Asks Bronan. "I guess better the evil we know, let's take the same route back."
Mikaiela huffed and adjusted her glasses.
{If you guys find bandits to your liking, then so be it. Just don't let them touch me. They've done so once already, and I'd rather not go through that again.}
Her signing had lots of emphasis to it.
Umaveti sighs, "Well alright then, the bandits it is." The troop, small boy in tow, heads to the east down the straighter, wider road. Soon the sand dunes became rock formations, and the howling winds became a salt-spritzed breeze. They came to a series of formations that were more than a little familiar to them, but something was different.
In place of jovial laughter, there was shouting. In place of music and song, there was chanting and grunting. And rather than a welcoming, if mischievous, rogue, the party was met by closed wooden gates, and two thugs guarding them.
Looking around, Odd'n searches for a stone perch that may afford him a view into camp.. and an easy climb to reach it..
"Well.. perhaps the mountains would have been less troublesome after all.."
"Why the dour face, friend?" asks Bronan. "We don't want any trouble, and I think it would be better for everyone if there wasn't any."
As the sun sets over the rolling end of the Wyrm, our heroes approach rocks and a very hard place filled with hard people.
Odd'n can see quite clearly that there are several rock formations, ledges and the like to climb. The fence spokes are 10' high.
The guard on the right chimes, "No, we don't want any trouble either,"
"But there's a toll if you're trying to get back to Krisol," the one on the left says as if with the same mind. It occurs to you at this moment the two thugs are identical twins.
"Everyone was so much more jolly last time we passed through. What changed friend?"
"Shoulda took the mountains.." Odd'n grumbles as turns and walks back from the guards a little ways, just far enough that he is out of sight from them but still visible to his companions if they so desired to follow him with their eyes. Inspecting the ledges before him Odd'n finds himself curious how the bandits erected this barricade so suddenly, Well, may as well see what awaits us inside this hive of villainy..
Mikaiela waited patiently, although she had a smirk cross her face as she gazed back at the guards. She started signing to them, to gauge their reaction, since she could only read lips and assume what they were saying.
{Twins! How cute! These bandits perhaps I can get between without effort.}
Then, she signaled her next comment to the party.
{Manipulation is a key thing I have after all. Plus, skin, or the lack of, goes quite a ways with brutes like these, if past experience is anything to go by.}
The twins look at each other knowingly, "Under new management," they say simply and without emotion.
The twins are less than thrilled with their new managers.
Odd'n is able to see Beshoi and seven other thugs inside.
Tanwen translates Mikaiela's signs for the party in a whisper.
Sense motive
I walk up and speak in a hushed tone. "Listen friends, we had a good time here the last time we came through and it is obvious that you dislike this new management. What say you we work together and get Landis placed back in charge?"
Letting himself down from the ledge, Odd'n approaches the party as Garret cuddles on up to the guards..
"Between Beshoi and some others I did not see Landis inside this.. this.. compound.." he whispers to Umaveti, covering his mouth with his hand as he eyes up the rest of the party-- his eyes falling on Mikaiela a little longer than the rest. "Would Landis allow something such as this popping up on a trade road?"
"Yeah, wouldn't you like a return to the drink-and-be-merry vibe of yesterday rather than this silly wall guarding duty?" Bronan asks.
Mikaiela would only smile back at Odd'n. Perhaps she was assuming he was ogling her (her attire did leave little to imagination), or perhaps she felt he was still untrusting. In either case, she didn't care too much, used to both in spades.
She was listening intently. At least would be if she could actually hear. Rather, she was focusing on lips, to see what was being said and decipher the meaning.
The twin on the left looks over his shoulder into the camp, then back at Garret and Bronan, and whispers, "Easier said than done, ol' Snake-Tongue's got himself sent back to Upright."
"'Sides, ain't no bestin' Big Beshoi no-how," the right twin adds.
Umaveti answers Odd'n in an equally hushed tone, "I don't know much about this Landis character, but from what I gathered at our last encounter, this doesn't look much like his doing."
Odd'n pipes up to the twins after hearing Beshois name, "That brute is in charge... how did he find himself in charge of you lot? When we passed several days past he had some authority but seemed content being an aggravating and entitled brute; threatening those Landis was kind too.."-- Odd'n makes sure to put a bitter emphasis on the word 'kind' as he speaks to these criminals.
"What do you mean he can't be bested? Does that mean he is looking for challengers?"
"Ay, tha's Beshoi alright," quoth Twin R to Odd'n.
"And I mean, he's got his nose so far up right Upright's arse that nobody can challenge him wivvout bringin' down damnation on hisself no-how;" Twin L says to Garret.
"Who's this 'Upright' anyway? I thought I heard Gwynn mumbling about him." Bronan asks Garret.
"'e ain't bein' here long, eh?" Lefty says to Righty, failing to give Garret the chance to answer.
"Not wi' eyes or ears no-how," they share a quick laugh before Righty explains, "The Upright Man is being the highest up it goes for us-like in Krisol."
"Yeah," Lefty says, "More power even than the Mayor, or the K'senyas."
Bronan scratches his head. "Well that doesn't make sense. This island doesn't have a king. So what is he, a baron?"
Odd'n throws in with the line of questions; "Us like? So this Upright Man has you harassing citizens travelling the roads.. building barricades to impede honest travellers?"
Turning his attention back to Umaveti, Odd'n growls to the man. "We were lucky to leave with our lives, never mind our coin, last time. Plus.. that Beshoi hardly seemed amused by Garret & Gwyns wagering with Landis. I refuse to hand anything else over to him-- let us turn back and take the mountain pass." Jabbing a thumb towards the twins he continues- "Unless we can expect more of YOUR lot up there.."
The twins laugh at Mael's presumptions, but explain that the Upright Man is the leader of all crime. "He's got power what no man can be given, born with, or marry into."
The twins' laughter garners the attention of Beshoi who adds that the Upright Man's authority won't be challenged in his camp, inferring that it was in Landis's. When he overhear's Odd'n's comment about the mountain pass, he smirks and makes a comment about how he has no men up there because none of them are properly equipped, and there's no point risking his men's lives to pick the pockets of "rock-climbing buffoons" such as yourselves, who'll probably die trying to navigate it.
Beshoi is telling the truth about his having no men in the mountain pass, but is exaggerating the severity of the mountain pass.
Umaveti then starts to second guess the mountain pass in private to Odd'n.