"I'm.. I'm sure her kind have a name, but I am not aware of it. She was the one raving, begging people for help-- being bypassed by all including our own group!" Odd'ns expression sours at memory of Garrets indifference. "Her daughter, er.. adopted daughter.. was taken by something that, from her description, sounds like what took our fire-boy. Maybe Nammmii.. Naimi.. whatever her name is knows something; Homeros here thinks she might! Let us know where we are staying and we will be sure to find you there later."
Turning to Homeros, Odd'n gestures for the man to lead on towards their next appointment. While Homeros regathers his senses, surely too busy in thought regarding the note they acquired to stumble forth, Odd'n takes a moment to whisper to Alistair a small warning about the encounter in the bar. "We met a few of your ol' companions in the pub.. they seemed friendly upfront.. but something about them tells me they were expecting us. Maybe let Garret know?"
Homeros let's out a sigh and says, "Any solace they might have had from seeing me was lost on seeing you. I think you and your friend had better keep your heads down. I can go to The Panting Painter on my own to talk to Nina."
Mikaiela can't tell which way they went when she gets to town, but remembers something about Umaveti working at the library... and that they were all working for the mayor. Maybe that would be a good place to start looking?
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"No, let us go together.. I won't have you putting your neck on the line for us. As you say-- any solace they had at seeing you was lost upon seeing me; I imagine any warmth they felt for you fled at the same time."
Mikaiela considered the option briefly, but decided it wasn't worth the effort. Rather, she turned her efforts to where she was in town, and tried and make her way there, perhaps returning to work as a chef.
Homeros shrugs, "It's your funeral." He then leads them to The Panting Painter on the other side of town.
The talkative rogue from the bar is trailing Odd'n and Homeros.
As you approach, you can see that this neighborhood is considerably cleaner than the other, though it still has its fair share of beggars and vagrants. The sign outside the Painter features a cartoon of a rope (in the outline of a man) drinking a pint. Homeros chuckles at the well-known play-on-words in those parts.
Alistair: Alistair informs Odd'n and Homeros of the location of the Inn and then travels back the way he came to inform Garret that his task it complete.
Staring up at the sign, Odd'n doesn't quite catch on to what Homeros finds so funny. Putting the thought aside, Odd'n pushes into the Painter and takes in the view-- observing the happenings in the bar with a keen interest in finding a rowdy, and hopefully talkative, table.
"So.. Homeros, any idea what kinda' clientele frequent this place..? Why is this.. Numi.. so well informed?"
"Nina," he said with a bit more enunciation and annoyance this time, "is well informed because she serves drinks to sailors, gangsters, and politicians alike. Honestly I think she makes more money selling secrets than she does selling booze." This last bit he said very quietly so as not to let on. Upon taking in the painter, Odd'n almost doesn't notice that the talkative man from the other bar snuck in behind them.
Odd'n, being largely ignorant of the smooth operator persona that may be required of one looking to gather information, focuses in on the talkative man and immediately makes moves towards him. "Miss us already do you?" Odd'n asks with a stupid grin. Leaving his eyes on the man, Odd'n leans back a little and turns his head enough to whisper to Homeros. "How welcome was your ol' gang in this place?"
Odd'n sees just what Homeros promised: rougish, hardy, and/or political types, but no shady activity other than his current target. For an instant, the man looked as if he would either draw a weapon or take off running, but he quickly recovered saying, "Oh hey! Look at that! I actually had other business here, but if you're into a mid-morning bar crawl, I'd be happy to join you right after I'm through." He gestures toward the group of aforementioned roguish types, claps Odd'n on the shoulder, and begins walking toward his acquaintances.
Homeros answers in a quick whisper, "You'll find there's not very many establishments where Upright's men are restricted from entry. Such is the power of fear and money."
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Odd'n smiles at the man, "Alright then! Be sure to see to finding us before we move onto the next place!"
Turning to face Homeros, he pushes him towards the bar. "Let us grab a drink-- perhaps a few coin will bring Nami out of the woodwork.. and maybe passing along the note to her will see to a private audience." Odd'n reaches into his pocket before catching hold of Homeros' hand and pressing into his palm 1 gem he had collected from the dragons hoard. "And if not.. maybe this will? I don't know gems.. but we found this in a small hoard guarded by a dragon whose breath was the very essence of the grave!"
Homeros takes a look at the pearl, and his eyes widen as he chuckles and says, "I think Nina would let you call her Aunt Marie for this!" He takes it and makes his way over to the bartender. After a few moments of talking, she looks over at Odd'n and waves him back. Homeros stays where he is.
As the big man follows Nina back into her private quarters behind the bar, he notices it's much more lavish than the bar outside suggesting that Homeros was right about her behind-the-scenes business.
It's at this moment that all notices the slight horns in her head and a tail under her dress skirt. It does make sense that she would be a tiefling in a town like this. "So what is it you wanted to ask me?" The fair, but dangerous looking bartender asks.
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His eyes lingering on the bump on her rump that must be her tail, Odd'n stutters a bit at first before finally explaining himself. "Well, if you can tell me a little bit about the Upright Man and why his lacky followed us to the bar here that'd be great." Odd'n hands the note over to Nami while explaining how he confronted the talkative man when they first entered. "All people will tell us is 'he is dangerous' or 'don't cross him' without bothering to explain why! Yes, yes, yes-- he is a bandit of some renown, but bandits are common enough. What sets this man apart?"
Plopping down on a luxurious char, and almost certainly spoiling it with his dirty leathers, Odd'n continues addressing Nami. "This cities underside aside, has word come to you of a missing changeling girl? I encountered a cat-lady in the shanties," Odd'n gestures to the cut on his face, "and she asked us to find her daughter, her adopted daughter. She was, apparently, taken by the same beast that took one in our group. Woman like, but resembling the bee. Have you heard of such things?"
Absent mindedly Odd'n pulls the feather out from where it was tucked inside his gauntlet, against his inner-forearm, as he talks to Nani. "Might you also know where my prize came from? It is from Milani, I'm sure of it.. but the golden bird that delivered it.. I.. it.. it was beautiful." Odd'n caringly strokes the bristles of the feather has he listens to what Nami is saying.
Nina's eyebrows raised at the forwardness of this man's demeanor. She answer the first question with a matching tone, "Wow, you must not be from around here. The Upright Man isn't just some bandit of renown. He is the leader of the largest gang on the island. Which is to say the only gang with any real man-power. You could say that he is the father figure to the criminal element in Krisol. Not only that, but he has influence in other circles as well. Word is, he is a noble, and as such has influence over the gentry as well as the politics in town. This makes him much more dangerous than a common mob boss." She pours two glasses of wine from a decanter sitting on the side of her desk, making no effort to hand him one before taking the first sip. "As for why his lackey found you here, I haven't the foggiest. Have you overthrown any bandits lately?" Her tone suggests her question is ingenuous. She takes another sip.
"I've heard of your catfolk woman, and her human comrade wailing at every passerby who's ear they can bend. Kids run away all the time, and their poor mothers like to use it as an excuse to beg for money. The bee-woman thing is new though, points for creativity. Though it's happened to you too you say? Well, I'll be able to live off that pearl you gave me for a few months, so it'll be my pleasure to keep my ear to the ground for anything new on the subject until then."
Finally, as she finished off her glass of wine, Odd'n asks her about the feather. "Hm, I don't know anything off the top of my head, but wait a moment." She goes to the bookshelf on Odd'n's right and fingers through a few spines until she comes to a gold-filigreed book. Pulling it out, Odd'n notices the title: Magical Beasts: An Appraisal. Nina mumbles to herself as she navigates the appendix, "Birds...large..." After a moment she flips to a page, and flops a pictured entry down in front of him, "Is this what you saw?" Below it you read a brief entry.
Odd'n rubs his temples a bit, confused at his own story. Cat-lady.. with human daughter? Adopted? No-- wait.. yes? Blast you memory! Regardless, it seems it is more than 1 family in peril..
Odd'n recovers from his idiocy in time to catch Nina mid-sentence-- offering to keep an ear out for any word on the bee-people. "Aye, it is truly odd but I've seen it with me own eyes!" Odd'n quickly lets her disbelief go as Nina plops the book down in his lap. His eyes widen at the image depicted in the book, and he quickly downs his wine and tosses the cup aside. "YES! YES THIS IT IS! Milani's messenger! Gorgeous no? Ercinee... erkinay.." Odd'n struggles with the word. "Wonderful.."
Odd'n sits in the in the chair dumbfounded for a few silent moments, reliving his encounter with the brilliant beast.
Gradually Odd'n comes back to himself, and something Nina said previously tickles his memory. "The.. the cat-lady; you said they oft' times use 'lost children' to get money. She didn't ask for anything, she.. she seemed sincere. Please, if you do hear anything see too it that word gets to me. Uhm.. Umaveti.. he.. he is our contact here I think. In the library." Odd'n stands and extends his hand to shake the ladies hand.
"Tha' thank you. Uhm, I should get going.. Homeros and I should get back to our companions. If.. if anyone comes in asking about his I hope you can lead them astray?"
The devilish woman grins at Odd'n's last request and says with great comfort, as though she says it often, "I always honor my investors." She brandishes the pearl at the last word.
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Odd'n isn't quite sure what to make of the woman and the significance of the pearl, but feels somewhat assured she poses no threat to himself or his purpose. Nodding to Nina before letting himself out of the luxurious back room, Odd'n stalks back to the main bar to find Homeros, with an eye out for the talkative man.
Joining Homeros back at the bar, Odd'n lets the man know what went on in the back room. "So, we seem stuck between a rock and a hard place-- between this Upright Man and some beasties that sound more fantasy than reality to Nina." Odd'n lets out a long sigh. "Anything you've noticed in my absence? We should perhaps find our way back to our companions.."
Homeros relays to Odd'n that after their tail spoke with his acquaintances for a bit, one of them left.
"If we're going to rendezvous with the others, I suggest we stay in full view of the city guard the entire time. Two of them if at all possible. Mostly because I can't imagine that man left to get us candies."
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Odd'n asks Homeros to lead him back to his companions, the lay-out of the city still being alien to him. "Take a round-about route, if this talkative man finds his path remains in line with ours then I'll have to see to it that he is unable too continue after the first few turns." Odd'n cracks his knuckles at the statement, fully intent on pummeling the man in some alley if he dares to follow.
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As Odd'n and Homeros round the corner of Shining Armor, they notice they have a tail, their friend from the other two bars.
Odd'n whispers to Homeros to keep an eye out moments before abruptly stopping, spinning, and springing towards their tail. Several quick strides later, Odd'n finds himself face-to-face with a man he recognizes from the mornings bar visit. Snarling in his face, Odd'n readies and calms himself for the brawl to come.
Seeing that he's been spotted, the rogue draws a pair of daggers and takes a defensive stance before saying, "Touch me, and the guard we passed on the corner will hear of it, not to mention my employer. I'm sure he'd love to hear how Homeros here is helping you..." He grins as if he's already won any conflict there could be.
Odd'n holds nothing back, and hearing this bandit threaten the recently 'liberated' Homeros makes him all the more angry-- causing the deranged man to slash at the man with his nails before lunging in to rip out his throat with his teeth.
In an explosion of fists and teeth, Odd'n leaves his opponent dying in the alley.
He continues to bleed.
"What have you done!" Homeros shouts, but catching himself he drops to a harsh whisper. "Tell me you can heal him! Upright knows he was tailing us, if anyone finds him dead, we'll be dead too!"
Odd'n brushes off Homeros' comments. "We killed his men before, when you and I first encountered one another, so why would this ones life be so special? I've seen to it he will survive, for now, and we can have some assurance that he won't be leading his friends to our companions later on." Dragging the man up against the wall and as out of site from the main road-ways as possible, Odd'n begins going through the unconscious mans pockets. "Keep an eye out eh, let us see if he has anything on him before we are on our way."
After rummaging through the mans pockets, Odd'n stands up to leave.. but stops as the image of the feather flashes through his mind. "We've given him a second chance.. there won't be a third. Come here a minute and make sure he doesn't yell out." Kneeling down and grabbing the mans right hand, Odd'n places it palm down on his bent right knee as Homeros holds the mans mouth & head. "I think a small momento from this meeting will remind him to avoid us, and label him for our companions if we ever see him again.."
Roughly scratching on the back of the mans hand, Odd'n carves a bloody feather from wrist to knuckle.
Homeros sighs with relief, "I told you, they know he was following us, so of course if he dies in an alleyway, they'll assume we killed him and hunt us down. At least now all we have to worry about is being beaten to within an inch of our lives."
Odd'n finds two daggers, a sling, ten bullets, wooden armor, and a backpack full of everything a rogue could need, as well as 87 gold.
Odd'n merely rolls his eyes at the man's words. "You let the threat of a bad beating or death deplore you from the right path?" Odd'n punctuates the question with a soft chuckle. "Milani save you yet! Come, lead on to our abode; best we get word of this to the others.."
Stripping the man of his worthwhile belongings, Odd'n falls in behind Homeros with an eye out for anymore trouble.
Confident in their safety, Odd'n and Homeros proceed to Lounge K'senya's entrance.
As they approach, they find themselves the subject of some scrutiny. The doorman, a jade-skinned oread over six feet tall, is apparently not accustomed to dealing with leather-clad brawlers or rogues. His demeanor quickly changes as if he's remembered something. "Ah, you must be Mr. Lhrar and Mr. Homeros, your companion Mr. Vincze told us to expect you, he, Mr. Powers, and Ms. Tanwen are already taking advantage of our accomodations." He looks behind them as if expecting to see more, "I do love waiting on adventurers, always travel light. Shall I take your bags?" He gestures toward Odd'n and Homero's backpacks.
Homeros instinctively puts a hand on his, but then simply says, "I'm alright, thank you."
Odd'n says very much the same before pushing past the man to find Garret. Standing in the entrance hall of the lounge, Odd'n quickly finds himself out of place and lost. Seemingly out of options, Odd'n begins yelling.
"GAARREETTT!! GARRETTT! WHERE IN THE BLAZES ARE YOU!!!?!?!?!!"
I hear my name being yelled faintly, at first I ignore it in favor of my work but it continues. Alistair had reported to me some hours before that Odd'n and Homeros had been told where we were staying. Finally I roll my eyes and stand with a sigh.
I follow Odd'n's shouting to his person, "Calm down you lump, do you want to get us kicked out of the Inn? Follow me to our rooms." I say and then turn and start walking back the way I came.
Odd'n follows Garret to the room where he has been working. "How in the Hells can we afford stay in this place? You think we'd want to be a little more low key.."
Plunking down on the floor, legs crossed, Odd'n begins recounting the trek him and Homeros shared; the encounter at the first bar & the note from the Upright Man, their tail to the second, discussion with Nina, their tail home and the encounter had therein. Odd'n is half-way through describing the mark he had tagged the bandit with when his eyes fall back upon his newly acquired second pack. "Ah, and for you.. would these knick-knacks do you any good ()?. Odd'n digs into his original pack and tosses one of the daggers, the sling, and the 10 bullets to Homeros. The other dagger he tucks under his rope-belt holding up his ragged pants. The wooden armor, roughly tied onto the back of his pack, he disentangles and tosses to Homeros as well.
"So.. how went the meeting with the mayor? Where is our.. lizard guide.."
I quickly explain what happened with the mayor and that we are leaving at first light with him to retrieve his son while working on my magic item. "Our previous guide was deemed, unfit, for this retrieval."
I also pull out a smallish purse and hand it to Odd'n absentmindedly "This is your share of everything we have gained so far."
I quickly write up a list of supplies on a whim and give it and a larger purse to Tanwen and Alistair to gather since I am too busy to leave the room.
Odd'n, new to the creation of magic, stares dumbfounded at the happenings at Garrets work station. "You.. you can.. make.. magic items? I.. I.. how?! Does it.. only work for.. you.. uhm, can you make for others?"
Listening to Garret, Odd'n blindly grabs a small handful of coins and hands them to Homeros. "Here.. here.. uhm.. your.. share.. did you know Garret can make magics? Shhhh! Listen!"
"I can make magic items for others, depending on what it is they desire. This particular item I am working on will only work for wizards so it wouldn't do anyone else much good unless they wanted to try and sell it to one."
As the big man and his friend barge into the main hall of K'senya's Tavern, he quickly sees that he is in a place entirely new to him in every way. The walls are draped with elaborate tapestries and animal hides. Mwangi masks and weapons adorn those wall spaces too small for tapestries. It reminds him of the stories one of the nicer slavers (were there such a thing) once told him of the luxurious hunting lodges on the edge of the deserts of Thuvia.
Based on Garret's suggestions, Alistair and Tanwen are able to purchase the materials for 1,012 gp.
A few minutes later, a tall half-elf woman with almond skin, full lips, and a comely body hidden beneath a colorful dress appears at the door to your suite, and says, "Are you finding everything to your appreciation?" Her musical voice is spiced with an accent that compliments her attire.
Odd'n stutters awkwardly before shuffling behind Garret, letting the noble address the uncomfortably attractive woman.
Garrett looks up expressionless from his work, "Quite well, am I right to assume you're K'senya?"
"You are," she answers, "if there's anything I can do for any of you," she looks at Odd'n, "just let me know." She holds for a bit to see if anyone thinks of anything, before closing the fine oak door and leaving.
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After I finish what I can on the magic item I am working on I turn to the others. "We should turn in early. We have to leave at first light and I will need to stop by the fletchers in the morning to retrieve some arrows I had commissioned." With that I take one of the beds in the room, assuming Tanwen will join me, and leave the others to figure out their sleeping arrangements.
Odd'n throws the noble a scowl as he turns his back, clearly still to involved in himself to bother with helping himself or the others in finding their bunks for the eve. Walking from the room, Odd'n searches out K'senya-- himself hoping to find a bed to sleep in as much as anything else.
Tanwen jumps in to bed with Garrett happily, completely forgetting to take off her armor first. She then gets back out of bed and does so, before jumping back in, fully clothed. The action was more childlike, than sensual.
Odd'n finds K'senya speaking with another tenant down the hall from them. When asked about the towns bandit problem, she looks sideways and says "I sincerely don't know what you mean."
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Odd'n, merely taking her at her word, shrugs off the response and asks about where they are to sleep for the night. "Homeros and I would prefer separate beds, but if space is tight we understand." Odd'n flips the woman a ( ) copper coin. "If Nina sends word, see to it that it reaches my ear first.."
Norme, present in the town along with his companion, was able to be seen talking to someone in one of the taverns. Whomever it was (likely a bartender), surely they could get him somewhere. He did, however, look around for anyone who may be watching him as he initiated conversation with the bartender.
He was being wary for his companion's sake. Naturally suspicious given his new circumstances, he had to be sure that no one would suspect her to be an honest to goodness Demon. Thankfully, her scholar's robes (not unlike his) made her look like a Tiefling Wizard, and this, coupled with Norme's Cheliaxian looks, as well as his appearance mimicking a wizard's was usually enough to avoid suspicion.
The two of them also had to hide the runes on the back of their hands from time to time, and making sure that no one was really paying attention was part of that (since it was a give away of something he was capable of when the needs demanded it).
"Um, sorry to interrupt you, bartender, but I have an important matter I need information on. Me and my companion are both concerned highly for my sister, whom was one of the children kidnapped recently. Any information you have on those who are involved in either the kidnapping, or the search to rescue her, would be much appreciated."
Norme's "companion" was of course the very legit Succubus whom he refers to simply as "Jezebeth". Whether it is her true name or not, she was stuck with him thanks to events beyond her (and his) control. She counted as his Eidolon, given his arcane magic was focused on powerful summoning arts, and she added on to what he requested in her alluring voice.
"Yes, we could use whatever information on her whereabouts you may have. Anything is helpful right now, bartender."
Her voice was not uncommon among Tieflings, especially if they had Succubus heritage. A point in her favor when it came to talking to others, since she could generally avoid detection to anything that wasn't a Paladin.
"Please, any information would mean a lot to us.", Norme added to her addition. Fortunately, he had the boyish and younger looks to possibly have an edge here. Him being quite likable was also a boon.
Nina blinks at Odd'n holding the copper piece and clearly uses a great deal of her patience to calmly say, "The Master Suite has a large bed, two single beds, and two large couches. I'm certain you'll all be able to reset comfortably, but if you'd like, I can make other arrangements." Handing back the coin she continues, "Rest assured, if anyone comes asking for you, I'll let you know. It's our duty."
The bartender at the Bucket nearly melted in the voice of Norme's companion, and quickly let her know that Odd'n and Homeros were in here earlier talking about that, and heard them say something about staying at Lounge K'senya.
"Thank you ma'am!"
Norme's reply was quick. The two left thereafter to head towards the lounge the others were staying at. After they were out of anyone's earshot, Norme began speaking to Jezebeth.
"Hahaha! We got some good information! Hopefully these two will be able to help us find my sister."
"Us? I'm only doing this because I have to, runt."
"Hey! You should at least pretend to care. Slinging insults around won't do either of us any good, and you know this. Also, I'm not a runt. I'm just height challenged, and will grow out of it soon...I hope..."
"I can do what I want. I swear, if I wasn't being sapped of my power by you and your stupid mark...!"
"Save it for after we undo the bonding thing, alright? Once we're separated, we can hurl mud at each other all we want."
"Runt."
Norme sighed, and contemplated the moment when his life got so weird and screwed up. Finding his sister would be one good thing at least.
He'd enter the lounge and look around for anyone who could assist him and his well-disguised companion in finding Odd'n and Homeros.
Drained from a day of combat and travel, Odd'n proceeds the same path Garret took to find the master suite. Paying no attention to the two bodies sharing the (presumably) larger bed, Odd'n falls face down onto one of the smaller bunks and falls into a deep slumber.
But not before thinking how his filthy leathers are going to ruin such nice sheets..
As Norme and Jezebeth approach Lounge K'senya, the oread doorman stops them and says, "Hello there! Are you looking for lodging or just a meal?"
Norme spoke first, before Jezebeth could potentially mess it up.
"We're actually looking for some guys who were supposed to be staying here. I believe their names were Odd'n, and Homeros. I'm looking into the kidnappings, and I was told that they may have some information on it."
"But, out of curiosity, what sort of rooms do you have? And what of the price?", Jezebeth added.
The doorman's expression fell a bit, but he continued very politely, "I'm not permitted to release information on our clientele. If you'd like to come in for a drink or luncheon, or rent a room as the lady suggested, you can ask our other guests." He turns to Jezebeth, "We offer only the best for our guests, depending on your needs. A bed for two can be anywhere between 2 and 32 gp per night."