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Rees glances around at the guests starting to arrive, and shakes his head. "I am not an Elder, but I can try to help keep order."
Throwing a meaningful glance toward Nico, the emerald-eyed elf then cocks his head ever so slightly at Garif, clearly implying, You have a hard enough time with one cat; how are you ever going to manage other people's animals? I suppose I'll help you, even after that dig earlier about not being productive. Hrmph.
Dougle seems pleased with the speed at which you all divide up the tasks that need doing and actually smiles broadly as he produces a cigar and lights up.
"Perfect! I wish all the Pathfinders that came through had as much get-up-and-go as you lot do. That's got it settled, then. Vinius, since everything's accounted for I'll leave it up to you what you want to help out with. Zig, I don't want you on any one job in particular. Just mingle and be ready to jump in and help one of these folks if they need it, alright?"
The halfling pauses and considers the implications of asking Zig to potentially help translate or do anything up on stage.
"Wait, no. Just be ready to help with the drinks, breaking up trouble, things like that. When it comes to translating and performing, too many cooks spoil the soup."
He claps his hands sharply. "Alrighty then! Sounds like we're set. Take your places everyone and let's make this party one to remember!"
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As the guests really begin to arrive and filter inside the Winding Road Inn, everyone takes their places. Garif and Vinius head to the door, ready to collect any critters that need stabling and other care during the party. Rees also takes up a sentry position near the door, making sure he has a good view of the entire common room.
Iovo and Kleines both join Dougle behind the bar, ready to serve drinks and deliver meals. Phinellippa decides to make rounds through the room and Damiar joins the bardic trio as they take the stage and ready their instruments. There's a brief and quiet confab among the four as to how to begin and then Kitt claps his hands to get everyone's attention; once all eyes are on him, he speaks.
"Hello to you all! I'm Kitt and these are my sisters Kaba, Kora, and sister-from-another-mister Damiar! We're honored to be able to perform for you today and we aim to make this the best party dear old Roderus has ever attended! But we'll leave the speechifications to others - we're here to make music!"
A burst of cheering and applause follows; as it begins to die down, Kitt adds, "This first one goes out to everyone who stood fast during the recent Fiendflesh Siege, most especially the slaves who put their lives on the line to defend Absalom. Our people! This one's for you.”
Kaba and Kora begin to play as Kitt and Damiar begin to sing....
~Do you hear the people sing?
Singing the songs of angry men?
It is the music of the people
Who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!
Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Somewhere beyond the barricade
Is there a world you long to see?
Then join in the fight
That will give you the right to be free!~
Just like that, the party is underway!
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As she takes her position behind the bar, Iovo asks Dougl “So is this an open bar, or am I supposed to collect money for each drink?”
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Iovo digs out the drink mixing guide and quickly skims it as part of her preparations.
While she is waiting for people to come up, she stacks a few glasses on the bar in a small pyramid.
Smiling brightly as the doors open, she calls out “The bar is open!” and twirls a bottle of seltzer in her hand. She rolls it along her arm and quickly catches it. She looks forward to meeting her fellow Pathfinder agents and sharing a little gossip.
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Kleines pats his pockets, looks panicked for a moment, then pulls out a pen. Grabbing a small stack of bar napkins from Iovo's station, he walks out into the crowd, introducing himself and making notes about people's food orders on the napkins. By the time he gets back to the bar to pick up the first tray of plates, the ink from his pen has bled into the napkins thoroughly enough to render them completely unreadable. With a shrug, he throws them away and heads off, surprising no one moreso than himself in his ability to remember who ordered what.
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With the party now in full swing, each of you find yourselves kept quite busy with your chosen tasks.
Kleines finds himself inundated with various orders in, well, short order, but he surprises even himself with his memory and ability to remember who ordered what. Of course it doesn't hurt that Pathfinders often stand out a bit, even among other Pathfinders. There's the leshy with the galoshes and floppy sunhat who ordered a plate full of 'tiny breads', the gnome and her fire-cat eidolon who both wanted steak, and even a guy sprawled out on a nearby bench who simply asked for a dish that would pair with his 'mellow yellow soul'.
(Kleines may have had to make an educated guess on that one, but at least the guy seems happy with the endless bowls of chips and salsa.)
Over near the front door Rees stands tall and silent, his natural Killjoy Aura radiating outward and causing anyone who passes by to either quicken their pace or to look away with a few muttered words about 'stuck up elves'. He's even able to diffuse a brewing argument between a half-orc and a dwarf about whose people has the better martial prowess with nothing more than a very stern glare.
(Also, it's a silly argument. Elves are naturally superior to both.)
And out on the floor, Phinellippa flits to and fro, casually inserting herself into conversations to help make introductions and to aid with food and drink orders. She even helps a few guests avoid what would've been some unfortunate language-related faux pas and misunderstandings.
(Telling someone that you dig their big feet when you really meant that you dig their colorful pedicure is quite embarrassing for everyone involved.)
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After being reassured by Dougle that it's open bar, at least for the duration of the party, Iovo gets to work on making and preparing the voluminous number of drink orders that begin to come in. It takes a few drinks before she really begins to feel comfortable at her post and find her pace but once she does, she's able to impress the customers with a number of tricks - some that she's seen before and maybe even one or two of her own creation.
Even better, her keen ears allow her to pick up some interesting bits of conversation between many of the guests at the bar...
"Did you hear? That Phlegos Dulm and Wulessa Yuul never liked each other, but their hatred's only grown worse now that Roderus is retiring."
"Oh yeah, I've heard it too. If you ask me, it seems there’s room for only one venture-captain in Katapesh and Dulm's the guy. You know no one can survive in Katapesh without the market on their side and to hear tell it Dulm has a lot of friends in the market."
"Yeah, but I've also been hearing that Yuul’s contacts are being targeted of late and bullied into dropping their contact with her...or else. Like, there's no proof it's Dulm's doing but it seems too convenient for him to just be coincidence, you know?"
"Pfft! You think Phlegos Dulm has the kind of cash you'd need for something like that? The way I've heard it is that he's damn near up to his eyeballs in debt! And help from the thugs in this city doesn't come cheap."
Damiar has fun singing with the band, although she might need to work on harmonizing more.
Between sets, Damiar chats with the other Pathfinders in the room. She tries to draw them out in conversation.
Much as he secretly feared, Garif finds critter duty rather challenging to get a handle on - even with Vinius and Zig both trying to help. After all, just because one is good with their critter, doesn't mean they're automatically good with someone else's critter(s).
(And when you're not that good with other critters, making sure the lion companion doesn't try to eat the goat familiar and that the very large bear doesn't try to ransack all the saddlebags is a pretty tall order.)
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Critter-snafus aside, the party rolls right along as drinks and meals are served and the band plays. While Damiar does find it a little more difficult to harmonize with Kitt than she might've expected, the difference in sound is really only apparent to her - everyone else seems to be having quite a good time!
Several of you also attempt to keep your eyes and ears open for any hot gossip on Wulessa Yuul and/or Phlegos Dulm but neither Kleines or Damiar pick up on anything different than what Iovo happened to overhear at the bar.
(And the less said of Rees' attempts at 'small talk', the better.)
But as it turns out, fate, coincidence, or sheer dumb luck give you all something else nearly as good.
As the partying and merrymaking continue, all of you happen to spot the two venture-captains, Phlegos Dulm and Wulessa Yuul, making their way across the common room from opposite sides. So engrossed are they in their own separate conversations that they don’t see each other until it’s too late, bumping arms. Phlegos’ wine sloshes in its glass and a few drops splatter onto the floor.
"I he…lp…?" comes Zig’s voice as he comes running to clean up the mess but then stops short as he stares confusedly and uneasily up at the pair; even he can pick up on the tension between them. An eerie silence steals over the room as the two stare each other down, not bothering to hide their hatred for each other.
"Two more of my servants were attacked, Dulm," Wulessa hisses, her eyes burning with indignation "You know that I won’t let you get away with this!"
"There’s nothing you can do to stop me," Phlegos replies curtly - and coldly. "This city needs only one venture-captain." The two continue their staring contest for a few more seconds before they both abruptly turn, not even looking at each other as they make their way to opposite ends of the room. There's an uncomfortable pause before the conversation in the common room picks back up again, with several attendees shooting the two venture-captains curious looks.
"Um...okay, now I help…" Zig murmurs quietly as he produces a rag and mops up the spilled wine. "That was weird. And scary. Scary-weird…"
As it turns out, Kleines has no trouble locating Roderus. In fact, if Kleines didn't know any better, it looked like Roderus was actually (as discretely as one can) looking for one of you. The two have a quick conversation under the guise of small talk and a rather complex food order.
"Yes, absolutely try speaking to them both if you can," he murmurs under his breath. "Even though their words would seem to speak for themselves I want to know the details behind that little exchange. Maybe one of them will let something slip, something we can work with."
A cursory glance around the common room reveals that Dulm seems to have retreated to a quiet table in the corner while Yuul sits stewing over at the bar.
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Kleines nods to the Venture Captain, then makes his way across the room. He makes sure to catch Iovo's eye as he does, nodding his head in the direction of Dulm while he makes his own way towards Yuul at the bar.
"Excuse me ma'am. I couldn't help but overhear your exchange with Mr. Dulm. I'm wondering if there's anything I can do to help you?"
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Garif sees the tense exchange between the two venture-captains and scratches his head a moment, muttering, "What is up with those two? Dwarves can get sideways as readily as anyone, but they are really something." He turns to seek out his companions, to see if they've got any insights to share based on what they've learned at the party, but inadvertently steps on the tail of a large, pink-furred wolf that Nico has been quietly growling at for several minutes.
The creature lets out a pained as Garif jumps back, apologizing profusely to the wolf and the even more oddly-colored gnome standing at its side.
"With Dulm? He's always been a pill to work with," Wulessa Yuul replies with a scowl as she takes another sip of her half-empty drink. "But now with dear old Roderus' retirement nigh Dulm's dialed his antics up to 11. I and everyone else know that he's behind the attacks on my agents and all the other disruptions I've been dealing with but there's no solid proof."
Wulessa takes another drink, her expression thoughtful.
"I bet there's proof-a-plenty in that potion shop of his. Did you know that he actually uses it as his own Kotargo Lodge, too? Dulm's always been about efficiency."
The venture-captain glances around and lowers her voice. "In fact, if a group of agents were looking to seek the truth...I might point out that nearly every Pathfinder in the city is currently here, including Dulm. Dulm is very obviously here and very obviously *not* at his lodge right now," Wulessa whispers to Kleines. "And don't worry, your secret's safe with me. I've worked with Roderus a long time and old habits die hard. If you doubt me, go to him with my suggestion and see what he advises."
While Kleines speaks with Wulessa Yuul the pair of you decide to try approaching Phlegos Dulm to see if you can determine what he's about. As you consider how to best approach him...
You notice that Dulm seems rather preoccupied and uncomfortable, for some reason. It might prove difficult to get anything out of him.
He keeps glancing over at the stage, where Kaba, Kora, and Kitt are taking a break. For whatever reason, they seem to be the source of his discomfort.
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Garif sees the tense exchange between the two venture-captains and scratches his head a moment, muttering, "What is up with those two? Dwarves can get sideways as readily as anyone, but they are really something." He turns to seek out his companions, to see if they've got any insights to share based on what they've learned at the party, but inadvertently steps on the tail of a large, pink-furred wolf that Nico has been quietly growling at for several minutes.The creature lets out a pained as Garif jumps back, apologizing profusely to the wolf and the even more oddly-colored gnome standing at its side.
Vinius flinches as the pink-furred wolf lets out a pained yelp from being stepped on. She glances at Garif and then shakes her head.
"We are so bad at this," she mutters. "Don't even like animals, really. Should've taken security detail..."
Damiar tries to figure out what approach is most likely to work with Dolm.
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"Hm...I'll do that. I'm not a fan of breaking and entering, but if it's to stop people from being attacked...I'll see what my friends think."
With that, Kleines takes his leave of Wulessa and goes to share the proposed plan with whichever of his friends he can catch the eye of. He begins with Rees, who is not currently engaged with speaking to anyone, and Phinellippa who happens to be between translations at the moment.
"What do you think of this idea?"
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"That seems like an excellent idea," replies Rees, as he watches an angry-looking halfling take another drink. "At the current rate, I estimate most of the attendees here will be fully asleep within three hours. There aren't likely to be more fights while we're gone."
He eyes The Amazing Coco speculatively, then nods. "Three hours."
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Inwardly a little disappointed that the normally lawful Rees doesn't share his compunctions about infiltrating a Pathfinder lodge, Kleines sighs and says "Alright. I'll go talk to Roderus." He looks to the retiring Venture-Captain and when he gets an opening, pulls the man aside and asks him what he thinks of Yuul's suggestion.
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"Hello, Venture Captain Dulm?" Damiar grins. "My name is Damiar, and this is my sister, Iovo. We couldn't help but overhearing your comment on how this city only needs one Venture Captain. And I do agree that having multiple Venture Captains in this city has led to absolute chaos."
Damiar tactfully refrains from saying that she likes chaos, and thinks that most people could use a bit more options and flexibility in their lives.
Instead, she beams. "So... If this city only needs one Venture Captain, perhaps you can tell us more about why you're the best choice!"
There's a clear flicker of irritation in Dulm's eyes as whatever thoughts he might be ruminating on are interrupted. But it's gone as quickly as it came as he offers a polite, if pained, smile.
"Well met, Damiar and Iovo," Dulm responds, giving a curt nod. "I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who feels that this fine city suffers from too many cooks, as the old saying goes. The agents working out of the lodges here need a leader who is able to see to it that things get done...and if someone is struggling to keep their own individual affairs in order, then that doesn't bode well for the larger picture does it?"
He shakes his head.
"But all that said...this isn't the time or place for such talk. Perhaps we will have a chance to speak more of this later but for now, I would be alone with my thoughts."
Dulm's tone is nothing but polite but there's a firmness and finality to the last sentence that would seem to brook no argument.
Yeah, no. He's not saying anything else on the matter.
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Venture-Captain Roderus listens intently to what Kleines has to report, as well as anything that any of the rest of you feel merits mention. When you're finished, he closes his eyes and folds his arms over his chest, remaining silent for a moment as though in deep thought. Finally he opens his eyes and slowly nods.
"Do it. As much as it pains me to send Pathfinders to spy on Pathfinders this chance to either find some hard evidence against Dulm - or something to exonerate him - can't be ignored. Don't worry about your duties here; I think things have finally calmed down enough that Dougle, Vinius, and Zig can manage on their own."
Roderus does raise a warning finger, though. "That said, be sure you don't destroy or take anything more than absolutely necessary - else I won't be able to take responsibility for you or your actions."
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Iovo finds the rest of the team and gives her report. “He is grumpy and wants to be alone with his thoughts, Portrayed Yuul as struggling to keep their own affairs in order.”
She gets a thoughtful look on her face. “None of that explains why he is wound so tight though.” She shrugs.
“So, any idea what we do next?”
After passing along a quick heads-up to Dougle and putting in for a distraction special request from the Bardic Trio, the lot of you casually slip out of the Winding Road Inn's front door as the opening chords of 'Freebird' can be heard from behind you...
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Nestled in the heart of Katapesh's bustling Lower City district Dulm's potion shop - also doubling as the Kotargo Lodge - is quite easy to find. Before you know it you stand in front of a surprisingly nondescript building, a faded sign on the shop's storefront depicting stylized art of a smiling potion bottle and the name Good Potion in eye-catching red-and-gold lettering. Through the shop's front window you can see...wait.
Is that another goblin?
Sure looks like it! You can see a goblin, this one female, puttering around behind the counter.
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Deciding to more or less play things straight/by ear and see what happens, you file inside the shop. The main storefront of the Kotargo Lodge contains shelves stuffed with potions, unguents, and bottles of various questionable substances. A young female goblin stands behind the counter, glancing up with a rather bored expression as you enter the store. She bears a small nametag that reads, 'Lobda'.
"Welcome to Good Potion, home of the Good Potion, can I take your order?" she drones, clearly having committed this phrase to memory ages ago.
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"Hello Lobda, so nice to meet you! I am Damiar, not home of the Damiar in part because Damiar no longer exists..." Damiar's smile is blinding. "Actually, you can help us, Lobda! We're Pathfinders, looking for the lodge here. While I am sure your Good Potions are excellent, we're hoping to find a better quality lodge than some of the more naiive locations in town. Is that the door behind you, or do you need to announce us?"
Lobda noticeably perks up as Damiar announces the group as Pathfinders and introduces herself. "Oh, neato-burrito! Thought you were customers. Not sure what a the Damiar is...well, besides you, but like, it's nice to meet you."
The goblin actually seems quite taken with Damiar's charming demeanor and smiles back, largely ignoring poor Iovo. "I don't make the potions, you know - that's boring. I just help sell them. Yeah, I'm just a clerk right now and I have to do a lot of the chores around here but like, Mister Snive is teaching me everything he knows and one day I'll be just as good with the books as he is - or even better. I'll, like, be the best accountant in the whole city!"
She nods to herself for a moment and then stops, giving Damiar a genuinely curious look. "So, like, is the Pathfinder party over already? The bosses talked like every Pathfinder, like, ever would be at the Pathfinder party today. Wished I could've gone...but I had to stay and mind the shop. Booooo. But my cousin Zig got a temp gig for it! He was so happy, because, like, being a Pathfinder's been his dream ever since he could barely walk."
While Lobda chats up a storm with Damiar, Iovo finds herself a little distracted as she takes in the interior of the shop. Though there's nothing out on the shelves or counters that seems out of place, she can hear what sounds like some shuffling sounds coming from behind the closed door to the west...
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