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"They certainly will. Pay them once, pay them forever, that is how bribery functions. I have their faces, but I would like their names as well. Laria, think upon it, if you know any who might recognize them, or if you do yourself."
As Elias offers Laria some money to cover bribes she waves it off.
"I can handle that hun, don't you worry about that. What you should worry about is this letter. This isn't any formal complaint, and it's nothing written by any city official." She holds up the wrinkled piece of parchment that lead the dottari to her coffeehouse, the one the failed to retrieve on their way out, and you can indeed see that the shaky handwriting and uneven lines that it was written in haste. "Whoever wrote this is trying cause trouble and must know who you are. I don't know why they chose to remain cryptic though, someone is playing games." She frowns as she hands the cleric the letter but shrugs it off and heads back into the kitchen to resume business. You can hear her shouting to prepare for the lunch time rush.
Rexus nods at Femi's plan of action. "I'll see if Pavus and his troupe are willing to bad mouth the Thrunes publicly. At the very least I'm sure I can convince them to work against the Chelish Citizens Group, they've been in Thrune pockets even before Barzillai got here. I'm sure Laria doesn't mind recruiting some more into the fold, we'll be sure to be more discreet until we find out what really happened in the Nest of course."
Maggie fidgets from foot to foot as everyone discusses the plan of action and adds her own two cents. "Let my sisters rest, but I'm not taking a week off, I'd lose my mind, we spent plenty of time doing nothing in the Wasp's Nest." She tilts here head back and forth as the thinks. "When we pick pockets we listen to people talk, quite a bit, and we started avoiding the ones who didn't seem so bad. I think i know of a few small merchants who would be willing to move some gold for us. I'll talk to Korva and we'll see what we can do!"
"Alright boys, so that's what we're doing, what about you five?"
"I can handle that hun, don't you worry about that. What you should worry about is this letter. This isn't any formal complaint, and it's nothing written by any city official." She holds up the wrinkled piece of parchment that lead the dottari to her coffeehouse, the one the failed to retrieve on their way out, and you can indeed see that the shaky handwriting and uneven lines that it was written in haste. "Whoever wrote this is trying cause trouble and must know who you are. I don't know why they chose to remain cryptic though, someone is playing games." She frowns as she hands the cleric the letter but shrugs it off and heads back into the kitchen to resume business. You can hear her shouting to prepare for the lunch time rush.
"May I see that letter?" inquires Femi.
He pours over the paper, the text, the ink, everything he can looking for clues as to who may have written it.
He then takes out his paper listing all those who could have caved in the basement. He runs down the list and removes anyone who could not have written the letter. He hopes for a slightly smaller list, but isn't surprised if no one can be recused.
"Alright boys, so that's what we're doing, what about you five?"
Femi shrugs, "I'll arrange for things to be sold today, but I think we should travel in groups of two or three just to cover ourselves. These are dangerous times in the streets."
He stretches and rubs his head, "After that I think it's time for Eliastraza's spells and questions. Let's spend the next few days searching every inch of the Wasps Nest for hidden gear - maybe we can find more pen and paper - and questioning our little group. This is insufferable. We need to find our mole!"
Mykhail gratefully accepts the alcohol and walks to the table and pours out drinks for Femi and himself and leaves the bottle on the table for anyone else who wishes to partake. He sips at the strong liquid hoping to calm his nerves as they discuss what changes need to be made and nods.
"Wise plan, it is tough to have a strong foundation without the money but the money will not help us solve our other problems. We have to balance out our plans as much as possible to have the right amount of funds to keep our followers and enough followers to do tasks for us while we try to get to the heart of the matter."
" I am willing to travel with anyone who needs my aid but I think I shall like to go visit my Father to see if he has any ideas in how to better my pistol."
"Okay." Brask says. "May I go with you? I feel I need a walk while my anger tempers"
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After an afternoon of shopping, Femi manages to significantly increase the rebellions treasury. The rest of the evening is spent unwinding after the dottari visit that morning.
The next day Mykhail sets out for the outskirts of Kintargo to his fathers workshop with Brask, while Femi and Elias begin questioning their followers with the spell, hoping to discover the culprit for the most recent events in the Wasp's Nest.[/ooc]
A few ruffians mutter to each other as the two men walk through the desolate streets, but Brask's armor and flash of Mykhail's pistol are enough to deter any violence. As the two get nearer their destination a few friendly men and women nod politely to the gunslinger, recognizing him as a local.
When they arrive at Mykhail's child hood home, it's easy for Brask to see that the family has struggled to keep it in repair. Crumbling walls, cracked windows and warped boards are joined with unusual smells and strange vapors pouring through any opening they can find.
Throwing the door open reveals what could only be Mykhail's father bent over a number of flasks and bubbling concoctions. The older man doesn't seem to notice as the two arrive, but his profile is almost exactly like his sons, just thinner and worn, maybe a bit bruised in some places.
"Maybe if I add some of..." He mumbles to himself in a deep baritone before noticing the shadows on the wall in front of him. His shoulders tense and his left hand drops to a knife on a cutting board beside him. Faster than either might have expected Marcus Amell whirls around and starts to lunge with his weapon before halting wide eyed in front of his son.
Dropping his knife he wraps his arms around Mykhail in a bear hug before stepping back and looking him over. "Mykhail! Boy I've been worried about you! I haven't heard anything since you told me you were going to that protest! How are you? Are you hungry? Whose your friend?" Mr. Amell is noticeably wary around Brask but he's polite and begins looking through his cabinets for tea and any form os snack while continuing to assault Mykhail with questions about what he's been up to the last couple of weeks.
_____
After collaborating on a number of questions and techniques to draw any potential traitors out, Femi and Elias get to work. The questioning is intense, especially because Laria did not spread the real reason behind Treep's injury so many of the Raven's men and women do not understand the reason for the inquiry, but as far as Elias and Femi can tell, they're all honest in their answers and they all seem genuinely committed to the cause. Despite some initial hesitation the first trio submits to Elias' spell and all of them happily write down lines from the dottari's anonymous letter. None of their handwriting even comes close.
The next two days are full of much the same. Your followers are honest and rarely say anything to give you pause. Even when they seem suspect, a little prodding reveals it to either be nervousness or reveals a personal secret that has no bearing on the rebellions success of failure. By the fourth day there are whispers going around that the Raven's might have a traitor in their midst as the individuals who have been questioned discuss it perhaps more than they were instructed to.
However each individual still shows up when summoned, and by the third suspect the questioning has become routine. Femi and Elias have been hearing similar answers to each question all week and the final interrogation of the day starts out much the same as the rest, the Raven's almost don't even notice when Morgar Manthi begins talking his way around the answers, avoiding yes or no questions by providing lengthy explanations and wiping beading sweat on his brow.
Femi pauses in the questioning and looks at Morgar, Is he the one? He's the only one acting weird! Still... something I can't fathom.
He stands up, stretching a moment, before asking, "Morgar, are you feeling well? You look a little feverish perhaps. Can I get you something to drink?"
He looks at the others present as he walks off to get something refreshing for the group.
Femi gathers any of the party that might be upstairs relaxing, "We've got something. Come an help. We don't yet know if this is the guy but something's up."
He returns with a platter of drinks, along with maybe a few party members, and sets it on the table.
"Now Morgar, we need you to be honest with us. Someone has been sabotaging our efforts here. Can you think of why someone might do that?"
He asks as politely as he can.
"If you tell the truth now, and you did it, we will not think less of you, and there will be no punishment. Things happen sometimes. I'm sure there is an explaination."
Kalem has joined Elias and Femi in the questioning, but isn't very invested. As much as a traitor poses a danger, he seems consumed with his own thoughts. Still, he gives him a once over trying to gauge him as if he were random tough on the docks.
Hmm...something definitely off, but whether its because he's a traitor or just nervous, I've no idea.
He shrugs to Elias and Femi to signal his usefulness on this case.
"Okay." Brask says. "May I go with you? I feel I need a walk while my anger tempers"
"I'd be happy for the company. It'll be quite a walk since it's on the outskirts of town."
The next day he and Brask head for his childhood home, traveling with a companion made the journey a little more bearable, however seeing the state of things since Barzillai got his dirty corrupt hands all over made the anger inside flare, he had to take deep breaths to calm himself. As he passed familiar faces of his neighbors he gave out a few gold to all that he passes.
He pauses when they get to the property line of his family home, making a stop at a small garden with a single stone with the name Leandra Amell carved into it. He kneels and touches the stone reverently, his eyes sliding close as he whispers a soft prayer in his mother's native tongue before standing, his eyes a little red from unshed tears and gives Brask a sheepish smile before they continue on into his home.
He smiled seeing the familiar figure of his father hunched over his work table, he soon frowns seeing the state of his father. Mykhail arches a brow at his father's reaction and he knew that something was happening. His father was a friendly man and welcomed everyone into his home with open arms despite his poverty, to see him react this way was disheartening.
Mykhail hogs his father tightly, realizing now just how much he'd truly missed his father.
"I know father, I am sorry. Things happened very quickly and it is not safe for me to send word for fear of it being intercepted by Thrunes men. Father, this is a companion of mine, Brask. Brask, this is my Father, Marcus." Mykhail introduces the two of them before turning back to his father.
"We're part of a resistance of sorts aiming to over through Barzillai. I'm afraid I can't tell you much more than that. I can't risk your safety by telling you too much. I actually have a purpose for my visit. I was wondering if you could help me with Iustitia." He spoke softly as he pulled out the battered pistol.
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Morgar shifts uncomfortably where he is but as the Femi and Elias try to reason with him he starts to break down.
"I-" He sighs. "I'm the one that did it! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to though I swear." The man begins to look around the Nest nervously and his voice drops to barely more than a whisper.
"I heard voices telling me what to do and I couldn't say no!" He keeps looking side to side as though someone is going to catch him revealing too much. "The first time was when I was down here dropping off some of the gold Korva found for you. It told me to destroy the wall and before I knew it, that's what I was doing. The second time I was upstairs looking for Rexus there was a rat that spoke to me." He stops to watch you register this new information clearly hoping you'll believe him.
"It told me to write a letter to the Dottari, told me exactly what to say and everything. I couldn't help it, I swear, I couldn't do anything but comply!"
Tears begin to form at the edge of his eyes and shakes his head. "I'm just so glad you were there to help Treep." Morgar sits quietly in his seat, waiting for the Raven's judgement.
Mykhail's father offers the two men some chairs before taking one himself and looking at his son in disbelief.
"You sure you can handle something like this Myk? The Thrunes are dangerous people, I don't want to lose you the same way I lost your mother." His voice is quiet and thoughtful.
He shrugs not waiting for a response, he knows Mykhail well enough to be sure he can't talk the young man out of it. Reaching across the table he grabs the old gun and turns it in his hands, frowning at the instrument that took his wife from him.
"What exactly is it you want me to do, son? I know a lot about alchemy, but besides figuring out formula for the gunpowder, I've never handled these before. Do you have any ideas?"
Femi shakes his head, "Morgar, now really. Why didn't you come to us as soon as this started happening?" He looks saddened that the man didn't trust them.
"What did you think would happen?"
He's angry, but he's still not sure exactly what's going on, and he's not sure Morgar even knows.
He turns to the party, away from Morgar, "If it's a shapeshifter of some kind it could be anything, but it could also simply be someone hidden - maybe even invisible." he shakes his head.
"Let's do another sweep of the Wasps Nest, this time I'll look for magical auras as we go. Maybe our opposition can be discovered that way at least, if not smoked out."
Femi suggests searching the basement with Detect Magic going. He'll also cast as many as two Detect Secret Doors on search day (swapping out Mage Armor for the day) just in case, though it might only take one casting to search the whole space. He'll be thorough.
"Mind affecting magics?" Kalem asks in a hushed tone to his comrades.
"They haven't exactly stormed the doors, but if someone is onto us, how safe is it to stay here?"
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"I don't know Femi, but I didn't think anyone would believe me about the voices so I kept quiet. I thought if I just avoided the Wasp's Nest I would be fine." Morgar looks distraught and more than a little worried. "Wh=what are you going to do with me?"
Regardless of what you do with Morgar, Femi spends the next day searching the Wasp's Nest with a number of spells, a long with anyone else who may be willing to help.
There are no secret doors found among the Nest, other than the one you've already been using but the mage does notice something unusual when Rexus joins the search. A strange magical aura radiates from the ex-noble, when asked about it Rexus empties his pockets and pulls out a number of the Raven Documents he's been deciphering this week. One of those pages is the source of the aura, though it's not immediately obvious what the purpose of the magics are. The writing on the page is unreadable and Rexus himself admits to have significant trouble with that particular document.
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Elias stares at the man, momentarily at a loss for words. Has he been driven mad? Magical influence? Regardless, he told the truth. The spell lain on his would have prevented him from speaking otherwise. He is innocent, and the false promise Elias gave to withhold harm has become a true one.
"Two things are known to me, Morgar. The first is that we are all in a deep amount of trouble. The second is that you will not be harmed for your actions, as they seem to have been out of your hands. There is no vengeance to take against you."
Elias turns to Femi, "If it is a shapeshifter, games like this are beneath it. Such powerful magic is beyond our ability to deal with. Invisibility? A possibility, and I can imagine other subtle magics that might allow such tricks to be played. I approve of your plan, let us sweep the nest for forign magics, starting with the man in front of us."
Elias lays a hand atop Morgar's head in benediction, as he casts Detect Magic to view if the man is naturally mad, or merely currently under malign influence.
"Two things are known to me, Morgar. The first is that we are all in a deep amount of trouble. The second is that you will not be harmed for your actions, as they seem to have been out of your hands. There is no vengeance to take against you."
Femi nods with Elias, "Agreed. Morgar, your failure was in not coming to us sooner that we may bend our power to helping you. If you hear voices again, you come to us right away - agreed?"
Elias turns to Femi, "If it is a shapeshifter, games like this are beneath it. Such powerful magic is beyond our ability to deal with. Invisibility? A possibility, and I can imagine other subtle magics that might allow such tricks to be played. I approve of your plan, let us sweep the nest for forign magics, starting with the man in front of us."
"Agreed. A shapeshifter does seem unlikely - but it would explain the rat. Perhaps a druid opposes us?"
Femi hunts, though it's not his strong suit.
He takes the document from Rexus if Rexus agrees, "May I look at this for a day or so? Might be able to discern what's up."
He examines it carefully with Detect Magic.
Brask will leave the interrogation of the man to his friends, but remains nearby in case violence breaks out. He looks over the papers with everyone else.
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Elias is able to discern the presence of magic on Morgar at all. Femi on the other hand does detect a faint transumation aura on the magical page, but doe not have the linguistic talent or magical capabilities to decipher the contents. Even with his read magic spell, nothing becomes clear. Femi can discern that the words themselves are not directly related to the magic aura coming from the page, it becomes apparently obvious that this page is under the effect of the secret page spell.
The days spent on investigation pass otherwise uneventfully, the city seems oddly quiet despite the unrest you have managed to cause by your recent adventures.
Femi shrugs, "This is protected by a powerful spell. The easiest way to crack it is to know the passphrase. Anyone have any ideas?"
He tries, just for fun, "Silver Ravens!"
"As to the rest, we'll just have to keep our eyes open. I think maybe pairing up is a good idea. Folks shouldn't be alone. Good idea anyway if the dottari return - one can explain while the other runs off to warn the rest, that sort of thing."
He's clearly frustrated by his inability to deal with this problem.
”OK, let’s move on. All this internal strife has pushed us back from our last objective. Albia Levii. She’s the head of the Chellish Citizens Group remember? She was our next target, both to help finance the revolution as well as to strike a blow at the enemy.”
”I think we should track her movements a few days, and then strike when and where we think we’ll have the advantage. Is that OK with everyone?”
Albia Levii’s movements.
Albia Levii’s movements.
"Sounds good to me. I'd like to figure out this potential hole or leak we got, but we do need to keep this operation afloat."
Kalem will spend the remaining two days doing a bit of stakeout on the base, seeing if anyone suspicious is watching.
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Over the next few days Femi does some independent research on Albia Levii and discovers a bit more about the woman. She is a Kintargo native, born and raised in the city, she has always been a strong advocate for the Thrunes, frequently defending them in heated arguments. She was, for some time, employed as a bartender at Clenchjaws Tavern (which she still frequents) up until recent weeks when she quit to focus on increasing the ranks and power of the Chelish Citizens Milita, which she has been the leader of for a number of years. Oddly enough, it was after she quit her job that she seemed to come into her recent wealth, no one is quite sure who is paying her but a number of locals are quite sure she's in Barzillai's pocket. She's never outright caused any harm or property damage, but she has never condemned the aggressive and violent acts that her militia has carried out.
As for the rebellion itself, the Ravens find themselves suddenly swamped with new supporters. Laria is frequently holding meetings in the back of the coffeehouse after hours, explaining in vague terms what she's recruiting for. Over all she finds thirteen new supporters to the cause.
Pavus and his street performers respond very well to the request that they actively work against Thrunish dogma, if needed. The half-orc seems positively giddy that his troupe may actually effect the pulse of the rebellion. He requests fifty gold for the purpose of disguises, bribes, and potential bail money, but is otherwise happy to lend more help to the cause.
When Maggie and Korva arrive with their team of merchants, Brask and Mykhail recognize their leader, a giant heavily bearded man named Harvey who had helped the two silence the loyalists during the protest in Aria Park some weeks ago. He introduces a number of other artisans or peddlers that he's already formed into a small organization devoted to protecting small business. When the two Tengu women had approached him about lending their aid, he jumped on the chance. When he sees the gunslinger and the half-orc the tailors lips turn up into a broad smile and he clasps both of them on the shoulder. "Shoulda known the two of you wouldn't have stopped with just that little protest. I told my people I'd reserve final judgement after meeting with these 'Ravens' but I'm not worried now. Consider us on board!" He pulls out a bottle of fine wine to celebrate their new alliance and you spend some time getting to know your new team.
Week 4 is here so let me know what the Ravens and their Rebellion plan for the coming days.
Elias is more than happy to provide the fifty gold requested to Pavus. His good work is going to go a long way to legitimizing the efforts of the Ravens with the populace, and must be supported.
Of greater concern is Albia Levii. Her lack of violence, personally, speaks to someone who might be swayed to the righteous cause. Elias has yet to decide himself if that's a privilege he would be willing to extend to her. The group she leads is brutal, and she must share a portion of responsibility for that if she is in charge. He would just as soon see her swing by her neck, were it up to him.
"We must take the measure of our opposition. I feel an evening of carousing at Clenchjaws Tavern might be time well spent. Does anyone know of it's reputation?"
Brask clasps Harvey's arm with a broad smile and a firm handshake. "Harvey? Glad to see you again! Good to see more good men joining in this cause!" Brask will spend as much time as he can getting to know them and encouraging their assistance.
Brask will wave off his share of any profits made this week, insisting they be put into the rebellion's funds.
When Elias brings up the Clenchjaws Tavern, Brask agrees to the plan rightaways. It would be good to get a closer look, if anything.
"Hmm...a bit of groundwork will make our future conflicts easier. Agreed, the more information we know about our target the better."
Kalem spends his off time at the Devil's Nursery, trying to help organize the people there into some kind of guerilla force. The basis of this was communication on everyone's different skills and how they could move to a barter system to get everyone the things and services they needed.
"We should treat this as a time of attrition. Either we all waste away or we work to
gether to survive."
He suggests the first thing to be done is to clean debris from dilapidated buildings and get everyone some shelter to stay in. If anyone tries to to be selfish and either slack off or take advantage of the situation, Kalem will apply a bit of pressure to them.
"If you're looking for targets, go to the rest of the city. There are richer targets there."
Femi agrees with Elias and offers to join in, "If the place is to unfriendly, it'd be good if we could show strength. Let's all go."
"Kalem, how are things going in the 'Nursery? You know if I can help, I'd be glad to. My people are often marginalized and looked down upon so I know a little of what you feel."
Eventually, he takes out some paper and makes notes. ”Frankly, I’m not sure exactly what to do this week. Things have been very quiet and we’ve grown, but eventually we’re going to get noticed by Thrune, and we should maybe have some people in the streets when that happens to counter folks like the Chellish Citizens Militia.”
”So let’s hire us some toughs of our own shall we? After that, I’m just not sure. I don’t want to make waves, I want to keep growing. But I don’t know…” He thinks a moment before suggesting, ”How about we have Pavus’ people gather some information, see what we can learn about the word on the streets. Then let’s have Harley’s Merchants try their hand at earning some gold. See if they can compete with the Fushi Sisters. Maybe next week we release them both and see who does better.” he grins at the thought of the competition.
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Brask, as far as you know, Clenchjaw's has just been a tavern for drunken sailors and foreigners, you do know that is has increased it's patronage recently though not in what capacity.
Kalem's initial attempts to clean up the Devil's Nursery are met with resistance. The locals know that he has done good for the area, but are not quite ready to let themselves be lead by someone who doesn't live in the area. The more often he visits however, the more supporters he has.
This doesn't necessarily make everything easier though. Trying to change to a barter system was a good idea, but as Zhea informs Kalem, most of the food that people eat is purchased from other districts. So they will still need some level of income. Thankfully, a number of the merchants brought into the Raven's fold have offered to hire a couple a few tieflings from the Nursery as long as Kalem can vouch for them and makes sure they are hard working.
The chance at a job, and Kalem's no nonsense attidtude make a noticable change in the nursery, at least for now. It's still a slum, but now it has a chance to improve.
Kalem smiles at his shaved friend.
"Thanks. It's slow starting, but we're moving towards something better. My main concern is either securing a food source or line of gold for food."
He sighs.
"Unfortunately my obligations have kept from our shared cause. I'm afraid I don't know much of Clenchjaw's Tavern. Should we risk going in without much informaiton? It could be a boon of the info we seek."
"The tavern is named after a local variety of oyster, as well as for the owner’s strict policy of banning political talk from the tavern - until recently, that is. The tavern’s owner is an apolitical and practical sort named Rinston “Clenchjaw” Jon who normally ejects troublemakers, but seems unusually sleepy and distracted of late."
"The nightly brawls have all begun after Rinston’s passed out for the evening - itself a curious development, since until the Night of Ashes he was an energetic man. I wonder if Thrune has something to do with it, and if so what?"
"Our focus should be on Albia Levii, but let's pay attention to this Rinston fellow too. We might have stumbled onto something."
He's ready to go to the bar and not talk politics.
At the mention of the Night of Ashes, Elias's expression darkens to a scowl.
"I would guess that the man may be ripe to become political, if his faith was a victim of that terrible evening, like so many others. I agree that our focus should be on Albia, but he might need the attention more. Plus, he might give a handle on manipulating Albia. If we can get her on our side, somehow, it would be quite a coup for the Ravens."
"In the meanwhile, I have one last thing to try on Morgar, though even if the guess is right, the magic affecting him may have worn off by now."
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Before leaving for Clenchjaw's Tavern, Elias tries one more spell on Morgar who, for the most part has been moping around the coffeehouse, feeling terrible about what he's done. The detect charm spell unfortunately does not pick up on any residual magic that may have effected him, leaving the cleric with inconclusive results.
"I'll keep an eye on him, don't worry boys, good luck at the tavern. Try to make it back before curfew." Laria ushers the Raven's out just as an actual raven comes flying in and rests on Brask's shoulder with a note attached to it. As the note is removed from the bird it resumes it's natural shape as a figurine of power and becomes inert.
To my fellow Ravens.
After visiting my father earlier this week, I've come to realize that I can't leave him alone for extended periods of time like I have been. There's a local gang that has been taking advantage of his alchemical knowledge and it's been causing havoc ever since Barzillai turned up. I feel like it's my responsibility to return Justice to these streets before I can focus on assisting you all in liberating the city. I will keep my ear to the ground and send you any information I uncover, and I'll spread the word to people I trust, but for now I can not commit being a Silver Raven. I hope you all understand, I wish you all the best. Thank you for the trust and friendship.
-Mykhail
The streets remain relatively calm as the remaining Ravens make their way toward Clenchjaw's by the dock. When they arrive they find it fairly full considering it's still early in the evening. It takes a decent amount of time before any of the bartenders even recognize that you're waiting for drinks, and hearing anything over the constant chatter requires significant effort.
The owner Rinston "Clenchjaw" Jon can be seen behind the bar. At the beginning of the hour he seems fairly energetic but quickly devolves into a yawning dropping mess before he finally retires to bed at roughly 6 p.m.
Femi spends the first hour just taking in the scene and trying to look like a local just out for a drink. He does however try to learn something of Rinston - in case he’s magically possessed or something.
vs DC 12
Really?! Desna Damnit!
He tries to learn what he can about the poor beleaguered man, but gathers little from his initial investigation.
Myradil nurses a very cheap and weak drink for far longer than makes the bartender comfortable. As 'Femi' makes his rounds Myradil eventually approaches him awkwardly.
"You should really try the Ale." Myradil says with a wink, far less subtly than he had hoped.
In a quieter voice "I think you're who I'm looking for, if you get my previous message. Come join me at my table in the corner."
Myradil points to a dimly lit table and then heads that way, not waiting for Femi to respond.
Elias halts dead in his tracks when he hears the offer to meet the elf at the corner table. He thinks over the layout, but worse come to worse, at least they won't be surrounded.
"If nothing else, we need to know how he knows us so readily, Femi. I'm becoming concerned that our identities are too easily recognizable."
Elias casts Detect the Faithful under his breath, disguising it as a tuning strum of his harp. With the spell active, he sweeps the bar, hoping to see if any other followers of Calistria are present.
"If nothing else, we need to know how he knows us so readily, Femi. I'm becoming concerned that our identities are too easily recognizable."
"I agree." Femi whispers back.
When everyone is ready, he strides over to the man's table and introduces himself. "My name is Euphemia Ferka, but folks round here just call me Femi. Pleased to meet you. Your name?"
Brask sits in a neutral side of the tavern, and will order a drink to savor. He keeps an eye on the movement of the crowd.
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Myradil looks around and tries to keep his voice low "Name's Myradil, been looking for you guys, assuming you are... certain metallic corvids."
Myradil appears a male elf of average build. His method of speach would suggest he's well educated. His once nice clothes that are getting threadbare in a few places but he doesn't appear malnurished.
Leaning in even further "Let me be frank with you. This city is going to hell, in more ways than one, and my research says your the best force for saving us all."
Myradil eyes you up and down, almost as if appraising you.
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All of you notice a significant change in atmosphere as soon as the bars owner goes to bed. Though the establishment was already loud and full of conversation, a few arguments seem to break out almost as soon as Clenchjaw leaves the room.
"Think you can just step on my foot mate?" Shouts one voice from a nearby table.
"Did you just hit me?" Shouts another from the other side of the bar.
"God does this have to happen every night?" One of the bartenders laments as he pours more drinks. He's a smaller man, especially compared to his boss, and not likely to throw anyone out who breaks the cardinal rule of the bar: Talking Politics. A rule that is broken, much like the arguments, as soon as Clenchjaw is out of sight.
"What did you just say? Thrune ain't a bastard, he's gonna clean up this city!"
It's almost impressive how the entire atmosphere turns from jovial to tense in a matter of moments. No fights break out yet, but people are getting nasty and it seems like it's only a matter of time.
Myradil looks around and tries to keep his voice low "Name's Myradil, been looking for you guys, assuming you are... certain metallic corvids."
Femi has trouble stifling a laugh he’s so pleased, but in the raucous bar, he’s sure nobody noticed.
Leaning in even further "Let me be frank with you. This city is going to hell, in more ways than one, and my research says your the best force for saving us all."
Interesting!
”And how did you come by this research? We have a two edged sword here. On the one hand, we want like minded individuals to find us and join us, but on the other, we want to avoid, ah, Thrune complications. How do we know where your loyalties lie?”
He looks around the bar at the change and ponders. Enchantment huh?
He looks specifically for someone who seems to be enjoying the crowds change. Someone who might be manipulating it. Maybe directly, maybe indirectly.
Kalem had been keeping an eye out on the crowd, trying to see if there were purposeful inciters or if this was merely a contesting of opinions.
Not able to tell much, he does recognize things are getting a bit more riled.
"If you need me to throw a punch, say the word. But as far as I can tell, these people are just letting off some steam."
He turns his attentions to Myradil. He was fine letting the others do most of the talking. He just had a fist ready in case things turned sour.
Myradil responds, "Uhh, I'm not really sure how to prove it, ...Maybe my story will help. I used to work as a clerk in the mayor's office, until house Thrune took over. Since then I've been out of work, not a lot of call for an Abadarian linguist and bureaucrat with ties to the old government if you know what I mean... and well I've been watching my neighbors disappear, causing blight and vermin and other trouble. Now, good order is important for a city, but banning mint tea and disappearing people in the middle of the night?"
Myradil also looks up, a little slow on the social uptake "What happened to all the friendly conversation?"
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You've heard rumors about them, especially as the weeks have dragged on, but now each of you finally get to witness one of the legendary Clenchjaw bar brawls that have become so common recently. Seemingly without provocation a glass is thrown across the bar and shatters at the feet of a patron one table over from Myradil.
The man stands up, red faced and flips his own table, roaring in anger as it happens. "Every damn night! Which one you keeps throwing shit at me!?" Both the table and everything on it come flying toward anyone sitting with the inquisitive elf.
Yelling again the man rushes headlong into the crowds, toppling anyone who gets in his way before he starts throwing punches. It's not long before the melee erupts in full. Tables and stools rolls across the floor as a full half of the bar becomes a writhing mass of spitting screaming drunks bent on destroying one another.
As the brawl continues to escalate, the woman who had been sitting with the angry man looks around and shrugs. "I keep tellin' him itsh the dragon."
vs DC 15
Hit with some spilled beer, but none the worse for wear, Femi looks around.
He still sees nothing but the crowd, ”Now this is quite unnatural."
He tries again to cast Detect Magic on the sly.
vs DC 11
He's trying to see if there's another spell caster in the room making all this happen with illusions or charms.
Assuming he finds nothing of note, he tries the woman, "What dragon?" he looks for a stylized dragon on the wall or on a stein or something.
"I swear that glass was on the bar just a moment ago," Kalem whispers to his companions.
Kalem makes sure to angle himself in front of the others, and gets ready to wade into the fight. Not full combat mind you, rather just a friendly brawl to blow off steam.
Myradil's elven reflexes help him avoid any flying glass.
Myradil stands up and looks to his most recent drinking companions in a bit of a panic. "This sort of trouble follow you around?"
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"Psh, the dragon! I seen him around here causing trouble. No one believes me!" The woman responds to Femi, barely standing on her own to feet as she watches the brawl.
The fighting continues to escalate, but it's becoming almost organized as the patrons form a circle in the center where most of the tables had been cleared, and anywhere between two to six citizens brawl at any one time. The winners often walk away limping almost as badly as the losers, and bets start circulating among the viewers.
The current champion is a fiery woman with dark hair wearing a mens shirt and pants. On her chest is the emblem of the Chelish Citizens Militia. As she smashes the face of her opponent, the man drops and gets pulled out of the make shit ring.
Wiping the blood from her knuckles she grins and showboats a bit. "I haven't had a good fight here in a week! Come on you pathetic excuse for Chelaxian dogs! Fight me!" She snarls and raises her fists in the air hoping for a new opponent.
Myradil stands up and looks to his most recent drinking companions in a bit of a panic. "This sort of trouble follow you around?"
Femi grins widely, "Yeah, It kinda does."
He turns back to the woman.
"Psh, the dragon! I seen him around here causing trouble. No one believes me!" The woman responds to Femi, barely standing on her own to feet as she watches the brawl.
"I believe you sister, I just can't see it. How big is it, does it fill the room?" Femi looks around, Detect Magic still going, and tries to find what the woman is talking about.
Wiping the blood from her knuckles she grins and showboats a bit. "I haven't had a good fight here in a week! Come on you pathetic excuse for Chelaxian dogs! Fight me!" She snarls and raises her fists in the air hoping for a new opponent.
He turns to the woman again, "Is that Albia Levii by chance?" he asks quietly.
Brask stands, looking over to Femi. "You want me to go 'talk' to her?" he asks, cracking his neck and rolling his shoulders.
-Posted with Wayfinder