Keezheekoni smiles in return to the man, pleased with the care and respect put into his work. He take back his klar, and presses a gold piece into the man's work-worn hands. "May the sun forever shine on your days and it's fires burn away your cares and troubles," he recites with some measure of passion and conviction.
"Execellent!" Krystal claps her hands in excitement. "Thanks beau."
She proceeded to land a kiss on the man's cheek.
"I hope you can get some loving in the future."
The group realizes that what the old mender and knife sharpener told them matched the directions that they got from the watch.
"Good now we actually have a corroborated lead and a potential witness. Let's go."
Alistar starts heading off.
Edril follows Alistar toward the previously mentioned warehouse. "Should we have anything in particular for this? A gift to exchange? Backup? I'm not familiar with these procedures."
Keezheekoni scoffs. "One does not provide gifts for one such as this Fenster. One only gifts to another that which they are worth." He holds up his great Earthbreaker for the others to see clearly. "This is the only worth I am willing to imbue to such a one."
You make your way north to the shoreline and as the beach gets closer the smell becomes more foul as if you are walking in the midst of a sewer but with salty air... It is a smell you wish you had not let invade your nose.
As you round the corner of a street that was once gravel but is now more mud and other things you see the abandon warehouse and it is in worse condition then you could have imagined. Nearly a third of it is now collapsed and the portion that is standing has been infested with rot and salt water for so long that there is a good chance it will collapse as well in the near future.
This portion of the beach where the warehouse is located is a particularly filthy stretch where tidal currents often cause the filth and refuse of the entire city to collect in stinking clots along the shore.
Fenster’s home is in the partially collapsed warehouse—the
building has a relatively large open area within, but he
keeps to one corner. Your group makes its way towards the warehouse and can hear nothing inside but often the breeze seems to invade both your sense of smell and well being and it seems to drive you inside the warehouse. A part of you is hoping that inside the smell will be better...it doesn't seem to help. As you make your way inside the dilapidated warehouse you can see he’s made a sort of crude shelter from broken and rotted out rowboats (one or two of which might still be almost seaworthy) and timbers leaning against the warehouse’s frame. The entrance to this hovel consists of a pair of skiffs leaning against each other to create a triangular “arch”
from which a moldering remnant of a ship’s sail hangs like a curtain. Sitting next to the entrance is an old sea chest with a broken lid. A sign leans against the front of the chest—“LEEV A GIFT AND WATE OUTSID.” A dented tin platter sits on the ground before the sign. The old sail seems to try and flutter in the air but the stinky air is thick from the humidity that lingers around you.
A successful DC 20 Knowledge
(local) check is enough to know the procedure: leave a gift
on the tin platter, wait for Fenster to come out and examine
the gift, and if he likes the gift, he’ll do whatever you need
him to do.
If there's one thing that she has gotten used to by now, it's dealing with wretched smells along the way to a job. All in all, it didn't bother her... much. She put on a brave face as she walked through the area.
Edril follows Alistar toward the previously mentioned warehouse. "Should we have anything in particular for this? A gift to exchange? Backup? I'm not familiar with these procedures."
Krystal chuckled slightly. "Honey, you don't lay out your cards too quickly or you'll get swindled."
Upon reading the sign, she smirked. "Charming." Figuring it was her turn to exchange a gift, she brought out and arrow and let it land on the chest, allowing the landing to make as much noise as possible. After all, he didn't specify how valuable the gift had to be.
Tiarsus
He looks at the sign for a few moments and then the arrow CLUNKS into the chest and the half-elf seems to squirm a bit.
"Let us use a bit more diplomacy so we actually get somewhere with this fellow. I doubt, from the look of it, that he is going to ask for a great deal of coin. Maybe we give him something of value but we don't need... Time is of an essence so haggling might not do us any good and from the sounds of it we don't want to deal with him for to long."
"We need to leave a gift for the man. If he likes it we are good. It will be tough if he does not though."
With a sigh, she would remove her item from the chest.
"Anyone have something valuable he may like?"
The group gets a whiff of more of that foul air as a light breeze goes by. The smell is offensive to your entire being for a few moments.
You can hear something moving around in the makeshift home...
"A gold in each seems right for a little information."
Krystal reluctantly tossed out a coin of hers to the chest.
Keezheekoni seems reluctant to agree, but eventually he gives in with a sigh and tosses a coin into the box.
Tiarsus
He pulls gold coin out walks over to the box and drops it in with Keezheekoni. He then backs out and falls in line with his group.
Edril follows suit, though a gold piece is not something he gives away so lightly, if the others are so willing to part with such wealth, so will he.
As Edril drops his coin and moves back from the box a few moments go by and a wretched-looking man walks out and looks in the tin platter on the box. He pokes his finger around the platter and seems to flip over a few of the coins. He picks up each one and bites them and then turns back and looks at the group.
Contacts - Fenster's image is added to the contacts
"Not a bad gift but not a good one. What do you want from Fenster?" He stands by the broken chest. "Not much I can do with four coins...so unless this is just to wet me appetite...give me a little tease maybe. If ya need me to do something it will take a bit more coin." He doesn't seem to be interested in standing about and appears to be ready to walk back into his abode.
Krystal quickly moved over to face Fenster with a winning smile.
"And you're completely right!"
She flicked her hair as she seductively leaned against the wall next to the door.
"Seems like you don't get much action. How about if I give you the gift of companionship. Then we can talk business."
Fenster the Blight
The party all take a moment to inspect this man...Fenster is a wretched creature, more skin and bone than meat. His flesh is clammy and gray in places, one of his eyes is clouded over with a white film, and his clothing is caked with filth (some of it probably his own). His breathing is raspy and gurgling and smells of bad meat—he’s plagued by a wet, hacking cough. Fenster is a truly vile wretch of a human being. Edril and Tiarsus both ponder if he is actually a living and breathing creature or some form of cursed undead...
That is when the smell of the man hits you as a breeze from the ocean pushes not only the foul air of the shoreline towards you but also of the man standing before you. You had thought there was no worse smell at this point then what had invaded your noise just a moment before but now you are positive this man smells even worse.
Tiarsus lifts his nose away and covers it with his hand just under his nostrils...under his breath "By Aktun...that smell is awful...
Fenster smiles...a semi toothless, black and green grin and he sits down on his broken chest. "Well...Fenster likes the sound of that...how about while we talk about what you need from me you come over here and sit on me lap for a bit!" He seems a bit more receptive to your request...but there is also a look of excitement in the man's one good eye...
"We are looking for the tower girls and we know that no one knows those women quite like you do so we thought we would come and pay for a little information and enjoy your company."
Keezheekoni wrinkles his nose and is unable to hide the disgust on his face at the creature before him. He lets Alistar do the talking, but keeps his eyes on Fenster, his hands ready on his earthbreaker.
Despite a few wrinkles of the nose, she is able to hold it off. Though in a moment that his back is turned, she looked at the party and spoke wordlessly what appear to be the words "You owe me big."
She remains close, but not enough for contact as she's not sure her nose could survive that for long. Even then, she coughed a couple times.
Fenster
It is apparent that Fenster grows a bit excited as Krystal walks towards him. He is paying attention to her and his eyes appear as excited as his fidgeting fingers... He hears Alistar's question and turns to him easily losing track of Krystal and not paying attention to the fact that she stopped just short of his reach.
"I am their landlords! I tell you what you give me ten more of those nice shiny gold pieces and I will tell you what I know about the Tower Girls!" He turns to Krystal and frowns... "Come girl...sit on me lap and let Fenster get a pat will ya!"
Edril is taken aback not so much at Fenster in general, but at his approach to Krystal. "Any information you have would be valuable, but I think we'll be keeping our friend here off your lap."
Enraged by the callous man, Keezheekoni shows a side that has been slow in coming until now. "I think that we have been more than generous with you," he growls. "Now it is your turn to give."
Edril is taken aback not so much at Fenster in general, but at his approach to Krystal. "Any information you have would be valuable, but I think we'll be keeping our friend here off your lap."
"Me lips move at the weight of them shiny coins. I tell you what you give me four more of those shiny coins and I will move them for you. Give you some nice stuff on those Tower Girls!" He licks his lips as he looks back over Krystal.
"Come girl!" He pats his thigh as if gesturing for Krystal to come sit on his lap.
Enraged by the callous man, Keezheekoni shows a side that has been slow in coming until now. "I think that we have been more than generous with you," he growls. "Now it is your turn to give."
[dice=Intimidate]1d20+5
Fenster looks at the tall Shoanti and seems to become a tad bit more cautious with his movements and words. His fingers stop fidgeting and his right hand goes down to his thigh. "Well...she offered. I thought you had brought the wench as a prize for my services....doesn't seem so...shame I would enjoyed her for a bit!" He makes a green and black toothy smile as he does. Then licks his lips with that black tongue and wipes his face on his sleeve.
"Very well...all business seems! You had me interest with the wench but if you only giving me four coins that is not worth me time or me effort. So ya want me to talk about the Tower Girls I can...got the good on them I do. Is there landlord I am." He looks over at Krystal and winks. "They don't always pay in coin mind ya!" He turns back to Alistar and Edril and seems to ignore Keezheekoni but it is obvious he is watching him. "One hundred gold...ya want what I know I will sell it to you for one hundred gold!" He smiles and then goes into a long wet gurgling cough that would probably put a normal man on the floor.
That... was rather weak.
Krystal placed a palm out as if to gesture Keez to cool it for now. Instead she would turn to face Fenster, placing a hand on his chest and letting it slide down his bosy
"How about once we come back from checking on your renters and I'll make our night worth wild?"
The hand stopped on his pants just short of his privates, mostly on the fact that she didn't want to know how turned on he was from that place.
Fenster
Getting mixed signals from the group the nasty old man pushes Krystal's hand away...it feels like soft wet sandpaper...and he smells worse up close then from afar. Part of you wonders how the man is actually alive as you pull your hand away thankful for that to end. When you pull your hand back there is a orange black slime on your fingers from his clothes.
"Lass leave me be! The coin...that jingle of coin and I will talk about or do anything you want!" He looks over at Alistar and back at the Shoanti and the rest of the group. "Ya want what I know it will cost you coin!" He stands up and coughs again...a wet nasty cough..then he spits some greenish, purple, black phlegm on the ground and at one point you would have sworn it moved on its own.
The group begins to talk among themselves about how much coin they are willing to put in the pot.
Tiarsus
He turns to Alistar and in a low voice. "I can throw in two gold but that is the best I can do. My purse is a bit light...sorry."
"It is not an issue. We have a little still and the Lodge in the form of gems. We just need to sell them."
That... didn't work as planned. Krystal backed off in response.
"Sorry about that."
ring *glows with magic*
silver dagger (ancient Thassilon)
3 gems (red)
Fenster
He looks a bit agitated by the group and the lack of a response. He is also clearly not happy with the big Shoanti standing there looking like e is ready to pound him into the sand.
"So...Any idea what you want Fenster to do?"
"Here we will give you this very valuable gem. We did not want to part with it but you are too smart and too good a negotiator. We were stupid for not seeing your value sooner."
"Here we will give you this very valuable gem. We did not want to part with it but you are too smart and too good a negotiator. We were stupid for not seeing your value sooner."
Fenster's eyes light up at the gem. Alistar walks over to the box and drops it in and almost immediately the sickly looking man picks it up out of the box and looks at it. Inspecting it with his one good eye..."Yea...it is nice shiny babble...I like it. I do, I like it...it will do for now!" He seems to rub it on his dirty shirt and then tucks it away in a pocket but seems to keep a hand on it. He starts to cough and spits again...
Aaaaand that would do for now as she skirted back over to the patty's side, while glancing at Alister for that surprising amount of gems in this pocket.
"So... about where we can find the Tower Girls."
Aaaaand that would do for now as she skirted back over to the patty's side, while glancing at Alister for that surprising amount of gems in this pocket.
"So... about where we can find the Tower Girls."
Fenster
He seems to settle down and drops back down on the broken chest...he scratches several parts of himself...
"I am their landlord! Well...I was but they will be back..." He coughs and this time covers his mouth with his hand and then wipes it off on his shirt. I don't have a clue as to where they went off to but I do know something that might help you...since you gave me this nice little gem you did. There is a girl in their crew called Natalya. You might be able to find the rest of them through her...she is in the building next door. At least I see her skulking about in there from time to time. If anyone knows where the Tower Girls are she would. Come to think of it she acts like she doesn't want to be found..."[/b] He looks at each of you and raises his eyebrow over his white clouded eye as if thinking about what he just said and what you are actually doing... He then goes back to talking as his hand fiddles with the gem in his pocket. "She be in that old boarding house down the way. It is the last one there and across the way is an abandoned shack so if you see the shack you have gone to far."
"Thank you. You are a good business man."
Away from the creep, Alistar says, "Can someone sneak up? It would be good to know if she is there or if we have to stake out the place."
Krytal smiled brightly.
"I'm your gal for that job. I'll be in and out in no time."
As Fenster makes his way back into his "home" your group turns east to look at the abandoned boarding house. It is about 150 feet down the dirty road. Just past that is a tall fishing shack that appears abandoned. There is a open space on the seawall between the two buildings as if something was there but is now demolished and covered in weeds and scrub bushes as well as trash and refuse.
While unhappy that they wound up giving someone so precious to such a retched creature, Keezheekoni is just as happy to be away from the place.
As they are looking at the old boarding house, the Shoanti man speaks up, his usual smile back in it's usual place. "I have learned some of the sneaking arts while living out in the wilds of the Cinderlands, though my elders tease that I hunt like a pack of wild horses in stampede. Still, I can be helping, if you like."
While unhappy that they wound up giving someone so precious to such a retched creature, Keezheekoni is just as happy to be away from the place.
As they are looking at the old boarding house, the Shoanti man speaks up, his usual smile back in it's usual place. "I have learned some of the sneaking arts while living out in the wilds of the Cinderlands, though my elders tease that I hunt like a pack of wild horses in stampede. Still, I can be helping, if you like."
As long as it doesn't come with the smell, you can join in," she grinned. "The more the merrier."
Keezheekoni gives her his usual broad grin in response as he adjusts his gear to allow for better movement and strap down loose equipment to keep from making too much noise, as he was taught by the hunters of his tribe.