Hell of a Summer (PF1 Eberron)

Game Master karlprosek

Love that Ash's idea of "putting his cowardly retreat out of mind" is to enthusiastically offer to be the first one out of the sewer. :-)

XD

Ash gave Jixel a guilty smile at her touch, whispering his thanks.

Once he'd peeked outside, Ash turned to nod the 'all clear' to the others, then slipped out into the common room, trying to act nonchalant.

As nonchalant as you could be, coming out of a sewer.

The staff didn't give Ash a second look, and neither did most of the clientele. It was almost like the halflings were studiously ignoring the large folk emerging from the basement.

Illendur will help Jixel through the door and depart as quickly as he can be, using the I belong here walk...

Zander brought up the rear, being careful to ensure that the door behind him was properly closed. He didn't hide his curiosity as he walked through the establishment, he took note of the patrons quite openly.

The group emerged from the hostel out directly onto the Way of the Dragon. Looking back at the hostel, it appeared the place was named the Spouting Fish and did, indeed, have the Fellowship of Innkeepers' seal affixed to the door.

OK, from here where do you want to go? It's night time and Renaer, Floon, and Jixel are all hurt badly enough they can only move at half speed.

Is there somewhere relatively close by where we can hole up?

As we pass through the bar, Dok reaches over a pulls a drink off of the serving tray of a passing halfling barmaid.

He keeps walking as he takes a deep pull off the mug.

Never breaking stride, he places the cup on a table as he walks past and follows the others out the door.

In all truth, the scorched ratfolk didn't pay a lot of attention to the surroundings right now. The smell of old ale and sounds of normality, or at least the lack of sewer-movement as a background trickle, was all very encouraging. Leaning on the oh so polite Illendur, she just kept walking.

"Friends..." she eventually muttered, "our wounds I can heal, but... but... I need a solid night of rest, and time with Peekee to draw the blessings from her avian dreams. Where are we? Is there somewhere close, and safe? I'd invite you all to mine... but as you can imagine, it is all rather small. A bit too intimate perhaps, for tall-folks such as yourselves."

Once outside in the hot air, Ash relaxed. He put a sympathetic, gentle hand on Jixel's shoulder, kneeling to do so, but his pale green-and-yellow eyes fell on Renaer.

"You'd not leave us in this state, having saved your companion, would you? 'Twould be a noble kindness to at least give us succour this night," he suggested.

Diplo: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5 LMAO. I guess he was too pushy.

Illendur watches what Ash has to say to Renaer, What he's trying to say, is 'come on and help out'. We've all had a long day, from things climbing out of the pit, to tengu assassins, to all kinds of things in the sewer.

diplomacy: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 1 = 21

"Pit?" Renaer shook his head, too tired to care. "Okay. It's just... the estate was seized when dad left the city, so all I have is an apartment. It's not what you might be imagining. I'll get us a coach."

The Way of the Dragon was a major thoroughfare and even at night there was a fair amount of traffic. It took a few minutes but finally he was able to flag down an empty carriage large enough for the whole group. He gave the driver directions to a building in North Ward and collapsed into a seat next to Floon. The two men held onto each other for comfort and support, with Floon almost immediately falling asleep and Renaer dozing off against the rattling wall of the carriage.

They were halfway there, turning north on the High Road with the lights and noise of Trades Ward blaring in the carriage's window, when Renaer sat up with a start. "Dammit, my papers! They took my ID. How are we going to get into the Ward?"

Dok squeezes into the coach, taking off his hat and holding on his lap.

"Dey make the rich folk show papers too?" he asks.

"I thought dat jus' be a way to keep da poor folk down."

"I have no papers, either," Ash admitted from where he was pressed into a corner of the carriage, then glanced sidelong at Renaer. "But would they allow an itinerant preacher to enter?"

Renaer snorted at Dok's comment and shook his head at Ash. "To North Ward? You're crazy if you think we can get through an Aundairan checkpoint at night without papers." He looked at Ilendur. "I suppose you live in Trades Ward, Phiarlan? Do you think you could bluff us into North?"

Illendur looks innocently at the guards, No no, we were just escorting these fine gentlemen home, seems they had a wee too much fun out tonight, isn't that right boys? And they felt unsafe, so here we all are.//

Bluff: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

You're only halfway there so Ilendur will have time to work on that. ;)

I misread where it said Raener....lol

Renaer shook his head at Ilendur but with a small tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Maybe I'll help when we get there." Soon enough the carriage was clattering to a stop just off the High Road on Suldown street. A group of lightly armored but professional looking Aundairan infantry watched attentively as a tall, thin, bearded soldier approached the carriage window. "Where are you headed, folks? Papers, please."

Renaer had given Ilendur the address- 260 Nindabar Street- and he looked expectantly at the only one in the carriage who seemed to have their papers, waiting for Ilendur to take the lead.

Thanks Guardsman, we're escorting this gentlemen home, he's had a wee bit of a rough night, and we're just dropping him off. He's at 260 Nindabar Street. Illendur points over to Renaer, He had a spot of trouble and asked to be brought home.

Bluff: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Yep, about as well as expected!

The Aundairan soldier looked up from Ilendur's identify papers at the sound of the Phiarlan's unconvincing performance. Renaer leaned over, trying to help. "Got mugged down in Dock Ward. You know how rough those streets can get. Not the way you soldiers have everything under control up here!"

Um, wow. You guys are about to get turned away. Anybody else want to jump in here?

Ash made one last attempt to convince the guards they should let the carriage into the North Ward.

Ash leaned out the window - actually something of a relief in the hot, stuffy carriage. "I know you're just doing your jobs, folks, but it's been a long day, and this poor guy just needs to get home. He got mugged, his papers are gone! If you'll cut him a break, he'll make it worth your while," Ash promised, with no idea whether Renaer would actually do that.

Diplomacy or Bluff AA, same mod: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9 LOL

The animal-faced shifter did not inspire confidence, earnest manner or no.

diplomacy: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20

"Come on guv'na, we unz just be takin' da poor bloke home."

The talking, pleading and questioning had stirred Jixel from her nap. In the carriage, she'd kind of drifted off into a pained world of dreams... and even there every rise and fall of her once furry chest had hurt. Such was the way of burns.

A few blinks, and a gentle whimper, and she tried to sit forward and look through a window.

"What they say is true, Sir. It has been a bad night..."

Hopefully her obvious wounds, and a cute rat's face begging for small mercies, would be of some kind of help.

Diplo or Bluff AA: 1d20 ⇒ 8

Then again, not everyone thought rodents were much other than pests...

"I do not understand," Zander said, suddenly, opening the carriage door and looking for all the world as though he was planing to step out, though he hadn't actually taken a step yet. Having the door open did, however, put him close to the guard looking in the window, and his weight caused the carriage to tilt somewhat on its springs.

"What is the purpose of requiring papers from injured persons who have clearly been the subject of assault, battery, and robbery? Are you intending to encourage criminal behavior? It seems obvious that, should someone with a grievance - real or imagined - discover that all one needs to do to ensure that a resident of North Ward is left vulnerable to their malintended machinations is to arrange for a 'mugging' in which papers are stolen, there would almost immediately be a significant increase in purportedly 'random' muggings that include North Ward residents as targets. It would not take very long, or, indeed, much in the way of logic to deduce that the cause of such a targeted spike in criminal activity against residents of North Ward is, in fact, the specific set of guardsmen who have been charged with the protection of those very same residents. This might be ignored in the case of lower-caste-level residents, if, in fact, there are such in this Ward, but eventually, the statistics indicate that at some point, a resident with enough power and influence to matter will fall victim to this increasing - and increasingly targeted - spike in criminal behavior. And at that point, it is unlikely that the administrative staff of the Guard will accept responsibility for such clearly ineffective - and obviously counter-productive - policy decisions. Making it highly likely that said administrative staff will indicate that the decision was made unilaterally by guards in the field, without explicit authorization. Which will likely, if my observance of humanoid behavior holds true, and my extrapolations therefrom are, in fact, accurate, result in 'sacrifices being made.' Which is, from what I have observed, a euphemism for, 'fecal matter rolls downhill.'"

I dunno if that's a check of any kind (his Charisma is 9), but it's a legit question/hypothesis from him, and not just an attempt to baffle with bull****, so... If it helps, yay! If not, that's cool, too.

"What they say is true, Sir. It has been a bad night..."

Hopefully her obvious wounds, and a cute rat's face begging for small mercies, would be of some kind of help.

[dice=Diplo or Bluff AA]1d20

Then again, not everyone thought rodents were much other than pests...

The soldier looked from Ilendur to Renaer- wealthy looking types who may or may not belong in North Ward- to Ash, Dok, and Jixel- unsavory sorts who definitely did not- and opened his mouth to say something. From his expression it didn't look like he was sympathetic to their pleas, but his professional mask didn't look upset, either.

"I do not understand," Zander said, suddenly, opening the carriage door and looking for all the world as though he was planing to step out, though he hadn't actually taken a step yet. Having the door open did, however, put him close to the guard looking in the window, and his weight caused the carriage to tilt somewhat on its springs.

"What is the purpose of requiring papers from injured persons who have clearly been the subject of assault, battery, and robbery? Are you intending to encourage criminal behavior? It seems obvious that....

The soldier yelped and jumped back as Zander opened the door. He opened his mouth to say something, hand on the wand at his hip, but as Zander filibustered over him without getting out of the carriage the alarm drained out of his face. And as Zander kept going on, the Aundairan started shaking his head.

"Alright, that's enough. Everybody out of the carriage. You're blocking the road and being disorderly." The soldier gestured at the squad behind the barricade. "You're under arrest." He stepped back and beckoned the group out of the carriage. "Come on. Let's go."

Fine, see what happens when we try to do a good deed? Come on all, let's go with the nice guard, he's only doing his job... Illendur keeps his hands away from his weapons and steps out of the carriage with his hands up. Frustration evident on the half-elf's face, but he's obviously willing to go along with the authorities.

Ash winced. Zander's warforged-ness was beyond anyone's charm to overcome.

Then again, the rest of them hadn't been too convincing, either. They probably should have planned their approach a bit better once Renaer admitted he didn't have his papers.

Keeping his hands well clear of his sword, Ash climbed out of the carriage, then joined Illendur in his hands-up pose. It was going to be another long night...

The ratfolk hung her head low, before slowly moving to get a grip on the side of the carriage's door and painfully working her way back to ground level. A few tears began to roll down her furry cheeks, and she nearly collapsed, but somehow managed to remain standing with a bit of a sway.

"Why help people in need, when you can just arrest em? I hope there's a nurse, where we're being taken..."

She was muttering, but kind of hoped the guard heard it anyway. Surely the burnt hair and exposed flesh now akin to crackling, were rather obvious.

Zander cocked his head in that way that meant something didn't make sense to him, and he was trying to figure it out. He stepped down out of the carriage, however. He didn't make any sudden moves, but that was likely more because he was thinking than because of any particular caution.

His halberd had been folded and stored on his back when they'd gotten into the carriage, so wasn't obviously threatening. Still, he did give the approaching guards a steady, appraising look (while J'r-V'zz calmly rattled off a threat assessment in his head).

When all was said and done, however, Zander (and J'r-V'zz) calmly accompanied the others without further protest.

"Without protest," however, did not mean, "without questions," and Zander - ever curious - was sure to ask as many of his questions as he was allowed to ask as the proceedings continued...

For some reason, Ash appeared shaken by Jixel's words. He actually looked as though she'd gut-punched him. Hands-up forgotten, under the distraction of Zander's continuous questions, he knelt and gathered the little ratfolk into his arms, planning to carry her where they were going, to keep her from hurting too badly from the strain of the march.

He didn't even appear too bothered when her chicken pecked him.

The Aundairan soldiers were professional and polite, as befit troops who mostly dealt with wealthy and relatively harmless citizens all day. With the group coming along, they didn't even shackle anyone as they led the prisoners to a building just inside the barricade and conspicuously flying Aundair's flag.

The group was processed by an attentive clerk in a soldier's uniform who asked questions by rote and simply ignored any questions turned her way. Over and over, she asked name, title, occupation, and Ward of residency of the group, inscribing the information in a large ledger with a pen fashioned from a dragonshard, implying some sort of subtle magical effect that wasn't immediately apparent.

Seeing Floon, Jixel, and Renaer's nearly insensible condition, she paused each of their in-processing to run a wand over them, its dragonshard glowing faintly with magic.

After the third wave of the wand, the arcane glow faded from the dragonshard but each of the most wounded looked and felt marginally better, and Floon woke from his nearly catatonic state to look curiously around at his surroundings and murmur the answers to the questions.

Everyone without identity papers- which was everyone but Ilendur- was asked to sit in a chair in front of a large seal of Aundair, holding up a chalk board with their name just under their chin. A large box with dragonshards embedded in the top sat on a tripod in front of the chair and with each new person, the processing clerk slipped a set of identity papers. "Hold still," she recited again and again for everyone in the group. After a few seconds the dragonshards flashed a blindingly white light and the apparatus spit out a set of identity papers complete with the information offered during their in-processing and an extremely good black and white likeness inscribed on a piece of thin metal on the inside cover of the papers. "Don't lose those," she said when she handed it over.

After processing the group was led up one floor, not to overcrowded cells like they'd been stuffed into after the riot at the Keelhauled Dwarf, but a large open room full of reclined chairs that could be laid flat to either sit or sleep on. It was not luxurious, by any means, but it was clean and looked like a secure place to sleep.

"Pay the fine and don't make any trouble and you're free to go in the morning," she said. "Out-processing's at first light." The bored clerk closed the door behind them, locking them in with the audible thunk of a bar being dropped across the door.

Renaer and Floon headed for the far end of the room and quickly collapsed onto the chairs, both falling asleep nearly instantly.

If anyone bought the Wealthy Cost of Living bracket, you don't have to worry about paying the fine. I don't think anyone did, though, so it's 10gp. On the plus side everyone but Ilendur gets the 5gp version of Identification Papers, so that's nice.

Once morning comes what do you want to do?

Illednur pays his fine, and sits through the questioning with a bored look on his face. Well, looks like the rich get nice jails than the rest of us do.. he strips off his armor and passes out on a couch.

Paying his fine in the morning, he turns to the nobles Well, anything else you need from us lads? Or can we return to get paid? Unless other folks have ideas?

"I'm a little short...." Dok says sheepishly.

"Can anyone spot me four gold?" he asks.

Jixel was happy to lend Dok the required funds, and had no issues with paying her own fine either. In truth, aside from now being stored in the "system", it felt like a pretty good deal. The healing alone made it worth it. No, she wasn't completely back to her old self, but the dark patchy redness of the burns had faded quite a bit at the wave of a wand. No longer was she situated on a perilous edge between consciousness and coma.

When morning came, she opened her backpack and let the chicken stretch its legs. Peekee kind of looked at Ash for a moment, flapped some wings, and then squawked.

"She likes you, I think. Ok, well, trusts you more."

Giving her pet a little pat on the head, Jixel then enquired as to the poultry's hunger, and took out a trail ration to share.

"Feathers come and feathers go, undo the plucking and on with the show."

A momentary glow crept around the ratfolk's body, as a subtle wave of healing moved over her.

Cure wounds on self: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
1 spell remaining. Now 7/10 HP.

Ah, pay had been mentioned. Yes, the day to claim rewards had come! Jixel hopped up enthusiastically.

"I agree. It is time to weigh off the ugliness of yesterday, with a much better day today!"

Ash will take 10 on that Perception check. :P Not that I don't trust the dicebot, but... <.<

Ash had been relieved to find that they hadn't been dumped into the drunk tank, like on their last visit to jail. For a shifter, he really was quite fastidious. He was about to fish out a few coins for Doc when Jixel beat him to it.

He regarded Peekee with a slight smile as Jixel went about healing and eating. He had to struggle not to answer her "everyone likes chicken," though. The ratfolk probably wouldn't find his jest in good taste. XD

With his new ID papers (and the unfortunate note on them( tucked away, he too was prepared to receive their reward for a task well done. He wondered briefly if the guild would have found out where to retaliate somehow... nah.

"Perhaps you'd care to join us?" he asked Doc and Zander politely as they left the station. "A generous man might be willing to offer you a bit for your trouble, as well." He didn't go so far as to speculate whether their patron was actually a generous man. Hopefully he would be, if he'd been as fond of Renaer and [sorry! I have totally forgotten the other dude's name] as he'd said.

Paying his fine in the morning, he turns to the nobles Well, anything else you need from us lads? Or can we return to get paid? Unless other folks have ideas?

Like Jixel, Renaer and Floon were both looking much improved in the morning. The two blonde men were up and moving around without assistance, though unlike Renaer, Floon had never had the opportunity to acquire a new outfit so he was still shoeless and in his torn and burned shirt and pants from the night before.

Renaer flashed Ilendur a blinding smile, looking positively overjoyed standing there with his arm around Floon's waist. "You are lifesavers, literally. I don't know anything about payment, but I'm going to make sure Gaebler and everyone I know knows what you did for me. If you need anything, let me know."

Floon, pale skin and muscular torso showing through the rips in his shirt like the hero off the cover of a romance chapbook and his own arm slung over Renaer's shoulders, nodded. "Be careful with Vordik. He's a good guy but... well, he's a good guy. Just make sure you get your payment in cash."

OK, where to now? I don't think you actually worked out a time and place to meet up with your client, but you could go back to the Yawning Portal. Or you could go to the Keelhauled Dwarf, Goggh's place, to see about splitting up those coins and any proceeds from the paintings. Or somewhere else?

Zander, as a warforged, hadn't slept during the night. Instead, he'd stood still, in that unnerving way that only warforged could, watching the goings-on in the room and considering the unexpected events of the previous few hours. He and J'r-V'zz had silently exchanged a few theories, as well as comparing memories and interpretations of the events. It had been a decent way to pass the hours.

As the morning arrived and the others began to move about, Zander returned to motion himself. This group seemed interesting, and the fact that they were willing to continue to include him in their midst was a welcome turn of events.

He paid his fine - though he was still unsure as to the details surrounding exactly how asking a few questions was "disorderly conduct" - and bemusedly collected his documents, carefully folding them and tucking them away.

"Though not originally included in your agreement," he said, in answer to Ash's invitation, "I would be glad to accompany you further. I must admit to curiosity regarding the outcome of our actions."

He'll follow along.

I suppose we should start with the Yawning Portal and look for Vordik, you two don't think he was behind this do you? I'd rather not walk into a setup from a bad crime drama... Illendur looks at the two men, Ha, you two enjoy the day, get cleaned up. And we do appreciate the good word being out about our helpfulness.

Turning back to the party outside on the street, I suppose we ask for Vordik at the Yawning Portal and if he's not there, we'll go see what Goggh was able to get for the things he took back to the Dwarf?

Ash nodded. "Sounds good to me."

Jixel, now feeling quite renewed, winked and gave a thumb's-claw up at the plan.

As the only road that completely traversed the city, the High Road was busy even this early in the morning. The sidewalks were wide, designed to facilitate large groups of pedestrians, but the party had to walk around knots of slow walking folk and occasionally step out into the street itself, risking a teamster's whip or a tall dray that expected everyone to move out of the way. It was already muggy and threatened to be another hot, disgusting day.

Even with the early morning traffic- though nowhere near as bad as it would get later in the day- it took less than a quarter of an hour to get from Suldown Street to the Yawning Portal. And as the administrative heart of the city, Castle Ward had no restrictions on who could come and go so there were no checkpoints to deal with.

The dark, magically cool interior of the Yawning Portal was a welcome respite from the muggy, dusty High Road. The tavern and inn's quiet breakfast was quite different from the boisterous evening hours. Less than an hour after daybreak, the only patrons were a few residents of the inn and only two staff were visible- a single waitress and a halfling visible in the kitchen, apparently taking orders as there was a short line of patrons waiting for his attention.

Looking around, Ash, Ilendur, and Jixel noticed Davil Starsong, the blonde elf who had welcomed them to his and Yagra Stonefist's table the night before, sitting alone at the same table they'd sat at before. He, however, seemed focused on the broadsheet and breakfast in front of him.

Illendur shrugs, and approaches the elf, Morning there Davil, how fare you today? Wondering if you've seen Vordik around this morning? Its been a long couple of days for us. How about you? Noticing the broadsheet, Anything interesting happening around town? the half-elf nods at the broadsheet.

Ash relaxed in the pleasant coolth of the Portal. As usual, he wore a long-sleeved shirt, and it was already a bit damp from the heat of the day. He'd been extra courteous to Jixel all day, still appearing just a bit guilty, though of what wasn't clear.

He thought about joining the queue waiting for food, but decided to snoop around a bit for Vordik, and maybe see what Davil was reading, first.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21

Presuming he doesn't spot Vordik suddenly:

Ash sighed. Vordik wasn't around - hopefully he wasn't skipping out on their pay now that the job was done. Ash wasn't really greedy, but a man had to eat.

He joined Illendur with Davil, sliding into a chair and ducking his head to catch the headline on the broadsheet.

Jixel looked to Dok and Zander when Davil came into sight.

"Let's not crowd the poor fellow, come, let's take a seat! I'm starving."

The ratfolk hoped to find a table or seating location within earshot of Ash and Illendur's information gathering, but far enough away for Vordik's pal not to feel overwhelmed or crowded. Her plan was to let the line for food reduce a little, and then join in! Bread and grains, cheese, stuff like that, she was hopeful that today's menu might bring some treats.

Dok sits down with Jixel and asks:

"You know this fellow?" gesturing to the elf.

knowledge(local- Davil): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (14) + 9 = 23

Illendur shrugs, and approaches the elf, Morning there Davil, how fare you today? Wondering if you've seen Vordik around this morning? Its been a long couple of days for us. How about you? Noticing the broadsheet, Anything interesting happening around town? the half-elf nods at the broadsheet.

Davil looked up at Ilendur's greeting, smiling at the Phiarlan half-elf. "It's Vordik's heroes!" The blonde elf folded his broadsheet in half and set it on the table, tapping it briefly as he laid it down. "Fun story about the Black Viper. Apparently she held Wylynd ir'Moonstar hostage in her own bedroom two nights ago and stole a fortune in jewelry!" Davil shook his head and laughed. "That woman's balls must drag on the floor to tweak the nose of that powerful a House. And the Karrnathi must be livid. The bounty on that woman is going to be astronomical after this."

He looked over at the rest of the group, his eyes lingering on Dok and Zander. "Where's your charming minotaur and intimidating drow?" Davil

Jixel looked to Dok and Zander when Davil came into sight.

"Let's not crowd the poor fellow, come, let's take a seat! I'm starving."

The ratfolk hoped to find a table or seating location within earshot of Ash and Illendur's information gathering, but far enough away for Vordik's pal not to feel overwhelmed or crowded. Her plan was to let the line for food reduce a little, and then join in! Bread and grains, cheese, stuff like that, she was hopeful that today's menu might bring some treats.

Jixel was easily able to find an agreeable spot. The breakfast crowd was positively sparse in comparison to the number of tables available in the Yawning Portal's common room.

Zander, for his part, sat down at Jixel's invitation. It wasn't any more or less comfortable for him than standing would have been, but it did allow him to participate in the cultural traditions of the local humanoids.

"What does one do here if one does not eat or drink?" His query was not directed at any one particular member of the group, but rather was a general and open request for information.

Illendur waves noncommitally at Davil's question, They're somewhere, been a busy few days. waving his hand at Dok he says, This is Dok. Dok, this is Davil.

Glancing at the broadsheet, Ha, you've got a good point there Davil. She's got brass ones, rolls around on 'em. the half-elf smiles before he continues, Hey, you hear anything about your 'friends' from the other night? and before the elf can answer, Illendur will also ask another question, And I imagine you've got no idea where to find Vordik? Working folks have to collect when the job's done....

Davil nodded in Dok's direction. "My friends?" He grinned back at Ilendur. "They're somewhere. Been a busy few days."

"Vordik? You mean Gaebler, the writer? No, I have no idea. I only ever see him here. I've heard him talk about North Ward like he lives there, but the man seems to blow through money so fast I don't know how he'd be able to afford it. If you need to find him at home, you could try that. Your best bet would be to come back tonight. He comes through here most nights, I'd say."

He looked in the direction of Ilendur's companions then turned his smile back on Ilendur. "If you're looking for work, I'd say I could probably do better than whatever Gaebler's giving you. If you and your people are free, that is."

Ash's brows rose at that. Another job offer? Already?

Of course, if they had the reputation of doing jobs without collecting their full pay...

He had been more interested in the missing children than the money, but the money didn't hurt.

"I think we've yet a few things to do today... but is that offer still good if we think it over for a bit?" he asked politely.