***
You seen that dandy who was here with Vordik? They leave together, or he'd find someone else to bring him safely home?
The man shook his head. "Vordik left after a while, I think alone? I'm pretty sure his buddy stayed here. Or anyway I'm pretty sure I saw the blonde here after Vordik had left. I think? I must have been pretty drunk, because I half remember there being two of them- pretty blondes in fancy clothes."
Ash walked up to join those watching the dice game, resigning himself to losing some of that shiny new coin. Though his eyes were on the dice, he kept an ear out for mention of Floon, or anyone missing... but no one seemed to be bringing it up.
"Got a spot for another?" he asked, hoping they'd be more talkative once he was in the game.
When Goggh came in, he muttered, "First the wall, now this? How rough is this place?"
The man at the dice game made room for the stranger without comment and Ash saw they were playing Hazard, which was what he expected. He joined while the shooter was trying to throw in and bets were already done, so he didn't have to put in any money immediately.
The half-orc on Ash's right looked up at the comment, then at the door. He grunted when he saw Goggh. "I don't know anybody who'd be interested in that. Yeesh." He flicked a glance at the broken windows and shook his head, grinning. "The windows were just a friendly fight, got outta hand. It's too damn hot, everybody's lookin' for a fight."
He put out a hand to shake with Ash. "Arend." Arend looked down at Ash's clothes and build and ventured "You just get into town?"
Arma smiles slyly and says "Not that I know of." as she slides her payment across the bar and then sips on her beer.
"But, maybe you can help me." She palms and quietly places a pair of gold pieces on the counter, pinned between her pointer and middle fingers. "Someone paid me to find their friend and I was pointed in this direction. Here's what he looks like:" she then proceeds to offer the description she was given. then slides the two coins over and lowers her voice to a whisper as she leans forward and says [smaller]"I'm not looking to hurt him or anything like that, but his 'friend' is worried about him, since he hasn't seen him in several days."
The bartender snorted and put his fingers on the gold pieces in between Arma's fingertips. "Yeah, he left with Renaer ir'Nelview. Came in with Vordik Gaebler, drank some, gambled a little but mostly drank and talked. Gaebler left him here. Looked to me like ir'Nelview and him planned to meet here, if you know what I'm saying. Renaer slums in here a fair bit. Spreads enough money around he doesn't piss anybody off. Anyway, almost as soon as he came in the other night, he saw the man you described, they talked, and they left. Late."
"And what can you tell me about our good friends Masters Ir'Nelview and Gaebler?" asked Arma as she removed her fingers from the coins, sipped her beer, and then replaced them with two more on the counter.
The bartender nodded at Arma as if she'd confirmed something for him. "If you don't recognize the name, you're definitely not from around here." He slipped the coins into his apron as he looked up and down the bar for other patrons who needed attention.
"Renaer's the son of the previous head of the Stewards' Council- Dagult ir'Nelview. It was a big deal just... three? Maybe four now? Years ago when Dagult was voted out and Lady Kharisa came in. He's a..." The bartender nodded down the bar at someone waving him down and said "'Scuse me," to Arma. He glanced down at the two new coins under Arma's fingertips. "I'll be back in a second for those."
Arma will let the man finish his job. He was being forthcoming with information, after all.
The man at the dice game made room for the stranger without comment and Ash saw they were playing Hazard, which was what he expected. He joined while the shooter was trying to throw in and bets were already done, so he didn't have to put in any money immediately.
The half-orc on Ash's right looked up at the comment, then at the door. He grunted when he saw Goggh. "I don't know anybody who'd be interested in that. Yeesh." He flicked a glance at the broken windows and shook his head, grinning. "The windows were just a friendly fight, got outta hand. It's too damn hot, everybody's lookin' for a fight."
He put out a hand to shake with Ash. "Arend." Arend looked down at Ash's clothes and build and ventured "You just get into...
Ash shook his hand readily. "Ash. I've been in town a few months, but haven't gotten around much." He grinned back at Arend. "Friendly fight, huh? Whose friend got thrown through the window? Whoever did the throwing must pack muscles like the minotaur!"
The ratfolk had sidled over to the bar and taken a seat, an unobtrusive distance from her friend Arma. Ah yes she was doing well with the information gathering! Amazing what a few coins slid across the bench had done to loosen things up.
Unfortunately Jixel was relatively new to the city, and the names she'd caught whilst eavesdropping would need to be investigated at some later time. If asked as to her wishes though, Jixel would request an ale, and send Arma a smile as well.
After a couple of minutes, the bartender came back to Arma. "What was I saying? Oh right, Renaer. He's a decent sort, or at least knows how to keep from getting mugged. He buys drinks, doesn't talk down to people, doesn't make a show of being all high and mighty like some nobles."
"Um, Gaebler?" He snorts. "Comes in here to play cards and gossip. He calls it research, says he's writing some kind of guidebook to the city. The other night he was in here with somebody I didn't know. He was dressed well, a good looking man, but he didn't talk to anybody but Gaebler and then nursed his drink til Renaer came in. They talked for a bit but it looked like he'd been waiting for Renaer. Business, if you understand what I mean? They left together after Renaer had just just one drink."
***
Ash shook his hand readily. "Ash. I've been in town a few months, but haven't gotten around much." He grinned back at Arend. "Friendly fight, huh? Whose friend got thrown through the window? Whoever did the throwing must pack muscles like the minotaur!"
Arend grunted. "Everybody's drunk, somebody throws a punch and somebody goes through the window." The half-orc gave Ash a toothy grin and looked around. "It was Bokk and Gavrin who started it, I think. Don't know what it was about. Coulda been nothing, coulda been something held over from work." Arend shrugged, not seeming too interested in the genesis of the bar brawl. It couldn't have been too out of the ordinary if he was this nonchalant about it.
He nodded in Goggh's direction. "I never seen a minotaur before. Wonder what he's doin' here. Doesn't look like a longshoreman ta me."
"You, my good sir." says Arma with her best disarming smile "Are quite a handy fellow to have around, but have you ever considered that perhaps there are like minded women who might enjoy such a place as this?"
Giving him a nod she stood, finished offer her drink, and walked out the door and into a nearby alley to wait for the others to come out.
Arend grunted. "Everybody's drunk, somebody throws a punch and somebody goes through the window." The half-orc gave Ash a toothy grin and looked around. "It was Bokk and Gavrin who started it, I think. Don't know what it was about. Coulda been nothing, coulda been something held over from work." Arend shrugged, not seeming too interested in the genesis of the bar brawl. It couldn't have been too out of the ordinary if he was this nonchalant about it.He nodded in Goggh's direction. "I never seen a minotaur before. Wonder what he's doin' here. Doesn't look like a longshoreman ta me."
Ash shrugged. "Well, as you've probably guessed, I'm no longshoreman, either. I'll level with you - I'm looking for a guy." He grinned good-naturedly at Arend. "Heh. I mean, he's missing. One of his friends is really worried. At least, I guess he's a friend? Who else would pay to find him? The guy who's missing is called Floon. Don't mind splitting the coin I got with you if you tell me where I can find him."
Finishing his ale, Illendur thanks the men, Appreciate it there fellas. Have a good evening to you both. and drops a few copper coins to cover a drink or so. Seeing Arma wander out the door, Illendur follows into the alley.
looking at the dusky elf, he sighs, Well, we know our target was here that evening, but they didn't remember who he left with... So all I got was that he was present in this place before he vanished.
He leans against the wall, eyes on the doorway of the bar awaiting the others emergence. What did you get?
"You, my good sir." says Arma with her best disarming smile "Are quite a handy fellow to have around, but have you ever considered that perhaps there are like minded women who might enjoy such a place as this?"
The bartender laughed. "I'm always looking for new customers but for some reason the ladies don't seem to be interested in coming 'round." He grinned at Arma. "You want to spread the word about my place, feel free. You're definitely always welcome back, you keep tipping like this."
Giving him a nod she stood, finished offer her drink, and walked out the door and into a nearby alley to wait for the others to come out.
Ash shrugged. "Well, as you've probably guessed, I'm no longshoreman, either. I'll level with you - I'm looking for a guy." He grinned good-naturedly at Arend. "Heh. I mean, he's missing. One of his friends is really worried. At least, I guess he's a friend? Who else would pay to find him? The guy who's missing is called Floon. Don't mind splitting the coin I got with you if you tell me where I can find him."
Arend looked like he was thinking for a second before eventually shaking his head. "Oh, you're an inquisitive? Be happy to take some coin for nothin', but I don't know nobody named Floon, I don't think. He came in here? And has friends willin' ta put down coin ta find him?" The half-orc snorted. "Be nice ta have friends like that. The friend has money?" He paused for a second again as things clicked in his head. "Ooohhh... is the friend that noble? Renaer? Decent guy. Comes in here a lot."
"Okay, wait. No, I think I know who you must be talking about then. I don't know his name, but this prettyboy came in here the other day with Vordik an' left with Renaer. That must be your lost guy. They left together, late. I saw 'em go- like two peas in a pod, those two. Could've been brothers, t'be honest, an' your lost man was dressed even better than the little lordling. They looked like they was headed back t'ward the Way of the Dragon."
"My mother told me that you should always pay your barber well, but your bartender better. She was a smart woman."
Illendur will relate that Floon was here, So Floon was here drinking in the company of some lads, but the ones I spoke with didn't see him leave. Sounds like they were at it pretty hard the other night, and stumbled out of here generally, although it seems like it might be that way every night here... the half-elf looks relaxed and eager to hear what his companions learned.
Ash nodded. "It's far better than nothing. The coins're yours, if you want 'em." He clapped Arend on the shoulder, played a round or two of the dice game, then bowed out to go talk to the others.
Stepping around the corner from the bar, Ash told the others what he'd learned, too. "Sounds like Floon was pretty popular among the guys. The fellow I spoke with said he came with Vordik and went off with a lordling, Renaer, and he was dressed better than said lordling. I heard they were alike enough to be brothers, and they headed towards the Way of the Dragon. Let's go that way, and see if we can pick up his trail."
Privately, he was sweating from more than the heat. A lordling? Was it a good idea to get mixed up with someone like that? But he did need the money...
Arma added in "I heard about Renaer and a would-be author named Gaebler and another man that met in the bar and then left with Renaer after only one drink."
"For such a poorly decorated hole, the folks there weren't half bad were they. Nice leads! Nice leads!"
Jixel was genuinely impressed. Sure, she'd only played a supporting role, but too many newcomers asking too many questions had a way of being counter-productive. Better for some of them to be on their guard... well, that was the ratfolk's excuse.
"To this Dragon Way then, huh? Once we are presented with a difficult decision, I hope to be more useful. Always save some cheese for a later day."
She looked to Arma then.
"Amazing where some shiny bits and a sweet face can get you, hehe."
Jixel opened her pack just a little, as though to let in some air then.
Cluck cluck!
"Its ok Peekee. I was worried they might serve chicken in there. You're safe, I promise," she whispered into the unbuttoned hole.
"He was interested in my money, not me."
The party headed east down Fillet Lane toward the Way of the Dragon. The tenements crowded the lane, seeming to lean inward as they tried to shoulder their neighbors out of the way for more space. At the intersection of Fillet Lane and Zastrow Street the group found that the streetlamps had all been broken, a stark difference from the rest of the Ward. Goggh and Ilendur both knew this meant the lights had been broken in the past few days- the Brelish peacekeepers were nearly fanatical about keeping the streets well lit.
One nearby shop stood out from the others. It had a deep purple facade, and in its window hung a stuffed beholder. Above the door was a sign whose elaborate letters spelled out "Old Xoblob Shop." Violet light illuminated the picture window from the inside, hinting it was open even at this late hour.
Noticing the lights are broken, and that's recent, Illendur slows, This may have something to do with our missing man... He scans the area, looking for signs of trouble, or perhaps where an ambush would have been set.
Pointing at the illuminated shop he says, I wonder if they saw our two wander by here the other night? It does appear to be open...
Jixel's eyes were locked onto the shopfront.
"The things people taxidermy these days, huh?"
There sure were a lot of Beholder fetishes in this part of the city, the ratfolk woman thought. A coincidence?
"Beholder tattoos before, right? Maybe this shop is to do with it somehow. Mmm..."
The expression on her hairy face didn't look like one of great confidence then, as she considered that heading in there en-mass might not be a concept steeped in wisdom.
Unafraid, Arma entered the shop.
A cloud of lavender-scented purple smoke trailed out of the shop's door as Arma went inside. Every wall was painted purple, and every odd knickknack on the shelves was some shade of purple, from a small handmade doll fetish that was nearly pink to a geode whose interior was such a deep violet it was nearly black. There was a hairless old gnome in plum robes sitting cross-legged on a royal purple cushion with pale purple fringe on top of the counter. His cheeks were decorated with nine purple face-painted eyes.
The gnome's eyes were closed and his hands were still, resting on his knees. He didn't open his eyes or look over when the bell over the door chimed. Maybe he was meditating?
Illendur stops himself in stride, when Jixel speaks, Well, she shouldn't go in alone, right? I'm content to wait out here if Pierce wants to go in, he may be better at this investigating stuff than I am.
Goggh, Jixel, what do you two think? Floon wanders off with a noble after a long night of drinking. Looks like someone broke out these lights here; maybe we should visit the noble if we can't find any leads here?
"Hello friend. I'd like a moment of your time, if you're so inclined." said Arma after approaching the counter.
The gnome opened his eyes- also purple, Arma, noticed- and after a moment, gave her a wide smile. "Oh! Hello! I wasn't expecting customers so late, please excuse me. Welcome to the Old Xoblob Shop! What can I interest you in? We have trinkets and curiosities from all over the world! What's brought you here in the wee hours of the night? Looking for some secrets from Sarlona? Elven icons from the shores of Aerenal?"
He leaned forward a little toward the apparent drow woman and dropped his voice conspiratorially. "Scorpion venom from Xen'drik?"
"Somebody should go in with her. We can wait here, have a look around," Ash agreed, waving his hands at Illendur. "Go ahead!"
It's too hot to... see. Right. :P
Ash wandered over to examine the broken lights that Illendur had pointed out.
"Oh, my, you do have taste." said Arma as she tapped her finger against her lips. She then continued: "Actually, I'm looking for information about a trio of gentlemen. Before I tell you their names, I should say that I'm really only looking for one, but he was seen in the company of the other two, and if I can find out any information about any of them, it will make my life easier. I was directed here by a certain bartender who shall remain nameless."
Arma then lowers her voice and says "Also, how much for the Drow poison?"
The gnome's wide smile grows even wider and he leans forward a little more. "For you, to encourage business from a new customer? I'll give it to you at cost- 200 galifars."
He sat back and raised his voice to a normal level. "One, but two, or three men?" The shopkeeper laughed. "Ask away! I'm always happy to put customers in touch with each other!" He winked at Arma.
"As long as it's nothing confidential, of course."
"Naturally. I wouldn't assume that you would want to lose business, after all."
Arma leans back out and says in a normal tone "I'm looking for information about, as I said, three men. Their names are Renaer ir'Nelview, Vordik Gaebler, and Floon Blagmaar. Master Blagmaar is the one that I was hired to find."
Illendur hangs back once inside seeing Arma have so much success talking to the gnome. He instead inspects the furnishings and appointments of the room, looking, but not touching things.
The gnome shook his head. "I'm afraid I don't know those names, miss. But most of the folks who come in here don't tell me their names, to be honest. Could you describe them? When would they have come through?"
Ilendur found that the shop was full of a varied mix of strange odds and ends, some magical and some not. If he had to categorize the shop, he'd call it a curio shop. Everything, though, from the ornate but empty scabbard he found on a wall to the leather folio with half a floorplan to some unnamed keep, was some shade of purple. Even the stuffed beholder in the picture window had been given a purple wash.
With Illendur going inside too, just in case, Jixel decided to remain outside in the street acting as a kind of lookout. The ratfolk cocked her head to the side as Ash went to poke around some vandalised lights, but she didn't interrupt him.
Turning her black furry head left to right, Jixel just kind of let her eyes wander, wondering if they might catch anything else here of interest or potential significance. Meanwhile, her ears were tilted back a bit... on alert for the sounds of any scuffling or foul play within the unusual shop.
Arma will give the Gnome the best descriptions she has of the three men.
The gnome started nodding as Arma described Floon and Renaer. "Unlucky, miss. Your friends were mugged right over there." He gestured out the window in the direction of the intersection with the broken lights. "I say mugged, but kidnapped is probably a better word. The two of them were surrounded by five men in black, hands bound, and hoods thrown over their heads."
The shopkeeper was friendly enough, but he seemed reluctant to say any more.
Jixel didn't hear anyone or anything else moving around inside the shop or upstairs. It didn't seem like the gnome had anyone bound and gagged in a back room or assassins waiting to leap out of the shadows.
Illendur will look up as the gnome describes the kidnapping of the two men, Pardon me, any idea which way they were taken? We're just trying to find the missing men. And was there anything else you remember from that evening?
"That is truly sorrowful. I'm sure my very wealthy patron will be disappointed that I can't find them. Isn't there anything else that you can tell me that might help them? Anything at all?"
Alma then bats her eyes at him.
The gnome considered Ilendur and Arma for a second, clearly thinking things through before leaning forward again. He gestured for them both to come closer. "I saw one of them had a beholder tattoo on his neck. Big black circle with half a dozen lines with circles coming out of it. I didn't recognize any of them, but everybody knows a bunch of them hang around a warehouse on Candle Lane. They don't make much of a secret of it- they've branded their mark right into the door. Just, uh... don't tell them where you got that information, if you please."
Illendur, not being the most adept at finding information, leans into the counter, and makes an exaggerated nod at the gnome. We won't tell them a thing!
He looks at Arma, as if to go rejoin their companions outside. When they get outside he'll let Arma fill in the party as to what they've learned.
Ash, who hadn't found anything interesting about the broken light, listened intently as Illendur and Arma filled them in.
"This sounds like gang business, all right. What are we really getting into? I think we should look up our employer and ask him a few more questions. I don't think any of us want to get on the wrong side of a gang, much less into the middle of a gang war. Why does he actually want to find our target so badly?" Ash glanced around, in case anyone was watching them.
Ash paused, then went over to gather something up out of the gutter. Wiping it off with more sense of hygiene than perhaps most shifters might bother with, he brought it over to show the others.
It was a very fine silver medallion bearing the holy symbol of Olladra, made of a single, enormous black pearl inlaid with white moonstones.
"Looks like something a noble would wear," he commented, tugging at the broken ends of the chain. "Maybe something he might have left behind as a message? But what message?"
Illendur looks at the necklace, What if this fell off when our quarry was kidnapped? Save it, and lets check out this warehouse? The half-elf suggests to his companions.
Jixel was very pleased to see her friends come out of the suspicious looking store, intact and unmolested. Her long jaw hung open a bit as Arma and Illendur told all that they'd discovered from the proprietor.
"Can I ask one thing?" She raised a single clawed finger.
"Can we not just waltzy in to this devilish warehouse hideout? Maybe more than Candles there, yes? We can just hide... and watch? A stakeout?"
In her mind, the ratfolk lass then wondered if she'd have enough snacks to get through a prolonged observatory mission. Thoughts of food were quickly sent into the background then, when Ash nonchalantly picked up a piece of treasure from the gutter.
"Oh my! What does this never happen to me? Just find wealth lying around on the street." She snickered, and drew closer to inspect it with her eyes. "Looks like a nice one, that. Very noble. May I?"
Jixel wanted a closer look. Appreciate the shiny more.
Jixel was very pleased to see her friends come out of the suspicious looking store, intact and unmolested. Her long jaw hung open a bit as Arma and Illendur told all that they'd discovered from the proprietor.
"Can I ask one thing?" She raised a single clawed finger.
"Can we not just waltzy in to this devilish warehouse hideout? Maybe more than Candles there, yes? We can just hide... and watch? A stakeout?"
I suppose you are right, we should look around before we just wind up up to our eyeballs in beholder cultists, wincing at the accidental pun, Illendur grins.
Jixel, were it that easy, we would all be rich! But this is a good clue, and maybe someone will gift it as a reward when we rescue them! Illendur chuckles as the party begins to wander down the streets toward the warehouse.
About halfway back to the Honorable Knight, Candle Lane was a short cut through from the Way of the Dragon to Book Stret. Gloom enveloped the narrow alley, making it dark as a dungeon- and as odorous as one, too. Nearly all the streetlamps were smashed. The only light that pierced the darkness was a faint flickering from down the lane, like a distant candle.
The flickering came from the one streetlamp still intact on Candle Lane. There was a warehouse squatting at the back of an outer yard behind a high fence across from the remaining light, and nothing seemed to be moving at this hour, out on the street or in the yard.
Stopping just out of sight and around the corner, Okay so what's the plan? I'm a terrible scout. Ash, Jixel, Arma? Do any of you want to wander down and look around? Goggh and I should probably stay put for now? Thoughts?
Illendur leans against the wall, idly tapping his finger on his shortsword.
"So I guess none of the rest of you want answers from Vordik." Ash sighed. "I can circle the place. I'll try to be quiet."
He walked over to get out of sight of the party; then his form wavered. With a soft groan of pain, he melted into the shape of a rather large alley cat.
Then he made his way toward the warehouse, wary of notice. He slunk along the fence until he found either a hole large enough to squeeze through, or a place that looked climbable.
beast shape: +2 Dex, +1 natural armor
Ocelot (small cat):
Size Small; Speed 50 ft.; AC +1 natural armor; Attack bite (1d4 plus trip), 2 claws (1d2); Ability Scores Str 12, Dex 21, Con 13, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6; Special Qualities low-light vision, scent.
Ash the ocelot scouted out the ramshackle two-story warehouse, quieter than a mouse. There wasn't much to hear, but the scents were unmistakable. A lot of people had been here recently, and as he sniffed along the outside of the warehouse Ash smelled the unmistakable scent of freshly killed corpses.
There were a few obvious entry points- off the wagon yard there was a normal door, a large warehouse door, and a window visible through the fence, and on the back side of the building were a couple of windows and a fire escape with a door that could lead inside to the second floor.
Illendur shrugs, I don't know Ash, but we were hired to find the guy, not get answers. But I'm sure we'll have that conversation with Vordik when the time comes