Bertram watches Jet scrabble free of the rope, then turns his attention to the dead clambering down the stairs above him. He doesn't favor his odds if they begin dropping down on him. Instead, he makes a quick jump to a nearby stack, neatly catching his balance as he lands and quickly scanning the room for some way to help.
Arrows don't work on shadows. The dead then. I'll have to trust Hokey and Hydrand to handle themselves. Andras can protect Jet.
Bertram knocks an arrow and sets his sights to the corpses at the top of the stairs.
Andras swings his sword at where Hydrand charged at the shadowy figure, but just meets air. Now holding two blades, transformed again, he looks up to where the dead are coming from.
Urgh. Give me something I can see!
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The wicked pool of shadows on the ground next to Hydrand lashes at him with a tendril; it attaches to him just like one of the ropes, but this time it burns his body, and what's more, it burns into his soul.
Hydrand feels the oily influence of the shadow-creature's darkness slither through him, but with a mental reflex, he shakes away any of the harsh effects. He could still feel the creature's taint lain on him, but he quickly put it out of his mind and refocused on the battle at hand.
When the undead came into view, Awful cries out in frustration.
"What the- WHY ARE THEY ALL EVEN HERE!?"
Pulling more parts from his bag, Awful begins angrily fitting them together in the shape of a bulbous rifle. He fills it with a red energy that surges through it, collects at the end, and ignites a pilot light.
"I will burn this whole warehouse down, you pieces of shit! AHHH!"
Bertram's arrow sticks into the stairs.
Andras tries to attack the invisible shadow again and misses.
Awful gets frustrated. He summons an object no one has ever seen before, some sort of mechanical contraption with a long barrel and a tank on his back. He moves to the bottom of the stairs and aims upwards. From the barrel, fire spits out. The fire engulfes the first four zombies coming down the steps, and even causes the wooden stairs to start to glow, but they do not catch on fire.
The zombies shuffle down the stairs, the first two reaching Awful while the rest step off the side of the stairs and shuffle towards others in the group.
The two zombies swing their fists wildly, but Awful is easily able to keep out of their way. Behind them, five more zombies start coming down the steps.
Two more ropes fire out!
One rope attaches to Awful, the second misses Hokey by a long shot.
Damage Counter
Z1: 8
Z2: 8
Z3: 4
Z4: 8
Z5: 4
Shadow 1 (dark): 6
Shadow 2 (light): 13
Rope Counter:
Hydrand 1
Awful 1
Ropes
1: You are secured to a rope and cannot move out of its range.
2: You are Immobilized and have 1 bane on attacks.
3: You are Immobilized and defenseless and have 2 banes on all attack and challenge rolls.
4: you are Immobilized, defenseless, have two banes on all rolls, and cannot use actions.
With one swift movement, Andras combines his two blades into one, and wielding it in both hands, drives down into the space where Hydrand had barrelled into ... something.
This time his sword meets some resistance, and he keeps pushing down into the darkness, twisting the blade as he goes.
Got you now, you filth.
Hydrand watched Andras pierce the shadow from behind his shield and decided he would take the chance to break the remaining rope. He put his foot down on the slack of rope sagged on the floor between him and the shadow, and leaned back from it to snap it like the last one.
Between trying to keep a shield up between him and the shadow-thing and not having the same leverage with the rope not being taught, it isn't quite enough to snap the strands of rope like he did with the last one.
Ohhhhhkay, I guess I'll give it another go.
But before he does, he decides to glance around his shield and get a glance or two in around the rest of the room to take stock of the situation. He turns his head just in time to see an enormous flare of magical energy crafted into fire carve up the stairs and all the undead occupying them.
"Whoa, Awful, impressive! Awfully impressive, hah!"
He quips in an attempt at levity given the disturbing nature of the situation they'd found themselves in so suddenly after the comedy that was unlocking the door.
The Bolt Thrower fires a bolt at the Shadow attacking Hokey, and the shadow melts into nothingness right in front of her.
Andras gets a solid hit on the Shadow, but unfortunately its insubstantial form disperses some of the force.
Hydrand tries to rip off the last of his bindings, but fails to do so.
The invisible shadow lashes out in uncontrolled anger at Andras, swiping back at him from its position on the floor.
Fast Turn Damage Counter
Shadow 1 (dark) 11
Shadow 2 (light) - defeated
Z1: 8
Z2: 8
Z3: 4
Z4: 8
Z5: 4
Rope Counter:
Hydrand 1
Awful 1
Ropes
1: You are secured to a rope and cannot move out of its range.
2: You are Immobilized and have 1 bane on attacks.
3: You are Immobilized and defenseless and have 2 banes on all attack and challenge rolls.
4: you are Immobilized, defenseless, have two banes on all rolls, and cannot use actions.
[ooc]Slow turns are up![ooc]
Andras feels the shadow swipe at him, and by some miracle manages to avoid the slashing claws, wind rushing by his head as they miss him by an inch.
Awful pulls the pearly white blade from its sheath reaches down and cuts the rope that grabbed him.
"Hydrand, stop messing around and free yourself."
He demands of the clockwork, sliding the weapon toward him.
Hokey runs up to the Shadow and tries to drive a fistful of sunlight into its back. Unfortunately, the Shadown seems to be able to sense the sunlight and impossibly bends to dodge the attack. It hisses at her, and she brings up her shield and bolsters her protective barrier.
Bertram jumps down from the stack to join Awful at the base of the stairs. His free hand pulls the orb hanging from his hip by leather straps and Bertram mutters a few words while Awful cuts himself free. Dirt and stone collect near Bertram into rocky shards, then hurl themselves at the zombies.
Awful releases himself from the rope, while Bertram creates rocky shards and tears the zombies to pieces. Congealed blood and rotten flesh fall upon the steps, making them difficult to move up (the stairs are now difficult terrain!).
Hokey tries to light up the last Shadow, but misses!
Nothing happens with the Shadow, which makes you suspicious.
Five more zombies start shuffling down the steps, even slower this time due to the difficulty moving. They make it about halfway down the stairs. You do not hear any additional zombies behind them.
Two more ropes fire out from the boats at Andras and Hokey.
Fast Turn Damage Counter
Shadow 1 (dark) 11
Shadow 2 (light) - defeated
Z6:
Z7:
Z8:
Z9:
Z10:
Rope Counter:
Hydrand 1
Andras 1
Hokey 1
Ropes
1: You are secured to a rope and cannot move out of its range.
2: You are Immobilized and have 1 bane on attacks.
3: You are Immobilized and defenseless and have 2 banes on all attack and challenge rolls.
4: you are Immobilized, defenseless, have two banes on all rolls, and cannot use actions.
Andras transforms his blades, crossing them and going for another vicious slice on the Shadow, but there's nothing but thin air again.
Damn thing. Hopefully the others can get it...
Hokey attempts to shoot more precise magic at the Shadow, having just missed her previous attack. The silver mote flashes brilliantly before it implodes, sending a surge of magical energy through Hokey's body. She blacks out for a second and regains consciousness, albeit slower and disoriented.
"Ugh, ya got me, I'm just dallying intentionally over here."
Hydrand was beginning to think that banter was a healthy way to take the edge off from the existential dread of fighting for one's life.
He leans down and picks up the dag--
His head cocks to the side as if struck by a thrown rock.
So this dagger has an immense power and will serve me so long as I kill a helpless... creature...
Hydrand's mind is briefly captive to the thought and he glances around for an ideal target. His gaze tracks to his nearest companions. It glasses over Hokey, between his personal feelings and the understanding that she'd be one hard target to crack, she isn't even an option... And then it lands on Andras.
He's already hurt, I could ... Wow. So that's what that's like.
--ger, immediately applying it to the already-taught rope.
One quick push-pull of the ornate implement and the rope snicker-snacks apart. Hydrand is free.
He maintains his defensive stance against the shadow creature laying in a pool of darkness at his feet, but his thoughts wander to the dagger. He can feel the writhing wrath of the thing as an almost physical sensation crawling up his arm and into his mind. He feels the pull of the thing, and suddenly, his mind goes to Awful.
We'll... Need to talk. Later.
He whips the blade in a quick circle and prepares for whatever the shadow had in store.
"HEH, HEH, HEH, HEH!!!"
Awful bellows with laughter as he blankets the numerous undead with another layer of toasty fire.
The blast of fire is impressive, but his ally's wild delight in the carnage is somewhat disconcerting. Still, Bertram couldn't argue with the results!
"...You're getting weirder, Awful."
Bertram backs away from the approaching horde as it shambles down the ruined stairs. He slips the orb back into the straps at his hip as he moves and returns to the bow. A fresh arrow flies past Awful's cackling head toward the zombies.
Boons: Trickery
The undead make for easy targets. Bertram fires off a second shot at a different zombie before ducking away.
That should soften them up. Awful can take care of the rest with fire. Besides, I'm low on arrows.
He hurries over to his allies struggling against the animated ropes. Hydrand is already in the process of cutting himself free, so the Dwarf hurries toward Andras who is struggling against the shadows.
"I'm comin' Andras, we'll get you cut free."
The bolt thrower fires a bolt into the lead zombie.
PCs:
Andras swings a vicious attack at where the shadow was, but there is nothing there. Hokey likewise tries to target it with a spell, but it seems to have gone from where it was. The magic backfires and Hokey ends up stunned.
Hydrand finally cuts the last rope on him.
Awful sprays more fire up the stairs, while Bertram takes two arrow shots, dropping two of the zombies.
The burning zombies shuffle the rest of the way down the steps and attack Awful.
Rope Counter:
Andras 1
Awful 1
Hokey 1
Ropes
1: You are secured to a rope and cannot move out of its range.
2: You are Immobilized and have 1 bane on attacks.
3: You are Immobilized and defenseless and have 2 banes on all attack and challenge rolls.
4: you are Immobilized, defenseless, have two banes on all rolls, and cannot use actions.
Once Awful fires the bolt thrower, then everyone is up!
One of the three zombies lands a fist on the awful little man; bludgeoning him with its hard club-like rotten limb.
Ropes:
Awful and Jet
Shadow 1 (dark) 11
Z6: dead
Z7: dead
Z8: 2
Z9: 2
Z10: 5
Andras cuts the rope tying him down and keeps his eyes peeled for the shadow, whirling his blades defensively.
Hokey slowly recovers from her brief lapse in consciousness and finds no Shadow in front of her! She focuses on slipping out of the rope with no visible target in sight. She also fishes a torch out of her pack.
"Jet! Are you okay? Shadow's gone"
Now free, he looks to his adjacent compatriots and sees Hokey fighting back wild magic again. It's not going well.
Well... She's looking mighty vulnerable. Mmmm...
He churns the word out with gutteral fury, again pushing away the invasive thoughts from the awful implement. He's not sure he could trust himself to wield it safely near enough to her to cut her free, so he instead opts to put his back to her to keep her safe from other threats... And himself.
He no more quickly began to shift to defend her than she comes to and starts shouting for Jet as she nabs a torch from her pack. Hydrand looks about to do a head count and check that nobody's been perforated.
He gazes around the room but can't focus his attention away from his invasive thoughts enough for his optical input to make it to his brain for processing.
"Awful, can you take this thing back already?"
He waits for a good opportunity to toss it back to his ethically questionable compatriot.
"Well, you recently died. Care to make it a new habit?"
Awful sneers at Bertram. Leaving himself open to getting scratched by the undead.
"Hydrand! The rope!" He shouts, then unleashes another torrent of fire.
Bertram pays Awful's quip no mind. Andras frees himself with his blade, and Bertram shifts his focus to Hokey. He pulls the dagger from his hip and prepares to sever the rope binding her.
"Snap out of it, Hokey, theres still one left."
Awful blasts the three zombies with fire, incinerating two of them. One still stands, trying to grab and naw at Awful.
Meanwhile, Bertram cuts the rope on Hokey, Andras frees himself, and Hydrand searches in vain for the missing Shadow.
Suddenly, the shadow rockets up from underneath the ground, having dropped down to get away from the attacks. It strikes at Hokey as it flies past and heads towards the rafters!
The shadow is quickly moving past you! It's still invisible, but if you succeed on a perception challenge roll (no banes) you may take a free attack!
Hydrand, back to Hokey, manages to shake the invasive pleading from the knife long enough to spot the shadow as it congeals from the floor.
And just within my reach, too.
"THERE, HYAH"
Hydrand shouts as he spots it and drives the Savage Ornament directly into the shadow.
The bolt thrower finishes odd the last zombie.
= Awful, Hydrand
Bertram pull his string back for a last shot at the rising shadow with his bow, hoping to kill it off before it can vanish once more.
"No you don't, you slippery monster."
Reacting slightly too slowly, Andras spots the shadow rising up through the warehouse, heading towards the gloom of the rafters. In the flickering light of Awful’s flames, he can see it clearly.
I won’t let you get away.
Andras runs at the nearest boat, pushing off the side and leaping into the air, combining his blades into one and lunging at the flying shadow, stabbing it deep into its side. He hangs on with both hands as it rips and tears through the incorporeal being, gravity pulling him down towards the floor. He lands heavily, but the resistance of the being arrests his fall just enough that it leaves no major injuries.
Hokey recovers from her daze and looks up confusedly just in time to narrowly dodge a parting swipe from the Shadow as it tries to escape back into the rafters. She reflexively chases after the Shadow and realizes the rope tying her is gone. Seeing a knife in Bertram's hand, she nods in thanks as she continues to run to the bow she dropped earlier.
She notches her bow with a quick arrow and fires true, and grabs her amulet just before the golden mote sends a familiar flash of light streaking towards the Shadow and causing it to glow gently. She then takes another step
"It's lit, get'em boys! ...Except you, Jet. Keep staying safe, you're doing well."
[Ooc]Def 15 for this round
Andras leaps in the air for a double strike, destroying the final shadow. The ropes fall limp as it does, and everything around you becomes calm.
Bertram readies another shot and scours the darkness of the warehouse for another threat. No attack comes. There is only the smell of the water and creaking of wood. He lowers his bow.
"I think that's all of them for now. What are undead doing here? Arent they supposed to be in the desolation?" His allies have some injuries, but seem to be in fighting condition.
The Dawrfs starts to pick through the bodies, collecting unbroken arrows and searching for clues.
There ought to be some indication if these are Thibad's men. What the hell happened on that island?
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"Hoo, what a thrust!" Hydrand takes a brief step and kneels to accompany Andras as he rises to his feet. It wasn't a long journey from ceiling to floor, but you could hurt an ankle from less. With Andras clearly unhurt, Hydrand rises as well.
Without notice, his right hand becomes empty.
Blessedly, Hydrand thinks to himself.
His mind almost immediately clear from the extrasensory communications from the ornament, Hydrand gives the area a thorough scan.
Hokey's cut free, good. Everyone appears to be ok. No enemies, either... He sees Bertram scanning the room as well and nods at him when their eyes meet. Neither had seen any remaining danger.
He puts a hand to his chest, glad he can still feel Hokey's magic there. He moves over to Awful, who had just retrieved his favorite knife in Eldritch fashion.
"Here, allow me." Hydrand grabs the rope remaining attached to Awful, now limp, and attempts to rip it between his hands.
The rope doesn't budge, and Hydrand does his best to preserve his dignity by subtly transitioning from trying to break the rope to holding it out for Awful to cut.
Seeing Andras finish off the last Shadow, Hokey gently releases her hold on the bowstring and stores her bow and arrow back into her quiver. She moves over to Bertram and nods her head approvingly.
"Nice shooting, dead-eyes. I can see you've been honing your skills. Here are a few arrows. Thanks for your help earlier."
Hokey continues to check on Jet and ensures he's okay before moving over to the window to see if their scuffle had roused any curiosities. She sees no one paying any attention to anything, other than themselves.
That's so weird. No one was even the least bit curious about all the noise? Also, where are all the children? This ritual sacrifice stuff...and no children...better keep a closer eye on Jet.
"Andras, have you noticed there are no children around? Might want to keep a sharp eye on Jet. Something weird is going on here in this town. Looks like no more guests are running up to the warehouse. I'll go check upstairs."
Hokey shivers slightly and pulls her coat at bit tighter as she catches a glimpse of the poor youth. She moves up the stairs with her shield out and SGD up, ready to cast a spell the moment anything jumps out at her.
I did notice that too. Jet, it’s safe, you can come out now. Remember to not look at the man in the corner too closely. This place is weird. What are undead doing here?
Andras begins checking the corpse, the remains of the enemies, and peeking into boxes and rooms, trying to find any indication of how these things came to be in this warehouse.
I don’t like this place one bit. Let’s find something useful, quickly.
"Thanks, Hokey." Bertram happily accepts and adds the free ammunition to his quiver. He scrounges up a couple of arrows from the corpses as well before turning his attention to carefully searching the bodies.
"Don't forget the crows. There must be hundreds of them here. Everyone in town keeps to themselves too, like they know something is wrong. Hiding from it."
Upstairs is a large barracks for the workers. It's lined with beds on either side, with a privy and a kitchen and some tables for dining or playing cards or whatnot.
Hokey knocks on the doorframe and says "Room service!" in a loud, assertive voice and quickly scours the room for any movement. Finding nothing but an empty room, she relaxes her guard.
"Seems clear now." she reports down to the group. "I'm gonna sweep this place for any clues. Hydrand, could you get up here and help me puzzle this together? We need to know what we brought Je- ourselves into."
Hokey grabs a torch and lights it up, holding it for Hydrand, and anyone else who joined in the investigation upstairs, to better see. Maybe also due to the Shadows they had just encountered.
Heading upstairs, Andras looks around, trying to find any clues as to what happened. The tables were still set for dinner, food partially eaten. It looks like whatever happened to the folks upstairs, and presumably what turned them into zombies, happened mid-meal and fairly quickly.
Tables and chairs lie strewn across the floor, clearly displaced in some kind of a struggle.
Most unusual. I wonder what happened... Looks like these people got caught by surprise. We better be on our guard, so that we don't join them.
Andras takes a closer look at the plates.
Something in the food perhaps?
Hydrand enters the room after Hokey, moving to her side and moving his brain to a more detective stance.
"Ready for puzzling, Hokey."
He slips forward into the room towards the obvious mess of a gathering cut short. He stays near her for the torchlight, and so that their eyes are touching everything at roughly the same time. He knew she had a better grasp of the arcane than he had now, and that would be invaluable in an investigation.
"Alright, Hoke, let's see what we see..."
He says it almost to himself as his clinical detachment kicks in; the words almost not making it all the way to his lips.
From what you can tell, something happened in the middle of dinner to the folks who work and live here. A fight broke out; plates and food were knocked to the floor. There's evidence of a mass slaughter.
Then, at some point, someone cast necromantic magic and raised the dead.
This all may or may not be connected to the strange Shadow that was seen downstairs. Shadows are typically souls stained with corruption that escape Hell to reek havoc on the living. Was this shadow one summoned at the same time the undead were raised? Or did it come here before or after?
As you search the bodies, you find 21 shillings and 10 copper. There's old clothing from the workers in chests, but anything they're wearing has been ruined. You find a few knives and daggers that may be if use. Downstairs, with the guy tied up and tortured, you find his saber. His clothing and armor are ruined. He also has a strange round container with a short string leading out the top, as of it were a candle wick sticking out. Awful's experience with Technomancy and alchemy recognize is as a Bomb (see Demon Lord's Companion). Nothis else here is of much value or use.
Andras gathers up a couple of extra daggers from the bodies.
You can never have too many knives.
Looks like this lead's gone somewhat cold, if even Hydrand can't make out any further clues. You said Thibad's men went looking for an island, and were exploring the shoreline? We should ask around town, and check the beach.
Andras looks at Bertram.
You and I are probably the least... ahem... 'exotic' of the group. We'll get the least suspicion. Shall we ask around? And let the others check the beach. We can meet up at the docks, in say an hour and a half?
Hokey checks the belongings upstairs and gives everything a quick check. She and Andras come up with 21 silver shillings and 10 copper, which she suggests to Andras to split 4 silver and 2 copper each, with the remainder going to Jet's education. They also find a few bits and pieces, which Andras and Hydrand claim.
After Hydrand wraps up figuring out what might've happened in the room above, they all head downstairs to rejoin Awful and Bertram. Hokey suggests Bertram take the bomb, citing his great aim in this recent fight, and claims the saber of the tortured man, for some melee protection, and some oiled rope, as hers was likely to spoil in this salty breeze.
I'll see if I can see to some revenge for you. If you're deemed to be innocent. Well, innocent enough. she swears to the aggrieved before her.
As they regroup and discuss next steps, Jet innocently asks why they don't follow the next lead they heard from Bertram: the docks where a group of outsiders might've departed from. Hokey exclaims in surprise and joy as she tousles Jet's hair and gives him a firm pat on the back. With pride in her eyes, Hokey says, "You're already learning to think about and apply the facts you've heard. Great thinking, Jet!"
The group quickly decides that Bertram and Andras are their best representatives to follow-up at the docks, and everyone else agrees to explore travel arrangements and they would all meet back a couple hours later at the hotel.
Awful stares at Hydrand holding the rope aloft, arms folded, face grinning. However, this grin is one that expresses indignation. He breaks his silence quicker than normal and speaks curtly.
"Allow you to what, hold the rope out like a wandought? You want it cut now that you haven't got anything to cut it with... Just shove off then!"
Awful awkwardly shakes his leg free of the rope, Regaining his balance he raises his flamethrower into the air and slams it on the ground. It reverts back into vague scraps of metal with a hollow crash and he begins to collect them into his pouch.
He remains downstairs and busies himself with the blood eagle display. Awful spots the man's belongings and inspects the bomb, setting it aside to show the others. Not as a courtesy, but to ensure that no one inadvertently blows the group to bits.
Hokey, Hydrand, and Awful head into the meager town. The crows still purch on nearly every surface, cawing. The day still feels like morning as the sun is still low in the sky, though now it seems to be over in that direction rather than where it was before.
The closest thing to a shop you can find is a small shack that sells fishing bait and other fishing equipment. They do have some dice to sell, but not much else for what Hokey was interested in.
When the topic of a ferry comes up, the strange man - who keeps picking up His long hair as if he is trying to make it stand straight up - says, Ain't no ferry b'n here fer months. Pepl don' come roun here no mo. You's as many pepl I seen in as many months, besides them fellers who was here a while back.
Someone brings up wanting to speak to the mayor, and the bait seller says, Ain't no mayor neither. You'd want to talk to High Priests Derwas if'n you want to talk to som'n who cares.
----------
Andras, Bertram, and Jet head off towards the docks, which turns out to be a single dock with a couple of row boats roped to it. It looks like there used to be a larger dock over there, but it's mostly destroyed - likely from a large storm within the past year or two. There's currently no one around. You suspect it would be easy enough to simply take one of the boats and be off, and no one would know it was you.
"Alright, thank you. I'll go let Derwas know, then. Hope things turn around for you and this town." Hokey says as she grabs her bits and dice. She turns around and leaves with Hydrand and Awful when they're ready. Hokey coughs a bit when she took in the briny ocean-side air, complete with a faint scent of rot.
"Anything you guys wanted to do before we headed back to regroup? We might just have enough time to talk to the Priest, but I'd rather discuss that with Bertram, since this is his cousin."
----------
Once regrouped, Hokey will let Andras, Bertram and Jet know about the High Priest and her inclination to let him know that the warehouse was cleared.
"Just in case there's a connection to...Thibald, was it? And, who knows, they might just give us a boat in gratitude." she chuckles dryly.
Bertram pockets the coin the group divided between themselves.
Better enjoy it while I can. I probably wont have any money after I pay everyone else for the work in finding Thibad.
"Good point, Andras. At least we blend in a bit more than Hydrand or Hokey. Let's go before the sun sets entirely. If theres one shadow, who knows is there are more?"
He gives an uneasy shake at the possibility. This town could have been devoured in the night before they even knew what was killing them.
What happens when a thing like that spreads? Is it like a plague?
Bertram does his best to put it from his mind.
________________
"I'm not saying he isnt useful, Awful just seems a little... off? Its disconcerting sometimes. Scary occasionally. I've never met a man who likes the smell of burning-
Bertram's musing cut short as he and Andras arrive on the docks. He glances out over the empty wood and water.
"This seem right to you? A fishing village that doesnt fish?"
He looks between the moored boats.
"We could borrow one for a night. Leave a few shillings behind for the owner. They dont look to be using them. The guards might even give us a pass after we cleared out the warehouse."
Andras laughs.
Not everyone can be raised properly like us, Bert. I've known the boy for years, and 'off' is a very kind description. He's deranged. But so long as there's other people to stab, we're safe, bar some 'harmless' pranks.
He listens to Bertram's comments.
We can leave some coin if we do... ahem... borrow one, but I'd be more interested to know why they don't fish. No one here looks like they're particularly well-fed.
He shrugs.
Where do the working folk gather? Is there a church? I guess we can always try the tavern again. I'd prefer to ask around a little, even if it would make us suspicious if one boat were to go missing. Perhaps we can even buy one legitimately.
"Not one for religion myself, but folks gather around charlatans all the time. A church is a good idea, Andras. Anywhere with alcohol draws people too. Hokey mentioned a carpenter as well, someone has to keep the boats repaired. Let's ask about these crows as well. They're making me nervous."