Cerise's smile widens as the Pathfinders speak. "Wonderful! Now, normally the union dictates that I charge..." She pauses to count up the adventurers and the dinosaur. "...a hundred silver for a full day of guiding a group of five or more. But you," she winks at Sadaf, "are such a sweet talker that I think I could make do with only five gold to show you around town - it'll be worth the excuses I'll have to make to get to spend time with such a charming fellow. So, what do you say? Anyplace in particular you're headed, or would you like to see the most famous sights?" She holds out her hand, ready to seal the deal.
|
Sadaf does not smiles and seems a little gritty.
“Well, how could I say no to that. You seem to build a business here and I have been in a similar situation so I want to give you the chance to prove yourself! Be our guide! But if you betray us, then the five gold are the first bitter sweet money that you will have earned on the wrong path and what goes around also comes around!“
He takes out 5 gold and gives it to her.
“We are looking into the disastrous building accidents! Anything that could be related to this is on our tour list!“
Cerise seems a bit confused by Sadaf's proclamation, but she happily pockets the coins nonetheless. "Disastrous building accidents?" she asks. "That's certainly a... unique request. Well, there's the bakery that burned down around the corner and Geoff's warehouse fell down a sinkhole last week and I suppose it's not really an accident, per say, but a house just vanishing in the middle of the night with no sound or trace left behind might also interest you. Right this way!" She leads the group down one of the main thoroughfares, deftly stepping around the shambling figures that walk with single-minded purpose along the streets.
"And the augurs, you say?" the tour guide continues as she beckons the group around a corner. "They're out in the Bottoms - not really around here I'm afraid. But I'd be happy to show you the way there! Well, if your companions agree. Or perhaps after you've looked at the... happy accidents?"
|
Loam isn't about to stray far from her companions in search of more information. She listens to Korum's findings instead. "I wouldn't think much of that sort of occurrence. Admittedly, I don't know the dynamic here, but it seems like a wretched hive. Where would people allow the dead to walk among them and not some nebulous clawed creature?"
"A tripwire, though...that sounds suspect."
|
The Lady Vulpina blinks as a man beelines toward her hawking a pair of earrings, and politely dismisses him ("Fine work, my good man, but I am afraid my ears are unpierced! Moreover, my purse has run remarkably dry of late, and... ah, there you go").
She strokes her chin at news of Maybe Kobolds. "It would behoove us to observe the scene. Let us away!"
"...and that's the bank." Cerise gestures at a dilapidated building taking up an entire block. "Used to be a temple of Abadar, it was, but then one night the neighbors heard a terrible screaming and saw ghostly figures wandering the streets. Anyone who went outside never came back home, they say, and in the morning the temple was deserted!" She drops her voice dramatically as she leans over to Loam, whispering loud enough for all the Pathfinders to hear. "Some folks went inside to see if there were any survivors, but nothing was left inside - no decorations, no bodies, and no gold the bank was holding. Bankrupted quite a few folks in the Stacks, they say, but to this day nobody knows who did it or even what happened." She shivers as if on cue. "Spooky stuff. But that's all the accident buildings I can think of. Anywhere else you wanted to go?"
|
|
Makras berates passers-by for the location of these troll augurs who have the gall to think *they* can predict the future better than *he* can!
[dice=Diplomacy (Gather Info)]1d20+2
Sadaf turns to Makras. "You can be glad that they leave you alone! Look at that guy over there that almost jumped on me and Danduun! But he had a story to tell about dangers that we might face on the Halflight Path ..." he says and points at at a drunk dwarf.
"Aye, I saw somethin' alright!" The smell of stale ale lies thick on this dwarf's breath, overwhelming even Sadaf's relatively insensitive nose as the stranger leans in uncomfortably close to the Pathfinder's face. Danduun has already made a break for safety. "I saw these winged creatures come down, out of the sky, like... birds or somethin'. Then they creep over t' the Halflight Path door an', just open it up, easy as you please, an' go inside! I thought, 'Hey, maybe these blokes were the ones responsible for my shop burning down!' and tried to get a better look." He shudders at the memory. "Wish I 'adn't. They were fleshy and hunched over, but I swear they had claws, like you see on... on... the little pinchy water spiders... crabs! That's the word! An' like... crabs, somethin' 'bout the way they moved just seemed wrong." He takes another swig from his flask as if trying to drown out the memory, and Sadaf takes the opportunity to dart away.
|
|
Vulpina shares what she learned with the class.
"A pair of fellows named Daven and Lodif were bragging about some sort of wall-bypassing device that came into their possession, it would seem, and then a break-in was attempted in Ankar-Te. Horus Ilaktya was namedropped, even," she says, stroking her chin. "As fair a lead as any, I would say."
"Ah... so, where to exactly?" Cerise's smile looks perfectly natural as she watches the Pathfinders converse.
Cerise nods, clearly too much of a professional to question the group's... exotic tastes. "Right this way then! We're heading into the Warren district, home of the Gap and the Meatgate market. It's called the Gap because, well..." she grins apologetically. "And the Meatmarket is where most merchants who can't afford stalls in the Downmarket sell their wares. Most of the butchers end up out there because the Downmarket charges higher fees from them on account of the smell."
After a short walk, Cerise stops and points at a run-down shack with a door that looks like it's been taken from a barn and shoved into place. "There we are - Nuregore is one of the best augers in town!" she announces proudly. "Don't be afraid - she doesn't bite." Stepping up to the door, the guide knocks three times in rapid succession before bowing and letting the Pathfinders take center stage.
Heavy footfalls inside the hut shake the door slightly before a large green hand the size of Loam's head pushes it open. A gnarled face covered in warts and knobs glares at the group from behind strands of greasy matted black hair. "Eh?" she asks, face puckered as if she'd just finished eating a lemon. "Who're you? Whadaya want?"
|
|
"Cerise, you are doing an okay job! Right Makras??" and it sounds as if this is a lot of praise coming from Sadaf who is now looking at Makras with a grin.
"Ahhh, I am really enjoying these smells here!" he says when they arrive at Nuregore!"[/b] when they arrive at the hut.
When the lady appears he steps forward.
"Ahh, we are to get your services! We are investigating a problem in the Ankar-Te district. There are reports of property damage in the district and we need to determine the cause of this damage and eliminate any threat to Ankar-Te’s wellbeing, even should it take us beneath the city and into the vaults. Can you help us with your wisdom?!?" Sadaf asks.
|
|
The paladin nods his head in greeting. "Please, forgive our brusqueness. I am Korum. My allies and I are with The Pathfinder Society. As my friend has said, we have been commissioned to find answers to the recent vandalism and destruction. We came here in the hopes you could provide some much-needed insight. Have you time to aid our investigation?"
"Do I have the time. Pah! The question is if you have the coin. Woman's gotta eat, after all." Nuregore spits, then pushes the door further open. "Get in here and tell me what you're looking for - the more details, the better." She grins, yellow teeth glistening in the sunlight that barely penetrates the gloomy interior of her hut. "I've had too many customers come back angry with claims of 'faulty prophecies' after giving me nothing to focus my visions on to make that mistake again. Much like they won't be making that mistake again either."
|
|
"Worry not, we'll pay. No doubt you've heard tell of damages to the Ankar-Te district recently? A higher-up there, Horus Ilaktya, has sent us to investigate, and named your organization as a good source." Loam reiterates the promise of coin. "Just because it could thusly be seen as civic duty doesn't mean you'll be going hungry."
"Hopefully I can hear more of your craft, it sounds most interesting. But for now, we've heard of at least one potential suspect duo..." The ratfolk turns to the team, bidding them elaborate to better focus the magic.
"Yes yes, less bootlicking and more reporting," Nuregore grumbles. "There's a lot of futures out there, you know. Or you don't. Whatever." She pauses to spit. "The point is that the more you can narrow down what you're looking for, the less work I have to do. The less work I do, the less coin I charge for the work." She fixes the Pathfinders with a large squinty glare. "So start talking or quit wasting my time."
"So you know nothing except that a building's been destroyed? Useless!" Nuregore spits again, this time more forcefully. "That means a lot of work on my end. Five hundred pieces of gold is your price for that 'oh so helpful hint' to work with. Unless you know more about what's been going on around town that might be related, better start counting your coins." She glowers at the Pathfinders.
|
|
Vulpina had been quiet, up until now.
Divination was always something she knew to be wary of. Half of them were frauds, and the half that knew things they shouldn't were dangerous to her.
But no one was stepping forth with information.
"A question for you, first. We have a fair amount of information, but we are not entirely certain what pertains to the matter at hand and that which is merely incidental. Would irrelevant information be likely to throw your divinations off the trail, or would you be able to simply determine which are relevant and discard the rest?"
"Better get selling then - I hear there's a sale of ugly wenches tomorrow in the Downmarket." The troll laughs, globules of spit flying from her mouth in careless arcs. "I'll give you a fifty gold divination - I predict you'll be leaving out that door one way or another."
"A question for you, first. We have a fair amount of information, but we are not entirely certain what pertains to the matter at hand and that which is merely incidental. Would irrelevant information be likely to throw your divinations off the trail, or would you be able to simply determine which are relevant and discard the rest?"
"Now there's a lady who likes her meat fresh," Nuregore answers with an approving (if still sour) look. "Took you long enough to speak up. No, you're here for my services to separate the bone from the gristle. Which costs money!" She glowers at Sadaf before returning her gaze to the swashbuckler. "So start talking."
|
|
We have little information that was not simply collected on the street, or I would not be so willing to divulge it, considers Vulpina.
"We have heard that a pair named Daven and Lodif were bragging of some contraption they could use for breaking through walls; another man spoke of tripwires and footprints not unlike a kobold's; and words of some sort of... flying crabs, perhaps, who were able to enter the Halflight Path with no difficulty."
"My greatest suspicion is of course on the first two, but we are sorely lacking in information beyond their monikers. If these names do in fact belong to some sort of crustaceous kobolds, however, that would fit quite conveniently."
"Hmm." Nuregore's sour expression doesn't change as she processes the information. After a minute of thought, she turns back to Sadaf. "Now that's how you negotiate a price down. One hundred pieces of gold and we'll do your divination. Or is your mother still on the auction block?" She grins wickedly.
|
|
Sadaf seems to be a little overwhelmed.
“Ehh ... well ... yes ... Ehh ... I mean no! Not my mother!“
He looks at Vulpina with some jealousy but then nods.
“Yes, yes, 100 gold. Here ... let me count!“ he says and after being sure that he is not overpaying, he hands over the money.
“I will send you the bill after the mission and I’ll charge no interest!“ he says chuckling to Vulpina and then looks at the others.
“So start lady troll!“
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Nuregore counts out the coins eagerly before flashing her large yellow teeth at the dwarf. "There we go - now was that so hard?" Beckoning everyone inside the dimly-lit hovel, she studies the Pathfinders intently for a few minutes.
“I can tell you something of where you should go,” she says at last. Kneeling on the ground, she draws a long knife from her belt and, with a powerful swipe, slices the blade across her belly. Carefully, she reaches inside her abdomen and draws forth her glistening internal organs, lifting them to her eye level. She does not respond to the powerful odor that wells forth, and instead studies her intestines intently. The troll frowns and her eyes narrow. She sets her knife and intestines on the ground then reaches deeper into her abdomen, finally drawing out her stomach. She palpates it gently as if feeling for something. “The walls are weak and it crumbles easily, the place you seek. A place beneath and below, yet there is much light.” A rumbling groan originates from her stomach, the gurgle startlingly loud. Nuregore raises her eyebrows and looks at the group. “It falls apart. Beware.”
With careful skill, Nuregore shoves her innards back and presses the skin together. Her greenish hide knits together quickly and she stands. “Those are the visions I see. And no,” she holds up a hand, "I will not do another reading because you didn't like the results of the first one, nor will I stand here and offer you cryptic advice for you to misinterpret before coming back here to whine and wail on my doorstep. So off with you - unless you want to stay and get closer to the prophecy? The effort of the divination has made me quite..." She leans in close, large head and long teeth towering over even Korum's head. "...hungry."