"No thanks. I still have more than ten bottles left from your last deliveries. Our patrons are not into that fancy s+**. You can take that box with you and I need no further deliveries of that." Isabella replies with a smile.
"I don't care what you want. Here is your delivery. Pay up." the guy demands.
"No." Isabella replies with a big smile, playing with the silver mug amulet hanging at her neck.
After a long moment staring contest the other thug shrugs and turns to leave.
"I'll give your regards to the boss." He salutes with two fingers, picks up the crate, and follows his companion outside. A short squabble erupts among the four guys, to which the talking guy puts his foot down and then the group and the cart move on.
Menan uses his high intellect to memorize the faces of each man. He notices that Isabella's hands appear ready to cast. Other than that he remains unobserved and well out of the action. Got them. Might as well be...family portraits on the wall of my mind. Will seek them out.
Menan takes that posture right before he casts a spell. We have another one.
"Well. That went surprisingly nonviolent." Isabella comments as the thugs are out of earshot.
"Let's see if some of them come back this evening."
Persephone hands over the gold. "Here is the pay for the wine."
Isabella hands two of the platinum coins back. "Discount for buying in bulk."
We have another one.
Persephone takes the two coins and passes one on to Menan. "Off to Zokar then." she tells the guards.
"I'll go to work now. Tell me later how it went."
Faerveren comes down from the rooms to rent with bed hair. After a loudly yawn she asks "Did I miss something?"
"Nothing, really. Yet."
The guards leave and walk to Zokar's shop.
"Oh, the guards leave. That's after the thugs were here, if we're still in the plan. Yes?"
She too leaves and tries to get ahead of them to reach Zolkar's shop first.
All who walk to the shop make it there in time to arrive before the thugs with the cart and the wine.
Zolkar greets Faerveren and after she introduces the guards he assigns them places in the shop to stand around inconspicuous.
A few minutes later the thugs arrive. There is a knock on the back door.
When opened, the thugs are there with their cart. "Your delivery!" the talky guy greets Zokar.
"Thank you, but no thank you." Zokar replies.
"Aaarrrrgh. You all think you're very clever aren't you?" the thug fumes. "Let's see if you still have that stupid smile on your face tomorrow."
They simply move on with their cart.
"Congratulations. You saved 100 gold. Well, 98 gold - there are still the guards to pay." Faerveren comments.
Back at the pig Arawyn says "This is really boring. I need something to take out my frustration on and that would be you, Menan."
"So be it." He steps outside and draws his staff. "On guard."
[spoiler=initiative]
Arawyn laughs at the feeble attack.
/18-20)
/19-20)
"Ouch. Enough of that. Can you not just self train."
"I can. Be gone with you."
I will accept that so long as there is no more
Menan accepts his punishment and returns to the tap. He will indulge.
Persephone sits at her desk copying the unloading protocol into the warehouse inventory. It is not the most interesting job but if done right the result is very satisfying. If done wrongly then it is the most frustrating thing ever, because you always find things that shouldn't be there and search for things that never were or are long gone.
Finally the thugs come back from their tour. They park the still half full cart in the yard and come in. "It went to s~**. Three of our 'customers' don't want to buy anymore. And fancy hat, had imposters who sold him our wine before we did. The crates are in the cart. And we got only payed for four boxes."
"That is unfortunate." Gorm replies without looking up. "I hope you didn't stir up a fight?"
"Something specific about the imposters?"
"No, of course not. Fancy hat told one of them was a woman who used magic to appear as one of our kind. With a limp."
F!#+. Persephone facepalms herself. Then she quickly pretends that it was because of an error in the bookkeeping.
"Interesting." Gorm takes a key out of his desk drawer, gets up and walks out of the office. He opens the strongbox and takes the money out. "You are dismissed." he tells the thugs.
On his way back in and to his desk the orders Persephone "Put the crates into the warehouse and put them back into the books." He takes a seat and continues with his work.
Persephone does as told. She drags the the crates into the warehouse and stacks tehm on the shelf. She quickly counts the whole stack.
Back inside she updates the books, before she continues with the copy of the copy of yesterdays delivery list.
During the afternoon Gorm leaves the office. He stays away for about an hour.
Then he returns and continues with his desk work.
Once everything is done Persephone puts all the ledgers away, tidies up her desk and goes to Gorm for her pay. Then she leaves.
First thing she walks to The Pig's Whistle to check how it went in the morning. And to get a meal.
"Sorry. I still got no reliable help for the kitchen." Isabella tells and puts an ale in front of Persephone. "I can offer you liquid supper though."
Faerveren joins the fun at The Pig's Whistle too. "I told the guards to stay with Zokar and at the other shop."
"How many wine bottles do you have left?"
The evening moves on, The Pig's Whistle fills and the cheerful atmosphere comes to pass as the usual patrons appear and the music starts. The ale flows plenty and everyone has a good time.
Until the door opens and an ugly guest enters. A small creature with a stocky figure. Fat belly, strong arms, oversized hands and feet, that end in sharp claws. The teeth like an orc but even larger tusks and pointy ears. And all that naked. The creature walks a few steps in and then rips a fart that fills the whole taproom with a nauseating smell.
Those of the bards that are not busy puking into their ale, start encouraging those who want to face that thing.
"Blargh." Faerveren voices while her ale leaves her the wrong way.
The disgusting little creature moves further and claws at one of the bar patrons and wounds the man badly.
"That's a demon, a dretch, who has a cold iron weapon?" someone calls into the room. A perk when one is surrounded by knowledgeable bards.
Persephone manages to not regurgitate her supper for now. Not knowing how long she can keep the last drink down, and not having that cold iron thing, she tries to scare it away.
She casts cause fear on the ugly thing.
Isabella groans. This is so insidiuos. She grabs her amulet in one hand and with the other gestures at the ugly.
A rapier of force appears and attacks.
The force weapon doesn't manage to hit the creature, but it submits to the fear effect. It runs as fast as its short legs allow out of the tavern.
The fart cloud slowly disperses.
Persephone opens some windows to air the room. As everything settles down she calls out. "What was that?"
Isabella calls on Cayden Cailean to heal the wounded.
"I am going to assume the broken Marinelli brother has access to some nasty, nasty S#$%. No problem. I am up to that as soon as I gather my cookies. Got some of my own."
With the worst over Isabella blocks the exit door. "I know some of you can cast prestidigitation. No one leaves before this mess is cleaned up. Persephone get some buckets to pour in the worst of the mess."
Halfway into the kitchen Persephone inquires "Am I getting paid." but then quickly moves through the door to avoid being hit by low flying mugs or such.
With the buckets she visits every table to collect all the mugs contents that no longer contain only ale.