A preliminary investigation of the building during the day reveals nothing out of the ordinary—the tavern truly looks abandoned, and bears no signs of having been used recently.
Returning at night however..
You note what appears to be the dim light of a hooded lantern inside the tavern.
What are you doing?
"Abandon it is not. The hooded lantern within tells us that." She motions toward the light that can just be seen within.
"Kill all but one. Then ask the questions we need. These are people who are used to taking others by force and selling them. They won't answer questions unless we empty our pockets of all of our coin or are at a position of extreme disadvantage. And I, for one, am not in the mood to go broke begging these scum." Gul responded.
"Should we attack from within, or ambush them out here? From the inside, we may be able to control how many we take on, but that also allows for them to retreat without us following them."
"In the inside also means that we won't be seen from those on the streets. And we only need to take one of them alive." Gul reasoned.
"That makes sense to me. Shall we go have a drink, then?"
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Elena looks a bit uncomfortable at the plan shaping up to be wholesale slaughter, even of those with the vilest of professions. But she swallows once audibly and steels herself. The world would be a more beautiful place the less slavers there were, right? Neither they nor their victims would likely ever contribute much to the arts...
"Agreed. I assume you take point then, Axton? Your magnificent mustache would blind anyone from our real intentions!"
"Is that right, though? Would lady Shelyn weigh heavier the second chance to those fallen to evil or the freedom and rejoicement of their now and future captives...?"
With a sigh Gul walked up to the door and checked to see if it was locked. If not, she was more than ready to just walk right in.
Grom lets the others create the plan, with no interference. When an agreement seems to be reached, he tries to find a good spot inside the place from where to sneak in the slavers when they come.
"Now we must stay quite for a while" he says, talking to a small animal in his hands.
The door is not locked, aside from the light it is silent and dark inside the tavern.
What now?
Umazura calls upon some magic to increase her awareness.
"If we must resort to violence then so be it. But let us not go on a killing spree just to be killing. And I also have no desire to empty my pockets either and shan't. I believe Elena has the right of it. Let us attempt to talk our way in first and whatever happens after that... happens. But let us at least attempt to see what we can learn through diplomacy first, if anything."
She then heads to the door after Gul. "Please, Gul, all I ask is no killing unless provoked. Look at it this way, if they are as bad as we perceive, then odds are they will bring battle upon themselves, will they not? More than likely any 'talking' we do will amount to nothing; but at least let it play itself out. Just asking for a little bit of time is all, nothing more."
Turing her attention to the door, she looks to make sure everyone is in place before resting her hand upon the door handle and turning it, opening the door slowly and peering in.
You can't see anything peering in the door. Only a ball of light bobbing in midair?
Dancing lights.
What are you doing now?
Leaning back out a moment, "I do not see anyone. Only a ball of light that appears to be hovering in midair." Pulling out her blade, she moves in and looks around.
Umazura steps in cautiously and easily sees the man hiding by the corner. He's a thin man with a weak chin and a ratty, self-inflicted haircut. He wears once-fine noble’s clothing and carries a wickedly curved dagger.
He seems to be waiting for the group to enter the tavern.
What are you doing now?
Gul walked in, her pata-blade unsheathed. In the dim light she loomed over the man. While not as large as Grom, she was still of rather substantial size, made doubly so by the blade attached to her right hand. Looking at the thin man, she growled "We can do this the easy way, or the fun way. My friends here have some questions to ask. If you don't answer them, then I get to do my job. Either way wakes for me." She finished, her eyes locking with his.
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"Well... looks like things are going to get violent really quickly, despite Uma's suggestions otherwise," Elena thinks, as she readjusts her grip on her spear to be immediately useable. It only took one cry out for help for this to turn into a bloodbath here and now!
But by all of Shelyn's grace, if Gul wasn't threatening though! Maybe there was a chance?
Axton stayed by the door for a moment to see if he could see anyone following them.
He turns and walks towards the (hopefully intimidated) man. He gives his mustache a quick twirl before he speaks.
"Hello. Nice doublet. Now, we are looking for someone who may be staying with your employers. All we want is to find out where they are and how to collect them. That's it! That's all we need! If you can tell us quickly and without hassle, nobody needs to know you were involved, and there can be a nice gift for you before we leave."
As Gul & Axton move closer the ratty man squeaks in fright and cast a spell on the three inside the tavern. A vivid cone of clashing colors spray from his hand and hit them
Color Spray.
All three blink for a second then ignore the spell. Seeing this the man squeals in terror, wets himself, drops his dagger, falling to his kness and begging, "Don't kill me! Don't kill me! I surrender!"
What now?
Rolling her eyes, "We are not going to kill you, are we, my fellow companions?" she asks as she looks to Gul rather sternly before turning back to the 'ratty' man. Speaking to him in a calmly and kindly fashion, "Please return to your chair, sir. All we need our a couple of answers, nothing more. As our companion just said," she motions to Axton, "we are needing to know the whereabouts of an individual who may be among your employers. Her name is Natalya Vancaskerkin. Perhaps you've heard of her?"
In truth, there are no Nidalese slavers operating in Magnimar—the rumors were started by this man, who is named Plutivarch Dremis, a slightly unhinged sorcerer who hopes to impress the local branch of the Aspis Consortium by capturing a batch of Pathfinder recruits for ransom.
There is a 100gp bounty on Plutivarch's head with the local watch. This is for a variety of minor crimes. Handing him over would be a nice way to get in good with the watch. :)
Plutivarch paid a network of agents well to spread the word of Nidalese
slavers through the city, and whenever the city guard followed up, Plutivarch simply let them find no evidence of slavers. Only when he hooked Pathfinder recruits like you does he begin stage two of his somewhat foolish plan.
Since Plutivarch is now captured and being questioned, he admits the nature of his ruse and that there are no actual Nidalese slavers—he capitalized on the vanishings for his own personal gain by inventing the rumors of slavers. If asked about the disappearances, Plutivarch wryly invites you to talk to the city watch. They’re the ones who are supposed to be watching over they city, after all—shouldn’t they know why citizens have been disappearing? While this answer might feel insincere—the advice is sound.
He knows nothing about anyone called Natalya Vancaskerkin.
What now?
Loot:
potions of cure light wounds (2),
potion of cure moderate wounds, potions of invisibility (2),
MW dagger,
darts (6),
pouch with 35gp and an amethyst worth 250gp
The noble clothing was stolen several weeks ago and has been worn unwashed since then. It has also recently suffered from a bladder malfunction by its wearer.
Raising an eyebrow, "So you created this whole slaver scenario in an attempt to capture us, just so you could impress the Aspis Consortium. Interesting." She taps her lips in thought for a moment. "So you are Plutivarch Dremis, hm? Well that is also quite interesting because word on the street is, there is a bounty on your head by the city watch for various crimes you have committed. So with that being said, won't you come with us? Of your own free will of course." She then leans in somewhat seductively to where she can whisper in the man's ear and has to fight to keep from retching at the man's odor. "But trust me when I tell you this, the city watch will be nothing compared to my companion if you decide not to come with us. But I'll leave that decision up to you." Leaning back out as she crosses her arms, "So, what'll it be?" she asks, making sure he notices her cut her eyes toward Gul as she awaits an intelligent decision from him, but wouldn't dare hold her breath for it.
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Trying to play along with Umazana, who as usual seemed to have things well in hand, Elena brandishes her spear in an attempt to look intimidating!
"Hm... maybe I should practise this part of the job a bit more..." she wonders, looking at the three muscle-bulging half-orcs who seemed to shrug off magic like it was nothing.
And Axton too, of course, whose stache seemed like a shield of steel.
Gul crossed her arms as she looked at the man with disappointment. He had folded so quickly after trying his spell that she hadn’t even been able to stab him even once. ”He tried to have us killed.” She said, flatly. Turning them over to the Consortium was a death sentence. ”If he makes one wrong move then we break both his hands. Protects us from any more spells.”
Grom enters the tavern last, only to find a kneeling man, sobbing like a baby and vaguely stinking like one.
Grom looks at everyone, once at a time.
"What's going on here?"
The Arvensoar looms in the southern part of the city, high above the districts of Lowcleft and Naos. The tower itself is about 400 feet tall, with the lower portion built into the side of the Seacleft that splits the city in half.
The watch officers stationed at the Arvensoar have busy schedules, but as you're bringing in a whimpering Plutivarch to collect the bounty.
The officer you speak to is a woman named Kasadei, a busy watch officer who nonetheless tries her best to make time for concerned citizens.
Her nose wrinkles and she orders several guards to douse Plutivarch with buckets of water. "For the smell!" and then drag him away to the cells.
Kasadei hands you the 100gp bounty with some pleasure, "He's the sort of half-bright clown who makes more work than he's worth!"
She is happy to answer any questions you may have:
Do you know where Natalya Vancaskerkin is?
Kasadei confirms that Natalya Vancaskerkin is known to the city watch—she’s a petty burglar known to run with the Tower Girls. That Natalya has vanished is news to the watch—she hasn’t been picked up by any patrols, in any event. Kasadei’s not surprised that Natalya’s disappearance hasn’t been reported—the Sczarni tend to try to solve
their own problems. If anyone knows more, it’s probably the Tower Girls.
How can we contact the Tower Girls?
That could be a problem—tracking down any of the Sczarni gangs is tricky normally, but as far as Kasadei knows, the Tower Girls themselves have recently changed their headquarters. No informants have yet been able to update the city watch as to their new headquarters, but Kasadei does know that a few months back, the Tower Girls had a falling out with another Sczarni gang, the Wreckwash Blades. For several weeks after that, rumor was that the Tower Girls were slumming it in an abandoned warehouse in Underbridge that they shared with a disreputable local by the name of Fenster the Blight—he may know where the Tower Girls (or perhaps Natalya) are located now. Kasadei can provide you with directions to this warehouse if asked.
Anything else you wish to ask her?
Axton recommends the party pay a visit to Fenster the Blight.
Grom doesn't get why one would call his son "Window", but he agrees he's the one they need to meet now.
Rationalizing that Axton seemed to be as smart as his mustache was magnificent, Gul agreed. Before they left though, she asked what the watch knew of this Fenster. Who did he run with? How did he get the name 'the Blight'? And was there any bounty on his head?
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Grom enters the tavern last, only to find a kneeling man, sobbing like a baby and vaguely stinking like one.
"What's going on here?"
"I, ah, think we overdid it a bit..." Elena mutters, blushing at Grom as the prisoner curls up in a fetal position. She decides to holster her spear again and helps binding him before moving out to the garrison.
Grom doesn't get why one would call his son "Window".
"Maybe his father entered his mother's bedroom through the window? Perhaps the families didn't care for their courtship yet their feeling for eachother were too strong to ignore," The priestress suggests, smiling softly.
"At least, I hope it's that over simple adultery and faithlessness..."
When the party starts asking the additional questions, most of Elena's were already covered by Gul gra. "And what about the underbridge in general? Anything we should know about the area? I can't claim to be as familiar with the city as some of us," she adds, glancing at Umazura and giving her a respectful nod.
Fenster the Blight is as unsavory as denizens of Magnimar’s most notorious slum get. He has lived in Underbridge for decades, although he’s changed homes many times over the years. His current haunt is a partially collapsed warehouse on the shoreline, in a particularly filthy stretch where tidal currents often cause the filth and refuse of the city to collect in stinking clots along the shore.
Fenster is a truly vile wretch, a carrier of several diseases who hires himself out for any foul job that might come his way. In the past, he’s worked as a garbage scavenger, a goblin baiter, an alchemy test subject, and a disposer of bodies.
There is no bounty on Fenster at the moment. You get the feeling the watch really don't want to have him near them in a cell.
Anything else?
"Fenster the blight it is then." Turning to Kasadei, "Thank you for the information, Kasadei. It is appreciated," she gives a nod of thanks. "Okay, all, should we brave this place at night or shall we await the morning? Either works for me."
"Is he human?" Grom asks. "If so, we might have advantage at night. But maybe we don't want to wait."
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"Yes, I would suggest going now. We have no idea what state Natalya is in, so I'd rather not waste any time. It also sounds a lot more dangerous at night, and if we fail to find her shortly, we'll end up there at nightttime anyway," Elena reasons. "Thank you for your help, Kasadei. This Fenster sounds... ah, hard to mistake for someone else."
"Or something else, sheesh. Does he ever take a bath?"
Kasadei smiles warmly back at Umazura, "Don't forget the city has offered a reward to anyone who rescues and returns someone who has been reported missing."
You travel to the more fragrant part of Magnimar.
Fenster’s home is a partially collapsed warehouse—the building has a relatively large open area within, but he keeps to one corner. Here, he’s made a sort of crude shelter from rowboats (one or two of which might still be almost seaworthy) and timbers leaning against the warehouse’s frame.
The entrance to this hovel consists of a pair of skiffs leaning against each other to create a triangular “arch” from which a moldering remnant of a ship’s sail hangs like a curtain. Sitting next to the entrance is an old sea chest with a broken lid. A sign leans against the front of the chest—“LEEV A GIFT AND WATE OUTSID.” A dented tin platter sits on the ground before the sign.
What now?
Sighing as she reads the sign, "Yes, of course... a gift. You and the rest of this city it seems. At this rate we'll be broke by morning," she mutters. The skald ignores the sign and makes her way inside. She then calls out but keeps her voice at a normal level. "Fenster? Hello? We need to speak with you."
Gul followed the (much more amicable) half-orc inside. She kept her eyes peeled, under the presumption that anyone who was willing to live in such squalor was just as likely to fill it with all manner of traps. It did not seem prudent to blunder around in such a place.
A successful DC 20 Knowledge (local) check is enough to know the procedure: leave a gift on the tin platter, wait for Fenster to come out and examine the gift, and if he likes the gift, he’ll do whatever you need him to do.
Stopping a moment, she turns to the others. "Unless any of you wish to leave a gift. From what I've learned about this gentleman is that we are to leave a gift for him on this platter. He then will come out to examine said gift to see if he likes it. Once he's done with his examination, he will then determine whether or not he approves of it. If he does, then - and only then - we'll he do what we need him to do. For one, I have no such gift that could be useful to this man. Secondly, even if I did, I simply have no desire to leave one. BUT, if any of you choose to, it may help us in our cause. But if not, we will manage. Either way," she says with a pleasant smile.
"Well, he hasn't wronged us, and he doesn't owe us anything, so I don't see why we feel we can just enter his home. It may not look like much compared to where some of us live, but this is this man's home. Let's leave a gift, and if he rejects it, we can figure out if our need is worth invading his home."
Axton will suggest gifting one of the garnets they found from the paradox box, explaining that Fenster may appreciate having this much wealth in a way that's easy to carry and hide.
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"I'm in favor of giving him a gift. He seems like someone who gets around and might have connections we don't have. Actually, that is exactly why we're speaking with him in the first place. We never know when we have to call on him again. I'd thus prefer leaving a favorable impression if possible," Elena reasons, by this point not particularly surprised Umuzura knew this piece of obscure lore about the city too. Who did this undoubtedly highly experienced agent even talk to to get such massive amounts of information in such a small amount of time...?
She puts aside thoughts of the half-orc bar-hopping like a madwoman and rummages around in her backpack. "Hm... my first thoughts would be to hand him a bit of soap or perfume, but perhaps he would find that offensive? Or... I have this shawl I originally knitted for my brother, but I haven't seen him in a while. He's always busy on more dangerous missions than ours..." she mutters, and pulls out a crimson woolen shawl. "Surely it gets cold here often? And it would be in line with Shelyns doctrine to give gifts of beauty to those less fortunate, too."
Nodding, Zura will step back and await Fenster patiently.
It takes almost a minute but finally Fenster the Blight creeps out and examines the scarf with surprise and awe. "Pretty!"
Fenster is a wretched creature, more skin and bone than meat. His flesh is clammy and gray in places, one of his eyes is clouded over with a white film, and his clothing is caked with filth. His breathing is raspy and gurgling and smells of bad meat—he’s plagued by a wet, hacking cough.
After disturbingly fondling the gifted scarf for a moment his working eye looks at you, “What yew want Fenster ta’do?”
What are you doing now?
Axton smiles at Fenster, and smooths out his mustache to cover his discomfort at the man's filth and apparent mental illness.
"We need to know where Natalya Vancaskerkin is."
If Fenster says that he doesn't know where Natalya is, then Axton will reply, "Then we need to talk to someone who is part of the Tower Girls."
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Elena's eyes drop in pity for the creature's obviously poor health and living conditions. Did someone ever provide him with any act of kindness whatsoever, or were all calls here strictly business? "Natalya has gone missing," she adds. "We're worried about her well-being. Could you please help us, Fenster?"
She also tries to take preliminary diagnostics of whatever disease he might be carrying and how it could be cured.
That guy stinks, even for an orc!
Grom is happy that he's not considered socially skilled. Let the others deal with him!
Gul likewise backed away, having made the mistake of breathing in too deeply as he came out. She was truly glad that the others were taking a kindler, gentler approach. It meant that she didn't have to get her hands dirty.