Engashez narrows her eyes and glares at Garista, the kobold tail flicking back and forth in irritation. She then takes a deep breath and her tail calms. "The damage is done. Would you please wait outside, as a token to show that we do not want trouble either?"
Engashez looks back to the other group's spokesman, "My apologies again. Now that the mood is ruined, I suppose I should speak plainly. We are looking for a taldan named Xarcious. Information has his last seen location to be here."
The two thugs visibly relax as Garsita takes her hand off her weapon. They obviously didn't want to fight a well armed and armored foe.
Greeves holds his reaction a bit closer to the vest simply turning back to the kobold, "Alright, there we go. No fancy beating around the bush anymore. So you want this Xarcious person. Said they were Taldan? What would you be willing to pay for information? If the gold is right, I can start putting feelers out about finding them."
"Ten gold."
Greeves nods, "Done." He holds his hand out.
Assuming you supply the payout the coins disappear into a pocket that you didn't even know was there.
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"Well, I talked with my guy who knows things and this little tidbit came up. Apparently the one you want, this 'Zar-see-us' person built up a nice two hundred and fifty gold debt with their bookie. If someone were to... cover that debt, they would be able to have said person to do whatever they want with."
He obviously didn't 'talk to anyone'. Greeves is most likely the guy holding Xarcious, he's just being coy.
"Seeing as you have him, why don't I pay a first installment of ninety gold for his release into my hands?"
He wrings his hands together and counters, ”one hundred fifty and he is yours, no installments necessary. I’ll take the hit and move on.”
Engashez looks back to Garsita with an appraising look. "You got sixty?""
Greeves watches the gold exchange hands with a confident nod. When the 150g is handed over it disappears into that hidden pocket and a key is produced. He nods to the door over his right shoulder, "He's in there. You might have to carry him out though, he had a bad night."
The key opens the door and neither thug seems to stop the two from going in.
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A haggard man lies on a desk which appears to have been made into a makeshift bed. His breathing is very ragged and he seems to have a high fever. He does not respond when you approach.
Garsita inspects his body, finding it is very hot and he is heavily sweating. She notices several small rat bites on his ankle. From this she is very very sure this is Filth Fever. Considering his current state, he will very likely die within 24-48 hours if no intervention is given.
She knows that the healing stick won't cure him, but it might bring him back to consciousness. When she taps him, he stirs with a startle, "OH GOD DON'T HIT ME AGAIN! I'll get your money, please have mercy on me..." The last bit trails off weakly.
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"It's OK, we're going to get you out of here." Garsita speaks softly and gently, surprisingly so considering her race.
"Please go get Voices or Fantar to help me carry him," she softly asks Engashez.
She runs through the options to try to help him. She decides the only way is to buy a scroll to get rid of the disease. First, though, they need to bring him somewhere he will feel safe.
He is very weak and does not resist when you try to get him out of there.
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When she lays eyes on Xarcious, her eyes widen.
"Oh, s%+$. That's filth fever, isn't it?" she asks.
She'll help carry him if allowed, consulting with Garsita to make sure they're not missing anything.
"Saw my share of these in the pit," she explains. "Had a fighter win a match against a manticore, only to get bitten by rats in his sleep and..."
She glances down at the conscious, listening, nervous man.
"Well, he didn't have the resources we do. Where to?"
At the utterance of filth fever, Engashez heaves a sigh.
Without a better place to take them, the group gets him back to the lodge safely.
Laying down on a cot in the infirmary he becomes lucid for a bit.
Garsita returns with a scroll that hopefully can remove the disease and allow your contact's body to heal. He looks up at you, still shivering. You can't tell if it is fear or fever or both, "What do you want with me?"
The fever suddenly snaps and Xarcious's shaking body stops twitching. He is very still. A brief concern crosses everyone's eyes as they look for signs of life until they see the slow steady breathing.
He opens his eyes and blinks a few times, "Oh Miss, what did you do? I feel like... well horrible. But I feel like I can breath again and probably will mend? Also very tired. Really tired. What can I help you with? I'm definitely sure I owe you my life now."
Engashez pipes up, "We need to go to Sewer Dragons."
Xarcious shares as much info as he knows about the sewer dragons. It is stuff you already know.
He adds a single useful tidbit, "They are laired in a massive underground theatre that was covered long ago by a growing city. There should be a passage from within the sewer system that should still be accessible, though I'm sure it is well guarded. I can give you the location though, it seems like you all can probably handle yourselves."
He quickly adds, "But if your intention is negotiation and not extermination, which I very much hope, then you might be able to work out a deal with Yiddlepode. She's the chief's eldest offspring and is always looking to strike deals. Plus, you might even be able to catch her above ground to talk before you all even go in. She roams the streets disguised as a halfling and takes in theatre shows all the time."
He adds, "Yeah, and I can say that she usually tries to go to poorly attended shows and has a really bright blue opera cloak, so that should help you narrow it down. I'm not sure what the current theatre scene is though."
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The nogitsune scratches at her chin. "Poorly-attended shows, huh? I heard the Absalom University Theater Group is doing I Want To Be Your Canary. I heard Marcus is being played by an up-jumped understudy since the original actor had to move on, and..."
She blinks at the rest of the group. "What, an oni can't enjoy theater?"
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Ruinor follows the group back to the lodge so that Garsita can try to heal Xarcious. "We certainly are spending a lot of coin on this guy. I hope he has some useful information," he thinks as Garista works on the man.
"Well done, Garista," he says, relieved that she was successful.
He listens to what Xarcious has to say. He starts to get concerned they aren't going to get any new information and wasted their money when the details on the lair and Yiddlepode are revealed.
"That's very helpful," Ruinor says with a smile. "Personally, I've never been a big fan of the theater. I've never understood why people would want to pretend to be other people. I'd rather just read the book. It's usually better anyway. However, it's my nature to know things and I might be able to narrow down where we might find her."
Ruinor recalls seeing a playlist of the local productions in the waiting room before their mission started. His photographic memory pulls up the image and he reads off the options. There are three operas currently gracing the stage right now. A Traveling Andoren troupe's performance of the Chelish history Fall from Glory; a local diva's rendition of Serpent's Song and a comedic opera called The Trouble with Swans.
A few of those names trigger notes from his daily newspaper readings. The Trouble with Swans is a hugely popular show performed by a largely gnome troupe. Serpent’s Song is a tragedy about a dragon who falls in love with a princess. Crowds are expected to be thick for Fall from Glory, as Chelish operas are known to often feature actual bloodshed in place of special effects.
He grins as he recalls a note about the Absalom University Theatre Group having all their shows cancelled pending an investigation into Hazing. Apparently Thyste doesn't read the news.