Sulee winks at Joran when Caiten isn't watching.
Joran can't help but raise a hand and cover his mouth in order to help mute a chuckle.
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Cevendyl looks at Joran and smiles just a bit ...
"Joran ... you know it's just a passage, right? A passage someone unknown dug long ago, and someone recently has used, possibly with, possibly without, Miss Roxy's blessing. Even with her blessing, that doesn't actually make anything "dirty" - the only nefarious aspect to the whole goblin/citadel/undead/Hellknight mess so far is Calmont, and I'm the only one who wanted to punish him for actually being 'dirty' as you say."Cev smiles a little more broadly
"Using magic to try to burn down the town & town council & townspeople is for sure dirty; using a passage to go back and forth to the the citadel instead of using the road ... well ... it certainly isn't dirty without asking some questions first."
"Cev is right. There's nothing dirty in and of itself about using this passage. It might be a little curious why someone would need to use the passage instead of going in through the front door, but I'm not going to start swinging my maul around when this might just be someone finding an old tunnel that Hellknight recruits used to sneak out for drinks back in the day and taking advantage of it. Let's go back to the citadel, get anything we missed, then come back here and have a chat with Roxie over beers and whatever's good to eat here."
Nodding, "Yeah, yeah, I gotta agree. That's fair. And I like Oren's idea of having those few beers and chatting. Good idea. It's better than sneaking in the back way and having to explain stuff. Yeah let's move." Joran then starts to make his way back.
Caiten looks at the doorway to the bar for a moment, but finally turns around and follows Joran down the ladder and back to the Citadel. "Yes, listening to Sulee has kept me out of a great many difficult situations."
Caiten looks at the doorway to the bar for a moment, but finally turns around and follows Joran down the ladder and back to the Citadel. "Yes, listening to Sulee has kept me out of a great many difficult situations."
Grinning, "You know, Caiten, sometimes you've just got to listen to that shoulder angel. Poppet's your shoulder angel. You really should listen to her more. By the way, hate to break the news, but, you're not my shoulder angel anymore. Sorry," he tells him, giving him a light pat on the shoulder for fear of breaking him. Annnd five, four, three, two...
"Seems reasonable. I wouldn't be very comfortable on your shoulders anyway."
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Smiling while slightly shaking his head, And there it is! Good ol' Caiten. Dependable as usual. Always on time and never gets it.
Sulee grins at Joran knowingly. "He at least knows his way around a battlefield. Which is more than I can say for some of the other Witches I've been paired with before."
Having decided to take the scenic route and avoid any possible strike with Roxie, the party makes its way back to the citadel through the eerily long tunnel. The magical weapons are retrieved, and you emerge outdoors at last, wary of a certain formerly imprisoned grizzly bear on your walk back to town.
At last, you return to the outskirts of Breachill. Alak grins. "Been a bit since I spent had a good meal, instead of trail rations. I'm looking forward to the interrogation of this Roxie woman, assuming the place serves more than just pickles."
"We're moving straight to Pickled Ear, then?”, Yasamina ponders the plan.
"If that is tye case, it is a very special place that might need... Well, a curated approach. If you don't mind, I'll take the lead, then Dario, I guess?”
As the group travels through the citadel, Caiten stops to take a look at the collapsed stairway. "I am suspecting that our only way down will be to have this rubble cleared and the stairway rebuilt. That may take a great deal of time."
He goes to Oren. "If you have any additional premonitions, please at least tell Sulee about them. Though telling all of us would be even better."
"Yep, The Pickled Ear it is," he agrees reluctantly, feeling a bit anxious about it all.
"OK, Caiten. You are nervous about something. Just spit it out."
"I'm nervous about several things actually."
"One, that portal is still active. And we don't have any way to get down to it."
"Two, I don't think I will be of any use at all talking to Roxie. I don't think that she is a threat or a problem. She is definitely not the Elven woman that was described as attempting to raise a bunch of undead. From what Dario mentioned, the most she is doing is scavenging equipment from the citadel - and we have been doing that ourselves too, so I don't really hold that to be any degree of wrongdoing."
"But with that, would she be more comfortable or less comfortable if we walk into her place of business carrying a batch of these scavenged weapons of our own and with an actual Hellknight in the group? I really don't know her at all and it is effectively impossible for me to determine what reactions she is likely to have. It is a lot to analyze in the best of circumstances, and there are way too many unknowns in this particular case."
"I just want this meeting to go well. But I don't know how to make that happen. And since that is the most immediate task before me, that is what I am most nervous about currently."
"We play on what I've learned about most of these folk so far; they want to do right by each other. The halfling is more of an aberration than the rule here it seems. Most seems ready to protect their friends, loved ones, and town members. By the hells, this town is as friendly as a dwarven bathing house." Dario speaks up, having been considering the approach to Roxy and their situation as well.
"Roxy hosts a rough crowd that looks after itself. I expect her to put up a rough exterior but if we can talk to her in private, we can get her to open up some and be honest with us. I think Yasami is right; we'll talk to her first and see if that works. If it doesn't...well...there are other ways around it and we'll improvise." Dario said, giving a sly grin to the swashbuckling woman. Deft hands and keen eyes meant that maybe there would be other ways of getting information. Never knew when an opportunity would just need to be quickly taken off of a shelf.
"We do know that this portal is able to connect to the surface, otherwise those weird creatures wouldn't be able to make it. Perhaps...there is an alternate entrance somewhere? Search old records and maps? Maybe something strange was missed or glossed over." He then suggested, counting on the intellect of his more clever comrades. "I am just saying that she isn't the only option we have and isn't all that is wrong. Hell, we can get the goblins to help start excavating the place maybe if that is what it takes. I'm invested now."
As they walk back to town, Lisi glances at Caiten. "I can get through that rubble. Maybe there's another way through. Or perhaps, Dario, they couldn't get back after the collapse? I'm not sure."
He inspects the trail to see if he can catch a glimpse of the elf's boot prints.
"I'm not worried about Roxy. She won't want to make a scene in her own establishment. We'll speak with her quietly. There may be reasonable explanations she can offer."
Nodding in agreement, "Dario's right, Caiten. Calmont is an aberration to Breachill. For the most part, this is a real good town where we take care of each other." With a relieved look, Joran cuts his attention to Dario and says, "Thanks, Dario, I needed that reminder. That makes me feel a ton better," he confesses, nodding. Looking back to the android, "We'll be fine, Caiten, don't you worry about a thing, buddy."
"I will leave talking to Roxie to you then. The plan is for Dario and Yasami to approach first and everyone else to follow in later, yes? I would like to put all of these weapons in my workshop to be dealt with later. But I don't think we have the time to drop them off first. I don't think I can carry all of them that far alone."
"Here, buddy, let me take those." He snags all the weapons from him. "Now, let's go to your workshop and drop these off. Wait... you have a workshop?" He looks at him curiously. "Never mind, let's just go." Then turning to the others real quick, "We'll meet you guys at the Ear so stay there until we arrive. And forget all this 'plan' business, okay? Please? For your ol' buddy Joran? Here, just do this: Walk in like patrons, have Dario wave at Roxy, she'll notice him, beam a smile at him, Dario will smile back," he winks at the dwarf, "then he'll walk over there with Yasamina and the rest of you and then he'll introduce you all and then you'll just chat like normal folks. No sense in making this more complicated than it should be," he simply says, grinning. "Okay! Be right back. Poppet! Grab the Big C and let's get this done."
"Thank you, Joran."
Caiten leads the way to the place where he lives. Which is one room that he rents from a larger house. It has a side entrance though, so they don't need to bother the rest of the residents of the building. In one corner there is a bed, and in the other is a desk covered in wood shavings and toys in various stages of completion. "Just set them up in that corner there. I'll have to clear out some room here in order to do any work on them. But I should be able to get started on that tomorrow."
"You bet, buddy."
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"The corner? Done." The big fella moves in that direction and drops them, one of the shafts from a random weapon bounces off another and clocks him on the shin. Grimacing in pain and swearing through clenched teeth as he grabs onto the pained area, he pauses and waits for the pain to subside. "You know, you'd think I'd know better by now. Dropping things like that always comes back to bite you in the backside, I swear." Giving his shin a bit more of a rub, "Okay! Well, now that we've taken care of the weapon business... you know though, I gotta say, I'm bummed about not finding the lower level of that citadel. It feels like unfinished business and eats at the back of my mind. Man it bugs me to no end."
As they walk back to town, Lisi glances at Caiten. "I can get through that rubble."
"Clearing the rubble using magic? I'm not sure I would trust squeezing through there in a tiny shape. And it wouldn't help the rest of us get through. If you could magically remove or destroy the rocks, that would be quite useful."
"I gotta say, I'm bummed about not finding the lower level of that citadel. It feels like unfinished business and eats at the back of my mind. Man it bugs me to no end."
"Yes. Especially as we run short on leads to pursue."
"Speaking of which, shall we return to the Pickled Ear and see how things are going there?"
"Yes! Man I'm wasting time running my mouth. Let's go." Joran then leads the way back out and makes a beeline for The Ear.
Caiten follows behind Joran. "Yes. Let's see how Yasami and Dario are doing."
When Yasami and Dario enter the Ear, they find it fairly crowded. A few free tables can be seen, as well as room at the bar, but most tables are taken by locals well into their cups. It's a more rough and tumble crowd than the Wizard's Grace, but not dangerous -- just rowdy.
The proprietor, Roxie Denn, with whom Dario is acquainted, is behind the bar filling up mugs of ale.
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"Alright. Now for my gentle touch.", Yasamina smiles, she walks over to the entrance door...
Kicks them open, enters in one quick movement, and screams at the room.
"Alright, you turds! Where can I get a drink here?"
She walks over to the bar. "You Roxie Denn?", she leans against the bar.
The place goes quiet for a moment at the sudden violent entrance, and Yasami gets a few confused or bemused looks over her choice of introductions, but murmurs spread as she's recognized to be one of those who saved folks from the fire and they go back to their conversations and drinks.
Roxie puts down the mug she was cleaning and puts her hands on her hips. "The door's got a handle, missy. See that you use it next time, or there won't be a third. 'Course I'm Roxie, care to tell me who you are?"
As the 'weapons team' make their way back to the Pickeld Ear, Joran sees the majority of them standing outside. Looking perplexed, "What the heck are you all doing out here? You guys look fishy standing out here. Looks like you're a gang of ruffians or something just waiting to jump somebody. This isn't the big city, you know, you just go an in and make yourself a patron you bunch of weirdos. C'mon, c'mon," he tells them, smiling, as he works to usher them in. "Although, Lis is going to have to stay out here. I don't think Roxy's going to like the worgs in there. That won't go too well. I tell you what, you all go on in and I'll stay out here with the Nature Boy. Now go on! Go!" he shoos them onward.
"Well built doors like yours can take it. Name's Yasamina Risva. Pleasure to meet you. Can we talk? In private?"
Dario walks up behind with Yasami, giving her a nod of support right until that moment when she kicks the door open and steps inside. The gunslinger follows in behind her for a moment with a look. He gives a nod of his head towards a few others as they begin to recognize them as the saviors of the town hall and finally return back to their drinks. Stepping up to the bar, he'd clear his throat and tip his hat.
"Pleasure to see you again, Roxie. Friend of mine here is interested in something special downstairs. Mind we chat?" It wasn't really a lie, as his Mama would say. It was just an unexpected direction that they were going to be going in.
Lisi exhales and pets the wargs, then shoots a glance over at Joran.
"You know, goblin screw-ups aside, I'm pretty good at talking with people. I hope Yasami doesn't get into a fist fight."
He crosses his arms. "I suppose outsiders nosing around is actually less suspicious than us. Say, are you going to send a letter to your folks? We haven't had a spare moment since the Call started."
Lisi's eyes go a little distant as he thinks about letting his siblings know how he's doing. Perhaps even his father.
Caiten walks back to the Pickled Ear and immediately notices the minor damage to the door. "Lisi, if you would like, I can take Shadow and Rocco back to the Goblin camp. I have some more things to ask Helba. Joran, I understand that you have some experience in handling the aftermath of damaging doors of public establishments. Perhaps you should go talk to Roxie as well."
"Come on, Shadow and Rocco. It has been a long day. We'll take you back to your beds with the Goblins. You can play again tomorrow."
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Caiten walks back to the Pickled Ear and immediately notices the minor damage to the door. "Lisi, if you would like, I can take Shadow and Rocco back to the Goblin camp. I have some more things to ask Helba. Joran, I understand that you have some experience in handling the aftermath of damaging doors of public establishments. Perhaps you should go talk to Roxie as well."
"and perhaps I should do a little bit of damage control."
Cev casts Presitigation and begins to fix the cosmetic and minor functional issues with the door; with any luck, it would look a touch better than it did to begin with
"Thanks, Caiten, I'll do that. Joran?"
Lisi indicates that they should enter, and he and Guba step inside.
Caiten, Sulee, and the two Wargs head over to the Goblin camp.
Once there, he speaks to the first Goblin he finds. "Can you point me to Helba?"
Roxie had opened her mouth to tell Yasami how it was too busy to go have a private talk with a complete stranger when Dario entered and spoke. "Is that so? Does your friend intend to actually buy something?" she replied quietly, pouring a mug for each of you. "Or is she going to scope out my wares and leave empty handed, then tell strangers about my private business, too?"
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Caiten knows the Bumblebrashers to be friendly goblins, so far as goblins go, but when the goblin turns to face him its big eyes seem to glow, reflecting the torchlight around the goblin camp like a cat's might. It's unsettling, but the goblin smiles and points in the direction of Helba.
Warble is with her cousin, the goblin chieftain, and the two of them are sitting near the fire speaking their native tongue.
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When Cev is done, Roxie's door looks like new, not a scuff mark to be seen. Lisi and whoever else wishes to enter the Pickled Ear and see Yasami and Dario at the bar speaking to Roxie. There are a couple of open tables available.
Caiten finds the Goblin's appearance and glowing eyes more of a curiosity rather than frightening. "Thank you."
He makes his way over to Helba and Warbal. "Greetings this evening." Caiten pauses for a moment, remembering the Goblin's limited vocabulary in common and trying to adjust his wording accordingly. "We have killed all of the frog-people and monkey-people that we could find in the rooms under the citadel. We also released the bear since you were not there to care for it. There are two Kobolds there that say that they know you. They are currently staying in the rooms there."
"I have a couple of questions. Have you ever been to any lower levels of the citadel before the stairway collapsed? And do you know of any other paths down to the lower levels?"
"Right now-", Yasamina pulls three silver from her pocket, "- I intend to pay for these drinks. I loathe debts. Also the one for our elven friend over by the door."
She takes a sip, puts the mug on the bar again, and looks towards Roxie again. "Let me put it this way. I don't know whether you have heard anything about me, but -IF- you have, it was definitely not that I am in the business of airing other people's dirty laundry."
She invites Lisi to join them at the bar, and lowers her voice as she leans in. "If you have things to hide from the town council, that's not my problem. But we would like to talk to you. And you never know who is listening. I can't vouch for the crowd over here. Can you?", she looks over her shoulder towards the patrons that are in tonight.
"Roxie, if I was causing trouble, do you think I would be doing so during your busiest hour? Does that seem like the man that I am?" The gunslinger offers, giving his best smile despite the cracked skin and the somewhat sickly pallor he skin resonates. Dario had seen some better days. As the mugs are put down, he places down a golden coin for them and pushes it across the bar towards the proprietor. "So, shall we talk?"
Lisi exhales and pets the wargs, then shoots a glance over at Joran.
"You know, goblin screw-ups aside, I'm pretty good at talking with people. I hope Yasami doesn't get into a fist fight."
"Yeah I'm not sure why we picked Yasamina. She's a walking fireball. You know, why did we select her and not Dario? Or you even? It really doesn't make sense if you think about it," he nods matter-of-factly.
He crosses his arms. "I suppose outsiders nosing around is actually less suspicious than us. Say, are you going to send a letter to your folks? We haven't had a spare moment since the Call started."
Lisi's eyes go a little distant as he thinks about letting his siblings know how he's doing. Perhaps even his father.
"Honestly, I haven't really thought about it. Maybe once we get this gate dealt with, I don't know. I'm not really a 'letter' type guy though," he shrugs.
Caiten walks back to the Pickled Ear and immediately notices the minor damage to the door. "Lisi, if you would like, I can take Shadow and Rocco back to the Goblin camp. I have some more things to ask Helba. Joran, I understand that you have some experience in handling the aftermath of damaging doors of public establishments. Perhaps you should go talk to Roxie as well."
"Thanks, Caiten, I'll do that. Joran?"
Lisi indicates that they should enter, and he and Guba step inside.
"Yeah thanks, Caiten. Alright, Lis, let's go. Been a while since I've seen my girl Roxy." He follows after the druid.
Rosie mulls over the words, looking back and forth between you and finally huffs a bit and waves over one of her employees to watch the bar. "Right, let's get to it then. Follow me."
She led the way through the door behind the bar, down the steps, and into the now familiar storage room in the basement. You note the trap door is not visible from where you now stand, as a row of barrels mask it from view at this angle.
"So what's it your interested in? Lighter blades?" she says, noting Yasami's rapier.
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Helba and Warbal listen attentively to Caiten's report. "Was hoping Big Bumble would be eating the frog people!" Helba said with disappointment. "But you having killed them, this is good. And best for Big Bumble to being free, bear was not liking living with Bumblebrashers. Could not get him out without dying."
Warbal nodded in regards to the kobolds. "Pib and Zarf. They is not being very smart, but is good scavengers and traders."
As Caiten posed his questions Warbal looked to Helba. "Stairs is having collapsed all the way down? When dragon lizards were chasing Bumblebrashers up the wall, they is being too heavy and making stairs break above ground. Must have broken deeper ones also."
She shook her head to his latter question. "Not going deeper down, no no no. Not being safe. Is big room that is making Helba's skin goosepimply, and walking in is making murder giant appear. Some Bumblebrashers is running away deeper through other tunnel and never returnings. Goblin home is safe, but deeper is bads."
Stepping in after Lis, Joran checks on the door and sees that it looks good. Looking up at Cev, "Nice work, buddy," he nods, looking back to the door. "Looks brand new," he smiles, giving him a slap on the shoulder. He then looks to the bar and sees the others speaking to Roxie. Smiling as he moves up near them, "Hey, Roxy! How is my girl Roxy doing today?" Looking around, "Business looks good, that's good." He then turns his attention back, "And I sure hope this riff-raff here," he motions to Yasamina and Dario, "isn't giving you any trouble. If they are, you just let me know so I can grab me a good table so I can watch you whoop 'em!" he winks, grinning mightily.
Caiten listens intently to Helba's answers, trying to match the words used, and the rooms of the citadel, while accounting for the ambiguity of the limited vocabulary. "Which tunnel did the other Bumblebrashers go down? The one past the graves and statues? Or is there another tunnel somewhere?"
"Big round room with many doors on deeper level is having another way out. Some fled the murder giant that way, but Helba is not knowing where it goes, only that Bumblebrashers going that way is never returning."
"Thank you, Helba. That is very helpful."
"May the warg puppies stay with you again?"
"Yes. Very helpful. We will also help you Helba. If there are more Bumblebrashers still in the citadel, we will help them to get out."
Caiten ponders things as he walks back inside the Breachill city walls. He finally makes a decision and heads back to his apartment. He grabs the morning star - the smallest of the weapons and the easiest for him to carry around. He then heads back to the Pickled Ear to discuss things with the others.
"Hello, Roxie. No, it's not weapons. It's a little more sensitive than that. We're here with some good faith questions, for the safety of Breachill and all of us. In light of that. What can you tell us about that trapdoor over there?"
Lisi keeps his voice even and his eyes on the proprietor, his hands relaxed and at his sides, his weapons, light or heavy, stowed away, not that he uses them that much.
...he winks, grinning mightily. Getting nothing but awkward stares from the three, "Wow, tough crowd. Well, apologies for the interruption. Looks like y'all are busy with... you know... whatever it is y'all are busy with. I just be over here at this table feeling stupid," he says with a terrible grin, tapping on the bar and nodding before moving to said table and pulling up a chair. As he watches the three heads towards the back, Joran looks to see who replaces Roxie and hollers, "Ale, please! Big huge glass that I can fit my face in! I'm thinkin' of drownin' myself," he mutters under his breath, shaking his head, yet, still possessing a slight grin.
"We don't ever pick Yasami. She just elects herself and runs ahead. Fortunately, she tends to kill whatever she runs into. Unfortunately, not such a good strategy with Roxie. Oh, and I can help you with your letters, Joran," the half-elf says with a wink before they summarily enter the tavern.