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"And with that," says Zograthy as he closes his fist around the coins, "You just saved yourself a lot of time and probably kept you from being mugged asking questions down there. If anyone knows the current skinny on Natalya and the Tower Girls, it's going to be Fenster the Blight. Last I heard he was staying in a collapsed warehouse on the shore just past the Gecko. Be careful with him. I mean, the bloke's harmless, but...well, you'll see what I mean."
Zadira nods at Mallory. Good call on that bribe. Although of course they were now in the hole on this job, so the payoff better be worth it.
"Last I heard he was staying in a collapsed warehouse on the shore just past the Gecko. Be careful with him. I mean, the bloke's harmless, but...well, you'll see what I mean."
Bel couldn't recollect what the Gecko was and it annoyed her. It's been some time since you've lived here, Calm yourself. Looking at Zograthy, she asked in a polite manner,
"The Gecko? Can you tell us what that is?"
Eskander picks up on Bel's question, and tries to nudge it over the edge, tossing his last gold coin onto the table, Where did you say the Gecko is?
Saria follows along with Bel's and Eskander's questions, chipping in with the best smile she can offer "As you can probably tell, we're not too familiar with that part of the city. And as you wisely pointed out, that can easily be hazardous both to our health and purses. As we're sure to need more of your knowledge in the future, I'm sure you'll agree that helping us keep our purses safe is also in your best interests."
"The first big piling for the Giant's Bridge you see in The Shadow. 'Bout a hundred feet across, carved up with geckos, you can't miss it. If ya ever need me, you can find me here." He throws his hood up 9n his cloak and departs the tent with coin 8n hand, ready to go meet his guy.
Saria turns to the others, a bit embarrassed "Sorry for kind of starting the spending spree... That wasn't exactly cheap. But at least we we do know where to head next, right?"
No worries. I don't think we were going to get this information without it. I just hope we don't have to bribe all our contacts, or we're sunk.
She grins, and says And yes, sounds like we got some good information. Let's head out.
Out of habit though, she casts one look around the tent before leaving to see if there was anything worth "borrowing," although it was unlikely, since the guy was an addict and would likely have sold anything he could before now.
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Zadira's suspicions are confirmed as she glances around the tent. It looks like the most valuable thing in the tent is a heavily chipped and scratched crystal ball. The most basic and mundane tool a terrible con-artist could need.
A short time later, the group finds themselves entering the persistent penumbra of Underbridge. Zograthy was correct, the Gecko is impossible to miss. A hundred feet in diameter and festooned with carvings of lizards, the impossible support strut stretches high into the sky holding up hundreds of tons of stone bridge.
Fenster the Blight's warehouse is partially collapsed with no doors of any sort. Inside the building is yet another structure, this one composed of a trio of rotting rowboats stacked in a tent. A stained and tattered canvas sail makes a rough curtain flap. Just outside the flap stands a rotted sea chest with a broken lid. A sign leans against it stating: "LEEV A GIFT AND WATE OUTSID".
We did get everything I think? There's so much going on in this city... we've got this Gecko place to find now. Eskander wanders comfortably the streets with his companions, peering at the odd thing here and there, and looking at the sights of the city, Oh! A tea parlor, we should go there once we're said and done.
As they approach the partially collapsed warehouse, Eskander peers at the sign and sighs out loud, This is getting expensive, I've got a fishhook, and three silver pieces. Anyone got any bright ideas, which don't involve violence? We should have asked for an advance...
Eskander and Saria had come to her aid in the tent with Zagrathy and she was grateful. So, the Gecko was the first piling. she saved it to memory.
A stained and tattered canvas sail makes a rough curtain flap. Just outside the flap stands a rotted sea chest with a broken lid. A sign leans against it stating: "LEEV A GIFT AND WATE OUTSID".
Eskander voiced her private thoughts. She understood that those without had to make coin or procure other boons from those better off than them. "Next time, we ask for the advance," agreed Bel. "I've only a few silver left in my pouch." She rummaged inside her pack and removed one day's worth of trail rations and wrapped it in a clean, dry cloth and placed the food parcel inside the old sea chest. Bel then placed a silver coin atop the parcel. "It did say gift." She knew it wasn't much in way of coin, but it was a light meal and a little coin to get by for a day.
Perhaps a minute goes by before an emaciated man emerges from the boat-tent. His stringy, long hair is thin and greasy, and one eye is clouded over. What few teeth he has left are blackened and cracked, which everyone can see plainly because of his big smile. He opens his mouth to speak but instead a wet, raspy cough comes out. When his coughing fit ends he wipes his mouth with a filthy rag coated in phlegm and specks of blood.
Taking a seat in the chest after pocketing the salted meat Bel left. He tries again to speak. "What yews want Fenster ta'do?"
"The Girls? I'm their landlord!" He breaks into another round of coughing. "Well, I was, at least. They'll be back. They always come back to ol' Fenster! I set them up right, see? They got themselves a little nest in the Crow, har! Usually the crow is in the nest!
Following his third coughing fit in two minutes, he adds, "Natalya. She's the prettiest. They're all pretty, like it's a requirement to join them, har! I know where she is. Fixed her up nice, too. On account o' how pretty she is, kept that information to meself. Maybe, I tells yew Fer another gift? Something a little more valuable? Don't got to be no 'tangle-bell' thing," The creepy lecherous leper punctuates the last with a cracked lip pucker.
After encountering the sick, starving man, Zadira adds some more rations to the offering, but avoids getting too close to him, not wanting to contract a disease herself.
After he speaks though and she finds out how creepy he is, her compassion withers a little.
Here she says, taking out her compass and putting it on the pile of offerings. That's worth 10 gold, easy.
Please tell us where she is.
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"Out yonder, up against the Cleft," He points before delivering another round of wet cough. "'Bout three buildings away from the water. Careful now, last time I saw her she wasn't quite right." He chuckles. "Plus, she been avoidin' most folks who know her."
"Thank you for the information. We'll be careful"
"Shall we get going then?" Saria says to the others, while starting to move in the direction they were pointed to "From what he just told us, I'm guessing Natalya might not be too welcoming if we just drop in unannounced, but I don't think there's anything we can do about that." Saria throws a sideways glance at Fenster, clearly wary of asking the creepy man anymore questions.
At the edge of Underbridge, along the Seacleft itself stands the building reported to be Natalya's current hideout. 'Stands' may not be the right word, as the building more leans heavily against the cleft's edge. Small boulders and piles of scree have accumulated outside the moss covered hovel and a smell of stagnant sewage fills the air.
There are a pack of goons eyeballing the house some 150 feet to the east.
Nor do I.
Zadira looks around to see if there are any guards around. If not, she shoots an arrow towards the goons, intentionally not hitting them, but just as a clear warning that she could probably kill one before they even got close to her.
The arrow thunks deep into a piece of rotted wood beside one of the thugs faces. He gasps loud enough to be heard at range and puts his hand to his face. Zadira's warning shot was so close, it likely drew blood from grazing the man's cheek!
After a moment the thugs emerge from the alley hiding crossbows. Even from this distance they seem rattled by the well-placed shot.
I wonder who their friend is on the roof, I think they mean business and didn't like the friendly warning.... he drops his spear into both hands, waiting to see what happens.
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With the thugs moving towards them with weapons in hand, Saria readies her own crossbow.
"They seemed to be saying something to whomever is on that roof."
With the appearance of the thugs, Bel took the shortbow from her back and nocked an arrow.
"I wish we could hear what they're saying," Bel added to Saria's words.
Listening to the discussion about a separate person nearby and noting the attention to the someone likely on the roof, Zadira says
Well, I guess they are more organized than I thought. If they were just average thugs, that likely would have driven them off.
In a lower voice she adds
... I hope I can shoot that well when they are actually attacking us.
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"That really was an amazing shot, Zadira! A few more like that and this thugs will be running away, organised or not!"
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Seeing that they weren't going to be able to avoid a fight, Zadira shrugs and calls
A warning shot wasn't enough? Okay, let's do this.
She moves past the house they were there to visit as though it didn't matter, and then takes a shot.
She didn't repeat her former success, of course, but felt good that she was between the goons and the person they needed to talk to at least.
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Bel replied "Alright" and made to move closer, but not make herself a target out in the open. Moving down 60 feet, she slipped behind a stone wall, providing her cover from the enemy archers.
Eskander focuses, thinking about the warning shot and how it wasn't enough. He tries to keep his spear before him, protecting him from threats while blinking his eyes. His eyes focus on the closest bandit, willing them to leave, to not be part of this anymore...
Saria loads a bolt in her crossbow and steps forward, not trusting her aim at this distance.
Polly dives for cover behind Eskander and chants an incantation which covers her in shimmering armor made of force. Zadira's missile flies true, but her shot just can't seem to find a hole in the thug's chainmail and skip harmlessly off of them.
For their part, the thugs move forward in the open street, returning fire with their crossbows. Two aim for Zadira, with the other two taking shots at Mallory.
Z
M
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The range appears to play a big part in their aim, though one does bounce a bolt off of Mallory's armor much the same as Zadira's bolt failed to penetrate their's.
Zadira moves forward, then ducks into cover when she is shot at. She attempts to scale the wall, wanting to get up to the roof where she would have a better position for sniping.
She is unable to get any purchase on the wall however. She peeks around the corner and wonders whether she should try again, or just take them head on and hope that she has better aim than they do.
Eskander slips forward, supporting the Pathfinders, despite not wanting to get hurt Now's the time, flank 'em and begin picking them off one at a time... he loops forward behind the charging Mallory then breaking into the same place that Izabeila ducked into. The half-elf breathed hard as he leaned against the wall, clutching his longspear tightly, scanning for anything that might help them in dealing with these thugs. Seeing nothing of substance he breathes out, What do you think they want? Why are they trying to hurt us? We didn't do anything to them....