Treesa smiles and rubs Rayse's neck for a bit. "I'd rub your shoulders but the armor makes that impossible. I'll help you out of it once I come up."
When she comes up to the room she has his bottle of wine and two glasses. "That was a long day of work. I hope it was worth it. A lot of the stories I heard were interesting, funny, but useless. It's amazing how petty people can be when they don't know they're about to die!"
Day 2
Rendylyn casts her spells to 'listen' to the town's folk. Having done so before and casting at a slightly different time she 'hears' more conversations. She 'hears' and then takes some time sorting through the conversations for anything useful.
"I've got to remember to boil the well water before pouring it into the drinking flask. My husband and I have had the flux twice this month!" "Well, maybe boil yours and let him be sick. He can't be such a lech when he can't controls his own bowels...." "So true! And I'm tired of his attention when he can't get any from his other girls. Isn't a man supposed to slow down when he gets older?"
"Have you had any of Mama Guissepe's beef stew lately? I swear that woman does magic with her stew pots. And the men at the fortress sure enjoy the big pot of it that she brings up to them Monday nights!"
"I heard there was a secret tunnel from the old brothel up to some secret room in the fortress. Can't be there anymore though. No way Lord Havelyn would allow anything like that!"
"Did you hear that all the prisoners escaped from Branderscar? I heard they released an ogre too and together they killed almost everyone! The whole army is searching for them. They can't hide from the whole army!"
Rendylyn shares what she overheard with the rest of the knot, adding her own insights. "Our faces might not be widely known, but our escape is common knowledge. Keep your brands well hidden! Poisoning the well might disable some of the townsfolk, but poisoning Mama Guissepe's stew sounds like an excellent way to cripple the garrison right before the horde attacks. Can we find or make enough poison in two weeks? If there's a decommisioned secret tunnel between the inn and fortress, it might allow us access for sabotage missions...and it might be connected to another abandoned Asmodean temple and proving ground. Our Dark Prince keeps steering me to them..."
Plotting seems to agree with Rendylyn. Though she keeps her lips pressed dourly against each other in her dwarven guise, her eyes are always smiling. Before they all set out on their missions for the day, she cloaks with spells the evil intent of those most likely to come in contact with the fortress's spellcasters.
Rendylyn goes to to Master Caldwin's Cauldron, expecting it to be a place where one might buy potions and alchemical supplies...including possible poisons. She explains to the shopkeeper that she needs to bring The Professor an inventory so he can draw up a shopping list.
After that, she goes the VonKraig Smithy, bringing the enchanted trident, and offers to sell it for the right price. "I really don't know how someone like the Professor got their hands on something like this--maybe a present from Tritons or something? In any case, it's pretty rare and valuable. Do you trade in magic arms and armor?" She draws out the conversation with the smith, probing for useful information such as how many people in Balentyne have magical weapons.
Day 2, continued
Rendylyn goes to Master Caldwin’s Cauldron, expecting it to be a store for potions and alchemical supplies, and she is pleasantly not surprised. The smell of the place is hard to place, being a mix of herbs, spices and some unidentifiable chemical smells and possibly perfume. The owner of the shop, Teryth Caldwin, is a bookish fellow who greets you with a big smile. All around the shop you see containers clearly labeled but hardly comprehensible to someone without alchemical crafting training. There are also vials, bottle, tubing, and lots of other hardware, easily enough to make several fully stocked alchemist's labs. The wall behind the counter has varying sized drawers with numbers on them. Teryth waits for Rendylyn's explanation and shrugs, "I have quite a variety of potions made up and ready, and the ingredients and recipes to make a good number more, depending on the available coin of the customer. I have simple curative draughts as well as stronger ones if one needs a quick cure while in battle. I have restorative potions for recovery of harm from, say baneberry or belladonna poison. I have one to make you comfortable in the freezing weather north of the wall, without any protective clothing. A potion to make you invisible for a short time. A potion to allow you to change your appearance, in case you are being chased? And one to allow you to run much faster so you can get away, or charge into battle. Perhaps you'd like to turn into a cloud for a while? I have a potion that would do that. Potions can be truly magical and I can make many, again, for a customer with the coin to pay for them.... And of course if you'd like the non-magical, alchemical craftings, if I don't have it I can craft it. Alchemist's fire, acid, antitoxins, Calistria's Kindness, fire ward gel, troll styptic....
When she gets to VonKraig Smithy, Erasmus VonKraig appears to be a no nonsense proprietor. You also notice a holy symbol of Mitra on the wall over his forge. He has a fairly large selection of normal weapons in racks, plus standard armor up to chain mail and shields of all sizes. When she shows him the trident he seems interested until she mentions magic. "I'd have to have it assessed by one of the fellows that understands magic. I deal in regular weapons and armor. I made the mistake of purchasing a magical sword from an adventurer that was down on his luck. I even had Jacobian Scaramore confirm that it is magical, but only the least of enchantments he said. And I've had that sword wasting space in my shop for near to a year now." He points to a great sword that is mounted to the wall with iron straps and several heavy bolts. "I supply the soldiers, and any townspeople or adventurers that come through here. But nobody seems to want to pay the 2,000 gold that it is supposedly worth. Why would I want to purchase another such 'rare and valuable' piece?"
|
Vormog wakes up invigorated and with high hopes for the new day. As Rendylyn discusses what she found, he comments "Depending on how my tryouts with the Captain goes, and how busy I'll be in the following weeks, I could try to get a job as an assistant cook. I don't usually make a good first impression, but I do know that I can impress people when I put my mind to it. And who knows, maybe I learn one thing or two about cooking, that wouldn't be so bad."
He, then addresses the issue with the Brandescar brand. He touches his, and as time passes he feels more and more proud of it. IT is a brand that links him to the knot, but also marks his awakening as an inquisitor of Asmodeus. He says "One of the spells that Asmodeus has provided me is the ability to put a brand on a victim. It is not an illusion and will grow back if healed. It lasts for a few days. We can use it to divert attention from us if needed."
He addresses another issue "What you say about a tunnel between this inn and the fortress is huge! We should really find and explore that. We might need to be quiet about it and choose the best time to do it."
Then he says "We should also consider inflicting the ravens with a disease as well as some townsfolk. Then we divert Father Donnigan's healing efforts to the people and the ravens won't be able to fly because he would never prioritize animals over people, foolish as that is."
When all the talk is done, Vormog makes sure to appear to Captain Varning's recruitment half an hour early. He updates his appearance to make it look like he did some cleaning on his armor and his longspear is closer to its original look, well made and straight. He updates his own appearance to look like he managed to groom himself, with a freshly cut hair and a close shave. His clothes are still the same, with the faded colors of Mitra, however.
Day 2, continued
Vormog arrives at the guard post a half hour early. He recognizes the guard he spoke with the previous day, and the guard recognizes him. "Good! That's much better for an interview. Not too clean and pretty. Just like a regular guard. Wouldn't want them shipping you away when your strength does so much more right here at the wall." He turns to the other guards and you hear him telling them that he'll be back shortly. A couple of them glare angrily at you and him....
A group of dwarves pass by without a word to or from the guards. One stands out from the others wearing half plate and has a great sword strapped across his back. The guard notices him and steps aside, putting a hand on your arm to pull you out of the way as well. "Step aside. That's Barnabus Eisenbauch, leader of the engineers. He's best avoided when he is up before the 'crack of noon'!" Once the dwarves are by he leads you to the fortress. "Pardon the 'stink eye' treatment back there. The guys are upset cause I might get a bonus if you are hired, and I'm pretty sure that they'll want you. There's a look about you. You respect the chain of command and believe in duty. The Captains will want you."
"Oh. I should tell you. Captain Varning and his squad left this morning, earlier than scheduled. I think they wanted to be back for the show. Captain Mott will be meeting with you. He's a good man too. Don't ask about his wife though. She's a real looker and a bit younger than him. People like to talk you know...."