As the half-orc explained the terms of the contest, Xavier listened patiently and offered a small nod of assent. Yet even as the last words left the warrior's mouth, the swordsman was already in motion.
The katana cleared its scabbard in a blur of polished steel. Before anyone could register what had happened, the blade had struck the half-orc's hand where it rested upon his axe. An instant later, the weapon was sheathed once more.
Xavier stood at ease, calm and composed, a slight smile betraying his confidence.
The half-orc's eyes widened. Startled by the sudden attack, he tried to pivot into a defensive stance while bringing his axe to bear. The effort proved too much all at once, and he stumbled clumsily, fumbling his footing.
"A fine axe," Xavier remarked. "It will make an excellent addition to my collection. Now, if there is nothing further, I have more important matters demanding my attention."
Looking down at the half-orc, he continues, " Please, don't trouble yourself on my account. I can see myself out."
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Sumak sighs and nods, "Let me go get that meal and I will be right back. Have there been any issues while I was away that I should know about?" The carriage seat was not the softest. Standing for a bit would not be the worst thing, but a good night's sleep in a bed you have been missing would have been very nice. But he figured that a few hours longer before going to sleep would not kill him.
Even before Xavier finishes his sentence, the people in the Square (well, everyone except the half-orc's companions) begin to laugh, first just a bit, but quickly breaking out into full-on guffaws and chortles, holding their sides and stomachs. From their heightened responses, it seems that nobody had dared to laugh at Kullen for a very long time, but now that they were, the floodgates had opened.
It takes Kullen's brain a moment to register exactly what has just happened, but then his eyes narrow as he begins to get up and reach for the dagger in his boot.
Suddenly the constables are there and one of them puts his hand on the half-orc's shoulder.
"Now, now, take it easy, Kullen. We saw it all. He won that axe fair and square. We don't want no knifing in broad daylight."
For a second you're not sure whether Kullen is going to listen to the constable or not, but then he lets out a long Orcish curse, resheathes his dagger and gets to his feet. He gives you his darkest glare, making sure his protruding canines are prominently on display.
"You better watch your back, Girly-girl. The law won't always be around and I'll be looking for ya!" he spits out at you, turns around, and ducks into the crowd.
After refreshing yourself with a hot bath and a good meal at the coaching inn, you put on your dusty travel clothes and armor again to take your shift guarding the stables of the Able Carter Coaching Company.
The shift begins rather harmlessly: just the usual servants, locals coming and going from the inn's taproom, along with the guests who are spending the night going up to their rooms. You even begin to relax a bit.
Both Luna and Celene are high in the sky, bathing the inner courtyard and stables with their strange double moonshadows when you think your darkvision picks up movement on the far side of the stable. You can't be sure, but you think you see two humanoid shadows flitting between the stalls on their way to where the coach you just road in on is stored. You also hear one of the nearby horses neighing nervously.
When you start ringing the bell, the response is almost immediate. Dozens of miners drop their picks, shovels, and other mining implements and begin to crowd the numerous ladders that lead up to the surface, causing a cascade of pebbles and limestone dust to start raining down upon you. Miners also come out from below your level, climbing as fast as they can to the surface.
Less than 15 minutes later, you are standing near the entrance of one of the mine shafts surrounded by coughing and spluttering miners (humans, dwarves, gnomes, half-orcs, and halflings) all covered in white dust. Seeing you, the numerous foremen of the mine come to you to report that their sections of the mine tunnels have been fully cleared. Finally there is a head count of all the miners on this shift and it becomes clear that everyone has made it out alive.
Soon thereafter you hear the unmistakable clicking of a cane on limestone, and Lordren, the enraged, limping camp commander of Dourstone Mine comes walking over, his assistant Carr close behind him.
"Who in the Nine Hells rang the bell and interrupted my shift?" Lordren barks out, questioning the foremen who all shrug in a noncommittal fashion. "Who is robbing all of you of your daily pay as we speak? Remember, no work-ee, no pay-ee!"
"I did." Ragnar said, walking up to Lordren, his face an equal mask of fury. While not nearly as tall as the man, he was broad of shoulder.
"Look at that tunnel there!" Ragnar demanded, as much for Lordren as for the miners who were assembled. "LISTEN!" He bellowed. "Green. Fooking. Pine. It will collapse in an hour or so if it is not reinforced. And Gods above knows about the other tunnels in there, and if this collapse will cause any more to come down."
Throwing his hands up in the air, he turned as he spoke, addressing everyone. "A dead man gets no pay!" He announced for all. "I rang the bell so that we don't spend the next week digging new mines, and the bodies out of what would be a grave. So instead of threatening to dock pay, how about we get to fooking work ensuring that these tunnels don't collapse, aye? Or perhaps it would be better to explain to-" He almost said his uncle, but stopped himself. He didn't like to pull family. His voice dropped to a low hiss, just enough for Lordren and Carr to hear him. -"the higher ups why, instead of a day's lost work, there are weeks of lost profit? This is exactly the sort of slipshod digging where low investment costs gold in the long term."
He wanted to argue about the Song of the Stone. Of how one had to listen to the earth, and to actually care on what they did. This is why he could tell of the collapse. But he knew that it would fall on deaf ears. All that people like Lordren, or his uncle, cared about was profits. If he was going to get through their skulls, which were thicker than any cavern wall, he would have to speak their language.
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Lordren's expression is blank as you unload your frustration on him. He takes a moment after you've finished and then replies to you calmly.
"Well, so glad you've openly admitted to costing us all a day's wages. For that, pack your pick, Ragnar. You're fired, and don't bother crying to your uncle about this. I'm the one in charge of running this mine, so he'll back me up. I told him it was a mistake to hire family."
As you look around at the other miners, you see that none of them will meet your eye. They all seem to be terrified of contradicting Lordren, all too scared of losing their jobs, no matter how dangerous they might be.
As you move away through the crowd , however, at least a half-dozen miners quietly whisper "Thanks, Ragnar." and "Chin up, man." to you.
As you round the corner walking away from Dourstone Mine back into town, you hear the unmistakable rumbling of a tunnel collapse behind you. You wonder if it's worth going back to shove the vindication of your caution down Lordren's throat, but you know that it won't make a difference. He would lose too much face to openly admit he's wrong; the job is gone.
Ragnar's face darkened. Unable to control his emotions, he held up his hand in an extremely rude gesture that was impossible to mistake. He took a deep breath as he took a step backwards, staring Lordren in the eye. He knew that if he spoke would be something he'd regret, because it would be much worse than the gesture.
Turning to leave, he knew that addressing the few miners who whispered to him would just bring the wrath of management upon them. Instead, he gave the slightest of nods in response, as he stormed off.
What he needed now was a new job. Something that wasn't quite a new problem to him. He-
-stopped in his tracks as he heard a tell-tale sound of a mine collapsing. Part of him wanted to turn around and rub it in Lodric's face, but after the exceedingly rude gesture? Even if he had left in a more dignified manner, he was unlikely to hire him back. Now? It was impossible for him to do it and save face. The dwarf sighed, his thoughts going back to the problem needing a new site to dig. Not knowing of any, all he could do was shake his head sadly and consign himself to the need to keep his eyes and ears open for any opportunities. He wondered if there was anyone he knew who might know...there were certainly more than a few troublemakers in town. But who among them might have the bravery needed to actually have a venture worth joining? He thought as he walked...
Sumak moves closer to the carriage and sees that there are two humanoid figures underneath it, opening some kind of secret compartment on its underside that Sumak has never seen.
A masked figure jumps out from underneath the carriage and quietly says: "Taggert, keep your voice down, is that you?" His eyes go wide when he sees you are not who he thinks and he pulls down his disguise.
To your dismay you see a face from your past: Callum "Cal" Vane, a friend of yours from childhood. Cal grew up in Diamond Lake in the same difficult circumstances as you. He tried his luck in the mines, but his lungs had been scarred by a childhood disease, and he quit soon thereafter. After that, Cal drifted between work, and last you heard, may have fallen in with Kullen's gang who meet at the Feral Dog.
Cal looks up at you with desperation and terror in his eyes.
"Hey Sumak, it's me, Cal. I swear to the gods, don't hurt me! Please don't call Cubbin's deputies, you know what they'll do to me!"
Cubbin is the Sheriff of Diamond Lake and laughably corrupt. He also has a reputation for acting as judge, jury, and executioner and receives little oversight, so Cal is right to be scared of being turned in.
There is also clearly someone else under the carriage as well, but they have not come out.
"Yeah, yeah, no problem," says Cal and the noise of something on the bottom of the coach being opened continues. "We'll be out of your hair in just a tic. Thanks so much, Sumak. We're not hurting anything, just removing something that came on the coach for us." Cal looks relieved that you are not turning them into the authorities immediately.
"I said get out of there. If you have some deal with Taggert, come back when he is around. But you have to stop whatever you are doing with the carriage." Sumak said with a little heat added to his voice.
When Solomon mentions a possible wizard, Crothel's eyes widen. "Oh, I wonder where they are staying in --" he stops speaking when he suddenly sees Madam Zalamandra in the doorway.
"Come up to my office now, please. I want to talk with you in private. You can finish hanging the rest of the laundry later."
"Yes, madam," Crothel answers quickly. He takes two steps then turns his head, "Good bye Solomon. Thanks for the peaches. See you later."
After climbing the stairs, he takes a breath then knocks on Madam Zalamandra's door.
"It's Crothel," he announces with his hand on the doorknob.
Standing before Madam Zalamandra's office, you hear "Come in." from inside.
You find her sitting in one of her comfortable sitting chairs in front of an open window that faces the alley behind the Emporium. Madam Zalamandra is an attractive human woman approaching middle age with dark skin and black hair. As has been the case for all of this hot and humid summer, she is dressed in cream-colored, flowing cotton robes, supposedly the latest fashion from the Bright Desert. Her makeup and nails are impeccable and she always makes sure her décolletage is hard to miss.
Her office is actually quite small and cramped as the largest rooms in the Emporium are reserved for paying guests.
"Please, have a seat, Crothel," she says, indicating another sitting chair opposite her. "I really wish I could have an office with a cross breeze in this kind of weather, but it's best for the Emporium if our soft girls and boys have those for their use, isn't it? We wouldn't want THOSE smells to linger." She then pulls out a fan made from short reeds and begins to fan herself.
"I've asked you to come because I have good news about your father's debt that you have been working so hard to pay off. I have a task I need some assistance with that will help reduce that debt and which is in your wheelhouse. I know you had a rather unfortunate interaction with a patron last night by the name of Todrik. You handled that quite well, by the way. It's important to keep the customers happy, even if they are acting like idiots. Well, Todrik ended up paying for a full night with Proud Polly, and in fact, he's still asleep in her room. Polly told met this morning that Todrik has a key on him, a key of some importance that I'd like a copy of. I need you to enter the room undetected, lift the key from the sleeping Todrik, and bring it back to me. I'll make a copy of it and then Polly will bring it back in with her and drop it next to him when she wakes him up. If you can do this without him being any the wiser, I'll erase the equivalent of a month of work off your father's debt. What do you say?"
Crothel sits and listens carefully, and his eyes widen when Madam Zalamandra mentions the erasure of a month of debt.
"I'll do my best," Crothel says. "Did she tell you where the key was? In a pocket or on a cord around his neck?" He thinks about asking what will happen if he is caught, but he doesn't want to focus on that.
After he received his answer, he replies, "Thank you for the opportunity. I'll do it right away."
Leaving the office, he heads to the supply room where cleaning rags are kept. He takes one and in the kitchen pours some cheap wine on it, like he just used the rag to wipe up a spilled bottle of wine.
At the door to Proud Polly's room, he listens for a moment before taking off his shoes. He softly opens the door and slips inside. He slides slowly on his sock covered feet towards the bed.
[dice=Stealth]1d8
[dice=Wild]1d6
Cal comes out from underneath the carriage, his hand straying near the short sword at his hip as he approaches you. "Hey, calm down, Sumak, we'll be out of here in just a minute!"
As Cal is approaching you from the front, you see that his companion is circling around in what he thinks is the shadows of the stable to flank you.
Sumak: 10 of Hearts
Cal & Friend: 4 of Hearts
Madam Zalamandra informs you that they key is hanging from a string around his neck. Despite this clear disadvantage for you, you easily make your way into the guest room without causing any noise.
Todrik is sprawled out naked on the bed, wearing only the string with the key around his neck. Without further pause, you carefully move the string over his head and quickly make your way out of the room. When you get to the door, Todrik snorts, but looking back, you can see that he is clearly still asleep.
Returning to Madam Zalamandra (who is standing in the hallway outside the guest room waiting for you), you give her the key, which she quickly places into a wax mold. She then looks up to you and smiles.
"Well, that was quite something. You sure you want to continue working for me? You could be making much better money in Greyhawk City as a second story man!" She gives you a wink and tells you that you're free to get back to your washing. Polly will return the key to Todrik when she wakes him.
"Greyhawk City? Naah, I couldn't leave my dad," Crothel says, looking down at his feet, trying to hide his smile from the compliment.
In two powerful strikes of his sword, Sumak brings down the man who had been sneaking up on him.
Cal turns white as milk and drops to his knees with his hands up. "Don't kill me! Don't kill me, Sumak!" he pleads.
Having spent a small amount of time both attending to the Gallery of Science (no new exhibits!) and looking in on her acquaintance Crothel (not to be found…) Aksha repaired to Jalek’s Flophouse, paid her coin and…flopped for the night.
Strange dreams assailed her. In that they were uncharacteristically calm and infused with…serenity…as if the unquiet voices she was accustomed to were…stilled.
Rising with a bright determination Aksha noted the weather matched her mood. A warm day, some wind. Perhaps she’d find Crothel, if only to needle him about making sure to hang coal-sheets on the outermost lines to take the worst of the dust…
Reknar was on his way through the lower town, intending to visit Allustan about a curious map he'd found in a shipment of scrap iron. The back alleys offered a way through the heat and bustle of the Vein.
At the sound of shouting, he slows and turns toward the disturbance.
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"You should have just walked away and not drawn weapons. Grab your friend and drag him somewhere to get help." Sumak says and steps back to let Cal go with the other man. Sumak looks at the downed man and hopes he survives the night as he wasn't looking to end anyone's life that evening.
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The next day Sumak is making his way behind the Emporium on his way to get some food to eat. He had long since gotten used to taking backways to avoid the looks that a big half orc received in the town.