OK. Work is kicking my a$$ right now with a thousand 'priority' tasks that I can't entirely foist off on delegate to my employees. I doubt I'll be able to post until maybe the middle of next week. Bot as necessary.
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I'm not going to be online much in the next couple of days, feel free to bot as necessary (Dolgrin may spend more time seeing who or what the imp is interested in the next little while).
Dolgrin follows the gaze of the Imp to see what has caught the interest of the damnable creature.
"And to you," Dolgrin responds to the dwarf. He glances down at the vial and continues. "I will be sure to use this when necessary. Tell me where you may be staying, if you are remaining in the city. Should the demons and devils finally show their faces, I'll be sure to send word to you." He bows solemnly to the dwarf as he departs. Turning to Krucina, the dwarf nods. "No silver tongue required. I've been in a similar position as that good dwarf, and merely took a different path. We seem to be kindred in some things." He then returns to the casino, glaring over at the everpresent imp, his recent conversation reminding him of it's existence.
"I am Dolgrin Hammerfist. My mother's father, on his deathbed, sent me here to investigate. He had an inkling that the appearance of some vast unknown evil was imminent and, by Torag, I aim to crush it."
"Honestly," Dolgrin began, "I came to this town and, indeed, the Gold Goblin, for the exact reasons you have stated. The rumors of that tournament and everything behind it made me think the same things, that something sinister lurks within. All I've seen thusfar are several examples of poor taste, but nothing relating to otherworldly evil. That small imp is kept away from others, locked in its cage, a witness to sin, but not likely an instigator." The dwarf leaned forward and continued with a softer voice. "Now there's always the chance that the Evil lurks in the shadows. This was one of the reasons I took a job there, to keep an eye on things, just in case. So far all I've seen were mundane issues, criminals butting heads over their turf. Still, if there is something here, your coming out here and making pronouncements the way you do, may keep it hidden, working behind the scenes. I'd rather it felt safe enough that it could eventually show itself... and ultimately feel the blade of my axe. Would that not be a better outcome?"
Upon hearing the word of possible trouble, Dolgrin heads over to the indicated area, looking for an angry dwarf that was not in a mirror. "What seems to be the problem here?
"You're not here to fight. The Goblin has people for that, and I'm one of them," Dolgrin says, patting his axe. "If there is trouble, get yourself to safety until we clear it up."
Dolgrin opens his now empty hands. "To answer both your questions with another question... I'm a dwarf... Do you think I would give up what little gold I had earned if I didn't expect a larger pay-off down the road?"
Dolgrin looks down at his meagre pay before shrugging and passing it back to the boss. "I get free room and board here. Pass my share back to the rest of the staff."
He frowns when he notices the bard's reaction. He suppresses his dislike of elvenkind, knowing that the loss of the bard would delay or derail their plans for the Goblin, so moves in beside her, leaning in to speak softly. "We're only at the start on something that will, in the end, result in large pay-offs. Wouldn't you rather be a part of something at the beginning, to influence it to accomodate your needs as a performer while helping it grow so that it becomes the greatest place imaginable? A little short term pain will net some long term gain..."
Dolgrin does his best to keep an eye out for any ne'er-do-wells.
Dolgrin pulls out his axe and slaps it against his palm. "Well there's another way to see what's in a hole... and that's to make it bigger. If you can't figure it out soon, mayhap I'll give it a try..."
Sorry forgot to mention I'm on a course for the bulk of the week, meaning effectively offline. Bot as necessary.
Dolgrin fumes as he wanders the room. A simple glare from dwarf at a customer who had bumped into him was enough for the man to leave well enough alone. Something wasn't sitting well with him. He finally noticed the crowd around one man, and realized, after closing in on the crowd, that this gambler was somehow winning hand after hand. No lucky streak lasted that long... He squinted and looked to see if the source of his short temper were coming from that direction, remaining ready to act if something requiring his sharp axe were to occur.
Glancing over at Cameron he frowns, "And I've already said I disagreed with the idea, as have others... Where was the 'team spirit' then? It doesn't matter, I wouldn't be useful for advertisement at any rate." Turning to Nessa, he smiles. "Now that's something I can get into," the dwarf says, heading over to the breakfast area to eat.
Dolgrin snarls, ignoring Cameron's shooing motions "I'm not a billboard. You go right ahead and do what you want out there. I'll stay here to help keep an eye on things."
Dolgrin watches the conversation between the woman and Cameron warily. Speaking in that damnable elven tongue I expect... And she seems to be trying to hide her elven blood... I wonder if it is because she is rightly ashamed, or if it's something more... sinister...
Dolgrin nods. "Aye. Note when the "Cheat the Devil" event was on, this place was packed. It was well advertised and thus brought a good crowd. It also brought the bad kind of attention. It's less the lack of something to draw clientele, and more the risks they take coming to our establishment over another. Why risk coming here and being targeted by thugs when they can go to the competition and remain absolutely safe..." "If we want to succeed, we need to assure our guests that they will be safe even after they leave us... which is effectively impossible. Or we can make it seem that the other establishments aren't as safe as initially thought and that their clients feel that they are no longer safe there." The dwarf shrugs. "Or we can shut down the gambling an turn this place into an inn. Less potential for profits, but at least the thugs won't be trying to put us out of business."
Dolgrin takes the man to a room in order to sleep off the remnants of the poison before heading back out to the main area to keep his eyes out for more trouble, despite the fact the place was nearly empty.
I'm pretty sure it doesn't become a class skill, it's just a free couple of points to spend. To make it a CS, we'd have to grab an associated trait or something similar. Dolgrin will put one point into Knowledge (history) and perhaps Lore (dwarvish enemies through history), if that is a thing, which fits with his Lorekeeper race trait. Or something else related to his Socuting for Fiends or Scholar of the Great Beyond, if I can think of something that fits. If anyone has the Researching the Blot trait, maybe you can take Lore (Blot).
Dolgrin steps ahead of the others and glares along the path he plans to take. "Make way for the injured," he says, shouldering people aside to give room for those carrying the man to pass.
Dolgrin glares at the backs of the crime lord and his minions as they depart the Goblin. Too generous by far. Seems being all nice didn't get us anything but empty pockets for the House.
Dolgrin moves to a position where he could swiftly close on any possible trouble, but otherwise stays far enough back to keep from being an overt threat, as he waits to see how this all plays out.
Dolgrin keeps an eye on the new arrivals, waiting to see if they decide to cause trouble, or if the group will be told to cause trouble first.
"Perhaps this... the Blot absorbs arcane energy at certain times of the day. Or it is random. Consider testing your minor magics throughout the day...," Dolgrin shrugs. "And who knows, perhaps the thing will thank those who have supplied it with magical energies rather than devouring them... since we're gabbing about wild theories and all." "Still, thank you for the information. We will keep an eye out on further evidence of your theory. I have nothing further. It's probably best to get back to the Goblin."
Dolgrin blinks at the abrupt change in topic. "No. I'm afraid that, at the moment, I cannot bring forth any magic. With more practice and training, perhaps, I may be able to tap into my bloodline to perform such feats but, currently, they are beyond me." "Back to the subject at hand... To be truthful, it is difficult to say... My grandfather was becoming senile in his old age, and his theories, prophecies, or what have you, were already a source of ridicule. The generalities of an ancient evil, perhaps something extraplanar, that may be associated with elves is as close as I could get. He had heard of the Gold Goblin's contest which made him think that it could be the beginning of something... as I said, his mind was going. Still, his dying wish, so I came. The contest was seemingly mere harmless fun, but I figured that since I was here, I could look into the other things a little more. And that 'Blot' does seem to be something sinister... so perhaps he was onto something, if not clear on what that something may be."
Dolgrin raises an eyebrow at the woman's frankness. "It could be even more surprising the elf working with me, considering my grandfather's research implied that elves could be behind an ancient evil that could destroy us. Still, that would be 'elves' as a group. This particular individual has proven to be trustworthy. I am Dolgrin Hammerfist," he continues, introducing himself, "and I, myself, have been trained in some aspects of the arcane arts, if not its practice, to better be able to combat it, should it be encountered, although I do have some proper training in planar studies." A link to another plane... Interesting idea, and one that she says is held by the majority... "What I find interesting is your view on the Cyphermages. I apologize for having thought that you were one of them, and I thank you for your frank opinion on both them and any potential theories they may have on the Blot. It will save us from wasting even more time after what we have spent here, finding little of use," he finishes waving his hand at the books they had been pouring through.
Hmm... so all potential elf-related evils seem to be dead. Still, death hasn't stopped some... So one elf who has reason to have a grudge against the dwarves. To see a Steelweaver runesword in action... that would have been incredible. And two who are related, one of which even has a history in Riddleport. The elder seems more plausible than the latter... undeath can be a tricky thing to end... Still... not really anything that I can follow... at the moment. The dwarf finally turns to the woman to greet her. "Good...," he looks around, unsure as to the amount of time that has passed, "...day? I've been looking into some lore related to my grandfather's research, but am now interested in more recent events. Have you been investigating this 'Blot', or do you know of any who are doing so? I am curious to see if there are any connections... but also as to the reason for its existence."
Looking at the pile of potential books he would have to read through, Dolgrin tries to organize them more efficiently, looking for instances where the subjects he is looking for appears more than once.
Hoping to be able to reduce the size of the research to something more managable, Dolgrin sets to it. He does pause for a moment to inquire to the lady nearby about whether she is or knows of those who have been studying "the Blot", since he is interested in their theories. Considering the Blot's been here around the same time granfather pointed me here... Perhaps it is related to this ancient evil or elves or something...
Dolgrin growls at the need to pay to access books rather than a scholar's mind directly, but remains calm on the off chance he would be able to find what he was looking for between the covers of the tomes they allowed him to access. He plans to talk to one of these cyphermages soon enough should he not find what he needed in the books.
Dolgrin narrows his eyes, but relaxes. Perhaps this one isn't directly involved... or he's a good liar. "There is little to go on," he explains. "An obscure legend that mentions some unknown evil that is imminent that could overwhelm my people. There were many that didn't believe him, so make of that what you will. Before he passed, he mentioned this place could be where it begins. Perhaps I am chasing moles in the dark, but with the blot, this place clearly being a den of iniquity...," he shrugs. "I am not ready to give up on him. I am going to visit the Cyphermages to see if they happen to have any information that could be related to the blot or these legends. Feel free to come along if you wish."
Dolgrin pauses and looks at the elf for a moment, a grim frown on his face and something, a mixture of disgust and respect, warring in his eyes. He finally takes a breath, as if he'd made a decision and replies to Hal. "I don't know if I can trust you, elf, but you've shown yourself as a force to be respected, at least. I am in this city to... investigate more about an... ancient evil that my grandfather had spoken of... It is, however," he says gripping the haft of his axe, ready to bring it forth if necessary, "related to your kind," he continues, pointing at Hal. "and to some vile fiends. Do you know anything of this?" The dwarf waits on Hal's response, a wariness in his eyes.
Dolgrin thanks Feldur and leaves the Goblin towards this Cyphermage magic school to see if they would have seen anything interesting in their research.
Dolgrin decides to continue his research. "Are there any... academics, knowledgeable bards, or sages in this town?" he asks his fellow dwarf. After getting directions he leaves to discuss any knowledge of an ancient evil in the vicinity of this town... something a little older than the thuggery-evil that seems to exist today. He pauses before leaving, taking an extra precaution of shoving his pouch under his armor. Inaccessible to him, at least without the time to dig for it, but also, hopefully so for any pickpockets he may encounter... again.
No big plans. Work security when on the job, see if he can find more information about the 'ancient evil' he came to town about on his off-time.
What treasure have received thus far? I think I may have missed some previous payments as I only have 10 gp prior to this 50gp gift (and I think that was after being pickpocketed 8). Did we even get any loot recently, or did Cameron give it away?
Dolgrin snorts. We should have brought him the thief's hands. Would have brightened his mood. The dwarf shrugs at the other dwarf as he accepted his payment. "We get results," he replied simply.
Dolgrin frowns as Cameron offers to return some of the items in the bag. "They're probably stolen too... No point in him keeping all his ill gotten gains... Or any for that matter. Unless he's imparting something useful... although from the sounds of it, it's not."
Dolgrin, giving the man a glare, keeps close to him, ready to strike out with his axe should the man attempt betrayal or escape.
"It might be good to set an example... It was not just 'a few casino chips' after all... It was quite a haul. Perhaps if you give us back _all_ the chips and what you owe... along with some spoils for the trouble of our having to come all the way out here... we might just let you live," the dwarf says, eyeing the man.
Dolgrin keeps his eye on "Nessa's" prisoner as he is led into the room to be identified, while the others search the area.
Dolgrin moves past the stunned man, flanking him with Nessa as he lashes out with his axe.
Sorry 'bout that. It was a long weekend for me and I had forgotten it's not a universal holiday.
Dolgrin releases his rage and moves down the hall to stand behind Alayna, frowning at the bottleneck preventing him from joining the fray.
Dolgrin takes in the scene before him. Taking his eyes from the pleading Nessa, he glares at Knuckles. "You could have continued to experience heaven and live. Instead, you've chosen experience this hell," he growls, brandishing his waraxe, "and die." The dwarf bares his teeth, his eyes going wild, as he swung his waraxe down upon the man.
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