Lady Mayor Deverin NPC's page

"Well, Mayor Deverin, Constable Hemlock, unless you or my friends have anything more to say, I think we better get a move on our preparations!"

"Very well, I'll leave you to it. The Town of Sandpoint is grateful for your help. As am I."

The Lady Mayor rises to leave.

"Master Quink," the mayor says with a sigh. "I'm afraid your research will have to wait a while. You have more than enough to occupy yourself with the ruins you are already researching."

"I imagine we can arrange for a skiff to take you by the Thistletop cliffs. You would have to take a boat in yourself though; the sailors are unlikely to want to get too close, considering that the goblins like to use fire."

She turns and looks Kellek over.

"And while Mister Zaderan and I just met, I am given to understand that he is a wizard of some ability. I imagine someone like that would be of value to this expedition."

"If all the tribes are contributing warriors, we could be looking at as many as two hundred goblins in the attack. With that many goblins, there's no way we can keep them out of the streets, and goblins like to set fire to things. The town is not likely to survive. Shalelu's message is clear."

"We need to eliminate the leadership at Thistletop before their plan comes to fruition. Cut the head off the snake. Whoever is keeping this tribal alliance together has to be extraordinary, and without their leadership the goblins will go back to fighting one another."

She looks around the table and meets the eyes of everyone there.

"As the Lady Mayor of Sandpoint, I am requesting that you, the Sandpoint Six... or what's left of them, go to Thistletop and eliminate this threat. You have shown that you work together well and have a combination of skills that give you an actual chance of pulling this off."

"I won't insist. This is a dangerous task. But should you succeed, the reward will be substantial, suitable to the thanks of a grateful town."

"I'm afraid you would have to be a pretty good guesser to figure out what this means," says Mayor Deverin. "This is a shorthand that Shalelu and I have worked out over the years. When you use birds as messengers you can only fit so much information on a little strip of paper."

MD: ~20 TTG ->+MWG 100.

"M.D. is me. So this means... about 20 goblins from the Thistletop tribe have moved to and joined the Mosswood Goblins. That's not good."

Rd2-> SP sn wo TT*.

"Rd2 is ready to, and the arrows mean move. So they are ready to move on Sandpoint soon, but without the Thistletop leaders. The star means leader."

? TT* stl ^.

"The question mark means she thinks it's stange, or she doesn't know why they would do that. This here means that she thinks the Thistletop leaders are still in overall charge, which is puzzling if they are not with this large force. It suggests that even that 120 goblins are not the primary thrust of their plan."

I...-> w tr/D +3/4d.

"This part means that she thinks she can slow down their march by planting traps in the forest and using archery to pick off lone targets. It's a strategy she has used before, and it often demoralizes the goblins. She thinks this will buy us three or four days."

UX->TT* b4 MW->SP!!! Shlu

"'U' is us, and 'X' is kill or eliminate. So she's saying it's vital for us to take out the leaders at Thistletop before the Mosswood force marches on Sandpoint. That's just a signature at the end."

Mayor Deverin nods.

"While it will be an important boost, the Constable and I agree that it is not enough to fend off a real goblin attack from multiple tribes. We will have no choice but to call out the militia; with Lord Lonjiku gone I think I can persuade Lord Valdemar to agree to it. But the militia are volunteers and not trained soldiers."

"Which makes the other news I have disconcerting. Our Ranger Shalelu has been scouting the goblin tribes, trying to find out what is going on. We have finally heard from her. Usually she sends her messages by messenger bird but this time the message was delivered by this man here."

The mayor indicates a lean-looking well-dressed man that the group doesn't recognize.

"Allow me to introduce Kellek Zaderan. Kellek, these are the group of adventurers I told you about; they used to be called 'The Sandpoint Six' though I see two seats seem to be vacant... So perhaps you could tell the Sandpoint Four here just how you came to deliver this message."

"Well, hello, my friends," Mayor Deverin says warmly yet formally. "I heard about your adventure on the island. I'm glad to hear that the last victim of the Chopper has been accounted for and laid to rest. Poor Simon. It seems like we will never be free of that horrible man's memory. But perhaps now we can finally move on."

"But we're not here because of that. There's been a... development. Actually, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that the Constable arrived with our reinforcements from Magnimar this afternoon."

"Mayor Deverin, I actually propose we leave the catacombs we just explored open for study..." Flo explains.

"Of course, as long as the route into the town that goblins used is blocked. The potential goblin raid is what I'm worried about."

"Master Quink, some trusted assistants, and a contingent of guards may do well to further explore the area and assess its future danger to the town," she offers.

"I'm not sure we can afford a 'contingent of guards...' it put a strain on the guard schedule just to post these two down here. Are there really any threats left down there?"

The mayor arrives not long afterward, having been expecting the return of the adventurers. She listens closely to the group's account.

"It sounds like whatever threat lay with the denizens that were down there is now ended. Believe me, this is a great relief. We need to get workers to seal this access to the town against more goblin incursions. But once that is done then at least we only have to worry about what is going on above ground."

"Speaking of which, Shalelu is scouting out the goblin territories now, and I expect to hear from her soon; hopefully within a few days."

"Ah, cold iron or magically weapons aligned with the gods of good. Just borrowing of course."

"Hmmm... I don't think I would have anything like that just... 'lying around.' I can't recall having needed such things before. But Father Zantus might be able to mix something up for you. Or Das Korvut might have something made from cold iron."

The way NPC wealth works, for someone to have a +1 holy longsword lying around would require them to have a level in the mid-teens. NPCs have a lot less gear than PCs of the same level.

Let's move ahead.

"What is it you need?" Asks the mayor.

"I believe that Lord Valdemar's ship was called the Feathermoth. But Lord Titus, if your family contracts a group of mercenaries on our behalf, then they should be in the service of the Town of Sandpoint and the League, rather than any individual house."

"I'm sure that we can persuade Lord Ethram to agree to such a proposal. After all, it would hardly be fair to expect you to pay the full burden of such a venture... otherwise I might have to hire my own mercenaries just to save face, and so might poor old Ethram. Better to have any such force under one roof, as it were."

Turning to whoever has the journal, she presents it to the Mayor. "Here is the information we found, we've learned that..." Flo continues to summarize the information contained within as the Mayor looks it over.

Lady-Mayor Deverin looks over the Journal.

"This does not bode well. I don't recognize any of these names, but it is clear that a plan is being made to attack the town. We seem to have the core of two possible plans here, though from this we can't know which one will be used. But it's clear we need to secure the glassworks."

Lady Deverin frowns.

"What is a Quasit?" She asks. "Apparently a Quasit and 'her freaks' are below the town. I can't say I like the sound of that."

Sergeant Bartle sends a runner to the council hall. Soon the Mayor arrives with a few of her assistants.

"By the Lady's Light!" gasps the mayor as she looks around the workshop. She approaches the group.

"I understand that it was Tsuto Kaijitsu that was responsible for this, and that he is dead. The Sergeant also told me that there is a tunnel under the glassworks, and that they used this to sneak in?"

She shakes her head.

"For someone to side with the goblins against Sandpoint... it seems incredible. This is a real blow against our town. Still..." she pauses. "We cannot let our guard down. The tunnel will have to be secured right away."

"Is there anything else you know?"

"Enough!" the mayor stands, commanding silence.

"It is time to formulate a plan, and here is what we will do."

"Firstly, we will send to Magnimar for reinforcements. Professional soldiers. Constable, you will need to go and convince them of the urgency of our need. But you need to be back within two days."

"Secondly, Professor Gandethus, you need to provide us with a proposal for your magical security for the forest, and possibly other vulnerable areas. Bring me a plan by tomorrow."

"Thirdly, we need to know what the goblins are up to. Shalelu, I'll have to send you out again. See what you can find out, and where the biggest threat is coming from. Look into this Thistletop angle."

"Fourthly, we need to conduct searches of the town, starting immediately. Constable, have Sergeant Bartle call up some militia to augment his forces so that we can make such a search. We'll have to send word around the town to expect us and to require cooperation." The mayor turns to the group.

"You offered to help, so here's your chance. We need lots of able bodies to conduct this search and you will be most useful here."

"I know you want to go straight to Thisteltop, but I'm not sure you have enough experience to do something like that yet. Let's wait until we are sure before we send you into the lion's den."

You're actually not meant to go running off to Thistletop just yet, so bear with me. It would be a bit of a meat grinder at first level, and there's a few things that are meant to happen in Sandpoint first.

The mayor turns back to the table.

"So, any objections? No? Then let's put my plan to a vote, shall we? All in favor?"

The Mayor raises a hand, as does Lord Valdemar. Lord Scarnetti also does shortly afterwards. Lord Kaijitsu looks around the table, and then reluctantly raises his hand.

"Excellent. So it's unanimous. Let's get to work then, shall we? This meeting is adjourned."

The mayor looks aghast.

"A traitor? One living here, who would betray Sandpoint to the goblins?"

"But who?"

For the record, you actually have no idea where the human who was with the goblins came from. The notion that the human was from Sandpoint was just a guess. You know that according to the goblin captives, the human arrived with the Thistletop goblins when the raiding party grouped together.

Mayor Deverin smiles.

"We note your willingness to help, Lord Scarnetti. But any plan should be supported by the town as a whole; no one of us should carry the whole burden. That is unfair."

"My instinct is to send for help from Magnimar. As our liege they are required to render assistance in times of trouble. And in the meantime, we can call for... volunteers... from the militia to expand the ranks of the guardsmen until we are back to full strength."

"Lord Scarnetti, there are plenty of other businesses in Sandpoint that could be the target aside from your lumber business. My stone quarries or brewery, or Lord Kaijitsu's glassworks, for example."

Mayor Deverin thinks.

"Father Tobyn wasn't always the easiest man to get along with."

She shakes her head.

"But for someone to hate him enough to desecrate his remains? It doesn't seem likely."

"I'm sure you all can turn this into an all-day affair, so I just wanna note: yes, we'll find whoever the goblins' new leader is and kill 'em. Also I charge by the goblin killed, with a bonus after fifty."

The mayor looks at Kargas with a raised eyebrow.

"I appreciate the offer, Mister Kargas. If that becomes the plan we may take you up on it. But do you have any insight on who this leader is?"

Ironically, though it was a good guess, your guess was incorrect... the meeting here serves as a way of getting information and talking to town experts (and getting to know who's who). The council wasn't planning on sending you on a mission. They still could though if you want to direct the conversation in that direction.

Before Lord Kaijitsu can say anything, the Lady-Mayor jumps in.

"Ah! Here we are! My new friends, may I introduce His Lordship Titus Scarnetti. Lord Scarnetti, these are the 'Sandpoint Six,' the ones who intervened the other day when the goblins attacked."

"Now that we're all here, let's get things underway."

"Enough! Lord Kaijitsu, I heard him as well as you did."

She looks at Cade sternly.

"Mister Goodbarrel. I must remind you that we face a dire situation here, and it serves no purpose for you to provoke the rulers of this town. You are not required to like Lord Kaijitsu. But this is an official meeting and decorum must be observed."

She rubs her chin, thinking.

"We will discuss the matter of your breach of decorum after the meeting's primary business has been resolved."

"Perhaps we should wait until everyone is here for the full briefing," the Mayor interjects.

Just at that moment, three more people enter. Cyrdak Drokkus, the bard and playwright, accompanies an elderly lady with a cane. And with them a middle aged man in flowing robes and numerous pieces of jewelry also enters.

"Ah! Good. May I present Cyrdak Drokkus, who runs the Sandpoint Theater, the wise Madame Mvashti, and Ilosari Gandethus, headmaster of the Turandarok Academy."

"Ah! Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce Lord Valdemar. Laurana, I think your father works in his shipyard. Ethram, these are the adventurers they are calling 'The Sandpoint Six.' They helped drive off the goblins that attacked yesterday."

"Lord, you look tired. Please have a seat."

"There are still a few more we are waiting for."

"My Lord Kaijitsu, please forgive our transgressions. We have yet to be properly informed of the matters of title and will do our best to be respectful," she says as she gives her furry friend's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Thank you for the lesson."

Lord Kaijitsu nods at Floredana, clearly mollified by her apology.

With a natural 20 in Diplomacy, he better be satisfied!

"No, no, my fault." The mayor interjects. "I should have made introductions."

"We have some business to cover, but we are still waiting for-"

The mayor turns to Lord Kaijitsu with a soothing tone in her voice.

"Come now, Lord Kaijitsu. Some exuberance is to be expected. We have a weighty matter before us! Surely we need not waste time on ceremony when so much is at stake?"

The mayor stands, and approaches the group with a warm smile.

"Welcome! I've heard a great deal about you! I have wanted to meet you but this is the first chance I've had."

She comes forward to offer her hand and shake hands with the group.

"For myself and on behalf of the Council, I have to say we appreciate everything you've done. You were there in the town's hour of need and we thank you."