"I wonder if the pirates are aware of us, You should have never let that halfling go."
"One thing ole Harvak knows is never judge anything by it's outer apppearance. Back in the Dreadwood when I was growing up I'd spent alot of time up on Choctaw Ridge about seven miles from the Red Beaver lodge where'd i lived there was this old woman. She lived up above Choctow Ridge everybody said she was a nice lady whom loved gardening and had the most beautiful Azalea Bushes. Well me and several of my friends started hanging round Lady Madga as she like to be called, it was cool she had ponds and tree swings and she made sweet drinks with ice We help her do gardening stuff. My dad was away in the north that summer. We had a great time hanging out with her or so it would seem. Well my dad gets back and we hang and he ask me what I been up to and I told him and he screamed to stay away from that woman. Well couple days later several small children went missing from a logging lodge to the west. My dad went with several of his friends track the trail back to Madga's and great battle ensued and demons were killed and many thousands of bodies were found there beneath the gardens! My dad and his druids friends burnt the whole place down! Nothing grows there to this day! And then my dad sat me down and told me about Azalea Bushes and the cult of Demogorgon the prince of demons! He said when you see one or two Azalea bush it ok, but three or more means you've got yourself a Demogorgon cult on the rise!
Several local folks were arrested, a baker, a candlestick maker and a stableman all of them had Azalea bushes! So never judge things on how the look."
"Huh?"
<confused>
She sits down at the desk, next to you.
Her perfume is amazing."Now, Gittik, what hand do you write with? Er, no, that won't do.
What hand do you hold your sword in? Oh, well, your bigger sword?
Okay, this is a 'G....now I.....T..."
"I wonder if the pirates are aware of us, You should have never let that halfling go."
"One thing ole Harvak knows is never judge anything by it's outer apppearance. Back in the Dreadwood when I was growing up I'd spent alot of time up on Choctaw Ridge about seven miles from the Red Beaver lodge where'd i lived there was this old woman. She lived up above Choctow Ridge everybody said she was a nice lady whom loved gardening and had the most beautiful Azalea Bushes. Well me and several of my friends started hanging round Lady Madga as she like to be called, it was cool she had ponds and tree swings and she made sweet drinks with ice We help her do gardening stuff. My dad was away in the north that summer. We had a great time hanging out with her or so it would seem. Well my dad gets back and we hang and he ask me what I been up to and I told him and he screamed to stay away from that woman. Well couple days later several small children went missing from a logging lodge to the west. My dad went with several of his friends track the trail back to Madga's and great battle ensued and demons were killed and many thousands of bodies were found there beneath the gardens! My dad and his druids friends burnt the whole place down! Nothing grows there to this day! And then my dad sat me down and told me about Azalea Bushes and the cult of Demogorgon the prince of demons! He said when you see one or two Azalea bush it ok, but three or more means you've got yourself a Demogorgon cult on the rise!
Several local folks were arrested, a baker, a candlestick maker and a stableman all of them had Azalea bushes! So never judge things on how the look."
lol--the Azalea Bush guy...with the twitchy eye....tell me another story, crazy Uncle Billy!
“Um … yeah. Well the halfling didn’t seem to have any Azalea bushes on her, far as I could tell. I think we’re safe. ‘Sides, I’m a good judge of character,” says Beldan, after his eyes unglazed from Harvak’s story.
"Oh, this is hard!"
"OK, me eat, me write, we get jiggy now, please?"
A most unbelievable story! By that reckoning we should slaughter every gardener on the planet! What if someone just has a right and good fancy of Azaleas? "Sorry, you have proven your allegiance to the forces of the underworld, PREPARE TO EAT STEEL VILE PRUNER!!!" Hardly a proper way to determine one's innocence or guilt.
"Oh, this is hard!"
"OK, me eat, me write, we get jiggy now, please?"
"You want to learn dancing? My, you are motivated. Hmm...I should probably have a friend of mine or two over that can play music.
Next lesson perhaps?"
eat steel vile pruner? LOL!
Always new gardeners were a tad off... ;)
Beldan rows out with Tom and Will Stoutly, loaded up with spoils and such, just before dawn. The ride to Saltmarsh is uneventful, as is the evening; we'll say 23 days now until the full moon.
"Aye, duck!" says Tom to Beldan as he disembarks."There's a big ship'll go back in two days, sunrise, right here; be here or walk back, your choice boyo!"
"You want to learn dancing? My, you are motivated. Hmm...I should probably have a friend of mine or two over that can play music. Next lesson perhaps?"
<concludes this could be a long-term seduction, and decides to concentrate on his letters>
"OK, G - I - T - T - I - K. That me? Oh, what you name look like."
Gittik:
Otherwise, you can have 1 extra use of rage per day. ;)
Beldan rows out with Tom and Will Stoutly, loaded up with spoils and such, just before the next dawn. The ride to Saltmarsh is uneventful, as is the evening; we'll say 23 days now until the full moon.
"Aye, duck!" says Tom to Beldan as he disembarks."There's a big ship'll go back in two days, sunrise, right here; be here or walk back, your choice boyo!"
Anybody else rolling with Beldan into Saltmarsh?
"Hey, Elgan, will Ocean return any time soon? A few sea elves could really wreak havoc on that pirate ship."
She didn't say for sure; sea elves are a little on the flighty side...
Gittik:
** spoiler omitted **
Gittik finally leaves Jane's house with a slitting headache and ink in his trousers. He staggers back to the inn, confused by the evening, but still elated to have spent time with such a nice-smelling woman, and crashes out by the fire.
Gittik:
"Hey, Elgan, will Ocean return any time soon? A few sea elves could really wreak havoc on that pirate ship."
"She did'n say. She seemd ta be a lil' on de flighty side, if'n ya knows whut ah mean. But Ah gots de impression she foun' us interestin'. When she tells her folk 'bout us an' our offer, we might gets a visit. An' we do have almos' a month. Yeah, yer right chere. A few o' dem sea elves attackin' from da water might jes be da t'ing ta turn da tide, if'n yeh pardon da pun. Hm. Ah wonders if'n ah could take a shape dat kin swim? Ah nevah tried befo'e."
Elgan wanders off onto the grounds to practice his shifting,...
Gittik beds down in a guest bedroom at the mansion.
He gets a peck on the cheek, and a thanks for the nice time from Jane...
He awakens the next morning to the pre-sunrise dawn, to birds chirping, then the silence of the birds when a predator is about.
He looks out the window into the garden below.
An elderly halfling strides out into the garden, carrying a tall walking stick. He stands in the middle of a sandy square, and with the walking stick spins slowly drawing a perfect circle.
He then strides to the edge of that circle, and walks its circumference, drawing a perfect larger circle around the first one.
The old halfling then draws his rapier, and begins working on his swordforms.
When Beldan gets back to town, he wants to get;
Some sleep
A set of mwork studded leather (175gp)
An mwork lt crossbow (335gp)
A potion of clw (50gp)
He’ll then check in on Gittik, and get in contact with Pharsia if he can. Take her out to a nice dinner if she’s up for it.
EDIT: though he probably wont be able to find Gittik...
A quick trip to the Lizard Boat, and Kialee informs Beldan that "Harv and Stig's were here yesterday. Gittik went over to see Jane. He was in a real hurry. Hasn't been back since...." she winks.
She tells you how to get over there if you want to go...
Vaulter isn't awake yet when you cruise by their gaff at about two hours before noonbells. Pharsia'll go out to lunch with you...
"Oh, Beldan!" she hugs you, "I....was...was the mansion actually haunted? An old woman down at the market was talking about the place. She said there's vampyres, and all manner of vileness...
OH! You're not a vampyre, are you? Oh, no, of course not. The sun is up."
sense motive dc10:
Out for an hour; need to do errands...
Beldan laughs, and puts his arm around the woman. “No baby, I’m not undead. It was a bit hairy, but nothing we couldn’t handle, you needn’t worry. Heh, maybe I’ll show you my scars later…”
The lunch is nice, the conversation is nice.
Pharsia hangs on every word of Beldan's tales of daring do.
The walk back to her pad is halcyon, but interrupted by a street gathering. There's a sawed off little mustelid of a man with grungy moustache and goatee, wild eyes, and electrified sideburns, in half plate armor, sounding off on the negative effects of the House of Neheli on Keolandish society in general: how King Skotti though kind and good, is naive to their overtures, and how only House Rhola can save them all from a (Neheli-caused) Civil War.
Two glazed-eyed thugs stand before him on a podium, and the crowd is interspersed with the generally downtrodden and bored.
In the crowd, at least 20 now masterless household knights in tarnished armor listen to the words filled with zealous conviction, look on with stars in their eyes.
"Times are getting scary," is all that Pharsia says.
Get back to the gaff, Vaulter's out and about...
Beldan:
Meanwhile, back at the mansion,...
(Elgan, Stiggy, Harvak, Becton, Riese, Altai...)
If somebody is upstairs:
There's two dead cows in the wagon, and a bunch of laughing jolly drunken louts about the carriage. Two strong shire horses pull the whole rig.
They beat on the door: "Ghooosty!!! Aye, Ghosty!!! You there? Ghostyghostyghosty!!! We're heeeeeere, Ghosty!"
If you're downstairs:
Then, a minute later, walking in the house, and then somebody is stomping on the murderholed door, asking for 'Ghosty.'
"Aye, anybody down there? Ghosty? Here, we're here for the stuff!"
meh...take a while and figure out what you wanna do.
I gotta stat these guys up anyway, that is if you want to fight them...
Sorry I've been spotty going of late; the angles on the house (which I didn't know you'd decide to attempt to make into a base though I should've) kinda threw me for a loop.
I think I'm getting the angles on it now though.
"What the hell is that racket? It must be... uh oh." Altai scoots to and fro looking for some fighters. "Harvak! Stigwold! The smugglers' pickup are here. Get your blades", he hisses, pawing through his pockets looking for spell components.
Altai and anybody in the room with him:
At the murderhole door, Altai hears:
Voice 1: "I don't know,...maybe they're down in those cool caves."
Voice 2: "Should we go down?"
Voice 1: "Hell no! You know how Sanby gets. Stay cool. Beat on the door some more. He'll come up when he wants to. It's cool, man."
Voice 1: "Cool, man. I wanna go back and chill."
Voice 2: "Yeah. Cool."
Voice 1: "Yeahaha? Cool?"
Voice 2: "Cooooool."
"Heh." Altai calms down a little bit, and his smile becomes a bit less nervous. "We might be in luck - they are morons."
Stig grabs his axe and heads for the door.
Is Stiggy up in the house, or in the basement with Altai?
And is he opening the door yet, or playing it cool?
“Ah, don’t worry about it; affairs of nobles and kings … nothing to do with us.”
Beldan briefly considers that he might have heard the names of those noble houses before … something to do with Bale Keep … and those disenfranchised knights, was it a couple of those who were involved in the brawl at the tavern the other night?
Eh, not to worry. Beldan had other things on his mind.
Is Stiggy up in the house, or in the basement with Altai?
And is he opening the door yet, or playing it cool?
He went upstairs to get away from the rum. The barrels were speaking the Dwarven language which kind of creeped him out.
But he'll go slowly so everyone can get in on the action.
Tenser is upstairs, too. Stig's getting him ready for cohort training by rubbing his belly.
Gittik beds down in a guest bedroom at the mansion.
He gets a peck on the cheek, and a thanks for the nice time from Jane...He awakens the next morning to the pre-sunrise dawn, to birds chirping, then the silence of the birds when a predator is about.
He looks out the window into the garden below.
An elderly halfling strides out into the garden, carrying a tall walking stick. He stands in the middle of a sandy square, and with the walking stick spins slowly drawing a perfect circle.
He then strides to the edge of that circle, and walks its circumference, drawing a perfect larger circle around the first one.
The old halfling then draws his rapier, and begins working on his swordforms.
Gittik watches the old halfling surreptitiously.
(Gittik)
When he is walking out there he looks stiff and arthritic.
When the circles are complete, his steps are a slight on the doddering side, his footwork is tender, but the sword dances like licks of flame from the hand of the efreeti.
<opens and leans out of window>
"Hey, who you?"
Stig walks slowly, gingerly to the front door; by that time they're in the room far to the west, banging on the murderholed floordoor.
(the one you guys came out of immediately before the zombie rat and gnoll fight).
He sees through the windows the two strapping Anderhoff twins, the ones keen on hammerwork. About these two like remoras, there's about four street toughs, all bluster, mewling deference to the thick armed Anderhoffs. All knives and bats with nails and sharp things dangling from belts, and leather with b-b's of steel worked into the cure.
Since these dudes obviously aren't traveling salesmen, Stig's plan is to open the door and get a surprise round on them.
<opens and leans out of window>
"Hey, who you?"
He continues on with his forms for about thirty seconds, then stops and grins up to him.
"I'm Neeber. Never heard of me? Hrmph.
Who are you?"
knowledge local 10(untrained)
Since these dudes obviously aren't traveling salesmen, Stig's plan is to open the door and get a surprise round on them.
The door to the room in the west, right?
"Me Gittik. Me fight pirates in old house. You look like you fight good. You know Jane?"
"Pirates, is it? Ho ho! A gallant in my manor! Splendid! Calloo Callay!
Jane, Jane....hmm.....um,...oh, yes. You must mean my first granddaughter Jane. Do you know her too?"
Riese is with Altai, when the knock occurs, helping to pile debris into manageable piles for cleanup.
"Let's get the drop on them. Good idea with the door Stigwold."
Oh, then I meant that I am on the 1st floor cleaning up the rooms. I would be piling up debris in the rooms closest to the door, so we have a clear path to bring in supplies and people. I guess I am working near Stiggy instead of Altai.
Since these dudes obviously aren't traveling salesmen, Stig's plan is to open the door and get a surprise round on them.The door to the room in the west, right?
Wherever he can get the jump on them.
Right on.
"Pirates, is it? Ho ho! A gallant in my manor! Splendid! Calloo Callay!
Jane, Jane....hmm.....um,...oh, yes. You must mean my first granddaughter Jane. Do you know her too?"
"Yes. Me like Jane. She show me how to write my name."
“Ah, don’t worry about it; affairs of nobles and kings … nothing to do with us.”
The Neheli were newly Garrisoning Fort Bale.
Return ship on following day, not day afer that. (I guess I'll batten it down there).
"Oh, did she! Splendid! So, are you a swordshobbit, man? Come on down and show me what you can do?"
The old feller beams happily at Gittik.