The drunk lets out a long, resigned breath, then takes an even longer drink of his grog. "Fine," he says finally, turning on his stool to face Sabine fully, "here I am. I guess I can't cause you much harm by answering some questions... what did you want to know?"
Not wishing to surround Brakkus, Daryan stands up and walks behind Sabine, mug in hand. "I'm with her as well. Is there anything that we can prepare to be safe in Ustalav? Any particular protection that works against the things that I hear haunt the area?"
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"Well," he begins, stroking the scar on his cheek, "you'll probably hear lots of tall tales of all manner of beasties roaming that place, and no wonder given the history of the place... not all of them are true, but some certainly are, hard to tell the difference though.
"You've probably heard of the benefits of certain plants, herbs and spices in fighting off the supernatural threats, right? You know, garlic, wolfs-bane and so on... that's not total hogwash, but be sure to get them fresh, once they're dried out they'll be about as much use as dirt."
"You might well find yourself offered charms by the local wise-women." he continues, "Now, I can't say this with certainty for all of them, but the one I got turned out to be worthless... be careful you don't get swindled."
"Well," he begins, stroking the scar on his cheek, "you'll probably hear lots of tall tales of all manner of beasties roaming that place, and no wonder given the history of the place... not all of them are true, but some certainly are, hard to tell the difference though.
"You've probably heard of the benefits of certain plants, herbs and spices in fighting off the supernatural threats, right? You know, garlic, wolfs-bane and so on... that's not total hogwash, but be sure to get them fresh, once they're dried out they'll be about as much use as dirt.""You might well find yourself offered charms by the local wise-women." he continues, "Now, I can't say this with certainty for all of them, but the one I got turned out to be worthless... be careful you don't get swindled."
Daryan will thank Brakkus and head out back to the inn to sleep. In the morning, he'll discuss Brakkus's advice with the others as they head to where the job is.
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The lounge is quiet this early in the morning, only a single table occupied other that that taken by Alexian and his companions. A small group of noble ladies sit drinking tea and speaking quietly to each other, and the staff move across occasionally to refresh their drinks.
"Would you like anything else?" asks a waiter, setting down several plates of food for the Pathfinder Initiates.
"would some more tea be an appropriate request?" Shuriken smiles and giggles playfully, as normal. "some more flatbread would be nice too."
More ale, my good sir, more ale" says Alexian as he raises his empty mug, while giving the ladies nearby a sly wink and grin if they so happen to be looking his way.
"Thank you, but this will be sufficient," Daryan says to the waiter. He picks up his utensils to dig into the meal, giving Alexian a small grin, "Starting the drinking a bit early today, are we?"
In between bites, Daryan relates what he picked up. "Before we get to Ustalav, we should pick up some fresh wolfsbane and garlic. Apparently it's supposed to help with the local monsters."
"Thank you, but this will be sufficient," Daryan says to the waiter. He picks up his utensils to dig into the meal, giving Alexian a small grin, "Starting the drinking a bit early today, are we?"
In between bites, Daryan relates what he picked up. "Before we get to Ustalav, we should pick up some fresh wolfsbane and garlic. Apparently it's supposed to help with the local monsters."
Alexian gives Daryan a pained smile before continuing, "Heh, yea well it's more of a remedy...I was ah...up late 'gathering information' down here in the pub from the local beards. Lots of work and time...and drinking invested in getting them to talk." Alexian then goes over any additional information that Daryan hasn't heard (if any) during their time at the inn. Suddenly Alexian's easy going demeanor turns serious as he leans in closer to Daryan. "I'm a bit concerned about the boat up river. As far as I can imagine, any bandits attacking the boat will probably be on a boat/ship as well. As their guards, we are lacking in ranged weapons, unless they have some guards with bows. Do you see what I'm saying?"
Alexian gives Daryan a pained smile before continuing, "Heh, yea well it's more of a remedy...I was ah...up late 'gathering information' down here in the pub from the local beards. Lots of work and time...and drinking invested in getting them to talk." Alexian then goes over any additional information that Daryan hasn't heard (if any) during their time at the inn. Suddenly Alexian's easy going demeanor turns serious as he leans in closer to Daryan. "I'm a bit concerned about the boat up river. As far as I can imagine, any bandits attacking the boat will probably be on a boat/ship as well. As their guards, we are lacking in ranged weapons, unless they have some guards with bows. Do you see what I'm saying?"
"I can imagine the problem. Many people from my monastery were skilled in the art of deflecting arrows, but that's not a skill that I managed to pick up myself. I shall pick up some javelins at the market before we set out."
"I can imagine the problem. Many people from my monastery were skilled in the art of deflecting arrows, but that's not a skill that I managed to pick up myself. I shall pick up some javelins at the market before we set out."
Alexian nods in agreement and says "Good idea, I might have to pick some up as well, maybe a short bow, crossbow, or something similar."
I don't have the books on me, but how much does a short bow or light crossbow cost/dmg?
Shortbow 30 gp 1d6/×3 60 ft. 2 lbs. Piercing - Crossbow, light 35 gp 1d8/ 19–20/×2 80 ft. 4 lbs. Piercing
"Thirty-five gold pieces you must be mad! Give it to me for thirty and I'll gladly take it off your hands."
"Thirty gold? Do you want my poor little children to starve?"
"Ah your children can't starve I suppose...fine 35 gold pieces it is, IF you throw in a free quiver of quarrels" says Alexian with a smile.
"Done!" exclaims Alexian as he shakes the merchants hand. "Pleasure doing business with you." With that Alexian makes his way over to the barge they are to escort up river.
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The river-dock is situated a little behind the main sea-dock, through a series of locks that allow access to coastal barges and other shallow-water vessels. Your contact is currently supervising the loading of a barge with crates of varying sizes, some of which offer slight chimes as they are moved.
The merchant looks over, taking in the sight of your weapons, "You are the new guards?" he asks impatiently.
Alexian adjusts the sack slung over his shoulder, nearly giving the merchant a disdainful look, but restraining himself. "That's us, my friend. I'm Alexian...and you are?"
"Good, good, I am Mar—No! Put that over there!—I am Martos Rigsson, of the Rigsson Trading Company, I'm afraid more formal introductions will have to wait until we are underway, please just find somewhere to put your things for now."
Alexian nods at Martos and tries to stay out of peoples way as they prepare the barge. He finds a little nook off to the side and looks around at his surroundings.
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The barge is a fairly constant 25' wide along its 70' length, a single mast rises from the cluttered deck, and the rear section of the barge is depressed, providing access to the cramped under-deck sleeping quarters.
The labourers are almost finished loading the cargo, which occupies most of the barge and leaves little room to manoeuvre.
"i hope we do get to slaughter some bandits. i can definitely use the coin from thier corpses. i'm sure the 3 of you can as well." as she glances at Alexian, Daryan, and Sabine. she smiles playfully as she giggles yet again. something was not right about this child's sanity.
"Captain Martos, I just had some questions so we can properly defend your...barge from any attacks. First what do you know of how they tend to launch their raids, by boat I'm assuming? Second, how dependable is your crew in the case of an attack? Can we expect anything out of them? And lastly...where do you keep the complimentary booze?" The last sentence is said with a grin, as Alexian tries to pour on his easy going-slacker charm...
Stealth check
Perception check
"i hope we do get to slaughter some bandits. i can definitely use the coin from thier corpses. i'm sure the 3 of you can as well." as she glances at Alexian, Daryan, and Sabine. she smiles playfully as she giggles yet again. something was not right about this child's sanity.
"Well...money is always welcome, little princess, but I'm not gonna go out of my way to off a few bandits unless they happen to pick a fight with us here." Alexian pauses for a moment as if realizing something and says "This might happen after all..."
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Once all of the cargo is on board, the merchant captain turns his attention to Alexian's questions, "We should be safe for the first day or so, there are still military patrols that close to the city, but past that and we're on our own. There is going to be trouble with bandits until we reach Kyonin in about ten days, but most of them will back off once they see we are guarded. There are a few more organised groups that are more bold, and they usually show up in the Verudan forest and the River Kingdoms, mostly they just want a small share of our goods, but I've heard rumours of a new group along the Andoren border that are a little more ruthless.
"When the bandits do come, they usually pull up alongside us before boarding, and while my crew is loyal, they're no warriors... if it does come to a fight I'm not sure how helpful they might be."
At Alexian's last question, the merchant gives him a long stare, "you can have all the drink you want once we safely arrive in Xer."
Once all of the cargo is on board, the merchant captain turns his attention to Alexian's questions, "We should be safe for the first day or so, there are still military patrols that close to the city, but past that and we're on our own. There is going to be trouble with bandits until we reach Kyonin in about ten days, but most of them will back off once they see we are guarded. There are a few more organised groups that are more bold, and they usually show up in the Verudan forest and the River Kingdoms, mostly they just want a small share of our goods, but I've heard rumours of a new group along the Andoren border that are a little more ruthless.
"When the bandits do come, they usually pull up alongside us before boarding, and while my crew is loyal, they're no warriors... if it does come to a fight I'm not sure how helpful they might be."
At Alexian's last question, the merchant gives him a long stare, "you can have all the drink you want once we safely arrive in Xer."
"Understood." says Alexian with a grin. With that he relays that information back to the others, in the event that they are somewhere else.
Shuriken picks up her bag, takes it to her "quarters" and places it besides her "bed" whatever it may be. she walks out and approaches alexian, she has upon her person at the moment, she had her full montage of combat gear. evenly distributed but allowing easy access to any piece she wishes. she was quite ambidextrous as well.
" a gold piece off a bandit's corpse is just as good as any other. but far more rewarding." shuriken smiles yet again. she places her hand on alexans belt pouch teasingly. just for the reaction. she isn't really going to remove any coins from his pouch, but rather, goof off this way. she giggles playfully yet again. whilst still paying attention to any possible bandit attacks.
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For the most part, the crew have not fought against the bandits, allowing them to board and claim a share of the cargo. The few that have seen the bandits in action report that they usually pull along side and use grappling hooks to secure the boats together, some of the bandits then board, while others provide ranged support. None of the crew have seen the bandits use magic.
For the most part, the crew have not fought against the bandits, allowing them to board and claim a share of the cargo. The few that have seen the bandits in action report that they usually pull along side and use grappling hooks to secure the boats together, some of the bandits then board, while others provide ranged support. None of the crew have seen the bandits use magic.
The smaller groups tend to only have five or six armed crew members on their boats, but the larger ones have been known to have more. None of the crew have encountered the new group that have been rumoured to operate along the Andoren border.
Daryan stays mostly to himself abovedeck during this trip, generally sitting on a crate near the rear of the barge to keep out of everyone's way. He finds the trip down the river to be a nice time to meditate, free from the very active schedule of the pathfinder lodge and not especially called upon to help with the barge itself.
" a gold piece off a bandit's corpse is just as good as any other. but far more rewarding." shuriken smiles yet again. she places her hand on alexans belt pouch teasingly. just for the reaction. she isn't really going to remove any coins from his pouch, but rather, goof off this way. she giggles playfully yet again. whilst still paying attention to any possible bandit attacks.
"Good point", says Alexian, shifting his belt pouch away from Shuriken in jest.
" a gold piece off a bandit's corpse is just as good as any other. but far more rewarding." shuriken smiles yet again. she places her hand on alexans belt pouch teasingly. just for the reaction. she isn't really going to remove any coins from his pouch, but rather, goof off this way. she giggles playfully yet again. whilst still paying attention to any possible bandit attacks."Good point", says Alexian, shifting his belt pouch away from Shuriken in jest.
"i was only toying with you." Shuriken says as she smiles while giggling playfully. in each eye, each of her pairs of slit like pupils were widening with joy, to the point they almost appeared to be normal pupils and not just a pair of slightly curved slits. her golden eyes were gleaming with joy.
"i was only toying with you." Shuriken says as she smiles while giggling playfully. in each eye, each of her pairs of slit like pupils were widening with joy, to the point they almost appeared to be normal pupils and not just a pair of slightly curved slits. her golden eyes were gleaming with joy.
Alexian laughs out loud fondly at the little girl, saying "I know, little princess, I was just playing along."
stealth check (to hide behind the crates and ready a sneak attack with my wakizashi)
perception check (sight, sound, and smell)
