"Bad times for Riddleport, indeed, Eroril. Hopefully the mages do have some idea what is happening, and are already making preparations to stop it."
Kozaric stops and stares at the wind vanes shaking his head. ”The gods must be trying to tell us something with this event, “Look at this!” they are screaming at us, but what, by Erastil’s furry haunches, are we supposed to see?”
"It seems we will have to wait and see if those more knowledgeable then us are stumped I doubt that we have a chance, well maybe the other group will have heard something interesting. Anyway as the happenings are happening faster and faster it seems likely that something large and revealing will.... uh happen soon. Until then it's beginning to get banal." Cephadrel looks down from the sky and continues toward the Goblin.
Nodding, Ironleg waits patiently for the boss to finish his orders. As soon as those were given, he calls the group together. "Did you all find anything at the Cybermages? We got nothing from the temple of Saranrae"
As Ironleg asks his question, Eroril takes out the bag of gold coins from his backpack from the sale of the wizard's goods."Kozaric and Ironleg, here is each of your shares from the gear we sold. 70 gold pieces each. Ceph already took the magic gear so we all should be good." He hands each person their gold.
"We learned nothing particularly enlightening, the Cyphermages think the blot is the point of something trying to get in from one of the outer planes, but that is nothing but an untestable theory. Of more use is that the strange occurrences have been going on for a while but have been getting more frequent, though some of us already knew that I guess..."
Diego waits by the bar, nursing a small glass of amber liquid. Given that half of Riddleport is owned by the Thieves Guild, or pays tribute, finding a bar willing to stand independent and hire a former member in less than good standing had proven difficult. Saul, however, was his own special breed: either brave enough or stupid enough to defy logic. In his old days, Diego would have loved breaking him. As it was, now he was his last chance.
When the strangers came in, Diego smiled. He stood up, brushing his clothes off and heading toward them.
"Gentlemen. I'm told you have a need for a certain sort of person. A man of charm and usefulness. I believe I'm your man. The name is Diego. Diego Dellarillos."
"Nice to meetcha Diego. Call me Ironleg. Anyone needing work sounds good to me. But you have to pass the General's test," the dwarf says with a bit of a grin about his mouth. "Kozaric, come over here and give this guy the once over."
"Diego Diego Dellarillos is it? I don't care what Riddleport rock you crawled out from, there's a dress code for security operatives here in the Gold Goblin, specifically clean clothing, professional hair cut, and leather boots, preferably with a high shine on them. The first thing I learned once I got here to Riddleport is that when someone tells you he is a man of charm and usefulness, you need to put a hand on your money pouch. And the second thing is that if a man’s first name is the same as his middle name then you need to keep both eyes on him. What skill sets do you poses that would make you a valuable asset to Mr. Vancaskerkin?"
Eroril listens to Ceph's account of their trip to the Cyphermages.
"Most unfortunate that your investigation was as unproductive as ours. Something dark is approaching, but I fear until more tangible information comes our way, there is not much we can do."
Eroril observes Diego approaching them and listens as Ironleg and Kozaric speak to the man.
Not much even noticing Diego Cephadrel responds to Eroril "I can't think that the blot is a good thing as well, though I don't think we'll have to wait long, there were several happenings today and there will be more tomorrow. Soon they will be happening constantly and I'd bet that's when something big will happen. I haven't been here to plot the course but I think we will find out what the blot is in a few more days."
Diego smiles at the drill sergeant. "I'm no mere cutpurse. If I wanted your purse, I'd simply ask for it. And you'd give it to me. I'm a face man: I can talk a drunk out of a bar fight. I can console a gambler on a losing streak and convince him to slap more gold on the counter. I can sing a song so moving it turns a rowdy crowd into a happy one. I can bounce a drunk out on his arse. And best of all, I work cheap. But if you don't need me," Diego stands and nods, "Then I'll find my work elsewhere."
"Sounds like a pretty good fit for the Goblin, if you ask me. Maybe you could give him a trial run, and keep your eye on him while he proves himself," Ironleg suggests.
"Well Dellarillos, it seems you are in luck, we are in need of a person with those talents, if you can provide them. Mr. Vancaskerkin has placed his trust in us to ensure the smooth operation of this fine establishment, and it is a trust that I take very seriously. The fine people of Riddleport need a good safe place to participate in nice clean and wholesome fun with out having to worry about any misguided miscreants trying to steal or con them out of their hard earned gold. If you can agree with that then I am sure we will get along just fine. Your shift starts 30 min before the doors open. Welcome to the Gold Goblin."
Eroril steps up to Diego. "Mr. Dellarillos, I am Eroril Bazbek, cleric of Torag, at your service. Welcome to the team. Are you originally from Riddleport or have you arrived recently?"
Diego bows. "I look forward to working for you, then!"
"Excellent Diego. After you have settled in. Let me buy you a drink before we have our supper meeting. I'd like to learn more about what you did before coming to Saul."
"A drink? What a good idea, Eroril. General, we've got a couple hours before duty calls. Want to join us?"
Diego accepts the drink and laughs lightly, "Before this? Recuperation mostly. I worked with the Guild for a time until a couple kneebreakers decided I needed a lesson in guildly love. Since then, mostly working here and there, some entertaining, some singing. It's a cesspool but, it's home."
Kozaric frowns and shakes his head. "Well, I guess just one will not dull our senses to much."
Eroril drinks his ale and waits for dinner with Saul.
Cephadrel decides to forgo the drinking and instead retires to his room to peruse his newly acquired spellbook.
Without any more pressing matters, Ironleg excused himself, and headed upstairs to do a bit of meditation and self reflection.
Diego elects to stay with the dwarf and continues nursing his drink, watching the regulars to get a sense of how the place runs and who seems content versus who seems sullen.
Eroril takes his place at one of the card tables and begins dealing out cards to the gamblers. As he leads the game, he looks for suspicious activity.
Looking at the players at his table and the room around.
Perception:
Trying to sense and ulterior motives at the table:
Sense Motive:
Ironleg follows Eroril's lead:
Perception
Sense Motive
Diego will take up a position near the entrance, where he can greet people and watch them come in. He'll start up a barker routine, directing people toward the "hot" tables. He'll also keep an eye out for anyone who looks depressed, like they're looking for trouble or a little too calm.
Sense Motive:
Perception:
If the room looks like it's flagging a bit, he'll hop a table and start singing a rousing happy song, preferably one common enough that everyone knows it, and with a chorus that everyone can join in singing!
Perform:
Kozaric has taken his place on the catwalk, checking for problems from above.
Perception:
Sense Motive
Trying his best to blend in with the crowd Cephadrel moves into a good position to cast on the rowdy newcomers.
"Ah, my fine friends! Unsatisfied customers are simply unacceptable in this establishment. Allow me to find my superior for you! In the meantime, please, sit down at this table and enjoy a mug of ale on the house!" Diego manuevers them to a table out of the way and hands a gold to the nearest server, instructing them to bring the men mugs of ale and whatever else they desire. Diego will scan the room and find Kozaric, who seems to be in charge of the floor. Finding him, he'll motion toward the table subtly, while mouthing 'TROUBLE.'
Kozaric moves along the catwalk to get in a better position above the drunken sailors. He places an arrow to his bow string, but keeps the weapon down below the railing, waiting for the action to unfold below.
Ironleg tries his best to shake off the boredom of the evening. It was a completely different job when he didn't have to rouse troublemakers. He continued looking around the establishment.
Perception
Eroril continues dealing cards at his table and watching for trouble. He notices Diego trying to sooth the angry sailors nearby.
Perception
"Alas, my friends. The house does not cheat. It does, however, take full advantage of chance and odds. However, I'm sure you and I can come to a reasonable accomodation. What would you like? What would make you happy?" Diego will make a quick gesture behind his back to alert anyone watching that trouble might be coming soon.
Ironleg immeidately looks up at Kozaric and gies him a quick nod. The monk then moves in the direction of the drunken men.
"Gentlemen, what seems to be the problem here? If this rapscallion giving you a tough time? Don't worry, he will do his best to satisfy any problem you might have," he laughs pointing at Diego.
Diego smiles a reassuring smile. "And how much money did you wish to have returned?"
Eroril motions to one of the relief dealers and calls her over to take his table for awhile. He then makes his way to the other side of the of the surly sailors ready to assist if necessary. He stands about 10 feet away from the group listening intently to their conversation with Diego.
"Of course, my salty friend. How much did you lose?"
Eroril steps up to the group of sailors. "Perhaps I can be of assistance. I was here that fateful night and I clearly heard the terms that were offered. Everyone is able to cash in their remaining chips at 110% of their value and your original entry fee was 1 gold piece. Although if you have your entry fee returned, I'm not sure if you will be able to reenter the tournament and that will make it quite difficult to win your money back. Take your remaining chips to the cashier's window and they will cheerfully reimburse you for your troubles."
Diplomacy