After leaving the company of the Heroes of Sandpoint, with a rather nebulous open door policy, you find yourself walking the streets of your home and with a heavy burden in a dimensional pocket. The staff seems to be powerful enough to draw a lot of attention, but you aren’t even sure what it does. Still, you have things to figure out and so you think of where to go next and how to get there. The throng of people that walk Sandpoint’s streets have come to at least tolerate, if not accept your presence, though you can sense that even today, some of them are still unnerved by it. Nonetheless, a few give you the occasional respectful nod as you pass. Now, where was it that you had to go next?
Zarque will keep an eye out for a couple good hirelings as she goes about her business. Given that the others are headed to deal with the dead bodies, Zarque will head to Quink's.
There Zarque will ask about the various thassilonion ruins that she doesn't already know about and see what Quink knows. Especially about Thornkeep and the lighthouse. She'll also be trying to judge him during those discussions to see if she thinks she can trust him enough to identify the staff.
Finding hirelings in Sandpoint is usually as simple as asking around and being pointed in the right direction. The real difficult lies in finding one with the right skills and the right price in balance. That may take some time asking around, but flashing some coin may draw out a few takers.
On your way to Brodert Quink’s place, a local hangout for the more intelligent of Sandpoint’s residents, you notice that more than a few folks that look like they’ve seen the wrong end of a fist more than once have been watching you. In fact, one of them, a man with a pair of red wraps around his wrist, seems to be constantly a few paces behind you. He watches as you walk into Quink’s place.
This time of day, Brodert’s is usually empty, as most of the people are working, except today is Saturday, and as such, it is busier than the weekday. Other than the proprietor, you see no familiar faces here, but some of those faces seem to give you a rather quizzical look.
Brodert shoots you a stare. ”Zarque, not your usual entrance today. Something on your mind?”
Noticing the large number of people, she shifts her approach to drop the sensative topics for the moment, blinking up to a spot on the counter where she can talk at his height without a bunch of bodies in between, "Yes. We cleared out Thornkeep, so I'm thinking of taking over the place. I wondered what kind of lore you had about the place, or spells and such, that might be useful in doing so. Also, looking to learn the goblin language, in case I need to deal with any that return or try to fill the gap left by the tribe."
All the while Zarque is mentally prepared to react should something happen.
Her hope, which she doesn't really expect to pan out, is that if that these people following her think she has moved on to a personal project outside the town proper, that they'll leave her alone or at least leave her till later.
To that end, as she asks around for hirelings, she makes it no secret that the project is to work on Thornkeep. She also hopes that it makes it easier to find the people she needs, mainly those who can help clean the place up, and do basic repairs of doors and such, but also those who have some ability to fight should they encounter anything on the way out there or perhaps any goblin straglers that have returned. That last point means if someone can speak goblin is a plus.
Brodert looks at you as if you had a made a joke and begins to crack a smile until he realizes that you are serious. ”Seriously? You want to take it over? That place… it used to be Thassilionian, I’m sure of it. No good can come from getting it back up and running, I will tell you that much. Like the Old Light. I know that had something to do with that ancient empire too. No one believes me really though, but still, the evidence is the books, if they would only take the time to read them.” He pauses his rant and looks around. ”You’re going to need an army to keep that place from being raided and taken over again. If it hasn’t been already. Goblins move fast when they want to and it has been a bit since you’ve been there. Once the Thornkeep goblins went down, I’m sure the Birdcrunchers jumped at that opportunity. As for learning their language, I know a smattering of it, but honestly your best bet is to find Shalelu. She knows them a bit too well, if you know what I mean. Listen, I will tell you what. I can maybe point you in the right direction, but I need some research. Good research, like first hand stuff. Find me some of that and I’ll start pointing folk your direction that might be interested in such an endeavor, deal?”
"Sounds like my kind of work. What did you need?" Zarque replies with a certain eagerness that seems suspiciously like excitement.
”Simple, really. I’m too old to be going out into those ruins myself and most folk around here just aren’t interested in the old anymore. Especially a despotic empire. I, however, feel like we need to always explore the past to help prevent their mistakes in the future. Since you are interested in Thornkeep, start there. Bring me all the books, notes, artifacts, anything of historical value and in turn I will identify what I can and tell you about more new places to find more things. Oh, and other than maybe some supply fees, whatever you find that I don’t need, it’s yours.”
"Ah yes, sounds good. We can worry about how you owe me in supply fees later. It's only been a few days, and not defensible but the bridge was cut. Not so easy for others to get into. Also, be careful. I suspect those who broke into your shop are still hanging around. Let me know if you need help with that as well."
She starts to leave before turning back, "Wait, you never said if you had any books or information about the keep. Do you have anything worthwhile?"
Brodert nods thoughtfully, his hand rubbing his chin. ”Hmm… well, if someone needs whatever information I have, I do not charge much for the borrowing of my books, so I am unaware of something someone would want to steal. I would appreciate you keeping an eye out for me though.”
Going over to a bookshelf, he pulls down three books. ”These are the closest thing I have to references for this particular area.” Holding them out, you can read the titles. Exploration of Northwest Territory, Garris Hendrit of the 35th Brevoy Expeditionaries., Thassilon, Notes and Observations, Unknown Author., Translated Transcripts of Documents of Land Ownership, Sandpoint Merchant League.
”There is a study room in the back you are welcome to use at your leisure, but the books stay here. I am hoping that you can add to that collection for me.”
"Well thank you. I'm going to take a look in prep for my next trip."
Zarque will go back and read a bit. She skims through mostly, in particular looking for references to forts/castles/etc, and other references to locations, construction projects, and another topic of powerful entities, imprisoned entities, etc.
You spend a few hours poring over the books that Brodert Quink lent you, trying to find anything that can reference the Thornkeep Area. One of the things that stands out is that it appears that the Thassilonians liked to build monuments of themselves as they sank into depravity. Those monuments were usually large statues that faced outwards towards the border of their empire. It also appears that the empire was actually quite fractured, with several lords vying for dominance. Thornkeep was only given that name within recent memory, being called that due to the fact that it had been overgrown with a massive thorn patch. After the goblins moved in, it was decided that it was too far off the main road to be a problem, other than the occasional goblin attack on a lonely wagon or other travelers. One of the books notes that the shape of the island looks unnatural, as if it formed upside down, but the writer couldn't get anyone to risk getting close enough to explore it further, for fear of being killed by the goblins and other creatures that live in the area. Some of the notes also mention that the goblins in the area seemed to venerate the place, as if the tribe that owned it would rule the rest of the tribes in the area. However, the author notes that since goblins have no written language, it is difficult to tell how true this is without asking one directly, and even then, goblins are not known for their candor.
Zarque gets rather excited about everything new, but after a while she decides it is time to evade her follower and starts looking for an unexpected way out, such as a window or something she can see out of to teleport, especially if she can teleport near her max range away out of sight of the store front.
You look out of the nearest window, trying to see a place to get to without anyone noticing. The hustle and bustle of midday Sandpoint makes it difficult, but it also makes for a lot of distraction for those who might be following you. Still, you need to find something out of the way, as you spot two of the thugs you saw earlier looking towards the building you are in.
Noticing the cart and seeing an opportunity, Zarque blinks to spot above the sign, then blinks inside first chance.
"Ah, Benny. My favorite baker. What tasty treats are available today? Something good for dodging pursuers I hope?" she asks, not too quietly, but trying to not be as loud as she might normally be.
If he allows, she'll buy a pastry (being generous in the haggle) and make her way out the back, heading to the street on the other side of the block.
Benny chuckles as he tosses you a cinnamon pastry and catches your two silvers. "Careful out there, Zarque, not everyone appreciates your roaming free in Sandpoint like I do."
You make it to the back alley and for the time being, it seems you have eluded your pursuers, though you know they are probably going to still be looking for you for a while. Now to figure out where to get to next.
Zarque still needs to worry about the events around the town, but for the moment, she will focus on putting together a few people to reclaim the old fort.
Hopefully that'll lead enemies into focusing on the others.
She does need a way to keep track of what's going on with them though.
For the moment, she'll track down a few of the more specialized craftsmen she'll need to work with eventually. She won't need them immediately, but they'd likely not help her at the drop of a hat either. They'd probably make a schedule, so if she waits, she'll end up waiting on them at inopportune moments.
She'll start with a stonemason. She heads off looking for the most reputable stonemason in town.
Zarque, after eluding her pursuers and deciding to make an effort towards expanding her personal territory, starts asking around for some reputable workers in Sandpoint. Most of Sandpoint’s citizens that aren’t a part of the criminal underworld are hard-working folk who appreciate honesty. To that end, though there are a few stonemasons in Sandpoint, all of them point Zarque to the city of Magnimar to find the best. House Mindurian is known Varisia wide for their work, even having a hand in rebuilding the Sandpoint Cathedral. Zarque also learns that their work does not come cheap or easy and that they are very particular about who they work with. As with all noble families though, money seems to help in that arena.
Zarque considers it but decides to stick with locals. She isn't super rich and just needs some basic work done for now.
If she comes into more wealth later, she can see about following up with such masters.
She explains to any potential masons that right now, she really just needs to patch up the basic defenses, and get a drawbridge or similar in place, a few rooms and a kitchen, and otherwise get a few basics in place to be safe for those traveling the coast to stop for the night. She'll do the job right if she makes enough wealth from such passing travellers. Also, Sandpoint is her hometown, so of course she'd support her town by hiring locals.
Zarque gets into a routine of recruiting people and gathering resources in the afternoons, and in the mornings will check in with the sheriff or other sources to keep tabs on the others and events, then investigating a little bit here and there, under cover of her activities getting everything together to rebuild.
Zarque starts on her way to gathering as much information as she can about Thistletop and its environs, as well as the goings on here in Sandpoint.
1. You are already familiar with the ghoul crisis that is starting to rise up and the fact that many farmers have started to come in from the fields complaining about the ‘walking dead’ at night.
2. Currently, as of the last two weeks or so it has been since Thistletop was cleared out, most of the goblins in the area have stayed to themselves. According to reports coming in from the local scouts however, it appears that some of the goblin tribes are attempting to rally enough support to create a larger army, though to what end, none have been able to find out.
3. There appears to be a sickness going around the city that causes feverish nightmares, but so few have mentioned them that it isn’t seen as a major problem as of yet.
During Zarque's recruitment of folks, one of her selling points is using the keep as a safe place against the undead for travellers or the homesteads closer to it than town.
If she encounters one of the people who've had these nightmares, she'll ask them about the dreams, saying that sometimes they are meaningless, but other times they mean something, if they'd care to share.
In the brief moments she has to herself, Zarque remembers that somewhere on the bottom level of Thistletop, locked in a room that the party she was with at the time. .
While attempting gather some resources and labor, Zarque uses her knowledge of the area and her assurances of her plans to use Thistletop as a safe haven will help her endeavors.
[ooc]In any case, this means it can simply be ruled as a time cost without waiting on rolls. The only question is if there is time each day after earning capital that day to do investigation.
As Zarque continues helping Quink research some information about an old swamp down by the Licktoad territory, she notices that he seems to be preoccupied with something else. When asked, he simply says, ”Pay of no mind, there are many people with whom I have projects to work on and sometimes they come up in my thoughts when I am researching other things.”
About that time, a young woman walks in the front door and is looking around as if lost. ”Zarque, do you mind?” Brodert says as he finds a passage in a journal and begins to read it.
Dora had finally made her way to Sandpoint, catching rides with caravans and sometimes with the farmers coming to market their wares. When she comes in the front gate, she sees that the guards are more heavily armed than she is used to seeing and though the townspeople seem friendly enough, a sort of pall hangs in the air. Asking around about her reason for coming all the way here, Dora is directed to a place called the ‘Curious Goblin’. Finding her way there, she comes across a building that has the wooden carving of a goblin wearing glasses and holding a book in its claws. A bell rings as she opens the door. There are stacks of books on shelves and even more on the floor and several sitting chairs all around. A slight haze of smoke hangs in the air as well. At first no one comes out, but then a golden-skinned reptilian creature approaches, or rather simply appears in front of her.
Zarque knows well what it's like to be on a train of thought and leaves him be for the moment.
Noticing someone enter Zarque blinks over in front of them. "Welcome! I don't think I've seen you before. I'm Zarque. This is Quink's bookshop, but he's busy at the moment. Can I help you find something?"
Dora wanders into the store absent-mindedly.
She walks with slow steps and is clearly not very strong physically … although she is clearly beautiful. Her warm hazel eyes and her brown hair show her heritage from somewhere in the Inner Sea Region.
When she looks at the Kobold she has a questioning expression.
"Greetings to you. I’m Dora." says the beaming woman with a contagious smile.
She is wearing a mithral chain shirt and a small buckler is attached to her left arm. She also carries a backpack.
She takes off her gloves which suddenly show withered and blackened hands that kind of awkwardly hang down.
“I hope you’re well. I … I really don’t know how to say this as I’ve been directed to come here. But is everything okay with this town?“ she asks with a natural presence that gives her curiosity some weight.
Getting a better look as the talk progresses, Zarque is wearing leather clothes, though obviously too soft and supple for armor, that have geometric designs threaded around with a small symbol of Irori. The outfit is completed with boots (an unusual item for a kobold), fingerless gloves, and a cloak.
Her speech has the local accent and she speaks like it's her native tongue.
"The town has been lively as of late. Goblin raids, pawns of demons, undead, a new criminal enterprise, all kinds of weird happenings. I'm no priestess, but it seems to me that fate is focusing on us for now. So, what have you come to find?"
Dora looks at the female Kobold and is pleasantly surprised.
“Well, I … I had a feeling but with all that’s been happening here … incredible … I kind of understand why I had these … ehh well, so are you a scholar as well? I’ve been learning a lot as well. Mainly from memories but you seem to be a bookworm?“
"What!?" she exclaims in mock indignation, before stating with pride, "I am a bookwyrm!" hopping up to end with a pose hanging off a shelf, before falling down and disappearing into thin air. A moment later you notice she is standing on the counter at far end of the rows of bookshelves. "This is the stock of parchment and paper through which I consume. So don't go starting any fires, releasing parasprites, nor sticking any portable holes into bags of holding."
Dora smiles.
“I will not disturb you… but I … I have to admit that you seem familiar. Almost as if I … I know you! As if I saw you … and there … there were others!“ she says confused about her own words.
"Hey, no divinations! That's just not fair." she exclaims in mock anger. She doesn't seem particularly surprised though.
Dora waves a hand.
”No divinations. I … I am just flooded with lore and knowledge sometimes. You happen to somehow be involved in whatever drew me to Sandpoint. So what’s your story? I haven’t seen a real Kobold in ages!“ she says.
"Well, I was raised by a local wizard. The locals didn't trust me with the estate when she died, so now I make things from leather and do odd jobs around here, though I've recently begun a project to rebuild a nearby fort now that we've cleared it of goblins. Sorry, but I don't actually know very much of other kobolds, except what is in books."
Dora listens and is intrigued.
“Wow! Goblins? So who is “we”?“ she asks.
"Some other folks helped out. You might get to meet them when they return. They went to investigate something while I stayed back with Quink to research some clues. Something big is afoot. So, since you're either a bad guy or one of those god-touched, you might as well join in."
Dora steps back.
”Ehh … joining? I … I just arrived. Maybe you allow me to support you here a little? I’m currently doing some research on the area. I can also pay for using the books of course!“
"I may be a scholar, but I am far more than that. The things you've said tell me fate, or the gods, have sent you here for a reason. Not a lot of room for any reasons that we aren't already entangled with. So why don't you start by telling me what you know of the ancient empire of Thassilon." Zarque sits, dangling her legs off the counter, and waits patiently for your answer.
”Fate? Hmm … not sure. Well, that question about Thassilon is of course a test so let’s see where we land!“ she says and gives an overview of what she’s heard here and there.
”It is strange but lots of this information is just random memories. Listen! I’ll come back soon and I’d love to continue chatting but I’m also looking for clues about my deceased mother. She left Sandpoint around 30 years ago but to be honest I don’t know much about her. She was a half-elf named Coral Asal and died as a chelish slave when I was only 4 years old. So I have to start looking for people that knew her I think! Something has been pulling me here with memories of her!!“ Dora says a little concerned.