"It's not flattery, Zom," Khessa smiles, with a sincere light deep in her blue eyes "it's acknowledging the facts. If most people are biased against half-orcs, that's their business; but it's crystal clear to me that to still be able to keep a business open in a place like this and a situation like this you have to be smart and practical. Plus, you had a good enough heart to try to give us good advice to keep us out of trouble".
"Not to mention that you were also smart enough to understand that we might like to tango" adds the blonde arcane warrior, switching to whispers as Zom had already done. “So, the mayor is shut in his 'house down the street and to the left. I was going to talk to him anyway, about a matter involving some orcs, but it probably makes sense to address that matter here as well. I don't like bullies or criminals. And, worse still, as you say, this town probably won't last too long if they keep running travelers off the road - and how many poor common folk will then have to suffer, just for the arrogance of a handful of violent people? Not on my watch".
"I'll just ask you for a couple of last things, my friend, while we finish sipping our orders..." the tall adventuress continues to whisper "Who are they, this Halantha and this husband of hers that the criminals killed? And the fact that the adventurers recruited by the mayor all met such a rapid end... it makes me fear that there might be some spy, perhaps a Red Brand keeping an eye on the mayor's house. Does this house happen to have a secondary access, different from the main one and visible to everyone?"
"It doesn't," Zom shakes her head. "The house is completely barred up from the inside. If he has a fire start on his house, he's as good as dead, I'd say."
"What about Halantha and her husband?" Song asks.
"When the brands got here, Rian raised hells. These thugs suddenly took over the haunted manor up the hill nearby," Zom points in a direction, "and so Rian tried to mobilize the town. A few sods tried, but they got a wizard in their ranks. Hard to fight back when fire is raining down on you... Rian and some hired adventurers died, and the other townies were injured. They are fine now... I only lost an eye." Zom chuckled as she gestured toward her eye patch.
"A wizard, you say," Aster murmurs with intrigue. "A direct assault on a wizard with minions is difficult to overcome... but a quiet, unseen killing are things most wizards can't handle."
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DM: Adventures in Phandalin [Khessa], The Dread of Strahd[Darya], Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [Rook], Baldur's Gate Mysteries [4-Player] Player: Oona in MO's Icewind Dale Ru's Current Status
"So, in summary," sighs Khessa "to try to talk to the mayor we will have to use the main entrance - at the risk of being seen by a possible spy. Let's hope they felt too confident to put one. These Red Brands can count on the help from a wizard. And as a base they have a manor up the hill nearby. Which complicates a lot the strategy proposed by Aster... unless at least this manor has some secondary entrance that the current occupants don't know about. But we'll see if we can deal with a problem at time. If their way of recognizing each other is based on clothing, perhaps we could eliminate someone and disguise ourselves, to infiltrate the base".
"Okay, Zom, a couple more pieces of information, then we'll be on our way..." the blonde arcane warrior smiles amiably, as if they were telling each other pleasantries, rather than planning the offensive against the city's scum "How many are these Red Brands approximately? 5? 10? 20? 100? Are they only humans? Or also goblinoids, like goblins, hobgoblins and bugbears? And... have you ever seen gems like these?" and she shows her one of the gems that the 'possessed' bugbears had embedded in her forehead.
"Of course, let's see... They have a couple dozen, all human from what I've seen." Zom closes her eyes to focus on the facts. "I did see a goblin with them recently, but it didn't look like a partnership. More like... a kidnapping. Of course none of the villagers cared since it was not one of them." Zom tilts her head at the sight of the gem. "Only on the necks and rings of rich nobles. If you are trying to hock it, your best bet would be the miner's exchange. They won't ask where you got it... and," Zom looks toward Aster as he sips his cup. "You got kin up here, sir. An old drow north of town. He's got an orchard. Just if you wanted to... properly orientate yourself with the surface."
Aster almost spits his drink. "What-"
"It's not the greatest of disguises," Song chuckles.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM: Adventures in Phandalin [Khessa], The Dread of Strahd[Darya], Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [Rook], Baldur's Gate Mysteries [4-Player] Player: Oona in MO's Icewind Dale Ru's Current Status
"A couple of dozen..." Khessa reflects "A notable disparity in strength, compared to us. But there is no need for us to reside here in Phandalin... We could come into town stealthily, just to hit them a few at a time, only to disappear again. Even just a few ambushes could be enough to reduce their numbers. They wouldn't know where to find us. Indeed, if we didn't leave any survivors at every ambush, they wouldn't even know who we are and how many of us there are. Then, suddenly, we could change tactics and try to sneak into their hideout to finish them off".
"Then by freeing the goblin they're holding captive," the blonde arcane warrior continues to reason "maybe we can learn more about these goblins who are militarizing".
"Thank you so much, Zom!" the tall adventuress smiles brightly, paying for the drinks "You have been very precious! I will do everything I can to make things better here!"
Khessa continues to relax with Aster, Song and Zom (OOC: @DM: Doing this for an hour... we can have the benefits of a Short Rest, right? In that case, maybe Aster and Song can spend HD, if they need to... I remember Aster, at least, was wounded) after which, she tells her companions: "Aster, Song... are you better now? Are you ready to get moving again? We have gems to sell and a mayor to talk to... do you happen to think that a visit to the drow who has the orchard would also be useful, Aster? If so, we will go there too... Finally, on the way back, we have a cow to return - to get an armor in exchange. Full day, all in all".
The blonde arcane warrior therefore proceeds in order... First of all, a visit to the miner's exchange.
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"It's not flattery, Zom," Khessa smiles, with a sincere light deep in her blue eyes "it's acknowledging the facts. If most people are biased against half-orcs, that's their business; but it's crystal clear to me that to still be able to keep a business open in a place like this and a situation like this you have to be smart and practical. Plus, you had a good enough heart to try to give us good advice to keep us out of trouble".
"Not to mention that you were also smart enough to understand that we might like to tango" adds the blonde arcane warrior, switching to whispers as Zom had already done. “So, the mayor is shut in his 'house down the street and to the left. I was going to talk to him anyway, about a matter involving some orcs, but it probably makes sense to address that matter here as well. I don't like bullies or criminals. And, worse still, as you say, this town probably won't last too long if they keep running travelers off the road - and how many poor common folk will then have to suffer, just for the arrogance of a handful of violent people? Not on my watch".
"I'll just ask you for a couple of last things, my friend, while we finish sipping our orders..." the tall adventuress continues to whisper "Who are they, this Halantha and this husband of hers that the criminals killed? And the fact that the adventurers recruited by the mayor all met such a rapid end... it makes me fear that there might be some spy, perhaps a Red Brand keeping an eye on the mayor's house. Does this house happen to have a secondary access, different from the main one and visible to everyone?"
"It doesn't," Zom shakes her head. "The house is completely barred up from the inside. If he has a fire start on his house, he's as good as dead, I'd say."
"What about Halantha and her husband?" Song asks.
"When the brands got here, Rian raised hells. These thugs suddenly took over the haunted manor up the hill nearby," Zom points in a direction, "and so Rian tried to mobilize the town. A few sods tried, but they got a wizard in their ranks. Hard to fight back when fire is raining down on you... Rian and some hired adventurers died, and the other townies were injured. They are fine now... I only lost an eye." Zom chuckled as she gestured toward her eye patch.
"A wizard, you say," Aster murmurs with intrigue. "A direct assault on a wizard with minions is difficult to overcome... but a quiet, unseen killing are things most wizards can't handle."
DM: Adventures in Phandalin [Khessa], The Dread of Strahd [Darya], Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [Rook], Baldur's Gate Mysteries [4-Player]
Player: Oona in MO's Icewind Dale
Ru's Current Status
"So, in summary," sighs Khessa "to try to talk to the mayor we will have to use the main entrance - at the risk of being seen by a possible spy. Let's hope they felt too confident to put one. These Red Brands can count on the help from a wizard. And as a base they have a manor up the hill nearby. Which complicates a lot the strategy proposed by Aster... unless at least this manor has some secondary entrance that the current occupants don't know about. But we'll see if we can deal with a problem at time. If their way of recognizing each other is based on clothing, perhaps we could eliminate someone and disguise ourselves, to infiltrate the base".
"Okay, Zom, a couple more pieces of information, then we'll be on our way..." the blonde arcane warrior smiles amiably, as if they were telling each other pleasantries, rather than planning the offensive against the city's scum "How many are these Red Brands approximately? 5? 10? 20? 100? Are they only humans? Or also goblinoids, like goblins, hobgoblins and bugbears? And... have you ever seen gems like these?" and she shows her one of the gems that the 'possessed' bugbears had embedded in her forehead.
"Of course, let's see... They have a couple dozen, all human from what I've seen." Zom closes her eyes to focus on the facts. "I did see a goblin with them recently, but it didn't look like a partnership. More like... a kidnapping. Of course none of the villagers cared since it was not one of them." Zom tilts her head at the sight of the gem. "Only on the necks and rings of rich nobles. If you are trying to hock it, your best bet would be the miner's exchange. They won't ask where you got it... and," Zom looks toward Aster as he sips his cup. "You got kin up here, sir. An old drow north of town. He's got an orchard. Just if you wanted to... properly orientate yourself with the surface."
Aster almost spits his drink. "What-"
"It's not the greatest of disguises," Song chuckles.
DM: Adventures in Phandalin [Khessa], The Dread of Strahd [Darya], Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [Rook], Baldur's Gate Mysteries [4-Player]
Player: Oona in MO's Icewind Dale
Ru's Current Status
"A couple of dozen..." Khessa reflects "A notable disparity in strength, compared to us. But there is no need for us to reside here in Phandalin... We could come into town stealthily, just to hit them a few at a time, only to disappear again. Even just a few ambushes could be enough to reduce their numbers. They wouldn't know where to find us. Indeed, if we didn't leave any survivors at every ambush, they wouldn't even know who we are and how many of us there are. Then, suddenly, we could change tactics and try to sneak into their hideout to finish them off".
"Then by freeing the goblin they're holding captive," the blonde arcane warrior continues to reason "maybe we can learn more about these goblins who are militarizing".
"Thank you so much, Zom!" the tall adventuress smiles brightly, paying for the drinks "You have been very precious! I will do everything I can to make things better here!"
Khessa continues to relax with Aster, Song and Zom (OOC: @DM: Doing this for an hour... we can have the benefits of a Short Rest, right? In that case, maybe Aster and Song can spend HD, if they need to... I remember Aster, at least, was wounded) after which, she tells her companions: "Aster, Song... are you better now? Are you ready to get moving again? We have gems to sell and a mayor to talk to... do you happen to think that a visit to the drow who has the orchard would also be useful, Aster? If so, we will go there too... Finally, on the way back, we have a cow to return - to get an armor in exchange. Full day, all in all".
The blonde arcane warrior therefore proceeds in order... First of all, a visit to the miner's exchange.