"All of those are excellent questions, my good fellow," he says. "In answer to the first, the easiest way to carry out the infiltration would be to 'accidentally' get captured and offered the infamous ultimatum. That, mister Goldenleaf, is the main reason I felt you would make an excellent addition to this party as you are a merchant by trade and most of the vessels that fall victim to piracy are merchants' ships. The most important thing to remember is to put up a good fight and impress Blackstone with your guts... and if you kill a good number of his men in the process it will give him a bit of extra incentive to recruit. Of course, it might also work just to show up in one of the shady taverns that often hosts pirates and start loudly complaining about how bad your pay is at an honest job, but in that case the trouble will be making sure that you get noticed by the right pirate crew. In answer to your second question, how you subdue Blackstone is completely at your discretion, though if you have specific items in mind that you feel would be useful in the endeavor I may be able to acquire them for you. To your third question, you will all receive full pardons for any and all crimes that you commit in pursuit of this mission... short of murdering a member of the upper nobility, in which case I doubt that even I could help you."
He then produces six silver coins and lays them out on the table, one in front of each of you. The coins appear to be standard silver pieces, but each has a strange symbol on it that none of you recognize. Any of you who are spellcasters can feel a faint magical aura radiating from them.
"Guard these closely; if you encounter law enforcement you can slip one of these to an officer and he or she will recognize you as an undercover agent. However, and I cannot stress this enough, use it only in emergencies. I cannot guarantee that every officer is trustworthy, and once it is known that you are an undercover agent there is a distinct possibility that the information could get back to Blackstone."
Gridophopicks up a coin from the table and begins rolling it over his knuckles.
"Any and all crimes in pursuit of this mission? Well, I know an arms and armor merchant on a street in Upper Dockside who's a heavy sleeper and leaves his bedroom winda open for a bit of breeze. Accomplishin' this mission would be a mite easier with better weapons an' armor. But I ain't heard tha most important bit o' infermation yet."
"I don't think a crime spree would be advisable. I believe the Admiral has just made it exceptionally clear that discretion is of the utmost importance. Your suggestion is anything but discreet." 'Naut regards Gridolpho impassively, no expression visible on its empty-looking helmet. Regardless, one can't shake the feeling that whatever vehicle of emotional expression the being possesses is fixed in its equivalent of a frown.
"I am unfamiliar with your people's definition of the word, but my understanding isthat announcing your intentions to deprive a local business of their wares in front of a high-ranking law enforcement official in the town that carries his own name does not classify as discreet. If I have wildly misinterpreted, I invite corrections."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
"Intentions? I merely present supposition. Also, said law-enforcement official has offered me pardon for such a crime, should I choose to commit it. Yer confusin' the discussion of a possibility with an admission of intent. But that's not tha important thing. Tha important thing is tha piece of infermation hangin' above our heeds that hasn't been said by his Admirality here."
Gridolphoswitches his gaze to look at North directly.
"Intentions? I merely present supposition. Also, said law-enforcement official has offered me pardon for such a crime, should I choose to commit it. Yer confusin' the discussion of a possibility with an admission of intent. But that's not tha important thing. Tha important thing is tha piece of infermation hangin' above our heeds that hasn't been said by his Admirality here."
Gridolphoswitches his gaze to look at North directly.
"How. Much?"
"Yes what the halfling said. How much money do we get for taking down old Norwald?"
The coin is immediately clenched in Gridolpho'shand as he stares at Merigar.
"Don't. Ever. Call. Me. That. Slur."
"It's a slur? All the what ever you call yourselves ive ever met have used that word for themselves, they always find it preferable to small at least."
Sayyida listened quietly as the Admiral spoke, her eyes narrowing as he addressed Merigar and spoke of Blackstone and narrowed further as Merigar spoke of Blackstone.
She ignored the halfling and...the armoured creature...as they spoke picking up the proffered coin from the table.
As the merchant and the Admiral spoke she nodded along, confident that the first option was their best choice of action.
Slightly disappointed at the request to keep Blackstone alive she nonetheless nodded in agreement.
" I have some contacts that I believe could get us shipboard and it wouldn't be too difficult to spread some rumours that we are carrying something of particular interest."
" I'm sure there are some among our companions that have appropriate social contacts to spread such information.", her eyes lingered on Merigar and Gridolpho.
More so as they began bickering.
" You know me well enough Admiral to be aware that I require no payment for removing this filth from the seaways."
"Intentions? I merely present supposition. Also, said law-enforcement official has offered me pardon for such a crime, should I choose to commit it. Yer confusin' the discussion of a possibility with an admission of intent. But that's not tha important thing. Tha important thing is tha piece of infermation hangin' above our heeds that hasn't been said by his Admirality here."
Gridolphoswitches his gaze to look at North directly.
"How. Much?"
"Ideally, I would prefer if you don't attract attention from the locals before you leave..." the Admiral says. "And if you have specific items in mind that would make your task easier I may be able to procure some of them for you without resorting to robbing some poor blacksmith blind."
He waits a moment for the argument to die down before addressing the question of payment.
"If you bring Blackstone back to me dead, then each of you will be paid 5,000 gold pieces," he explains. "Alive, 20,000 each. And do not forget that you also may keep whatever spoils you can find during the mission... I hear that Blackstone likes to keep quite a lot of gold and several valuable magic items on his flagship."
“I cannot deny the logic of your words, Mr. Ninefingers, that our chances of success increase if we are as well prepared as we can. But stealing now wouldn’t be exactly an act necessary to keep our disguise and it appears that we have an entirely legal option.” He started gesturing to North. “We were offered items that we may think useful for the abduction of our target. It wouldn’t be so far farfetched to assume that the good Admiral would be able to provide us common equipment suited to our individual combat abilities.”
In saying so Emrys turned his eyes to the new employer, waiting for the man to either deny or reaffirm this assumption. The halfling’s attention turned to Sayyida. She was already thinking on the next step – spreading the necessary information to have them found by the fake Hailstorm.
“Doesn’t seem like we will need to do much for word to reach Blackstone’s ears. Rather, we are already doing everything needed. The Tide Runner is well known and our boarding on it was seem by quite the crowd. From this alone it becomes obvious we are doing business with its master and as a result of this business a simple merchant…” He points to himself. “… leaves in the company of five battle-ready individuals.”Goldenleaf continues while takin his piece of silver, feeling something mystic about the moment it touches his skin. “The last thing necessary will be something for us to carry. Something to seal a business between us and that is valuable enough to demand a five-men escort. What about a letter to the Ivory Guild showing intention to purchase large quantities of weaponry?” The warlock pulled his letter of introduction. “It would justify why you contacted me, a merchant of the Guild that should be easy for you to influence, and the inherently necessary discretion regarding the planning of a military operation would justify the security personnel.”
“I cannot deny the logic of your words, Mr. Ninefingers, that our chances of success increase if we are as well prepared as we can. But stealing now wouldn’t be exactly an act necessary to keep our disguise and it appears that we have an entirely legal option.” He started gesturing to North. “We were offered items that we may think useful for the abduction of our target. It wouldn’t be so far farfetched to assume that the good Admiral would be able to provide us common equipment suited to our individual combat abilities.”
"Yes, I certainly can. So I would appreciate refraining from robbery for the time being."
“Doesn’t seem like we will need to do much for word to reach Blackstone’s ears. Rather, we are already doing everything needed. The Tide Runner is well known and our boarding on it was seem by quite the crowd. From this alone it becomes obvious we are doing business with its master and as a result of this business a simple merchant…” He points to himself. “… leaves in the company of five battle-ready individuals.”Goldenleaf continues while takin his piece of silver, feeling something mystic about the moment it touches his skin. “The last thing necessary will be something for us to carry. Something to seal a business between us and that is valuable enough to demand a five-men escort. What about a letter to the Ivory Guild showing intention to purchase large quantities of weaponry?” The warlock pulled his letter of introduction. “It would justify why you contacted me, a merchant of the Guild that should be easy for you to influence, and the inherently necessary discretion regarding the planning of a military operation would justify the security personnel.”
"Precisely my thinking," he says with a smile. "I can arrange for you to carry a large shipment of firearms which should attract Blackstone's attention. Your cover story is that the six hundred muskets are being sold to one of our less technologically advanced allies, with the Ivory Guild acting as intermediaries in the transaction. Do any of you have further questions?"
"Intentions? I merely present supposition. Also, said law-enforcement official has offered me pardon for such a crime, should I choose to commit it. Yer confusin' the discussion of a possibility with an admission of intent. But that's not tha important thing. Tha important thing is tha piece of infermation hangin' above our heeds that hasn't been said by his Admirality here."
Gridolphoswitches his gaze to look at North directly.
"How. Much?"
"Ideally, I would prefer if you don't attract attention from the locals before you leave..." the Admiral says. "And if you have specific items in mind that would make your task easier I may be able to procure some of them for you without resorting to robbing some poor blacksmith blind."
He waits a moment for the argument to die down before addressing the question of payment.
"If you bring Blackstone back to me dead, then each of you will be paid 5,000 gold pieces," he explains. "Alive, 20,000 each. And do not forget that you also may keep whatever spoils you can find during the mission... I hear that Blackstone likes to keep quite a lot of gold and several valuable magic items on his flagship."
" You know me well enough Admiral to be aware that I require no payment for removing this filth from the seaways."
"Perhaps, but it would be quite rude of me not to at least offer payment for such a service to King and Country."
"Well a good breastplate would do, after all i am lacking the protection department, but i can't think of anything else. But when it comes to the capture of Norwald after all me and him have history, so if he saw me on the merchant ship with the Ivory Guild he might try and recruit me into his crew, if he does that we could do a double cross and stop Norwald right in his tracks."
OOC: If you're going to get armor from the Admiral, you might as well just ask for ring mail to get rid of the Dex penalty since you aren't proficient in light or medium armor...
OOC: If you're going to get armor from the Admiral, you might as well just ask for ring mail to get rid of the Dex penalty since you aren't proficient in light or medium armor...
OOC: If you're going to get armor from the Admiral, you might as well just ask for ring mail to get rid of the Dex penalty since you aren't proficient in light or medium armor...
(Oh yeah, then ill take the ring mail.)
(Also... you can't cast spells while wearing armor that you aren't proficient with...)
Admiral North had proven himself to be a rare type of man, the kind that is worth his reputation. The seaman who outfoxed the worst pirate on those waters was quite the tricky strategist and knew how to hold himself more than well when making deals – from ignoring the provocations from the triton’s lack of manners and the other halfling criminal suggestion to making his plan more agreeable by having it sounds like the six of them were thinking of it. It wouldn’t be strange if good old Jameson decided the best way to buy their silence, provided the quest was successful, would be sending them to an early grave. Dead men tell no tales.
“Only two.” Goldenleaf said with his trades smile. “We will be carrying the weapons without ammunition, correct?” Otherwise they would be giving far too much firepower to the pirates. “And what can we get on the way of healing?”
Emrys wanted to ask if the weapons were not marked by some tracking spell, but decided it was best to avoid knowing that much. Specially considering how ‘Naut was too open for that kind of skill, Areleo too unarticulated and Sayyida seemed too decent. The less they needed to lie the better.
“Ninefingers, Sayyida and Merigar, if any of you have a problem breathing or moving underwater this is likely the moment to speak.”The other two came from the sea so that much should pose no challenge to them. “That and I always wanted to get a pistol.”
OOC: If you're going to get armor from the Admiral, you might as well just ask for ring mail to get rid of the Dex penalty since you aren't proficient in light or medium armor...
(Oh yeah, then ill take the ring mail.)
(Also... you can't cast spells while wearing armor that you aren't proficient with...)
(I sometimes forget these basic things, you know what, ill just take some leather armor.
Scratch that i'm not proficient with light armor. I guess just no armor.
"...and here I thought *I* was an overthinker."
DCI: 3319125026
The Admiral nods thoughtfully.
"All of those are excellent questions, my good fellow," he says. "In answer to the first, the easiest way to carry out the infiltration would be to 'accidentally' get captured and offered the infamous ultimatum. That, mister Goldenleaf, is the main reason I felt you would make an excellent addition to this party as you are a merchant by trade and most of the vessels that fall victim to piracy are merchants' ships. The most important thing to remember is to put up a good fight and impress Blackstone with your guts... and if you kill a good number of his men in the process it will give him a bit of extra incentive to recruit. Of course, it might also work just to show up in one of the shady taverns that often hosts pirates and start loudly complaining about how bad your pay is at an honest job, but in that case the trouble will be making sure that you get noticed by the right pirate crew. In answer to your second question, how you subdue Blackstone is completely at your discretion, though if you have specific items in mind that you feel would be useful in the endeavor I may be able to acquire them for you. To your third question, you will all receive full pardons for any and all crimes that you commit in pursuit of this mission... short of murdering a member of the upper nobility, in which case I doubt that even I could help you."
He then produces six silver coins and lays them out on the table, one in front of each of you. The coins appear to be standard silver pieces, but each has a strange symbol on it that none of you recognize. Any of you who are spellcasters can feel a faint magical aura radiating from them.
"Guard these closely; if you encounter law enforcement you can slip one of these to an officer and he or she will recognize you as an undercover agent. However, and I cannot stress this enough, use it only in emergencies. I cannot guarantee that every officer is trustworthy, and once it is known that you are an undercover agent there is a distinct possibility that the information could get back to Blackstone."
Gridopho picks up a coin from the table and begins rolling it over his knuckles.
"Any and all crimes in pursuit of this mission? Well, I know an arms and armor merchant on a street in Upper Dockside who's a heavy sleeper and leaves his bedroom winda open for a bit of breeze. Accomplishin' this mission would be a mite easier with better weapons an' armor. But I ain't heard tha most important bit o' infermation yet."
DCI: 3319125026
"I don't think a crime spree would be advisable. I believe the Admiral has just made it exceptionally clear that discretion is of the utmost importance. Your suggestion is anything but discreet." 'Naut regards Gridolpho impassively, no expression visible on its empty-looking helmet. Regardless, one can't shake the feeling that whatever vehicle of emotional expression the being possesses is fixed in its equivalent of a frown.
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
"A spree? Nah. No sprees here. Just nick a bit o' better armor and a few weapons. In. Out. No one notices 'til mornin' and I'm long gone.
Verry 'discrete'."
DCI: 3319125026
"I am unfamiliar with your people's definition of the word, but my understanding is that announcing your intentions to deprive a local business of their wares in front of a high-ranking law enforcement official in the town that carries his own name does not classify as discreet. If I have wildly misinterpreted, I invite corrections."
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
"Intentions? I merely present supposition. Also, said law-enforcement official has offered me pardon for such a crime, should I choose to commit it. Yer confusin' the discussion of a possibility with an admission of intent. But that's not tha important thing. Tha important thing is tha piece of infermation hangin' above our heeds that hasn't been said by his Admirality here."
Gridolpho switches his gaze to look at North directly.
"How. Much?"
DCI: 3319125026
Merigar picks up a coin and puts it in his pocket and then pockets the marble again
"Yes what the halfling said. How much money do we get for taking down old Norwald?"
The coin is immediately clenched in Gridolpho's hand as he stares at Merigar.
"Don't. Ever. Call. Me. That. Slur."
DCI: 3319125026
"It's a slur? All the what ever you call yourselves ive ever met have used that word for themselves, they always find it preferable to small at least."
Sayyida listened quietly as the Admiral spoke, her eyes narrowing as he addressed Merigar and spoke of Blackstone and narrowed further as Merigar spoke of Blackstone.
She ignored the halfling and...the armoured creature...as they spoke picking up the proffered coin from the table.
As the merchant and the Admiral spoke she nodded along, confident that the first option was their best choice of action.
Slightly disappointed at the request to keep Blackstone alive she nonetheless nodded in agreement.
" I have some contacts that I believe could get us shipboard and it wouldn't be too difficult to spread some rumours that we are carrying something of particular interest."
" I'm sure there are some among our companions that have appropriate social contacts to spread such information.", her eyes lingered on Merigar and Gridolpho.
More so as they began bickering.
" You know me well enough Admiral to be aware that I require no payment for removing this filth from the seaways."
"Ideally, I would prefer if you don't attract attention from the locals before you leave..." the Admiral says. "And if you have specific items in mind that would make your task easier I may be able to procure some of them for you without resorting to robbing some poor blacksmith blind."
He waits a moment for the argument to die down before addressing the question of payment.
"If you bring Blackstone back to me dead, then each of you will be paid 5,000 gold pieces," he explains. "Alive, 20,000 each. And do not forget that you also may keep whatever spoils you can find during the mission... I hear that Blackstone likes to keep quite a lot of gold and several valuable magic items on his flagship."
"Perhaps, but it would be quite rude of me not to at least offer payment for such a service to King and Country."
“I cannot deny the logic of your words, Mr. Ninefingers, that our chances of success increase if we are as well prepared as we can. But stealing now wouldn’t be exactly an act necessary to keep our disguise and it appears that we have an entirely legal option.” He started gesturing to North. “We were offered items that we may think useful for the abduction of our target. It wouldn’t be so far farfetched to assume that the good Admiral would be able to provide us common equipment suited to our individual combat abilities.”
In saying so Emrys turned his eyes to the new employer, waiting for the man to either deny or reaffirm this assumption. The halfling’s attention turned to Sayyida. She was already thinking on the next step – spreading the necessary information to have them found by the fake Hailstorm.
“Doesn’t seem like we will need to do much for word to reach Blackstone’s ears. Rather, we are already doing everything needed. The Tide Runner is well known and our boarding on it was seem by quite the crowd. From this alone it becomes obvious we are doing business with its master and as a result of this business a simple merchant…” He points to himself. “… leaves in the company of five battle-ready individuals.” Goldenleaf continues while takin his piece of silver, feeling something mystic about the moment it touches his skin. “The last thing necessary will be something for us to carry. Something to seal a business between us and that is valuable enough to demand a five-men escort. What about a letter to the Ivory Guild showing intention to purchase large quantities of weaponry?” The warlock pulled his letter of introduction. “It would justify why you contacted me, a merchant of the Guild that should be easy for you to influence, and the inherently necessary discretion regarding the planning of a military operation would justify the security personnel.”
"Yes, I certainly can. So I would appreciate refraining from robbery for the time being."
"Precisely my thinking," he says with a smile. "I can arrange for you to carry a large shipment of firearms which should attract Blackstone's attention. Your cover story is that the six hundred muskets are being sold to one of our less technologically advanced allies, with the Ivory Guild acting as intermediaries in the transaction. Do any of you have further questions?"
"Well a good breastplate would do, after all i am lacking the protection department, but i can't think of anything else. But when it comes to the capture of Norwald after all me and him have history, so if he saw me on the merchant ship with the Ivory Guild he might try and recruit me into his crew, if he does that we could do a double cross and stop Norwald right in his tracks."
OOC: If you're going to get armor from the Admiral, you might as well just ask for ring mail to get rid of the Dex penalty since you aren't proficient in light or medium armor...
(Oh yeah, then ill take the ring mail.)
(Also... you can't cast spells while wearing armor that you aren't proficient with...)
Admiral North had proven himself to be a rare type of man, the kind that is worth his reputation. The seaman who outfoxed the worst pirate on those waters was quite the tricky strategist and knew how to hold himself more than well when making deals – from ignoring the provocations from the triton’s lack of manners and the other halfling criminal suggestion to making his plan more agreeable by having it sounds like the six of them were thinking of it. It wouldn’t be strange if good old Jameson decided the best way to buy their silence, provided the quest was successful, would be sending them to an early grave. Dead men tell no tales.
“Only two.” Goldenleaf said with his trades smile. “We will be carrying the weapons without ammunition, correct?” Otherwise they would be giving far too much firepower to the pirates. “And what can we get on the way of healing?”
Emrys wanted to ask if the weapons were not marked by some tracking spell, but decided it was best to avoid knowing that much. Specially considering how ‘Naut was too open for that kind of skill, Areleo too unarticulated and Sayyida seemed too decent. The less they needed to lie the better.
“Ninefingers, Sayyida and Merigar, if any of you have a problem breathing or moving underwater this is likely the moment to speak.” The other two came from the sea so that much should pose no challenge to them. “That and I always wanted to get a pistol.”
(I sometimes forget these basic things, you know what, ill just take some leather armor.Scratch that i'm not proficient with light armor. I guess just no armor.