Seeing the pair enter the building -- a carpentry shop, and she's clearly the boss, he surmises -- he turns to the group. "We're going to have to meet the locals, and those two looked pretty normal. But we should have a plan going in. I'm going to throw this out -- just a first idea; I'm not married to it, so I'm open to suggestions. Two or three of us should go in while the others wait out of sight -- not lurking or anything suspicious, just waiting around the corner. A group of five bedraggled drifters is going to put any shop owner's guard up, if they don't just run off to find the guard. We want these folks sympathetic, not scared for their lives.
"As for our story, we should keep it as close to the truth as we can, without, of course, disclosing our captivity. How's this: Red here is a famous musician, and whoever else goes in are her bodyguards. They were traveling aboard a ship when that big storm hit, the ship sunk, and they got washed up on the beach. We just need to find a place to stay and get cleaned up. If she asks about other survivors, tell her about the rest of us, and tell her we didn't want to make her nervous. Stick as close to the truth as possible. How's that sound?"
(OOC: I am entirely open to other plans. It's just tricky to have a back-and-forth discussion in this format.)
As he finishes his elaborate plan, he looks up to see Omen enter the shop. "Or we could just wing it, I suppose."
(OOC: I missed Omen's post while I was writing my last post, but the image of Kas carefully formulating a plan and looking up to see Omen walking into the shop just seemed too funny to erase.)
"Haha, Kas, it seems Omen moves a tad quicker than your mouth" Qivys chuckles as he watches Omen disappear into the store.
"Perhaps Red and I should be the ones to wait outside, incase trouble turns up. As you say, we don't want to scare the poor people. An armoured dwarf and teifling might be a bit much for someone first thing in the morning. Red, what do you think?" he turns to Red with a grin on his face. "This reminds me of a joke.... A cleric, mage and theif walk into a bar." That's where the joke finishes though as he can't seem to think of the punchline. "I always forget how it ends. Guess we'll find out soon"
"Oh for sure." She says with a laugh at Qivys joke. Amused by they way he ended it even if that wasn't actually part of the joke. She's still smiling as she continues but it has a tinge of melancholy to it. "And staying outside sounds... reasonable I suppose, should we move a little closer or are we waiting here?."
Omen listens to the party for a moment but upon seeing the gnome and man, he will head straight for the building they entered. Getting to the door he will look through the window, if it has one then open the door and enter.
Omen approaches the door, studies it for a moment, and enters. The door shuts behind him. (@leapingmountain - I will continue your adventure via PM!)
The rest of you remain outside, at a distance. It is a damp, quiet, chilly, gloomy morning. The crabs move about upon their crabby business, but don't seem to react much to your presence.
You continue to wait for Omen, staring at the closed door of the carpentry shop.
Where are you waiting, exactly?
The subtle smell of smoke still hangs in the air - you are beginning to get accustomed to it. You see hints of light traffic on a distant street - a few figures moving, a couple of carts and wagons. A chilly wind cuts through your clothes. You are very tired.
Qivys is positioned somewhere near the north-eastern corner of the carpentry shop, close to the long northern wall. Knelt down as if partaking in a game of dice, but with attention directed to the door and along the street. Occasionally he throws the dice but doesn't even watch them roll.
Kasimir will wait on the east wall, near the NE corner, sitting on the ground, leaning back against the wall with his knees drawn up. He will wait patiently for 10 minutes. If Omen hasn't returned he'll wait another 5 minutes much less patiently. If Omen still isn't out by then he'll get up in a huff and march up to the front door. Then he'll pause for a few seconds, blow out a couple of deep breaths, and relax his face into a benign, slightly vacuous smile before entering. If Omen does come out before then, Kas will go around to the front of the building to hear what he has to say.
Red will somewhere comfortable to sit, probably still on the beach, or far enough way that it's not obvious they're currently a group and start playing her instrument again again.
Claire notices a man with a full white beard and a peg leg, wearing a simple tunic, standing atop the cliff opposite you. He's in front of the temple, several hundred feet away. His hands are on his hips. He's eyeing you all with calm curiosity, but his attention is also drawn to the southeast, in the direction you came from.
Claire beams at Kasimir, nodding along at his plan. He sounded so cool! But then she realized that she wasn't actually remembering anything he was saying. She looked at him confusedly and opened her mouth to ask him to repeat what he said once more, but before she could speak she suddenly saw Omen enter the building. She looks after him in shock, before her attention was grabbed by Qivys' jesting.
"This reminds me of a joke.... A cleric, mage and theif walk into a bar." That's where the joke finishes though as he can't seem to think of the punchline. "I always forget how it ends. Guess we'll find out soon"
"Wha-- Huh? That's it? You forgot? But I gotta know what happens next!"
She pouts at him before noticing that Omen had closed the door behind him. Shrugging, she watched as the group disbanded and stood around awkwardly for a bit. She trudged through her pack and took out a waterskin, her lips parched. Smiling, she gulped down a mouthful...before immediately sputtering and coughing, covering her mouth in the process. It was saltwater.
She frowned, her senses overwhelmed once more by the bitter taste and the smell of smoke. She was tired, hungry, dehydrated, probably smelly, and still recovering from the trauma of being enslaved and abused. She distracts herself by gazing towards the sky, silently praying for Lathander's blessing and willing for a sign from her deity that good fortune awaited the group. As she was gazing, her eyes trailed towards what must have been a temple in the distance, and her view landed on someone who seemed to be looking at the group. She fidgeted nervously, wondering if she should make eye contact, before eventually summoning the courage to approach the man. After all, he looked curious and maybe he wanted to help.
She smiled, trying to seem cheerful despite her dirty, parched, and starved appearance. Nervousness overtakes her as she notices the fact that she's talking to a complete stranger, so far from their group. "Suspicious (she meant auspicious) day, friend. If you couldn't tell, me and my buddies are quite new to town..." She pauses momentarily, only now wondering if she had used the word "suspicious" correctly. "If you wouldn't mind me asking...where is this place, exactly?"
Claire: A sizable (and not particularly climbable) cliff separates you from the bearded man. He sees you speaking to him, but he cannot hear you. He nods, then slowly hobbles off on his peg leg. He looks like an old man.
Overhearing Claire talking to someone, Qivys looks back at her.
If he notices the man at the temple, he stands and goes to question Claire. "Is that who you were talking to? Did he respond or make any unusual gestures?"
If he does not notice the man, he carries on with his faux dice game. Clerics, always talking with their deity. I hope they answer her prayers.
Red pauses her playing as she watches Claire approach the cliffside and speak. Making a snap decision she leaps to her feet and strides towards Claire, stowing her instrument away as she does so. When she reaches Claire she slings an arm over her shoulder.
"Hey, us girls got to stick together hmm? Why don't we get Kas to hide your shakle and go see if we can find an inn? A bath, a fire, a bed and we'll feel like woman again. We can come back if they're happy enough to take Omens manacle off. Hmm?"
Omen exits the shop and scans for the others members of the group. Upon finding them he will inform them.
"I am told this is Saltmarsh, 20 miles west of Seton in the Kingdom of Keelan."
"There is a dwarven smithy up the road to the right of the fishmongers plant called the Dwarven Anvil...or that is what the gnome refereed to it as. She stated we can find a female dwarf by the name of Maffera or her son, name not mentioned, that should be able to help us with these." Omen shows his shackles to the others.
The gnome suggested we make contact with the local Watch so as to establish ourselves as victims and not some escaped loon as she put it."
"And last but not least the Mariners Guildhall should have beds, bath and food. Its ahead on the right at the next intersection I am told."
Omen pauses for a moment then states:
"As a member of the watch back home, and used to the standard behaviors of guards I am inclined to talk to the watch first so we can get any unpleasantness out of the way right off."
With a small frown Omen says: "I am not sure what kind of watch they have here or if they follow laws of are of a more dubious nature but, we probably should get that out of the way, like pulling stitches out quickly so a wound can heal the rest of the way,"
"What do the rest of you think?" Omen falls silent.
Hearing Omen emerge Kasimir slips back around to the front of the building. He listens to Omen's report and feels the desperate urge to just run to the Guildhall. But Omen's suggestion to contact the guard made sense. The guards would likely view them with less suspicion if they were a little less bedraggled, but it would be better to walk into the guardhouse themselves rather than have them summoned by a nervous innkeeper. Unless the guard was in bed with the slavers, in which case it would be best to avoid their notice at all, but folks already knew they were here so the law would hear about it soon enough. Still, every part of his tired body and soul just wanted rest immediately, consequences be damned.
He nods wearily to Omen. "What you say makes sense. I'd prefer to avoid the guard altogether, but that's probably not possible, so better we go to them than vice versa. Did they indicate where we can find the watch commander? Also, how did the folks inside react when you said you were an escaped slave?"
(Kasimir will follow if Omen leads them to the guardhouse.)
Claire's expression goes from nervousness to confusion as the man on the cliff walks away, seemingly unaware of what she'd said. Were the old man's ears bad?
She turns to Qivys and shakes her head. "He didn't say anything...just walked away. It's almost like he couldn't hear me. I wonder what that was all abou-- Ah!"
She jumps up in surprise as an arm is suddenly slung across her shoulder. "Well, I could definitely use a bath." She smiles in response to the tiefling's suggestions. "And an inn sounds super nice right now, I haven't bathed in days! Wait, do I smell?!" She blushes as she starts trying to sniff herself.
The Dawnbringer trails off as Omen exits the shop and speaks to the group. Her eyes widen as she's told which town they've arrived at. "Saltmarsh? No way, that's where I was headed towards to begin with! Before all of this..." She gestures towards her shackles.
Claire smiles widely as Omen speaks of the Mariners Guildhall and turns towards Red, grasping both of her hands in her own. "Did you hear that? Beds...bath. Food!" The light of hope returns to her eyes as she imagines returning to those luxuries that she never thought she'd have again. "This must be Lathander's will! We have to go there as soon as possible!"
Before the girl can bolt off in her excitement, her attention is once again diverted by people who were coming from the town. She lets go of Red's hands and turns towards them, wondering if they were in trouble.
Kasimir:
Seeing the pair enter the building -- a carpentry shop, and she's clearly the boss, he surmises -- he turns to the group. "We're going to have to meet the locals, and those two looked pretty normal. But we should have a plan going in. I'm going to throw this out -- just a first idea; I'm not married to it, so I'm open to suggestions. Two or three of us should go in while the others wait out of sight -- not lurking or anything suspicious, just waiting around the corner. A group of five bedraggled drifters is going to put any shop owner's guard up, if they don't just run off to find the guard. We want these folks sympathetic, not scared for their lives.
"As for our story, we should keep it as close to the truth as we can, without, of course, disclosing our captivity. How's this: Red here is a famous musician, and whoever else goes in are her bodyguards. They were traveling aboard a ship when that big storm hit, the ship sunk, and they got washed up on the beach. We just need to find a place to stay and get cleaned up. If she asks about other survivors, tell her about the rest of us, and tell her we didn't want to make her nervous. Stick as close to the truth as possible. How's that sound?"
(OOC: I am entirely open to other plans. It's just tricky to have a back-and-forth discussion in this format.)
Kasimir:
As he finishes his elaborate plan, he looks up to see Omen enter the shop. "Or we could just wing it, I suppose."
(OOC: I missed Omen's post while I was writing my last post, but the image of Kas carefully formulating a plan and looking up to see Omen walking into the shop just seemed too funny to erase.)
Omen
Upon hearing Kas's suggestion Omen replies as he opens the door to the shop.
"Oh my friend, we are cold, hungry, badly in need of help and I am sure these fine people would be willing to help or, get someone who could aid us."
As Omen takes his first step inside the opened door the party think they hear him say. "What could go wrong?"
(OCC: laughed to myself the entire time I was typing this :P)
Qivys
"Haha, Kas, it seems Omen moves a tad quicker than your mouth" Qivys chuckles as he watches Omen disappear into the store.
"Perhaps Red and I should be the ones to wait outside, incase trouble turns up. As you say, we don't want to scare the poor people. An armoured dwarf and teifling might be a bit much for someone first thing in the morning. Red, what do you think?" he turns to Red with a grin on his face. "This reminds me of a joke.... A cleric, mage and theif walk into a bar." That's where the joke finishes though as he can't seem to think of the punchline. "I always forget how it ends. Guess we'll find out soon"
(Too funny guys. I needed a laugh this morning)
Red
"Oh for sure." She says with a laugh at Qivys joke. Amused by they way he ended it even if that wasn't actually part of the joke. She's still smiling as she continues but it has a tinge of melancholy to it. "And staying outside sounds... reasonable I suppose, should we move a little closer or are we waiting here?."
Omen approaches the door, studies it for a moment, and enters. The door shuts behind him.
(@leapingmountain - I will continue your adventure via PM!)
The rest of you remain outside, at a distance. It is a damp, quiet, chilly, gloomy morning. The crabs move about upon their crabby business, but don't seem to react much to your presence.
You continue to wait for Omen, staring at the closed door of the carpentry shop.
Where are you waiting, exactly?
The subtle smell of smoke still hangs in the air - you are beginning to get accustomed to it. You see hints of light traffic on a distant street - a few figures moving, a couple of carts and wagons. A chilly wind cuts through your clothes. You are very tired.
Qivys
Qivys is positioned somewhere near the north-eastern corner of the carpentry shop, close to the long northern wall. Knelt down as if partaking in a game of dice, but with attention directed to the door and along the street. Occasionally he throws the dice but doesn't even watch them roll.
Kasimir:
Kasimir will wait on the east wall, near the NE corner, sitting on the ground, leaning back against the wall with his knees drawn up. He will wait patiently for 10 minutes. If Omen hasn't returned he'll wait another 5 minutes much less patiently. If Omen still isn't out by then he'll get up in a huff and march up to the front door. Then he'll pause for a few seconds, blow out a couple of deep breaths, and relax his face into a benign, slightly vacuous smile before entering. If Omen does come out before then, Kas will go around to the front of the building to hear what he has to say.
Red
Red will somewhere comfortable to sit, probably still on the beach, or far enough way that it's not obvious they're currently a group and start playing her instrument again again.
Claire notices a man with a full white beard and a peg leg, wearing a simple tunic, standing atop the cliff opposite you. He's in front of the temple, several hundred feet away. His hands are on his hips. He's eyeing you all with calm curiosity, but his attention is also drawn to the southeast, in the direction you came from.
Claire
Claire beams at Kasimir, nodding along at his plan. He sounded so cool! But then she realized that she wasn't actually remembering anything he was saying. She looked at him confusedly and opened her mouth to ask him to repeat what he said once more, but before she could speak she suddenly saw Omen enter the building. She looks after him in shock, before her attention was grabbed by Qivys' jesting.
"Wha-- Huh? That's it? You forgot? But I gotta know what happens next!"
She pouts at him before noticing that Omen had closed the door behind him. Shrugging, she watched as the group disbanded and stood around awkwardly for a bit. She trudged through her pack and took out a waterskin, her lips parched. Smiling, she gulped down a mouthful...before immediately sputtering and coughing, covering her mouth in the process. It was saltwater.
She frowned, her senses overwhelmed once more by the bitter taste and the smell of smoke. She was tired, hungry, dehydrated, probably smelly, and still recovering from the trauma of being enslaved and abused. She distracts herself by gazing towards the sky, silently praying for Lathander's blessing and willing for a sign from her deity that good fortune awaited the group. As she was gazing, her eyes trailed towards what must have been a temple in the distance, and her view landed on someone who seemed to be looking at the group. She fidgeted nervously, wondering if she should make eye contact, before eventually summoning the courage to approach the man. After all, he looked curious and maybe he wanted to help.
She smiled, trying to seem cheerful despite her dirty, parched, and starved appearance. Nervousness overtakes her as she notices the fact that she's talking to a complete stranger, so far from their group. "Suspicious (she meant auspicious) day, friend. If you couldn't tell, me and my buddies are quite new to town..." She pauses momentarily, only now wondering if she had used the word "suspicious" correctly. "If you wouldn't mind me asking...where is this place, exactly?"
Claire: A sizable (and not particularly climbable) cliff separates you from the bearded man. He sees you speaking to him, but he cannot hear you. He nods, then slowly hobbles off on his peg leg. He looks like an old man.
Qivys
Overhearing Claire talking to someone, Qivys looks back at her.
If he notices the man at the temple, he stands and goes to question Claire. "Is that who you were talking to? Did he respond or make any unusual gestures?"
If he does not notice the man, he carries on with his faux dice game. Clerics, always talking with their deity. I hope they answer her prayers.
Red
Red pauses her playing as she watches Claire approach the cliffside and speak. Making a snap decision she leaps to her feet and strides towards Claire, stowing her instrument away as she does so. When she reaches Claire she slings an arm over her shoulder.
"Hey, us girls got to stick together hmm? Why don't we get Kas to hide your shakle and go see if we can find an inn? A bath, a fire, a bed and we'll feel like woman again. We can come back if they're happy enough to take Omens manacle off. Hmm?"
Omen
Omen exits the shop and scans for the others members of the group. Upon finding them he will inform them.
"I am told this is Saltmarsh, 20 miles west of Seton in the Kingdom of Keelan."
"There is a dwarven smithy up the road to the right of the fishmongers plant called the Dwarven Anvil...or that is what the gnome refereed to it as. She stated we can find a female dwarf by the name of Maffera or her son, name not mentioned, that should be able to help us with these." Omen shows his shackles to the others.
The gnome suggested we make contact with the local Watch so as to establish ourselves as victims and not some escaped loon as she put it."
"And last but not least the Mariners Guildhall should have beds, bath and food. Its ahead on the right at the next intersection I am told."
Omen pauses for a moment then states:
"As a member of the watch back home, and used to the standard behaviors of guards I am inclined to talk to the watch first so we can get any unpleasantness out of the way right off."
With a small frown Omen says: "I am not sure what kind of watch they have here or if they follow laws of are of a more dubious nature but, we probably should get that out of the way, like pulling stitches out quickly so a wound can heal the rest of the way,"
"What do the rest of you think?" Omen falls silent.
As Omen exits the building, two more humans in work clothes approach on foot on the road from the town.
Kasimir:
Hearing Omen emerge Kasimir slips back around to the front of the building. He listens to Omen's report and feels the desperate urge to just run to the Guildhall. But Omen's suggestion to contact the guard made sense. The guards would likely view them with less suspicion if they were a little less bedraggled, but it would be better to walk into the guardhouse themselves rather than have them summoned by a nervous innkeeper. Unless the guard was in bed with the slavers, in which case it would be best to avoid their notice at all, but folks already knew they were here so the law would hear about it soon enough. Still, every part of his tired body and soul just wanted rest immediately, consequences be damned.
He nods wearily to Omen. "What you say makes sense. I'd prefer to avoid the guard altogether, but that's probably not possible, so better we go to them than vice versa. Did they indicate where we can find the watch commander? Also, how did the folks inside react when you said you were an escaped slave?"
(Kasimir will follow if Omen leads them to the guardhouse.)
Claire
Claire's expression goes from nervousness to confusion as the man on the cliff walks away, seemingly unaware of what she'd said. Were the old man's ears bad?
She turns to Qivys and shakes her head. "He didn't say anything...just walked away. It's almost like he couldn't hear me. I wonder what that was all abou-- Ah!"
She jumps up in surprise as an arm is suddenly slung across her shoulder. "Well, I could definitely use a bath." She smiles in response to the tiefling's suggestions. "And an inn sounds super nice right now, I haven't bathed in days! Wait, do I smell?!" She blushes as she starts trying to sniff herself.
The Dawnbringer trails off as Omen exits the shop and speaks to the group. Her eyes widen as she's told which town they've arrived at. "Saltmarsh? No way, that's where I was headed towards to begin with! Before all of this..." She gestures towards her shackles.
Claire smiles widely as Omen speaks of the Mariners Guildhall and turns towards Red, grasping both of her hands in her own. "Did you hear that? Beds...bath. Food!" The light of hope returns to her eyes as she imagines returning to those luxuries that she never thought she'd have again. "This must be Lathander's will! We have to go there as soon as possible!"
Before the girl can bolt off in her excitement, her attention is once again diverted by people who were coming from the town. She lets go of Red's hands and turns towards them, wondering if they were in trouble.
Two middle-aged women in work clothes approach. They give Red a nervous look, but continue on their business and open the door to the carpentry shop.
Two more figures head in your direction down the road, at the same pace as the first.