"Exact words?" says Koll. "That was many days ago now, and honestly he was a little vague. I have to paraphrase, but he said that their, The Tower Wolves', contact will be waiting for the Flaming Sail in Port Nyanzaru. I'll be exchanging the goods for two thousand gold."
Perrin, obviously nervous about this suddenly remembers that Polly was able to sneak on board so maybe we can put the drugs in the same place to sneak them through. He’ll turn to her and ask
“Polly. Sweetie. Before I forget to ask again. Where did you hide to get on the ship? I mean they had to check it before bringing it aboard so where did you hide where they didn’t find you?”
Polly pauses her excited bouncing to turn to you. "Oh! I just hid in the flying thingy! Nobody thought to look in there! Look at all this cool stuff! C'mon! Let's go explore!" She resumes her bouncing and running around.
“We have to wait in line first. They need to check everyone before they let us through. Make sure that nobody has anything they shouldn’t.”
Polly giggles. "Like sweets?"
“Yeah, like sweets.” Perrin says kind of nervously.
Polly got serious. "But... I have one of your pies," she whispered. Then she started rummaging through her bag, furiously.
“Why don’t you quickly eat it before we get through the line.I need to talk to Koll now so why don’t you plan with Lera of where you want to go once we into the city.” Perrin says to her before turning to Koll.
Perrin then begins to whisper to Koll “Polly hid herself in the flying machine and nobody thought to look through it for her. Maybe you can hide some of you luggage there as well. Pretend like you forgot something on the ship and then quickly hide it there and come back for it later.”
"But no one had reason to search the flying machine when it was loaded. These guys do." Koll responds.
Perrin doesn’t have a counter argument so doesn’t say anything just looks more concerned.
After some whispered discussions on how to proceed, Koll and Woe decide that she will carry the drugs, posing as pregnant, with the narcotics stuffed into her clothes to make a false belly. She will use magic to enhance the disguise. Zamar agrees and says he will pose as her worried husband. Singe does not like the plan, and would rather use diplomacy and be more direct, but once a mischievous plan is hatched, it is hard to stop. Seeing that they are determined to see their deception through , Singe keeps his distance, going to stand near Polly.
Koll tries not look conspicuous. He positions himself and Woe out of sight of the harbour master, shielded from view by the others, and he surreptitiously removes the bricks from his pack, handing them quietly to Woe, who stuffs them down her top. It seems that no one pays particularly close attention to them at this time, and the first part of the plan works. (Stealth 14+5 = 19) Now it is up to Woe and Zamar to sell it. Koll offers a prayer to Ilmater that all goes well.
As the plan is underway, the line moves steadily forward. When it's Lady Evelyn's turn, the half-dragon smiles. "Lady Evelyn," you hear him say. She turns slightly and you notice the Harper pin displayed proudly on her travel dress. "I am sorry for your loss," he places a hand on her shoulder to console her before waving her and the makeshift casket through. He then writes a small note on the manifest before turning to the group of Flaming Fist waiting to enter the Port City.
The Scarlet Dawn's turn is coming up. Depending on what Flame Wyre wrote in the manifest, this could either go very well or very bad.
Zamar walks up to the man looking very flustered. He keeps fussing over Woe who swats his hands away. She is clearly annoyed at the extra attention and thinks he is being ridiculous. "Good morrow to you, harbour master. I do apologize for being so disorganized. We are the Scarlet Dawn and are here on the business of Lord Viscardi. I have brought my wife along as I did not want to miss the birth of my child as I am sure you can understand. The storm and the heat have left her feeling exceedingly unwell. What do you need from us to allow me to get her out of this heat as expeditiously as possible. My papers? Our manifest from Flame Wyre?" He carefully lets his emotions escalate. "Please!" He says, "I do not wish my child to be born here on the docks!"
"I'm fine!" she snaps. "I'm every bit as capable as you are. Stop your fidgeting and let me be." She suddenly holds where her stomach should be as though a contraction has just hit.
"Oh! Breathe through it. Breathe through it!" He makes inane breathing noises at her.
"I am breathing, you idiot!" she snaps.
He turns back to the harbour master. "I am so sorry. Where were we," he says in a panicked tone. He looks at the dragonborn expectantly.
(Woe and Zamar joint performance: 21 or 27 at advantage and with inspiration - depending on which roll the DMs took.)
The urgency of Zamar's proclamation catches the harbor master off-guard. He flips through the ship's manifest, spotting the Scarlet Dawn. "Scarlet Dawn Adventuring Guild... flying machine?" He looks past the group, trying to spy a flying machine. When he sees it's not yet been pulled from the hold, he returns his attention to Zamar and Woe. "Names please, and hand your bags to Flu'fi. He'll inspect them." He gestures to a bare-chested native standing near him. "The quicker we can get this done, the quicker we can get you through," he adds.
Any move to hand the guard your bags is interrupted by an aged, wrinkled Chultan. "Ohhh, by the gods Zindar, they're back!" She hobbles far closer to the half-dragon than comfortable and pulls him by the arm. "I can hears them eating everything in the attic!"
Zindar, the harbor master, pulls away from the old woman, saying, "I'm busy Mumbei, I've got a job to do!"
"Nonsense," she responds, "Help me get those rats out of my attic!"
"We might be able to help Mam. What seems to be the problem?" Perrin chimes in hoping to keep the attention on himself plus maybe gain some favors in the city.
Mumbei turns her attention from Zindar to Perrin. "Well at least someone has some respect for the elderly," she says, pulling Perrin past the checkpoint.
"You're my great niece," Zindar tries to respond, but she's already pulled Perrin past without inspection. He turns to the others. "Adventurers, right?" He asks. "Please clear out her rats..." He looks past the group to the next in line. "Next!" He calls.
Polly hops at the chance to prove herself. "Our first quest!!" She squeals, following Perrin and the old woman.
Perrin doesn't fight the women and lets her lead him to wherever she is going. "Guys I think I got us into another quest. Hopefully, this won't take too long, I mean its just a bunch of rats yes." Perrin says hopefully.
Zamar leads Woe and Koll down a dark alley and tells Lera that he will catch up. While making sure they are safe and not followed, Woe drops her disguise and transfers the drugs back to Koll's pack. "Perrin has some kind of rat mission. I'm going to keep an eye on Polly, just in case the old lady has bigger problems than she thinks." To Woe he says, "Come along if you like!"
Then he turns to Koll. "Be careful handing off your package. Not sure if you have someone who has your back. I need to watch Polly. If you want to come along, I'd happily accompany you later."
Then, he turns and hurries off to catch up to Lera, Polly, Perrin, and the old woman.
Mumbei shuffles along slowly, holding Perrin's hand in her little arthritic claw as if he were a child. "Those awful rats! I hears them up there, eating my memories and damaging my precious things! Uncle Zindar is no help, either! He sent men to check the attic, but they says there were no rat droppings, no damage. But I hears them!"
Polly skipped along side the old woman. "Are they big rats? Do they have huge sharp teeth?"
Mumbei looked down at the little girl. "I don't know, dearie. I can't climb the stairs anymore. Me hips aren't what they used to be." She squinted at Polly, trying to get a better look. "Aren't you a little short to be an adventurer?" Looking back at Perrin, she added, "You adventurers keep getting younger and younger."
"Madam," Singe walks briskly along side her, "If you don't mind me asking, what shape is your house in? Made of sturdy materials? Have you had any issues with other creatures getting in?"
"The relevant equation is: Knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass; a good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read." - Terry Pratchett
“You don’t know the half of it. But anyways you say you hear them but you’ve never seen them. Hmmm interesting rats then. When I was on the farm we use to get them every once in a while but there was always evidence of them.” Perrin says; ignoring the short comment.
As the group passes the checkpoint, Shanolia turns to Koll.
"I trust you lot can handle the rat problem? I would like to visit the local library, while I still have a chance."She turns and walks off - without waiting for a response - to ask passersby for directions to the library, using her roughly eighty years of social training from her mother to put the people she asks at ease and earn some semblance of trust. After a few raised eyebrows and curious glances downward at her mask, she manages to learn from a polite woman that the library is located at the Temple of Savras, very close to the harbour. With a polite nod and a respectful 'thank you' she sets off towards the temple, hoping to finally return to her magical study now that the she is in no immediate danger from the Council.
When Woe sees everyone running off in a different direction, she decides to stay with Koll.
"Koll, here you are. I am glad our plan worked. Zamar was superb! He is a fantastic performer! That face of the harbour master!!! Oh. So, do you know what to do next? Are you going to hang around the harbour? It is not safe. If you want, I can stay with you. The others are already taking off, hunting some rats, it seems."
Mumbei turns toward Singe and sticks a swollen finger in his face. "My house is perfectly fine, young whippersnapper! Nothing gets in my house! Except those darned rats!" She turns and continues to slowly lead the group of "younguns" to her home, albeit slowly. Finally she stops in front of a large home. It seems much too large for a single old woman, but she looks up at it proudly. "Here we go. My home." The house itself looks sturdy and well maintained. "I ain't been up in the attic in ages." She slowly began to climb the few stairs to the front door. "Get rid of those rats," she said, pausing for a breath at the top of the stairs. "But if you touch any of my things, I'll cut your fingers off!" Mumbei fished around in a pocket for a moment, producing a key, which she used to open the door. "In here, in here. Top of the stairs."
Before they enter, Zamar turns to her and says, "Your uncle said that he found no evidence of rats, correct? No droppings or anything? I believe that they are there. I just want to understand what has been previously tried so that we can know what we are up against."
"Exact words?" says Koll. "That was many days ago now, and honestly he was a little vague. I have to paraphrase, but he said that their, The Tower Wolves', contact will be waiting for the Flaming Sail in Port Nyanzaru. I'll be exchanging the goods for two thousand gold."
Perrin, obviously nervous about this suddenly remembers that Polly was able to sneak on board so maybe we can put the drugs in the same place to sneak them through. He’ll turn to her and ask
“Polly. Sweetie. Before I forget to ask again. Where did you hide to get on the ship? I mean they had to check it before bringing it aboard so where did you hide where they didn’t find you?”
Polly pauses her excited bouncing to turn to you. "Oh! I just hid in the flying thingy! Nobody thought to look in there! Look at all this cool stuff! C'mon! Let's go explore!" She resumes her bouncing and running around.
“We have to wait in line first. They need to check everyone before they let us through. Make sure that nobody has anything they shouldn’t.”
Polly giggles. "Like sweets?"
“Yeah, like sweets.” Perrin says kind of nervously.
Polly got serious. "But... I have one of your pies," she whispered. Then she started rummaging through her bag, furiously.
“Why don’t you quickly eat it before we get through the line.I need to talk to Koll now so why don’t you plan with Lera of where you want to go once we into the city.” Perrin says to her before turning to Koll.
Perrin then begins to whisper to Koll “Polly hid herself in the flying machine and nobody thought to look through it for her. Maybe you can hide some of you luggage there as well. Pretend like you forgot something on the ship and then quickly hide it there and come back for it later.”
"But no one had reason to search the flying machine when it was loaded. These guys do." Koll responds.
Perrin doesn’t have a counter argument so doesn’t say anything just looks more concerned.
After some whispered discussions on how to proceed, Koll and Woe decide that she will carry the drugs, posing as pregnant, with the narcotics stuffed into her clothes to make a false belly. She will use magic to enhance the disguise. Zamar agrees and says he will pose as her worried husband. Singe does not like the plan, and would rather use diplomacy and be more direct, but once a mischievous plan is hatched, it is hard to stop. Seeing that they are determined to see their deception through , Singe keeps his distance, going to stand near Polly.
Koll tries not look conspicuous. He positions himself and Woe out of sight of the harbour master, shielded from view by the others, and he surreptitiously removes the bricks from his pack, handing them quietly to Woe, who stuffs them down her top. It seems that no one pays particularly close attention to them at this time, and the first part of the plan works. (Stealth 14+5 = 19) Now it is up to Woe and Zamar to sell it. Koll offers a prayer to Ilmater that all goes well.
As the plan is underway, the line moves steadily forward. When it's Lady Evelyn's turn, the half-dragon smiles. "Lady Evelyn," you hear him say. She turns slightly and you notice the Harper pin displayed proudly on her travel dress. "I am sorry for your loss," he places a hand on her shoulder to console her before waving her and the makeshift casket through. He then writes a small note on the manifest before turning to the group of Flaming Fist waiting to enter the Port City.
The Scarlet Dawn's turn is coming up. Depending on what Flame Wyre wrote in the manifest, this could either go very well or very bad.
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Zamar walks up to the man looking very flustered. He keeps fussing over Woe who swats his hands away. She is clearly annoyed at the extra attention and thinks he is being ridiculous. "Good morrow to you, harbour master. I do apologize for being so disorganized. We are the Scarlet Dawn and are here on the business of Lord Viscardi. I have brought my wife along as I did not want to miss the birth of my child as I am sure you can understand. The storm and the heat have left her feeling exceedingly unwell. What do you need from us to allow me to get her out of this heat as expeditiously as possible. My papers? Our manifest from Flame Wyre?" He carefully lets his emotions escalate. "Please!" He says, "I do not wish my child to be born here on the docks!"
"I'm fine!" she snaps. "I'm every bit as capable as you are. Stop your fidgeting and let me be." She suddenly holds where her stomach should be as though a contraction has just hit.
"Oh! Breathe through it. Breathe through it!" He makes inane breathing noises at her.
"I am breathing, you idiot!" she snaps.
He turns back to the harbour master. "I am so sorry. Where were we," he says in a panicked tone. He looks at the dragonborn expectantly.
(Woe and Zamar joint performance: 21 or 27 at advantage and with inspiration - depending on which roll the DMs took.)
Zamar Zahuv - Level 4 Aasimar Bard in Whispers of Dissent
Golos - Level 1 Halfling Barbarian in Night's Dark Terror
Jerrok Flametongue - Level 6 Human Barbarian in Zendikar - Whispers of the Aeons
R'thr Ka'ri - Level 5 Paladin in The Adventures of Bubbles (every other Wednesday)
Johnathan Moonspeaker - Level 6 Druid in Web of Lies (every other Friday)
DM of Something Wicked This Way Comes - D&D Modernverse (every other Tuesday)
The urgency of Zamar's proclamation catches the harbor master off-guard. He flips through the ship's manifest, spotting the Scarlet Dawn. "Scarlet Dawn Adventuring Guild... flying machine?" He looks past the group, trying to spy a flying machine. When he sees it's not yet been pulled from the hold, he returns his attention to Zamar and Woe. "Names please, and hand your bags to Flu'fi. He'll inspect them." He gestures to a bare-chested native standing near him. "The quicker we can get this done, the quicker we can get you through," he adds.
Any move to hand the guard your bags is interrupted by an aged, wrinkled Chultan. "Ohhh, by the gods Zindar, they're back!" She hobbles far closer to the half-dragon than comfortable and pulls him by the arm. "I can hears them eating everything in the attic!"
Zindar, the harbor master, pulls away from the old woman, saying, "I'm busy Mumbei, I've got a job to do!"
"Nonsense," she responds, "Help me get those rats out of my attic!"
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"We might be able to help Mam. What seems to be the problem?" Perrin chimes in hoping to keep the attention on himself plus maybe gain some favors in the city.
Mumbei turns her attention from Zindar to Perrin. "Well at least someone has some respect for the elderly," she says, pulling Perrin past the checkpoint.
"You're my great niece," Zindar tries to respond, but she's already pulled Perrin past without inspection. He turns to the others. "Adventurers, right?" He asks. "Please clear out her rats..." He looks past the group to the next in line. "Next!" He calls.
Polly hops at the chance to prove herself. "Our first quest!!" She squeals, following Perrin and the old woman.
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Please feel free to message either Sorce or another moderator if you have any concerns.
Perrin doesn't fight the women and lets her lead him to wherever she is going. "Guys I think I got us into another quest. Hopefully, this won't take too long, I mean its just a bunch of rats yes." Perrin says hopefully.
Zamar leads Woe and Koll down a dark alley and tells Lera that he will catch up. While making sure they are safe and not followed, Woe drops her disguise and transfers the drugs back to Koll's pack. "Perrin has some kind of rat mission. I'm going to keep an eye on Polly, just in case the old lady has bigger problems than she thinks." To Woe he says, "Come along if you like!"
Then he turns to Koll. "Be careful handing off your package. Not sure if you have someone who has your back. I need to watch Polly. If you want to come along, I'd happily accompany you later."
Then, he turns and hurries off to catch up to Lera, Polly, Perrin, and the old woman.
Zamar Zahuv - Level 4 Aasimar Bard in Whispers of Dissent
Golos - Level 1 Halfling Barbarian in Night's Dark Terror
Jerrok Flametongue - Level 6 Human Barbarian in Zendikar - Whispers of the Aeons
R'thr Ka'ri - Level 5 Paladin in The Adventures of Bubbles (every other Wednesday)
Johnathan Moonspeaker - Level 6 Druid in Web of Lies (every other Friday)
DM of Something Wicked This Way Comes - D&D Modernverse (every other Tuesday)
Mumbei shuffles along slowly, holding Perrin's hand in her little arthritic claw as if he were a child. "Those awful rats! I hears them up there, eating my memories and damaging my precious things! Uncle Zindar is no help, either! He sent men to check the attic, but they says there were no rat droppings, no damage. But I hears them!"
Polly skipped along side the old woman. "Are they big rats? Do they have huge sharp teeth?"
Mumbei looked down at the little girl. "I don't know, dearie. I can't climb the stairs anymore. Me hips aren't what they used to be." She squinted at Polly, trying to get a better look. "Aren't you a little short to be an adventurer?" Looking back at Perrin, she added, "You adventurers keep getting younger and younger."
A dwarf with a canoe on his back? What could go wrong?
"Madam," Singe walks briskly along side her, "If you don't mind me asking, what shape is your house in? Made of sturdy materials? Have you had any issues with other creatures getting in?"
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Astromancer's Homebrew Assembly
"The relevant equation is: Knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass; a good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read." - Terry Pratchett
“You don’t know the half of it. But anyways you say you hear them but you’ve never seen them. Hmmm interesting rats then. When I was on the farm we use to get them every once in a while but there was always evidence of them.” Perrin says; ignoring the short comment.
As the group passes the checkpoint, Shanolia turns to Koll.
"I trust you lot can handle the rat problem? I would like to visit the local library, while I still have a chance." She turns and walks off - without waiting for a response - to ask passersby for directions to the library, using her roughly eighty years of social training from her mother to put the people she asks at ease and earn some semblance of trust. After a few raised eyebrows and curious glances downward at her mask, she manages to learn from a polite woman that the library is located at the Temple of Savras, very close to the harbour. With a polite nod and a respectful 'thank you' she sets off towards the temple, hoping to finally return to her magical study now that the she is in no immediate danger from the Council.
Dungeon Master - LSoL
Kaori - Battlemaster Fighter 5 / Paladin 2 (Kenku) - TSR
Cherna Godhari - Grave Cleric 4 (Human) - TW
Breena Mahi'ai - Divination Wizard 8 (Halfling) - WoE
Sharyn Savonath - Open Sea Paladin 4 (Triton) - PoPI
Zephyr - Four Elements (Revised) Monk 4 (Air Genasi) - IO
Takeshi - Mercy Monk 6 (Protector Aasimar) - TBW
Avrui Sirsash - Genie Warlock 2 (Wildhunt Shifter) - WotBS
When Woe sees everyone running off in a different direction, she decides to stay with Koll.
"Koll, here you are. I am glad our plan worked. Zamar was superb! He is a fantastic performer! That face of the harbour master!!! Oh. So, do you know what to do next? Are you going to hang around the harbour? It is not safe. If you want, I can stay with you. The others are already taking off, hunting some rats, it seems."
Mumbei turns toward Singe and sticks a swollen finger in his face. "My house is perfectly fine, young whippersnapper! Nothing gets in my house! Except those darned rats!" She turns and continues to slowly lead the group of "younguns" to her home, albeit slowly. Finally she stops in front of a large home. It seems much too large for a single old woman, but she looks up at it proudly. "Here we go. My home." The house itself looks sturdy and well maintained. "I ain't been up in the attic in ages." She slowly began to climb the few stairs to the front door. "Get rid of those rats," she said, pausing for a breath at the top of the stairs. "But if you touch any of my things, I'll cut your fingers off!" Mumbei fished around in a pocket for a moment, producing a key, which she used to open the door. "In here, in here. Top of the stairs."
A dwarf with a canoe on his back? What could go wrong?
“Mam. I have one final question. When we’re done will we get a reward?” Perrin asks
"You get rid of those rats and we'll talk about rewards, you hear me?" The old woman pointed a shaky hand toward the stairs.
A dwarf with a canoe on his back? What could go wrong?
“Alright. Here we go. Polly stay behind me I’ll protect you.” Perrin says confident in his skills to take down some rats and protect Polly.
Before they enter, Zamar turns to her and says, "Your uncle said that he found no evidence of rats, correct? No droppings or anything? I believe that they are there. I just want to understand what has been previously tried so that we can know what we are up against."
Zamar Zahuv - Level 4 Aasimar Bard in Whispers of Dissent
Golos - Level 1 Halfling Barbarian in Night's Dark Terror
Jerrok Flametongue - Level 6 Human Barbarian in Zendikar - Whispers of the Aeons
R'thr Ka'ri - Level 5 Paladin in The Adventures of Bubbles (every other Wednesday)
Johnathan Moonspeaker - Level 6 Druid in Web of Lies (every other Friday)
DM of Something Wicked This Way Comes - D&D Modernverse (every other Tuesday)