Dues for the Dead (DM Lerus)

"Very well. Though, I should point out that our first hurdle is to actually locate this belligerent fellow." Neya says.

Neya goes with Graxx out to the docks. Going only by Graxx's knowledge of Klaven's mannerisms, she keeps an ear out.

Perception: 9

"Three banquets in a row and still no invitation for your favorite vendor." Fat Mar jests. "Even Imizael can't deny these arrangements have been quite profitable, so I am sure we can manage. Tonight's main dish is nothing more and nothing less than our famous cabbage soup. We can provide you with an array of different breads for more sustenance, but tonight's menu is a bit more limited as you can see. Adding another casket of ale will push you back up to the 70gp for the evening." He awaits for confirmation and then addresses the pending question: "Furniture rental is included, of course."

Assuming that an agreement is reached, Fat Mar orders his assistant to collect all that needs cleaning while he stays outside catching up with Utar and Doozey. When asked about Sagin, the large man confirms that the kobold indeed claimed his prepaid room that evening and stayed in it since arrival, remaining quiet and without ordering any food or drink. A moment later, he confirms that he sees no problem in having you catch a ride on the cart, especially since they won't be taking the furniture back just yet.

The laborers arrive for their day shift and are once again delighted to hear they will have a short day. CRAP has officially become their favorite clients.

(@Grx: I'll assume Glory was left behind at the house, but let me know if that's not the case.)

Graxx and Neya, as well as Taters, had already left the Leadstopper Residence by the time Fat Mar arrived. Wasting no time upon arrival at the docks, Neya focuses on her hearing in search of any ruckus. The docks are far from being a quiet area as dockworkers start their working day early. Some sing shanties as they log heavy crates around while others prefer to complete their task under the harsher sounds of gratuitous profanity and lewd comments. Either way, hardly any dock-hand, inbound sailor, or departing seaman goes about their day in silence. Many are the street merchants of opportunity in the area, all vying for the recently earned coin of arriving tradesmen and women.

Despite all the distractions, one voice does indeed rise above all others. After some looking around, Neya spots its source. A tall goliath man is projecting their voice in an obnoxiously loud manner. "I bet you can't lift your own ass with those skinny arms, Trevor!" He is robustly built, with plenty of muscle underneath a layer of fat. He is dressed modestly, with trousers and a few layers of shirts. A bandana adorns his head, as well as an eye-patch. He kicks a bucket at a passing street vendor: "You owe me last week's dues, Susenil. You better pay up!" Behind him, a posse of 6 other sailors engage in some pointing and laughing. They are all human except for a lithe male elf with tanned skin and short black hair. Most people are trying to avoid the goliath and his posse, but they are making themselves hard to be ignored.

Clambering into the back of the cart after helping Fat Mar, Utar enjoys being jostled along the busy streets of the city.

"I hadn't forgotten about that.  Once completed and our own furniture is in, we could host you all at the house which might not be such a bad idea provided that closing the Goblin would be an option for you.  If not, we could always discuss renting out the Inn for the evening with CRAP footing the bill.  Have a chat with Imaziel and see which she would prefer."

Leaning a little closer, Utar lets his voice take on a conspiratorial air; it's time to do some gossiping.

"What do you know of the Captains currently at port?  We need to secure passage on a boat and are looking for someone reliable.  Who do you hear good things about? Who weighs anchor at the first sign of trouble?  Is Liela still operating for House Sokol?"

(Based on OOC chat, Neya will be no closer than 35 feet away)

Looking at the current situation, Neya decides to throw a metaphorical match in that direction. If there happens to be a metaphorical powder keg and it goes off, she and Graxx may need to intervene.

She focuses on an area behind Klaven, just on the outskirts of Klaven's posse. With a slight wave of her hand she approximates one of their voices giving an annoyed sigh of "fat sack..." in that area.

OOC:  Completely forgot Glory.  Hope Graxx remembered to feed her.  Also, Neya's action made me LOL hard so I'm replicating that in my post.

Graxx's hand shoots up to his mouth as he attempts to hold in a laugh at Neya's "fat sack" comment.

Graxx tries to use this moment to do an optical pat down and look for weapons among Klaven and the posse.

Perception:  8

Taters, who had been resting on Graxx' shoulder throughout the trip to the docks, soon fluttered off to find a higher perches to keep watch now that the pair seemed to have found their target. But at the most immediate request for help, claws would extend and wings would flex in readiness to dive in and help at a moment's notice. Meanwhile, a rather glum Doozey sat at Utar's side seeming to be half listening up until conversations about Captains. At which point he perked up quite a bit, and if the journey alloted for as much, he'd pull out some spare parchment and charcoal to begin taking notes from that point on.

(OOC: I'm giving Klaven a WIS save against Neya's Ki-save DC as per her Ki class feature. I'm rolling it out in the open for the fun of it.)

-> Klaven's WIS saving throw {DC 14}: 5

Also, the rest of this post is left blank on purpose. In order to minimize the chance of that dreaded "manipulation warning" popping up, I am trying a different strategy to posting: separating rolls and text into their own posts. I am not sure how I'm going to do attack and damage rolls yet. If anyone has alternate ideas, let me know.

Klaven turns at the sudden display of snark. "Who said that?" he bites back in his companions' general direction. The sailors look at each other without knowing who might be the culprit. "Was it you, Ollie? It sounded like you." The human who is apparently called Ollie raises his hand in a display of innocence. Klaven raises a fist and thrusts his face towards Ollie's, forcing the subordinate to flinch. This seems to satisfy Klaven, who turns back around at this point and resumes his previous stance.

@Graxx: Klaven and the elf are the only ones who are heavily armed. The golaith carries a precarious-looking greataxe, while the elf has a bowstaff strapped to his back. The other five sailors carry nothing more than cudgels, if anything.

Taters flies up and watches the scene from above. The winged-bunny has not seen anything that looks like a clear cry for help just yet.

It takes some time for the cart to be loaded up, so some of the conversation takes place just outside the Leadstopper Residence before Fat Mar can lead the cart back toward The Laughing Goblin. "Either of those seem quite nice options to me, but Imizael is unlikely to agree to closing the place for a whole evening. We'll see what she says when the time comes."

Once the cart starts moving, Utar fills the time by leaning into Fat Mar's penchant for gossiping. Doozey takes attentive notes. "Ship captains? Aye, plenty of those come and go through The Laughing Goblin. Most are simply merchants passing by, but a few do indeed call Phlan their home port. Captain Walharrow is the most recognizable, being a half-man half-bull and all, but I haven't seen him in some time and he doesn't have the best of reputations. Then, there is Klaven, though he is certainly not the 'someone you hear good things about' kind of captain. If I had to recommend one, I'd suggest you approach Captain Hulbard. People are generally afraid of him because he is a full-blooded orc, but he comes to the tavern now and then and I get to talk to him a bit. He might not be the best sailor out there but he is good folk. If people were to give him a chance, they'd see it too."

When Utar asks about Leila, Fat Mar says: "Yes, yes... House Sokol itself has mostly left Phlan but their trade and administrative office still operates as normal. Liela should still be there. I hear she hired someone to help her too." He opens a wide and somewhat naughty smile and whispers: "Someone she has developed a liking for, they say." A sudden realization hits the sweaty man: "If you'd rather hire a captain that is just passing through, you know... fewer strings attached... then Liela might be a good contact." He wipes his brow.

(OOC: As a quick reminder, The Laughing Goblin is located at the docks, so you guys are headed to the same general area where Neya and Graxx are located.)

Utar raises an eyebrow when Mar mentions Liela taking on help.

"Does this little helper have a name? Penchant for music?"

He pauses for a moment then shakes his head.

"Never mind. Let's not ruin any surprise. Is their office still around here? And uh, Captain Hubbard, no, Hulbard, what's the name of his ship? If he gets your seal of approval, I reckon he's worth stopping in with."

Graxx turns to Neya and whispers.

”Klaven and the elf are the ones to worry about.  Let’s do this.” says Graxx.

Graxx will walk up in front of Klaven.

“Someone who leads with fear is no leader at all.”

Graxx nods toward Ollie.

”Looks like you don’t treat your sailors any better than you treat the shopkeepers of this town.”

Graxx points back toward the shopkeeper that Klaven just intimidated moments before.

”Tell me… What are these shopkeepers getting for this money they owe you?”

Neya tries to get a handle on the group dynamic of this motley crew. Clearly, they fear him to a degree. But what else can she glean from that small interaction.

Insight: 18

Doozey pauses for a moment at the mention of an Orc. But after rubbing his chin in consideration of something, as well as giving Utar a side-eye look trying to guage the more genuine feelings of the man, the stoutling soon shrugged off whatever concern seemed to have came up in favor of continuing to diligently take notes. "Half man half bull though... Out of curiosity regarding Walharrow, he didn't happen to mention at any point being cursed or born that way did he?" He asked of Mar without looking up from his notes.

UTAR & DOOZEY

Fat Mar begins to answer Utar's original question, but is cutoff by the half-orc himself before he can get a proper word out of his mouth. Just as the group crosses the bridge leading into Podol Street, Fat Mar gets a chance to answer the next couple of questions: "Yes, yes, the House Sokol's Administrative Office is still where it has always been, right by the docks and not far away from The Laughing Goblin." He dabs a piece of cloth on his forehead. "As for Captain Hulbard's ship, its name is Alces. I am not sure what it means."

The cart keeps moving, finally entering the region of Phlan generally referred to as 'the docks'. It is Doozey's turn to launch a question, and Fat Mar doesn't mind it one bit. "No, not cursed.... I don't think. He is one of those rare minotaurs or sumsuch."

You'll arrive at The Laughing Goblin at any minute now. Graxx and Neya are at the docks somewhere, though you don't spot the at this moment.

GRAXX & NEYA

Klaven looks surprised that someone has walked up directly to him with confrontational intent. Whether Graxx touched him or not, Klaven puts a hand on the barbarian's chest and shoves Graxx back just a bit... nothing too forceful, just part of his intimidation tactic. He doesn't see it fit to provide Graxx with a direct answer to his question either, instead saying in his loud voice: "Walk away, farmer boy, or I'll show you how to properly use an axe. Too bad you won't have one after I'm done with you." He points at Tempus' Dogma.

Things get intense from this point on. Klaven's crew prepares for a fight, but not the elf. Instead, he raises his hand and speaks with a tone for all to hear. "Woah, woah... A rivalry is brewing here. Just the kind of entertainment us sailors love. How about some friendly fisticuffs, hmm? No blades, just some good old grappling and punching! Lets resolve this the traditional sailors' way! One on One! Captain Klaven vs. Farmer Boy!" The elf has some charisma to him. Half of Klaven's crew relax their muscles to see what happens next. A handful of passersby move to form a ring around Graxx, Neya, and Klaven's crew. Some kids yell in the background: "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

@Neya:

Utar considers the name of the ship as he helps Mar unload the cart at The Laughing Goblin.  If it were an Orcish name, he's sure it would have rung a bell...

Athletics - 24

History - 19

Once satisfied that he's helped Mar avoid at least a degree of his labours today, he passes over the required gold and promises to be back at the house to receive the delivery later.

Turning to Doozey, he offers the halfling the choice of what to do next.

"Do we look for these Captains on the docks or do you want to drop in on Liela first?"

Doozey "ah'd" and nodded in understanding, then jotted down a bit more in his notes. Which even by the time they finally arrive at the goblin, it took him maybe a couple minutes more to fully fill in some details, making him a touch slow to assist in any off loading and so forth. But he'd assist however he could towards the end.

"Might as well look into the Captains while we're here. And with any luck, we can check up on Graxx and Neya while we're at it, if Big Mama Yondalla should guide us along that course on the way." He replied to Utar.

Graxx growls at the comment of farmer boy.

”The only thing I farm is souls.” says Graxx through his teeth as he angers at the comment

Graxx removes all his weaponry except for his axe.  He places the items with Neya.  Graxx nods to Neya letting them know that he has this under control.

”Remove your axe big man and I’ll hand over mine to my companion.  Then we will see who is the meanest among us.” says Graxx

If Klaven removes his axe Graxx will circle up with him for a brawl.  If Klaven does not remove axe Graxx will not remove his axe.

Neya takes Graxx's weapons as they are given to her and takes them aside. During which something itches in the back of her mind regarding a tale of a human facing against a goliath.Or was it just a nickname? She quickly brushes off the thought.

Once to one side of the circle, she plans to spectate the fight. But, she makes a mental note to keep an eye on Klaven's posse in case they try anything funny. Before or during the fight.