Aubrey:

Grugga thanks Leelan for his knowledge on hags, "We're lucky to have someone so knowledgeable on creatures with us. It certainly makes me feel safer that we're prepared for the wilderness and the strange beasts in it." After that talk, he drifts away in thought, head down, watching his feet kick up gravel.

After seeing Konrad's ship in Shelley, he answers Aubrey's and Leelan's questions at once, "Aye, he's another artificer, and a real gifted one at that. He made some prototypes for a boat that was powered by boiling water. The steam would turn the paddle wheels, like the kind he has there on that boat, but the steam had to be collected in tanks and they kept blowing up from the pressure!" He laughs heartily, remembering the situation with the fondness of a mad scientist. "Don't worry, no one died that time."

"Anyway, I think it could work with some better materials, but," he shrugs, "it's not my specialty. The Voyager there is powered by horses, though. They walk on a sort of track, pulling ropes... Do you guys know what a gear ratio is? No? Ummm... well the energy is sort of stored in a box called a 'Frumpf Cell' and he releases it throughout the day to power the paddlewheel. The horses only need to walk for 4 hours to power the boat for half a day. Like I said, really gifted and he's really nice too. But I don't know what he's doing up here. Last I heard he was going south to Amnifortis on his maiden voyage and then heading back to Tucker Hills."

"Interesting Grugga. As long as it would not intefere with our current mission I would very much like you to introduce me to this Konrad Frumpf." Aubrey says as the artificer finishes.
"So Rohuzar, are we staying in Shelley for the night?"

“I think ve need information about getting to carcerimon rangers. Let’s find that out… then decide.” 

"We could pay a visit to the Reed Castle. It’s the most popular bar in town. Perhaps we could find out more about the carcerimon rangers there." Aubrey suggests as they walk through Shelley.

Rohuzar nods and follows Aubrey

Unless someone has other ideas Aubrey takes the team to the Reed Castle for drinks, music and hopefully some information.

Aubrey leads his allies deeper into his hometown.  The streets here are a mix of cobblestone mainstreets and dirt or gravel sidestreets.  The Reed Castle sits at the intersection of such a cobblestone street and a wide, muddy alleyway.  The building is wood construction with a tall single story.  The corner facing the intersection is built and painted to resemble the stone parapet of a castle.  Outside in the alleyway, young boys jostle for position to offer to watch Dandelion for you.  Down the alley you see a number of horses, a small wagon and even a horsedrawn carriage parked, each with a local boy standing watch.  Aubrey, you know from experience that these kids typically do honest work keeping an eye on horses.  The Reed Castle has no inn or stable, so in exchange for a copper piece, local kids watch the horses and cry alarm if any ne'erdowells go snooping through saddlebags.

As you pass through town, the wind picks up and a light rain begins to fall.  It is shaping up to be a cool, damp night in Shelley.

As you approach the large wooden door of the Reed Castle, you can all see a polished stone plaque on the wall, engraved with bronze.

 Pushing into the building, you are startled by the amount of noise coming from inside.  The tavern is full and there is a small band on a stage to the right of the door; they are playing a mix of jug instruments and flutes.  To your left, in the corner shaped like a tower, there appears to be a party as a group of commoners are gathered in a song of their own, ignoring the band.  Dead ahead, a large square bar dominates the back of the room.   A wide hearth serves as the oven and stove for cooking and a half dozen servers and chefs busy themselves over pots and spoon meals onto plates.  There are a few spaces open at the bar and one small table but otherwise it is standing room only.

An orc bouncer at the door looks wearily at your weapons, then pats hilt of the great axe he is leaning on.  He speaks to you, but in the monotone fashion of one who has given this speach hundreds of times.  "Weapons are allowed... in their sheaths.  Draw a blade and there will be hell to pay."

Looking through the room you notice a couple of things.  There is a human is a leather apron showing off a small device to an interested crowd.  It looks a bit like the handle of a dagger, but it is projecting a hot blue flame two inches long.  Standing next to him is another human, in his early thirties, well dressed and with an air of confident authority.

Guilim:

 Grugga:

 Aubrey:

"So this is your hometown, Aubrey? I like it. This is a nice old tavern too; look here, it's over a thousand years old. What kinds of things has its walls seen? Well... the ones that haven't burnt down, I guess." After surveying the interior and the crowd, Grugga easily picks out another artificer - who else would be wielding a hand torch? "Hey, I know that guy with the hand torch... Greg Something-Or-Another... I think. Maybe he's with Konrad. I'm gonna go say hi, do you all want to come with?"

Grugga presses his way through the crowd and greets his acquaintance. "Hey, funny seeing you here. Did you come with Konrad? And, uh, could you remind me of your name again?" Grugga pauses half a second before putting his palm on his chest, "Grugga," he says, in case the other artificer has forgotten his name too.

Edit: At some point in the night, Grugga also asks Aubrey to point out the owners of Reed Castle to him.

Leelan seems surprised by the presence of yet another artificer. People who, just a few days prior, he was unfamiliar with now seemed to be everywhere around him.

"Is it normal that so many of yours be found in the same place, Grugga?", asked the gnome.

"Well," he says, "it's normal in Tucker Hills, but even in more rural Pentwater it's not that common. A small town in the Empire? Seems pretty unlikely, but my guess is that they're travelling together. So then, really, the only coincidence is that we and the boat are here at the same time. Come say hi, Leelan, I'm sure he'll be just as interested in your book as I am."

The artificer looks up with surprise that morphs into confusion and finally recognition.  He is a man of middle age, tall with his hair tied up in a braided top knot.  "Grugga!  Of course.  One of Dolan's junior engineers.  Don't be embarrassed, lad.  I'd forget my name too if mother hadn't sewn it into my smallclothes!"  He pauses to laugh at his own joke before formally introducing himself.  "Doctor Craig Barr.  Degrees in Thermal Renormalization and in the Conjecture and Verification Methodologies.  Author of what are considered two of the preeminent treatises on Percussive Maintenance."  He seems like he could keep going, but a shadow passes over his face at the mention of Konrad.  "Ah.  Konrad...".  He looks down at the torch, switches it off, then hands it to the noble he had been speaking with who proceeds to play with it.

"Konrad isn't with us.  He led the initial expedition of the Voyager down to Amnifortis and back.  The ship performs beautifully.  Exceeds expectations by almost 20%.  He's proud."  There is more and he struggles to spit it out.  "On the trip though... there's an outbreak in the south.  A pox.  Resistant to conventional, scientific and vulgar magical healing.  Mercifully it is only contagious amongst dwarves.  I know that must sound crass, but you haven't seen the affliction.  At present it seems contained to the region around Purgis and through the Disputed Lands.  It... it kills fast enough that the surgeons believe it will burn itself out if it remains contained."  He sighs.  "Konrad passed quickly."

"Gel-Nagev ordered a special study of the disease, both to honor Konrad and to prepare in the event it escapes containment.  Should it spread to the border with Dunngenor... but that is why we will be ready.  Lord Abd Al-Kader had graciously granted the College full use of one of his keeps on Way Isle.  They were setting up labs there to study the samples when we departed.  As a precaution, Gel-Nagev ordered the Voyager swabbed with grain alcohol to prevent the inadvertent spread of 'radical pathologics'.   An unnecessary precaution, to be sure, but we carried out all the same."

He changes the subject to something more positive.  "It was always Konrad's intention to bring the ship here to Shelley.  The lord here is more receptive than most to our influence.  She is quite the independent thinker.  This made an obvious opportunity for public relations... to spread the word as well as impress these foreigners with a taste of what science can bring them."  He sighs again.  "Ever the perfectionist... Konrad wanted to take the ship on a test run first, to iron out any hiccups before it was presented to the public.  He'll be missed.  But we shall carry on."

While Doctor Barr is speaking, a white haired serving woman slides a slate menu across the bar to your group as she passes by.  "Be with you boys in just a moment!"

"Thanks Grugga, I've always liked it here in Shelley myself." Aubrey answers, smiling as they enter Reed Castle.

Inside Aubrey seems to spot someone he knows and excuses himself.
"Hey Tony Diamond, fancy meeting you in a place like this." Aubrey says with a wide grin to the well-dressed man standing next to the artificer. "I see you have further diversified your family business, please tell me all about it over a drink old man. I'm buying." Aubrey says and motions for the white haired serving woman, likely known to him, to bring them their usual poison.

Lord Diamond looks up from the tiny torch he is playing with at Aubrey's greeting.  "Aubrey!  Today brings all sorts of surprises.  I had thought you'd be in the capital, nursing at the teat of power and influence," he says with a laugh.  "And I see you've brought an army with you.  A legion commander already?"  He makes a bit of a mock bow, then flags the waitress to come back at your offer of drink.

Lord Diamond is a whisky man, and the serving woman brings you each a glass of Leaping Elk.  Lord Diamond's is a double.

After some friendly chit chat, he is more than happy to talk about his latest dealings.  He is in great spirits tonight as a solution may have just fallen into his lap.  He had already launched an operation to reopen an abandoned mithril mine, a place prone to cave ins and presently infested with goblins or some such vermin.  He has a crew of dwarves in his employ ready to head to the site and establish a base camp, and another dwarven mercenary who is supposed to take care of clearing any hostiles out of the mine.  But he was still left with the problem of potential mine collapses.  His plan had been to more or less just throw gold and miners at it until they reach the ore... but this artificer has some very interesting ideas for stabilizing the shafts.  When he returns to Tucker Hills, the artificer will send one of his brethren up to the mines to consult on the project.  He's quite pleased.  As he talks, he continues to twirl the little flamethrower about in one hand while drinking with the other.  "So what about you?  What has brought Aubrey Goldentide home unannounced?"

Around this time, the band on stage finishes a song and takes a break.  The background noise lessens and the patrons turn back to their conversations... other than the party in the corner which continues their revelry.

"So did you rushing ahead finally get you kicked out Maverick? Or did you go messing about with the commanders sister again?" Guilim says as he moves up to the bar, easily pulling himself up and into a stool, keeping his eyes on the rest of the group from over his shoulder. 

"Ah no! Poor Konrad. He'll be missed, but he knew his Voyager was a success. We'll toast to him when the server comes back around." Grugga orders a bottle of the Mapleridge and some frogleg stew. "I hope you don't mind if I eat, we haven't eaten since this morning - we set out from Northbridge." He continues after a few failed attempts to his next question in a good way, "So, my mother is a Dwarf and I have family in Dunngenor. Do you know any more about this pox? I'm sure Gel-Nagev has it under control, but..." he trails off awaiting an answer.

After receiving a (hopefully comforting) answer, Grugga says, "Where are my manners?! It's been a long week." He pulls Leelan into the conversation by the arm, "This is Leelan, a companion of mine - I've had bad luck spreading the word traditionally, so I joined a mercenary company to show off my 'Steel Defender'", he pats the contraption on his back, "Maybe get some people interested after seeing what that can do - anyway, Leelan's writing a book compiling information on every creature in the world. He's from the NTF; a Gnome" he says the last word as though that's the most interesting part.

Once Leelan has a chance to introduce himself and talk about his book, Grugga also says, "You should also meet another companion of mine, citizen Aubrey Goldentide." Once Aubrey finishes his conversation with Lord Diamond, Grugga pulls them into the conversation as well. "Aubrey, this is Doctor Craig Barr, he's a leader in the field of Percussive Maintenance; his treatises have had a big influence on the design of my main project." He once again pats the large hunk of steel he's been carrying around, "Aubrey here is heir to the Goldentide family who live in Shelley and Bardstown. He's also shown great interest in our works, and I think perhaps his family might want to hear of your mission here, so they don't fall behind Lady Shelley in terms of technology, eh?"

Rohuzar has found a seat and will put a silver piece on the bar simply saying “Drink please.” 

Aubrey savors the whisky while listening to Lord Diamond. "I'm on a mission old man, that's why I brought the army with me." Aubrey says with a smirk. "We're supposed to find a certain carcimon ranger. You wouldn't know who to talk to, being well connected in Shelley and all." Aubrey asks and takes a sip from his glass.

------------------------------------

Eventually Aubrey is invited by Grugga to talk to Dr. Barr. "Yes indeed, I would be happy to listen to you pitching any inventions you might have to offer Dr. Barr, especially if they could be applied in naval trade in any way." Aubrey says, offering Dr. Barr his hand.

I assume Aubrey would be know who the owners of Reed Castle is and point them out to Grugga when given the chance.

Guilim and Maverick are a bit further down the bar, separate from the others so their conversation is a bit removed:

 ******

To Grugga: "There isn't much I can speak to about the disease.  Its early stage includes fatigue, body ache and intense itching sensation.  Next, the skin blisters, primarily around the neck, face and chest though I understand the blisters can appear anywhere.  Finally, the blisters tear open and the surrounding tissues necrotize, causing severe pain and ultimately death.  I'm told elapsed time from onset of symptoms to death is seldom more than forty eight hours.  There was talk of certain populations showing immunity, but it was all still in the predictive modeling stages when I departed."  He joins you in raising a toast to the late Doctor Konrad Flumpf.

Dr. Barr asks a few interested questions about your defender project and about your proselytizing activities in Bardstown.  All the while, he is keeping a wary eye on Lord Diamond as he waves the hand torch around.

At your introduction of Leelan, he raises an eyebrow.  "Ah.  How exciting to meet one of your tribe.  I've only known gnomes from the skeletons at the College.  Surprising fact  -" he says this directly to Grugga, " - despite their outward similarities to the halflings, their bone structure actually points to a common ancestry with the dwarves."

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Master Goldentide," he gives a slight but sincere bow.  "I'm sure Grugga here has already shown you the gains that can be made by introducing reason, science and technology into this flawed world of ours.  As far as the ship, the applications are limitless.  River travel along the Breitvasser has historically been a one way trip, with goods and commerce flowing down from the upper reaches toward the sea, and only arduous pole barging to bring the empty rafts back north to be reloaded.  That wasn't a problem when the enormous maw of Amnifortis sat on the coast, gobbling up trade and travel.  But now, the largest city sits at the very top.  The river flows south, but trade must flow north.  Enter the Voyager class of paddleships.  A fleet of such vessels could bring cargo north from Tucker Hills to Bardstown and beyond, cutting in half the travel time and virtually eliminating the need for costly and dangerous overland shipments...".  He goes on pitching this as long as Aubrey is willing to listen.

Aubrey, Lord Diamond isn't sure about rangers.  "If they've committed some crime, I'm sure the local guards might have heard something.  But there hasn't been any talk that I'm aware of.  In fact, about the only thing anyone wants to discuss today is these artificers and their ship.  That, and the lake ghost that supposed came ashore today."

Looking around, you don't spot the owner... A short, portly human man in his 60's named Grover Dorne.  But then you see him... he is with the raucous party gathered around a long table in the tower section of the tavern.

Quote from nschrock >>

Rohuzar has found a seat and will put a silver piece on the bar simply saying “Drink please.” 

 
One of the waitresses sweeps past Rohuzar behind the bar, leaving a glass of stout and a spinning copper piece as change.