Angus will reply to the thief, "Of course, of course, it's no trouble at all," and remove his neck pouch and empty it, a total of 115 gp.  "My aunt will be happy to supply the remainder of the fee.  She is so anxious to know of the arrival of her visitor, and to make sure he is in good health. They haven't seen each other in forever."

Chadderlay is told straight away that Twtrevess has been concsceunwd into the Bortherhood of Cloaks and is within the tower but free to move about so long as he performs his assigned duties.

17

 "She shoukd prepare a nice pork roll fir the gent.  The savory tast will put a pleasant mind to the occassion."

(Pork means ill take the iob, venison is pay me more.  Thst was the dice roll)

Chadderlay will thank the Cloaks for giving Tetrevess a job.

"I don't want to distract Tetrevess from the duties that have been assigned, but just to have a short meeting and pass on some information concerning mutual friends."

Cryptic Gravity

Gravity dives forward to snatch away the neck pouch from Angus before he can spill it's contents. "What are you paying for? I mean, why should we pay him a fee? It's foolish to yield to his demand since he's just being greedy." If she manages to grab the pouch, she will lift it upward and shake it dramatically. And after that she will point her index finger at the informer male and display an expression of discontent. "Stop talking nonsense or we're going to find another one."

Angus rolls his eyes.  "You remind me of somebody I used to know...  Gravity, it's OK.  This is a friend.  He's going to help us."

Gravity seizes the coinpurse. The THIEF replies gently as he can despite his evident frustration, "Now listen here, Lass, you're the one who came looking for my aid.  Now, I see that you ain't too wise in the ways of the streets, so I'll say this nice and clear likes.  There's eyes and ears EVERYWHERE in Mulmaster.   We ain't too fond of them red necromamcers crawling through the corpse of our once great city.  'Em vultures is here to pick the bones clean, bunch o' carpetbaggers, the lot.  We got a hard time keepin' our trade afloat with all their mystic eavesdropping.  What we need's something to lord o'er 'em.  That's how this city operates.  Bulls keep the contracts onm the Blades high enough the blades look the other way.  The wolves hide in theshadows and do the hedge lords' dirty work and everyone's too scared they're next to say anything.  Zhents crowded into ghettos, becasue they got the numbers and the martial prowess to overrun the city if their numbers was spread across it, so the Blades keep 'em packed along the edges of the city - autonomuos so long as they do what the Blades would have 'em do.  So, here's he deal.  You don't want to pay for the news?  Fine by me.  I'll let you in on what we know, seein' as we're on the same side of the harbor, we.  you get me some dirt on the watch captain and I wont come a callin' to collect.  You get pinched, you never knew me.  Do we have ourselves an arrangement then?"

<To save time, I'm going to assume its a yes, you're just agreeing to explore and acknowledging there is a nominal gold fee for failing to discover something - its a psuedo-option, but RP it if you like.  You can still decline, and I'll retract what follows.>

"A wise decision.  Just one more thing - seein' as how it raises the hairs on me neck to think you fancy types runnin' around tryin' to sneak might get folk to lookin' fer me.   I gotta know there's a chance you might succed, lest the winds that fill me sails should turn upon me and seek to send me among the saltyu peaks of the Moonsea.  I gotta see it fer meself that ye can sneak.  What's yer best shot, d'ye theink? a disguise, a bit of shadow, or do think yerself so fool lucky that ye can cast a spell in Mulmaster and not have the Cloaks up yer arse in half a heartbeat?"

<4th wall break.  This is a little minigame AL likes to throw in and I decided it want too immersion breaking and just left it in.  The premise is you should disguise yourself to get the thief (Shadow Breeze agent) to give you the intel he has.  Double break: I'm going to give you more than he normally would for your effort, so consider it motivation to be creative.  Sam kinda has it easy, since he already is disguised - full credit for fooling him with the one you walked in wearing>

(Sorry, just clarifying, the thief is asking the party to show him how well we can disguise ourselves?)

(Gravity doesn't have the spells Disguise Self or Alter Self prepared, so she should resort to non-magical means. She will spend an hour to forge a Disguise Kit, modify the design of the newly acquired woolen sweater and her boots to create temporary disguise as a 'Velvet Mask' bounty hunter.)

Quote from rob88scps2 >>

(Sorry, just clarifying, the thief is asking the party to show him how well we can disguise ourselves?)

 <Yes.  I know, it is rather contrived, but the concept is you're going to stake the place out and maybe even try to enter in plain sight.  If so, this guy would feel a lot better about not getting caught up in the matter if he thought the party might succeed in their stealth endeavor.>

Quote from InkedBee >>

(Gravity doesn't have the spells Disguise Self or Alter Self prepared, so she should resort to non-magical means. She will spend an hour to forge a Disguise Kit, modify the design of the newly acquired woolen sweater and her boots to create temporary disguise as a 'Velvet Mask' bounty hunter.)

 <I don't think he's going to wait an hour... but I'll hand wave the absence of the kit.  Did we even talk about The Velvet Hand? I didn't think we did.  Not sure if this is an allusion to the organization or just a coincidence.  Assuming it's the latter, the thief actually interprets it as the former.>

"Aye, lass.  You have a keen mind about you.  The Velvet Hand is tolerated by every faction in Mulmaster.  Theryssa's agents speak to anyone snd everyone in the city and nobody would refuse a meeting.  The mask is an interesting touch. Just make sure your expression stsys cold and inscrutable as a cat and you'll have no trouble I imagine, slipping past most people.  They'll notice you, sure enough, but they'll stay well clear.  After what happened at the meatgrinder, it'll be no surprise ro folk that the Hand is about seeking the arcanists that cost them some coin and much repute, and surely they're a common enough sight in the Tower district. Well done." The thief congratulates Gravity.

"And what of you lot?" he questions Angus and Samogri (who he doesn't realize is presently disguised).

<@Brian_Avery I haven't heard from Tesservett yet, just give it a little longer to see if they're back in or if I should bot this or deflect it. The Cloaks are defintiely worth checking out here.>

(@Wile_E_Coyote, 

" You might be a “velvet mask” bounty hunter, one who blends in with high society and noble circles in order to catch the criminals that prey on the rich, whether pickpockets or con artists."

- Urban Bounty Hunter)

<crime is super comlocsted in Mulmaster.  Its not illegal, per se, in the way it is irl and elsewhere in the Realms.   So, a bounty hunter makes perfect sense.  I thought the inclusion of the coincidental word "velvet" was too good to pass up, because it really does work.  Natively, how would a "velvet mask" disguise work?  Their whole thing is to be in disguise as a noble or other wealthy person, so you're "a dude, playing a dude disguised as another dude." (Kirk Lazarus). Is that right?>

*(gendered nouns are as they appear in the quote, I dont think "dude" is gender specific, anyhow)>

Comparison

Cryptic Gravity                                                                

(Chandra, Acolyte of Flame by Anna Steinbauer)                     

Velvet Mask Gravity

(Chandra, Dressed to Kill by Ekaterina Burmak).

(I use Chandra Nalaar as a character inspiration for Gravity)

(ooc: yeah I don't mind waiting on Tetrevess as Chadderlay was just visiting to pass on info on the group.)

Quote from InkedBee >>

Velvet Mask Gravity

(Chandra, Dressed to Kill by Ekaterina Burmak).

(I use Chandra Nalaar as a character inspiration for Gravity)

 <I literally posted her character sheet in the sign-ups for MTG FR.  Second one looks a lot like Felicia Day in cos play.  Still, just not clear how the thief knows Gravity is dressed as a bounty hunter, unless she just tells him, to which his reaction is the Lazarus quote above.>

Angus is unsure how to proceed.  "I suppose I could doff this armor and attempt to pass as a merchant, a mendicant or perhaps a messenger.  Perhaps I could enlist your expertise for a suggestion?  I do know of a tailor who might be willing to help with attire."

Cryptic Gravity

Gravity gives the informer a dirty look when she finds that the male is not yet convinced. She will toss the neck pouch towards Sir Paladin and whisper something gingerly. "I saved your precious royal allowance from falling into wrong hand. I hope you'll remember my little benevolent act. Wear it and do what I say!"  She will pass a small piece of jewelry that resembles a platinum band, and display her own matching piece to Angus that she wears underneath her gloves.

"You see, I'm trying to make adjustments to my clothing so that it may look like elegant piece of dress belonging to a noble woman. And I, Miss Gravity will pose as the beloved lady of this noble knight, Sir Angus. Future man and wife, catching bourgeoisie con artists together. How romantic!" She addresses the strange male while pulling Angus towards herself and locking their arms.

Angus smiles, "An interesting idea, but I'll still need to be rid of the knightly armor that I've been seen wearing in various locations around town, or else be completely covered in a cloak or overcoat of some kind, no?  I don't really fancy impersonating a Bastard Bull again, that didn't go well last time..."

"Fair number  o' lairds traipsin' about town, but not too many knights.  Though armor is one of the cities chief exports; good quality but overpriced," the thief replies.  He thinks for a moment, scrstching his stubble chin as he does, "You don't exactly look like the sneaking sort. No offense. Maybe if you bought some locally made armor, you could pull of the tourist look.  They all go to see the towers in the day anyhow.  Not sure it works after hours.  Well enough."

<gonna give Sam a little more time for RP, but then youve already succeeded here, so he will tell you what you need to know soon, in an hour or two I guess.>