"Well, that's not good," Reva sighs defeatedly. "You win this one." She turns her cards to show a 4 and a 6. If the second last card or the last card is a 7, she would have won, but instead, she only has three of a kind. "Well, congrats for being," she counts quickly with a glance, "342 bronze richer."
"Haha! Good one!" Ulric barks. "Someone finally took you down a peg, Rev. He finally broke your last-game winning streak." He pushes the 25 bronze that was held by the table when you buy-in back to you. "Well, that's that. Here's your 25 bronze entry. And we're off. It's 3 already. Any later and I would have to sleep on the couch."
"That is true," Reva adds. "For some reason, I have always won our last game of the day for the last few weeks. Well, gentlemen, perhaps we'll see each other again."
"We will probably see each other again if you come to the Clarent's party in two days," Amarr says. "Her brother will have a game table somewhere for the guests. It won't be as informal as this one and will probably be a different game altogether. This kind of party usually gets boring quickly and the most interesting place will be the game room or the buffet -- the adult corner you might say."
Reva, Ulric, and Amarr say their goodbye to you and to Arastoo and leave together if you have nothing to say anymore.
Comically, Amarr returns back a few moments later and grins sheepishly at you. "I forgot that I have to take you to the warehouse," he says. "Are you still available to help?"
Drexon takes his winnings and is very gracious about it, "It has been fun, you are an interesting group, I will certainly look out for you if we are at the Clarent's Party".
When Amarr returns, he looks to his friends. "I think we are available, yes. Not sure about right now though. perhaps tomorrow?". He then lowers his voice and whispers, "Be careful using worn cards, some people might be a little finicky about that sort of thing. Especially Ulric, who now owes you a favour, which lets be honest is worth more than all the bronze on the table. Your secret is safe with me though".
He is trying to subtly hint that the favour owed buy Ulric would be a decent reward for his silence, without it appearing like blackmail, as he is being true his secret is safe.
“I appreciate the advice. I’ll go get ready for tonight and be back by five.” Eremoz heads into the bar and takes a seat next to Drexon, waiting for the conversation with Ulric to finish.
"You noticed that, huh," Amarr replies sheepishly to Drexon. He shakes his head and grins, fondly looking at the table they had played before. "Don't worry about it. We tend to do that once in a while. Next time maybe we'll play Dac-Han. It's all about cheating if you haven't heard about it. Not exactly a formal game in most gamblers' dens, but Ulric's friend introduced it to us. Good mind exercise."
He looks distantly toward the direction of the warehouse district for a while before nodding. "Tomorrow then," he says. "In case I forget our plan, you can find me in my office. Just ask around where the main office of the district is and you'll find me there. I'll leave you gentlemen to your drinks. Here, the next round is on me. Arastoo! Get them anything they want." He leaves a few coppers and leaves with a nod to each of you.
Arastoo nods and takes the coppers. He looks at you questioningly. "Any preference?" He asks. "While I agree with Lord Ulric that our beer and mead are not as tasty as other places, we have other specialties. Our cocktails are mostly sweet."
"Tomorrow it is", Drexon says to Amarr, after drawing a blank on the game of Doc-Han.
When Arastoo asks about drinks, he merely replies with, "Dealer's choice, whatever you recommend please. Any chance of changing some bronze into copper?".
With that done he turns to Eremoz, "Well that was an interesting diversion, got a bit of coin and learned some useful bits of information. How did you get on? I noticed you lingered outside".
Cob joins the others at the bar, half climbing, half flying to get up on to a bar stool.
"I don't know if they're the organizers, but the crew in the back room there," Cob starts in a quiet voice and nods at the secret door behind the current guard "were definitely involved in the warehouse raid. And they've got something planned for the 8th in the southwest part of the city. The exact location is on a map in there. They talked a lot about using the kids again as distraction and scapegoats. I don't think real kids would be much help so they may have meant the mason apprentices."
He looks around for a moment before continuing.
"We could probably get in through the sewers." Cob says. "But what now? Kill some time before sneaking into the mason HQ to check on those apprentices? Sneak in here later too?"
”I got hired to work security for the bar tonight. They’re one person down and the boss wants me to a personal guard for a private game. I have to go get a suit and everything.” Eremoz pauses for a second. “There are a couple other twists to it as well.”
“It could be…” Eremoz looks around the bar. “I have to be back by 5. Why don’t we talk while I head to the tailor? Save us some time, and maybe gain a bit more privacy.”
"That is fine by me Eremoz. It could be an excellent opportunity to gather more information. It seems this place has been a mine of information of already", Drexon agrees and then gets up ready to leave.
"It seems the Verdant Masons are not well liked by some in the city. I also learned a little about the family we are meeting tomorrow for the guard job, and have managed to get us full access to the warehouse that was attacked yesterday".
Arastoo returns with a yellow and purple drink for whoever wants it. He says it is called the Bright Tempest and it tastes sweet with an undertone of hazelnut mixed with a little alcohol. It's a strange combination, but it is refreshing.
"How much do you want to exchange?" Arastoo asks and proceeds to change your bronze to copper. "Usually we take an exchange fee of 5%, but I'll just take it from the coppers that Amarr left."
You make your way to get Eremoz prepared first. You follow the main thoroughfare north and then east toward the Borough Bazaar. Drexon, you have read about it in your atlas when you scan for places of interest. It is an entire district solely dedicated to the merchants. The Borough Bazaar is the main trade district of Mantagard.
Drexon exchanges 300 bronze for 3 copper, and drinks the strangely coloured drink before leaving the Twenty-One Jack.
As they walk he fills the others in on the relevant bits of his conversation with the three card players.
"So as it turns out Amarr owns the warehouse that was raided, and is very concerned about the effect such attacks will have on his reputation and therefore his income. He has allowed us full access tomorrow, to go where we please and ask whatever questions we want. It is a long shot but we may find something of use".
"Lady Reva is the sister of the current Lord Clarent. The one who is throwing the party. His sister calls him a drunkard gambler, so not the greatest of respect there. Apparently the Clarent's are responsible for the Scarlet Barony from her father's time as Lord. The folk we have seen out and about with the red cloaks. They are a group of former street kids who House Clarent helped resettle. Now they help out with order and other things around the city. Thuggery is one way to put it, and tax collecting. Mainly good kids she says, but who knows".
"The last was Lord Ulric of House Emika, a mercantile house. Seems like a useful person to know. None of them have respect for the Verdant Masons, or the new mayor. Seems like the Masons are a sponge on the wealth of the city, and the mayor facilitates this. They will all be at the party by the way".
He leaves out the specifics of House Daxos, and his suspicions about himself.
“That will quite helpful. I being able to actually go through the warehouse instead of walking the outside should be more enlightening.” Eremoz gives pause. “My job tonight may give me similar insights. Unfortunately, I wont be able to share those insights. They will use some kind of magic that doesn’t allow me to speak about anything from inside the room. I can only assume writing anything is also out of the question.”
“That may work. The doorman said my mind would go cloudy if I tried to speak on the events inside.” Eremoz stops to look at his friends. “If some information does come out in there, I may try to act on it without explanation or I may go a little blank. I just want you all to be aware.”
Eremoz looks around for a tailor. “Time to get a suit. I was recommended Flit & Flutter.”
The Borough Bazaar is a cacophony of noise and color. You see stall tents selling various goods and delights from across Sabitah everywhere. Once in a while, you see brick buildings that seem to have stood since the city's founding bearing signs of other shops catering to larger customers. You see a restaurant selling various gourmet seafood dishes. You notice an outdoor equipment shop that sells garments, bags, tools, and even custom equipment. On one building that extends to an outdoor stall tent, you can listen to people conversing casually while listening to live music and sipping exotic teas and coffees.
You are sure that if you explore a bit longer, you may just find everything you would need. One such shop of interest is located near the middle of the district. It is a two-story brick building with graffiti of an art nouveau rainbow waterfall on the side. A flourished cursive of Flit & Flutter has been painted in the middle of the waterfall as if encasing it. The place seems to be guarded by a group of men in armor spread around the building, but they don't halt you when you try to enter the shop.
The interior of Flit & Flutter can only be described as a chaos of color and fabric. You don't think this is what the shop looks like normally. The source of chaos seems to originate from the back of the shop where a young woman on the cusp of adulthood is desperately trying to gather several pieces of fabric that are being thrown by an older woman. Behind the young girl, an impeccably dressed middle-aged woman yelps and ducks to dodge the flying fabrics, looking miserable and in anguish at the condition of the shop.
"Mother, this is excessive," the young woman says tersely. "You do not have to wreck Mrs. Flitwing's stock just because you do not like the color I have chosen." She turns and shrugs apologetically toward the middle-aged woman who seems to be the owner of the shop. "My apologies, Mrs. Flitwing, now we know why my father married my mother," she says with gritted teeth. "They are peas in a pod. I will return this evening to pay for the damage."
"Well, we're leaving!" The young woman's mother yelled after throwing one last piece of fabric to the floor. "We will find better material at Tiana's. Let's go, daughter. This garbage is starting to make me itch. How this place has fallen."
The mother and the daughter quickly vacate the shop. The daughter offers the owner, Mrs. Flitwing, a final apologetic bow and a promise to return before following tiredly behind her mother. The guards around the building move to circle the mother and daughter pair as they leave.
Cob watches the mother and daughter and their retinue leave.
"That one thinks quite highly of herself," Cob says.
He waves his hand discretely at the mother as she steps outside, and the unmistakably pungent acrid aroma of a skunk wafts about her (via [spell[druidcraft[/spell]).
Turning to the two women in the shop he adds, "they're not hosting a party tomorrow night by any chance are they?"
Drexon smiles as Cob comes to the same conclusion he had, that these were the ladies of House Clarent readying for the party.
"At least the daughter seems to have a good head on her shoulders", he says, reminded a little of Lady Reva. "I wonder if she is the oldest child, and set to inherit one day".
"So what sort of clothes do you need?", he asks Eremoz. "Maybe they sell hats, you can't beat a nice hat", he adds with a smile, tipping his own.
Drexon smiles at Reva, "Nothing worthwhile is done without some element of risk".
With that he turns over his two cards, a pair of ones.
"A full house, ones full of fours", he says, and motions her to reveal.
"Well, that's not good," Reva sighs defeatedly. "You win this one." She turns her cards to show a 4 and a 6. If the second last card or the last card is a 7, she would have won, but instead, she only has three of a kind. "Well, congrats for being," she counts quickly with a glance, "342 bronze richer."
"Haha! Good one!" Ulric barks. "Someone finally took you down a peg, Rev. He finally broke your last-game winning streak." He pushes the 25 bronze that was held by the table when you buy-in back to you. "Well, that's that. Here's your 25 bronze entry. And we're off. It's 3 already. Any later and I would have to sleep on the couch."
"That is true," Reva adds. "For some reason, I have always won our last game of the day for the last few weeks. Well, gentlemen, perhaps we'll see each other again."
"We will probably see each other again if you come to the Clarent's party in two days," Amarr says. "Her brother will have a game table somewhere for the guests. It won't be as informal as this one and will probably be a different game altogether. This kind of party usually gets boring quickly and the most interesting place will be the game room or the buffet -- the adult corner you might say."
Reva, Ulric, and Amarr say their goodbye to you and to Arastoo and leave together if you have nothing to say anymore.
Comically, Amarr returns back a few moments later and grins sheepishly at you. "I forgot that I have to take you to the warehouse," he says. "Are you still available to help?"
Drexon takes his winnings and is very gracious about it, "It has been fun, you are an interesting group, I will certainly look out for you if we are at the Clarent's Party".
When Amarr returns, he looks to his friends. "I think we are available, yes. Not sure about right now though. perhaps tomorrow?". He then lowers his voice and whispers, "Be careful using worn cards, some people might be a little finicky about that sort of thing. Especially Ulric, who now owes you a favour, which lets be honest is worth more than all the bronze on the table. Your secret is safe with me though".
He is trying to subtly hint that the favour owed buy Ulric would be a decent reward for his silence, without it appearing like blackmail, as he is being true his secret is safe.
“I appreciate the advice. I’ll go get ready for tonight and be back by five.” Eremoz heads into the bar and takes a seat next to Drexon, waiting for the conversation with Ulric to finish.
"You noticed that, huh," Amarr replies sheepishly to Drexon. He shakes his head and grins, fondly looking at the table they had played before. "Don't worry about it. We tend to do that once in a while. Next time maybe we'll play Dac-Han. It's all about cheating if you haven't heard about it. Not exactly a formal game in most gamblers' dens, but Ulric's friend introduced it to us. Good mind exercise."
He looks distantly toward the direction of the warehouse district for a while before nodding. "Tomorrow then," he says. "In case I forget our plan, you can find me in my office. Just ask around where the main office of the district is and you'll find me there. I'll leave you gentlemen to your drinks. Here, the next round is on me. Arastoo! Get them anything they want." He leaves a few coppers and leaves with a nod to each of you.
Arastoo nods and takes the coppers. He looks at you questioningly. "Any preference?" He asks. "While I agree with Lord Ulric that our beer and mead are not as tasty as other places, we have other specialties. Our cocktails are mostly sweet."
"Tomorrow it is", Drexon says to Amarr, after drawing a blank on the game of Doc-Han.
When Arastoo asks about drinks, he merely replies with, "Dealer's choice, whatever you recommend please. Any chance of changing some bronze into copper?".
With that done he turns to Eremoz, "Well that was an interesting diversion, got a bit of coin and learned some useful bits of information. How did you get on? I noticed you lingered outside".
Cob joins the others at the bar, half climbing, half flying to get up on to a bar stool.
"I don't know if they're the organizers, but the crew in the back room there," Cob starts in a quiet voice and nods at the secret door behind the current guard "were definitely involved in the warehouse raid. And they've got something planned for the 8th in the southwest part of the city. The exact location is on a map in there. They talked a lot about using the kids again as distraction and scapegoats. I don't think real kids would be much help so they may have meant the mason apprentices."
He looks around for a moment before continuing.
"We could probably get in through the sewers." Cob says. "But what now? Kill some time before sneaking into the mason HQ to check on those apprentices? Sneak in here later too?"
”I got hired to work security for the bar tonight. They’re one person down and the boss wants me to a personal guard for a private game. I have to go get a suit and everything.” Eremoz pauses for a second. “There are a couple other twists to it as well.”
Cob looks at Eremoz and smiles.
"Private game? As in what goes on behind that door?" Cob asks. "That would be a lot more convenient than trudging through the sewers."
“It could be…” Eremoz looks around the bar. “I have to be back by 5. Why don’t we talk while I head to the tailor? Save us some time, and maybe gain a bit more privacy.”
"That is fine by me Eremoz. It could be an excellent opportunity to gather more information. It seems this place has been a mine of information of already", Drexon agrees and then gets up ready to leave.
"It seems the Verdant Masons are not well liked by some in the city. I also learned a little about the family we are meeting tomorrow for the guard job, and have managed to get us full access to the warehouse that was attacked yesterday".
Arastoo returns with a yellow and purple drink for whoever wants it. He says it is called the Bright Tempest and it tastes sweet with an undertone of hazelnut mixed with a little alcohol. It's a strange combination, but it is refreshing.
"How much do you want to exchange?" Arastoo asks and proceeds to change your bronze to copper. "Usually we take an exchange fee of 5%, but I'll just take it from the coppers that Amarr left."
You make your way to get Eremoz prepared first. You follow the main thoroughfare north and then east toward the Borough Bazaar. Drexon, you have read about it in your atlas when you scan for places of interest. It is an entire district solely dedicated to the merchants. The Borough Bazaar is the main trade district of Mantagard.
Drexon exchanges 300 bronze for 3 copper, and drinks the strangely coloured drink before leaving the Twenty-One Jack.
As they walk he fills the others in on the relevant bits of his conversation with the three card players.
"So as it turns out Amarr owns the warehouse that was raided, and is very concerned about the effect such attacks will have on his reputation and therefore his income. He has allowed us full access tomorrow, to go where we please and ask whatever questions we want. It is a long shot but we may find something of use".
"Lady Reva is the sister of the current Lord Clarent. The one who is throwing the party. His sister calls him a drunkard gambler, so not the greatest of respect there. Apparently the Clarent's are responsible for the Scarlet Barony from her father's time as Lord. The folk we have seen out and about with the red cloaks. They are a group of former street kids who House Clarent helped resettle. Now they help out with order and other things around the city. Thuggery is one way to put it, and tax collecting. Mainly good kids she says, but who knows".
"The last was Lord Ulric of House Emika, a mercantile house. Seems like a useful person to know. None of them have respect for the Verdant Masons, or the new mayor. Seems like the Masons are a sponge on the wealth of the city, and the mayor facilitates this. They will all be at the party by the way".
He leaves out the specifics of House Daxos, and his suspicions about himself.
“That will quite helpful. I being able to actually go through the warehouse instead of walking the outside should be more enlightening.” Eremoz gives pause. “My job tonight may give me similar insights. Unfortunately, I wont be able to share those insights. They will use some kind of magic that doesn’t allow me to speak about anything from inside the room. I can only assume writing anything is also out of the question.”
“What about think anything? If I can see you I can set up a telepathic link”, Drexon muses.
”Worth a try as you go in, perhaps?”.
“That may work. The doorman said my mind would go cloudy if I tried to speak on the events inside.” Eremoz stops to look at his friends. “If some information does come out in there, I may try to act on it without explanation or I may go a little blank. I just want you all to be aware.”
Eremoz looks around for a tailor. “Time to get a suit. I was recommended Flit & Flutter.”
Perception: 13
The Borough Bazaar is a cacophony of noise and color. You see stall tents selling various goods and delights from across Sabitah everywhere. Once in a while, you see brick buildings that seem to have stood since the city's founding bearing signs of other shops catering to larger customers. You see a restaurant selling various gourmet seafood dishes. You notice an outdoor equipment shop that sells garments, bags, tools, and even custom equipment. On one building that extends to an outdoor stall tent, you can listen to people conversing casually while listening to live music and sipping exotic teas and coffees.
You are sure that if you explore a bit longer, you may just find everything you would need. One such shop of interest is located near the middle of the district. It is a two-story brick building with graffiti of an art nouveau rainbow waterfall on the side. A flourished cursive of Flit & Flutter has been painted in the middle of the waterfall as if encasing it. The place seems to be guarded by a group of men in armor spread around the building, but they don't halt you when you try to enter the shop.
The interior of Flit & Flutter can only be described as a chaos of color and fabric. You don't think this is what the shop looks like normally. The source of chaos seems to originate from the back of the shop where a young woman on the cusp of adulthood is desperately trying to gather several pieces of fabric that are being thrown by an older woman. Behind the young girl, an impeccably dressed middle-aged woman yelps and ducks to dodge the flying fabrics, looking miserable and in anguish at the condition of the shop.
"Mother, this is excessive," the young woman says tersely. "You do not have to wreck Mrs. Flitwing's stock just because you do not like the color I have chosen." She turns and shrugs apologetically toward the middle-aged woman who seems to be the owner of the shop. "My apologies, Mrs. Flitwing, now we know why my father married my mother," she says with gritted teeth. "They are peas in a pod. I will return this evening to pay for the damage."
"Well, we're leaving!" The young woman's mother yelled after throwing one last piece of fabric to the floor. "We will find better material at Tiana's. Let's go, daughter. This garbage is starting to make me itch. How this place has fallen."
The mother and the daughter quickly vacate the shop. The daughter offers the owner, Mrs. Flitwing, a final apologetic bow and a promise to return before following tiredly behind her mother. The guards around the building move to circle the mother and daughter pair as they leave.
Cob watches the mother and daughter and their retinue leave.
"That one thinks quite highly of herself," Cob says.
He waves his hand discretely at the mother as she steps outside, and the unmistakably pungent acrid aroma of a skunk wafts about her (via [spell[druidcraft[/spell]).
Turning to the two women in the shop he adds, "they're not hosting a party tomorrow night by any chance are they?"
Drexon smiles as Cob comes to the same conclusion he had, that these were the ladies of House Clarent readying for the party.
"At least the daughter seems to have a good head on her shoulders", he says, reminded a little of Lady Reva. "I wonder if she is the oldest child, and set to inherit one day".
"So what sort of clothes do you need?", he asks Eremoz. "Maybe they sell hats, you can't beat a nice hat", he adds with a smile, tipping his own.
Eremoz bows his head to the woman. “Hello, I’m looking to purchase a suit and your establishment was suggested. I’m working for Mr. Guileman tonight.”