Drexon, you turn to the section on Mantagard Lodgings and Eateries in the atlas and find that there are no commercial lodgings in the Westmoor District. The closest one to your current place is the Silver Sable Tavern in the Charing Crossroad district. It is known to be a hub for explorers and laborers that want to earn a bit of extra money. It is usually crowded, but there are rooms to conduct meetings between prospectus employers and employees.
"The Residuum did this, they know there is a snitch and might know about us. It is a risk yes, but I can keep the telepathic connection for a few minutes if you think it worthwhile to talk to them", he replies telepathically to Karm.
With that he takes his pack off his back and starts rummaging to make it look like he has a purpose for stopping.
No, i think its best to leave it be. They are alive, if we really need to talk to them we will find a way to do so at a later moment.
With that karm moves a bit more into the crowd as if he recently arrived and was curious on what happened. He shimmies along the scene through the crowd to the other side of the road and continues towards the silver sable from there. He also takes a not so direct route and keeps an eye open for any followers and any interesting shops; book, curiosities, magic items and such.
You separate and make your exit from the area as inconspicuous as possible. For the most part, no one notices you come and leave. However, Dvark, you notice that the halfling ranger once again looks toward Drexon's direction intently before shrugging and helping her fellow rangers and guards.
Karm, you exit the crowd and take a longer path toward the tavern. Along the way, you barely see any noticeable shops or establishments along the Westmoor District. However, the Charing Crossroad District is a different story entirely. It is filled with many shops and entertainment. You pass by half a dozen luxurious townhouses, a couple of bakeries, a dilapidated building that people swore is haunted, and quite a large collection of trinket shops. One noticeable shop is called the Grey Heap. It is a townhouse renovated into a shop. The large window at the front has been covered with writings: Grey Heap Trinkets, Mysteries, Antiquities. Books, Magic, Jewelry. Only 15 Copper per Item, No Less, No More. Accept Trade of Equal Value. Come One, Come All.
The Silver Sable Tavern is quite noticeable from afar. It is a gleaming white building in the middle of a sea of brown or orange brick houses. When you enter the establishment, you can immediately tell that this place is a favorite for many people. It is not quite packed but crowded enough to show that people are comfortable and enjoying themselves.
A savory aroma wafted from the very floorboard and a dumbwaiter in the middle of the tavern. You see waiters and waitresses waiting nearby, ready to take the food that appeared on the dumbwaiter to the appropriate tables. The kitchen seems to be in the basement.
At the far side of the tavern, opposite the front door, is a bar with half a dozen tenders. A long bar table spans the length of the room with many people sitting on it with a drink in hand. At a first glance, the tenders are friendly enough that both tenders and customers seem to be having a good time. Strangely enough, instead of a wall of liquor, the bar instead has a large corkboard filled with notes and notices. Large blocky letters on the corkboard spell "THE QUESTING HOARD". You can see a faint impression of the letter B where the letter H is.
You also notice some of the armed people that watched the scene of the warehouse with you are also here. Some are walking upstairs to the second floor with an official-looking person. Some are meeting with a small family at the bar, pointing at the corkboard with concerned faces.
Drexon looks around approvingly, it was his type of place. He checks breifly to see if there were any games of chance underway, before heading to the bar to check out the Questing Hoard to see what the fuss was about.
If a tender approaches him, he will enquire, "Any where some old friends can catch up in private?'.
Eremoz is a bit unsettled by Drexon’s voice in his head. As soon as the message is passed, he leaves the crowd. He does his best to take a winding path through the city to avoid any tail that may be following.
Cob does his best not to look like he's following the others, while clearly following the others, given that he has no idea where this Silver Sable Tavern is. He suspects they'll look just as suspicious traveling this way as they would if they'd all left together. But it's still entertaining to pretend.
He mulls the note that was picked up at the warehouse. When there's enough background noise to cover up most of what they have to say he wonders allowed.
"So do you think the Clover Club is a real tavern or code for something else? The Green Weed Inn or something like that? Anything like that name in that map book of yours?" Cob ventures. "Don't mind the kids? Suppose that's the kids we're looking for and the drop off place is likely wherever they are near the boat."
While he mull this over more, he stands by Drexon at the corkboard and starts reading the notes.
Unlike Eremoz, hearing Drexon's voice in his head doesn't seem to phase Cob at all. He's been hearing a voice in there for years anyway.
Drexon and Cob, the Questing Hoard is as its name implies. It is a board filled with errands and 'quests' for explorers and laborers who want to earn extra money on the side. It varies from something as simple as searching for missing pets to some that require more skills like protecting some very important people.
You notice three in particular that have a large amount of cash reward. The first is titled 'Missing Herbalist' and offers 100 copper and 6 greater healing potion reward to find a missing local herbalist in the marshland north of the city. The second is titled 'Book Hunt' and offers a reward of 50 coppers to recover a stolen rare books cart and eliminate a bandit group that roams the road leading south; the job also offers whoever would take it the chance to take 3 of the rare books with them. The third has no title but has an official-looking stamp on it; it is an advert looking for able bodyguards to secure the birthday party of Zelena Clarent with a reward of 50 copper per person and a letter of recommendation by House Clarent -- a prominent family that had lived in Mantagard since before the founding of the Republic -- given a good enough job.
"Hello there," a bartender comes up to you when you ask. "Head upstairs. You can have Room 9. Don't forget to lock the door and the window else the privacy runes won't engage." The bartender gives you a pen and a large ledger. Within the ledger, you can see a page filled with blurred-out names, dates, and room numbers. "Just give me a name. Don't have to be a real name. It's just so we know the room is occupied and we can remind the keepers to clean it when you're done."
Drexon, when you hear Cob's theory, you look at the atlas and found nothing that covers the word 'Clover' or 'Club'. However, you notice that there is a store named Crimson Smash. When you refer to it further, you can see that it is a liquor store in the Ironside District and has a logo of a five-leaf clover.
Drexon thanks the tender and takes the pen, scribbling the name Al Batross into the journal. With that done he awaits the arrival of all the other's, discretely letting them know to head up to room 9 through his telepathy.
"Yes, yes, it was all a bit cloak and dagger. Fun though, don't you think", he says once they are safely in the room with the door and windows locked.
"Hm, a code hey. Let's take a look", he replies to Cob, and takes out the atlas, placing it on the table so everyone can gather around.
"Here", he says pointing to the Crimson Smash. "Where better place to drink Smash? And the logo is a clover".
"If the kids do refer to the ones they kidnapped, that means they are here. We might not have to go to Saikhan if we can locate them here, or possibly even free them on the road to Saikhan. Of course that leaves the problem of getting them home safely".
He looks to the others with a smile on his face, seeming to enjoy the drama of it all.
Kar makes quick stop at the Grey Heap. It makes it look like has a destination, he is genuinly curious, and he actually has some funds. Are there any other customers when he enters? He also takes the opportunity to take a quick peek back to the direction he came from when he enters the door
Karm, when you enter Grey Heap, you see no other customers in the shop. The first thing that you immediately notice is the shop owner. They are a large stocky beastfolk that resembles a hippopotamus and stands almost twice as tall as you. They perk up when you enter, and you can see that they are wearing some sort of dark crimson uniform. The second thing you notice is that it is nothing like any shop you have ever entered. It looks more like what a dragon's hoard would look like. There are shelves filled with trinkets, true enough, but not as organized and seem to be left there negligently. You can see several shelves filled with books, papers, and rolls of parchments. There are other shelves filled with trinkets, jewelry, and strange-looking devices. There are some clothing, antique furniture, and even some very futuristic-looking devices.
"Welcome to Grey Heap, dah," the beastfolk says. Their voice is wet and a bit breathy. "What can Uriah Grey help you with, dah?"
Karm approches with his eyes moving quickly from object to object only focusing on each long enough to get a vague idea of what it is and what it could do.
Grey makes so much sense now. Says Karm with a wide smile I would usually remember it as sort of stale, but your shop gives me reason to halt that. I am not really looking for something specific and hope you could intrigue me with something? Else, my memory is failing me sometimes. If you'd have something to help in that regard that would be great chance.
At a glance, most of the items un this place are normal everyday items. Although, you can see that there are a couple texts concerning Illusion, Enchantment, and Evocation magic. You also notice a couple scrolls of maps, one of which is a very old map of the city of Mantagard from the Third Age.
"Memory spell, dah? Or potion, dah? Very advanced and very rare to find, dah. I have nothing of the sort here, but there is one of that mind shielding ring here somewhere, dah. Protect your mind from telepathy, dah. It's very useful and I got it cheap from the last owner, dah. Took it from his funeral, so it is time tested, dah."
Surely interesting. See, i learned some magic, including the ability to discover aspects of objects. Would you mind if i spend some time having a closer look at some of your items? Under your supervision, naturally. This i could also do for any item you are unsure about yourself.
If allowed to, karm will have a closer look at the magical scriptures, identifying them should he not be able to discern its purpose by just looking. If he knows he would identify the ring
{{do we want to finish this in PMs to keep the ball rolling with the main thread?}}
{{Just so the other is not neglected, if your character wants to look for something before going to the tavern, feel free to post about it. As of now, Drexon and Karm headed directly to the tavern and booked a private room. Eremoz is taking a winding path, so he will take a bit more time to arrive. I assume Dvark is also doing the same as Eremoz. Karm is making a pit stop at a shop.}}
{{Karm, I'll post what your current query is and you can determine if you want to prolong the interaction. If so, you can reply to it in PM.}}
Uriah looks at Karm appreciatively and nods. "Fellow practitioner of magic is always welcome to peruse, dah," they say. "Ring me if you find what you are looking for, dah." They walk back to a desk considerably smaller than their size, take up a large bowl of flower buds, and begin snacking on them.
Karm, three tomes immediately pop out from the rest. The first has a cover with the color of the rainbow. It is titled The Color Theory and the synopsis outlines the use of color in affecting a magical spell. The second has a bright sky-blue cover. It is titled The Dream of Flight and the outline at the back mentions the failure of flight spells and the magic items that allow limited flight. The third is titled The Frozen Tome and has a white cover that is faintly smoking and cold to the touch. It outlines the use of water and ice in combat.
{{Sorry, Drexon, I seem to have missed your post there.}}
Drexon, as soon as you finish writing the name on the ledger, the name blurs and becomes unreadable. You complete the rest of the form and enter Room 9. While you wait for the other, you get some more information from the atlas concerning the Crimson Smash.
The Crimson Smash
The Crimson Smash was once a prominent liquor store in the whole of Mantagard. It has existed since the Third Age, circa 5915 TA, and has persisted to this day. The management has changed hands several times, but the latest one had lasted quite some generation. A bugbear family, the Qayne, had taken over the business from the previous owner in 117 ABM and had held the permit for the business ever since. Unfortunately, while the Crimson Smash is popular for its infamous Crimson Cider, a cider with a lustruous red tint to it, rival businesses had learnt the secret of the cider and replicated it many times over. With the monopoly of the Crimson Cider out of their hand, the Crimson Smash is not what it is used to. The Crimson Smash still sells and brews vintage beverages, ranging from the Crimson Cider, the distinguished Qayne Mead, and the rare Blood Wine, but the popularity that it used to coast on had diminished with the rise of other businesses that provided a larger range of liquor.
As you look through the atlas and scrutinize it more intently, you also begin to notice that while the Crimson Smash has a five-leaf clover logo, there are other establishments that also have clovers on their logo. The first is the Twenty-One Jack, a three-leaf clover on a golden ring, a game house in the Haventree District. The second is the Lucky Ranch, a simple four-leaf clover, a dairy ranch in the Hayknot District.
{{Drexon, I need you to make a general Intelligence check or an Investigation check.}}
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Drexon, you turn to the section on Mantagard Lodgings and Eateries in the atlas and find that there are no commercial lodgings in the Westmoor District. The closest one to your current place is the Silver Sable Tavern in the Charing Crossroad district. It is known to be a hub for explorers and laborers that want to earn a bit of extra money. It is usually crowded, but there are rooms to conduct meetings between prospectus employers and employees.
"split up and regroup wherever Drexon calls out. I'll stock around here another minute and leave after him. We don't want to look like a gang."
"Silver Sable Tavern in the Charing Crossroad district, to the North", Drexon passes on to each of the other's through his telepathy.
He then starts to make his way there, although not following a direct route.
Dvark hangs around until everyone else in the team has left and watches for anyone tailing them.
Perception: 21
If Dvark spots any tails, especially following Drexon or Karm, Dvark tries to follow them.
As Drexon leaves he hears Karm in his head Think its a bad idea to talk to those archivists for a minute?
Olloray Dim - Limbo's Pit
Gunther Korroden - Nightmares in the Mist
Drexon looks back to the archivists for a moment.
"The Residuum did this, they know there is a snitch and might know about us. It is a risk yes, but I can keep the telepathic connection for a few minutes if you think it worthwhile to talk to them", he replies telepathically to Karm.
With that he takes his pack off his back and starts rummaging to make it look like he has a purpose for stopping.
No, i think its best to leave it be. They are alive, if we really need to talk to them we will find a way to do so at a later moment.
With that karm moves a bit more into the crowd as if he recently arrived and was curious on what happened. He shimmies along the scene through the crowd to the other side of the road and continues towards the silver sable from there. He also takes a not so direct route and keeps an eye open for any followers and any interesting shops; book, curiosities, magic items and such.
Olloray Dim - Limbo's Pit
Gunther Korroden - Nightmares in the Mist
You separate and make your exit from the area as inconspicuous as possible. For the most part, no one notices you come and leave. However, Dvark, you notice that the halfling ranger once again looks toward Drexon's direction intently before shrugging and helping her fellow rangers and guards.
Karm, you exit the crowd and take a longer path toward the tavern. Along the way, you barely see any noticeable shops or establishments along the Westmoor District. However, the Charing Crossroad District is a different story entirely. It is filled with many shops and entertainment. You pass by half a dozen luxurious townhouses, a couple of bakeries, a dilapidated building that people swore is haunted, and quite a large collection of trinket shops. One noticeable shop is called the Grey Heap. It is a townhouse renovated into a shop. The large window at the front has been covered with writings: Grey Heap Trinkets, Mysteries, Antiquities. Books, Magic, Jewelry. Only 15 Copper per Item, No Less, No More. Accept Trade of Equal Value. Come One, Come All.
The Silver Sable Tavern is quite noticeable from afar. It is a gleaming white building in the middle of a sea of brown or orange brick houses. When you enter the establishment, you can immediately tell that this place is a favorite for many people. It is not quite packed but crowded enough to show that people are comfortable and enjoying themselves.
A savory aroma wafted from the very floorboard and a dumbwaiter in the middle of the tavern. You see waiters and waitresses waiting nearby, ready to take the food that appeared on the dumbwaiter to the appropriate tables. The kitchen seems to be in the basement.
At the far side of the tavern, opposite the front door, is a bar with half a dozen tenders. A long bar table spans the length of the room with many people sitting on it with a drink in hand. At a first glance, the tenders are friendly enough that both tenders and customers seem to be having a good time. Strangely enough, instead of a wall of liquor, the bar instead has a large corkboard filled with notes and notices. Large blocky letters on the corkboard spell "THE QUESTING HOARD". You can see a faint impression of the letter B where the letter H is.
You also notice some of the armed people that watched the scene of the warehouse with you are also here. Some are walking upstairs to the second floor with an official-looking person. Some are meeting with a small family at the bar, pointing at the corkboard with concerned faces.
Drexon looks around approvingly, it was his type of place. He checks breifly to see if there were any games of chance underway, before heading to the bar to check out the Questing Hoard to see what the fuss was about.
If a tender approaches him, he will enquire, "Any where some old friends can catch up in private?'.
Perception: 3+6=9 (Passive: 15)
Investigation: 7+2=9 (Passive: 12)
Eremoz is a bit unsettled by Drexon’s voice in his head. As soon as the message is passed, he leaves the crowd. He does his best to take a winding path through the city to avoid any tail that may be following.
Cob does his best not to look like he's following the others, while clearly following the others, given that he has no idea where this Silver Sable Tavern is. He suspects they'll look just as suspicious traveling this way as they would if they'd all left together. But it's still entertaining to pretend.
He mulls the note that was picked up at the warehouse. When there's enough background noise to cover up most of what they have to say he wonders allowed.
"So do you think the Clover Club is a real tavern or code for something else? The Green Weed Inn or something like that? Anything like that name in that map book of yours?" Cob ventures. "Don't mind the kids? Suppose that's the kids we're looking for and the drop off place is likely wherever they are near the boat."
While he mull this over more, he stands by Drexon at the corkboard and starts reading the notes.
Unlike Eremoz, hearing Drexon's voice in his head doesn't seem to phase Cob at all. He's been hearing a voice in there for years anyway.
Drexon and Cob, the Questing Hoard is as its name implies. It is a board filled with errands and 'quests' for explorers and laborers who want to earn extra money on the side. It varies from something as simple as searching for missing pets to some that require more skills like protecting some very important people.
You notice three in particular that have a large amount of cash reward. The first is titled 'Missing Herbalist' and offers 100 copper and 6 greater healing potion reward to find a missing local herbalist in the marshland north of the city. The second is titled 'Book Hunt' and offers a reward of 50 coppers to recover a stolen rare books cart and eliminate a bandit group that roams the road leading south; the job also offers whoever would take it the chance to take 3 of the rare books with them. The third has no title but has an official-looking stamp on it; it is an advert looking for able bodyguards to secure the birthday party of Zelena Clarent with a reward of 50 copper per person and a letter of recommendation by House Clarent -- a prominent family that had lived in Mantagard since before the founding of the Republic -- given a good enough job.
"Hello there," a bartender comes up to you when you ask. "Head upstairs. You can have Room 9. Don't forget to lock the door and the window else the privacy runes won't engage." The bartender gives you a pen and a large ledger. Within the ledger, you can see a page filled with blurred-out names, dates, and room numbers. "Just give me a name. Don't have to be a real name. It's just so we know the room is occupied and we can remind the keepers to clean it when you're done."
Drexon, when you hear Cob's theory, you look at the atlas and found nothing that covers the word 'Clover' or 'Club'. However, you notice that there is a store named Crimson Smash. When you refer to it further, you can see that it is a liquor store in the Ironside District and has a logo of a five-leaf clover.
Drexon thanks the tender and takes the pen, scribbling the name Al Batross into the journal. With that done he awaits the arrival of all the other's, discretely letting them know to head up to room 9 through his telepathy.
"Yes, yes, it was all a bit cloak and dagger. Fun though, don't you think", he says once they are safely in the room with the door and windows locked.
"Hm, a code hey. Let's take a look", he replies to Cob, and takes out the atlas, placing it on the table so everyone can gather around.
"Here", he says pointing to the Crimson Smash. "Where better place to drink Smash? And the logo is a clover".
"If the kids do refer to the ones they kidnapped, that means they are here. We might not have to go to Saikhan if we can locate them here, or possibly even free them on the road to Saikhan. Of course that leaves the problem of getting them home safely".
He looks to the others with a smile on his face, seeming to enjoy the drama of it all.
Kar makes quick stop at the Grey Heap. It makes it look like has a destination, he is genuinly curious, and he actually has some funds. Are there any other customers when he enters? He also takes the opportunity to take a quick peek back to the direction he came from when he enters the door
Olloray Dim - Limbo's Pit
Gunther Korroden - Nightmares in the Mist
Karm, when you enter Grey Heap, you see no other customers in the shop. The first thing that you immediately notice is the shop owner. They are a large stocky beastfolk that resembles a hippopotamus and stands almost twice as tall as you. They perk up when you enter, and you can see that they are wearing some sort of dark crimson uniform. The second thing you notice is that it is nothing like any shop you have ever entered. It looks more like what a dragon's hoard would look like. There are shelves filled with trinkets, true enough, but not as organized and seem to be left there negligently. You can see several shelves filled with books, papers, and rolls of parchments. There are other shelves filled with trinkets, jewelry, and strange-looking devices. There are some clothing, antique furniture, and even some very futuristic-looking devices.
"Welcome to Grey Heap, dah," the beastfolk says. Their voice is wet and a bit breathy. "What can Uriah Grey help you with, dah?"
Karm approches with his eyes moving quickly from object to object only focusing on each long enough to get a vague idea of what it is and what it could do.
Grey makes so much sense now. Says Karm with a wide smile I would usually remember it as sort of stale, but your shop gives me reason to halt that. I am not really looking for something specific and hope you could intrigue me with something? Else, my memory is failing me sometimes. If you'd have something to help in that regard that would be great chance.
Olloray Dim - Limbo's Pit
Gunther Korroden - Nightmares in the Mist
At a glance, most of the items un this place are normal everyday items. Although, you can see that there are a couple texts concerning Illusion, Enchantment, and Evocation magic. You also notice a couple scrolls of maps, one of which is a very old map of the city of Mantagard from the Third Age.
"Memory spell, dah? Or potion, dah? Very advanced and very rare to find, dah. I have nothing of the sort here, but there is one of that mind shielding ring here somewhere, dah. Protect your mind from telepathy, dah. It's very useful and I got it cheap from the last owner, dah. Took it from his funeral, so it is time tested, dah."
Surely interesting. See, i learned some magic, including the ability to discover aspects of objects. Would you mind if i spend some time having a closer look at some of your items? Under your supervision, naturally. This i could also do for any item you are unsure about yourself.
If allowed to, karm will have a closer look at the magical scriptures, identifying them should he not be able to discern its purpose by just looking. If he knows he would identify the ring
{{do we want to finish this in PMs to keep the ball rolling with the main thread?}}
Olloray Dim - Limbo's Pit
Gunther Korroden - Nightmares in the Mist
{{Just so the other is not neglected, if your character wants to look for something before going to the tavern, feel free to post about it. As of now, Drexon and Karm headed directly to the tavern and booked a private room. Eremoz is taking a winding path, so he will take a bit more time to arrive. I assume Dvark is also doing the same as Eremoz. Karm is making a pit stop at a shop.}}
{{Karm, I'll post what your current query is and you can determine if you want to prolong the interaction. If so, you can reply to it in PM.}}
Uriah looks at Karm appreciatively and nods. "Fellow practitioner of magic is always welcome to peruse, dah," they say. "Ring me if you find what you are looking for, dah." They walk back to a desk considerably smaller than their size, take up a large bowl of flower buds, and begin snacking on them.
Karm, three tomes immediately pop out from the rest. The first has a cover with the color of the rainbow. It is titled The Color Theory and the synopsis outlines the use of color in affecting a magical spell. The second has a bright sky-blue cover. It is titled The Dream of Flight and the outline at the back mentions the failure of flight spells and the magic items that allow limited flight. The third is titled The Frozen Tome and has a white cover that is faintly smoking and cold to the touch. It outlines the use of water and ice in combat.
{{Sorry, Drexon, I seem to have missed your post there.}}
Drexon, as soon as you finish writing the name on the ledger, the name blurs and becomes unreadable. You complete the rest of the form and enter Room 9. While you wait for the other, you get some more information from the atlas concerning the Crimson Smash.
As you look through the atlas and scrutinize it more intently, you also begin to notice that while the Crimson Smash has a five-leaf clover logo, there are other establishments that also have clovers on their logo. The first is the Twenty-One Jack, a three-leaf clover on a golden ring, a game house in the Haventree District. The second is the Lucky Ranch, a simple four-leaf clover, a dairy ranch in the Hayknot District.
{{Drexon, I need you to make a general Intelligence check or an Investigation check.}}