Jararaka tap tap taps her tail against the floor and considers, travel time seems to be about right, with such a big group. If she can confirm that the depart time of this caravan is the same as what the group discussed with Selebon, she will agree to this job. "Life with the caravan's not bad, that I know. I'll be ya sergeant for this one." She rolls the word 'sergeant' on her tongue, half-amused she's got herself in a spot like this.

She will also confirm with the half-elven woman if there's anything she needs to do or prepare for while they are waiting for the caravan to come together. She will take note of any known dangers and good stops to expect on this route. "I heard there's been Wyvern sightings out in the hills nearby, anything else I better be prepared to deal with?"

Even Yeshil seems interested in participating in the dress-up and make-up session, although she privately wonders if it's possible to disguise her skin and unusual witch-crown beneath mere cosmetics, especially for such a long journey. However she does suggest that if they are going to attempt a foray into the cult hideout, then it would be better to do it before donning new guises, in case they get spotted and remembered. Perhaps Yeshil seems just a little more anxious than expected to determine whether this Frulam Mondath (who she herself has never met) is in Baldur's Gate or not...

Finn Performance check to copy the images from the bark:  10  ((“I’m better with words than charcoal,” she admits.))

     “Disguises should definitely be after we check out their hovel again, but we should try to be discreet in the meantime,” she agrees.  “Not walk as one big group, etc… Don’t think we can make Jirel smaller but at least a different cloak and hairstyle maybe, since they already spotted her once.”

(not sure what roll to use for disguises but we can worry about that when we get to it…)

 Tylaerys would curiously watch as Finn makes a charcoal reproduction of the bark portraits. She would also write a letter, hopefully describing in words some of what Finn's excellent charcoal reproduction can't quite catch. After giving it to Mr. Selebon for safe deliverance to Sir Frume, the young blonde Half-Elf is ready to follow Finn to investigate the cultist hideout.

If anyone could help on Finn's artistic endeavor - Suggesting rounder eyes here or a more sever cheekbone there? But no...  One can either draw or they can't.  Apparently Finn can't.  (8 on a reroll in case of help so... lol, Finn should stick to song I guess.)

(Tylaerys would like to help but unless I'm mistaken you need to be proficient with the skill in order to provide a help action, but I could be wrong of course :-)

The pictures are... less than evocative of the originals.  They aren't terrible, though, and it's possible that someone familiar with one or more of the subjects might recognize them from Finn's drawings.  Ackyn takes the pictures and letter and promises to dispatch a rider to Elturel first thing in the morning.

The half elf woman has Jararaka complete some paperwork and then hands her a small pouch with 8gp.  "Welcome to Blackrim Exports.  We like to think of ourselves as a big family.  In time, you'll hopefully feel that way as well."

The biggest concern for the caravans, right now, is these cult attacks.  The idea of well armed raiders or - gods forbid! - actual dragons raiding the coachways is enough to freeze the beard off a dwarven financier.  But she cautions you to not lose sight of more mundane threats.  A large, well guarded caravan is too much for most small time bandits... but bandits don't always fall into that line of work due to their smarts.  So a bandit raid or two isn't out of the question, nor is a random orc band or goblin ambush.

The beginning of the journey will be the most dangerous.  North of Baldur's Gate, there is no single coast highway.  Instead, a half dozen routes weave their way north through the Fields of the Dead, until they cut through the Trollclaw Hills.  Different caravans follow different routes by preference and familiarity, though these days most everyone uses the route through the Trollclaws that crosses the Boareskyr Bridge.  It is a little out of the way, but that crossing has lately been guarded by paladins out of Elturel.  Eventually these lanes come together to form the Trade Way, traveling past the farms and hills between the Trollbark Forest and the High Moors.  You need to be ready for anything when passing through this stretch... ogres, spiders, giants, trolls, centaur raiders.  As sergeant, it will be her job to make sure the other guards stay sharp.

The second month of the journey is often much easier.  The roads further north are more well traveled and patrolled and there are more frequent inns and small towns.  Once you reach Daggerford - a week south of Waterdeep - it should be smooth sailing the rest of the way.

As of this evening, the expectation is that the caravan will be departing the day after tomorrow.  Jararaka should be here at Blackrim Exports before sunrise to meet the other guards and prepare to depart.

Jirel stifles low grumble, shifting uncomfortably when Finn would suggest changing her hairstyle and choice of attire. It’s not that it was a bad idea… She just couldn’t imagine herself another way, besides looking closer in likeness to her brother, and wouldn’t be great at pretending to be someone she wasn’t. “Fer the record, Jararaka’s taller.” She chuffs, crossing her arms in a poor effort to distract away from changing her hair. She was just being, well, stubborn. It’s not that she wouldn’t play along, Finn would just have to really impress her to do it with the least coaxing, fussing and hand swatting. Honey eyes would watch intently to what she would do with Tylaerys first.

     "Taller but also covered in scales.  Trust me, beautiful, there is no mistaking the two of you for each other," Finn teases.  "If you're really committed to that style though we could always go for a hat.  Something bold and outrageous that screams that you're not hiding from anyone!  Something the cultists would never expect...  Nothing has to be permanent, of course."

     "Besides, a little change can do a woman good.  And I should know.  When's the last time you had a full on beauty treatment?  A nice day at the spa, a fresh style, nails done up all nice and a real professional application of the most subtle makeups?  Girl, you are beautiful but you have no idea how stunning you truly could be!" Finn insists in her best beauty school dropout patter.  

The young blonde Half-Elf feels a smile tugging at her lips as Finn tries to convince Jirel to get a beauty treatmant. The blonde giantess was indded quite beautiful already but while Tylaerys wouldn't presume to know her that well yet she somehow doubted Jirel would submit to any beauty treatment as such. In fact, trying to hide Jirel's appearance in a way that would be acceptable to the proud warrior seemed like quite a challange, but then, so was trying to hide Jararaka's appearance. They simply had to depend on luck to some extent to not be made by the cultists. Not wanting to dismiss Finn's effort to help them follow the cultists inconspicuously she herself is ready for whatever beauty treatment Finn would offer.

Jararaka absorbs the information about the upcoming journey, reptilian eyes unblinking. Having smoothed out the schedule of things, she glances at the lit lanterns and candles, then gives the half-elven woman an imitation of the polite bows she's seen people use around here, "hmm, I got it. The sunrise after tomorrow. I better get going, won't want to keep you after hours."

With that, she bids her goodbyes and slinks back to Gold Roads Equippers in the twilight to rejoin the group. [Assuming she could just join when the discussion with the disguise is going on, since Finn spent some time to make the drawings...] "...taller than who? Well, it's true most softskins are built dainty." She sits herself on some crate and adds her own suggestion, "People can look pretty different by just changing their hair... how 'bout some glasses? Face paint?"

Jararaka then starts absentmindedly wiping down her shield, and recounting about how she just accepted a job from Blackrim Exports as guard sergeant. She also relays what she found about the roads ahead. "...We'll be following the caravan anyway, having a legit reason to keep an eye on everyone's pretty good, eh? So that'll keep me busy, but it might give us some freedom if we want to look into the wagons."

[happy Lunar New Years everyone!]

Was Jararaka really taller than Jirel? Yeshil was surprised she hadn't noticed... perhaps the reptilian posture was deceptive, or perhaps Jirel meant from head to tail... in any case, everyone looked tall to the diminutive Yeshil.

The smart-arse girl watches Finn's efforts with a smug smirk. Of course she could do better herself, but no-one asked, which gives her the license to simply watch and judge. The drawings take some time though, so Yeshil wanders around the compound, and outside into the bustle of the city, to watch the crowds go past. There were so many people! She always thought Luskan was big, but Baldur's Gate was so much more! They hadn't stopped long in Neverwinter or Waterdeep so this was the first large city Yeshil had spent any amount of time in, outside of Luskan. It seemed a shame to be leaving so soon, and at the same time exciting to be travelling again, this time with a real mission, and with a group of adventurers, too!

As Yeshil ponders these things, she also watches the crowds, looking to see if by any chance the wagoneer was being watched. All the plans in the world would avail them little if other spies already had the jump on them. She continues to think and observe until Jararaka returns...

(A raw d20 roll if needed: 16)

(Happy Lunar New Year to you too. Chinese Year of the Dragon Queen, right?)

Yeshil doesn't see anything suspicious outside of the wagon shop.

With Jararaka back, the letter/drawing shipped, and some rudimentary disguises practiced, what is next tonight?  Will there be a raid on the known cult hideout?  If so, how would you conduct such a thing?

Or will we get up to something else this evening before turning in at the wagon shop?

     I believe we were talking less raid and more surveillance... with an option to raid. Misses Binklesworth can only do so much, but what she had done has been shared with the others and the basic layout of the place has been sketched out.  We likely want to check out the adjacent buildings from a distance, see what they are and such.  Definitely want to try to figure out which building it seemed they were trying to break into?  If I had that right? They were trying to tunnel through a wall? 

Testing out some rudimentary disguises, the party ventures back to the area where Finn encountered the cult hideout.

Or, they try to.  Getting there proves to be a bit more of a hassle than anticipated.  At this hour of evening, the Black Dragon Gate, which opens into the Upper City, is closed to all but residents of those esteemed neighborhoods.  Those who are only looking to pass through, must instead make the long hike around the outer wall, to the Basilisk Gate.

Luckily, the violence from last night is long since resolved and the Basilisk Gate has been reopened for much of the day. 

After being forced to go the long way round - and realizing you'll need to repeat that circuit to get back to Ackyn's to spend the night, the party draws near to the flop house that has been occupied by the cult. 

It is a narrow, three story structure that looks like a recent addition to the back-alley side of a much larger warehouse.  The streets outside filled with what you are coming to recognize as the usual Baldur's Gate night-time crowds; Flaming Fist patrols, small groups of bar patrons, night shift laborers, and the occasional individuals either bold enough or stupid enough to walk the nighttime streets alone.

From a vantage point half a block away, you see the door to the hideout appears to be open and unguarded....

     "We may be too late," Finn says with a frown.  "Let me send Misses Binklesworth in first and find out."  Finn will then request her feline friend enter the open door and scout out the hideout.  Slowly, carefully, catlike even...

Yeshil's first comment on seeing the open door is "Oh wow, this is easy! Let's do it now!" Then Finn makes a more cautious assessment, and Yeshil withdraws into her hood a little in embarrassment. Once the impulsiveness subsides, and as the familiar slinks inside, Yeshil begins to think about the situation more carefully. Could this entrance have been left open intentionally, as a trap? Is it possible the cult had already vacated the premises? Had someone else invaded? The young rogue looks around for signs of any of these possibilities...

Jirel allowed Finn, with Tylaerys' help to try this 'beauty treatment'. As the experience ticked on, she found that it wasn't that bad and maybe, just maybe, she could see herself coming to enjoy it. Though she'd never admit it, and would grumble and cross her arms at every opportunity as if to protest, keeping up her grumpy facade. However the giantess did take the leap of faith. It was a big deal and a big step for her. She'd allow them to slowly work out the braids and adornments in her hair. Her Nanny Nalakekali was the one who last did those braids; the one who performed the ritual of her tribe; who worked her hair into the Blade Warrior's Braid of the Nalakekali tribe; the last gift and remaining piece of her Nanny, now unraveled.

Washed and combed, Jirel's blonde hair was long and wild. Freed from the tight braids, it was wavy and flowed down her back. She'd run her fingers through it, pushing it off to the side from time to time, tucking it into a hooded cloak. The giantess stands alert with the group at the hide out and she keeps her head on a swivel.

From across the way, you all see a small shadow moving quietly near the hideout, and then the lithe shape of Misses Binklesworth of the Twilight Binklesworths dart inside the open door as if she owns the place.  

Finn's eyes go glassy as she looks through the eyes of her familiar...

Back in time a bit:  Finn, realizing how important the braids were to Jirel, even more so as she sensed their hesitation and resistance to the undoing, would gently ask about them and what they meant but this is more a distraction to get Jirel talking as Finn did her best to try to memorize and study the braids hoping to perhaps be able to come close to replicating them later.  She knows they're much too precise and intricate where she could do them precisely but she thinks anything close would help her friend out when it came time to redo them...

Now...

     "There's a lantern in the middle of the hall... Seems a bit suspicious to me. Avoiding that and going upstairs," Finn narrates for the others she hopes are still nearby and protecting her as she is blind and deaf in her own body, instead using the senses of her familiar. 

     And indeed, she sends Misses Binklesworth up the staircase... Hugging the wall as far from the lantern as possible.