This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
On seeing Gertie and Harry, Marrin's eyes snap to Adelysia. She narrows her eyes at the woman but before she can react further she tilts her ear to Ethel. She nods ever so slightly before moving ahead and saying loudly,
"Lord High Mayor? Might I beg your leave to say a few words on the ills of piracy and value of what your Mayorship's campaigns have meant for us?"
((Presuming he gives his consent with a 19 always on persuasion:))
"Thank your Mayorship."
((Posting this now to avoid cross posts, will keep adding to it in the meantime.
Performance (minimum 19): 20 (wasn't a 20, was a 15 I think?
Jan mentally kicks herself for not asking Mard why he was concerned about Hargrove interventions, and places a steadying hand on Ava or Ula, closing her eyes as she directs K'oshash to fly up (invisibly) over the area and make sure that no further surprises are forthcoming.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM:Forged in Chaos, Spiders of the Abyss, The Sundered Way, Champions of the Citadel
Avaria's heart drops to her stomach as Dodds and Gertrude are revealed. She doesn't think about Adelysia, just stares at the two that risked their lives to include them in their escape. Well, this wasn't going to happen. Her face hardens, but she keeps quiet as she sees that Marrin and Ethel are already on it. Feeling Jan's hand on her arm, she looks to her friend and sees that she has left her senses so she focuses on taking care of her so that her rage doesn't take over. Watching Jan and concentrating on her breathing, avoiding looking at Mard or the mayor as she hopes her friends can untangle this mess.
"Let me begin by saying we fully support your Mayorship's campaign against pirates, I certainly plan on sharing it with all when I speak of Spandelyion!"
She then shifts her attentions off stage,
"People of Spandelyion, I do not know if you've heard our story? I will lay it plain before you, it needs to be told again if only to repeat the names of ad give honor to those that didn't make their way back from the pirates."
She pauses and looks over her small audience,
"We boarded a ship, the Rose Marie, all going to different dreams and hopes. We stood beside the crew of the Rose,"
She gestures at Slick and Tammer,
"Against the natural perils of the sea. We risked our lives to save the lives of the Rose's crew from giant squid, taking blows meant for them and healing their wounds. That very night the same crew, without remorse or hesitation, drugged us."
She makes slow eye contact with a number in the crowd,
"When we awoke we found ourselves trapped as slaves and gladiators for spectacles arranged by a pirate lord and lady. There were many others trapped in the same way, struggling to survive. By working together against the pirate menace we managed to survive until we'd arranged an escape."
She'll take a deep, shaky breath then continue,
"Some cowered, offered no assistance and thought of nothing but themselves,"
She'll hold out a hand, palm up towards Adelysia and holds the point long enough to make it clear whom she is speaking of before continuing,
"While others, like a local daughter of Spandelyion,"
She'll shift the hand to Ula, and smile sadly,
"Fought hard and selflessly. Many, far too many, fell reaching the ship we used to escape and still more fell before we could escape. Xanthe died healing others. Jisthelek was pierced by arrows warding off boarders. People whose names I hadn't learned, but who's faces I will never forget, died around me on deck as we just managed to slip away."
She closes her eyes and takes a deep, slow breath before continuing steadily,
"None of us would be here today, none of those that died's sacrifice would have mattered if our escapes had not been made possible by two individuals that owed us nothing."
She'll lift her hand to Harry and Gertie now,
"Two people trapped by the pirates, just as trapped as we were. Just as eager to escape, that gave us the keys to do that."
Turning back to the crowd,
"Lord Mayor, I don't know what you've been told about these two, but without them we'd either be on that pirate island waiting for death or already dead. Everyone that escaped owes them a debt. I, and my companions, will absolutely attest to the fact that they are not pirates and should not be sharing a fate with bilge scum like those two."
Mayor Klein happily lets Marrin being speaking. At first he looks very happy with what he hears. And the crowd murmurs approvingly with a few gasps here and there as Marrin performs her story.
Klein leans over to listen to Ethel and turns his head from the crowd as she speaks, a hard sternness, and a furrowing of brows showing he's less than happy to be old of a mistake.
But when he turns back to the crowd for the end of Marrin's speech he's all smiles again.
Before the crowd can react, Klein applauds.
"Thank you all for your bravery," Mayor Klein says. He turns to the crowd. "Such valor and honor among these adventurers. And we would except no less from a Stonecast."
He says the last, nodding at Ula and then at the rest of the family in the crowd. The elder Stonecasts though have lost the happy looks they had earlier.
He claps again, looks at Mard, who also starts clapping which gets all of the guards involved, which seems to draw most of the crowd in.
Quietly, still through a smiling face, he whispers harshly to Mard. Loud enough that the party can hear but not the crowd.
"Get everyone out of here now and get the whole lot back to the hall," Mayor Klein says. He gestures towards Adelysia Demai as well. "Her too. We'll get to the bottom of this."
He looks over at the party, his smile still there.
"All smiles now, and we'll sort this out back at town hall," Klein says, still smiling and clapping.
"Wonderful to hear," Ethel says. She is all smiles, and she adds a wave to the crowd and then a reassuring shake to Avaria's shoulders.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM -(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown *Red Dead Annihilation: ToA *Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Mard and the guards quickly gather up the prisoners, encouraging the crowd to leave at the same time. At first Maisie Stonecast can be heard demanding to know what's going on, and "Where in Faerun are you taking my daughter?"
Just as Ula soothes her mother, another upraised voice can be heard.
"Why am I being summoned? I've done nothing but tell the truth," The haughty voice of Adelysia Demai almost shouts.
The mayor has already disappeared, walking ahead with two of the guards.
Mard and the other guards gather up the four prisoners, put the dark sacks over there head again, and then gesture for the party and Adelysia to walk along with them.
The group retraces the route through the park but in reverse, eventually exiting the High Garden and heading south to the water. Walking past a sports field and several shuttered shops, the party can tell they're just to the west of the main port, going out to the end of the small peninsula on that side.
They eventually come to a compound surrounded by a wooden pallisade. The main gate stands open and the group heads inside.
Here you see a parade ground with a stable to one side, and smaller buildings to the other.
In the middle is a large brick building containing the offices of the town council and the mayor's chamber. The hall appears to be built from sturdy stone from the nearby cliffs and a variety of hardwood probably from the nearby marshes. A wooden sign depicting a net filled with fish hangs above the double doors leading into the hall. A small tower rises from the building, housing a horn at the top.
In front of the hall, you all notice a sturdy but weatherbeaten platform and gallows. While sturdy, grass is growing up through the platform suggesting that it has not been used in quite some time.
Just as the group gets to the gallows, Lord High Mayor Lawrence Klein emerges from the double doors to the council building. The robe is now gone, as is the staff and gold chain. His clothes are still well tailored and Marrin notes that they were likely quite expensive and imported from afar, but gone are all the official trappings of the office.
"Does someone want to tell me what just happened?" Klein says. "I don't appreciate being made to look the fool."
He looks over at Mard.
"You said you found the Hargrove woman and the other one sneaking out of the town, just like that one said," Klein says, gesturing at Adelysia. "Now this lot says they're heroes."
Jan notices that Adelysia's shoulders have slumped slightly, showing perhaps a diminished sense of confidence.
"I'm leaning towards just having the lot of you locked up until we know what's going on."
He looks to the party first as Mard takes off the hoods.
"Okay, so everyone is in agreement that those two are pirates and slavers?" Klein says, more as a statement than a question. He gestures at the guards. "Lock them up. It looks like we'll get at least some use out of the gallows again ."
Tammer and Slick grumble through their gags, but the guards drag them away.
Looking back to the party he adds, "So if they're heroes, why did she alert the guard as soon as she got to town?"
"Because she's a bitter woman who feels she's owed something for her lost time and wares, despite providing minimal contributions to getting us off that blasted island. I'd trade her in a heartbeat to have any one of those who gave their lives getting us out of that hell."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM:Forged in Chaos, Spiders of the Abyss, The Sundered Way, Champions of the Citadel
As her friends pat and give her a little shake, Avaria is able to relax a bit and she sees that the Mayor seems to have understood... but the odd smile is throwing her off. Why is he smiling so big and getting everyone to clap? There is a HUGE misunderstanding here that needs to be rectified! She looks confused as she watches people leave and they all are gathered to follow Mard and the Mayor back to his office. She catches the eye of Maisie Stonecast and nods towards the woman, hoping she knows she's got her daughters back.
She follows the rest back through the high gardens, but they no longer hold the beauty they did on the way out. Things weren't right and until they were settled correctly, Ava was in turmoil. She keeps staring at the back of Adelysia as they walk, wanting to burn a hole in her back with her eyes. She bets Ethel could do it, she thinks and that thought makes her feel a little better.
She stands there as the mayor starts talking to everyone. When the man says he wants to lock them all up and then settle it all out, it takes all in her to not go into a rage. "Don't you dare say such things. You have no idea what myself and my friends have gone through. Over my dead body will I allow that to happen to me and my friends again." she growls at him, eyes ablaze with anger.
"No need for that Avaria, the Lord Mayor is rightfully confused, he only knows what he was told and is asking for clarification."
When Jan offers her explanation as to why Adelysia did what she did, she can only nod in agreement. She'll offer in Harry and Gertie's defense,
"Those two, like I said before Lord Mayor, were major contributors to our escape. They provided us the opportunity, and literal keys, to get out of our cells as well as a chance and equipment to make a distraction so we wouldn't immediately be overwhelmed. They, and we, felt it was safer for them to just disappear when we got to the docks given the only people the Hargroves want dead more than us is likely them."
The mayor listens intently, his eyes never wandering from the speaker. He even listens calmly to Avaria's outburst.
Eventually he looks over to Mard and nods.
"Unchain them. Return their belongings. All of them. And then have them escorted to the outskirts of town," Mayor Klein says. "Heroes or not, we don't need a Hargrove here."
He then looks over at Adelysia Demai.
"I suggest you make yourself scarce too," the mayor says then adds. "If I see you anywhere in Spandeliyon again you'll get a feel for those shackles yourself."
Dodds and Gertie have barely a moment to thank the party before they're hustled away by guards. Adelysia looks as if she's going to say something but stops herself and leaves the compound almost as quickly.
Once they're gone, the the mayor waves a hand to Mard. The guard captain pulls a coin purse from a larger pouch and offers it to Jan.
"You have the town's thanks," Mayor Klein says. He pauses for a moment before continuing. "I hear you had an unwanted guest last night. I can't remember the Broken Ore ever being broken into before. Any idea what they were after?"
Jan sends the invisible K'oshash to keep tabs on the merchant and accepts the coin purse.
She lets a bit of consternation and worry show on her face as she addresses the Mayor's concerns. "The Stonecasts were quite upset that someone had tried breaking in, I imagine anyone who tried once would not want to try again! We gave chase, but lost them in the night. We were all quite tired from our escape and journey back here. Perhaps an attempt at simple robbery, someone who caught word of our arrival and hoped we made off with some sort of pirate riches? Those of us who made it to your fine town were lucky to do so with our hides relatively intact, and didn't get a chance to plunder the Hargrove coffers on our way out. Though, there's a chance we burnt a fair bit of it before we left."
"Gertrude, Harry? Do you have a few ship names of the pirates that frequented...that place that you could provide the Lord Mayor?"
She'll turn to mayor,
"If you'll allow it? It will certainly help educate pirates on the dangers of thinking they can visit Spandelyion without consequence if you take a few of their ships."
Either way she give both Harry and Gertie a smile before they depart.
Following Jan's explanation of the attack the previous night she'll add only, in regards to having burnt some of the Hargroves' plunder,
Mard looks like he's going to say something about seizing ships but Mayor Klein holds up his hand and lets Harry and Gertie speak. Gertrude doesn't know the ships, but Harry Dodds does. He knows every ship that has ever docked at Hargrove's grotto. He gives Klein and Mard a list before the guards take him away.
Mayor Klein then nods his thanks to Marrin but turns the conversation back to last night.
"And the burglar didn't say anything? I heard you chased after him," he says to Avaria.
"I was in my room when I heard a crash, by the time I'd gotten out into the hall, they stabbed one of our traveling companions and leapt out a window. I exited by a more standard route, but they were gone."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM:Forged in Chaos, Spiders of the Abyss, The Sundered Way, Champions of the Citadel
Ethel had arrived at this meeting prepared to make her case on behalf of Gertrude and Dodds. This hadn't played out exactly as she would have planned it, but the results were as good as she could have hoped. Not one to tempt fate, she keeps her mouth shut.
Instead, she quietly exits and follows the guards as they escort Dodds and Gertrude to the city limits. Just to satisfy herself that there won't be any more surprises.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM -(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown *Red Dead Annihilation: ToA *Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
On seeing Gertie and Harry, Marrin's eyes snap to Adelysia. She narrows her eyes at the woman but before she can react further she tilts her ear to Ethel. She nods ever so slightly before moving ahead and saying loudly,
"Lord High Mayor? Might I beg your leave to say a few words on the ills of piracy and value of what your Mayorship's campaigns have meant for us?"
((Presuming he gives his consent with a 19 always on persuasion:))
"Thank your Mayorship."
((Posting this now to avoid cross posts, will keep adding to it in the meantime.
Performance (minimum 19): 20 (wasn't a 20, was a 15 I think?
))
Jan mentally kicks herself for not asking Mard why he was concerned about Hargrove interventions, and places a steadying hand on Ava or Ula, closing her eyes as she directs K'oshash to fly up (invisibly) over the area and make sure that no further surprises are forthcoming.
DM: Forged in Chaos, Spiders of the Abyss, The Sundered Way, Champions of the Citadel
Active Characters:
Breldo, Halfling Ranger | Kathryn, Wood Elf Rogue/Ranger | Kroshav, Dragonborn Paladin | T'laren Farsiel, Wood Elf Fighter | Trill, Kenku Bard | Val "Janellae", Mark of Shadow Elf Warlock
Avaria's heart drops to her stomach as Dodds and Gertrude are revealed. She doesn't think about Adelysia, just stares at the two that risked their lives to include them in their escape. Well, this wasn't going to happen. Her face hardens, but she keeps quiet as she sees that Marrin and Ethel are already on it. Feeling Jan's hand on her arm, she looks to her friend and sees that she has left her senses so she focuses on taking care of her so that her rage doesn't take over. Watching Jan and concentrating on her breathing, avoiding looking at Mard or the mayor as she hopes her friends can untangle this mess.
"Let me begin by saying we fully support your Mayorship's campaign against pirates, I certainly plan on sharing it with all when I speak of Spandelyion!"
She then shifts her attentions off stage,
"People of Spandelyion, I do not know if you've heard our story? I will lay it plain before you, it needs to be told again if only to repeat the names of ad give honor to those that didn't make their way back from the pirates."
She pauses and looks over her small audience,
"We boarded a ship, the Rose Marie, all going to different dreams and hopes. We stood beside the crew of the Rose,"
She gestures at Slick and Tammer,
"Against the natural perils of the sea. We risked our lives to save the lives of the Rose's crew from giant squid, taking blows meant for them and healing their wounds. That very night the same crew, without remorse or hesitation, drugged us."
She makes slow eye contact with a number in the crowd,
"When we awoke we found ourselves trapped as slaves and gladiators for spectacles arranged by a pirate lord and lady. There were many others trapped in the same way, struggling to survive. By working together against the pirate menace we managed to survive until we'd arranged an escape."
She'll take a deep, shaky breath then continue,
"Some cowered, offered no assistance and thought of nothing but themselves,"
She'll hold out a hand, palm up towards Adelysia and holds the point long enough to make it clear whom she is speaking of before continuing,
"While others, like a local daughter of Spandelyion,"
She'll shift the hand to Ula, and smile sadly,
"Fought hard and selflessly. Many, far too many, fell reaching the ship we used to escape and still more fell before we could escape. Xanthe died healing others. Jisthelek was pierced by arrows warding off boarders. People whose names I hadn't learned, but who's faces I will never forget, died around me on deck as we just managed to slip away."
She closes her eyes and takes a deep, slow breath before continuing steadily,
"None of us would be here today, none of those that died's sacrifice would have mattered if our escapes had not been made possible by two individuals that owed us nothing."
She'll lift her hand to Harry and Gertie now,
"Two people trapped by the pirates, just as trapped as we were. Just as eager to escape, that gave us the keys to do that."
Turning back to the crowd,
"Lord Mayor, I don't know what you've been told about these two, but without them we'd either be on that pirate island waiting for death or already dead. Everyone that escaped owes them a debt. I, and my companions, will absolutely attest to the fact that they are not pirates and should not be sharing a fate with bilge scum like those two."
She points to Tammer and Slick.
((Any rolls for this?))
Mayor Klein happily lets Marrin being speaking. At first he looks very happy with what he hears. And the crowd murmurs approvingly with a few gasps here and there as Marrin performs her story.
Klein leans over to listen to Ethel and turns his head from the crowd as she speaks, a hard sternness, and a furrowing of brows showing he's less than happy to be old of a mistake.
But when he turns back to the crowd for the end of Marrin's speech he's all smiles again.
Before the crowd can react, Klein applauds.
"Thank you all for your bravery," Mayor Klein says. He turns to the crowd. "Such valor and honor among these adventurers. And we would except no less from a Stonecast."
He says the last, nodding at Ula and then at the rest of the family in the crowd. The elder Stonecasts though have lost the happy looks they had earlier.
He claps again, looks at Mard, who also starts clapping which gets all of the guards involved, which seems to draw most of the crowd in.
Quietly, still through a smiling face, he whispers harshly to Mard. Loud enough that the party can hear but not the crowd.
"Get everyone out of here now and get the whole lot back to the hall," Mayor Klein says. He gestures towards Adelysia Demai as well. "Her too. We'll get to the bottom of this."
He looks over at the party, his smile still there.
"All smiles now, and we'll sort this out back at town hall," Klein says, still smiling and clapping.
"Wonderful to hear," Ethel says. She is all smiles, and she adds a wave to the crowd and then a reassuring shake to Avaria's shoulders.
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM - (Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown * Red Dead Annihilation: ToA * Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Jan likely hears the clapping through K'oshash and returns to herself, patting Ava. She'll send them on ahead as a direction becomes clear.
DM: Forged in Chaos, Spiders of the Abyss, The Sundered Way, Champions of the Citadel
Active Characters:
Breldo, Halfling Ranger | Kathryn, Wood Elf Rogue/Ranger | Kroshav, Dragonborn Paladin | T'laren Farsiel, Wood Elf Fighter | Trill, Kenku Bard | Val "Janellae", Mark of Shadow Elf Warlock
Marrin wipes her eyes and responds loudly to the mayor,
"Thank you Lord Mayor, we are most grateful to you."
She gives the mayor a bow then turns and waves to the crowd, not quite smiling.
She'll follow the mayor and guards when they need to leave.
Mard and the guards quickly gather up the prisoners, encouraging the crowd to leave at the same time. At first Maisie Stonecast can be heard demanding to know what's going on, and "Where in Faerun are you taking my daughter?"
Just as Ula soothes her mother, another upraised voice can be heard.
"Why am I being summoned? I've done nothing but tell the truth," The haughty voice of Adelysia Demai almost shouts.
The mayor has already disappeared, walking ahead with two of the guards.
Mard and the other guards gather up the four prisoners, put the dark sacks over there head again, and then gesture for the party and Adelysia to walk along with them.
The group retraces the route through the park but in reverse, eventually exiting the High Garden and heading south to the water. Walking past a sports field and several shuttered shops, the party can tell they're just to the west of the main port, going out to the end of the small peninsula on that side.
They eventually come to a compound surrounded by a wooden pallisade. The main gate stands open and the group heads inside.
Here you see a parade ground with a stable to one side, and smaller buildings to the other.
In the middle is a large brick building containing the offices of the town council and the mayor's chamber. The hall appears to be built from sturdy stone from the nearby cliffs and a variety of hardwood probably from the nearby marshes. A wooden sign depicting a net filled with fish hangs above the double doors leading into the hall. A small tower rises from the building, housing a horn at the top.
In front of the hall, you all notice a sturdy but weatherbeaten platform and gallows. While sturdy, grass is growing up through the platform suggesting that it has not been used in quite some time.
Just as the group gets to the gallows, Lord High Mayor Lawrence Klein emerges from the double doors to the council building. The robe is now gone, as is the staff and gold chain. His clothes are still well tailored and Marrin notes that they were likely quite expensive and imported from afar, but gone are all the official trappings of the office.
"Does someone want to tell me what just happened?" Klein says. "I don't appreciate being made to look the fool."
He looks over at Mard.
"You said you found the Hargrove woman and the other one sneaking out of the town, just like that one said," Klein says, gesturing at Adelysia. "Now this lot says they're heroes."
Jan notices that Adelysia's shoulders have slumped slightly, showing perhaps a diminished sense of confidence.
"I'm leaning towards just having the lot of you locked up until we know what's going on."
He looks to the party first as Mard takes off the hoods.
"Okay, so everyone is in agreement that those two are pirates and slavers?" Klein says, more as a statement than a question. He gestures at the guards. "Lock them up. It looks like we'll get at least some use out of the gallows again ."
Tammer and Slick grumble through their gags, but the guards drag them away.
Looking back to the party he adds, "So if they're heroes, why did she alert the guard as soon as she got to town?"
"Because she's a bitter woman who feels she's owed something for her lost time and wares, despite providing minimal contributions to getting us off that blasted island. I'd trade her in a heartbeat to have any one of those who gave their lives getting us out of that hell."
DM: Forged in Chaos, Spiders of the Abyss, The Sundered Way, Champions of the Citadel
Active Characters:
Breldo, Halfling Ranger | Kathryn, Wood Elf Rogue/Ranger | Kroshav, Dragonborn Paladin | T'laren Farsiel, Wood Elf Fighter | Trill, Kenku Bard | Val "Janellae", Mark of Shadow Elf Warlock
As her friends pat and give her a little shake, Avaria is able to relax a bit and she sees that the Mayor seems to have understood... but the odd smile is throwing her off. Why is he smiling so big and getting everyone to clap? There is a HUGE misunderstanding here that needs to be rectified! She looks confused as she watches people leave and they all are gathered to follow Mard and the Mayor back to his office. She catches the eye of Maisie Stonecast and nods towards the woman, hoping she knows she's got her daughters back.
She follows the rest back through the high gardens, but they no longer hold the beauty they did on the way out. Things weren't right and until they were settled correctly, Ava was in turmoil. She keeps staring at the back of Adelysia as they walk, wanting to burn a hole in her back with her eyes. She bets Ethel could do it, she thinks and that thought makes her feel a little better.
She stands there as the mayor starts talking to everyone. When the man says he wants to lock them all up and then settle it all out, it takes all in her to not go into a rage. "Don't you dare say such things. You have no idea what myself and my friends have gone through. Over my dead body will I allow that to happen to me and my friends again." she growls at him, eyes ablaze with anger.
Marrin places a calming hand on Ava's arm,
"No need for that Avaria, the Lord Mayor is rightfully confused, he only knows what he was told and is asking for clarification."
When Jan offers her explanation as to why Adelysia did what she did, she can only nod in agreement. She'll offer in Harry and Gertie's defense,
"Those two, like I said before Lord Mayor, were major contributors to our escape. They provided us the opportunity, and literal keys, to get out of our cells as well as a chance and equipment to make a distraction so we wouldn't immediately be overwhelmed. They, and we, felt it was safer for them to just disappear when we got to the docks given the only people the Hargroves want dead more than us is likely them."
The mayor listens intently, his eyes never wandering from the speaker. He even listens calmly to Avaria's outburst.
Eventually he looks over to Mard and nods.
"Unchain them. Return their belongings. All of them. And then have them escorted to the outskirts of town," Mayor Klein says. "Heroes or not, we don't need a Hargrove here."
He then looks over at Adelysia Demai.
"I suggest you make yourself scarce too," the mayor says then adds. "If I see you anywhere in Spandeliyon again you'll get a feel for those shackles yourself."
Dodds and Gertie have barely a moment to thank the party before they're hustled away by guards. Adelysia looks as if she's going to say something but stops herself and leaves the compound almost as quickly.
Once they're gone, the the mayor waves a hand to Mard. The guard captain pulls a coin purse from a larger pouch and offers it to Jan.
"You have the town's thanks," Mayor Klein says. He pauses for a moment before continuing. "I hear you had an unwanted guest last night. I can't remember the Broken Ore ever being broken into before. Any idea what they were after?"
Jan sends the invisible K'oshash to keep tabs on the merchant and accepts the coin purse.
She lets a bit of consternation and worry show on her face as she addresses the Mayor's concerns. "The Stonecasts were quite upset that someone had tried breaking in, I imagine anyone who tried once would not want to try again! We gave chase, but lost them in the night. We were all quite tired from our escape and journey back here. Perhaps an attempt at simple robbery, someone who caught word of our arrival and hoped we made off with some sort of pirate riches? Those of us who made it to your fine town were lucky to do so with our hides relatively intact, and didn't get a chance to plunder the Hargrove coffers on our way out. Though, there's a chance we burnt a fair bit of it before we left."
DM: Forged in Chaos, Spiders of the Abyss, The Sundered Way, Champions of the Citadel
Active Characters:
Breldo, Halfling Ranger | Kathryn, Wood Elf Rogue/Ranger | Kroshav, Dragonborn Paladin | T'laren Farsiel, Wood Elf Fighter | Trill, Kenku Bard | Val "Janellae", Mark of Shadow Elf Warlock
Before Gertie and Harry can rush off she'll ask,
"Gertrude, Harry? Do you have a few ship names of the pirates that frequented...that place that you could provide the Lord Mayor?"
She'll turn to mayor,
"If you'll allow it? It will certainly help educate pirates on the dangers of thinking they can visit Spandelyion without consequence if you take a few of their ships."
Either way she give both Harry and Gertie a smile before they depart.
Following Jan's explanation of the attack the previous night she'll add only, in regards to having burnt some of the Hargroves' plunder,
"Not nearly enough."
Mard looks like he's going to say something about seizing ships but Mayor Klein holds up his hand and lets Harry and Gertie speak. Gertrude doesn't know the ships, but Harry Dodds does. He knows every ship that has ever docked at Hargrove's grotto. He gives Klein and Mard a list before the guards take him away.
Mayor Klein then nods his thanks to Marrin but turns the conversation back to last night.
"And the burglar didn't say anything? I heard you chased after him," he says to Avaria.
Marrin says to Gertie and Harry,
"Good luck you two. Keep your heads down."
Marrin turns back to the main conversation as she absently rubs her temple.
"I was in my room when I heard a crash, by the time I'd gotten out into the hall, they stabbed one of our traveling companions and leapt out a window. I exited by a more standard route, but they were gone."
DM: Forged in Chaos, Spiders of the Abyss, The Sundered Way, Champions of the Citadel
Active Characters:
Breldo, Halfling Ranger | Kathryn, Wood Elf Rogue/Ranger | Kroshav, Dragonborn Paladin | T'laren Farsiel, Wood Elf Fighter | Trill, Kenku Bard | Val "Janellae", Mark of Shadow Elf Warlock
Ethel had arrived at this meeting prepared to make her case on behalf of Gertrude and Dodds. This hadn't played out exactly as she would have planned it, but the results were as good as she could have hoped. Not one to tempt fate, she keeps her mouth shut.
Instead, she quietly exits and follows the guards as they escort Dodds and Gertrude to the city limits. Just to satisfy herself that there won't be any more surprises.
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM - (Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown * Red Dead Annihilation: ToA * Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Marrin gives Ethel a nod and smile as she follows the pair out.