Gramdal grits his teeth in frustration. He then spins around and snatches up that dagger Wyrmhoof was clinging to, and rummages through his effects "Damn blasted Elf! I've seen that one before...during the chaos at the gates! Help me search the Gnome. We best move on quickly!"

OOC: Would this be investigation or Perception?

Investigation. No roll is necessary.

In addition to the magical dagger, on the gnome you find a small leather purse containing 50 gp and two gems each worth 45 gp. Thieves tools. A ring of four keys. His clothing is of fine craftsmanship. While patting him down or rummaging through his clothes you find a smooth small round stone.

Norvalor, you sense a disquieting malaise entering the cemetery, almost as though the dead still stir. In fact, they are! To your right of the path the ground breaks open. Arms claw at you. They can't reach you, but not for lack of trying. The walkway winds lazily in broad sweeping circles. Not the construction you remember before. Someone has altered the grounds.

Traever, you notice, welcomes this unexpected gloom.

The four cultists turn their attention to you Arutha. They snarl.

"Clear away," one shouts back. "This is none of your concern."

As combat continues, you have a variety of options. You are welcome to ask questions OOC. Without a map I'm describing the scene too you. I don't want to leave any details unexplained.

Quote from AdventureHalz >>

Investigation. No roll is necessary.

In addition to the magical dagger, on the gnome you find a small leather purse containing 50 gp and two gems each worth 45 gp. Thieves tools. A ring of four keys. His clothing is of fine craftsmanship. While patting him down or rummaging through his clothes you find a smooth small round stone.

Gramdal will take what he can except for the clothing. "Aye, lads. I think it may be best to get out while the getting's good. We can talk about the findings at a uh..safer location." He looks to Kelten and Monduu. "I'll follow your lead."

Kelten spots the smooth stone as you retrieve it from the gnome, Gramdal. "That's a whisper stone."

He goes on to explain. "They were declared illegal in Baldur's Gate about a year ago. The Guild used them to spy on nobles. Possessing one is a crime. Owning one is treason."

"Aye," Monduu says. "He wouldn't willingly carry one. Someone was using him."

Kelten nods his head. "A whisper stone is paired with another. That stone can hear anything within 10 feet."

There's no deactivating it, Kelten mutters in thieves' cant to you Gramdal. Say no more, he adds in the same coded language.

OOC: I am picturing a city street with buildings on either side. Some with shop booths and possibly market carts as well. 2-3 story buildings on either side lining the street where some of the combat has extended to, Possibly bc of archers up there. The fighting on the street level is in a few concentrated areas and Arutha has approached a group of foes at the back of the cart. Is there a gate to the back of the cart and they have lowered It or have they only reached over? Is my mental picture correct?

Quote from Benmasque >>

OOC: I am picturing a city street with buildings on either side. Some with shop booths and possibly market carts as well. 2-3 story buildings on either side lining the street where some of the combat has extended to, Possibly bc of archers up there. The fighting on the street level is in a few concentrated areas and Arutha has approached a group of foes at the back of the cart. Is there a gate to the back of the cart and they have lowered It or have they only reached over? Is my mental picture correct?

Spot on.

Gramdal nods and leaves the stone on the Gnome. He will sign to the others “We’re done here. Need to find a place to rest” The Dwarf looks around to make sure the coast is clear.

Kelten gestures for you, Gramdal, to follow him. He leads you through a side door, away from the brawl, out of earshot of the whisper stone. When you are a safe distance, he says, "Trouble. You are trouble dwarf."

Gradmal gives Kelten a stern look "I haven't any idea why this...'Master' Wyrmhoof spoke of would have me followed. I've never even met the blasted child they're wantin' " He gives an exasperated sigh and massages the bridge of his nose. "For now, we should lay low. Got any place around here safe enough for a night's stay?"

"I know a few safe havens." Kelten leads the way, Gramdal. "At this hour, Jhaval (juh-VAL) will have to do."

Monduu mutters something as you depart the Giggling Banshee. "Wyrmhoof is a liar—was a liar—He cannot tell the truth. He was cursed."

"Fair point," Kelten says as he turns down an Outer City street.

"Perhaps he was manipulated into asking questions that would lead his counterpart to the persons who know the boy," Monduu says.

"Also a fair point. Go. Report back what you find." Kelten says.

Monduu bows his head. "Watch your back. WE don't know the identity of this Master, and I have a bad feeling about that high elf." The one who can step into the feywild like a beachgoer steps into the ocean.

"Was Wyrmhoof really cursed to be a liar?" Gramdal has never heard of a magic that forces someone to lie. Of course, he knows there's magic that forces someone to tell the truth....so perhaps it stands to reason that an opposing magic would exist. As these thoughts run through his mind, Gramdal's gaze shifts to the walls of Baldur's Gate. All of this was wonderfully intriguing, but he still has a mission of his own that needs attention. Patience, Gramdal. You need patience now. Everything in its time. No need to rush. Another opportunity will present itself. For now, getting in good with The Flaming Fist may not be a horrible waste of time, right? One hand washes another and all that. 

"Who's this Jhaval, by the way?"

"I was hired to protect this fine merchandise, it is absolutely my business. So back away and leave the boots here if you don't want to join your friends over there in death." He points to the other two he had already dispatched. He drops into a sword stance designed to take on multiple opponents preparing to sweep through the three and cut them down as he moves. 

OOC: how long do i have before i need to bring Traever back his mom like a promised?

Kelten grimaces. "Wyrmhoof wasn't always vile,"  he says to you, Gramdal. "The gnome had a heart once. It beat madly for a very particular human female. Until, of course, he double-crossed her. She cursed him."

Jhaval, the recruiter Kelten explains, is an obese dwarf. "This way." He takes you down a few side streets, around a curved road, down a few steps, through several arches then approaches a shadowed alley below a catwalk.

A tall slender male steps out from the shadows. He's wrapped like a mummy but nothing about him suggests undead. Two rapiers dangle from a belt. "Password."

"Catapult him to Myrkul," a cultist hisses at you, Arutha.

Roll initiative.

Quote from Voidreff >>

OOC: how long do i have before i need to bring Traever back his mom like a promised?

You have about five hours.

Cath, you wake refreshed from a long night's rest. The dream you had leaves no haunting feelings and it is easily forgotten. The daily bulletin has been slid under the door. Gossip mostly. A few comments about adventurers, and a rather unexpected confrontation at the Wyrm's Gate yesterday the good marshal dealt with without trouble.