"A few parties have walked by, and ignored us. It seems seeing a bunch of slaughtered wannabe gate guards is no big deal to many. Haste in moving elsewhere is still a good idea."
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Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards. DM - The Old Keep
Avery is going to search the bodies, then begin moving them off to the side so they are not so obvious to those who may pass by. Perception: 20; investigation: 15
Theldrin discourages Avery from spending too much time with the bodies, saying, "We need to move out before the priest returns with more guards." He moves towards following Khessa.
(OOC: I took that to meant that Avery was searching the bodies while Theldrin, Khessa, and Xanrym checked out the golden wall fresco.)
Xanrym is ready to go and follows Khessa out of the gatehouse and along the street north. He'd like to move up toward the front of the line so that he can see where they're going, letting Syllen or Avery take rear guard for now.
Well then you set off quickly north toward where you believe the Dripstone Inn to be. On your way through the crumbling buildings and putrid smells of the dilapidated city, a few humanoids look out at you from the houses and lanes the likes of which you've only read about in books. Grimlocks, Duergar, and other Kuo-Toa, along with haughty Drow and others you don't know. You even notice a few Troglodytes sneaking through alleys and hissing to each other in their strange reptilian language. At one point, a group of Derro traders walk up to you, offering you infinite lamp oil, which you quickly realize is simply regular lamp oil; maybe even mixed with some water. Interestingly, the Derro seem convinced that the stuff is quality and are somewhat offended when you spot the fake.
Eventually you arrive at the place you were told about, the Dripstone Inn. Lights of every hue stream from the windows of this sprawling three-story building. Conversing voices, snippets of song, and the clatter crockery spill into the street. Odors of exotic tobaccos, yeasty drinks and barbecued meat suffuse the air. Tile wall facing the street is a sculpted formation of flowstone, like dozens of drooping hands, apparently built up from water falling from somewhere high above. Here and there, stone faces leer out from the deposits. You eye the stone faces as you head inside.
Conversations near the entryway go quiet as many patrons in this common room look you over. Few of the faces seem welcoming, and most that do look hungry or insane. Dusky dwarves, wild-eyed Derro, slim Drow, and stranger creatures sit or stand in the dozen or so lantern-lit niches scattered about this large, high-ceilinged chamber. A central bar is stuffed with bottles, casks, pipes, vials, cigarillos, and less familiar paraphernalia. Cloaked in white linen, a humanoid figure stands behind the bar. Four servers move about the room, similarly shrouded. A side door apparently opens into a busy kitchen that is alive with the sounds and scents of cooking. From a great stone chair across the common room, a humanoid figure observes, wrapped in and hooded by a crimson robe that has a complex pattern of eyes on it. Whatever this creature is, you see that little escapes its notice. After a few snorts, the people in the bar go back to their food and drink, while a server waves you absently over to an empty table.
Theldrin takes a seat at the empty table and orders a glass of red wine if they have it, then inquires as to what food is available. He keeps his hood up and tries to draw as little attention to himself as possible for the moment.
Syllen sits next to Theldrin and orders a drink based on the recommendation of the server. As the group takes a moment Syllen will listen to the bar for anyone speaking elvish or giant.
On the way to the Dripstone Inn, Khessa pays attention to each drow, trying to notice and remember how they dress, how they behave, what condition they appear to be in, where they gather in greatest numbers... She is nevertheless satisfied with her impression that they are not here in charge, but a decaying force, no longer predominant.
The exterior of the inn intrigues the blonde arcane warrior, but it's not exactly to her taste... it gives off too dark an impression. At least the smell of barbecued meat is inviting! Before entering, she sends Anator back to the safety of his pocket dimension and utters a short formula, accompanied by an elegant wave of her hand—whereupon a magical effect completely cleanses her of any dirt left on her by the recent battle and gives her a vaguely exotic scent, a mix of vanilla and cinnamon.
The tall adventuress sees her friends doing their best to remain inconspicuous, but she knows she has little hope of doing the same: tall (probably taller than any of the others present), human, wearing perpetually shiny armor, with imposing weapons on her back... So, forgoing any likely doomed attempt to be inconspicuous, she at least tries to look her best. She smiles confidently, as if coming here were her own choice and she had nothing to fear, and asks the server: "Bring me a generous portion of that deliciously smelling barbecued meat, my friend, and bury it under an impressive amount of boiled cabbage. You have cabbage, right? Have you been working here long, by the way?"
In general, if the server also shows he appreciates a chat to distract himself from the daily grind, Khessa will chat with him and learn something about the city's situation while he brings her or the other adventurers' orders.
Avery scans the street, and as they enter the inn, takes a place so he is near the group, and keeps an eye on the common room and the door. He orders something to drink as well.
Coriana takes a seat, trying to pick one she can look around from. She specifically looks to see if there’s any gambling going on in this establishment.
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Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards. DM - The Old Keep
the Dripstone Inn... wall facing the street is a sculpted formation of flowstone, like dozens of drooping hands, apparently built up from water falling from somewhere high above.
(OOC: Ah! I didn't get the "dripstone" reference until you mentioned flowstone.)
the Dripstone Inn... wall facing the street is a sculpted formation of flowstone, like dozens of drooping hands, apparently built up from water falling from somewhere high above.
(OOC: Ah! I didn't get the "dripstone" reference until you mentioned flowstone.)
(OOC: Hm. Originally got a "dice rolls not available, then a clean post with a 21, and now, for some reason, a "manipulated" post with a 9. I'll go with the 21 since it was just for color.)
Xanrym is fascinated at the sight of the inn. He talks to any of his companions who will listen. "Ah! That's why it's called the Dripstone Inn. You see," he says, pointing far up above the inn toward the grotto roof and the towering column of Pedestal, "water filters through the ground above the grotto or simply forms, like dew, on the cold stone above us. As water flows through the ground or across the rock, certain minerals can become dissolved in it. 'Held in aqueous solution,' as the alchemists say! But then -- as the water reaches the grotto floor or some other obstruction, it may stop flowing, and the dissolved minerals may settle out like the dregs at the bottom of a teacup. It takes years -- centuries -- for this much flowstone to form. Why, a dwarf could be born, live, and die, and the flowstone here may have only grown by a foot. But they say that eventually, the flowstone builds up into these undulating rock formations that look like waves."
Xanrym finishes his explanation as they enter the inn. He's probably the last to enter since he lingers to look in wonder and the inn's facade.
Xanrym is tall and lanky, but he glides into a spot at the table and settles down. If they're near a wall or column, he tries to pick a spot that's a bit shadowed, hoping that his Cloak of Elvenkind may help him escape scrutiny as looks around the inn and tries to get a sense of this place. Xanrym feels more relaxed here than he has at any point since they reached the bottom of the rift. There's something familiar about a tavern even if it is one deep in this strange grotto sealed deep in the forever-dark realm of the drow, duergar, and other creatures that are almost never seen walking under the sunlight in the Flanaess.
Xanrym orders some food and drink but doesn't push for any information yet. He wants to eat and sit quietly to study the room. He keeps his eyes and ears open. He, of course, already spotted the figure in the crimson robe. "Robe of Eyes," he thinks, fancifully, since its pattern has spots that look like eyes.
Perception: 25 - Keeping his eyes and ears open. He particularly keeps a watch for anyone who seems to be taking special notice of the party. They shouldn't be known to anyone here, not yet, but a group of surface-dwellers is bound to stick out.
the Dripstone Inn... wall facing the street is a sculpted formation of flowstone, like dozens of drooping hands, apparently built up from water falling from somewhere high above.
(OOC: Ah! I didn't get the "dripstone" reference until you mentioned flowstone.)
(OOC: Hm. Originally got a "dice rolls not available, then a clean post with a 21, and now, for some reason, a "manipulated" post with a 9. I'll go with the 21 since it was just for color.)
Xanrym is fascinated at the sight of the inn. He talks to any of his companions who will listen. "Ah! That's why it's called the Dripstone Inn. You see," he says, pointing far up above the inn toward the grotto roof and the towering column of Pedestal, "water filters through the ground above the grotto or simply forms, like dew, on the cold stone above us. As water flows through the ground or across the rock, certain minerals can become dissolved in it. 'Held in aqueous solution,' as the alchemists say! But then -- as the water reaches the grotto floor or some other obstruction, it may stop flowing, and the dissolved minerals may settle out like the dregs at the bottom of a teacup. It takes years -- centuries -- for this much flowstone to form. Why, a dwarf could be born, live, and die, and the flowstone here may have only grown by a foot. But they say that eventually, the flowstone builds up into these undulating rock formations that look like waves."
Before entering:
Khessa listens fascinatedly to Xanrym's explanation, also asking if he remembers from whom he learned this information... does he perhaps have a background as a rock scholar?
The blonde arcane warrior makes some notes in her spellbook - since this knowledge, while perhaps not strictly magical, still has its own charm and 'magic' (rock sculpted by time and water...)
OK, end of the digression. Inside the tavern, everything remains as already narrated.
When Theldrin asks for food, he's silently given a menu that includes mushroom soup, cheese and curds, dried or cooked fish (various kinds), marrow and liver stew, spicy lamprey soup, cockroaches in cold green sauce, roasted meat (various kinds), and sweet blood jellies, when you and Khessa ask for cabbage the servers quietly nod and bring out a vegetable that certainly doesn't look like cabbage, but does taste similar. As for drinks, you see that there is almost everything available behind the bar: Drow wine, Duergar ale, and lot's of stuff you recognize and you might get at the Black Dragon Inn or similar.
The server doesn't respond to Khessa's questions, and a close look the creature is so gaunt it is nearly skeletal. Syllen overhears some conversations in Drow, they seem to be preoccupied on the spire in the middle of the city, and also on slavery. Coriana and Avery get their drinks from 'Barkeep', the only server who is able to talk, and does so in a quiet whisper. After getting their drinks and sitting down, Coriana does notice a group of roguish Deep Gnomes playing a game of dice with some Duergar. The Deep Gnomes scratch and itch at their ears as they laugh and whisper to each other. The Duergar all seem in good spirits playing along, but Xanrym notices one of them sits back at the table, dressed in all black and occasionally looking in your direction as well as another couple parties around the room: some Drow in a position of honor, and a group of mixed humanoids keeping to themselves in a corner, the loudest of whom is a cackling Derro.
The figure on the stone chair observes all this in silence and stillness.
Khessa forgoes gathering information for the moment and enjoys the meat with its new side dish, which tastes so much like cabbage.
"Good, you know?" the blonde arcane warrior assures the others. "I wonder what it is... if only so I can order it again, should I ever have the chance!"
"Anyway, considering how untalkative everyone seems here," the tall adventuress concludes "I suggest we finish dinner and go get some rest right away... I have a feeling that any social interaction in this conflict-torn city is bound to run into trouble. So, better get on with it once we're back to our best."
"That seems wise," Theldrin agrees, pausing for a moment from hungrily devouring his meal of mushroom soup, baked fish and pseudo-cabbage. He nods in agreement that the strange cabbage-like vegetable is actually quite tasty. "It's been a long day," he says with a sigh as he finishes his food and takes his time finishing what's left of his wine.
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"A few parties have walked by, and ignored us. It seems seeing a bunch of slaughtered wannabe gate guards is no big deal to many. Haste in moving elsewhere is still a good idea."
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain
Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards.
DM - The Old Keep
Avery is going to search the bodies, then begin moving them off to the side so they are not so obvious to those who may pass by. Perception: 20; investigation: 15
Theldrin discourages Avery from spending too much time with the bodies, saying, "We need to move out before the priest returns with more guards." He moves towards following Khessa.
(OOC: I took that to meant that Avery was searching the bodies while Theldrin, Khessa, and Xanrym checked out the golden wall fresco.)
Xanrym is ready to go and follows Khessa out of the gatehouse and along the street north. He'd like to move up toward the front of the line so that he can see where they're going, letting Syllen or Avery take rear guard for now.
(OOC: referencing this post and Perception check from before we switched to looking around the gate first before leaving to head to the Inn)
Avery shrugs, and leave the bodies where they lie and is ready to move
Well then you set off quickly north toward where you believe the Dripstone Inn to be. On your way through the crumbling buildings and putrid smells of the dilapidated city, a few humanoids look out at you from the houses and lanes the likes of which you've only read about in books. Grimlocks, Duergar, and other Kuo-Toa, along with haughty Drow and others you don't know. You even notice a few Troglodytes sneaking through alleys and hissing to each other in their strange reptilian language. At one point, a group of Derro traders walk up to you, offering you infinite lamp oil, which you quickly realize is simply regular lamp oil; maybe even mixed with some water. Interestingly, the Derro seem convinced that the stuff is quality and are somewhat offended when you spot the fake.
Eventually you arrive at the place you were told about, the Dripstone Inn. Lights of every hue stream from the windows of this sprawling three-story building. Conversing voices, snippets of song, and the clatter crockery spill into the street. Odors of exotic tobaccos, yeasty drinks and barbecued meat suffuse the air. Tile wall facing the street is a sculpted formation of flowstone, like dozens of drooping hands, apparently built up from water falling from somewhere high above. Here and there, stone faces leer out from the deposits. You eye the stone faces as you head inside.
Conversations near the entryway go quiet as many patrons in this common room look you over. Few of the faces seem welcoming, and most that do look hungry or insane. Dusky dwarves, wild-eyed Derro, slim Drow, and stranger creatures sit or stand in the dozen or so lantern-lit niches scattered about this large, high-ceilinged chamber. A central bar is stuffed with bottles, casks, pipes, vials, cigarillos, and less familiar paraphernalia. Cloaked in white linen, a humanoid figure stands behind the bar. Four servers move about the room, similarly shrouded. A side door apparently opens into a busy kitchen that is alive with the sounds and scents of cooking. From a great stone chair across the common room, a humanoid figure observes, wrapped in and hooded by a crimson robe that has a complex pattern of eyes on it. Whatever this creature is, you see that little escapes its notice. After a few snorts, the people in the bar go back to their food and drink, while a server waves you absently over to an empty table.
Theldrin takes a seat at the empty table and orders a glass of red wine if they have it, then inquires as to what food is available. He keeps his hood up and tries to draw as little attention to himself as possible for the moment.
Syllen sits next to Theldrin and orders a drink based on the recommendation of the server. As the group takes a moment Syllen will listen to the bar for anyone speaking elvish or giant.
Perception: 16
On the way to the Dripstone Inn, Khessa pays attention to each drow, trying to notice and remember how they dress, how they behave, what condition they appear to be in, where they gather in greatest numbers... She is nevertheless satisfied with her impression that they are not here in charge, but a decaying force, no longer predominant.
The exterior of the inn intrigues the blonde arcane warrior, but it's not exactly to her taste... it gives off too dark an impression. At least the smell of barbecued meat is inviting! Before entering, she sends Anator back to the safety of his pocket dimension and utters a short formula, accompanied by an elegant wave of her hand—whereupon a magical effect completely cleanses her of any dirt left on her by the recent battle and gives her a vaguely exotic scent, a mix of vanilla and cinnamon.
The tall adventuress sees her friends doing their best to remain inconspicuous, but she knows she has little hope of doing the same: tall (probably taller than any of the others present), human, wearing perpetually shiny armor, with imposing weapons on her back... So, forgoing any likely doomed attempt to be inconspicuous, she at least tries to look her best. She smiles confidently, as if coming here were her own choice and she had nothing to fear, and asks the server: "Bring me a generous portion of that deliciously smelling barbecued meat, my friend, and bury it under an impressive amount of boiled cabbage. You have cabbage, right? Have you been working here long, by the way?"
In general, if the server also shows he appreciates a chat to distract himself from the daily grind, Khessa will chat with him and learn something about the city's situation while he brings her or the other adventurers' orders.
Avery scans the street, and as they enter the inn, takes a place so he is near the group, and keeps an eye on the common room and the door. He orders something to drink as well.
Coriana takes a seat, trying to pick one she can look around from. She specifically looks to see if there’s any gambling going on in this establishment.
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain
Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards.
DM - The Old Keep
"Hmmm... cabbage sounds good," Theldrin muses quietly as he sips his wine, and will add extra cabbage to his order if it's available.
(OOC: Ah! I didn't get the "dripstone" reference until you mentioned flowstone.)
Nature: 9
(OOC: Hm. Originally got a "dice rolls not available, then a clean post with a 21, and now, for some reason, a "manipulated" post with a 9. I'll go with the 21 since it was just for color.)
Xanrym is fascinated at the sight of the inn. He talks to any of his companions who will listen. "Ah! That's why it's called the Dripstone Inn. You see," he says, pointing far up above the inn toward the grotto roof and the towering column of Pedestal, "water filters through the ground above the grotto or simply forms, like dew, on the cold stone above us. As water flows through the ground or across the rock, certain minerals can become dissolved in it. 'Held in aqueous solution,' as the alchemists say! But then -- as the water reaches the grotto floor or some other obstruction, it may stop flowing, and the dissolved minerals may settle out like the dregs at the bottom of a teacup. It takes years -- centuries -- for this much flowstone to form. Why, a dwarf could be born, live, and die, and the flowstone here may have only grown by a foot. But they say that eventually, the flowstone builds up into these undulating rock formations that look like waves."
Xanrym finishes his explanation as they enter the inn. He's probably the last to enter since he lingers to look in wonder and the inn's facade.
Xanrym is tall and lanky, but he glides into a spot at the table and settles down. If they're near a wall or column, he tries to pick a spot that's a bit shadowed, hoping that his Cloak of Elvenkind may help him escape scrutiny as looks around the inn and tries to get a sense of this place. Xanrym feels more relaxed here than he has at any point since they reached the bottom of the rift. There's something familiar about a tavern even if it is one deep in this strange grotto sealed deep in the forever-dark realm of the drow, duergar, and other creatures that are almost never seen walking under the sunlight in the Flanaess.
Xanrym orders some food and drink but doesn't push for any information yet. He wants to eat and sit quietly to study the room. He keeps his eyes and ears open. He, of course, already spotted the figure in the crimson robe. "Robe of Eyes," he thinks, fancifully, since its pattern has spots that look like eyes.
Perception: 25 - Keeping his eyes and ears open. He particularly keeps a watch for anyone who seems to be taking special notice of the party. They shouldn't be known to anyone here, not yet, but a group of surface-dwellers is bound to stick out.
Before entering:
Khessa listens fascinatedly to Xanrym's explanation, also asking if he remembers from whom he learned this information... does he perhaps have a background as a rock scholar?
The blonde arcane warrior makes some notes in her spellbook - since this knowledge, while perhaps not strictly magical, still has its own charm and 'magic' (rock sculpted by time and water...)
OK, end of the digression. Inside the tavern, everything remains as already narrated.
When Theldrin asks for food, he's silently given a menu that includes mushroom soup, cheese and curds, dried or cooked fish (various kinds), marrow and liver stew, spicy lamprey soup, cockroaches in cold green sauce, roasted meat (various kinds), and sweet blood jellies, when you and Khessa ask for cabbage the servers quietly nod and bring out a vegetable that certainly doesn't look like cabbage, but does taste similar. As for drinks, you see that there is almost everything available behind the bar: Drow wine, Duergar ale, and lot's of stuff you recognize and you might get at the Black Dragon Inn or similar.
The server doesn't respond to Khessa's questions, and a close look the creature is so gaunt it is nearly skeletal. Syllen overhears some conversations in Drow, they seem to be preoccupied on the spire in the middle of the city, and also on slavery. Coriana and Avery get their drinks from 'Barkeep', the only server who is able to talk, and does so in a quiet whisper. After getting their drinks and sitting down, Coriana does notice a group of roguish Deep Gnomes playing a game of dice with some Duergar. The Deep Gnomes scratch and itch at their ears as they laugh and whisper to each other. The Duergar all seem in good spirits playing along, but Xanrym notices one of them sits back at the table, dressed in all black and occasionally looking in your direction as well as another couple parties around the room: some Drow in a position of honor, and a group of mixed humanoids keeping to themselves in a corner, the loudest of whom is a cackling Derro.
The figure on the stone chair observes all this in silence and stillness.
Khessa forgoes gathering information for the moment and enjoys the meat with its new side dish, which tastes so much like cabbage.
"Good, you know?" the blonde arcane warrior assures the others. "I wonder what it is... if only so I can order it again, should I ever have the chance!"
"Anyway, considering how untalkative everyone seems here," the tall adventuress concludes "I suggest we finish dinner and go get some rest right away... I have a feeling that any social interaction in this conflict-torn city is bound to run into trouble. So, better get on with it once we're back to our best."
"That seems wise," Theldrin agrees, pausing for a moment from hungrily devouring his meal of mushroom soup, baked fish and pseudo-cabbage. He nods in agreement that the strange cabbage-like vegetable is actually quite tasty. "It's been a long day," he says with a sigh as he finishes his food and takes his time finishing what's left of his wine.