This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
@ All: There are several people sitting by themselves (a large human male, an elf, a female half-orc, a male dwarf, and an aarakocra) but neither they nor anything else looks out of place or shifty. It's just a regular Tuesday afternoon at the ol' Stable Quiver.
Zyl flits to the young boy and tries to get some info from him. He smiles at the fairy as she flits up to him, but in response to her question he says in an equally low voice, "Pa says we don't recognize nobody here. Not ever! Sorry, lady. I like your wings, though. Can you come play with me and my sis on the ten-day? That's our day off from helping in the tavern! Or maybe at Midsummer?"
Mulligan:
Game 3: 5+4+5 plus he buys 2 more dice: 1+6 - Total 21 spent 4 silver You win the pot! 24 silver in all =)
Game 4: 5+5+2 plus he buys 2 more dice: 1+1 - Total 14 spent 4 silver Player 1: 21 :: Player 2: 4 :: Player 3: 27 :: Pot=22 silver
Game 5: 6+5+1 plus he buys 2 more dice: 2+2 - Total 16 spent 4 silver Player 1: 22 :: Player 2: 25 :: Player 3: 12 :: Pot=25 silver
Celeste finds an older lady in fine clothes who smells like vanilla and cinnamon cookies. She coos over the pretty fox, petting your soft fur and offering you tidbits of her mid-day meal. She even tries to pick you and hold you in her lap!
Hollis:
Squid considers your point, sighs, and says conversationally (but not too loudly...). "Oppal's good people, ya know? Good customer. She likes her privacy - most everybody in here comes because I don't remember nobody as a rule. But I ain't gonna get in the way. But you didn't hear it from me - got it?" He looks for an affirmation from you, and when you nod or agree verbally, the barkeep says, "See that big, vicious-looking female half-orc over there against the wall? That's her."
Vesta spots several people sitting by themselves and decides to approach one of them and strike up a conversation. She walks up to the aarakocra, an uncommon race even in the city. The sorcerer nods at the aarakocra.
"Pleasant afternoon, yes?" she says with a smile. "My name is Vesta, by the way. How are you doing?"
Zyl, all but completely oblivious to the fact that the boy didn't know anything just smiled and fluttered her wings a bit. "You like them? Thanks! And that sounds like fun! I love Midsummer! I'll teach you some fairy games then! But I should probably...where did everyone go?"She turned and looked around, realizing she had basically lost track of everyone and so she decided to fly up to a rafter if she could, or any other higher up spot where she could look out over everyone and at least spot her companions.
Mulligan smiles as wolf-Celeste and her antics and gives her occasional scritches behind her ears and tries to only push her away from whatever she is nosing at when absolutely necessary. "Behave, we're on the job, remember?" he whispers into her ear at one point but doesn't really expect her to listen. She understands, he knows, but listening is something else entirely... The Celeste-wolf doesn't really seem to listen to anyone when she's got her mind set.
Once he gets into the game Mulligan has less attention to give to the wolf, his mind lost in numbers and odds and the rolling of the dice. Mulligan busts out on the first couple of games and thinks perhaps this isn't his game at all. Celeste wanders off and he frowns for a second and considers going with her but a new round is about to start and Mulligan has to hurry to get his wager in. In the end he loses far more games than he wins but the winning is profitable enough to cover the losses and Mulligan is actually up some coinage before he is pulled out of the game by other events...
((I don't know what those other events are yet, but I'm sure it'll be something! Basically Mulligan plays until the contact is found or someone grabs him for some other reason or something... Just kind of leaving it open ended that he plays until whatever.))
"Got it," Hollis says, as he lays a gold coin on the bar with a friendly wink. "Good people, you say? That's good enough for me."
He gets up from his seat, but deliberately avoids heading in the direction of the half-orc. In case anyone has been watching, he doesn't want to betray Squid's confidence. So instead he meanders over to the table where Mulligan is gambling on dice. Hollis stands and watches the games silently for several minutes, towering next to the smaller halfling, and eventually -- during a lull in the action -- leans down and says softly, "See that half-orc? She's our meet. Keep an eye out from here, while I go over and introduce myself . . . in case there's trouble."
Then Hollis walks slowly across the room, trying subtly to make eye contact with the rest of the crew. Zyl -- in the rafters. Celeste -- near the kitchen. Dara -- drifting through the room. Vesta -- at the table with the bird man.
When he reaches the half-orc's table, Hollis discreetly clears his throat to make sure he has her attention, then quietly recites the passphrase: "That's a big hen house."
Having noted Vesta’s affectionate pat upon entry, the little fox would have noted to weave through her legs more and to stick close to her too for more pets in the future. As for right now, unlike Mulligan, fox-Celeste has hit the jackpot! An older lady who smells like vanilla and cookies, doting over her, petting her and offering her snacks, yes please! With a prrt, she nuzzles at the lady’s hand after taking a scrap then sits on her haunches and lifts her paws for ‘uppies’. She’d ’limp noodle’ as she’s picked up and placed in her lap. Then she’d kneed a bit with her paws, doing a few circles before curling up, wrapping her tail around herself, and settles in. A soft purr would come from the arctic fox as she lounges, rests and watches over her companions throughout the tavern. Anyone looking for her would be able to find the ball of white floof comfortably curled up in an old ladies lap, being fed the occasional scraps. Her vibrant green eyes would meet those who do, and she’d do the slow blink, appreciative of the check in, and is just in a happy place. For all Celeste knew, she could have found their contact, or just a nice lady.
Dara catches Hollis' eye as he weaves through the bustling crowd of the tavern toward the half-orc's table. The half-drow’s strides are purposeful, each step deliberate. Moving discreetly, Dara approaches Vesta, who’s chatting with an aarakocra at the table. He offers the aarakocra a polite smile before gently patting Vesta on the shoulder. Leaning in, he whispers into her ear, “I think Hollis’s found something.” His eyes subtly flick toward Hollis and the half-orc, giving her the silent signal.
(Cutting to the main story - feel free to write your own reaction to getting Hollis' signal. Celeste, when you decide to leave the old lady's lap, you need to roll a Dex saving throw ;-)
Hollis: The big half-orc looks up at you as you stand by her table, and in response to your phrase, she responds, "Only to a small fox. Or an old rooster like you! Sit down before somebody notices..." she says with a big, toothy grin. "I'm Oppal. Who are you and what's the message?" she says in a low voice to avoid being overheard in the tavern.
Zyl sees her group begin to notice the half-orc but to keep them from drawing too much attention she stays in her spot, allowing her to (hopefully) catch anyone else looking in on their group, ready to provide a distraction if necessary. Or beat someone up. That was fun too.
Vesta turns to look at the half-orc and frowns. "I almost approached her too," she mutters. "Damn, maybe I'm losing my edge.."
The sorcerer says her goodbyes to the friendly bird fellow and slowly wends her way through the crowd toward Hollis. She hangs back a bit so as not to draw too much attention or spook their contact. Instead, she does her best to appear nonchalant, simply taking in the jovial atmosphere of the tavern, but all the while she is listening keenly to the conversation between Hollis and Oppal.
Mulligan frowns a bit but nods to Hollis and keeps an eye on him. Mulligan is a bit chagrined that Hollis is the one who sussed out their contact as he worries they might screw it up as likely as not. Still, nothing to be done for it. Jumping out of the game and joining Hollis is as likely to spook the contact as Hollis himself, as well as draw other eyes. So Mulligan continues to play but his attention is elsewhere as he watches Hollis and tries to stay ready for anything...
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Hollis accepts the invitation to sit at the half-orc's table, relieved to see her smile (despite her prominent fangs). "My name is Hollis," he replies softly, "and indeed I do have a message: 'Move along the Platinum Road'." As he speaks, he studies Oppal's reaction, trying to read any signs as to the significance of the code words and their impact on her.
"But, alas, that is all I have been instructed to relay,"Hollis continues, almost apologetically. "Yours must be quite the affair, to warrant such discretion. And although I'm content to consider my part in this matter concluded, should you require any further assistance, my quite capable colleagues and I are at your disposal -- at least until we hear word again from the Taskmaster."
Opaal nods at the direction, then looks at you and your group intently for a minute before handing you a folded sheet of paper. "Get this to the Taskmaster. Some kinda clue I 'retrieved' from a cultist." She pushes away from the table, drops a couple of coppers for the server, and walks out of the tavern.
The paper is a torn piece from the Neverwinter Nights broadsheet. On one side is a portion of the Jobs Posted/Wanted section, a place where you can ask or look for work. You see parts of two posts – one looks like it needs skilled stonemasons to work on a rebuild project, the other looking for potions and salve material from the nearby forest. On the other side is one of the puzzles usually found on the last page. It’s a 4x4 grid with numbers and blank spaces. There is a shaky vertical line drawn down through the first column, like someone did it while holding the puzzle in their hand. In the space above the puzzle is a short horizontal line and the word “read” written in small print.
When Dara meets Opaal’s eye, he presses his hand to his chest as a greeting, nodding silently as she leaves the tavern. He joins Hollis at the table, examining the scrap of newspaper they were handed. He shakes his head, the worn paper, with its partially visible job postings and cryptic puzzle, doesn’t make any sense to him at the moment. Perhaps a piece to a bigger puzzle.
“Let’s get this to the Taskmaster,” Dara says,“It must be something important for Opaal to pass this on.”
Vesta joins Hollis and Dara at the table. She takes a look at the scrap of paper given by Oppal. For something so important, it's not very impressive. The sorcerer looks at the single word and the drawn line.
"Some sort of code perhaps," she says. "Using the puzzle. Read down...whatever words go in these spaces, perhaps the clue is to read them in this order."
Mulligan departs the game with apologies and heads for the door with as much discretion as possible. Mulligan has no plan to stalk Oppal home or anything, but he is hoping to get a glimpse of which direction she heads in... And if she is a shapechanger, perhaps the shape she takes next. He's unsure what happened at the meet yet, not having checked in with Hollis yet, he just wants a direction or clue to follow up on in case things did not go well. Maybe willing to go as far as a block away, Mulligan then heads back to the tavern and the others.
If she sees the others head for the door to leave, Zyl will flit down from her perch and follow them out. Once out of the tavern she'll pipe up again, "Well? You find something? What is it? What are we supposed to do? Are we just letting the contact leave?"
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
(I'm assuming you want to keep the party together and leave the tavern together...)
With the message passed and a clue received, the group decides to continue on their patrol and get that clue to the Taskmaster.
Celeste, still in fox form and curled up on an old lady's lap, starts to jump down to join the team, but the woman tries to keep her new pet in her lap. She grabs at you and tries to place a jewel-encrusted collar around your neck! (Make a DC 19 Acrobatics or Athletics check to avoid being grappled!)
((Umm, no? Mulligan's desire was to exit the tavern alone, spy on Oppal a little bit, then return to the tavern and the rest... But if there's nothing to be gained then so be it, skip it?))
Hollis sighs as he stands back up from the table and heads for the tavern door with the others. He can't help but feel a bit disappointed, coming away from a secret meeting with a mysterious shapeshifter holding nothing more than a confounding scrap of newspaper. The puzzle and the jobs listings look like they might be promising leads -- maybe a code, as Vesta suggests -- but none of it will mean much of anything to him if the Taskmaster doesn't keep them on the trail. Nor if they can figure out the clues . . .
Hollis shrugs in response to Zyl's rapid-fire questions. "Nothing but a clip of the broadsheet," he says. "Contact's already gone. We're just supposed to take this back to the Taskmaster. That's it."
Hollis doesn't enjoy, but also doesn't resent, these kinds of simple fetch jobs. He tries to remind himself that his life has gone a whole lot better since he began taking orders than it ever did when he was on his own. Best to just keep his head down and go where the bosses tell him, for now.
Trying to shake his melancholy, Hollis turns to the seemingly ever-hopeful Mulligan. "So, any luck with the dice, kid?" he asks. "Be nice to walk out of here with more than just a scrap of paper."
@ All: There are several people sitting by themselves (a large human male, an elf, a female half-orc, a male dwarf, and an aarakocra) but neither they nor anything else looks out of place or shifty. It's just a regular Tuesday afternoon at the ol' Stable Quiver.
Zyl flits to the young boy and tries to get some info from him. He smiles at the fairy as she flits up to him, but in response to her question he says in an equally low voice, "Pa says we don't recognize nobody here. Not ever! Sorry, lady. I like your wings, though. Can you come play with me and my sis on the ten-day? That's our day off from helping in the tavern! Or maybe at Midsummer?"
Mulligan:
Game 3: 5+4+5 plus he buys 2 more dice: 1+6 - Total 21 spent 4 silver
You win the pot! 24 silver in all =)
Game 4: 5+5+2 plus he buys 2 more dice: 1+1 - Total 14 spent 4 silver
Player 1: 21 :: Player 2: 4 :: Player 3: 27 :: Pot=22 silver
Game 5: 6+5+1 plus he buys 2 more dice: 2+2 - Total 16 spent 4 silver
Player 1: 22 :: Player 2: 25 :: Player 3: 12 :: Pot=25 silver
Celeste finds an older lady in fine clothes who smells like vanilla and cinnamon cookies. She coos over the pretty fox, petting your soft fur and offering you tidbits of her mid-day meal. She even tries to pick you and hold you in her lap!
Hollis:
Squid considers your point, sighs, and says conversationally (but not too loudly...). "Oppal's good people, ya know? Good customer. She likes her privacy - most everybody in here comes because I don't remember nobody as a rule. But I ain't gonna get in the way. But you didn't hear it from me - got it?" He looks for an affirmation from you, and when you nod or agree verbally, the barkeep says, "See that big, vicious-looking female half-orc over there against the wall? That's her."
Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?
Vesta spots several people sitting by themselves and decides to approach one of them and strike up a conversation. She walks up to the aarakocra, an uncommon race even in the city. The sorcerer nods at the aarakocra.
"Pleasant afternoon, yes?" she says with a smile. "My name is Vesta, by the way. How are you doing?"
Extended Signature
Characters: Bryony Alderleaf (Phandelver and Below) ♦ Vesta Trevelyan (Vecna: Eve of Ruin) ♦ Ada Kendrick (Curse of Strahd) ♦ Gareth Blackwood (Dragon of Icespire Peak) ♦ Karys Velthune (Out of the Abyss) ♦ Surina Xarith (Simple, Heroic Adventure)
DM: Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus
Zyl, all but completely oblivious to the fact that the boy didn't know anything just smiled and fluttered her wings a bit. "You like them? Thanks! And that sounds like fun! I love Midsummer! I'll teach you some fairy games then! But I should probably...where did everyone go?" She turned and looked around, realizing she had basically lost track of everyone and so she decided to fly up to a rafter if she could, or any other higher up spot where she could look out over everyone and at least spot her companions.
Mulligan smiles as wolf-Celeste and her antics and gives her occasional scritches behind her ears and tries to only push her away from whatever she is nosing at when absolutely necessary. "Behave, we're on the job, remember?" he whispers into her ear at one point but doesn't really expect her to listen. She understands, he knows, but listening is something else entirely... The Celeste-wolf doesn't really seem to listen to anyone when she's got her mind set.
Once he gets into the game Mulligan has less attention to give to the wolf, his mind lost in numbers and odds and the rolling of the dice. Mulligan busts out on the first couple of games and thinks perhaps this isn't his game at all. Celeste wanders off and he frowns for a second and considers going with her but a new round is about to start and Mulligan has to hurry to get his wager in. In the end he loses far more games than he wins but the winning is profitable enough to cover the losses and Mulligan is actually up some coinage before he is pulled out of the game by other events...
((I don't know what those other events are yet, but I'm sure it'll be something! Basically Mulligan plays until the contact is found or someone grabs him for some other reason or something... Just kind of leaving it open ended that he plays until whatever.))
"Got it," Hollis says, as he lays a gold coin on the bar with a friendly wink. "Good people, you say? That's good enough for me."
He gets up from his seat, but deliberately avoids heading in the direction of the half-orc. In case anyone has been watching, he doesn't want to betray Squid's confidence. So instead he meanders over to the table where Mulligan is gambling on dice. Hollis stands and watches the games silently for several minutes, towering next to the smaller halfling, and eventually -- during a lull in the action -- leans down and says softly, "See that half-orc? She's our meet. Keep an eye out from here, while I go over and introduce myself . . . in case there's trouble."
Then Hollis walks slowly across the room, trying subtly to make eye contact with the rest of the crew. Zyl -- in the rafters. Celeste -- near the kitchen. Dara -- drifting through the room. Vesta -- at the table with the bird man.
When he reaches the half-orc's table, Hollis discreetly clears his throat to make sure he has her attention, then quietly recites the passphrase: "That's a big hen house."
Having noted Vesta’s affectionate pat upon entry, the little fox would have noted to weave through her legs more and to stick close to her too for more pets in the future. As for right now, unlike Mulligan, fox-Celeste has hit the jackpot! An older lady who smells like vanilla and cookies, doting over her, petting her and offering her snacks, yes please! With a prrt, she nuzzles at the lady’s hand after taking a scrap then sits on her haunches and lifts her paws for ‘uppies’. She’d ’limp noodle’ as she’s picked up and placed in her lap. Then she’d kneed a bit with her paws, doing a few circles before curling up, wrapping her tail around herself, and settles in. A soft purr would come from the arctic fox as she lounges, rests and watches over her companions throughout the tavern. Anyone looking for her would be able to find the ball of white floof comfortably curled up in an old ladies lap, being fed the occasional scraps. Her vibrant green eyes would meet those who do, and she’d do the slow blink, appreciative of the check in, and is just in a happy place. For all Celeste knew, she could have found their contact, or just a nice lady.
just an unstable unicorn.
Dara catches Hollis' eye as he weaves through the bustling crowd of the tavern toward the half-orc's table. The half-drow’s strides are purposeful, each step deliberate. Moving discreetly, Dara approaches Vesta, who’s chatting with an aarakocra at the table. He offers the aarakocra a polite smile before gently patting Vesta on the shoulder. Leaning in, he whispers into her ear, “I think Hollis’s found something.” His eyes subtly flick toward Hollis and the half-orc, giving her the silent signal.
(Cutting to the main story - feel free to write your own reaction to getting Hollis' signal. Celeste, when you decide to leave the old lady's lap, you need to roll a Dex saving throw ;-)
Hollis: The big half-orc looks up at you as you stand by her table, and in response to your phrase, she responds, "Only to a small fox. Or an old rooster like you! Sit down before somebody notices..." she says with a big, toothy grin. "I'm Oppal. Who are you and what's the message?" she says in a low voice to avoid being overheard in the tavern.
Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?
Zyl sees her group begin to notice the half-orc but to keep them from drawing too much attention she stays in her spot, allowing her to (hopefully) catch anyone else looking in on their group, ready to provide a distraction if necessary. Or beat someone up. That was fun too.
Vesta turns to look at the half-orc and frowns. "I almost approached her too," she mutters. "Damn, maybe I'm losing my edge.."
The sorcerer says her goodbyes to the friendly bird fellow and slowly wends her way through the crowd toward Hollis. She hangs back a bit so as not to draw too much attention or spook their contact. Instead, she does her best to appear nonchalant, simply taking in the jovial atmosphere of the tavern, but all the while she is listening keenly to the conversation between Hollis and Oppal.
Extended Signature
Characters: Bryony Alderleaf (Phandelver and Below) ♦ Vesta Trevelyan (Vecna: Eve of Ruin) ♦ Ada Kendrick (Curse of Strahd) ♦ Gareth Blackwood (Dragon of Icespire Peak) ♦ Karys Velthune (Out of the Abyss) ♦ Surina Xarith (Simple, Heroic Adventure)
DM: Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus
Mulligan frowns a bit but nods to Hollis and keeps an eye on him. Mulligan is a bit chagrined that Hollis is the one who sussed out their contact as he worries they might screw it up as likely as not. Still, nothing to be done for it. Jumping out of the game and joining Hollis is as likely to spook the contact as Hollis himself, as well as draw other eyes. So Mulligan continues to play but his attention is elsewhere as he watches Hollis and tries to stay ready for anything...
Hollis accepts the invitation to sit at the half-orc's table, relieved to see her smile (despite her prominent fangs). "My name is Hollis," he replies softly, "and indeed I do have a message: 'Move along the Platinum Road'." As he speaks, he studies Oppal's reaction, trying to read any signs as to the significance of the code words and their impact on her.
"But, alas, that is all I have been instructed to relay," Hollis continues, almost apologetically. "Yours must be quite the affair, to warrant such discretion. And although I'm content to consider my part in this matter concluded, should you require any further assistance, my quite capable colleagues and I are at your disposal -- at least until we hear word again from the Taskmaster."
Insight 10
Opaal nods at the direction, then looks at you and your group intently for a minute before handing you a folded sheet of paper. "Get this to the Taskmaster. Some kinda clue I 'retrieved' from a cultist." She pushes away from the table, drops a couple of coppers for the server, and walks out of the tavern.
The paper is a torn piece from the Neverwinter Nights broadsheet. On one side is a portion of the Jobs Posted/Wanted section, a place where you can ask or look for work. You see parts of two posts – one looks like it needs skilled stonemasons to work on a rebuild project, the other looking for potions and salve material from the nearby forest. On the other side is one of the puzzles usually found on the last page. It’s a 4x4 grid with numbers and blank spaces. There is a shaky vertical line drawn down through the first column, like someone did it while holding the puzzle in their hand. In the space above the puzzle is a short horizontal line and the word “read” written in small print.
Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?
When Dara meets Opaal’s eye, he presses his hand to his chest as a greeting, nodding silently as she leaves the tavern. He joins Hollis at the table, examining the scrap of newspaper they were handed. He shakes his head, the worn paper, with its partially visible job postings and cryptic puzzle, doesn’t make any sense to him at the moment. Perhaps a piece to a bigger puzzle.
“Let’s get this to the Taskmaster,” Dara says, “It must be something important for Opaal to pass this on.”
Vesta joins Hollis and Dara at the table. She takes a look at the scrap of paper given by Oppal. For something so important, it's not very impressive. The sorcerer looks at the single word and the drawn line.
"Some sort of code perhaps," she says. "Using the puzzle. Read down...whatever words go in these spaces, perhaps the clue is to read them in this order."
Extended Signature
Characters: Bryony Alderleaf (Phandelver and Below) ♦ Vesta Trevelyan (Vecna: Eve of Ruin) ♦ Ada Kendrick (Curse of Strahd) ♦ Gareth Blackwood (Dragon of Icespire Peak) ♦ Karys Velthune (Out of the Abyss) ♦ Surina Xarith (Simple, Heroic Adventure)
DM: Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus
Mulligan departs the game with apologies and heads for the door with as much discretion as possible. Mulligan has no plan to stalk Oppal home or anything, but he is hoping to get a glimpse of which direction she heads in... And if she is a shapechanger, perhaps the shape she takes next. He's unsure what happened at the meet yet, not having checked in with Hollis yet, he just wants a direction or clue to follow up on in case things did not go well. Maybe willing to go as far as a block away, Mulligan then heads back to the tavern and the others.
If she sees the others head for the door to leave, Zyl will flit down from her perch and follow them out. Once out of the tavern she'll pipe up again, "Well? You find something? What is it? What are we supposed to do? Are we just letting the contact leave?"
(I'm assuming you want to keep the party together and leave the tavern together...)
With the message passed and a clue received, the group decides to continue on their patrol and get that clue to the Taskmaster.
Celeste, still in fox form and curled up on an old lady's lap, starts to jump down to join the team, but the woman tries to keep her new pet in her lap. She grabs at you and tries to place a jewel-encrusted collar around your neck! (Make a DC 19 Acrobatics or Athletics check to avoid being grappled!)
Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?
((Umm, no? Mulligan's desire was to exit the tavern alone, spy on Oppal a little bit, then return to the tavern and the rest... But if there's nothing to be gained then so be it, skip it?))
Hollis sighs as he stands back up from the table and heads for the tavern door with the others. He can't help but feel a bit disappointed, coming away from a secret meeting with a mysterious shapeshifter holding nothing more than a confounding scrap of newspaper. The puzzle and the jobs listings look like they might be promising leads -- maybe a code, as Vesta suggests -- but none of it will mean much of anything to him if the Taskmaster doesn't keep them on the trail. Nor if they can figure out the clues . . .
Hollis shrugs in response to Zyl's rapid-fire questions. "Nothing but a clip of the broadsheet," he says. "Contact's already gone. We're just supposed to take this back to the Taskmaster. That's it."
Hollis doesn't enjoy, but also doesn't resent, these kinds of simple fetch jobs. He tries to remind himself that his life has gone a whole lot better since he began taking orders than it ever did when he was on his own. Best to just keep his head down and go where the bosses tell him, for now.
Trying to shake his melancholy, Hollis turns to the seemingly ever-hopeful Mulligan. "So, any luck with the dice, kid?" he asks. "Be nice to walk out of here with more than just a scrap of paper."