Waterdeep: Camel Heist (2020)

From his position face down on the floor, Varinths sloshed mind comes up with an idea. Gotta keep their attention.

Varinth unsteadily gets to his feet. Without really opening his eyes he states;

They gOne MiSter Shcupper? GOtta pAy Dwarf. I'll *hic* go dig uP trEashUre.

And, like a sleepwalking man on strings, Vaz will amble out the door.

 Should the Redbrands follow, Varinth will head towards the town green.

*gulp*

15 (persuasion / deception, both are -1)

Drink! King commandsh! 

At the Sleeping Giant:

"Drink! King commandsh!".  At the words, the other Redbrands cheer, and pull Vit down to sit again, ready for another drink.  Jus... Jus one more... Grista brings a fresh round of drinks, and then another.  From time to time, Strix dances, Vaz makes hypnotic shapes in the fireplace, and Scupper sings, but you can tell that you don't need to bother so much any more, and Dekhan and Zoria just sit quietly, pretending to drink, observing the scene.  One by one, the Redbrands either descend into a drunken stupor, barely aware of their surroundings, or in some cases they just pass out entirely.  Several of them vomit, but Grista is an agile wielder of the sick bucket and the smell in the tavern remains tolerable.  'Guardsman' Pote surprises you by having the most staying power, but finally his head also drops to the table and does not stir.

All seven Redbrands are effectively unconscious.  You don't know when they'll wake up, but probably not for a while.

Grista walks out from behind the bar, stands with her hands on her hips and looks at the snoozing or senselessly muttering Redbrands.  You are the luckiest sons of *****es I ever did see, but Tymora loves you tonight and that's for sure.  So, you actually got a plan for what happens next?  

If wE'rE gunna join tha ladsh in tha dungeOn witH thA *hic* Eye MonSter I may nEed a bucKet of wAter to *hic* dUnk My heAd in! Varinth leans heavily on the bar

Oh anD GrisHta! OnE; yOu werE fAbulous ThAnkYou so Mush *hic* tHree! He waggles a finger at the general everything. Can yOu locK thIs tAvern froM tHa oUtside?

At the Redbrands' base:

Incantis, you sneak into the room, and just barely avoid tripping over something on the floor and going flying.  The thing on the floor turns out to be a large stone that might be used to prop the door open sometimes.  On closer inspection, you confirm that there are two bunk beds, both regularly used and smelling recently used.  There are three empty tankards lying on the floor, and you guess that at least some of the Redbrands who left were in this room drinking until Jerrat came to fetch them.

Searching the room, you find two garnets, each worth around 10 GP, stuffed under one of the bunks, as well as a total of six copper pieces lying here and their; the Redbrands took most of their money with them.  You open one of the smaller barrels; it contains salted beef.  Another has flour, and a third is full of apples. 

Lock?  asks Grista, and suddenly her eyes narrow.  You're not thinking to set my fine establishment on fire, are you?  'Cause I'll cut you open top to tail if you try it, pretty face and all.  And no.  The front door bars from the inside.  

DeaR GoDs NO MisS GriShta! I wOulD nevEr! No I wash juSt *hic* thInkiNg O' lOcKin 'em iN tilL morNin

"Should we turn these men to the authorities?" Zoria suggests. "Locking them up for their crimes and taking their weapons and armor, or is the plan to slit their throats while they sleep? Surely having taken this number out form the main group, we should have enough force to meet up with Incantis and Dario in the hideout and take out the rest of their forces."

Well, think throat slit better. But..  can't buy Zoria 'giveness. Plus, all buckets full. Think mebbe strip 'em, make scene, 'barrass 'em. Redbrand-Redbrand orgy. Puke drink contest. Tattoo say sommin rude bout Glasstaff.

At the Sleeping Giant:

The sky outside is now dark, though there is some moonlight.  Grista slowly pulls a dagger out from her jacket and tests the tip, drawing a tiny drop of blood.  Didn't think so. 

She eyes Vaz suspiciously:  You keep those hands where I can see them and out of mischief. 

She walks to the door and bars it.  Don't get many visitors these days, except the boys of course, and she waves her hand at the Redbrands, many of whom are snoring.  But let's not have anyone wander in while you're coming up with a damned plan.  She laughs and shakes her head.  I've a few thoughts, if you care to hear them, but otherwise, I'll be cleaning up. 

She picks up a few tankards and starts to head towards the bar but stops and turns to look at you.   But they're not staying to wake up here.  I've helped you a lot, and I'll not take any trouble for it, from them or from you.  She turns back and walks to the bar.

What are your ideas, Grista? I’m leaning towards tying them up and leaving them somewhere dark and out of the way while we raid the manor. Stripping them of their possessions seems a good idea as well.  Hopefully they’ve enough gold on them to cover the tab, ey Grista? Dekhan will start searching the passed out Redbrands,  perception 15 being careful not to wake them insight 22

So long as you don't think 'dark and out of the way' means my bloody tavern.  Grista is back collecting another set of empty tankards. Back behind the bar, she watches as Dekhan searches the seven Redbrands who are all unconscious by now.  

Dekhan, you find a total of 13 gold pieces and 108 silver pieces on the Redbrands. 

Strix, you notice that Dekhan is making a terrible mess of searching the Redbrands and is probably missing half their money.

Comes down to the same question as before.  You want to get rid of them, or get them working for you?  Grista comes to collect the last of the tankards, and watches carefully to see what your responses are to her words.

Varinth, feeling lucky that he didn't have to go with his treasure plan, helps Grista clean.

My vOte is foR getting them Workin for us bUt how do we *hic* do that?

"Truth be told, Grista, twasn't sure we'd live this long. You know offhand how many more there might be, minus the 5 we already gutted? or you tink this is the lot of them? I'm for your plan o' keepin' them and perhaps we would be able to get them to act more responsible with a bit o' guidance and the fear of death but that's only if we succeed with takin' down Glasstaff and whatever else lay ahead. Let's drag ' em off to the town square fer now and get em good and tied up. I'm still a bit worried about what Dario and Incantus might find. Thanks for yer help and the gold i gave is yorn. If I live and we stop the lot of em, you can pay me some o' that reward ye mentioned. "

Quote from SteveThaiBinh >>

Strix, you notice that Dekhan is making a terrible mess of searching the Redbrands and is probably missing half their money.

 Tutting, Strix introduces Dekhan to a few tricks of the trade - false heels, the double-lined doublet and of course the old Icewind Purse but frankly if they've hidden any gold up there Strix will happily leave it for the crows. 

14 perception/insight if needed

 

At least on mobile, Inspiration is a button under your HP. 

You can - I think - spend it any time to gain Advantage on a roll. You can only hold 1 inspiration point so it can't be hoarded. Not sure if you have to declare before you roll. 

 

Aaaaahhh, so that’s how it’s done. Cheers, Strix.

"Nothing here but gems and pork, " Incantis remarks in a whisper to Dario as he hands the elf one of the pieces of garnet. "We should keep moving, who knows what's going on at the tavern and Redbrands could be coming back at any moment." Westward traveled, fortune tried. Northward open, us unspied.