(OOC: DirtyDogP has been AFK for 5 days. Guessing we are all going to be busy this week with the holiday.

I like the idea of Hildigrim in the bookstore, pretending to read a book while blind and deaf.
Also that Volo will be pecking Jorin in the head every time the owl wants him to do something.

It is up to Guiltysparc and Mingofaust how far we should go with these were rats . Right now is just some RP fun and slice-of-life stuff. If you'd rather get the next adventure going, just let me know. Otherwise, this will go for a while longer.)

(got it, a little more RP between adventures sounds good to me)

Jorin works the handle of the tavern and sees that its locked, he will force the door upon walking into the tavern, proclaim, "Finally, an ale house!  Friends, it seems you inadvertently locked your front door after those other patrons left. It is good that I came upon it when I did!  Please tell me there is someone here who might lighten my coin pouch and laden my belly with drink?"

LOL Sorry! Got sick, which led to me discovering The Great. Then I ended up binging Season 1 instead of logging on Thursday. Then went out of town for the weekend Friday instead of Saturday like we'd planned.

I thought Jorin was going in alone (though it's OK that Quillary is going in on his shoulder). Hildigrim was going to disguise Jorin to look like someone else. Hildigrim wasn't planning to go in invisible or eaves drop using Volo. But I thought Volo was back at the Road's End watching for rats.

But I'm OK with anything. If you all wanted to talk Hildigrim into going invisible again, he'd do it. He likes his friends a lot.

(No problem. This is light fare right now. Hope you are completely recovered. Volo could be summoned in 12 seconds, but if you are okay with anotherr Invisibiility, then Hildigrim is stealthily behind Jorin.)

Inside the pub is a human from the north. He is dressed in expensive clothing, but the clothes are poorly mended and cleaned. At the intrusion, he tries to hide the hammer and saw in his hands. He is standing next to a support pillar being repaired. (In Waterdeep, the guilds look with disfavor at work not done by their licensed workers. Getting the Road's End up to code meant appeasing many different guilds.) Emmek is at first frightened, then confused, and finally angry.

Jorin realizes that he has the door handle and wood fragments still in his hand. Causing some damage was part of his design, but that section of the door came apart with less effort than he was expecting. (Not sure if it is shoddy workmanship, cheap materials, or both.) As Jorin gave his greeting with a smile, he drops the door fragment onto the bar countertop.

Still flustered, he sputters, "We don't open until next ten-day. G-g-get out! Before I sue you for damages and trespassing!" (A little too much sneering in his voice. Not exactly the charm you would expect from someone working in the service industry.) "And no pets. They go too!"

Quillary-tressym flaps to keep her balance on Jorin's shoulder as the door gives way more easily than expected. Then she hops off, gliding around the place and landing on the bar out of reach of Frewn or his hammer and saw. She begins sniffing about, looking for anything interesting about the place, hopping off the bar to check out the floor, behind the bar, corners, tools, she just gets up in everything's business.

Perception to find and or follow any clues: 9
A second Perception roll for advantage if the clue is scent-based: 28

edit: well, how's that for bookended d20 rolls.

Jorin smiles all the more broadly as he noticed the man is a northerner as well, "A near countryman!  It is quite rare to find the likes of us in this place.  I am Jorin, of the Bodt, from The Frost Hills.  My apologies for the door, tell me, are you the owner?  I would make amends for my destructions."

(OOC: Don't overthink this. This is not a great in-depth mystery. If you 3 want to continue being the Scooby Gang, I'll do my best to keep you entertained, but I think you all can guess what is going on.
OOC2: That does not mean you can pull a mask off of Frewn. "It was Old Man Winters the whole time!")

Frewn goes for a broom, and chases after the tressym, continuing to yell for Jorin and his "pet" to get out. (Retcon that Hildi is invisible and Volo isn't here.) Since Quillary has to keep moving, that keeps her from seeing anything suspicious.

For Quillary only:

Quote from Guiltysparc >>

Jorin smiles all the more broadly as he noticed the man is a northerner as well, "A near countryman!  It is quite rare to find the likes of us in this place.  I am Jorin, of the Bodt, from The Frost Hills.  My apologies for the door, tell me, are you the owner?  I would make amends for my destructions."

Emmek pauses his chase of the flying cat and his ranting at Jorin. Still red-faced, he has an almost visible glint in his eyes when Jorin mentions restitution.

"That door was very expensive. It will take a lot of coins to replace it." (A smile, but only with the lips.) "The Bodts have the reputation of paying off their debts. We wouldn't want to ruin that good family name." (OOC: I'm assuming the Bodts do not have a merchant reputation. This is a pure guilt trip.)

Quillary-tressym will land on something high, and pointedly appear to ignore Frewn and Jorin, disinterestedly licking a paw and washing an ear.

OOC > this is when Jorin goes ham on the place, right? Punctuating everything he “accidentally” destroys with a comment about the unfortunate nature of the problems at the Road’s End? ;)

Quote from Mingofaust >>

OOC > this is when Jorin goes ham on the place, right? Punctuating everything he “accidentally” destroys with a comment about the unfortunate nature of the problems at the Road’s End? ;)

(That might cause the city guard to treat you as the trouble makers. Frewn would have tangible evidence of your violence, instead of speculation.

No signs yet that Emmek is aware that you are the mansion owners.)

Jorin drops the door handle/door fragment to the ground, "The Bodt are known for many things, strong arms to wield a spear, keen eyes to guide a bow, and a short temper that sees the those things put to use." 

Jorin narrows his eyes and adds, "More than those though, the Bodt are known best for ferociously protecting their hearth and family.  Heed my words, this Bodt would not see your friends at The Roads End again, for if he did,  he may take them as a threat to his hearth."

(ooc if i misread what was going on, we can retcon this post, lol)

(OOC: I was just pointing out that if you decided to burn his place to the ground, it would make your group look like the gangsters trying to extort protection money.
If you are just doing a bit of friendly intimidation... Make a check roll. :smile: )

 Intimidation! 14

OK, if Hildi is there and invisible, he'll do a bit of snooping as well! In fact, if there are adjacent rooms that might be interesting, he'll duck in there so long as he doesn't have to open any squeaky doors.

Perception: 13

Investigation: 12

Stealth: 7

Quillary-tressym will accompany Jorin's veiled threats with a spreading of her wings and a loud hiss, from up where she is in the rafters.

(Does that constitute Help for the intimidation?)

(I'll roll again for Intimidation. The tressym may not be overly threatening but she is adding to the confusion.)
8  - The previous 14 stands.

Emmek is flustered enough that he is angry, frightened, and confused in equal measures. (Holding pattern.)
"What is a Road's End? I think you have the wrong place."
Jorin remembers that they haven't done a lot of advertising yet. People in this neighborhood may be unaware of the name change under new management.

Jorin is able to look over Emmek's shoulder. Both Jorin and Quillary notice fresh halfling footprints in the sawdust on the ground, leading towards to an office room deeper in the building. With Emmek moving quite a bit, he is about to turn around and possibly see them.

(If Hildigrim has time to ransack the office, the 28 Investigation will be used.)

Quillary-tressym launches herself at the ground making a flurry with her wings and generally making a mess of the dust, mewling and crying and rolling around on the floor. When she’s done, she sits up, demurely, and licks her fur, one eye on Frewn.

(In the future, Hildigrim should roll once for a search, with a decision later on for whether to use Perception or Investigation, rather than twice. That is like giving yourself advantage.)

Hildigrim hears a lot of yelling and cat snarling outside, and sees a cloud of sawdust being raised in the main room, and then returns to checking the office (undisturbed).

For Hildigrim only:

Hildigrim clucks his tongue softly at what he discovers, as Emmek has failed to clear his medieval browser history.

OOC: Sorry. I forget that not everyone thinks the way I do. To me, perception is for looking at the big picture and investigation is for analyzing closely something that was perceived. So, if I had rolled a 1, I might not have noticed the letters to investigate them. I will roll less in the future or roll without identifying what they are for, and you can use them in the order of need.

Hildigrim begins to feel sorry for Emmek as he peruses the various letters, but once he reads the half-written ones, his feelings of benevolence evaporate. He pockets the letter to the problem solvers and one from Emmek's sisters that has a return address.

Anything else to look at?

Quote from DirtyDogP >>

OOC: Sorry. I forget that not everyone thinks the way I do. To me, perception is for looking at the big picture and investigation is for analyzing closely something that was perceived. So, if I had rolled a 1, I might not have noticed the letters to investigate them. I will roll less in the future or roll without identifying what they are for, and you can use them in the order of need.

(OOC: I understand that you are playing with multiple DMs, who will chose to do things differently, so you may be frustrated at styles that contradict each other. I hope you understand the ideal I am aiming for, even if I fall short sometimes.

It is more of a game mechanic thing.
I don't want to have to decide among many rolls made. Some players expect the best result of multiple rolls, but I am tempted to use the worst result as well. It has to work both ways.

Force the player to pick the single biggest or best target, and let the single die roll introduce some random element for what happens. Even if the roll is bad, I'll try to reward a clever idea or well RPed suggestion. The more detailed you are in what your character might look for, the more lenient I am about the die roll.)

Hildigrim has spent enough time with his family's business to have sympathy for those who go through bad times for no fault of their own. But as he goes through those documents, he notices a pattern of Emmek making short-sighted and greedy decisions, and the results back-firing on him. (Although you don't know all the details, it sounds like the sisters gave a fair settlement. Emmek is the one who decided that he wanted more, no matter how much he got.)

As Hildigrim steps back and decides there is nothing else to see here, he does worry that Emmek might notice the absence of two documents from his desk. (There are stacks of parchment and unused inks that resemble the documents being taken.)

Back in the main room, Quillary is satisfied at wiping out the footprints leading to the office.
She and Jorin have to decide if they want to double down on the intimidation, shift tactics, or stall until they know that Hildigrim is ready to go.