"oooh, are we going with seduce the clerk then torture them for the information when they come visit? or the casual 'have you heard' bit?  I vote seduce/torture!" Dar declares excitedly holding her sickle aloft

Oswin backs away a little from Dar and rubs his neck uncomfortably. 

Tzo-Tzo sighs, “I will follow behind you all, we need to ensure that we will not be caught off guard.”

With that, she’ll pull her hood up and slip into a crowd, attempting to keep pace with both them, as well as her own group. CHA Stealth 10

Oswin confidently leads the way. He walks down the streets, relying on his knowledge of the city to get where we need to go, dipping and weaving with practiced athleticism to get through the crowds and keep a good pace. He wants to look good in front of the others, after all.

Intelligence (Athletics): 24

Oswin, leading the way, not only manages to find the most efficient path to the area where the bathhouse should be, but he manages to cut a swath through the crowd that creates space for his compatriots to follow easily. The few cut purses that considered Oswin prey, quickly decide it would be best to seek other weaker members of the herd that is the general populace.

While Oswin leads, Tzo-Tzo takes the rear guard position. She does her best to blend in, but whether it is the way she carries herself, or the slivers of her heritage shining past her hood and scarf, she notices, in passing that she is drawing a few stares from the crowd. There's a young woman with tawny skin and red hair, purchasing apples, eyeing Tzo-Tzo from across the street. A tiefling, dressed in priestly vestments highlighting a toothed cog with four spokes, looks straight at Tzo-Tzo in the eyes(?), smiles, nods and continues walking past her - in the opposite direction. On an opposite corner, there is a gaggle of street rats conversing among themselves quite excitedly - one of them point in Tzo-Tzo's direction. The children, as one, turn and looks in Tzo-Tzo's direction, nod, and disperse.

Within a half hour, Oswin guides the party to the area pointed out by Tarina. A few quick questions asked by Oswin, gladly answered by the young women he stops, and they have the exact location of the bathhouse. She mentions she is envious that Oswin is going there as she has never been able to afford the services offered there - apparently, the bathhouse has some of those most advanced plumbing in the city.

Upon arrival, the party sees that the bathhouse is a one-story stuccoed building with stained-glass windows and clay roof tiles. Ten-foot-tall walls enclose a large courtyard outside the southeast corner of the building. The closed wooden doors to the courtyard are engraved with images of smiling nymphs dancing and frolicking in water.

Like most buildings in Baldur's Gate, some sides of the bathhouse share a wall with its neighbors, whereas dark alleys split between other neighboring structures. Like the bathhouse, the buildings on either side are single story with tiled roofs. One is marked as a butcher shop, the other, is unmarked.

Across the street, there is a blacksmith with some wares for sale, many hung up around the outdoor smithing area. Along with horseshoes and some household items, there are a few weapons, nothing fancy, and a couple of shields. 

It is a typical day in Baldur's Gate, however, the streets are slightly less crowded than expected for the early afternoon. 

// Away rolled a luck throw off forum... Seems that Oswin got lucky and found a blacksmith. 

"So...underground lair, maybe?" Oswin looks around, and notices the smithy nearby.

"Ah, one moment, I just need to pick up something," he says before quickly ducking into the smithy. He looks around for a solid shield...nothing too ostentatious, just anything that will get the job done, block a few sword blows.

The blacksmith replies, "If you're willing to take one off the rack, no modifications, then sure." He points to a couple shields.

"Take your pick."

On the smith's rack you see two shields: a standard full size iron reinforced wood shield and a bronze reinforced buckler.

// So what is everyone doing now? 

“This should do the trick!” Oswin picks up the shield and gives it a once-over. He’s been trained in basic combat, so it looks like he knows what he’s doing. 

If everything seems in order, Oswin will pay for the shield and thank the smith.

She mentions she is envious that Oswin is going there as she has never been able to afford the services offered there - apparently, the bathhouse has some of those most advanced plumbing in the city.

"yeah, she was interested in the plumbing eh Winny? Or do you prefer oz?" Dar teases awkwardly, like she understands the concept but not the execution, as they walk away from the lady.

"mmm Nah, not underground... probably the building next door. using the butcher to cover for the blood is clever though" 

As Oswin is talking to the blacksmith, Dar makes what Tzo-tzo can only assume is what the child believes to be tactical hand signals, before skipping off into/to the butchers shop. oddly she seemed taller just as she enters

Keth follows the party but is clearly not comfortable. Baldur's Gate is larger and busier than he is used to.

Oswin will go and try to find the others after paying for the shield. 

Oswin turns around and sees most of the party loitering about in front of the bathhouse'entrance - with one notable exception: a somewhat taller Dar has just slipped into the butcher shop next door.

The whole party notices Dar walk into the butcher next door, and it should be noted that as she's walking in, she is visibly taller than she was at the tavern. 

As Dar walks in the door, a small bell on the top side of the doorframe rings. Inside, Dar finds a typical butcher shop. There are several smoked sausages hanging from hooks along the roof. A few small animals in cages - rabbits and chickens mostly, with the occasional reptile. Throughout the store there are both dried herbs, as well as fresh herbs growing in small pots. The countertop is a little low for the typical shop, however. The reason for this becomes evident as a door to the back room opens. A massive dwarf steps out - tall for his heritage and quite wide. He could easily be described as a mountain of a dwarf. Beneath the bloodsoaked apron, he wears a simple short sleeved tunic. His arms are thick and knotted with muscles - and more than a few scars. He is brandishing a surprisingly clean meat cleaver, its polished surface looks almost mirrored.

The dwarf slides the cleaver down into a stand on the countertop. He places both his hands on top of the counter spread wide. He looks down at Dar and, past his fiery red beard and hair, beams a big smile and says, "G'day lass. Welcome to Buster's Butcher n' Charcuterie Shop. How can I help ya?" 

//Keth moves over closer, to hear if anything happens. Not close enough to listen in but close enough to hear if voices are raised.

Whispering quickly to Keth, Oswin says, "Let me know if we find anything. In case this takes a while, I want to see what I can see."

Oswin will find someplace out of the way and begin ritual-casting Detect Magic, using a small pair of magnification spectacles in his thieve's kit.   

Intelligence (Stealth): 11

Keth just nods as Oswin, keeping his eyes out up and down the street, listening for anything out of the ordinary.

Perception: 6

As she opens the door and steps through she tints her hair a lighter blonde, makes her eyes blue, her lips red and pouty, and fills out her "figure" muttering a quiet curse when she sees that it's a dwarf

'well that makes the seductress ploy harder, short would have been better. keep going  kiddo, who knows maybe he likes them tall?'

"Well bless my heart, if this isn't just the grandest butchery I ever did see!" she's adopted a very subtle (read blatant) 'southern' accent, "and did you say Charcuterie? how swell! That would be perfect for a little shindig i'm planning later next week... I beg your pardon, that's neither here nor there as to why I'm visiting you today Buster! I was headin on over to that bath house next door when I was struck by a dreadful hankering for some bacon jerky of all things!" at this point she is resting her hip on the counter edge and is leaning forward "you wouldn't happen to have any would you?"

Tzo-Tzo squints in mundane horror at the total shift in personality. But... eh, who is she to judge. Tzo is going to take a walk around the block, just to get a good feel for what’s nearby. What paths one might could take, blind spots, etc. Specifically nearby the bathhouse.

Quote from Gimpster >>

As she opens the door and steps through she tints her hair a lighter blonde, makes her eyes blue, her lips red and pouty, and fills out her "figure" muttering a quiet curse when she sees that it's a dwarf

'well that makes the seductress ploy harder, short would have been better. keep going  kiddo, who knows maybe he likes them tall?'

"Well bless my heart, if this isn't just the grandest butchery I ever did see!" she's adopted a very subtle (read blatant) 'southern' accent, "and did you say Charcuterie? how swell! That would be perfect for a little shindig i'm planning later next week... I beg your pardon, that's neither here nor there as to why I'm visiting you today Buster! I was headin on over to that bath house next door when I was struck by a dreadful hankering for some bacon jerky of all things!" at this point she is resting her hip on the counter edge and is leaning forward "you wouldn't happen to have any would you?"

Buster beams a smile and says, "We'll we've got bacon jerky in Pork, Beef, Venison, Bison, Duck, Chicken and Turkey. If you are feeling adventurous, we also carry bacon jerky made from Owlbear and Rothé - both are pricier, especially the latter, but it's worth it. We also have a smoked cave fungus that chews like jerky but has half the calories.  What would you like?"

Quote from JcAndD >>

Tzo-Tzo squints in mundane horror at the total shift in personality. But... eh, who is she to judge. Tzo is going to take a walk around the block, just to get a good feel for what’s nearby. What paths one might could take, blind spots, etc. Specifically nearby the bathhouse.

Walking around the block, Tzo-Tzo notes that most of the buildings seem to be private residences. The homes are not shanties, but neither are they luxurious. Seems that the people living here fit nicely between the poor who live in the Outer City and the rougher areas of the Lower City and the more affluent families and individuals living in the Upper City. Some of the building share walls, others are split by alleys ranging between one or two people wide. When you figure you are on the opposite side of the bathhouse, you are sure that the alley next to the house in front of you connects all the way through to the alley between the bathhouse and the private residence where you left your compatriots.

Suddenly, there's a cry from across the street. Tzo-Tzo sees a  young man being forcibly pulled out of a house by an individual in chain mail.  The right gauntlet of the aggressor is crudely painted black.  There's a shield on the assailant's back and a mace hanging from her side. The young man manages to slip free and runs back inside. The woman says darkly, through gritted teeth, "You have nowhere to hide."  She stalks in. The door remains wide open.

Quote from Awaypturwpn >>

Whispering quickly to Keth, Oswin says, "Let me know if we find anything. In case this takes a while, I want to see what I can see."

Oswin will find someplace out of the way and begin ritual-casting Detect Magic, using a small pair of magnification spectacles in his thieve's kit.   

Intelligence (Stealth): 9

Quote from Hardcopi >>

Keth just nods as Oswin, keeping his eyes out up and down the street, listening for anything out of the ordinary.

Perception: 6

Oswin finds what he thinks is a suitable place, hidden between the alleys. A few minutes into his ritual, he draws curious stares from a group of young men that walk by before heading into the butcher shop.

Keth finds the street to be quiet with nothing seemingly out of place. There are a few passersby, inclusive of the young men walking into the butcher.

DM NOTE: The young men walking by occurs about 5 minutes into Oswin's ritual, which is about the same time that Tzo-Tzo sees the assault.  Based on Keth's perception and Oswin's concentration on his ritual, I am ruling that, for the most part, they are unaware of what happens in the butcher shop for those first five minutes, of which Dar's conversation with Buster has just started on.

Using her Dual Personalities feature, Tzo-Tzo places her mask on, becoming the indistinguishable Limbo.

Limbo steps into the home behind the figure, following stealthily: 20

"Well that is quite the selection! Just some pork bacon today, don't want to utterly ruin my diet. This body didn't make itself look like this" she has herself a chuckle at her joke before taking a more serious tone "now this bath house next door that I visiting after this, you haven't heard any rumors have you?" she very diliberatly slides a gold coin across the counter, keeping her finger on it.