Gerrard, Boko, and Qivys find the Steaming Hog where Thornwell indicted – unmarked, deep in a wide alley between two large windowless buildings. Perhaps protected from the polluted winds by the two tall structures flanking it, it boasts a reasonably clean exterior. 

The interior, however, is grimy, cluttered, and disheveled, as if the trio was entering through the kitchen, or through some servants' entrance. Nobody seems to greet you, or appear to be a host or employee – just a lot of shifty characters eating greasy noodles or picking at bowls of small nuts, spitting shells on the weathered floor, and drinking dirty-looking ale. Some appear to be militia, but look like are locals. They ignore you, for the most part. You've seen worse places, but this is no high-class establishment by any stretch of the imagination.

----

"Spyglass nice but a little broken – as is, 100 gold," grumbles the hunchback to Thwack. "Peas? 1 silver a bag. The rest – the wrench, the glasscutter, the keyring – 1 gold."

Gerrard:

Picking out a (relatively) clean table, Gerrard goes over and sits, asking Qivys, “Please get us some food and drink—whatever you think best—and arrange rooms for the night.  We may do well to get their largest room and bunk together for safety…”

Qivys nods and makes his way to any person that seems they might be working here.
Once there he says.
"We're a party of 5 looking fer a meal and a place ta hang our helm. Can ya accommodate us?"

It takes a few minutes for Qivys to find somebody who appears to work here, as most people seem to just be helping themselves to a vat of grey, oily noodles and refilling dirty mugs from a massive keg of ale. Finally, he spots a bald and enormously obese man behind a heavily-barred window. "2 gold," he responds flatly. He punches five paper tickets and unhooks a padlock and key from a pole before sliding it under the window. "No fires, no guests, no noise. Room for five with meal." He points a thumb at a narrow hallway to your right, leading to a tight, dirty wooden staircase upstairs.

Peri:

Peri looks over the collection of junk the hunchbacked man has displayed. None of it appears the least bit useful so he turns to Grotten with a sigh. "We're lookin' for a friend of ours who we think might be on the other side of town. Would you be able to help with that?"

Gerrard:

Still playing the part of the visiting noble, Gerrard waits at the table for food and drink, plus the potential arrival of Constable Jute.  If there is enough privacy, he quietly asks Boko about any insight she might have on the drawings given her experiences in Seaton.  Otherwise he just observes the room, looking for anyone (besides themselves) out of place or acting suspiciously.

Insight:  6

"Maybe," replies Grotten to Peri, avoiding eye contact but keeping an eye out for anyone who might be overhearing their conversation. "Who's your mark? I take a consulting fee of 100 gold up front." 

--

Gerrard finds that the crowd mainly ignores them, although a few examine you with curiosity, perhaps even sizing you up. But nobody seems to recognize you, or you feel was tasked with watching you. It seems to be a self-service place, with no obvious staff. You're not sure what to do with the tickets Qivys was given. Nor do there seem to be any clean bowls to be obtained.

Gerrard:

Sighing, Gerrard pulls out his own mess kit from his bag.  It's not fancy, but at least it is clean.  He ruminates on his current accommodations for the night, considering whether this is actually the best place to stay available, or if the good councilor had the intention to humble him this evening.

Qivy nods and pays the man then returns to where Ferrard has found a seat. 
"This is a place ta keep an eye on yer purse an' a hand on yer axe." he says quietly as he takes a seat. 

Thwack 

When Thwack hears the price of the spyglass he almost chokes on his mushy green snack. "OK. No glass." Green spittle shooting out as he speaks. He hands over a single gold and silver and packs his new treasures into his bag, first holding up the keyring to show Peri. "Key ring" he mouths silently with a satisfied wink. When Grotten mentions his fee Thwack moves closer to Peri. "Is good price? Me think is a lot."

Peri:

Peri nods in agreement with Thwack. "That is indeed a lot, just to listen. How about your 'consulting fee' is 10 gp and I buy us a meal? I'll tell you who we're lookin' for and you tell us if you can find 'em, then we'll discuss the price."

He turns back to the hunchbacked man. "Unless you have somethin' that'll actually help there's no need to go draggin' your stuff out, only to have to put it back. I was told you might have somethin' magical that might help; if not, we're not interested."

Boko's mood continues to sour. "I dislike cities more and more with every new one I find." She thinks on the drawings and her experience in Seaton.

Regular d20 roll: 1 (+1 to most likely skills)

"I can again conjure some small friendly predators to go after vermin hiding in this room. I can create clean water. Tomorrow I can create some goodberries so we do not have to eat that swill. What is our plan here? Where are the others? This was meant to be a short trip to warn them about an underwater invasion to an outlying town. And we are once again pulled to take on another threat. This time with essentially no information. It is wearisome."

Gerrard:

”I can only speak to my plan so far, Mistress Alcor, though I applaud your willingness to improve our lot tonight,” replies Gerrard, a bit glumly as well.

”Let us talk to this constable tonight, rest if we can this evening, then report back to our contact in the morning.  Hopefully we will be able to get out of this miserable place and head underwater to face the oncoming threat,” he answers quietly and a bit vaguely to limit the dangers of being overheard.

Happy to have sold the wrench, the glasscutter, and the keyring to Thwack, the hunchback pushes aside the beartrap, shackles, map, a speargun, and net, and holds up the blow gun in one hand and vial of liquid in the other. "Sleeping potion," he whispers, before holding up the blowgun and mimicking the blowing of a projectile toward Grotten. Grotten flinches a little and scowls. "Two doses," the hunchback adds. "Three hundred gold."

Grotten squints at Peri. (Make a Persuasion check.) "I'll listen. Five minutes. If I accept your job, I'll need 100 gold up front and then expenses," grumbles the gnome.

----

Meanwhile, Boko, Qivys, and Gerrard sit at a dirty table in a squalid, unstaffed kitchen, as off-duty guards and other locals slurp noodles and talk loudly around them.

Boko was able to make nothing of the scrawls in the cell. Just a bunch of pointless drawings.

It is beginning to grow dark(er) outside. It is probably close to sunset.

Peri:

Peri sizes up the hunchbacked man. He'd been pleased to get a single gold piece for Thwack's assortment of junk. Three hundred gold was a small fortune by comparison, even if the man had paid a pile to get the sleeping potion. Figuring the man had likely at least doubled his cost, and that 50 gold (or more) would be a fine windfall, he counters, "A hundred per dose. Twenty platinum total." He reaches into his pouch and begins setting the shiny platinum coins on the table one at a time, giving the man time to consider the offer. (Persuasion: 4)

He nods to Grotten's offer. "One hundred gold up front, and any reasonable expenses. And a nice bonus depending on how quickly you can find our friend."

Qivys sits back and listens to the banter, reminiscing on his days in the military and how downtime led to a variety of gaffs and goofs in his young life all the while humming a faint tune to himself while keeping time by taping the table. 
"I agree with ya there lass." Qivys remarks. "But sometimes tha Gods put things before ya to serve their purpose. I serve Justice an' you Nature. What's happenin' in this city seems unjustice and against nature itself."
Qivys pauses and looks about then turns his attention back to his companions.
"Somethin's up with tha halfling though." he remarks. "I haven't known him too long but he doesn't seem ta be in his right mind since tha vampire buisness." 
He says the last part in a hushed tone. 

"Deal," replies Grotten, quietly. "Provided I accept the job. Who's your mark? Name, description, behavior, associates, hangouts, ...?"

The hunchback puts away his vial and blowgun. He shakes his head and clicks his tongue. "It's very powerful!" 

--

No sign of Jute, yet, but the evening has just begun. Gerrard, Boko, and Qivys are mostly ignored. They hear bits and pieces of low chatter from the conversations around you – about the new killing, about "Frother’s", about a "golem", about the councillor Mr. Dory and his "tragic skin condition" (evidently it requires him to take regular immersion in water for relief.)

Qivys: Make a perception check.

Qivy's Perception: 24

Thwack 

Impressed by Peri's attempt to bargain with the hunchback, Thwack puffs his chest out in an attempt to add to the weight of the halflings words as if he was an enforcer of sorts. He slumps a little when the hunchback man declines the deal but he does not dwell on the failed transaction. "Good try" he whispers to Peri. 

To Grottens questions he blurts "We look for keys. Don't know why. You have key? Don't know why he want key, me can open door or chest or lock. We think maybe white face man has key. Him run away when I try to talk to..." Thwack begins to ramble nonsensically about his attempt to catch the white faced man in the crowd.

Peri:

Peri shrugs and sweeps the coins back into his purse. He answers the tracker, "We are looking for a man named Kei, not keys. My scaly friend here is a bit confused. He's a human bard who's from The Styes. We met him when he came to Saltmarsh looking for a nephew named Elbin." He provides a physical description of Kei. "Our party killed off a vampire and then we got sucked into a portal that scattered us all over the ocean." That was near enough the truth; no reason to bring up bein' charmed. "We were able to find one another, but haven't seen Kei since. He does appear to have some connection to Thwack here. Thwack, can you show 'em a card trick?"