(Lorren gave you directions to the tomb, it's about two hours away if you travel at a normal pace (2 miles each hour).)

Quote from Lionsforge >>

(prior to Jairus's return)

"Never-Winter? I read that the gardeners there are so skilled that they keep them blooming even through the snow!"

When Flower sees the flower created by Lasair, her go wide as saucers. 

"Fire-Mane, you are a wizard? Like my Mistress?" she exclaims as she takes the flower from Lasair. 

 ((continuing the conversation before leaving))

"That is right, you are very well informed.  The city has many wonders that you will not find elsewhere in the Realms.  I would be happy to tell you more of the city if you will tell me about this manor where you live.  I must run to the inn across the street - you are welcome to come with, but if not I would love to talk more on the road ... I assuming you are going with us?"

Quote from LordShadowthorn >>

Kaylessa, the owner of the Swinging Sword, gladly takes your money for a room.  While taking you there, she talks about all the rumors and gossip surrounding the town.  Most of it is odd speculation about roving monsters or bandit camps with no details, but she does mention something interesting—she thinks that the source of all the odd happenings is a cavern in a local landmark known as Lance Rock.  There've been a few odd happenings there abouts, and she offers you 50 gp and a free room if you check it out.

"You are too kind, but I could not take your money for doing nothing other than what is right.  Could you tell more more about this Lance Rock?  Where is it located, and how would I recognize it?  My friends and I are about to leave town and investigate another problem we heard of, perhaps the are one and the same."

Quote from AmazingAmazon >>

"Kethra," Lasair calls out to her fellow wildling, "over here," she flags down the barbarian with a smile. She then hears Tyrael speak. "Goblins," Lasair exclaims making a disgusted face, "they're always trouble," she adds. "I'll follow," she adds nodding firmly. "Who are we missing? The holy man, yes? He was a lovely color bronze. Longen?" She says half sure of herself looking around the bar to spot him.

 "Trouble they are, but perhaps not always needing to meet their death.  There are not many, but a few walk the streets of Neverwinter ((being that goblin is a playable race, I'm taking a couple of liberties)).  I think most assume they are thieves and charlatans, but some portray themselves as crafters and merchants.  I try not to jump to conclusions, but you are most likely right."

Once you tell her where the other site is, she marks Lance Rock on the map.  It's the opposite side of town, about 12 miles away from Red Larch.

Tyrael thanks Kaylessa and stores his travel gear in the room, only keeping the rope, water and a days rations from his backpack. He'll rejoin the group across the street and let them know he's ready to go.

Longen enters the Swinging Sword, a small frown on his face as he notes the clean glasses and well-kept patronage. Glancing around for his companions, he quickly approaches them. "Sorry, I was catching up on some -cough- "important" business." Longen smells strongly of mediocre ale, but is of clear eyes and steady posture... "Did I hear the word goblins? I'm actually quite proficient in the goblin language, if you could call it that. With a proper warmup I could probably fool a few of them into an ambush of some kind."

Quote from Lionsforge >>

(prior to Jairus's return)

"Never-Winter? I read that the gardeners there are so skilled that they keep them blooming even through the snow!"

When Flower sees the flower created by Lasair, her go wide as saucers. 

"Fire-Mane, you are a wizard? Like my Mistress?" she exclaims as she takes the flower from Lasair. 

 OOC: Sorry didn't see this...

"Not a wizard," Lasair replies readjusting her green cloak as she grips her staff made of an ancient wood of a felled sapling passed down by her tribal elders to her when they discovered her talents. "Nature my furry friend," she grins at Flower, "she's my mistress," the druid adds with a curt nod! Looking to Tyrael now. "I have never met a goblin craftsman," she adds looking utterly shocked. 

Lasair isn't a well-traveled within the wider world more like fixing natures problems with her tribe.

Responding to Lasair, Tyrael shakes his head, "Neither have I, but I have seen them on the streets so I can only assume they have some legitimate business."

Looking around, "Are we all here?  On the way to the goblin cave, I have some additional information that we may all be interested in."

“I ain’t never met a civ’lized goblin, nor anyone who can speak goblin,” Jairus says regarding the earlier discussion. “Any of you want to try trickin’ em with their own nonsense talk, y’all, you’re welcome to it, so long as we can get the job done. What information you be wantin’ to share, Tyrael? They teach us what that knowing about an enemy before you go in is just about as good as winning.” 

Jairus makes no secret that “they” are the Zhentarim, as he continues to openly display the sigil of the Black Network on his studded leather armor. 

"What I learned has nothing to do with the goblins, but another location of interest outside of town in the opposite direction."  Looking around to see who is watching the group and if anyone is close enough to listen in, Tyrael lowers his voice and says, "I suspect we are here for the same reason, if not for the same people.  And if you keep flashing that symbol in everyone's face," refer to Jairus' Zhentarim insignia, "you are likely going to cause us some trouble.  I'm not sure where you're from, but in my home city no one openly admits to belonging to the Zhentarim."

He steps even closer.  "Including me."

Quote from AmazingAmazon >>

"Kethra," Lasair calls out to her fellow wildling, "over here," she flags down the barbarian with a smile. She then hears Tyrael speak. "Goblins," Lasair exclaims making a disgusted face, "they're always trouble," she adds. "I'll follow," she adds nodding firmly. "Who are we missing? The holy man, yes? He was a lovely color bronze. Longen?" She says half sure of herself looking around the bar to spot him.

Kethra immediately breaks off from where she was and swiftly drifts back towards the adventurers' table, a silent and cloaked silhouette moving like a phantom. Her eyes were wide as two gloved hands landed on the table with a soft thump. She spoke in a soft but panicked whisper,

"D-don't say my name in public like that! Just call me Keth...or, 'The Blacksmith!' Yeah!"

'The Blacksmith' takes a quick look behind her shoulder so that a lock of white hair falls in front of her face and she instinctively pushes it back behind her hood.

Quote from Lionsforge >>

(prior to Jairus's return)

"Never-Winter? I read that the gardeners there are so skilled that they keep them blooming even through the snow!"

When Flower sees the flower created by Lasair, her go wide as saucers. 

"Fire-Mane, you are a wizard? Like my Mistress?" she exclaims as she takes the flower from Lasair. 

 "Anyways!" Kethra smiled as if nothing happened, then attempted to reach for Flower-of-Ivory's piece of druidcraft, "What amazing botany skills! It's not an illusion, is it?"

Jairus swallows, his Adam’s Apple visible in his throat for a moment. He meets Tyrael’s white eyes for a moment as his own face flushed red with shame. He coughs, turns his body to face away from as many as possible, and removes the insignia, after some tugging, and places it within his backpack. 

“I didn’t know, Mister Tyrael, sir. I never would have imagined the Black Network would recruit a blind feller,” Jairus says quietly. “‘Less you’re just pretending blind, which is a darn good cover. Damn good I mean. I just thought people might take me more seriously if they knew the Zhents, err, the network, took me seriously.” 

Louder, he adds, “So what’s this other place of interest in the right other direction?”

"Why don't we walk and talk ... somewhere away from a public audience."  Tyrael indicates the door with a sideways nod of his head, and peers out from under his hood to see if the others are starting to follow.

If Jairus comes along, he says outside, "Look, son, I'm the last person to tell someone else how to live their life.  I'm responsible for my own mistakes, and you are free to make your own.  There are a lot of people who don't like the Black Network, and whether you or any of the others are members is none of my business - until it causes us all problems or gets in the way of what we're here to accomplish.  So we're straight, I'm not Zhentarim and I'm not blind - but you might say I'm repaying a debt of sorts, so I'm willing to let people believe what they want to believe for me to get what I need."

((Apologies!! I realized I spelled your name wrong))

Jairus seems confused and a bit upset at the interaction. “So you were just trying to trick me. Make me think I’m dumb,” he says petulantly. “I may not have been around as much as some of you, but I am not dumb. Why you telling me to hide the Zhent logo for, then? So you ain’t blind. Well neither am I. They told me the Zhentarim is a powerful, well connected multi-kindgom spanning mercenary group. Thing like that has a lot of prestige to it, don’t it? They saw something in me, and they were right. I’m gonna show them, and show you all. “

”I’m gonna be a damn famous adventurer a’fore this is over, and don’t you go and say otherwise. I know I’ve got what it takes. They say a trial by fire molds a man like flame shapes steel, ‘er something like that. Well this is muh Fire. And I am gonna be steel like you ain’t never seen.” 

"No one is trying to trick you, but if you think the Zhentarim are only mercenaries I suggest you learn more before taking an oath with them.  They have been, at times, slavers, drug peddlers, and murderers.  Not all, mind you - I can't imagine any organization is all good or all bad - but they have a bad reputation in many parts.  I'm just suggesting you learn as much as you can and decide if their reputation is the one you want for yourself."

Looking around at the town, he continues, "For all we know, they could have done some bad deeds here in the past.  Maybe they didn't.  Maybe they helped the town and they're well liked here.  Maybe everyone here is secretly a Zhent spy."  He shrugs, "Me personally, I like to find out what people think without giving them a reason to judge me before they know me first.  It's not easy, looking the way I do - you made some assumptions about me from my appearance, right?"  He doesn't look offended.

"Let me put it this way:  do you play cards?  Wearing the badge of a group that may or may not be liked in town is like playing poker with your cards facing your opponent.  You might have a winning hand or a loser, but either way it gives everyone else information about yourself that you didn't have to share until you wanted to.

Longen clasps Jairus on the shoulder, flashing him a predatory grin. "Young warrior Jairus, nobody here doubts your courage or wit. I think that  our friend Tyrael was simply trying to pass along some likely well-earned wisdom." Winking conspiratorially to Tyrael, Longen leans in close to Jairus and whispers "some folk just don't appreciate a man with fire in his heart and lightning in his blood. That said, discretion is often the better part of valor. Or something like that." Longen then hands the two adventurers sticks of tough, unidentifiable dried meat, and bites down on his own, easily tearing it apart in a few moments. 

Nodding at the dragonborn, "Well spoken.  Sometimes, less words are more." With a sigh, Tyrael takes the meat, looks at it dubiously, and takes a bite.

Jairus looks back and forth between the two, and after a moment of just making worried expressions he binds up his backpack, leaving the Zhentarim sigil inside it, and takes it back onto his back. “Shoot, I dunno. I don’t really know much about the Zhentarim, so I couldn’t say yea or nea on any such gossip ‘bout them. I’ll live my way and be what I can be, startin’ with clearing out this tomb. I’ll figure out the rest later I guess. No sense courting trouble if people don’t like the Zhents, whether they be right not to or otherwise.” 

He seems satisfied with the exchange, and resumes silently proceeding on towards their destination. After a few paces, he says, “Did you really know of another place of interest in the other direction?”

As they start heading towards the goblin cave (assuming the others are ready and follow), Tyrael nods.  "The owner of the Swinging Sword marked a location on my map of a cavern she called Lance Rock.  She didn't elaborate, but she seemed to think it might be the source of recent problems here in town."   He pulls out the map as they walk, and points to a location on the other side of town what looks to be about a half-day's journey away.  "We probably won't be able to go until tomorrow, if you're interested, but I told her I would look into it."

Tyrael said, "That is right, you are very well informed.  The city has many wonders that you will not find elsewhere in the Realms.  I would be happy to tell you more of the city if you will tell me about this manor where you live.  I must run to the inn across the street - you are welcome to come with, but if not I would love to talk more on the road ... I assuming you are going with us?"

Flower replies, "Flower is always learning and loves to learn more." She drops her head forward and her face darkens, "She used to live in the manor, then she had to live outside but remain on the estate, but now she lives wherever she is. There is no reason now to return." Then she brightens up immediately, "Oh yes, Flower would very much like to go with her new...(what was the word?) companions (yes, that was it!) wherever they go!"

(So how I'll handle travel is I'll let you roleplay for as long as you want with travel chat or whatever, and then (assuming there are no encounters the crop up) we'll just assume you've arrived.  Taking a while on travel in a PbP game is a recipe for disaster.)

(Where are you all agreed on going, the goblin tomb or Lance Rock?)