OOC: Sorry, forgot to include Carlon's answer in my last post!
Carlon grins at Karib. "I have a lot of aggression pent up from being stuck in a hole in the ground, and a cult to take it out on. I'll stick with you until Waterdeep at least, to see where the Cult is taking their goods. Tonight, I plan on getting myself a good night's sleep, and tomorrow I'll see if I can find someone friendly to the Harpers and see about refitting myself with some armor and weapons more to my liking. I'll be more help to you when I can fight with what I'm used to," he says. "Then, it's on to Waterdeep."
Merric and Rogram follow the woman assumed to belong to the Cult of the Dragon. She walks on her own through the market and into the heart of the Caravan Quarter, to a small taproom with a weathered sign out front reading Lady Luck Tavern.
The door opens into a rowdy taproom. A human woman loudly announces rules to a large gambling game comprising multiple tables along one side of the tavern. The two-story building has rooms along the second floor, with an open courtyard feel in the center, where the room is open all the way to the ceiling. A large, rough pillar sits in the middle of all of this; patrons seem to be making a game out of this as well, with a few knife-wielding men and women attempting to leap off of its surface to reach higher and higher, leaving marks with their knives to denote the height of their jumps. The woman Merric and Rogram are following takes all of this in, then walks to the bar, taking a seat, trying to make eye contact with the bartender to place her order.
OOC: Would it work to end invisibility and have the conversation with her in the tavern? Maybe a spoiler of sorts, but I don't think we're in a position where the spell slot will make a difference before the next long rest. If not I suppose we can retcon back to where she exited the wagon.
After entering the tavern, Rogram leans in and whispers to Merric, "Stay hidden. I'm going to talk to her."
The invisible half-dwarf tiptoes over to the stool next to the woman. Sitting, he drops his own invisibility, but continues to hold onto the magic obscuring Merric. "Come here often?" he jokes, smiling at her.
The woman shrieks in startled surprise. The area of the bar falls silent, followed quickly by the chuckles of a few patrons who saw Rogram's appearance - though a few patrons eye him suspiciously, tucking their coin purses deeper into pockets.
Scowling, the woman motions to the bartender, the scream at least succeeding in grabbing his attention. "Two mugs," she projects.
"Since your girlfriend took your money," she says to Rogram with an unpleasant look. "Be careful." She grabs the first mug the bartender slides down the bar. "Your next words determine whether I speak with you or report you to the militia for stalking."
Rogram makes a face, clearly regretting his sudden appearance and the woman's unpleasant surprise. He turns a quarter on his stool to face her a little better. "I didn't mean to scare you," he says truthfully, not yet making a move toward the second mug. He reaches up and scratches at his throat, looking both childish and sheepish. "You kind of ran away from me before when I told you ... Well, you know what. I was hoping you'd help me. But maybe you can't." He turns back to the bar and takes hold of the second mug, pulling it toward him and cradling it with both big hands. "I guess I'll have to try another way," he says, both actually feeling and adding regret into the tone of his voice. He lifts the mug a little off the bar in a kind of toast to her. "Thanks for the drink." He takes swig.
"Look," the woman says with a sigh, "You seem like a nice guy. Too nice. Like incredibly gullible and impossibly optimistic. So, instead of causing you a problem and dashing your hopes and dreams worse than being robbed and left for dead in the middle of the woods, I'm going to offer you some advice. Whatever it is you think you're looking for, this is not it, and I am not your way to find it."
Gaining momentum from something it seems she has been aching to say, she continues with passion. "You don't know me. And all I know about you is that your girlfriend robbed you and ran away, you got fired from guarding a merchant because of it, and you're obsessive. In all the time you've spent trying to coax me into...whatever your goal is, you haven't even asked my name, for the love of Tia--for the love of Tymora!"
She pauses and breathes, aware suddenly of how animated she is becoming. "Take my advice. When the caravan gets to Waterdeep, stay there. Find something to do. Don't follow me," she says, returning to her ale and looking forward at the back of the bar.
Rogram stares at his mug as the woman unloads on him. All sorts of strange reactions enter his mind. He can see himself turning and kissing her. He can see himself putting on an evil grin and trying to convince her that the "nice guy" persona is an act. She had almost said Tiamat. Perhaps he could call her on that. But then he also hears Karib reprimanding him for being too foolish and putting the others in danger.
He downs the rest of his ale and stands. "I'm sorry I never asked you your name. You're right; that is pretty rude of me. Do you want to tell me now? My name is Rogram."
Whether she answers or not, he turns and begins walking back toward the door. In one more flash of impulsivity, he stops and turns back. "Did you know that I'm a blacksmith?" He shrugs. "Thought you might like to know."
With that, he continues toward the door. He makes meaningful eye contact toward where he left Merric, hoping the elf is still there. Pushing through the door, he pauses, hoping the delay is enough for Merry to follow him out. He walks a little further and whispers, "Are you there?"
Merric stands near the wall, away from the flow of traffic to avoid jostling any of the customers and watches Rogram’s conversation. He hesitates as Rogram leaves, waiting just a moment longer to see if the woman was meeting with anyone else, then follows Rogram out of the tavern. “I’m here” he whispers to Rogram. “What was that? You don’t even know her name? What are you hoping to accomplish?”
Perception (to see if she is meeting anyone else at the tavern) 6.
Rogram keeps walking back toward the wagon from which the woman had exited. "She's a member of the cult. I've identified a few who aren't traveling with the cult's wagons, but are clearly part of them. She's the one I tried to hint to that I wanted to join the cult. I think maybe I've bungled the attempt." Once the wagon is in sight, Rogram stops. "That's the wagon she entered and left tonight. A few others left as well. Do you think you could get in and take a look around? While you're still invisible?"
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Merric pauses, looks at the wagon and considers his options, and whispers back “So they know you know about them and appear to be reluctant to bring you into the fold. I’ll see what I can do. Be ready to come running if you hear a ruckus.” Merric slides up to the wagon quietly, circling the area and looking for any signs of guards or traps. He also looks for a window or another way into the wagon other than the door.
"I'm sorry I never asked you your name. You're right; that is pretty rude of me. Do you want to tell me now? My name is Rogram."
The woman looks to Rogram and takes another sip, deep in thought. She turns back to look forward at the wall ahead of her and takes another sip. "...I don't," she says. As Rogram gets up to leave, she adds, "You won't be seeing much of me until Waterdeep. I paid a wagon to let me ride the rest of the way. Maybe by then I'll feel less exhausted by you." Despite the harsh nature of the words, her smile indicates their intent as playful ribbing.
After Rogram leaves, Merric watches for a short time but sees nothing else of interest. The woman orders another mug of ale and drinks silently by herself at the bar, and nobody else appears before Merric departs.
Moving silently toward the wagon of interest, Merric notes the wagon has a single door on its back, with no windows in the rear of the wagon where its contents lie; two guards stand outside by that door. The horses have been unhitched from the front of the wagon, but the wagon's teamster still sits on its bench, chatting with a third guard standing near him.
Rogram keeps walking back toward the wagon from which the woman had exited. "She's a member of the cult. I've identified a few who aren't traveling with the cult's wagons, but are clearly part of them. She's the one I tried to hint to that I wanted to join the cult. I think maybe I've bungled the attempt." Once the wagon is in sight, Rogram stops. "That's the wagon she entered and left tonight. A few others left as well." He scowls as he counts the number of guards. "I was hopeful we might get in there and poke around, but I don't think it's safe." He releases the magic, and Merric becomes visible again. "Thanks for helping me tonight." He looks and sounds disappointed. "I guess this is a dead end. Maybe the whole caravan idea is as well. I'm not sure what to do next. I can't afford to keep going north without any income. Maybe I should just leave it to the rest of you to find my Pa. Or maybe I should give up on the idea that I'll ever get him back."
@DM: How many more days to next destination? And more specifically, how much pay for Karib? He's considering asking his boss for a loan.
DRAFT: to be completed if loan not possible! Karib examines the wares available and realises that he is a little short of cash for his purposes. Perhaps crafting Carlon's gear was overgenerous, but one always helps a harper in need. Of a fellow follower of Gond.
With that thought he seeks out any possible locak contacts that he might be aware of, hoping to b
OOC: If you take a gander at the map of the Sword Coast it'll probably give you a good idea of how close the caravan is to Waterdeep. Daggerford's a heck of a lot closer than Baldur's Gate was. You're in the final stretches of the trip from Baldur's Gate to Waterdeep.
This was going to happen as the caravan regrouped, but since Karib is looking for some money I'll move it up in the order of events so he has a chance to do something with it in town:
Near the end of the caravan's day off, Carlon approaches Karib with a smile and a pouch of coins. He looks almost entirely different than the haggard man dug out of the road, wearing a brand new set of adventuring gear and well-fitting clothes. In addition, he's added to the arsenal crafted for him by Karib, with additional daggers and crossbow bolts in belt loops at his waist. "I have a couple of Harper contacts from last time I came through here," he explains. "When I explained what happened, they were willing to support our endeavor. Since you spent the time and money to make sure I could defend myself, I figured it should all go back to you."
OOC: Added 85 gp back to Karib's inventory.
Regarding Akira's spell components (and any other shopping to be done in Daggerford), feel free to just output your purchases and we can sort that out all nice and quick.
Also sorry if Rogram's feeling stonewalled right now! Hopefully that's coming across as the Cult not taking any chances, and not as the DM shutting you down.
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OOC: Sorry, forgot to include Carlon's answer in my last post!
Carlon grins at Karib. "I have a lot of aggression pent up from being stuck in a hole in the ground, and a cult to take it out on. I'll stick with you until Waterdeep at least, to see where the Cult is taking their goods. Tonight, I plan on getting myself a good night's sleep, and tomorrow I'll see if I can find someone friendly to the Harpers and see about refitting myself with some armor and weapons more to my liking. I'll be more help to you when I can fight with what I'm used to," he says. "Then, it's on to Waterdeep."
Merric and Rogram follow the woman assumed to belong to the Cult of the Dragon. She walks on her own through the market and into the heart of the Caravan Quarter, to a small taproom with a weathered sign out front reading Lady Luck Tavern.
The door opens into a rowdy taproom. A human woman loudly announces rules to a large gambling game comprising multiple tables along one side of the tavern. The two-story building has rooms along the second floor, with an open courtyard feel in the center, where the room is open all the way to the ceiling. A large, rough pillar sits in the middle of all of this; patrons seem to be making a game out of this as well, with a few knife-wielding men and women attempting to leap off of its surface to reach higher and higher, leaving marks with their knives to denote the height of their jumps. The woman Merric and Rogram are following takes all of this in, then walks to the bar, taking a seat, trying to make eye contact with the bartender to place her order.
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Wait ... What happened to the "peculiar bald-headed human in red robes and a couple of other travelers"?
OOC: They exited the wagon with her but she walked off on her own, apologies if that wasn't clear from my description.
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OOC: Oh, then can I change what Rogram did? If she went off on her own, he wouldn't have gone invisible. I'll let you answer before I continue.
OOC: Would it work to end invisibility and have the conversation with her in the tavern? Maybe a spoiler of sorts, but I don't think we're in a position where the spell slot will make a difference before the next long rest. If not I suppose we can retcon back to where she exited the wagon.
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OOC: The mental picture of that sounds fun. OK.
After entering the tavern, Rogram leans in and whispers to Merric, "Stay hidden. I'm going to talk to her."
The invisible half-dwarf tiptoes over to the stool next to the woman. Sitting, he drops his own invisibility, but continues to hold onto the magic obscuring Merric. "Come here often?" he jokes, smiling at her.
The woman shrieks in startled surprise. The area of the bar falls silent, followed quickly by the chuckles of a few patrons who saw Rogram's appearance - though a few patrons eye him suspiciously, tucking their coin purses deeper into pockets.
Scowling, the woman motions to the bartender, the scream at least succeeding in grabbing his attention. "Two mugs," she projects.
"Since your girlfriend took your money," she says to Rogram with an unpleasant look. "Be careful." She grabs the first mug the bartender slides down the bar. "Your next words determine whether I speak with you or report you to the militia for stalking."
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Rogram makes a face, clearly regretting his sudden appearance and the woman's unpleasant surprise. He turns a quarter on his stool to face her a little better. "I didn't mean to scare you," he says truthfully, not yet making a move toward the second mug. He reaches up and scratches at his throat, looking both childish and sheepish. "You kind of ran away from me before when I told you ... Well, you know what. I was hoping you'd help me. But maybe you can't." He turns back to the bar and takes hold of the second mug, pulling it toward him and cradling it with both big hands. "I guess I'll have to try another way," he says, both actually feeling and adding regret into the tone of his voice. He lifts the mug a little off the bar in a kind of toast to her. "Thanks for the drink." He takes swig.
"Look," the woman says with a sigh, "You seem like a nice guy. Too nice. Like incredibly gullible and impossibly optimistic. So, instead of causing you a problem and dashing your hopes and dreams worse than being robbed and left for dead in the middle of the woods, I'm going to offer you some advice. Whatever it is you think you're looking for, this is not it, and I am not your way to find it."
Gaining momentum from something it seems she has been aching to say, she continues with passion. "You don't know me. And all I know about you is that your girlfriend robbed you and ran away, you got fired from guarding a merchant because of it, and you're obsessive. In all the time you've spent trying to coax me into...whatever your goal is, you haven't even asked my name, for the love of Tia--for the love of Tymora!"
She pauses and breathes, aware suddenly of how animated she is becoming. "Take my advice. When the caravan gets to Waterdeep, stay there. Find something to do. Don't follow me," she says, returning to her ale and looking forward at the back of the bar.
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Rogram stares at his mug as the woman unloads on him. All sorts of strange reactions enter his mind. He can see himself turning and kissing her. He can see himself putting on an evil grin and trying to convince her that the "nice guy" persona is an act. She had almost said Tiamat. Perhaps he could call her on that. But then he also hears Karib reprimanding him for being too foolish and putting the others in danger.
He downs the rest of his ale and stands. "I'm sorry I never asked you your name. You're right; that is pretty rude of me. Do you want to tell me now? My name is Rogram."
Whether she answers or not, he turns and begins walking back toward the door. In one more flash of impulsivity, he stops and turns back. "Did you know that I'm a blacksmith?" He shrugs. "Thought you might like to know."
With that, he continues toward the door. He makes meaningful eye contact toward where he left Merric, hoping the elf is still there. Pushing through the door, he pauses, hoping the delay is enough for Merry to follow him out. He walks a little further and whispers, "Are you there?"
Merric stands near the wall, away from the flow of traffic to avoid jostling any of the customers and watches Rogram’s conversation. He hesitates as Rogram leaves, waiting just a moment longer to see if the woman was meeting with anyone else, then follows Rogram out of the tavern. “I’m here” he whispers to Rogram. “What was that? You don’t even know her name? What are you hoping to accomplish?”
Perception (to see if she is meeting anyone else at the tavern) 6.
.
Rogram keeps walking back toward the wagon from which the woman had exited. "She's a member of the cult. I've identified a few who aren't traveling with the cult's wagons, but are clearly part of them. She's the one I tried to hint to that I wanted to join the cult. I think maybe I've bungled the attempt." Once the wagon is in sight, Rogram stops. "That's the wagon she entered and left tonight. A few others left as well. Do you think you could get in and take a look around? While you're still invisible?"
Merric pauses, looks at the wagon and considers his options, and whispers back “So they know you know about them and appear to be reluctant to bring you into the fold. I’ll see what I can do. Be ready to come running if you hear a ruckus.” Merric slides up to the wagon quietly, circling the area and looking for any signs of guards or traps. He also looks for a window or another way into the wagon other than the door.
Perception: 18.
Stealth: 25.
.
For good measure, Rogram shape changes into the woman and waits, out of sight, prepared to jump into action if Merric needs any aid.
The woman looks to Rogram and takes another sip, deep in thought. She turns back to look forward at the wall ahead of her and takes another sip. "...I don't," she says. As Rogram gets up to leave, she adds, "You won't be seeing much of me until Waterdeep. I paid a wagon to let me ride the rest of the way. Maybe by then I'll feel less exhausted by you." Despite the harsh nature of the words, her smile indicates their intent as playful ribbing.
After Rogram leaves, Merric watches for a short time but sees nothing else of interest. The woman orders another mug of ale and drinks silently by herself at the bar, and nobody else appears before Merric departs.
Moving silently toward the wagon of interest, Merric notes the wagon has a single door on its back, with no windows in the rear of the wagon where its contents lie; two guards stand outside by that door. The horses have been unhitched from the front of the wagon, but the wagon's teamster still sits on its bench, chatting with a third guard standing near him.
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OOC: Last call for RP in Daggerford before we advance!
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OOC: I'm going to back up a little.
Rogram keeps walking back toward the wagon from which the woman had exited. "She's a member of the cult. I've identified a few who aren't traveling with the cult's wagons, but are clearly part of them. She's the one I tried to hint to that I wanted to join the cult. I think maybe I've bungled the attempt." Once the wagon is in sight, Rogram stops. "That's the wagon she entered and left tonight. A few others left as well." He scowls as he counts the number of guards. "I was hopeful we might get in there and poke around, but I don't think it's safe." He releases the magic, and Merric becomes visible again. "Thanks for helping me tonight." He looks and sounds disappointed. "I guess this is a dead end. Maybe the whole caravan idea is as well. I'm not sure what to do next. I can't afford to keep going north without any income. Maybe I should just leave it to the rest of you to find my Pa. Or maybe I should give up on the idea that I'll ever get him back."
@DM: How many more days to next destination? And more specifically, how much pay for Karib? He's considering asking his boss for a loan.
DRAFT: to be completed if loan not possible!
Karib examines the wares available and realises that he is a little short of cash for his purposes. Perhaps crafting Carlon's gear was overgenerous, but one always helps a harper in need. Of a fellow follower of Gond.
With that thought he seeks out any possible locak contacts that he might be aware of, hoping to b
Akira is still heading in the direction of the apothecary for spell components.
.
Halsen - Human Monk - Winter Splendor
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's Blade Bizarre
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Betrayal at Devilsfall
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's "The Hidden War" (Doom Portals Part 4A)
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's "The Whispered Word (Doom Portals Part 5)
Garu - Tabaxi Paladin - Barty's "Beyond Twilight" (Rikirta Part 3)
OOC: If you take a gander at the map of the Sword Coast it'll probably give you a good idea of how close the caravan is to Waterdeep. Daggerford's a heck of a lot closer than Baldur's Gate was. You're in the final stretches of the trip from Baldur's Gate to Waterdeep.
This was going to happen as the caravan regrouped, but since Karib is looking for some money I'll move it up in the order of events so he has a chance to do something with it in town:
Near the end of the caravan's day off, Carlon approaches Karib with a smile and a pouch of coins. He looks almost entirely different than the haggard man dug out of the road, wearing a brand new set of adventuring gear and well-fitting clothes. In addition, he's added to the arsenal crafted for him by Karib, with additional daggers and crossbow bolts in belt loops at his waist. "I have a couple of Harper contacts from last time I came through here," he explains. "When I explained what happened, they were willing to support our endeavor. Since you spent the time and money to make sure I could defend myself, I figured it should all go back to you."
OOC: Added 85 gp back to Karib's inventory.
Regarding Akira's spell components (and any other shopping to be done in Daggerford), feel free to just output your purchases and we can sort that out all nice and quick.
Also sorry if Rogram's feeling stonewalled right now! Hopefully that's coming across as the Cult not taking any chances, and not as the DM shutting you down.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!