Rogram lifts a hand and starts ticking off fingers: "Lizardfolk riding giant lizard mounts, ogres, orcs, oh, and another ogre." He says all of this with a smile on his face. His voice makes it clear that he is doesn't find any of this even a trifle troublesome.
"We handled them all like experts," he continues with pride.
"Oh!" he says, lowering his voice to a loud whisper, "Karib talked to my Pa. He wasn't much help, but we at least know he's alive. And he came through this roadhouse, but he isn't sure where to from here."
He looks around to make sure they aren't being overheard. "I spoke with one of the workers heading north, and he said no caravans continue north on the road from here. Do you think they continue on foot?"
Merric leads the party into the courtyard. The first pair of wagons is moved back outside for parking, while the next two are brought in.
The open courtyard is crowded with crates, barrels, and stacks of supplies. The damp climate means that the ground is muddy. A path is kept clear from the gate to a pair of large, double-wide doors across the way. Ahead of you, a set of steps leads up to a swinging door. To the side of this staircase is a door that lies open, leading to what looks to be a warehouse. As the second pair of wagons rolls into the courtyard, the half-orc directs some of the crates into this room. At both ends of the courtyard, other steps lead up to an L-shaped balcony that surrounds the north and west walls. Nearly a dozen doors sit closed beneath the overhang.
OOC: We're on a map again! The red square marks the current location of the party.
Jamna: "We might want to think about sticking together from here. They definitely know we're onto them, but we don't think they can't do much about it while we're still working with Briferhew."
Karib nods, "Aye..." his voice trails off as he looks over the wagons.
"I'd hoped you might have escaped their notice. Obviously not. So, yes...best if we stay together, eh lad?" he say, turning to Rogram.
Merric turns back from the courtyard and connects with Rogram, Karib and Akira, placing his arms around Rogram’s and Karib’s shoulders and steering everyone toward the tavern. “It is good to see you all hale and hearty! I trust you didn’t run into any trouble along the road? Other than one group of bandits we saw nary a peep of trouble.”
Karib smiles, then listens as Rogram lists their attackers. "We did all the hard work for you I think, and didn't get paid. Bad choice."
As Merric guides them into the courtyard Karib pats the dust off his leggins, looking around the encampment for any other signs of the dragon cult, "I did miss being master of the ale wagon, and have been thinking about an ale all day."
He examines the courtyard as they work, trying to identify the inn and the places that most of the people are coming from or going to, as well as any identifiable signs like the Lords Alliance or other interested factions.
He examines the courtyard as they work, trying to identify the inn and the places that most of the people are coming from or going to, as well as any identifiable signs like the Lords Alliance or other interested factions.
Karib sees no identifiable signs outside of the half-orc's draconic hilt; the courtyard is packed and crowded with goods and workers, and seems quite disorganized without the half-orc's direction, who seems quite confident in his instructions. There is little traffic to any of the rooms ringing the walls. The workers laboring to unpack the wagons of the convoy carefully navigate the muddy ground from the wagons to the warehouse door. Some of the other guards from the convoy head up the stairs toward the swinging door. When one of them pushes through the door, you catch a glimpse of some circular tables ringed by chairs beyond it.
Rogram makes a face when Karib points out that they may have cleared the way for the caravan — all for free. "Well, at least it sounds like we had more fun," the half-dwarf says, grinning again.
"So ... I have a little gold, but not much. I'm still hoping for a warm bed to sleep in, but I can probably afford a drink or two."
"Aye. Sharing what we know and planning the next steps. Privately."
He looks around the courtyard again then turns to Merric and Jamna, "Do you know where we should be headed? And is this the end of the wagon's journey?"
"Do you know where we should be headed? And is this the end of the wagon's journey?"
"Wherever that treasure goes, we go, it's as simple as that," Jamna says, "Or at least that's where I go."
Carlon muses, "If this is the end of the cult's journey, then we should leave and report it to the Harpers. Something about that doesn't sit right with me, though. The Cult has been plundering and pillaging, and has sent more than one caravan full of looted goods this way. If this is the end of the road, that means the Cult is just what, helping to rebuild the road to Neverwinter? No, those crates have to be going somewhere else fromhere."He nods his head discreetly toward the laborers moving crates into the warehouse. "It's a bit busy now, but maybe we check that warehouse out later."
"Carlon's right, too many eyes right now," Jamna says. "Until then, may as well get an ale and see what else we can learn."
OOC: It probably seems obvious, but which door does the party want to open/walk through? If nobody else weighs in outside of Rogram, I'll just move us ahead. I'm assuming everyone is together unless y'all tell me you want to split up.
Karib nods, "I doubt they are in the road building business. But this is the end of the road for the caravan guards at least. I doubt that they will hire us for the next leg."
He frowns, wondering how they will follow the wagons, or even if they will use wagons for the next leg of the journey.
"Ale always helps," he says with a smile. "Or at least it seems to, eh? And we can discuss next steps."
-------
If there is a level of privacy later:
"I'm relieved to see you all in one piece; I think we should stay together from now on and yes...I think they must be planning to move on soon. Any thoughts on how we might best follow them?"
He turns to Rogram, "Do you think the Alliance might be interested in scouts?" Then he shakes his head, looking at the others, "...and is that even a good idea?"
Rogram looks around. "The Lords' Alliance!" he says in a loud whisper. "I completely forgot. Who do you think is safe? I could ask. I'd love to tell someone what's going on. That guy back in town was no help at all."
Karib smiles, then listens as Rogram lists their attackers. "We did all the hard work for you I think, and didn't get paid. Bad choice."
Merric chuckles and raises his glass at Karib’s remarks “Then you have my thanks for a job well done, you did miss the bandits though. Although I can understand why they went for the wagons instead of you.”
Merric grows serious and leans in towards the table as the others exchange information and ideas. He shakes his head at Rogram’s question. “I don’t think it is safe to share our suspicions with anyone here.” He glances over at Karib. “He did not name a connection. The wagons stop here and unload supplies used to build the road north. In a day or two, Ardred will head back with the empty wagons and some guards to load more supplies. The half-orc seems to be running the show here and is separating some of the cargo. Safe to say the cult’s treasure will not be used to build the road, so where does it go from here?”
He leans back in his chair. “It should be easy enough to follow between Akira’s owl and my tracking skills.” He looks over at Karib. “Can you still use the spell you placed on the ring to find it? That could help as well.”
OOC: The tavern hasn't been described yet, so we can assume the conversation is happening before reaching the tavern, but this was the last state of the map and the current location of the party (the red square):
What you can see from your current location was described as:
The open courtyard is crowded with crates, barrels, and stacks of supplies. The damp climate means that the ground is muddy. A path is kept clear from the gate to a pair of large, double-wide doors across the way. Ahead of you, a set of steps leads up to a swinging door. To the side of this staircase is a door that lies open, leading to what looks to be a warehouse. As the second pair of wagons rolls into the courtyard, the half-orc directs some of the crates into this room. At both ends of the courtyard, other steps lead up to an L-shaped balcony that surrounds the north and west walls. Nearly a dozen doors sit closed beneath the overhang.
And Karib's insight on the courtyard and where people were coming and going was:
Karib sees no identifiable signs outside of the half-orc's draconic hilt; the courtyard is packed and crowded with goods and workers, and seems quite disorganized without the half-orc's direction, who seems quite confident in his instructions. There is little traffic to any of the rooms ringing the walls. The workers laboring to unpack the wagons of the convoy carefully navigate the muddy ground from the wagons to the warehouse door. Some of the other guards from the convoy head up the stairs toward the swinging door. When one of them pushes through the door, you catch a glimpse of some circular tables ringed by chairs beyond it.
There aren't obvious signs anywhere in this roadhouse providing direction, so the party is operating on their own insight here as far as where to go or where the tavern may be located.
The "tavern", if it can be called that, is little more than a kitchen with a large stove and a collection of ales, meads, and liquors stashed in barrels and a cabinet in the corner of the room. Eight disheveled tables sit in disjointed fashion around the room, some of them pulled together to form a tighter ring of tables, and others off to the side. A human man with greasy brown hair and a mangy beard is cooking meat on the stovetop.
There are around a dozen others settling into the room by the time the party enters through the swinging doors. Half of the faces are unfamiliar, but the other half are well recognized by all, including the woman that Rogram had attempted to befriend on the caravan from Baldur's Gate to Waterdeep. If the others recognize you, they do an excellent job of hiding it, but her eyes hover over the table on occasion, glowering, her face locked in a scowl as she downs an ale with her compatriots.
Conversation is growing as the party enters and sits at a table in the corner, providing plenty of opportunity to converse without resorting to a whisper.
"I'm relieved to see you all in one piece; I think we should stay together from now on and yes...I think they must be planning to move on soon. Any thoughts on how we might best follow them?"
[Merric] leans back in his chair. “It should be easy enough to follow between Akira’s owl and my tracking skills.” He looks over at Karib. “Can you still use the spell you placed on the ring to find it? That could help as well.”
"We need to strike a careful balance here," Carlon adds to the conversation. "I think we can afford some time to poke around - quietly - while we're here, and learn as much as we can. But if we wait too long..."
Jamna nods, "They're keen to let us stay here for a few days, but they won't tolerate freeloaders. Plus, if we lose the cargo, our entire journey is fornaught, and the cultists obviously recognize us by now." She looks to Karib as well. "How does that spell work again?"
"Anyway, let's discuss our options. We already saw the half-orc directing the crates into that warehouse, which, if you haven't been paying attention, is directly beneath us here. There's also a lot of folks around here that weren't on the caravans with us, that may or may not be cultists themselves, and a lot of doors. A lot of doors means a lot of rooms."
Merric drains his mug as he considers their options. “I’m all for poking around, and the warehouse is a good place to start, but we should assume it is guarded. We will have to be careful. Most of the others around here appear to be building the road, no use hiding among them, it sounds like too much real work. We could say we are heading back to town on our own, then hide out in the forest and pick the cult’s trail up when they leave here.” He looks around the table. “But I’m open to other ideas.”
Jamna agrees, nodding to Merric's sentiment about the road workers, then shaking her head as she replies, "Think about it. The Cult is transporting treasure from their pillaging in the Sword Coast, then funneling it through here. That's what we know so far. It wouldn't make sense for them to be taking the treasure north up an unfinished road that's still being worked on."
Carlon adds, "Lot of options for us here. How do we want to handle it from here? Do we split up? Wait for everyone to go to sleep, then sneak around as a group?"
After some more discussion, Jamna slaps her hands on the table and says, "Well, I'm going to get get us another round. Anyone want to come talk to that greasy bartender with me? See what's what around here?" The diminutive gnome disappears beneath the table as she slides off of her chair to walk over to the man at the stove.
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Rogram lifts a hand and starts ticking off fingers: "Lizardfolk riding giant lizard mounts, ogres, orcs, oh, and another ogre." He says all of this with a smile on his face. His voice makes it clear that he is doesn't find any of this even a trifle troublesome.
"We handled them all like experts," he continues with pride.
"Oh!" he says, lowering his voice to a loud whisper, "Karib talked to my Pa. He wasn't much help, but we at least know he's alive. And he came through this roadhouse, but he isn't sure where to from here."
He looks around to make sure they aren't being overheard. "I spoke with one of the workers heading north, and he said no caravans continue north on the road from here. Do you think they continue on foot?"
Merric leads the party into the courtyard. The first pair of wagons is moved back outside for parking, while the next two are brought in.
The open courtyard is crowded with crates, barrels, and stacks of supplies. The damp climate means that the ground is muddy. A path is kept clear from the gate to a pair of large, double-wide doors across the way. Ahead of you, a set of steps leads up to a swinging door. To the side of this staircase is a door that lies open, leading to what looks to be a warehouse. As the second pair of wagons rolls into the courtyard, the half-orc directs some of the crates into this room. At both ends of the courtyard, other steps lead up to an L-shaped balcony that surrounds the north and west walls. Nearly a dozen doors sit closed beneath the overhang.
OOC: We're on a map again! The red square marks the current location of the party.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
Karib nods, "Aye..." his voice trails off as he looks over the wagons.
"I'd hoped you might have escaped their notice. Obviously not. So, yes...best if we stay together, eh lad?" he say, turning to Rogram.
Karib smiles, then listens as Rogram lists their attackers. "We did all the hard work for you I think, and didn't get paid. Bad choice."
As Merric guides them into the courtyard Karib pats the dust off his leggins, looking around the encampment for any other signs of the dragon cult, "I did miss being master of the ale wagon, and have been thinking about an ale all day."
He examines the courtyard as they work, trying to identify the inn and the places that most of the people are coming from or going to, as well as any identifiable signs like the Lords Alliance or other interested factions.
Karib sees no identifiable signs outside of the half-orc's draconic hilt; the courtyard is packed and crowded with goods and workers, and seems quite disorganized without the half-orc's direction, who seems quite confident in his instructions. There is little traffic to any of the rooms ringing the walls. The workers laboring to unpack the wagons of the convoy carefully navigate the muddy ground from the wagons to the warehouse door. Some of the other guards from the convoy head up the stairs toward the swinging door. When one of them pushes through the door, you catch a glimpse of some circular tables ringed by chairs beyond it.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
Rogram makes a face when Karib points out that they may have cleared the way for the caravan — all for free. "Well, at least it sounds like we had more fun," the half-dwarf says, grinning again.
"So ... I have a little gold, but not much. I'm still hoping for a warm bed to sleep in, but I can probably afford a drink or two."
"Aye. Sharing what we know and planning the next steps. Privately."
He looks around the courtyard again then turns to Merric and Jamna, "Do you know where we should be headed? And is this the end of the wagon's journey?"
"Wherever that treasure goes, we go, it's as simple as that," Jamna says, "Or at least that's where I go."
Carlon muses, "If this is the end of the cult's journey, then we should leave and report it to the Harpers. Something about that doesn't sit right with me, though. The Cult has been plundering and pillaging, and has sent more than one caravan full of looted goods this way. If this is the end of the road, that means the Cult is just what, helping to rebuild the road to Neverwinter? No, those crates have to be going somewhere else from here." He nods his head discreetly toward the laborers moving crates into the warehouse. "It's a bit busy now, but maybe we check that warehouse out later."
"Carlon's right, too many eyes right now," Jamna says. "Until then, may as well get an ale and see what else we can learn."
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OOC: Awaiting a confirmed action from the party before continuing.
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Rogram's ready for an ale.
OOC: It probably seems obvious, but which door does the party want to open/walk through? If nobody else weighs in outside of Rogram, I'll just move us ahead. I'm assuming everyone is together unless y'all tell me you want to split up.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
Karib nods, "I doubt they are in the road building business. But this is the end of the road for the caravan guards at least. I doubt that they will hire us for the next leg."
He frowns, wondering how they will follow the wagons, or even if they will use wagons for the next leg of the journey.
"Ale always helps," he says with a smile. "Or at least it seems to, eh? And we can discuss next steps."
-------
If there is a level of privacy later:
"I'm relieved to see you all in one piece; I think we should stay together from now on and yes...I think they must be planning to move on soon. Any thoughts on how we might best follow them?"
He turns to Rogram, "Do you think the Alliance might be interested in scouts?" Then he shakes his head, looking at the others, "...and is that even a good idea?"
Rogram looks around. "The Lords' Alliance!" he says in a loud whisper. "I completely forgot. Who do you think is safe? I could ask. I'd love to tell someone what's going on. That guy back in town was no help at all."
Karib shakes his head, "I have no idea. Probably not the half-orc."
Turning to Merric he asks, 'Did your employer name a contact here?"
Merric chuckles and raises his glass at Karib’s remarks “Then you have my thanks for a job well done, you did miss the bandits though. Although I can understand why they went for the wagons instead of you.”
Merric grows serious and leans in towards the table as the others exchange information and ideas. He shakes his head at Rogram’s question. “I don’t think it is safe to share our suspicions with anyone here.” He glances over at Karib. “He did not name a connection. The wagons stop here and unload supplies used to build the road north. In a day or two, Ardred will head back with the empty wagons and some guards to load more supplies. The half-orc seems to be running the show here and is separating some of the cargo. Safe to say the cult’s treasure will not be used to build the road, so where does it go from here?”
He leans back in his chair. “It should be easy enough to follow between Akira’s owl and my tracking skills.” He looks over at Karib. “Can you still use the spell you placed on the ring to find it? That could help as well.”
OOC: The tavern hasn't been described yet, so we can assume the conversation is happening before reaching the tavern, but this was the last state of the map and the current location of the party (the red square):
What you can see from your current location was described as:
And Karib's insight on the courtyard and where people were coming and going was:
There aren't obvious signs anywhere in this roadhouse providing direction, so the party is operating on their own insight here as far as where to go or where the tavern may be located.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
"Let's try up there," Rogram says, heading up the stairs toward the swinging door — through which he saw round tables.
The "tavern", if it can be called that, is little more than a kitchen with a large stove and a collection of ales, meads, and liquors stashed in barrels and a cabinet in the corner of the room. Eight disheveled tables sit in disjointed fashion around the room, some of them pulled together to form a tighter ring of tables, and others off to the side. A human man with greasy brown hair and a mangy beard is cooking meat on the stovetop.
There are around a dozen others settling into the room by the time the party enters through the swinging doors. Half of the faces are unfamiliar, but the other half are well recognized by all, including the woman that Rogram had attempted to befriend on the caravan from Baldur's Gate to Waterdeep. If the others recognize you, they do an excellent job of hiding it, but her eyes hover over the table on occasion, glowering, her face locked in a scowl as she downs an ale with her compatriots.
Conversation is growing as the party enters and sits at a table in the corner, providing plenty of opportunity to converse without resorting to a whisper.
"We need to strike a careful balance here," Carlon adds to the conversation. "I think we can afford some time to poke around - quietly - while we're here, and learn as much as we can. But if we wait too long..."
Jamna nods, "They're keen to let us stay here for a few days, but they won't tolerate freeloaders. Plus, if we lose the cargo, our entire journey is for naught, and the cultists obviously recognize us by now." She looks to Karib as well. "How does that spell work again?"
"Anyway, let's discuss our options. We already saw the half-orc directing the crates into that warehouse, which, if you haven't been paying attention, is directly beneath us here. There's also a lot of folks around here that weren't on the caravans with us, that may or may not be cultists themselves, and a lot of doors. A lot of doors means a lot of rooms."
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OOC: Awaiting the next round of posts to continue!
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Merric drains his mug as he considers their options. “I’m all for poking around, and the warehouse is a good place to start, but we should assume it is guarded. We will have to be careful. Most of the others around here appear to be building the road, no use hiding among them, it sounds like too much real work. We could say we are heading back to town on our own, then hide out in the forest and pick the cult’s trail up when they leave here.” He looks around the table. “But I’m open to other ideas.”
Jamna agrees, nodding to Merric's sentiment about the road workers, then shaking her head as she replies, "Think about it. The Cult is transporting treasure from their pillaging in the Sword Coast, then funneling it through here. That's what we know so far. It wouldn't make sense for them to be taking the treasure north up an unfinished road that's still being worked on."
Carlon adds, "Lot of options for us here. How do we want to handle it from here? Do we split up? Wait for everyone to go to sleep, then sneak around as a group?"
After some more discussion, Jamna slaps her hands on the table and says, "Well, I'm going to get get us another round. Anyone want to come talk to that greasy bartender with me? See what's what around here?" The diminutive gnome disappears beneath the table as she slides off of her chair to walk over to the man at the stove.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!