Nard to Ghee and Darrik: "Ay, they stopped by. They said something but I didn't understand... or didn't care to listen. Unlike this colorful bunch here, the greens were unaccompanied by you dwarves, so I sent them away. As for a bird person, I could never forget it. First time I ever saw a ravenman. He came through five days ago and bought three raw, bone-in dino-steaks. Paid and left without sharing many words. My type of customer."
Nard to Ang: "You are all uncivilized, glove or no glove." Without grabbing the coin, she packs and slaps a slab of dino-meat on the counter: "There, some Hadrosaurus for your gold. A trade is done. You can leave now."
Nard collects the coin and then looks at Khan and Bleep, giving them the up-and-down look, and repeats: "You can leave now."
Gnator to no one in particular: "Yum! Can I have that?"
@Bleep: This definitely looks like a hunter's home, though you are more familiar with hunters in the grung tribes, who kill to feed their brethren, not to sell to each other. The trophies are impressive, though you are sure you are capable of killing even more impressive beasts should the need arise. Nothing looks out of the ordinary to you.
Bleep takes Nard's curt statement as his cue to exit the establishment. Obviously, this human wouldn't care where three grung would go after shooing them away. That, and he prefers to that there isn't a second scene in an hour(?) while they try to investigate as to their whereabouts.
Currently playing in: Quest for the Shunned City, Coliseum of Conquest, DragonDenn's Dragonlords, Shipwrecked on Fugue, Tomb of Annihilation, Razor's Lost Mine of Phandelver, The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above
Currently DMing: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Coliseum of Conquest—The Arena (Sometimes)
Khan leans slightly forward, throat sack rumbling slightly in what her Grung troop have seen as preparation for a war croak. For ever since daring to call them uncivilized, the Orange had been on the verge of snapping the woman like a twig for the grievious insult. Thankfully, the moment passes without incident, as she eventually came out of the stance trying to focus back on reading the woman for lies regarding having not understood.
If nothing catches in that last long look, with a harumph and an upturned face, Khan departs without a word, intending to lead on to the Mining District. But /if/ there was something more there to speak of, she would still leave, but mark the woman in mind as another avenue to re-explore... by any means necessary.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
After getting some information out of the unwelcoming shop keep, the group realizes they should likely keep moving. Bleep is the first one to exit the shop, and is followed by Darrik shortly thereafter. Khan lingers for an extra few seconds, analyzing Nard. The orange grung's rising fury prevents her from doing a good enough job, and Khan eventually resigns to leaving the meat shop without being sure if the huntress was lying or hiding anything. The rest of the group follows. Gnator bothers Ang by asking if he can keep the dino-meat she bought. He says that he is hungry and plans to ask Tonk to cook it for him later, free of charge, of course.
On Khan's request, the guide takes them deeper into town. At some point, the main street bifurcates, with one way leading up a hill and another down and around it. Bleep recognizes this fork on the road as the one at which the young elven lass made the decision to go towards the top of the hill the previous night. Interested in checking the mining district, however, the group is led by Gnator toward the down-and-around path.
The mining district consists of mining barracks, equipment sheds, blacksmiths, and a large warehouse where minerals are stored. Al of these building are tightly packed together. Dozens of miners come and go from the mines, whose entrance is just beyond the warehouse. To no one's surprise, Gregor Forskog seems to be in charge of the miners here. The half-orc is flanked by Tooth (Lizardfolk male) and Cat Keeper (goliath female), as usual.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Saros, for his part, trails at the rear of the group, seeking to look for any signs that this is anything but the mining town that it appears to be, and has Omen circling as well, looking for any signs of danger (eg groups moving toward the group or any openly armed individuals)
Omen perception check 21
Saros perception check 22 (looking for signs of being watched mainly)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Bubbles the Barbarian" (Locathah - Lvl 9) - Locathah Rising; Shai'ere Delatete (Githyanki Monk - Lvl 9) Rrakkma (deceased - MindFlayer); Saros Rockfoot (Deep Gnome Diviner - Lvl 5) - The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above; Tagret (Goliath Barbarian - Lvl 2) - Tales of Faerun;
Currently playing in: Quest for the Shunned City, Coliseum of Conquest, DragonDenn's Dragonlords, Shipwrecked on Fugue, Tomb of Annihilation, Razor's Lost Mine of Phandelver, The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above
Currently DMing: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Coliseum of Conquest—The Arena (Sometimes)
As soon as Khan sees Gregor, there's a defeated sigh and shake of the head. "Now good as any time."She mumbled, before looking to others. "Unlikely. But I keep tusked one distracted. Rest ask others here. See they speak maybe. Say what Gregor not. Maybe know more of wizard. Or rumors. Or what even strange dwarf at Inn's oddness." She said, and if there's no objections, trusts at least her froglings to act on her unspoken orders, or at least back her up as she made her way over the half-orc, flagging him down in a wave.
"Gregor. This one would have words. If Gregor has time. But need know soon as possible. And you. You seem like one that would know more than let on maybe. More than last time, perhaps? Also, would know who owns mine. What is seeking in earth?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
Khan quickly devises a plan and asks that the group puts it in motion. She begins walking toward Gregor and his "two shadows" while the others are to engage in casual conversation with the miners. Whether Saros is following the plan or had one of his own to begin with is unclear. Nonetheless, the wizard sends his familiar high in the sky to, quite literally, gain a bird's eye view of the mining district. Darrik stays nearby while Saros melds Omen's vision with his own.
Through his familiar, Saros sees little that would indicate danger out in the open. He does see, however, that there are a few mining carts filled with gold nuggets nearby, and at least one more filled with sparkly gem veins still embedded into rock. He concludes this is quite the rich mine they have here in Weirding, which certainly explains why settlers would be willing to run the risk of creating a town in the middle of the forests of Chult.
Meanwhile, Gregor welcomes Khan with a shady grin: "Ah, my favorite rich orange frogling. It is good to see that you need my services again so soon. Information you say? Of course, of course. I reckon you'll share some more of that gold of yours as recompense." He listens to Khan's requests and questions and chooses to answer only one of them for now: "The lord at the manor, of course. Who else would have enough money to set all of this operation? He hires each one of these miners here for a six-month stint. They mine their quotas, keep some of the gold as payment, and are then free to go. I handle the contracts on Lord Weirding's behalf, of course."
You all would have noticed that Gnator has kept his distance. He is nowhere near the group at this moment. After looking through Omen's eyes, Saros glances around quickly but fails to spot anyone keeping eyes specifically on the group, apart from Gnator himself. A few miners are looking at the grungs with a bit of distrust, though.
Coming back to his own senses Saros quickly mumbles to Darrik "No obvious threats but it looks like the grungs are not particularly welcome....maybe you & I will have a better chance of speaking to the miners, just stay away from the ore that has been collected, they will not want us close to that...let's go see" and with that he tugs Darrik away from Gregor toward the nearest single miner...and defers to the dwarf initially to make the greeting.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Bubbles the Barbarian" (Locathah - Lvl 9) - Locathah Rising; Shai'ere Delatete (Githyanki Monk - Lvl 9) Rrakkma (deceased - MindFlayer); Saros Rockfoot (Deep Gnome Diviner - Lvl 5) - The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above; Tagret (Goliath Barbarian - Lvl 2) - Tales of Faerun;
Currently playing in: Quest for the Shunned City, Coliseum of Conquest, DragonDenn's Dragonlords, Shipwrecked on Fugue, Tomb of Annihilation, Razor's Lost Mine of Phandelver, The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above
Currently DMing: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Coliseum of Conquest—The Arena (Sometimes)
Khan listened closely, but neither confirmed or denied Gregor's estimation regarding payment. Not yet, at least, though the atmosphere about her didn't suggest being anything less gregarious as before. "And what taken from earth? More Gold? Iron? Or old things?" She asked. "And this.. Lord? What know of them beyond mine? He odd one? Greedy one? Helpful one?"She asked curious, and yet trying to remain at least somewhat aloof about the question. "He... or maybe not he? Maybe Elf?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
"Mostly gold," Gregor responds. "Though there are some gem veins in there too." he pauses to let Khan speak some more and then continues: "Lord Weirding is one of those rich-noble types. A wizard, they say. He keeps to himself, mostly staying within the manor. It's been like that ever since his wife passed, folk say. Meanwhile, I run things down here in the mine, and you see, I'm quite trustworthy, so he doesn't need to bother coming down here anyhow." Tooth and Cat Keeper both laugh in the background. "He is a fair lord, though. He insists on signing off the contract completion of each miner himself. Double-checking the numbers, I'm sure, even though I have never given him any reason to doubt my pluses and minuses. But I don't mind. It is the only time a miner is invited to the manor, so why not make the most of it, am I right?"
Gregor then extends his open palm toward Khan, clearly expecting another slime-less pouch as recompense for the valuable information shared.
Some yards away, Saros and Darrik are doing some socializing of their own. The gnome pushes the dwarf forward, hoping he can do the talking. Darrik begins a little awkwardly, but then goes straight to the point. The miner they approached, a gaunt human man in his 40s judging by his appearance, coughs before responding. Being familiar with mining, both Saros and Darrik would guess that the man looks much older than he actually is. Mine work tends to age people, it would seem. He says: "Birds? Hmm... No, no. The only birds we have here are canaries... Fer the mine, y'know?" He then shows some curiosity of his own: "Are ye here fer work? If so, ye're welcome to enter the tunnels and have a look. We had a caving in recently and some folk quit after that. They weren't up to mining in these dangerous conditions. The were mostly novices, though... Are ye novices?"
Both conversations are interrupted by a few gasps of horror, as Bleep pretends to point a blow gun at a miner or two. The green grung soon reveals his jest by turning on an mesmerizing whistle-stick performance of quite a jovial song. The gasps of horror meld into gasps of surprised joy. Some folk even drop their picks for a moment and start clapping along. Others more stubbornly cling to their preconceived notions about froglings, though those are clearly in the minority now that an impromptu and animated break has started. Even Gregor and his lackeys seem to enjoy the brief revelry, though Bleep understands that pushing his performance for too long might earn the ire of the bookie turned mining boss.
@All: Much like the tavern staff, some of the miners here seem to have generally slower reaction times and movements compared to others.
After her traumatic meeting with the village children, Ang decides it is maybe better to stay back and use more her investigations skills rather than her speech. She knows that she won't get much from the bully but she is actually intrigued by the slower reaction times of the miner. She tries subtlety to check up on them and see if she recognises any signs of a disease.
"Ah've had enough o' a life underground. Ah dinnae need tae be swinging a pickaxe about again."
Spying a spot to rest, Ghee parks himself and takes his decanter from his pack. Speaking it's command word, 'acqua vitae', he pours himself a measure into a battered tin mug. Taking a swig, Ghee closes his eyes and blows out through his nose.
"Phooo-ey! That'll put hairs on yer hairs! Ah'll have a drink tae yer health and ah'm happy tae share if abody fancies."
Currently playing in: Quest for the Shunned City, Coliseum of Conquest, DragonDenn's Dragonlords, Shipwrecked on Fugue, Tomb of Annihilation, Razor's Lost Mine of Phandelver, The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above
Currently DMing: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Coliseum of Conquest—The Arena (Sometimes)
While Bleep's song is still playing in the background, Ghee approaches Saros and Darrik just in time to hear the miner's question. One after the other, the two party dwarves deny being interested in the mine and then simply wander off. Darrik walks among the other miners for a few seconds, while Ghee finds a shady spot to sit and enjoy his drink of choice.
Also while this is all going on, Ang keeps quiet and observes the scene for some time. She pays particular attention to the miners that seem a bit slower than normal. @Ang:
You find no clear signs of disease. Instead, you spot plenty of scars on the miners' hands and arms. That in itself is not surprising. Mining is a dangerous profession and accidents are common: a stray swing of a mining pick, carelessness around candles, mishandling of mining carts... There are many ways to get a scar doing this type of work day in and day out. Nonetheless, some scars catch you attention. Some miners have scars on their foreheads, temples, or the back of their necks, which seem oddly placed.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Khan is able to keep her expression neutral throughout Bleep's initial jests. Though her hands being balled up into fists spoke a different story. A second before the performance began however, she saw the whistle-stick for what it was, shook her head, but then couldn't help but smile in at least mild amusement. It was as if the weight of several days of searching and evading hunters had finally lifted from the frogling shoulders. Around by the end of the performance, her smile widens at a new thought.
Thus empowered, and without looking up to Gregor, she spoke again. "Happy Workers, Better Workers. Better Workers, Better Yield. Better Yield, More Trust. More Trust, More Money." Khan finally looks up. "Truth in this you see. Payment in part, I see. You agree, yes? Only natural. But sweeten deal, you can. Swing dealings back more in your favor."As she said that, the Orange grung dangled another pouch in the air. While not as nearly filled to the brim with coin as the last, there was some truth in her words.
"What know of any elf that visits manor? Or better yet, you make arrangements so that Khan and helpers able speak with Lord directly, maybe?"
(@Lerus: Don't know if you necessarily need a roll for this, but just in case: 21, (if at adv. from Performance improving Gregor's mood: 23)
(And an insight check for any future response for detecting bullcrap: 7.)
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Bleep soon ends his performance and starts conversing with some of the miners, "Bleep is wondering, what sorts of hazards have been seen during mining?"
He will listen and observe for responses that may seem strange to the miners that could account for their slower reactions and movements, even if they don't realize it.
Nard to Ghee and Darrik: "Ay, they stopped by. They said something but I didn't understand... or didn't care to listen. Unlike this colorful bunch here, the greens were unaccompanied by you dwarves, so I sent them away. As for a bird person, I could never forget it. First time I ever saw a ravenman. He came through five days ago and bought three raw, bone-in dino-steaks. Paid and left without sharing many words. My type of customer."
Nard to Ang: "You are all uncivilized, glove or no glove." Without grabbing the coin, she packs and slaps a slab of dino-meat on the counter: "There, some Hadrosaurus for your gold. A trade is done. You can leave now."
Nard collects the coin and then looks at Khan and Bleep, giving them the up-and-down look, and repeats: "You can leave now."
Gnator to no one in particular: "Yum! Can I have that?"
@Bleep: This definitely looks like a hunter's home, though you are more familiar with hunters in the grung tribes, who kill to feed their brethren, not to sell to each other. The trophies are impressive, though you are sure you are capable of killing even more impressive beasts should the need arise. Nothing looks out of the ordinary to you.
Bleep takes Nard's curt statement as his cue to exit the establishment. Obviously, this human wouldn't care where three grung would go after shooing them away. That, and he prefers to that there isn't a second scene in an hour(?) while they try to investigate as to their whereabouts.
Extended Signature
Darrik shrugs, and follows the grungs out.
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Class Guides: Barbarian, Rogue, Sorcerer, Bard General Guides: PvP
Currently playing in: Quest for the Shunned City, Coliseum of Conquest, DragonDenn's Dragonlords, Shipwrecked on Fugue, Tomb of Annihilation, Razor's Lost Mine of Phandelver, The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above
Currently DMing: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Coliseum of Conquest—The Arena (Sometimes)
Khan leans slightly forward, throat sack rumbling slightly in what her Grung troop have seen as preparation for a war croak. For ever since daring to call them uncivilized, the Orange had been on the verge of snapping the woman like a twig for the grievious insult. Thankfully, the moment passes without incident, as she eventually came out of the stance trying to focus back on reading the woman for lies regarding having not understood.
Insight: 10.
If nothing catches in that last long look, with a harumph and an upturned face, Khan departs without a word, intending to lead on to the Mining District. But /if/ there was something more there to speak of, she would still leave, but mark the woman in mind as another avenue to re-explore... by any means necessary.
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
After getting some information out of the unwelcoming shop keep, the group realizes they should likely keep moving. Bleep is the first one to exit the shop, and is followed by Darrik shortly thereafter. Khan lingers for an extra few seconds, analyzing Nard. The orange grung's rising fury prevents her from doing a good enough job, and Khan eventually resigns to leaving the meat shop without being sure if the huntress was lying or hiding anything. The rest of the group follows. Gnator bothers Ang by asking if he can keep the dino-meat she bought. He says that he is hungry and plans to ask Tonk to cook it for him later, free of charge, of course.
On Khan's request, the guide takes them deeper into town. At some point, the main street bifurcates, with one way leading up a hill and another down and around it. Bleep recognizes this fork on the road as the one at which the young elven lass made the decision to go towards the top of the hill the previous night. Interested in checking the mining district, however, the group is led by Gnator toward the down-and-around path.
The mining district consists of mining barracks, equipment sheds, blacksmiths, and a large warehouse where minerals are stored. Al of these building are tightly packed together. Dozens of miners come and go from the mines, whose entrance is just beyond the warehouse. To no one's surprise, Gregor Forskog seems to be in charge of the miners here. The half-orc is flanked by Tooth (Lizardfolk male) and Cat Keeper (goliath female), as usual.
(OOC: What would the group like to do?)
Saros, for his part, trails at the rear of the group, seeking to look for any signs that this is anything but the mining town that it appears to be, and has Omen circling as well, looking for any signs of danger (eg groups moving toward the group or any openly armed individuals)
Omen perception check 21
Saros perception check 22 (looking for signs of being watched mainly)
"Bubbles the Barbarian" (Locathah - Lvl 9) - Locathah Rising; Shai'ere Delatete (Githyanki Monk - Lvl 9) Rrakkma (deceased - MindFlayer); Saros Rockfoot (Deep Gnome Diviner - Lvl 5) - The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above; Tagret (Goliath Barbarian - Lvl 2) - Tales of Faerun;
Darrik picks a few twigs out of his beard, and stays close to Saros.
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Class Guides: Barbarian, Rogue, Sorcerer, Bard General Guides: PvP
Currently playing in: Quest for the Shunned City, Coliseum of Conquest, DragonDenn's Dragonlords, Shipwrecked on Fugue, Tomb of Annihilation, Razor's Lost Mine of Phandelver, The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above
Currently DMing: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Coliseum of Conquest—The Arena (Sometimes)
As soon as Khan sees Gregor, there's a defeated sigh and shake of the head. "Now good as any time." She mumbled, before looking to others. "Unlikely. But I keep tusked one distracted. Rest ask others here. See they speak maybe. Say what Gregor not. Maybe know more of wizard. Or rumors. Or what even strange dwarf at Inn's oddness." She said, and if there's no objections, trusts at least her froglings to act on her unspoken orders, or at least back her up as she made her way over the half-orc, flagging him down in a wave.
"Gregor. This one would have words. If Gregor has time. But need know soon as possible. And you. You seem like one that would know more than let on maybe. More than last time, perhaps? Also, would know who owns mine. What is seeking in earth?"
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
Khan quickly devises a plan and asks that the group puts it in motion. She begins walking toward Gregor and his "two shadows" while the others are to engage in casual conversation with the miners. Whether Saros is following the plan or had one of his own to begin with is unclear. Nonetheless, the wizard sends his familiar high in the sky to, quite literally, gain a bird's eye view of the mining district. Darrik stays nearby while Saros melds Omen's vision with his own.
Through his familiar, Saros sees little that would indicate danger out in the open. He does see, however, that there are a few mining carts filled with gold nuggets nearby, and at least one more filled with sparkly gem veins still embedded into rock. He concludes this is quite the rich mine they have here in Weirding, which certainly explains why settlers would be willing to run the risk of creating a town in the middle of the forests of Chult.
Meanwhile, Gregor welcomes Khan with a shady grin: "Ah, my favorite rich orange frogling. It is good to see that you need my services again so soon. Information you say? Of course, of course. I reckon you'll share some more of that gold of yours as recompense." He listens to Khan's requests and questions and chooses to answer only one of them for now: "The lord at the manor, of course. Who else would have enough money to set all of this operation? He hires each one of these miners here for a six-month stint. They mine their quotas, keep some of the gold as payment, and are then free to go. I handle the contracts on Lord Weirding's behalf, of course."
You all would have noticed that Gnator has kept his distance. He is nowhere near the group at this moment. After looking through Omen's eyes, Saros glances around quickly but fails to spot anyone keeping eyes specifically on the group, apart from Gnator himself. A few miners are looking at the grungs with a bit of distrust, though.
Coming back to his own senses Saros quickly mumbles to Darrik "No obvious threats but it looks like the grungs are not particularly welcome....maybe you & I will have a better chance of speaking to the miners, just stay away from the ore that has been collected, they will not want us close to that...let's go see" and with that he tugs Darrik away from Gregor toward the nearest single miner...and defers to the dwarf initially to make the greeting.
"Bubbles the Barbarian" (Locathah - Lvl 9) - Locathah Rising; Shai'ere Delatete (Githyanki Monk - Lvl 9) Rrakkma (deceased - MindFlayer); Saros Rockfoot (Deep Gnome Diviner - Lvl 5) - The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above; Tagret (Goliath Barbarian - Lvl 2) - Tales of Faerun;
Darrik clears his throat.
"Errr . . .hi. Ye seen a birdman around?"
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Class Guides: Barbarian, Rogue, Sorcerer, Bard General Guides: PvP
Currently playing in: Quest for the Shunned City, Coliseum of Conquest, DragonDenn's Dragonlords, Shipwrecked on Fugue, Tomb of Annihilation, Razor's Lost Mine of Phandelver, The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above
Currently DMing: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Coliseum of Conquest—The Arena (Sometimes)
Bleep, seeing the looks he and his fellow grung are getting from the miners, decides to engage in a bit of mischief.
He takes out his whistle stick, and at first acts as if it was a blow gun. But then he just plays a few notes, not really caring about what he plays.
Performance: 25 (adding proficiency using whistle stick)
(Why was that a crit...? Not complaining, just find it funny the RNG decided, “Sure, Nat20!”)
Extended Signature
Khan listened closely, but neither confirmed or denied Gregor's estimation regarding payment. Not yet, at least, though the atmosphere about her didn't suggest being anything less gregarious as before. "And what taken from earth? More Gold? Iron? Or old things?" She asked. "And this.. Lord? What know of them beyond mine? He odd one? Greedy one? Helpful one?" She asked curious, and yet trying to remain at least somewhat aloof about the question. "He... or maybe not he? Maybe Elf?"
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
"Mostly gold," Gregor responds. "Though there are some gem veins in there too." he pauses to let Khan speak some more and then continues: "Lord Weirding is one of those rich-noble types. A wizard, they say. He keeps to himself, mostly staying within the manor. It's been like that ever since his wife passed, folk say. Meanwhile, I run things down here in the mine, and you see, I'm quite trustworthy, so he doesn't need to bother coming down here anyhow." Tooth and Cat Keeper both laugh in the background. "He is a fair lord, though. He insists on signing off the contract completion of each miner himself. Double-checking the numbers, I'm sure, even though I have never given him any reason to doubt my pluses and minuses. But I don't mind. It is the only time a miner is invited to the manor, so why not make the most of it, am I right?"
Gregor then extends his open palm toward Khan, clearly expecting another slime-less pouch as recompense for the valuable information shared.
Some yards away, Saros and Darrik are doing some socializing of their own. The gnome pushes the dwarf forward, hoping he can do the talking. Darrik begins a little awkwardly, but then goes straight to the point. The miner they approached, a gaunt human man in his 40s judging by his appearance, coughs before responding. Being familiar with mining, both Saros and Darrik would guess that the man looks much older than he actually is. Mine work tends to age people, it would seem. He says: "Birds? Hmm... No, no. The only birds we have here are canaries... Fer the mine, y'know?" He then shows some curiosity of his own: "Are ye here fer work? If so, ye're welcome to enter the tunnels and have a look. We had a caving in recently and some folk quit after that. They weren't up to mining in these dangerous conditions. The were mostly novices, though... Are ye novices?"
Both conversations are interrupted by a few gasps of horror, as Bleep pretends to point a blow gun at a miner or two. The green grung soon reveals his jest by turning on an mesmerizing whistle-stick performance of quite a jovial song. The gasps of horror meld into gasps of surprised joy. Some folk even drop their picks for a moment and start clapping along. Others more stubbornly cling to their preconceived notions about froglings, though those are clearly in the minority now that an impromptu and animated break has started. Even Gregor and his lackeys seem to enjoy the brief revelry, though Bleep understands that pushing his performance for too long might earn the ire of the bookie turned mining boss.
@All: Much like the tavern staff, some of the miners here seem to have generally slower reaction times and movements compared to others.
After her traumatic meeting with the village children, Ang decides it is maybe better to stay back and use more her investigations skills rather than her speech. She knows that she won't get much from the bully but she is actually intrigued by the slower reaction times of the miner. She tries subtlety to check up on them and see if she recognises any signs of a disease.
Investigation: 14
Currently Playing: Regdus Ironfist (Greyhawk) Lvl 1 Storm Sorcerer ; Goraseth Drerjoxian (Icespeak) Lvl 3 Paladin Oath of Glory; Lerak (The Wild Beyond the Witchlight) Lvl 3 Barbarian Wild Magic
In Pause: Grimnir " Shadow-Feet", Lv 11 Owner of "The Basilisk & the Monk" (OotA) - Kurma Kappa, Lv 8 Priest of Oghma (ToA)
Currently DM'ing: Princes of Apocalypse >> Tomb of Annihilation
"Ah've had enough o' a life underground. Ah dinnae need tae be swinging a pickaxe about again."
Spying a spot to rest, Ghee parks himself and takes his decanter from his pack. Speaking it's command word, 'acqua vitae', he pours himself a measure into a battered tin mug. Taking a swig, Ghee closes his eyes and blows out through his nose.
"Phooo-ey! That'll put hairs on yer hairs! Ah'll have a drink tae yer health and ah'm happy tae share if abody fancies."
Darrik blinks, faintly confused.
"Huh? Nah, not here for the mine. Thanks anyways."
He proceeds to wander off.
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Class Guides: Barbarian, Rogue, Sorcerer, Bard General Guides: PvP
Currently playing in: Quest for the Shunned City, Coliseum of Conquest, DragonDenn's Dragonlords, Shipwrecked on Fugue, Tomb of Annihilation, Razor's Lost Mine of Phandelver, The Lost Kenku & One Grung Above
Currently DMing: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Coliseum of Conquest—The Arena (Sometimes)
While Bleep's song is still playing in the background, Ghee approaches Saros and Darrik just in time to hear the miner's question. One after the other, the two party dwarves deny being interested in the mine and then simply wander off. Darrik walks among the other miners for a few seconds, while Ghee finds a shady spot to sit and enjoy his drink of choice.
Also while this is all going on, Ang keeps quiet and observes the scene for some time. She pays particular attention to the miners that seem a bit slower than normal. @Ang:
You find no clear signs of disease. Instead, you spot plenty of scars on the miners' hands and arms. That in itself is not surprising. Mining is a dangerous profession and accidents are common: a stray swing of a mining pick, carelessness around candles, mishandling of mining carts... There are many ways to get a scar doing this type of work day in and day out. Nonetheless, some scars catch you attention. Some miners have scars on their foreheads, temples, or the back of their necks, which seem oddly placed.
Khan is able to keep her expression neutral throughout Bleep's initial jests. Though her hands being balled up into fists spoke a different story. A second before the performance began however, she saw the whistle-stick for what it was, shook her head, but then couldn't help but smile in at least mild amusement. It was as if the weight of several days of searching and evading hunters had finally lifted from the frogling shoulders. Around by the end of the performance, her smile widens at a new thought.
Thus empowered, and without looking up to Gregor, she spoke again. "Happy Workers, Better Workers. Better Workers, Better Yield. Better Yield, More Trust. More Trust, More Money." Khan finally looks up. "Truth in this you see. Payment in part, I see. You agree, yes? Only natural. But sweeten deal, you can. Swing dealings back more in your favor." As she said that, the Orange grung dangled another pouch in the air. While not as nearly filled to the brim with coin as the last, there was some truth in her words.
"What know of any elf that visits manor? Or better yet, you make arrangements so that Khan and helpers able speak with Lord directly, maybe?"
(@Lerus: Don't know if you necessarily need a roll for this, but just in case: 21, (if at adv. from Performance improving Gregor's mood: 23)
(And an insight check for any future response for detecting bullcrap: 7.)
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
Bleep soon ends his performance and starts conversing with some of the miners, "Bleep is wondering, what sorts of hazards have been seen during mining?"
He will listen and observe for responses that may seem strange to the miners that could account for their slower reactions and movements, even if they don't realize it.
Insight: 20
Extended Signature