"He really is great to have in a pinch!" Gibson chuckles and pats Hugh on the shoulder. "So, let's assume we believe your story, Gellie. Are you just trying to secure our alliance against future threats with a smile and a handshake or do you have some sort of real, tangible task you need performed? I've never had much of a stomach for politics. I find it to be contrary to the natural order of Cumian's will. But as I continue to cling to this mortal coil I must, on occasion, acquiesce to the demands of the powers and principalities of the land. What I'm trying to say is that as business arrangements go, partnerships come slow but Ol' Gib's Roadshow follows the gold flow! So far Young Sir Lordship is squarely in the lead having provided not only a job for which this motley crew was handsomely compensated, but the opportunity to vault our not inconsiderable talents into the limelight thereby increasing our value to the population as a whole! Now tell me," Gibson plants his walking stick and leans in, "Just how valuable is a compact of this nature to you?"
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Tul History Check: 15 to remember anything about the Pale Prow.
Tul actually finds she's happy Gib is here with them. She doesn't trust Primewater but she doesn't know how to call him out. But Gib seems to handle it effortlessly. For now she will have her tea and let Gib talk.
Primewater chuckles heartily at Hugh's question. "Oh, I have plenty of coin. I also have come into possession of a great number of magical odds and ends over the course of my career that I have kept in a secure vault elsewhere in town. 100 gold pieces each, or your choice of any item you may find in my vault. And what I require of you is to make contact with this ship, the Pale Prow and find out what exactly happened that night Petra Solmor died. Find proof of the boy's perfidy, and bring it to me. I have the ship's location, and I can have you taken out there to meet it." He sips his tea and walks back to the desk, removing a nautical map from one of the drawers. "Of course, if these are bloodthirsty pirates, you may need to resort to violence. And if that is the case, should you lot take control of the ship, you would be welcome to keep it. I can even give you a place to dock the ship on my personal docks."
"I cannot promise you the renown that you incurred with your adventures this morning. I know that that has already proven fruitful for you. Hell, I know Manistrad and Captain Fireborn are already planning work for you. We must keep this business discreet, especially since his majesty must hear of it before the average Saltmarsh sea dog. But you will have my gratitude. And I am a man who remembers his friends." He unrolls the map and studies it privately. "I will need a decision by tomorrow afternoon. Take tonight to think about it, and hear Lord Anders's...or should I say Skerrin's offer? I can certainly assure you, though, without drawing upon the Council's purse strings, the boy will not be able to match my offer."
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
(Re-rolling for Tul with advantage since the in-line roller didn't show up: 6)
You have heard a few tales from some of the old sailors you had served with about the Pale Prow. A heavy fog seems to accompany the ship's travels and there are rumors that it is crewed by cannibals or some other beastly creatures that feed upon human flesh. The old sailors had remarked that should you ever come across the boat on the open waters, your only hope was to outrun it.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Gibson gives him a long, steady stare, gauging the measure of Primewater's words.
Insight: 7 (not sure if having him charmed would grant advantage or any other mechanical benefit, but - 10)
Regardless of what he picks up, at the mention of gold and magical doodads, Gibson's bushy white eyebrows shoot up to where his hairline might've once been. "Well friend, I don't mind tellin' ya that you certainly make a convincing case! But, as you said, my confederates and I will need to confer, compare notes, and confabulate to be certain we're all in this together. They may not all talk that much but don't mistake that for having nothing to say!" Gibson looks around, checks his pockets to make sure he hasn't forgotten anything as he appears to be readying himself to leave. "Thank you again for your hospitality this evening. I'm sure we'll have an answer for you on the morrow." Almost as an afterthought, he lifts his walking stick over his head in punctuation and says, "Uh... May Cumian bless your house and bring your end swiftly. Ίσως δεν είσαι τρομερός."
(Yeah, I consider Insight a social skill, so you'd have advantage -- unfortunately, that roll does not give you much.)
Primewater bows to all of you. "That is all I could hope for. I shall be at Council Chambers tomorrow morning, then either here or in the Empty Net tavern tomorrow afternoon. I hope we can do business together." There is a pause and then Primewater adds "If I may offer some friendly advice. Please be careful. Saltmarsh is in a very fine equilibrium at the moment, and the lot of you are a destabilizing influence. An unknown. What you choose to do in the days and weeks ahead really MATTERS. Should you choose poorly, you may bring down this entire community down with yourselves. Good night to you all."
A butler appears at the door to usher you all downstairs and out of the mansion -- the other guests having long since departed and Zola and Lady Regan being nowhere in sight. It's a little after 9 pm, and the rest of the night is yours.
Gibson suggests finding a quiet place to discuss today's events rather than going back to the tavern where prying eyes and ears abound. Maybe somewhere further down the waterfront away from the docks?
"Primewater did give us a lot to think about," she says. "If we are drawing as much attention as he suggests, anywhere we stand still we risk being overheard. Perhaps if we take our time walking back to the Wicker Goat, we can share our thoughts without being eavesdropped on."
She looks over at Arvastan, "I'm sorry. That does mean crossing the Sharkfin Bridge again."
Arvastan winces and touches his forehead. "Ugh. My headache from listening to that slimy bilge rat and Gib natter on was just starting to fade. But yeah, we should probably try and keep a low profile -- at least until we talk to Lord Anders tomorrow."
Dimma keeps an outwardly stalwart appearance throughout the meeting with Primewater, weighing her options silently as she tries to decide what is best for her and hers. Once out of Primewater's manor, she looks around to the rest of the group, "Yes, let's walk and talk... We have plenty to think about."
Once the group gets going Dimma looks around the group to ensure there's no one tailing them and opens with the obvious question - at least in her mind - "He seems confident that this ship has the link that he's looking for. There has to be some other angle he's working, don't you agree?"
Tul moves to walk closer to the others so voices don’t need to be raised.
”If he has any links to the Sea Princes it might just be a ruse to either lead us into a trap or a way to use us to hurt the competition. Either way, I have heard stories about the Pale Prow. All of them center around it being some kind of ghost ship sailed by the scariest crew on the sea. Not sure if there is any truth to that. Pirates tell stories.”
Arvastan sighs. "I haven't returned here after twenty-some odd years to muck about in this town's politics. I neither know nor bloody well care whom King Skotti is. I don't care for the Princes, yet I can't bring myself to trust Solmor. Too many friends here would be implicated if he continued to implement his 'reforms.'"
He looks out to the sea. "Eda offered me a ship. My own command. I believe its a sort of...it takes a thief situation. I could...put a word in for you lot if you want."He stops suddenly. "Right now, my answer would be neither. Whatever Lord Anders is going to ask us to do, we're ultimately being forced to take sides. That's not me."
"Arvastan, I'm glad to hear we're of a similar mind about politics and whatnot, but I thought you were a Traditionalist by default. 'Slimy bilge rat' is no way to speak of your own fearless leader! But to tell you the truth, I was just grateful your flowery description wasn't aimed at me." Gibson chuckles. "But I disagree on one major point: I don't think we're yet at a place where we need to pick sides. Now, our man Gellie seemed sincere enough in his accounting of the details and mission, but I'd hope none of us are naive enough to believe he doesn't have deeper, more well-hidden motives. But if we have an angle to relieve the man of some small portion of his dubiously-gotten gains, I'd say we follow the golden brick road! This job would be on the sly by design so we shouldn't need to worry about poisoning the well with the rest of the council. That way we should still have all the same opportunities with the others since there seems to be more business brewing!"
Stepping ahead of the group, Gibson turns to face them and stops. "However, due to the apparent danger of this mission (heh, it feels so 'cloak and dagger' calling it a 'mission'...), I think we need to negotiate a bit more tomorrow. Getting to the Pale Prow and, thereby, the bottom of the mystery is one thing but there's no guarantee things happened the way he thinks and our pay should certainly not hinge upon the details falling in his favor. If they DO, though, it will be HUGELY profitable for our Gellie and I think a bonus would certainly be in order!"
Turning to keep walking with the group, he continues (because that's what he does). "Now my next question is: Should we make any passing mention tomorrow during the negotiations of the Sea Ghost that Anders wants us to intercept? Personally, I think we should stay silent and go through with the job but convince Young Sir Lordship to keep it close to the chest so our man doesn't get word of our involvement in case it's his boat. That way we stay out of the politics and help everyone at the same time! Everyone's happy, right??"
"Thank you for the offer, but my place is here for now. I don't think I will ever return to that old life."
She then listens to what Gibson says, trying to keep everything straight as he talks. She's finding it difficult to cipher out what his real point is sometimes but on these points I think she agrees with him.
"I would concur, Gibson," Tul begins. "We should not tell Lord Anders about what we discussed with Primewater nor should we tell Primewater anything about the Sea Ghost. If either is really connected to either ship I think that would be a foolproof way of ensuring someone sees to us not being able to wake up the next day."
She starts walking along a little more.
"I wish there was someone who actually spoke for the average person of the town. So far there seems to be the rich and powerful deciding what's best for Saltmarsh with very little care about what might really benefit the people."
"Primewater mentioned thatManistrad and Captain Fireborn might have work lined up for us, although both are also squarely in the Loyalist camp..." Dimma coughs to clear her throat and elaborates, "If we wanted to put up a facsimile of neutrality we may need to weigh our options. As for myself, it's no secret that my guild would benefit from King Skotti's plans for Saltmarsh. We may have already picked a side whether we've intended to or not."
“I’m goin’ where the gold’s good.” Hugh says. “Don’t matter what faction or side or whatever, just want some coin like everyone else in this town. Gold and power— it’s what makes the world go round.”
(You've all had a chance to weigh in -- we can skip to the next morning, unless any of you have any other business or want to pursue some carousing this evening.)
"Well I think we all have much to ponder for one night. What say we all go our separate ways and reconvene in the morning?" Gibson says with a smile.
"Uh, Dimma? A moment if you wouldn't mind?" He pulls her aside as the group disburses. "I noticed you're quite chummy with the miners and the rest of the dwarves in town as well as being connected to some guild or other. Is there any chance you'd happen to know anyone who could possibly augment this sleek new jacket of mine? I mean, you have your armor, Tul is quick enough nobody has a chance to touch her, and Hugh is... Well he's Hugh. Could drive a meat cleaver into that boy's cranium and he'd shake it off! I guess I'm just hoping someone could, I don't know, sew some metal bits into the lining or some such so I'd stand a fighting chance if we end up running afoul of pirates or what have you. I'd be willing to pay, obviously."
Meta: I'm hoping Dimma could use her Artisan's Blessing to turn Gibson's leather armor and 40gp into studded leather.
(That's fine -- Dimma can easily make those changes if she wishes @LavenderDame -- just let us know if you did that before going to sleep.)
You go your separate ways -- some back to the Wicker Goat, others to whatever quarters you found yourself for the time being. Heads spinning with the exertions of the previous day, sleep comes quickly for most of you. Morning comes, and as you each wake and hear a voice in your head -- for some of you, the voice actually wakes you up. It is Skerrin, the majordomo of Lord Anders Solmor.
"I trust you enjoyed yourself at Councilor Primewater's last night. If available, Lord Anders wishes to speak to you. Please join us for breakfast."
The Lord Protector's home is near the Home for Destitute Sailors and Retired Seamen, on the other side of the Sharkfin Bridge. The morning is misty and a fog is rolling in, signs of a storm later in the day but right now, other than the dampness, its currently mild and pleasant, a typical early fall day.
Tul shakes her head, trying to decide if she really did just hear Skerrin in her head or if she dreamed it. And if she dreamed it, why have her dreams become so mundane?
She gathers herself and heads downstairs to see if she can find any of the others to see if they heard the voice too. If so, she’ll suggest they go see what promises and threats these two will make. Perhaps lunch with the miners and anglers to round out all the interests in town so they’re pulled in all directions.
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"He really is great to have in a pinch!" Gibson chuckles and pats Hugh on the shoulder. "So, let's assume we believe your story, Gellie. Are you just trying to secure our alliance against future threats with a smile and a handshake or do you have some sort of real, tangible task you need performed? I've never had much of a stomach for politics. I find it to be contrary to the natural order of Cumian's will. But as I continue to cling to this mortal coil I must, on occasion, acquiesce to the demands of the powers and principalities of the land. What I'm trying to say is that as business arrangements go, partnerships come slow but Ol' Gib's Roadshow follows the gold flow! So far Young Sir Lordship is squarely in the lead having provided not only a job for which this motley crew was handsomely compensated, but the opportunity to vault our not inconsiderable talents into the limelight thereby increasing our value to the population as a whole! Now tell me," Gibson plants his walking stick and leans in, "Just how valuable is a compact of this nature to you?"
Characters currently being ruined on this forum:
Neria Tallfellow (Halfling Rogue) - Curse of the Crimson Throne with Ashen_Age
Tul History Check: 15 to remember anything about the Pale Prow.
Tul actually finds she's happy Gib is here with them. She doesn't trust Primewater but she doesn't know how to call him out. But Gib seems to handle it effortlessly. For now she will have her tea and let Gib talk.
Primewater chuckles heartily at Hugh's question. "Oh, I have plenty of coin. I also have come into possession of a great number of magical odds and ends over the course of my career that I have kept in a secure vault elsewhere in town. 100 gold pieces each, or your choice of any item you may find in my vault. And what I require of you is to make contact with this ship, the Pale Prow and find out what exactly happened that night Petra Solmor died. Find proof of the boy's perfidy, and bring it to me. I have the ship's location, and I can have you taken out there to meet it." He sips his tea and walks back to the desk, removing a nautical map from one of the drawers. "Of course, if these are bloodthirsty pirates, you may need to resort to violence. And if that is the case, should you lot take control of the ship, you would be welcome to keep it. I can even give you a place to dock the ship on my personal docks."
"I cannot promise you the renown that you incurred with your adventures this morning. I know that that has already proven fruitful for you. Hell, I know Manistrad and Captain Fireborn are already planning work for you. We must keep this business discreet, especially since his majesty must hear of it before the average Saltmarsh sea dog. But you will have my gratitude. And I am a man who remembers his friends." He unrolls the map and studies it privately. "I will need a decision by tomorrow afternoon. Take tonight to think about it, and hear Lord Anders's...or should I say Skerrin's offer? I can certainly assure you, though, without drawing upon the Council's purse strings, the boy will not be able to match my offer."
(Re-rolling for Tul with advantage since the in-line roller didn't show up: 6)
You have heard a few tales from some of the old sailors you had served with about the Pale Prow. A heavy fog seems to accompany the ship's travels and there are rumors that it is crewed by cannibals or some other beastly creatures that feed upon human flesh. The old sailors had remarked that should you ever come across the boat on the open waters, your only hope was to outrun it.
Gibson gives him a long, steady stare, gauging the measure of Primewater's words.
Insight: 7 (not sure if having him charmed would grant advantage or any other mechanical benefit, but - 10)
Regardless of what he picks up, at the mention of gold and magical doodads, Gibson's bushy white eyebrows shoot up to where his hairline might've once been. "Well friend, I don't mind tellin' ya that you certainly make a convincing case! But, as you said, my confederates and I will need to confer, compare notes, and confabulate to be certain we're all in this together. They may not all talk that much but don't mistake that for having nothing to say!" Gibson looks around, checks his pockets to make sure he hasn't forgotten anything as he appears to be readying himself to leave. "Thank you again for your hospitality this evening. I'm sure we'll have an answer for you on the morrow." Almost as an afterthought, he lifts his walking stick over his head in punctuation and says, "Uh... May Cumian bless your house and bring your end swiftly. Ίσως δεν είσαι τρομερός."
Characters currently being ruined on this forum:
Neria Tallfellow (Halfling Rogue) - Curse of the Crimson Throne with Ashen_Age
(Yeah, I consider Insight a social skill, so you'd have advantage -- unfortunately, that roll does not give you much.)
Primewater bows to all of you. "That is all I could hope for. I shall be at Council Chambers tomorrow morning, then either here or in the Empty Net tavern tomorrow afternoon. I hope we can do business together." There is a pause and then Primewater adds "If I may offer some friendly advice. Please be careful. Saltmarsh is in a very fine equilibrium at the moment, and the lot of you are a destabilizing influence. An unknown. What you choose to do in the days and weeks ahead really MATTERS. Should you choose poorly, you may bring down this entire community down with yourselves. Good night to you all."
A butler appears at the door to usher you all downstairs and out of the mansion -- the other guests having long since departed and Zola and Lady Regan being nowhere in sight. It's a little after 9 pm, and the rest of the night is yours.
Gibson suggests finding a quiet place to discuss today's events rather than going back to the tavern where prying eyes and ears abound. Maybe somewhere further down the waterfront away from the docks?
Characters currently being ruined on this forum:
Neria Tallfellow (Halfling Rogue) - Curse of the Crimson Throne with Ashen_Age
Tul nods to Gibson
"Primewater did give us a lot to think about," she says. "If we are drawing as much attention as he suggests, anywhere we stand still we risk being overheard. Perhaps if we take our time walking back to the Wicker Goat, we can share our thoughts without being eavesdropped on."
She looks over at Arvastan, "I'm sorry. That does mean crossing the Sharkfin Bridge again."
Arvastan winces and touches his forehead. "Ugh. My headache from listening to that slimy bilge rat and Gib natter on was just starting to fade. But yeah, we should probably try and keep a low profile -- at least until we talk to Lord Anders tomorrow."
Dimma keeps an outwardly stalwart appearance throughout the meeting with Primewater, weighing her options silently as she tries to decide what is best for her and hers. Once out of Primewater's manor, she looks around to the rest of the group, "Yes, let's walk and talk... We have plenty to think about."
Once the group gets going Dimma looks around the group to ensure there's no one tailing them and opens with the obvious question - at least in her mind - "He seems confident that this ship has the link that he's looking for. There has to be some other angle he's working, don't you agree?"
Tul moves to walk closer to the others so voices don’t need to be raised.
”If he has any links to the Sea Princes it might just be a ruse to either lead us into a trap or a way to use us to hurt the competition. Either way, I have heard stories about the Pale Prow. All of them center around it being some kind of ghost ship sailed by the scariest crew on the sea. Not sure if there is any truth to that. Pirates tell stories.”
Arvastan sighs. "I haven't returned here after twenty-some odd years to muck about in this town's politics. I neither know nor bloody well care whom King Skotti is. I don't care for the Princes, yet I can't bring myself to trust Solmor. Too many friends here would be implicated if he continued to implement his 'reforms.'"
He looks out to the sea. "Eda offered me a ship. My own command. I believe its a sort of...it takes a thief situation. I could...put a word in for you lot if you want." He stops suddenly. "Right now, my answer would be neither. Whatever Lord Anders is going to ask us to do, we're ultimately being forced to take sides. That's not me."
"Arvastan, I'm glad to hear we're of a similar mind about politics and whatnot, but I thought you were a Traditionalist by default. 'Slimy bilge rat' is no way to speak of your own fearless leader! But to tell you the truth, I was just grateful your flowery description wasn't aimed at me." Gibson chuckles. "But I disagree on one major point: I don't think we're yet at a place where we need to pick sides. Now, our man Gellie seemed sincere enough in his accounting of the details and mission, but I'd hope none of us are naive enough to believe he doesn't have deeper, more well-hidden motives. But if we have an angle to relieve the man of some small portion of his dubiously-gotten gains, I'd say we follow the golden brick road! This job would be on the sly by design so we shouldn't need to worry about poisoning the well with the rest of the council. That way we should still have all the same opportunities with the others since there seems to be more business brewing!"
Stepping ahead of the group, Gibson turns to face them and stops. "However, due to the apparent danger of this mission (heh, it feels so 'cloak and dagger' calling it a 'mission'...), I think we need to negotiate a bit more tomorrow. Getting to the Pale Prow and, thereby, the bottom of the mystery is one thing but there's no guarantee things happened the way he thinks and our pay should certainly not hinge upon the details falling in his favor. If they DO, though, it will be HUGELY profitable for our Gellie and I think a bonus would certainly be in order!"
Turning to keep walking with the group, he continues (because that's what he does). "Now my next question is: Should we make any passing mention tomorrow during the negotiations of the Sea Ghost that Anders wants us to intercept? Personally, I think we should stay silent and go through with the job but convince Young Sir Lordship to keep it close to the chest so our man doesn't get word of our involvement in case it's his boat. That way we stay out of the politics and help everyone at the same time! Everyone's happy, right??"
Characters currently being ruined on this forum:
Neria Tallfellow (Halfling Rogue) - Curse of the Crimson Throne with Ashen_Age
Tul smiles at Arvastan.
"Thank you for the offer, but my place is here for now. I don't think I will ever return to that old life."
She then listens to what Gibson says, trying to keep everything straight as he talks. She's finding it difficult to cipher out what his real point is sometimes but on these points I think she agrees with him.
"I would concur, Gibson," Tul begins. "We should not tell Lord Anders about what we discussed with Primewater nor should we tell Primewater anything about the Sea Ghost. If either is really connected to either ship I think that would be a foolproof way of ensuring someone sees to us not being able to wake up the next day."
She starts walking along a little more.
"I wish there was someone who actually spoke for the average person of the town. So far there seems to be the rich and powerful deciding what's best for Saltmarsh with very little care about what might really benefit the people."
"Primewater mentioned that Manistrad and Captain Fireborn might have work lined up for us, although both are also squarely in the Loyalist camp..." Dimma coughs to clear her throat and elaborates, "If we wanted to put up a facsimile of neutrality we may need to weigh our options. As for myself, it's no secret that my guild would benefit from King Skotti's plans for Saltmarsh. We may have already picked a side whether we've intended to or not."
“I’m goin’ where the gold’s good.” Hugh says. “Don’t matter what faction or side or whatever, just want some coin like everyone else in this town. Gold and power— it’s what makes the world go round.”
Alton Thorngage- (Klein’s One Shot String Adventure)
Holden Stonefist-(A Tale of Mercenaries)
Fenrick Wolfsbane- (Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden)
DMing-Ctleath13’s Lost Mines of Phandelver and Ctleath13’s Out of the Abyss
(You've all had a chance to weigh in -- we can skip to the next morning, unless any of you have any other business or want to pursue some carousing this evening.)
"Well I think we all have much to ponder for one night. What say we all go our separate ways and reconvene in the morning?" Gibson says with a smile.
"Uh, Dimma? A moment if you wouldn't mind?" He pulls her aside as the group disburses. "I noticed you're quite chummy with the miners and the rest of the dwarves in town as well as being connected to some guild or other. Is there any chance you'd happen to know anyone who could possibly augment this sleek new jacket of mine? I mean, you have your armor, Tul is quick enough nobody has a chance to touch her, and Hugh is... Well he's Hugh. Could drive a meat cleaver into that boy's cranium and he'd shake it off! I guess I'm just hoping someone could, I don't know, sew some metal bits into the lining or some such so I'd stand a fighting chance if we end up running afoul of pirates or what have you. I'd be willing to pay, obviously."
Meta: I'm hoping Dimma could use her Artisan's Blessing to turn Gibson's leather armor and 40gp into studded leather.
Characters currently being ruined on this forum:
Neria Tallfellow (Halfling Rogue) - Curse of the Crimson Throne with Ashen_Age
(That's fine -- Dimma can easily make those changes if she wishes @LavenderDame -- just let us know if you did that before going to sleep.)
You go your separate ways -- some back to the Wicker Goat, others to whatever quarters you found yourself for the time being. Heads spinning with the exertions of the previous day, sleep comes quickly for most of you. Morning comes, and as you each wake and hear a voice in your head -- for some of you, the voice actually wakes you up. It is Skerrin, the majordomo of Lord Anders Solmor.
"I trust you enjoyed yourself at Councilor Primewater's last night. If available, Lord Anders wishes to speak to you. Please join us for breakfast."
The Lord Protector's home is near the Home for Destitute Sailors and Retired Seamen, on the other side of the Sharkfin Bridge. The morning is misty and a fog is rolling in, signs of a storm later in the day but right now, other than the dampness, its currently mild and pleasant, a typical early fall day.
Tul shakes her head, trying to decide if she really did just hear Skerrin in her head or if she dreamed it. And if she dreamed it, why have her dreams become so mundane?
She gathers herself and heads downstairs to see if she can find any of the others to see if they heard the voice too. If so, she’ll suggest they go see what promises and threats these two will make. Perhaps lunch with the miners and anglers to round out all the interests in town so they’re pulled in all directions.