Quisquiliae Group 1 IC

[Bulwer]

Edmund
The Fuzzy Yrthak Alehouse, Dryad District, Deepcave
Soon after 5 o'clock, 12 Heiron, 502 ATT

The pub was crowded, considering how early in the evening it was. There was little hint of activity, though-- the patrons weren't quite drunk enough yet for a good fight. The bartender was the usual one, an elf woman by the name of Gawya. As Edmund sat at the bar nursing a drink, a man with wings on his head entered, posting a notice, and chatting amiably with the barkeep. Edmund didn't know him, but at least one other person did: a young halfling woman with short hair who sat next to him. They talked around him for a moment about a job he was considering paying her to do, and then absconded to a free table elsewhere in the car.

Thankfully, something more interesting happened to earn Edmund's attention. A boy entered, about nine years old. His cloven hooves clip-clopped across the wooden floor as he approached the bar. "Sir," he said, tugging Edmund's sleeve. "Sir, I've a message for you. You're wanted at the offices of the Patrolmen, sir."

Edmund had heard of the Patrolmen. They were an upstart do-gooder's guild, no more than two years old, who had been gaining a following in the area of Deepcave between the north gate and the Dryad District by hunting down petty thieves and crooks. They hadn't dug into the business of any established gangs, though, and were free to grow in peace. He had no idea what they'd want with him, though.


Zeiv
The North Gate of Deepcave
Shortly before 5 o'clock, 12 Heiron, 502 ATT

The last hill outside of the city provided a wonderful view. Deepcave stretched out before Zeiv, from the one-story slums and shops near the north gate, to the wealthier areas further in with shingled roofs, to the lavish estates surrounding the great hill upon which Anthar's keep was placed, the city was vast and impressive. The gate itself was perpetually open, and the houses of the poor had begun to spread to the outside of the city's wall, using it for support. Zeiv was part of a stream of travelers and merchants heading toward it, and the stream thickened to a crowd as the gate grew nearer. No guards were posted, and traffic flowed freely, more inward than out.

The mass of people was unavoidable, and the Kenku found himself walking abreast with two human men with swords hung at their belts. They stayed tight with him through the gate, and remained uncomfortably close, even as the crowd loosened a few dozen paces after it entered the city. Another man, ahead of Zeiv, stood still, facing the crowd, with his sword in his hand, staring. "You there!" He was looking at Zeiv. "Halt!"


Adab Gul and Kaar
Headquarters of The Patrolmen, Dryad District, Deepcave
Between 5 o'clock and 6 o'clock, 12 Heiron, 502 ATT

The Patrolmen's headquarters was an unassuming two-story building sandwiched between a junk shop and a brothel. Two armed men, a human and a dwarf, both heavily bearded, stood guard beside the door, peering suspiciously at the people who walked past. Above them, a wooden sign read "PATROLMEN: WE ARE ON YOUR SIDE" in black painted letters.

It was to this location that Adab Gul had been summoned by a messenger who had interrupted his preparations to leave town. The boy in question, a tiny gnomish lad, led Gul through a twisting path of alleyways and roads (at one point ducking through an inn) in what was the closest thing to a straight line from where he was staying to here, the main street of the Dryad District. "Here it is, sir. The Patrolmen." He had a reverential tone in his voice, and he bore a proud expression as he marched forward through the door. He gave a nod to the guards, who nodded back at him in a friendly sort of way.

Inside, the walls were lined with chairs, some of which were occupied by a variety of humanoids who were waiting on the Patrolmen for help with the solution of a crime or were otherwise seeking help. Gul's boy led him to the desk, which was manned by an orcish female with dark blue skin and a weary expression. "You metal man got robbed, yes? Sit. Hope boy nice-- we tell boys say 'sir' to people." She gestured at a chair and scribbled something on a piece of parchment.

Occupying two of the chairs were a small human man in fashionably tailored clothing and his bodyguard, a large lizardfolk in bulky metal armor. His tail stuck out behind his seat, which had been pushed out from the wall to accomodate it. The two had been come there because an employee of the man, a noble by the name of Garthis, had been beaten severly the night before while on an errand for him in the area. Not wishing to come to the same fate, Garthis had brought Kaar, his bodyguard, along with him.

As Gul was instructed to sit, Garthis called out to him. "Hello there, 'metal man got robbed'! Come, sit." He patted a seat. "I've been here an hour, I could do with a conversation." He had a friendly, even jovial air, but it was easy to tell that he was used to being obeyed.

[Pyrusticia]

Gul nods thanks to the orcish desk sergeant, and reassures her that the boys manners had been impeccable. He then walks over to the pair by the wall, and after glancing up and down the considerable length of Kaar, turns to Galthis. "Of course, m'lord," he says, nodding politely.

Settling lightly in to the next chair, he turns to face the man and continues. "I regret to see one such as you in this deplorable place, for it means that the criminal element within Deepcave has grown so bold as to bother even the nobles among us. Tell me, m'lord, what troubles you?"

[Bulwer]

Adab Gul and Kaar

"One of my men was attacked in this neighborhood. He has no family, so I am here in that capacity to... seek justice, I suppose." He had an almost sarcastic tone on the last two words. "Ah, but that's not important. You, you're made of metal and wood, you're a-- a war-forged, isn't it? I've never met one like you 'in the flesh', so to speak. Tell me, do you eat, do you sleep? Who made you? I've so many questions!" His face took on an almost childlike earnestness, despite his age, which would seem to be around sixty.

[DeafnotDumb]

At the sound of his employer's enthusiasm, Kaar gives Adab a weary glance that manages to start with the annoyance of protecting such a person and work its way up, capping with the feeling of how useless his job is in the grand scheme of things. The Lizardfolk waits impatiently for Garthias to finish speaking before addressing the warforged himself. "You can answer those questions a bit later, if ya please, just after you've told me what it is that you're good at. Sword, stealth, magic, talking? Please don't tell me you're a priest. Like I told Gar- sir here that I don't tend to get on well with that lot." Neither Kaar's tone nor manners are terribly subservient, but it does make a bit of an effort. "It'd be good to get the bastard who did this. I swear, the one time I could make a difference, I’m not with him. Sorry, sir- I'll damn well make up for it now." Kaar nods to his employer before facing Gul again. "So, why are you in here, warforged- money lost? I'm Kaar. You?"

The lizardfolk breaks off from his questioning of Adab to look around the headquarters with mild approval. “Good to see people making an effort on their own, must say. Trying to stop things like this happening yet again. You need an extra pair of hands after sir here’s had enough of my special brand of tact, I’d be happy to help.”

[Pyrusticia]

Gul froze for a moment, taken aback by the sudden flood of questions. Recovering his aplomb, he acknowledged Garthis's deduction with a nod. "Yes, I am a warforged. I require neither food nor sleep, although I can eat should I so choose. I was crafted by other warforged long ago, but I did not...fit in with the society that created me. After some wandering, I settled down here, in Deepcave."

Glancing over at Kaar, he continued. "I specialize in the binding of magical energies...into scroll, most commonly, although I can also perform more spur-of-the-moment manipulations. I am here because my shop was recently robbed. Everything was stolen." He shakes his head, and repeats, "Everything."

[DeafnotDumb]

"That's bloody hard. That shop propably took you several years to set up, and someone rips it out of your grasp in a couple of minites worth of destruction. Good luck in getting your stuff back. Got any idea of where to start?"

Kaar looks at Garthais and then at Adab. "If you've really got nothing, then I think with ya skills that sir here probably has a job for you somewhere,even if you get sent to the bloody end of Quisquiliae in service to him. If you help me out here, then I suppose I could even pay you." Kaar gives the last offer honestly, if with reluctance. "I hate it when someone's freedom to work, improve is taken away. Makes me do stupid things. Worth it, I suppose."

[HempRope]

Edmund

Edmund was intrigued by the man with the wings on his head. He knew Gawya, and had an air of confidence about him, but people who knew what they were about didn't usually resort to Craig's Board. The Fuzz is a great place to have a drink, but doesn't bring in people looking for serious jobs. As the man and halfling depart Edmund leans across the bar to ask Gawya about him, but then he feels the boy at his elbow.

Nodding approvingly as the boy addresses him as "sir," Edmund pauses for a moment to consider what the Patrolmen could want. They were as likely to love him as to hate him.

"Is that the whole message?" he asks.

[Pyrusticia]

"Several centuries actually," Gul corrected Kaar almost apologetically. "Regretably, the augurer I consulted was able to give me only the vaguest of leads. And at that, it seems to be more information than anyone else has." Gul shook his head briefly.

"Still, as unsatisfying as the information is, it is still enough to begin a pursuit. And pursue them I shall, until I catch them, or find some proof of their death. As such, while I thank you for your kind offer of employment, unless said work happens to be along my path, I'm afraid I must decline." He tilted his head, as if reconsidering. "Of course, if your interests do coincide with my own...if, for instance, the bullyboys who assaulted your man turn out to be the same thieves who robbed my shop, or even to have information of them...then I would be more than happy to join forces with you, and lend whatever small aid I might prove capable of."

[Faulty]

Zeiv

The men flanking him had made him uncomfortably, but the total realization of the threat causes Zeiv to spring into action. He drops into a crouch and shadows begin to roil around his form. With a squak he throws himself at the man who ordered him to stop, moving away from his flanking pursuers. As he moves, the roiling shadows begin to engulf him further, and his claws shoot under his cloak, tearing his two shortswords out of their sheaths with the sound of metal on metal. When he reaches his opponent he strikes at the man, his blades darting in towards the man's gut in a V-shape.

I use a swift action to shift into Child of Shadow stance. I then move to 3B (the 15 foot movement while in CoS stance granting me concealment) and use Wolf Fang Strike to make a pair of melee attacks at the man, each one dealing Sneak Attack damage because he's flat footed.

Rolls:

Attack 1: [roll0]
Attack 2: [roll1]
Damage 1: [roll2] weapon and [roll3] SA
Damage 2: [roll4] weapon and [roll5] SA

[Faulty]

Second attack was a crit, here's confirming.

Critical Roll: [roll0]
Damage if confirmed: [roll1]

By the way, I forgot to mention that if the first attack brings him to -1 or lower, I can't make the second, so my turn would end with him dead or bleeding out.

[HempRope]

Edmund

When the boy doesn't respond, Edmund shakes his head, knocks back the other half of his drink, and waves to Gawya.

"Hope I'll be back," he says, sliding some coppers onto the counter. Shaking his head again, he stand from his barstool, grabs a heavy pack from the floor, and slings it over his right shoulder.

"Lead on, young man," Edmund commands. "What's your name, by the way?"

[Bulwer]

Edmund

"Well, sir, that little bit's all they tolk me, but if it was bad, sir, they'd've sent a three-man team instead of a messenger." He spun on one hoof and flashed a grin back to Edmund. "I'm Handi, sir." He said it Hahn-di, with the emphasis on the first syllable.

As he led Edmund out of the tavern, a twisted freak of a man cut in front of them, walking to the table occupied by the wing-headed man. Before the door closed behind the two, he could hear the words, "My spit's worth more than 5 gold, boy--"

The street outside was bustling with activity. The Dryad District of Deepcave, long since absent of any dryads (or indeed, trees), was a blend of housing for moderately skilled laborers and low-rent shops and marketplaces. A few merchant stalls, selling bags and rugs, were tended by bored-looking shopkeepers, and children ran about underfoot.

Handi set out confidently to the left, leading the way to the Patrolmen.

Zeiv

The two men that were flanking Zeiv didn't react in time to stop him from charging forward and impaling their comrade, who took both blades to his abdomen and collapsed without a sound, bleeding on the street.

"Pelor's nuts, he stabbed Sarge!"

"Sarge didn't have the Belt, did he?"

"No, I've got it. C'mon, let's knock this guy out before he stabs us, too."

The two men fanned out left and right, and didn't draw their weapons. Instead, they both began gesturing rapidly in perfect unison, and moved their lips as though whispering to themselves.

Make two Will saves.

Your 21 damage dropped "Sarge" to -4. A roll of 1-10 here stabilizes him, otherwise he drops to -5. [roll0]

The two men moved to D6 and D-1.

[HempRope]

Edmund

When he was last in Deepcave, the Dryad District had been Edmund's home (most of the time -- while he had kept a room there he still returned to his father's rather nicer house, towards the center of the city, some night). He had known it well, and so as Handi led him on a zig-zag path through the neighborhood's forest of triangular blocks, he was repeatedly surprised by how much had changed. It had only been two years, but smaller shops go in and out of business quickly. And apparently red-painted shutters had become fashionable.

Pulling himself back from his aesthetic judgments, Edmund pays a little more attention to his guide. The boy seemed too smug. Probably something to do with those hooves.

"So are they paying you for this?" he asks suddenly.

[Faulty]

Zeiv

Zeiv stumbles a bit as the magical sleep falls over him. He falls flat on his ass, teeters for a second, and then drops onto his back, fast asleep.

[Bulwer]

Zeiv

Zeiv awoke where he had fallen, sitting on the road. His arms were bound behind him, manacled securely. One of the men who had enspelled him turned the key in the lock, and stood up.

"He's cuffed. How's Sarge?"

"I'm fine. Damn, but that hurt. I'm gonna need one of the medics to patch me up when we get back."

"I hope this is the right kenku. Had to burn through the whole belt to get Sarge on his feet. Hey Ted, did we identify ourselves before he got hit?"

There was a moment of awkward quiet. "...no?"

Edmund

They were, in fact, paying Handi for his work: one silver piece a day, which he brought home to his mother, and sometimes a few extra copper, which he sometimes spent on candy and sometimes on the circus, which he likes very much, especially the ankheg, which he had heard ate people but he didn't believe it. All this and more, Edmund learned on his walk to the headquarters of the Patrolmen. Handi's speech was enthusiastic and rapid, serving as the melody atop the rhythm of his hooves on the cobblestone road.

When they arrived, Handi pointed to the desk. "Talk to the orc lady, she knows why you're here." He darted past the desk, through a door and into the back rooms of the building. The orcish woman looked up at Edmund with recognition and gestured for him to come over to the desk. She passed him a piece of thick parchment, folded over once.

"Good see you here. Read this, then sit." She lowered her voice and whispered something to Edmund, then shifted her attention back to her desk.

Adab Gul and Kaar

"My man Kaar here is not overpromising; I am indeed seeking to hire men-- and other things-- of talent, and if you are free, you may certainly be among them." He reached into the pocket of his jacket, and came up with a small creamy white paper card.


Garthis Adlebury
Adlebury Manor, Deepcave
Below the text was a small, ornate arrow that pointed to the south. As he passed the card to Adab Gul, the arrow wobbled a bit, then settled in more or less its original direction. "The card will point you to my home, if you ever need to find it."

Just then, the door opened, revealing a young satyr boy who was leading a large elf-blooded man into the entrance hall. They parted ways, and the man went up to the desk, received a note, and was pointed to the seats.

But before Edmund could sit, the door opened again.

"--it's not that, it's just that it's not respectful to be saying "Pelor's nuts" every time something bad happens."

"Respectful? What, you think Pelor cares what I say? It's not as though I'm insulting him."

It was the team of three that had knocked out Zeiv. The two younger men entered first, followed by their sergeant, who marched their kenku prisoner to the desk. Garthis rose, his face expressionless.

"Is this the one?"

"That for you to answer. You have mirror?"

"Ah. Yes." Garthis pulled out a small, ornate hand mirror from his pocket and spoke into it. "Allan, they need you to look at someone." He held up the mirror to Zeiv, who was summarily de-hooded. A tinny voice came through the mirror. Garthis shook his head. "He says it's not the one."

Pyrusticia or DeafnotDumb: DC16 Listen to notice the whispering.

[Faulty]

Zeiv

Zeiv fights off the lumbered feeling the sleep spell left on him. After listening to the exchange among his captors, he asks in a slightly jittery voice, "Well, could you introduce yourselves now? I thought you were bandits."

[HempRope]

Edmund

Edmund's eyebrows rise when he sees the woman at the desk. Looking aroud the room as he crosses it, he chuckles to himself at seeing Kaar and Gul. He smiles and nods at Kaar before giving him a quizzical look, and nods to Gul, as well.

Upon reaching the desk, the woman beckons him closer, and Edmund leans over it to hear her. He takes a letter from her, glances at it, and whispers something short to her, getting a quick reply. Folding the letter and sliding it into a pocket in his tunic, he says no more as the Kenku is examined.

If Ames is retconning I'll hold off on Edmund talking to Kaar & Gul for a minute?

[Pyrusticia]

Adab Gul and Kaar

"My man Kaar here is not overpromising; I am indeed seeking to hire men-- and other things-- of talent, and if you are free, you may certainly be among them." He reached into the pocket of his jacket, and came up with a small creamy white paper card.


Garthis Adlebury
Adlebury Manor, Deepcave
Below the text was a small, ornate arrow that pointed to the south. As he passed the card to Adab Gul, the arrow wobbled a bit, then settled in more or less its original direction. "The card will point you to my home, if you ever need to find it."


Gul accepts the Kaar's card and examines it briefly. "A very nice use of illusion" he comments admiringly, and drops the card into a small compartment that opens up briefly on his right side, where a normal humanoid might where a belt pouch. "I sincerely hope to find myself in a position where I may take you up on that offer, m'lord.

As the commotion at the front desk draws his attention, he returns Edmund's nod of recognition with a brief nod of his own. He continues to observe as the kenku is escorted into the room, and the scene that follows. When Garthis speaks into the mirror, he watches the item closely, attempting to determine the type of enchantment upon it.

Rolled a 23 on the Artificer Knowledge check to detect enchantment...not sure what the target for this one is, but I think it's safe to say he learns something about it. He may be deaf, but after a couple of centuries running a magical items shop, he knows his enchantments. :smallbiggrin:

[Bulwer]

Zeiv, several minutes ago

"Well, I'm Ted, and that's Carl and Sarge is the one you practically gutted." He didn't say it with any animosity, as though having swords thrust into one's gut wasn't something to hold a grudge over.

"And we're with the Patrolmen."

"That's a guild of lawmen in the city, if you haven't heard of us. We try to keep ruffians like you off the streets."

[DeafnotDumb]

Kaar grins at Edmund as he enters the room, and in response to his questioning glance motions towards Garthis beside him with his head and rubbed his fingers together to indicate money.

Kaar examined the Kenku as he was brought in and spoke ill-temperedly to the patrolmen as the conformation came back negative. "What did you do, just pick up the first guy with feathers that you saw? Or maybe you could have, you know, possibly checked for leads or something? What lead you to snatch this sod?" Kaar's fingers drum angrily on the chair as he regards the Kenku. "Well, what other leads to you have? Anything? Bloody hell, I need to do something if I'm to get this guy!"

[Faulty]

Zeiv

"What makes me a ruffian? All I did was walk into the city," Zeiv inquires.

[HempRope]

Edmund

Edmund raises his right eyebrow at Kaar's outburst. Those eyebrows must get a lot of exercise.

Best wait until I figure out how Kaar & Gul are received by this man before I do anything.

[DeafnotDumb]

Kaar

Kaar sends a half-serious glare at Edmund in response to the familiar sight of his raised eyebrows. He wasn't feeling particularity comfortable in this chair, which felt like it had been designed by someone without a tail.