Those Adventuring Guys IC

[Rizban]

Variss Lae'reth arrives at a merchant shop in the seedier portion of South Market towards which he had been directed. He pulls on the front door, only to realize it is locked, and remembers he was directed to enter through the back door. A moment later, he enters in a dimly lit back room where a dwarf, human, and halfling are already gathered.

The merchant who recruited the four of you (each individually) gives quite a displeased look at the tardy elf and sighs heavily, saying, "Finally, the last of you has arrived. Now, as I was saying... I recently placed an order for some exotic... delicacies from a dealer who oft times frequents Glasken with his wares. These were purchased for my son's coming of age ceremony. Now, this is a traditional good used by my clan for generations as part of the rite of passage. Due to the difficulty of acquiring said goods, I was required to pay in full in advance. Having dealt with this swine before, I trusted him and paid the costs. Now that the goods have arrived, he demands twice again what I have already paid, insisting that my former payment was simply the first installment! Obviously I have been cheated by this cur, and though I would most likely pay simply to settle this without trouble, I currently lack the funds.

Now, normally, I would go to the town guard with my complaint but for two things. First, what I have ordered is highly perishable and will likely not last the night without spoiling, the guard being notoriously slow. Second, despite it's use in this rite for countless generations, it is a highly restricted, nearly illegal, substance. It's perfectly harmless, I assure you. It simply received some bad press from a small activist group, and the leaders of our fair city banned it rather than deal with the activists so close to a reelection.

Needless to say, I am in quite a bind at the moment. Here, I have the directions to the warehouse within which I know the shipment has been stored. I have seen the crate myself, and it bares this insignia upon it." He sets a piece of paper on the table with directions and a crudely drawn crest on it. I will even loan you my horse and cart if you need it, but I must have that crate in my possession by tomorrow no later than midday.

Now, if you'll excuse me, my shop has been closed long enough. Go now and retrieve my goods. Until I have them in my possession, I do not know you. If it comes down to outright theft of my rightful property, take a few other boxes too. I don't want any crimes tracked back to me. And I'd rather you not kill anyone, but... accidents do happen."

The merchant shrugs and immediately exits through a door without another word, reopening his shop to the public. He will pretend to have never met you should you approach him without the crate.

[Freshmeat]

Variss Lae'reth

The elf watches as their employer leaves, squinting his eyes a little and with a quizzical expression on his face. Dressed in a dark brown apparel, with a grey cloak and matching boots, he seems experienced enough, although his features belie his youthfulness. Two finely-polished short swords can be seen hanging from each side of his belt.

To be honest, Varisss had expected something a little different. For all his efforts at trying to find the merchant's shop (only to still arrive too late anyway) this job offer seemed a bit, well, shady. Just a bit. But then Variss didn't really see much of a problem in stealing from, in a sense, thieves. Besides, the job sounded interesting and he could use the money.

With a glance, Variss inspects his companions - the dwarf, the halfling and the human. He stretches his hand out in their general direction and says:
"Pleased to make your acquiantance, gentlemen. My name is Variss Lae'reth."

[Dax Thura]

Vagin Heywell

"Sir. One small thing before you leave. I did not hear you mention payment for our service."

He takes Variss' offered hand and says simply, "I am Vagin", before letting it go.

[EternalMelon]

"Mine name is Targnag"he says to the people in the room. His eyes scan the room, content in what he finds he loosens up.

[The Dark Fiddler]

"And I am Slersh," the halfling says, jumping up to make sure that he is noticed, and returning Variss' gesture with one popular among the youth of the city.

[Rizban]

After brief introductions, the four look around and realize there is nothing to do but leave out of the back door through which they entered the shop.

[Dax Thura]

Vagin Heywell

"Sir. One small thing before you leave. I did not hear you mention payment for our service."

He ignored my question?

[Rizban]

((Yes, he left before anyone could ask any questions and will refuse to acknowledge anything should you try to ask him now.))

[Dax Thura]

"I have a bad feeling about this. That was rather suspicious. I would hate to have a similar concern with him that he claims to have with this Glasken fellow. Well, my purse is to light to be worry about it too much right now. Why don't we go to the warehouse to see what's what?"

[The Dark Fiddler]

Slersh nods. "Right. ...what'd he say about the horse and cart? Oh well, too late now, I suppose."

[Freshmeat]

Variss

"He said we were free to use his horse and cart. Perhaps this means that the crate he spoke of is too large to simply carry with us? Makes me wonder just how much of this good he really needs."
Variss rubs his chin for a moment, as he pauses to inspect the insignia the merchant had drawn. After memorizing it, he puts the piece of paper in his pocket for future reference.
"Well, no sense in waiting around. I'm with Vagin - let's find that warehouse and see how things look from there."

[Rizban]

((Glasken is the name of the city.))

[EternalMelon]

"If there is nothing left to do lets be off!"

[Dax Thura]

"Alright, after you. Just so that it's noted that I don't like that he didn't make mention of pay."

[The Dark Fiddler]

"Is that all you care about, Vagin?" Slersh asks mockingly.

[Dax Thura]

"No, I also care about coming out of this alive and well.

[Rizban]

As the four of you exit the shop and file back out of the alley into the street, Variss spots a street urchin watching the four of you. Suddenly, he runs up to Vagin and says "Hey, you! A man gave me a sil... a gold piece and promised you'd give me another if I delivered this to you."

He presses a parchment into Vagin's hand while eyes his coin pouch expectantly.

[Dax Thura]

Before he scans the note, Vagin asks, "What did the man look like?"

No matter the description, Vagin then reads the letter before giving the child any money.

[Rizban]

"You know, uh.. tall, had hair, um... a face... two arms."

The Note: (Dax THura only, unless he chooses to share)"I'm surprised you'd show up around here again, Madarius. If you keep flaunting your face around town, it's only a matter of time before Krell or Cassatta decides to smash it in. Gods, I'd have half a mind to do it myself it we didn't make such a good team. I'm willing to forgive your last double cross if you see fit to meet me in the alley behind the Blue Ox just before sundown today. Otherwise...

G."

The note ends there.

[Dax Thura]

Vagin's frown deepens. "Sigh. The plot thickens." He hands the note off. (Read the spoiler.) Then he hands the boy 2 silver. "This is more than you deserve. Now be off."

[Rizban]

The boy looks slightly irritated and darts into an alley across the street.

[EternalMelon]

What does the note say?
(ooc(barbarian, cant read))

[Freshmeat]

Variss takes the note and reads it with just the slightest hint of surprise on his face. Motioning to Targnag, he explains: "It's adressed to a certain 'Madarius'. Apparently a former business partner of his, who we only know by the initial 'G', is warning him against an attack on his life, courtesy of a Krell and Cassatta. We are to meet him in the alley behind the Blue Ox this evening."
The elf turns to Vagin.
"What's your take on this? On the surface it seems like these people have the wrong guy, but they seem quite certain that you and this Madarius are one and the same. You don't seem all that surprised about this turn of events either."

[Dax Thura]

"He never discussed payment. The only time you don't discuss payment is when it has been previously discussed or when you don't plan to pay anyway. It seems we have two choices: run or fight. Myself, I'm not much for running. What of the rest of you?"

[EternalMelon]

"Running?" He asks.Why run? Once they see our strength we will win this fight! To the Blue Ox!"
Running off to the right he turns around and asks,"ummm....where is this Blue Ox?

[Freshmeat]

Variss frowns for a bit, curious as to why his question concerning Madarius was being ignored, or if he's missing something. But he figured that things would become clear in time.

"I'm not a fan of running either. I say we go to this Blue Ox and see what's what. The note says something about only going there just before evening falls, so we've still got a few hours left. We might want to scout out the warehouse first."

[Dax Thura]

"You're right. Let's go."

[The Dark Fiddler]

"Right, no use standing around, since we're all in agreement!" Slersh takes the paper with the directions to the warehouse and, after a moment of study, takes off towards it.

[Rizban]

Sorry about disappearing like that. I ended up getting a bit sick, then my fiance had a few days off, then it was her birthday, then it was my best friend's birthday, and then yesterday was my birthday. Combine that with my university starting back this morning and having to get my stuff moved back from my parents' house to my apartment, and I just plain haven't had time to even turn on my computer, let alone update the game.

I'll get back to doing updates after I get done with class for the day. Shouldn't be too bad, since it's first day syllabus time. What really sucks is that 3 of the classes I still need to graduate are all offered on the same day at the same time, so I'm stuck with only 3 measly classes this semester... which pushes my graduation date back another semester... :smallmad:


((So... where are you actually heading? To the Blue Ox to follow the note or the warehouse to follow the job? There's technically enough hours in the day to do both...))

[Dax Thura]

((I believe we were going to scout the warehouse then go to the Blue Ox.))

[Rizban]

It turns out that the directions are slightly wrong. After spending an hour searching, you finally arrive at the address. The warehouse is two floors tall and made primarily of stone. It seems to belong to a decently wealthy merchant, as it has its own private dock on the river. A sailing vessel is moored at the dock, and some twenty swarthy men are busy unloading crates and barrels from the ship, carrying them into the warehouse through a very large set of double doors which face the river. Facing the street is a single door, outside of which stands one guard.


It is about 1 1/2 hours until sunset.

[Freshmeat]

"Hm, getting inside won't be easy. Maybe we could create some sort of distraction while one, or all of us, sneak inside, grab the crate and move out. We'd have to act fast though. Alternatively, we could pretend to be dockworkers and move in from the side, but that might prove to be nigh-impossible. Maybe we could simply look for more entrances - windows and such. What do you guys think?"

[Dax Thura]

"What I think is we were set up. As to your plan, I don't like the idea of splitting up right now. We were brought together and I'd like to stay together.

We should get to the Blue Ox. It's getting close to time."

[EternalMelon]

"The blue sounds like an idea i like. This is not a fight we would win at with out trickery and luck.

[The Dark Fiddler]

"If not for the time, I'd say we should finish up here. I've got luck and trickery... but as long as we do something, I'm happy."

[EternalMelon]

"I would rather fight at the blue ox than this place, but i would rather get that cart while we are here than go back. I also don't like standing here argueing, if you say we can, than tell us the plan."

[The Dark Fiddler]

"It's quite simple, actually..." Slersh rummages around in his pockets and pulls out a scroll. "With this, I can cast a spell to make that guard at the door obey me." He puts the scroll back, and with a slight flourish, his hands begin glowing slightly. "I could also cast a spell to cause him to pass out."

[Dax Thura]

"Ok, that's two. What about the other twenty guys?" Vagin says rather sarcastically.

[Freshmeat]

"I'd say it's worth a shot. We might even get that guard to bring the crate to us instead. In any event, with him by our side we'd look a lot more legit. Of course,, we probably still want to avoid getting seen by more people than absolutely necessary."

[EternalMelon]

"What other twenty guys? They are on the other side of the warehouse. As long as the guard gets the crate for us they shouldn't see us at all. the only problem with our plan is that the crate might be guarded, so we should follow our guard."

[Rizban]

The guard notices the group suspiciously discussing things and frequently looking at the warehouse. You now have his full attention.

[The Dark Fiddler]

"Dammit, it seems we've been noticed..." Slersh pulls out the his scroll case and removes the scroll of Charm Person. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this, since it's my only scroll of this spell, and I don't know how to cast it without, but I doubt we'd get away easily just leaving now." He quietly reads the writing on the scroll, making a few intricate motions with his hands. The writing fades from the scroll. "Whoever has the drawing of the insignia, hand it over. Please, let me do the talking. And hurry, I'm not sure how long this spell will last." He speaks this all as quietly as possible to avoid the guard hearing him.

(Slersh casts Charm Person on the guard, Will save DC 15 negates)

[Dax Thura]

I'll follow Slersh's lead, playing the role of the strong, silent guy until the stuff hits the fan.

[Rizban]

The guard suddenly seems to be in a much friendlier mood.

[The Dark Fiddler]

((I'll just assume Slersh was handed the insignia, to keep things moving)).

Slersh approaches the guard. "Hello, good sir. We were sent by a friend of mine to retrieve a possession of his stored in this warehouse. He said it was a crate with this symbol on it..." with this he hands the guard the paper, "and I was hoping you could help us find it." He says all this with a smile on his face.

[Rizban]

The guard examines the note for a minute, scratches his head, and says, "Yeah, I think maybe it's the crate that got unloaded upstairs in the boss's office. Hmm, yep, it looks like the same one. I remember, because I was on duty at the time, and I was told how important it was that no one gets near it, and that it's very special, and that some guy wants it, and that he's going to say he paid for it, and maybe he did, but maybe he didn't, and that he wants it real bad, but that I can't gives it to him, because he owes the boss a favor, and he's not to be gettin it untils that's been a done, and that he's likely to try to steals it, and that I'm supposed to be watching fer the likes of him, and that he's real sneaky like, so he might get past me, but he's not a gonna get past the boss's dog, even if he knows where the crate is, but I'm sure not gonna tell him it's upstairs, no sir, that's not something I'm a gonna do, you see, because this here job is real important to me, and i have to feed my kids, and my wife is all demanding like, and this is like the third job I've had this month, and with the eco.. iconom... money sitiation in this here city, it's hard for an honest man to make a living, but I tells my wife she don't have to worry none, because I got this here fine guard job now, and I'm not gonna go losing this one like I did the job at the bakery or the job at that there carpenter shop, nope, because this here job is nice and easy, and I just gots to keep out the nosy like people, but that I don't have to work too hard, because the alarm magics and magic locks and stuff on the building is good, and I just have to tell people to go away, which my wife says I'm good it, bless her soul, and I am too, because I'm very stern and happy to do what I'm told, and I've been told to tell people to go away, but you folks look nice and friendly, so I'm not just gonna be sending you away, but I'm supposed to see, so if my boss comes out, then you're going to have to leave quick like, or I might not be able to feed me kids, because my wife just had another one, and we named her Jillian, and she's got the blondest hair and prettiest green eyes you ever did see, and she's even got my nose, but that's about the only bad part she got from me, because the rest o' her looks just like me darling wife, and I've gots to provide for my Jillian, because she's got to grow up and be right pretty and have a nice little dowry, so she can marry some well to do business type man, like my boss here is, and she'll be set up right nice like in a little place of her own in the nicer part of town, and she ain't gonna have to live hard like her momma and me has had to do most of our lives, but that's all gonna change now, because I got this here job, and it pays good, and I'm gonna keep it, and then I'm..."

He continues on until one of you stops him or the spell's duration ends.

[Dax Thura]

Does he ever give his name or address?

[Rizban]

No. In fact, the only name he ever mentions is that of his daughter, Jillian. You do, however, surmise that he has between 4 and 7 children, and his mother-in-law may or may not be living with them.

You are quite certain of the fact the the crate for which you are looking is locked within the warehouse owner's office, which is apparently to be located above the ground floor of the building. You surmise the the office is most likely an enclosed loft, probably built into one corner of the the warehouse with the rest of the building open to the roof, giving the warehouse owner a fair view of the stored goods, as is typical for such warehouses.

[Dax Thura]

"So, what's our move, Slersh?"

[The Dark Fiddler]

Slersh interrupts the guard. "I would hate to do anything that would cause you to lose your job, of course, but this crate is very important. If you do you lose your job, I would help pay to support your family until you can find another, and I'm sure my friends would too. I'd also help you to find a new job, since it would be horrible if you lost this one because of us."

[roll0] - Diplomacy, if needed.

[Freshmeat]

"Yes," Variss adds, who finds himself torn between the willingness to accomplish this task, but also his compassion for the poor guard. "You"ve got our word on that."

I suppose that counts as Aid Another for a +2 bonus on Slersh's check if I meet a DC 10 check here (provided Rizban agrees):
[roll0]

[Rizban]

"Oh, no, see this is a good job, and I can't go betraying my employers, no matter what. Uh... best I can do you for is that they close up around sun down and there's a shift change about an hour later... So... you'll need to move along now before the boss sees you and gets suspicious."

[The Dark Fiddler]

"Thank you very much. You're a very kind person for helping us like this. Come on, guys, we have other things to do." At this, Slersh walks off, muttering under my breath, "...my only damned copy of the scroll..."