AvB - Coruhir

[Shadowleaf]

ONLY CaC03 AND HIS DM ALLOWED IN THIS THREAD, BY WORD OF TENTACLE MONSTER.

You enter a long hallway with doors on both sides. There are small signs on all the doors, identifying the employer and the job.

12 by your count are looking for protective workers, 9 are looking for problem-handlers.

There are 5 merchants, 3 petty nobles, 2 religious groups, 1 which is just labelled "Kobolds!", and 1 unmarked hiring bodyguards.

[CaCO3]

Coruhir begins to read the signs of the petty nobles and the merchants more closely, taking note of the details. In particular he carefully reads the descriptions on the signs for the former, if there are any.

[Shadowleaf]

Roll Knowledge: Local. Anything specific you want to know?

[CaCO3]

Knowledge: Local (NS)
[roll0]

Nothing in particular, other than their names and perhaps a rough knowledge of how powerful they are.

EDIT: It seems I know absolutely nothing. Are their names written there though?

[Shadowleaf]

They are. You want me to list them? Dominik Hertz isn't there, if that's what you're fishing for.
You do not seem to recall any of the names - which probably means they are not important.

[CaCO3]

Not really, it's just that I'd rather randomly pick a name than randomly pick a number from 1-3.

[Shadowleaf]

The names are:

Heino Gheros.
Jorlander Ferteno.
Obediah Frey.

[CaCO3]

Smoothing out the folds of his silvery cloak, Coruhir attempts to walk into the room labelled Jorlander Ferteno. If/when he gets inside, he scans the surroundings for the owner of the name on the door.

[Shadowleaf]

You enter a 10'x10' room, void of any features except a desk with a man sitting behind it in the middle of the room. A soft light glows from the walls.

The man is roughly 30 years of age, bald, and is wearing a black robe. He has a simple and pretty indifferent face. He looks you straight in the eyes. "Yes, and who might you be?" he says in a flat and non-caring tone.

[CaCO3]

"I am applying to act as a bodyguard. It seems that you are in the search of one. As to who exactly I am... I am a person of some talents in most areas, provided you give me enough advance notice, and I am usually a fairly able combatant. If you are in need of further information, feel free to ask."

[Shadowleaf]

He writes something on a piece of paper. "My employer is looking for a talented individual to deal with a wide variety of tasks. It may involve preemptive attacks on those who seek to harm him, and it may involve other things than simply protecting his person. Is this agreeable?"

[CaCO3]

"Depending on if everything is within the boundaries of law... if the tasks concerning the 'preemptive attacks' mean assassination, then I will probably have to seek employment elsewhere."

[Shadowleaf]

"I'm just the messenger, I doubt my master would word it as assassination - after all, killing someone before they kill you is not really murder, is it?"

[CaCO3]

"...Very well. Is there a contract I have to sign? Any restrictions?"

[Shadowleaf]

"I dunno, I'm just the guy doing the pitch." He slides over a document. "There's an address on it, that'd be lord Ferteno's home address. Visit him around sunset, and work out a contract."

[CaCO3]

Nodding, Coruhir picks up the document and, after reading it, slots it into one of the pockets of his traveling bag. "Thank you for your time. I think I will look into this job further."

[Shadowleaf]

Address is on the Noble District's part of Seller's Row.

The man rises from his seat, and turns around. You hear a click!, and a door appears in front of him. "This door will take you outside the Maid and the Mermaid."


Assuming you head through it, you exit the door and find yourself on the street in front of the Maid and the Mermaid. You glance behind you, only to see the doorway leading into the Maid and the Mermaid. Strange.

[CaCO3]

It is unlikely that I can find any other sort of employment here in the capital... Thinking this, he heads through the door that has appeared in front of him.

Coruhir wondered briefly if he should reenter the back rooms of the Maid and the Mermaid, then decided against it. After all, he could always come back later. And the job didn't sound too bad - if the people he had to preemptively attack were people that were going to murder his contractor, it was his contractor's right to retaliate.

He begins to head to the address indicated on the document, checking the placement of the sun in the sky and roughly what time it is.

[Shadowleaf]

You guesstimate the time to half-way between noon and sunset. You have a few hours to kill before evening comes.

[CaCO3]

Coruhir looks for a nearby tavern to purchase a glass of wine at in the Nobles' District.

[Shadowleaf]

You have no trouble finding such a place. It is an obvious step up in quality from the usual taverns of Sesbury (not counting the Maid and the Mermaid).

The tavern - the Bright Giant - has a single large room on the ground level, a large bar counter with a male dwarf behind it. Several round tables dot the room.
It's not too busy at this time of day, though in a few hours people will be returning from work.

A group of six monks sit in the back of the inn, eating and chatting silently.
A man - obviously noble from his very high fashion outfit - sits at the bar. He is probably around 25 years old, has short brown hair and a fancy beard. He looks annoyed.

[CaCO3]

Coruhir walks to the bar and takes a seat not too far from the noble, but not close enough so as to trigger an immediate confrontation.

"I would like to see what beverages you offer here, barkeeper."

[Shadowleaf]

The Dwarf looks you straight in the eyes. You spot the footstool he is standing on.
"I be offering six different kinds o' ale, two meads, eleven different kind'a wine, and later tonight I be offering some hard'a spirits."

[CaCO3]

"I'll take a glass of frostwine, if you have it. If not... which elven brews do you have here in stock?"

[Shadowleaf]

"Frostwine I canne boast, but the Greenleaf family make exellent wine. I'll pour up a taste fer ya."
The Dwarf finds a bottle undearneath the counter with a large green oaken leaf on the side. He pours a small bit into a wine glass and slides it across the counter.

[CaCO3]

Coruhir takes the proffered glass and swirls it around under the light slowly, sampling its aromatic flavor with his sense of smell. He follows this by physically making an effort to capture the wine's scent, and then takes a small sip of the liquid. Rolling it around in his mouth, he takes a breath through his mouth and moves that air to his nose, and finally he swallows the alcohol.

He notes the taste and aftertaste of the Greenleaf-brewed wine.

[Shadowleaf]

The wine has a slightly sweet flavour, very rich and has obviously matured nicely. It is one of the best wines you have ever tasted.

[CaCO3]

"How much for a bottle? This is quite a nice wine, I must say."

[Shadowleaf]

"It's quite expensive. Twenty gold pieces for a bottle. I'd sell it cheaper, but then I'd lose money meself."

[CaCO3]

"Twenty gold pieces is more than a fair price for a wine of this quality, I think. Do you accept platinum?"

Coruhir takes out 2 platinum from his belt pouch and puts it in his left hand before getting 20 gold pieces from the same location and putting it in his right, shrugging.

[Shadowleaf]

"Of course! This is tha Nobles District!"

He accepts your two platinum. What next?

[CaCO3]

Coruhir puts the bottle of wine into his traveling bag and leaves the tavern, uttering a quick word of thanks to the dwarf. He decides to see the city and scout out the main routes while he is unemployed as of yet.

He visits a poorer part of town and attempts to find a relatively poor street urchin, one that would be able to show him around the city for a nominal fee, disguising his noble's outfit and jewelry in the process into a common-place tunic of a sandy shade of brown wrapped around by a cloak of the same color and his shortsword at his side into a longsword.

[Shadowleaf]

You walk south for a few hundred feet until you hit Broad Chase, the main road going through the Merchant District. You see Ezekiel's Supplies, a well known merchant store on the opposite side of the road as you turn east and head for the Docks District.
Broad Chase is full of light at this time of day - men are returning from their daily labors, children can be heard laughing, only to be interrupted by their mothers shouting at them. Carts being pulled by horses, mules and farmers pass you by, a single City Guard patrol can be spotted conversing with a half-orc a some twenty feet away.
You head eastward, past the noturious Punchinello's Shop, past Pirner's Outfitters and take a left (turning northward) on Asignbury Avenue. You continue north for about 20 minutes until turning east, entering the Docks District.
The housing of the city gradually degrades from well built two-story houses, to more shabby and cheaper one-story housing that makes up most of the Docks district. Shady and dirty taverns, warehouses, and dirt roads are plentiful. It is obviously much poorer than the rest of the city.
The atmosphere has changed as well. While Broad Chase felt cheerful, with everyone smiling back, kids laughing, and women singing, the Docks district feel much more grim. The people passing you mostly look at their feet, or travel in larger groups of strong looking men. Not many talk, and those that do are quiet and hushed.

You have no trouble finding a small street urchin. As you approach him, he looks at you, as if expecting something. "Ye, what'cha want?"
He would be cute, were he not covered in dirt. He has short curly brown hair and striking blue eyes. He wears a worn down shirt and loose leather pants. He is barefooted.

[CaCO3]

"Show me around the city. I will give you ample recompense. Enough to live by for a few days in this district, I imagine."

Taking 10 on rushed diplomacy check without penalties, immediate result of 23.

[Shadowleaf]

"What'ssat? Ample wha'? I'd be happier with gold, thank ye very much."

Spot Check, please.

[CaCO3]

"Coins for your trouble."

[Shadowleaf]

((Notice the edit))

[CaCO3]

Spot: [roll0] Epic fail. Although technically my purse is invisible because I'm in a magical disguise.

[Shadowleaf]

A bit of dust finds its way into your eyes and nose, and you sneeze hard. As you open your eyes, the street urchin looks at you funny.

Nothing in Sense Motive, I assume? :smallbiggrin:

Edit @ Wallet: Would your character be wise enough to hide his purse before venturing into a poorer district, when he knew he would need the gold?

[CaCO3]

D: He keeps all his gold in his belt pouch, and I'd say he would be intelligent enough to hide the fact that he could afford a really shiny belt pouch in the first place. I bet the urchin is stealing my stuff. :smalleek:

Coruhir checks his belt pouch to see if he's lost anything, after seeing that the urchin is looking at him in a funny way. He readys an action for Command as soon as the urchin attempts to flee.

[Shadowleaf]

You do not really read anything from his expression - you are generally really bad at reading emotions off others.

Your haversack is still there.

You have a wisdom penalty, no ranks in Sense Motive. Human emotions are hard as hell for you to read off a simple expression.

[CaCO3]

"Well... this many gold."

Coruhir searches in his pouch, trying to dig out three gold pieces.

[Shadowleaf]

"And what'cha want me ta do? Take ye 'round the docks?"

[CaCO3]

"Preferably around as much of the city as you know."

[Shadowleaf]

"I dunno if ya know much 'bout the Docks, but we don't usually leave it, us that live here, that is. We're no fancy merchants or nobles, and we have no real reason to go into the city. Lookin' for anything in particular? Some nice ladies pulling tricks, card games, perhaps some fights?"

[CaCO3]

"I'm not really proficient at card games. However, watching a few fights could be interesting... or are you inviting me to take part in them?"

[Shadowleaf]

"I'm not inviting ya to do nothing, though I do know Scaly Jim, and I'm sure he'd love for you to fight. 'course, what goes on in that place, stays in that place. Understand?"

[CaCO3]

"Of course."

[Shadowleaf]

"The money, then?"

[CaCO3]

Coruhir searches in his pouch, trying to dig out three gold pieces.

Did he find any money or not? :smalleek: I might have to beat the guy up and take his stuff if my money is gone.


"How much?"

[Shadowleaf]

Yea. Quick scan shows all your money is still there.
"Fifty goldies."

[CaCO3]

Convenient. Unfortunately I don't think I want to spend all of my money on this kind of thing...

Having no desire to spend all of his gold so soon, he shrugs and leaves the Docks if there is no further interference, having sated his curiosity on what the state of lawlessness and the somewhat illegal activities of the poor in the city were like. Granted assassination and the like was probably just as illegal, but nobility always had some way of justifying it if they survived.

Once out of the line of sight of the street urchin he quickly changes his hair, minor details about his facial features, and his clothing to a different color. Then he waits at a street in the Nobles' District close to his potential employer's home for sunset, eating some trail rations from his Everlasting Rations bag to pass the time.

[Shadowleaf]

As soon as you turn around, the urchin continues: "Sorry, I was only tryin'. I'll do it fer five!"

[CaCO3]

"Away. I don't think I have time to waste in any case. Thank you for the offer."

Command, Will save DC 17 or flee as full-round action as fast as possible.

[Shadowleaf]

The boy takes off in the opposite direction of you.

[CaCO3]

Coruhir takes the aforementioned actions and waits until sunset, making a mental note to understand the city better before going into the suburbs.

Thieves are evil. I am a little bit paranoid because of the way my friend plays his Rogues... Sleight of Handing everything we have, basically, and running away after.

[Shadowleaf]

By the speed of plot, sunset comes.

He's a kid. How much Sleight of Hand could he have had?
... Okay, he had +11. But still.

[CaCO3]

Coruhir goes to the address on the document, notifying the guards at the door (if there are any) politely that he is here to take on the role of a protective worker for a noble named Jorlander Ferteno, currently residing here.

[Shadowleaf]

Jorlander lives in an impressive mansion - not as impressive as the estates off in the distance, but it is still a beautiful piece of architecture.
There is one guard posted at the front door - a former City Guard by the looks of it. He is big and mean-looking, almost ogre-ish, with a nasty scar across his jaw. He carries an evil looking club, and seems to be about as intelligent as the ogre he resembles.
As the guard waves you past, the front door is opened by a tiny and frail old man wearing a servant's outfit. "Yes, how may I be of service? Do you have an appointment with the master?"

[CaCO3]

"Yes, I believe so. I am looking to be hired as a protective worker of sorts, and the man who referred me here said to come at sunset. "

Coruhir nods, taking out the documents from the bag at his side.

[Shadowleaf]

"Ah yes, very good. I will go tell His Lordship. Feel free to ask the cook, should you require something to eat a drink. His Lordship will meet you in the sitting room."
The man steps away from the door, and you are lead inside. You enter through a grand hallway, with beautiful marbel statues in each corner, beautifully painted pictures of knights doing battle, and a finely crafted and adorned longsword hanging on the wall.
Three doors - two open, one closed - lead further into the house, and a staircase leads upstairs. You smell something cooking coming from the first door to the left. The door in the middle leads to what you assume is the sitting room, and the last on the right is closed.

[CaCO3]

Coruhir nods curtly, and heads for the middle door, walking at a quite leisurely pace.

[Rizban]

A terrible explosion suddenly rocks the entire city, and the ground shakes as if an earthquake were tearing the city apart. The sky lights up from a blast many times the brightness of the sun, and you are certain that certain death has at last come to claim you. As the brightness fades, you look toward the Mages' Quarter and see the last remnants of the horror burning directly towards the sky in a seemingly endless stream of raw, burning mana which threatens to tear reality asunder. What seems like an eternity passes as you stare, though it is likely only a few seconds, and at last the blast fades away. In the distance, you hear a building collapse, and you are certain that something horrible has been unleashed upon the city.