World of Salvus Alpha (IC)

[LoyalPaladin]

King’s Castle Headquarters, Market District, Windfall City

Today’s the day. After a long journey, lots of deliberation, and no small amount of hardship, you’ve made it to the King’s Castle Adventuring Company headquarters in Windfall city. Some of you have never been to a sky city and some of you have spent most of your lives here, but this is the first time any of you have ever been inside this building.

As you step over the threshold, you take in the madness that is Savlus’ premier Adventurer’s Guild. The first floor is packed with tables and what looks like an open bar, spells are flying through the air, two ellis are dancing on the table singing a song about someone you don’t know, and you’re pretty sure you just saw an Orc-Kin bench pressing an Uhrman.

You make your way across the room, only to be stopped and greeted by a dark haired man, wearing a nice white shirt with black pants, and holding a clipboard. He’s about 5’11” and looks to be in his mid 40’s. He’s a handsome man and you get the feeling that he was quite the stallion when he was younger. He looks you up and down, smiling genuinely. “Look who decided to answer their letter! We had a feeling you’d come today.” He turns the clipboard around, revealing each and every one of your names. “I’m Zeph, and I’ll be your escort today.”

[IZ42]

Ankhit is the first to arrive. He cheerily greets Zeph, replying "Hi! I'm Ankhit! When can we start kneecapping bad guys?"

[LoyalPaladin]

King’s Castle Headquarters, Market District, Windfall City

He smiles and shows his white teeth. "Well, little one, you have a lot of spunk!" He places his hands on his hips, lifting his jacket and revealing two well maintained guns. "If you want to get to adventuring, you better have brought your signed letter!"

[IZ42]

Holding up his finger, Ankhit reaches into his clothing and withdraws the folded letter, slightly grubby from travel. He unfolds it and hands it to Zeph, saying "Here it is! This means I'm a whoo-si-whatsits, adventurer, right?"

[LoyalPaladin]

King’s Castle Headquarters, Market District, Windfall City

"Perfect!" Zeph takes the paper and looks it over, finally folding it up and clipping it to his clip board. "You're an official member, now. All I need is the rest of your team's forms and we can get started!"

[Snowbluff]

Tristana

Tristana brushes herself off from the journey. She looks out of place, despite her cloth and finery, because of her scars, a couple shortened fingers on her right hand, and an eyepatch.

She produces her letter. She doesn't like to think about how the letter found her. She was "borrowing" a house from a recently short colleague.

"A pleasure, I'm sure," she smiles. Her teeth are unnaturally threatening and sharp, but her smile is pleasant.

Diplomacy [roll0]

[VirusInk]

Sif strolls in, smiling ear to ear. She obviously knows why she's here. Spotting Zeph, she sends a little two fingered solute his way. "You look like the man I need to speak to!" She grins, eyeing his clipboard. "Sif Fenra. That's me!" The lupine girl rocks back and forth on the heels of her feet a few times.

Noticing Ankhit and Tristana, Sif turns her smile their way and waves.
I thought I smelled a Silvestri.

[Extra Anchovies]

Cassidy

The next to step forward is a young human woman dressed in gear more suited for a hunting trip in the forest than for a night out on the town. "Team? I take it that I'll be with this lot for my first assignment, then?", she says, indicating the other new arrivals as she presents her letter.

[LoyalPaladin]

Zeph
King’s Castle Headquarters, Market District, Windfall City

Zeph smiles politely at Tristana and takes her letter, clipping it to his board. "Glad you decided to sign up! Some of the recruiters were taking bets!" He chuckles politely as he catches a jingling bag out of the air. "Of course, I always had faith."

He turns to Sif. "Greetings, miss Fenra!" Zeph grins, matching her enthusiasm. "We all knew you would sign up. How's your uncle?" Clipping her letter to his board, he then turns his smile to Cassidy. "You're correct! You're a sharp one. You see, 'the King' plans for a party of five from the get-go and it looks like you lot are the five newcomers!" He looks around with a puzzled expression, cliping her letter to his board. "Except there're only four of you..." He counts the letters. "Someone is running late!"

[Scheming Wizard]

Gabriella stood outside the King’s Castle Headquarters in Windfall. It hadn’t been hard to find everyone knew where it was. It was the pride of Windfall. She could have walked in by now, but her nerves were getting the better of her. Signing on with an adventuring company is a lot bigger contract than an order for some spell components. Deep breathes she told herself. Fafnir wasn’t nervous at all, but he could tell she was. Normally she let him roam free, but today she had him on a leash lest he run off after something. He tugged on the leash excited to go inside. Alright let’s do this she walked through the ornate door with her letter in her left hand and Fafnir’s leash in the other her old backpack hanging off her shoulders.

Act confident she told herself they don’t want nervous adventurers. A tall man smiled and introduced himself as Zeph. She handed him her letter, and declared “I am here to join the King’s Castle Adventuring Company as per your generous invitation.” Fafnir was extremely excited to be somewhere entirely new. He tasted the new scents on the air flicking his tongue in and out. She looked around at other new recruits. They were all girls. Two humans like herself. A very thin woman with dark hair, and a blond haired woman with a bow slung over her back. There was also a lupine girl about her own height, and a very short fox eared girl. She assumed she was a Silvestri she had heard about that race, but never met one before.

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra

Sif's bright green eyes seem to sparkle a little brighter, if that's even possible, once she's been acknowledged. "Haven't seen him in a little while, but I'm sure he's kicking tail and being the best!" The lupine girl jumps in the air slightly as if cheering for her uncle. Once she lands her heap of hair flows behind her to the ground once again, some of it covering her face. She giggles and blows a few of the rogue fire colored strands away from her eyes.

Sif's smile widens at the arrival of her new teammates.

[LoyalPaladin]

Zeph
King’s Castle Headquarters, Market District, Windfall City

"Splendid!" Zeph smiles and clips the final sheet to his clipboard, casually tossing a treat at the wizard's familiar. "Now that we're all accounted for, are there any questions you have before we begin the standard introduction to the guild and its procedures?"

[Snowbluff]

Tristana

Tristana doesn't say anything. She's still very suspicious about the whole thing. Still, an opportunity for some sponsored suffering sounds almost too good to be true.

[IZ42]

Ankhit waves at the other arrivals, cheerily grinning. They turn back to Zeph and start a barrage of questions, "Oh, questions? I've got tons! Liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiike, How do the cities stay afloat? I heard that you guys used engines, but how do you keep them powered? And how do you manage to sneak those letters onto us? It's magic right? Like, teleporting magic? Or are your dudes just really sneaky, cuz I stayed up as long as I could and couldn't see, smell, or hear anything! And and aaaaaand... one last thing, what was that song those two cutie Ellises were singing and where can I learn it? It sounded raunchy. I like raunchy!"

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra

"Aren't you adorable!" Sif laughs as she picks Ankhit up and twirls them around. She didn't catch half of what they had just said, but that didn't matter. Clearly, personal space isn't an issue.

[LoyalPaladin]

Zeph
King’s Castle Headquarters, Market District, Windfall City

Zeph grins and walks over to a standing table, with what looks like a chalk board on it. "Please take a seat!" He begins the draw. "The cities are kept afloat with a clever mix of mechanical engineering and the arcane. This is called 'technomagic'. Long ago, we used a circle of powerful mages, but as you can imagine, that was taxing and difficult to maintain." He begins to draw some complex designs on the table. "The technomagical engines that keep the cities afloat draw on the radiant arcane energy from around us, much like a sorcerer would. The scale is obviously much larger, though."

He looks for the two ellis "Those ellis are often causing a ruckus, I believe it was Eep and one of her friends. I don't know the song though." He is still drawing. "As for the letters, I regret to inform you that it is a trade secret." With a wink, he finishes his drawing. Upon closer inspection you will find that it is actually an intricate blueprint of a technomagic engine. "Any more questions?"

[IZ42]

While being twirled around, Ankhit raises their hand, asking "Errrrr, yeah... why is wolf-lady Sif or whatever her name is twirling me around? Also can we visit those engines, I wanna see 'em! And I suppose I can ask those two cuties to teach me the song, I love learning songs!"

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra

"Oh, right. Sorry, sorry." Sif stops and sets Ankhit down. "You're just so small; and you're only about as heavy as my tail!" She sits herself down and waves her tail a few times, probably comparing it's weight.

[LoyalPaladin]

Zeph
King’s Castle Headquarters, Market District, Windfall City

"We'd have to get special permission to go see the main engines, but I'm sure we can find you a boat engine to play around with." He taps the chalk on the table. "The other question is easier to answer. Sif has a hard time containing herself."

[IZ42]

"An actual engine?! That would be coooool! But I still wanna see those big ones. I'll have to get permission some day. Or sneak in. One or the other. I don't discriminate." Ankhit pauses for a moment, looking mildly thoughtful, surprisingly enough for the hyperactive Silvestri, then continues "Y'know, I don't really mind her swinging me around. She's funny and I like going fast. I deem her an okay person! Not sure 'bout the rest of you though. Don't know anyone. But we can be friends eventually!"

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra
King's Castle Headquarters, Market District, Windfall City

"Guilty." Sif hums in response to Zeph's statement. She's very aware of her problem with keeping calm when being introduced to new people.

When Ankhit begins to speak, Sif's ears perk upwards and her tail begins to swing back and forth. "I've been deemed an okay person? That is the highest of compliments! Better than being knighted, if I do say so myself. I shall wear my title of being 'okay' proudly." She laughs, happy that she didn't scare off the silvestri on first meeting.

Sif's gaze turns to the rest of her team, then back to Zeph. "So when's the introduction? I'd love to get the grand tour."

[Scheming Wizard]

Gabrielle was relieved Zeph took her letter with no complications. He had even given Fafnir a treat cementing Fafnir's friendship with the man forever. The constant strain on the leash finally relaxed as Fafnir layed down to eat his snack. When he asked if she had any questions she had so many, but she didn't want to ask something obvious and come off as an amateur so she said nothing. Thankfully the Silvestri had immediately exploded in questions. Gabrielle listened attentively to the description of the technomagic engines that kept Windfall floating. It synchronized well with her dual interest in magic and conventional engineering.

When the questions drifted towards the lyrics for what was apparently a raunchy song she had missed her attention drifted back to her companions. She unconsciously made a subtle movement to try and touch the Lupine women's ears before she caught herself. She didn't know if trying to pet her would be insulting or not. She was certainly always annoyed when people touched her hair without permission due to it's unusual color. Thankfully she thought the lupine woman had missed it she herself being preoccupied with the Silvestri.

[IZ42]

Giggling slightly as they were put back down and silently noting Gabrielle's hesitancy towards touching Sif's ears, Ankhit enthusiastically agrees with Sif. "Yeah! When's the introduction? I wanna meet more cool people!"

[LoyalPaladin]

Zeph
King’s Castle Headquarters, Market District, Windfall City

Zeph grins. He got a lively group. "You know, if you work your way up to kingsman, you can go visit the engines at any time!" He fumbles around in his coat pocket and pulls out a stack of what look like wooden tokens. "I've got a voucher here for each and every one of you." He begins. "This is the recruit token. No only does this signifying that you've joined the company, but you now can retrieve your adventurer's pack from the STC." He begins to hand them out.

When Zeph notices Gabrielle reaching slightly towards Sif, he grins and winks at her. "Take this token, Wiz." After passing out his last token, he rustles his hand through Sif's wild head of hair, much like one would rile up a puppy. "So long as they're no objections, let's head to the STC!"

One everyone is ready, Zeph begins to head towards the back of the guild hall. Popping out a back exit, he walks down a colorful alley and through the streets of Windfall. The adventuring company is located in the market district of Salvus, so you see plenty of lupine traders selling exotic looking fruits and wares. After about 30 minutes of walking, you come upon a large building marked "Salvus Trading Company". Zeph turns to you and says "This is your one-stop shop for anything in the known universe. You can think it? They've got it. Of course, fruits and the like are better bought from local farmers. But this place has any magic, wondrous, or otherwise item that your heart could want!" He opens the door. "Go in and redeem your token! I'll wait right here."

Boss
Salvus Trading Company, Market District, Windfall City

Inside, you see a large shop floor decorated in fine rugs and what look like powerful magic items lining the walls. Among many things, you notice a black and red gauntlet marked with a sign that says "DO NOT TOUCH. IMMINENT IMPLOSION." Before you get too far into the shop, a dwarf pops up from behind the counter and shouts in a cheerful tone. "Hey kids! What can I do you for!"

[Snowbluff]

Tristana
King’s Castle Headquarters, Market District, Windfall City

"I need my adventurer's pack," Tristana say. She toss the voucher she received onto the counter with her right hand, which is short a few phalanges.

[LoyalPaladin]

Boss (Dwarf, Male)
Salvus Trading Company, Market District, Windfall City

"Straight the the point, eh?" The dwarf chuckles heartily. "Well that's fine with me! I'm Boss and I run this shop." You get the feeling that Boss means that he runs this particular location, not the entire trading company. He takes all of your tokens and deposits them somewhere in the back as he returns with five expertly made adventurer's packs. "You'll find these useful throughout your journeys. I know I did." He grunts and sets them down with a thud on the counter.

[Snowbluff]

Tristana
King’s Castle Headquarters, Market District, Windfall City

Tristana digs through the bag, examining the contents. Grunting, she closes it up and swings it over her shoulder. "So a mission is next, then?" Tristsana asks. She's uncomfortable being in a place that obviously has been keeping a watchful eye on her. IT was best that she distanced herself from the until she knew more.

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra

Sif smiles as her hair is rustled, she doesn't seem to mind one bit. "No objections here."

As they pass by the Lupine traders, Sif scouts the crowd to see if she recognizes anyone, but is quickly distracted by all the other sights.

Once inside the shop, Sif's eyes begin to widen and go slightly wild as he observes all the wares.
"Don't touch anything" she reminds her self. Luckily the dwarf begins to speak, and Sif picks up her adventurers pack. "Thank you, kind sir." She waves out her hand in a bow, obviously playing around.

[Extra Anchovies]

Cassidy

Cassidy takes her pack, thanking the dwarf as she does.

[IZ42]

Ankhit thanks the dwarf, dragging their pack off the counter, immediately opening the backpack and inspecting the inside.

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra
King’s Castle Headquarters, Market District, Windfall City

Sif notices Ankhit opening his pack, and can't help but to look through her own as well. Upon noticing its contents she runs back outside to Zeph to show off her new gear. "Lookie!"

[LoyalPaladin]

Boss (Dwarf, Male)
Salvus Trading Company, Market District, Windfall City

"You sure are a polite bunch of kids." Boss smiles, giving an heir of old age. "You folks better hurry along, I bet your instructor is waiting for you!"

Zeph (Human, Male)
Outside STC, Market District, Windfall City

As the party exits the STC (sans Sif), you see Zeph knelt over Sif's pack and inspecting it's contents with her. "Yep. That's a pretty nifty pack you've got there, kiddo!" His tone is fatherly, like he is encouraging his child in their endeavors. "You better pack it up, it looks like the rest of the gang is here!" He stands up, addressing the rest of the party now.

"Alright, troop! I'm going to introduce you to one other important person before we sign you up for a mission." Zeph leads you *far away from the market district, after another half-hour's walk you come upon a large bronze gate. "Open up, gate keep! It's Zephyr!" The gates swing open into a large courtyard with a path that goes both way around a large fountain in the center of the garden. Upon closer inspection, the fountain has four large stone statues situated around it's spout. **The statues are all male, they include a dwarf wielding nun-chucks, a large human with a revolver, a lupine with a scythe, and another human with what looks to be a nightstalker crossbow.

After winding your way through a convoluted mansion of sorts, you walk into an office. Behind the desk you see a dwarf that looks similar to the statue outside, but perhaps slightly older. "This my new troop, Marx." Zeph says, trying to break the ice. "I wanted to have them mee-"

Thunderfist Marx (Dwarf, Male)
Peacekeeper Mansion, Windfall City

The dwarf explodes from behind the desk, shattering it to pieces. ***A coat of arms rocks on its nail above him. "Looks like you brought me a bunch of shorties!" He exclaims, borderline screaming. "Is this your new troop!?" Zeph looks to be in a bit of shock, but the dwarf is clearly waiting for the party to answer.

*Please make Knowledge (Local) checks.
DC 10: You're headed towards the housing district.
DC 15: The house district used to be slums or ghettos before Thunderfist Marx and Jet Stonecrusher set it right.
DC 20: The district was rebuilt into a housing district with private funding from the Graceweave family.

**Please make Knowledge (History) checks.
DC 10: The people in the statue are the original founders of the Peacekeepers from 120 years ago.
DC 15: The original founders were Thunderfist Marx (Dwarf), Jet Stonecrusher (Human with revolver), Leroy Bishop (Human with nightstalker crossbow), and Raphael Skycastle (Lupine).
DC 20: Raphael Skycastle was the incarnation of Umbriel during his time as a mortal.
***Please make Spot checks.
DC 15: The coat of arms is the Peacekeeper's symbol, but laid over it are the actual nunchaku and revolver from the statues you saw earlier.

[Snowbluff]

Tristana
King’s Castle Headquarters, Market District, Windfall City


"Yes, we're 'new,'" Tristana says, playing with her braid. "You can help us find a mission, right?"


Diplomacy: [roll0]


History [roll1]

Spot: [roll2]

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra
Peacekeeper Mansion, Windfall City

Sif's excitement begins to rise again. It's a new person and he's loud. Matching his tone, she responds. "Well of course we look short compared to someone so tall!" She gestures to the dwarf not being sarcastic at all, actually. "My name is Sif." She gives the dwarf the same two fingered solute she gave Zeph upon meeting earlier.


Spot
[roll0]

[IZ42]

Ankhit giggles, "Ooh! You're loud! Loud people can be fun! And what does height have to do with it? Closer to the ground means closer to their squishy bits!" As Ankhit says this, they gesture their rather dangerous looking rapier in a manner indicative of her actual meaning, giving a smile that would be innocent in most other contexts.

[Scheming Wizard]

Gabriella was in paradise. She gazed upon rows and rows of stalls all selling magic items. She watched a man who obviously knew his way around a sword try out a flaming great sword by giving it a few swings. The shopkeeper eagerly waiting to see what he thought of it. There were ornate bottles she assumed were filled with magical potions and oils. A gruff bearded man manned a display that seemed to be magical boots some of which had odd embellishments like fins or wings. One red headed woman had a stall with nothing but magical rings and necklaces. She had sold minor things at her shop, and scribed a few scrolls herself, but she was an amateur compared to these people.

She already knew that of course when she handed her token over to Boss the dwarf and he presented her with her King’s Castle adventuring pack. It was bigger than her old pack, and filled with several impressive magical items. A ring that kept the wearer from starving, and a polished rock that let you communicate with someone who had one as well as long as they were less than a mile away. There were several mundane items as well such as rope and a whistle. She put the ring on her finger and put her old pack into her new pack. She was expecting to feel the extra weight as she slung it over her shoulders, but the new pack was extremely light. Far lighter than it should have been with all the items inside it. It seemed the pack itself was magical something Boss hadn't mentioned. She felt reassured by all the magic items. She knew they were valuable and that meant King’s Castle didn’t consider them to be expendable. Still she knew adventuring was a dangerous profession by nature. She needed an ace up her sleeve in case things went wrong. The woman’s necklace stand had reminded her of an item she had read about years ago and if any place would have it would definitely be here.

She was surprised how quickly she had found it after asking the red headed woman. She directed her to a merchant who sold “such gaudy jewelry” in her words. The short man in a turban was very happy to meet someone who wanted it. She got him to knock 25% off the price, and she got the idea he had been stuck with it for a while. She placed it around her neck. Fafnir had been surprisingly well behaved all through this. She thought he might still be sluggish from his treat earlier.

Suddenly Gabriella felt a sharp surge of panic in her chest. Where was everyone else? She looked back to Boss’s stall, but the dwarf must have left to do something else. Dammit she had run off on her own and gotten lost. She thought about what to do next and a ray of hope presented itself. She took off her backpack and took out the communication stone. Hopefully someone else is listening to theirs. She talked into it. “Hello um this is Gabriella and well I didn’t realize the group was moving on. I’m over by the shops if someone could…” “Bunch of Shorties” someone she didn’t recognize screamed back at her. Crap who was that she thought.

[LoyalPaladin]

Thunderfist Marx (Dwarf, Male)
Peacekeeper Mansion, Windfall City

"Aight! So you gonna sell these shorties to me or what, Zeph?" Thunderfist exclaims, his gaze is super intense. Zeph is about to answer when someone says the perfect thing. Marx fixes his intense gaze on Sif. "Damn straight I'm tall!" He beats his chest. "The name's Thunderfist Marx! I'm the head of the Peacekeepers! I been doin' this gig for nearly 120 years now!"

Zephyr (Human, Male)
Peacekeeper Mansion, Windfall City

"Alright team." Zeph waves his hand a little. "I brought you here to meet Marx, not to sell you to him." Zeph's attention drifts as he pulls out a little blue stone. "Hail to the king. Gabriella, this is Zeph. Have anyone near you direct you to the Peacekeeper mansion, anyone on Windfall should know it's location." He facepalms. "Less than a day in and we've already been separated."

"Anyways, as I was saying." Zeph looks a little exasperated. "Ankhit, please don't stab friends in their squishy bits. Tristana, we'll get you a mission as soon as we're back at 'the castle'. Cassidy, feel free to speak up any time. Finally, please don't encourage Marx's behavior, Sif." He runs his hand through his dark hair. "Why were we here again? Oh yes. Ahem. When you do work for the King's Castle Adventuring Company here in Windfall, you're likely to run into the Peacekeepers and even possibly Marx himself. As you can see, he doesn't handle desks well. Ask any questions you like of him, then we'll proceed back to the castle."

Please check the last post (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20376605&postcount=32) for information regarding your rolls.

[Scheming Wizard]

Gabriella was still holding the stone pondering her next move when she heard Zeph's voice telling her to ask anyone around to take her to the Peacekeeper mansion. Thankfully a tall dark haired man with a lute on his back who she assumed was a bard gave her directions. She walked quickly to rejoin the group. The group was facing away from her except for Zeph who was watching for her and seemed relieved to see her walk up. The rest of the group was fixated on a very loud and very tough looking dwarf. She walked to the back of the group quietly hoping not to attract too much attention.

[Extra Anchovies]

Cassidy acknowledges Zephyr's words with a nod, and then resumes looking around the room, taking in its various contents.

1. Do the Peacekeepers have any active presence in any of the surface colonies?
2. What's Bishop's relation to the Moonlight Hunters?
3. The Hunters are based in Constable - were they established after Constable's return, or did they have a different headquarters during the city's absence?
4. Constable vanished after rising in 1300. When did it return?

Local: [roll0]
Religion: [roll1]
Geography: [roll2]
History: [roll3]

[LoyalPaladin]

Thunderfist Marx
Peacekeeper Mansion, Windfall City

Marx's stare is so intense it feels like it bores into your soul. But he waits quietly for you to ask him any question.

Great rolls, 'Chovies. I updated post #32 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20376605&postcount=32) with the ones that were requested. Surprisingly, you guys got all the information out of me! Now let me get to this:


1. Do the Peacekeepers have any active presence in any of the surface colonies?
2. What's Bishop's relation to the Moonlight Hunters?
3. The Hunters are based in Constable - were they established after Constable's return, or did they have a different headquarters during the city's absence?
4. Constable vanished after rising in 1300. When did it return?
1. No. They are strictly limited to Windfall.
2. You can get this info thanks to your roll, deity choice, and aspirations to become a Moonlight Hunter haha. Leroy was an esteemed member of the Moonlight Hunters. Notably, he worked alongside his deity while he held the form of Raphael Skycastle. Some of his descendants are still part of the Moonlight Hunters.
3. The hunters have been around for a long time, but when Constable returned they set up the Hunter's Workshop in order to unify the hunters better and provide a good base of operation. Previously their meeting location was Umbriel's cathedral in Windfall City.
4. Thank you for having me flesh this out. It returned around 1840!

[IZ42]

Ankhit feigns shock at Zeph's accusation, "But I would neverstab my friends in the squishy bits, that's impolite! Also Mr. Marx, when can we start kneecapping some baddies? And hypothetically speaking, if a cutie were to say... temporarily acquire those cool looking weapons in the wall for personal entertainment, how much trouble would they be in and where would they go about acquiring the other two weapons?"

[LoyalPaladin]

Thunderfist Marx
Peacekeeper Mansion, Windfall City

Marx focuses his gaze on Ankhit, his expression growing more intense. "That's an excellent question!" He jumps up and rips the coat of arms off the wall, causing a terribly high pitched noise followed by an explosion centered on himself. Dust clears and Marx emerges from it, slightly scorched. "An alarm spell would go off, followed by a firball trap! But that's not the worst part! I'd have to pay to have those spells recast after they went off!" He is now standing about 6 inches from the party, seemingly unaware of what he's just done.

"I'll tell you about these weapons now!" He points to the nunchaku. "These are the bones of Li-Peng! I fought a dry lich for these!" He places an arm around Ankhit and walks the party into the courtyard, stopping them in front of the statue. He points to Raphael "That guy with the scythe? He was pretty short when I met him, but he turned out to be a pretty tall dude." His finger drifts to Leroy "That guy had some religion thing and was a certified badass when it came to firing crossbows." Then his finger finally drifts to Jet, and for the first time, you see his expression soften and what look like tears glisten in his eyes. "And that... is the tallest man I've ever met." He says in a distant, normal voice.

[Extra Anchovies]

Cassidy

As Thunderfist names each of the Peacekeepers' founding members for Ankhit, Cassidy steps to the statue of Raphael and gently drops to one knee. There, she clasps a shiny circular pendant to her chest and offers a quiet prayer of respect to the Crescent Watcher. After a few moments, she stands again and rejoins her new teammates.

[IZ42]

Ankhit hugs the scorched Dwarf, "Awwww... I'm sorry. We can still be buddies though, even if we're a bunch of shorties right?"

[Snowbluff]

Tristana

"I fight with nunchakus." Tristana pulls out her flind bars. "Can I have those nunchakus, Mister Marx? I promise to smash more people with them." Trista gives a shark-like smile.


Diplomacy [roll0]

History rolls for the nunchaku specifically [roll1]

(::) cookie to bribe DM to make all nunchaku into Flind Bars.

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra
Peacekeeper Mansion

Sif giggles. "I'm not encouraging anything!" Her expression changes to a focused, pondering look. Finally, she addresses the dwarf,"Oh great towering one, Sif shoots a smirk at Zeph, knowing exactly what she's doing, "Who exactly is the King? I'm dying to know!"

[LoyalPaladin]

Thunderfist Marx (Dwarf, Male)
Peacekeeper Mansion Courtyard, Windfall City

Marx's face tenses up again and he looks at Ankhit. "That's right, shorty!" He turns around to the rest of the party. "You ain't getting these bones!" He yells. "But if you really want to be likes me, I've got some spare nunchaku for you!" Seemingly out of nowhere he pulls a pair of masterwork nunchaku and places them in Tristana's hands, each end is adorned with the "Thundercrusher" logo.

He turns to Sif. "Who's the king? WHO'S THE KING?!" He looks at the statue again. "I can't tell you." Turning back around, he exclaims. "Now hurry back to your guild hall and accept those quests!"

Zephyr (Human, Male)
King's Castle Guild Hall, Market District, Windfall City

"Well that was... informative." Zeph chuckles. "Anyways, Marx is a good guy. Don't let his intense personality turn you off." Zeph pushes through the guild hall's busy interior and leads you to an extremely large bulletin board. "This is the quest board." The board is about 18 feet wide, 5 feet tall, and littered with quests. Unfortunately, they are placed in no particular order, so finding certain level missions is an endeavor. "Sorry about the mess, occasionally I try to tidy up the quests and group them by level of difficulty..." Zeph says sheepishly. "Give them a look see!"

Alright folks, quest time. Please take a look over the D-Rank Quests (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20352168&postcount=1).

Side notes:
Snowbluff, you received a pair of masterwork Thundercrusher nunchaku. "Which are like normal nunchaku, except better looking!"

Extra Anchovies, upon completing your prayer, you feel a gaze turn to you and you receive a +1 moral bonus to your saves for the next 72 hours!

IZ42, you feel blessed by the power of friendship and you receive a +1 to your happiness score for the rest of your life.

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra
King's Castle Guild Hall, Market District, Windfall City

Sif examines the board. "How about...we find some fledglings!" She points to the board, making sure everyone sees the mission she's referring to.

[Scheming Wizard]

Gabriella listened to the Marx the dwarf's Q&A. He had an interesting habit of referring to respect as tallness. Greatly respected people were taller than less respected people regardless of actual height. He told them of the people the statues were dedicated to. She wondered if the people were still alive, and from the somber tone in the dwarfs voice when he got the last statue she assumed at least one wasn't. He seemed to really bond with Tristana, and even gave her a pair of Nunchaku. She wondered if Nunchaku were like business cards for the dwarf.

Zeph moved the tour along and showed them the job board. She looked for D level quests. She saw three. Fight giant rats hmm no. Break into a church to test it's security that might be fun she thought. Retrieve fledglings stolen from the skyborn enforcers. "How about...we find some fledglings!" said sif next to her pointing at the job on the mission board she had just read. "Yes lets do that. The church job will probably still be there when we get back, but the fledglings presumably need our help right away." Gabriella was excited they would get to go on a mission right away. Her new party members all seemed capable enough.

[Snowbluff]

Tristana

"What. The hell. Is this." Tristana says, examining the amazingly bad nunchaku in her hand.

"Also, I don't want to help any fledglings. Who has them, anyway? The monster hunt sounds like a... better use of my talents." Tristana scowls.

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra
King's Castle Guild Hall

Sif stretches her arms, lifting her hair in the process. "Oh c'mon, Trist. Gabriella has a point; the fledglings need us! It's more pressing, so why don't we do that one first and then come back for the other quests? The more quests we do the better, anyway. Besiiiides, it'll be fun!" She smiles, trying to rub off some of her good attitude onto Tristana.

[Extra Anchovies]

Cassidy

As Cassidy is ushered out the Peacekeepers' front gate, she can't help but wonder what it would have been like to travel with Umbriel while he was in his mortal guise. Probably something akin to the lightness she felt in her step and in her heart in the presence of Umbriel's vigilance, as she now found herself.

After contemplating the quest board for a moment, Cassidy nods in agreement to Sif's proposal. "That looks like a good place to start. It's right here in Windfall, and thieves are as good as gone if they're given time to leave the city. Besides, I don't much care for cellars."

[Snowbluff]

Tristana

"I love cellars," Tristana say, completely deadpan.

"Besides, saving the fledgling sounds like a huge effort. We'd have to track down whoever did it, then probably trounce around some sewers." Tristana complains.

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra
King's Castle Guild Hall

Sif's ears fold down, and her tail droops. "But Tristana, if we're always so picky about our quests we'll never move up in ranks to access the more challenging ones. Please?" The lupine girls pouts, widening her bright green eyes in hope of some sympathy.

[Scheming Wizard]

"But Tristana tracking down the fledglings is part of the fun we will be like detectives. Also the rats will probably be there when we come back." Gabriella said this secretly hoping that they wouldn't be. Mauled by rat was not what she wanted written on her tombstone.

[IZ42]

"I know! We can compromise! We go get the fledgelings, but we kneecap those responsible! Won't kill them and makes them easier to catch! Perfect solution!" Ankhit laughs in glee at their idea.

[Snowbluff]

Tristana

"First of all, it's Mrs. Blackwillow." Tristana says curtly. "Also, what are you doing with your face. It's unbecoming."

"Kneecaps are a hard target and often armored. Learn to go for the eyes. Furthermore, the traditional punishment for thievery is loss of a hand, if you are so inclines. Ergo, kneecapping is out. But if you're so insistent, we can go digging around for fledglings."

[IZ42]

Tristana

"First of all, it's Mrs. Blackwillow." Tristana says curtly. "Also, what are you doing with your face. It's unbecoming."

"Kneecaps are a hard target and often armored. Learn to go for the eyes. Furthermore, the traditional punishment for thievery is loss of a hand, if you are so inclines. Ergo, kneecapping is out. But if you're so insistent, we can go digging around for fledglings."

"Well, I didn't mean it in a literal sense. Like, just a general idea. Hamstringing your enemies so you can stab them in the face is always fun, in my opinion! Also stabbing squishy bits!" Ankhit's near permanent cheery grin grows even wider.

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra
King's Castle Guild Hall

"Well, pardon me." Sif smirks, her ears suddenly perking forward and her eyes narrowing ever so slightly. "Either way, Mrs. Blackwillow, I do believe you've been outvoted. At least try to have some fun on the mission, will you? It's our first one as a team, after all."

[Snowbluff]

Tristana

"No need to be snippy with me. Gloating over a minor victory over something so trivial shows much about your character. It's incredibly childish," Tristana says. She then gives a short "tut tut" and mutters a "Incredibly boorish."

Tristana gets ready to go visit the Enforcer's Roost.

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra
King's Castle Guild Hall

Sif rolls her eyes playfully and smiles,"Yes, mother. I'll remind myself to be more of a kill joy next time." She cracks her knuckles and picks up her adventurers pack. "Well I don't know about you guys, but I'm dying to get started!"

[Scheming Wizard]

Gabriella couldn't help but wonder who the team leader would be. Although they were all the same rank she knew someone would have to call the shots. Tristana and Sif seemed the natural choices. She and Sif had had to get Tristana's permission to take the job and Tristana had a cold maturity about her like she had been through a lot, but Sif seemed to have better instincts opting for the fledgling quest instead of the rat quest. There was a chance she could be team leader herself, but she wasn't sure she was ready for the responsible. The only thing she had ever commanded was Fafnir and that was pretty much only because she fed him.

[Extra Anchovies]

Cassidy Halloran
King's Castle Guild Hall
"Perhaps we could clear the cellar after returning the fledgling griffons. We already know that we'll be dealing with a rat warren for that one, so we could use the payment from our first task to prepare accordingly", Cassidy says, making a mental note to add animal bane arrows to her shopping list.

[LoyalPaladin]

Zephyr (Human, Male)
King's Castle, Windfall City

Zeph does nothing but smile at the team's debate. "Ah yes, the first mission decision. I remember when we had to decide our first mission." He looks caught up in thought. "Most of my team became instructors, but- Oh! I forgot to give you your pin!" He hands each of you a pin. To you, your own pin looks red, but the other's pins look black. "You all need to pin that to the job you're doing, that's how we stop doubling up." You now notice that there are other D-Rank jobs, but that they've already got black pins in them.

[Scheming Wizard]

"Yes yes we will get to those rat warrens the moment we get back. For now though lets go and ask the Skyborn enforcers about their missing chicks then we can begin the search." This was exciting she felt like a private eye from one of the detective novels she would stock in her shop, and read on days when she didn't have any customers.

[Extra Anchovies]

Cassidy turns the pin over in her hand a few times, admiring the King's obvious knack for magical craftsmanship, then steps forward and sticks her pin to the note about the fledglings.

The Enforcers' roost would be an obvious place to start an investigation. Cassidy had only been in Windfall for just shy of a fortnight, but she'd already heard of a few places where an unscrupulous buyer could find some less-than-legal goods... what were their names, again?

Apologies for any formatting errors; I'm posting from mobile.
1. Do the Skyborn Enforcers have any political enemies? This theft could have been orchestrated to make them seem like blundering incompetents who can't keep a proper eye on their most valuable asset.
2. Do any of the nations of Salvus allow non-Enforcers to own or raise griffons? The fledglings could have been stolen with the intent of selling them to the highest bidder.
3. Are dead griffons (or bits thereof) valued (as food, decoration, folk medicine, spell components, etc) in any particular culture on Salvus? Same line of thinking as 2.
4. Has Cassidy overheard anything regarding fences, black markets, or other dealers in illicit goods in Windfall?

Local: [roll0]
History: [roll1]
Geography: [roll2]
Arcana (for #3, because they're magical beasts): [roll3]
Untrained Nobility (might be helpful for #1): [roll4], maximum 10
Listen: [roll5]

Cassidy's not been in Windfall for very long so she probably doesn't know much about the city's black markets, but it's worth a shot.

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra
King's Castle Guild Hall

Sif places her pin on the board, feeling more official than ever. "Okay, let's try and do this fast so we don't miss our chance to retrieve the fledglings!" Sif looks to Zeph, and then back to her team to see if they are as ready to go as she is.

[LoyalPaladin]

Zephyr (Human, Male)
King's Castle, Windfall City

"Alright, team. Until you reach the 'Trapper' rank, I'll be accompanying you on your missions." He smiles and starts walking towards the back. "Give me a second and I'll grab my things." About 10 minutes later, Zeph walks into sight. Unlike before, he is now adorned by a dark blue duster and a pointed hat. His guns are clearly in sight now, one gold and the other silver. "Team, lets head out!"

Zeph leads you through the streets and you walk for about an hour. Eventually you end up near the edge of the city at the church of Aerona, a large open ampitheater style church makes it's place at the edge of the city, some of it hanging over the edge. Next door is a tall tower, with large birds flying in and out of the top. "I'll wait outside. Remember team, this is your mission. Be professional and remember to tell them who you are."

When you walk into the tower, there is a spiral staircase and a desk with no one behind it. When you make your way up the staircase, you are greeted by a tall bulky man in armor and a young man who looks vaguely familiar. They're both tending to large birds.

[Snowbluff]

Tristana

"Hello there, gentlemen," Tristana says. "All of your cases belong to us. Make your time." She gives a warm smile.


Diplomacy: [roll0]

[LoyalPaladin]

Damien (Human, Male)
Enforcer's Roost, Windfall City

The big man looks Tristana up and down and cracks a smile. "What can I do ya for?" His voice is a deep rumbling, layered with a *thick accent. "The name's Damien. I'm here teaching this wee boy how ta tend to the birds." He picks up a towel and wipes his forehead, gesturing for the boy to take a break and go get some fresh air. The boy leaves and Damien adds. "It's a fair and far between moment to get company in the Roost."

*I'll give his accent's origin to a DC 15 Knowledge (Local) or Knowledge (History).

[Extra Anchovies]

Cassidy steps forward and offers her hand, taking care not to make sudden movements that might upset the birds. "King's sent us to help with those fledglings that've gone missing. Cassidy Halloran, pleasure to meet you." After her introduction, she pauses a moment and thinks - why would a well-outfitted law enforcement agency need common adventurers to help track down some thieves? "I'm guessing you wanted some folks from the Castle because there are parts of the city where Enforcers might get a hard time for asking too many questions."

Local: [roll0]
History: [roll1]
Int check to see if Cassidy recalls where she's seen the boy before: [roll2]

[Snowbluff]

Tristana

"We want to know if you know anything about the people who took the fledglings," Tristana says. "We've been contracted to retrieve 3 of them that have gone missing recently. Anything can help expedite this process." She strolls through the roost, examining the birds.

[LoyalPaladin]

Damien (Human, Male)
Enforcer's Roost, Windfall City

"Hoho! Yer from the adventurer's guild?" His grin widens. "That's a hoot! I'm more'n happy ta help ya out, then!" He looks the whole party over with a well trained, but well hidden, critical eye. "Aye, I'd be thinkin' that's why they put up a guild mission for ya." He starts rummaging around in some nesting material. "Our blessed windy lady don't want us to go rouge for some birds." He pulls out an egg and holds it in front of you, a large bird watches him intensely, but doesn't do anything hostile. "Oh don't get yer feather's ruffled, ya big angry chicken, you." He says to her and she goes back to her business. "Normally I'd go hunt down the petty thief who took me sweet angel's eggs, but the shady parts o'town know me too well. I could send out the Stone Sentinels and have it back by the morn'. But that'd be a lot o'unnecessary stress on the city folk." Gently, he hands the egg to Cassidy. "Ya be lookin' for three o'these."

He looks over to Tristana. "Mind yer step around the hawks! They've taken arms before!" He laughs heartily. "I don't have much information for ya, lass. But I did turn away some folks tryin' ta buy the baby birds a few days ago." He thinks, straining his memory. "Wore a cloak. Red, long, shifty. Lookin' like onna them flamefolk. Can't stand that blasted cult of o'religion."

Look at you, EA! Those Knowledge checks are off the hook! He's definitely got a thick Constable accent.

You haven't met the young man before. But he definitely looks familiar. Like a certain instructor.

[Snowbluff]

Tristana

"Tut-tut. God worshipers. We should have them all rounded up and given poison showers, that's what I always say. We should really develop a more final solution to these creeps, you know," Tristana says, still examining the birds. Animals love her. "So do you know anything about that particular satanic sect?"

Religion on those cloaks: [roll0]

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra
Enforcer's Roost, Windfall City

Sif begins strolling around; it looks almost as if she's wandering at first glance, but upon closer inspection it's no secret she's sniffing the area. Keeping her eyes closed, she listens to the conversation at hand as she walks.

Casually walking past Tristana, Sif taps the woman's shoulder and whispers "Y'know, mother, Skyborn Enforcers are 'god worshipers'."

Following her nose, she asks Damien "When was the last time you saw the eggs? Got a time frame for when they were stolen?"


Using scent/track to see if there's any out of place scents around.
Survival:
[roll0]

[LoyalPaladin]

Damien (Human, Male)
Enforcer's Roost

"Haha. Indeed, lassie. Aerona's followers 'ave been tryin' ta nip the vanguard in the bud for hundreds o'years. That's the thing about the Four Cardinals... it's hard to stop nature'n its tracks." He shrugs. "I know a lot about their inner workin's." He continues to educate Tristana. "But not much o'it is helpful to this case. They don't immolate eggs, unless maybe they're cookin' an omelette." He chuckles.

He watches the lupine sniff around the nests. "The eggs musta been taken in between the mornin' and night shift. S'why I'm 'ere. Normally I'm out wit' me team, but they need a be'er eye."


Snowbluff:
You know that devout worshipers of Ignis do wear red hooded cloaks. You also know that it isn't for a religious reason, it's for the sake of hiding their identity.

Virus:
Good call on the scent! You get a strong whiff of ash around the nests. Almost like you're sniffing an old camp fire. With that roll, you can probably guess it's around 6 hours old.

[IZ42]

Ankhit pipes up, "I know! Let's search for clues! I'm going to staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaart... over here!" The Silvestri wanders over to a random corner, looking for any evidence the thieves might have left behind. As she's hunched over, staring at the ground while moving across the room, she bumps into a perch. Ankhit looks up, staring straight at the bird she nearly knocked over. After a few moments, she asks, "Mister Damien, can I pet your birds? This one looks nice and soft."

Spot: [roll0]
Search: [roll1]
Survival: [roll2]

[Scheming Wizard]

Hmm the others were doing pretty well. They had gathered that the likely suspects were members of the church of Ignis. She was surprised Zeph had come with them. Having him along made her feel a great deal safer, but it also made her nervous in a different way. Was he there to protect them in case they got in over their heads, or was he grading them on how well they completed their mission? She decided to play things as professional as possible. She didn't know any divination spells although she had always been curious about that school of magic, so she wasn't sure how she could help the investigation along.

Fafnir was tasting the air with his tongue as he often did whenever he caught an unusual smell. He sent her a mental image of the fireplace in the shop full of ash, but not lit. He was getting better at communicating with her. He used to send her random colors or objects. She had read that the familiars of great archmages eventually became smarter than even sage scholars as the bond between master and familiar grew. She knew he was smarter than when she had gotten him from that spendthrift sailor. She deduced he had caught a whiff of ash not surprising if the church of Ignis was involved or someone that wanted it to look like the church of Ignis. In her detective books it was never as simple as the first suspect there was always a twist or a guy on the inside.

"How many people have access to the rookery and did any of them acquire permission in the last year" she asked Damien.

[Extra Anchovies]

Cassidy turns the egg over in her hands a few times to get a good look at it, then carefully hands it back to Damien. "Well, we're certainly glad to provide whatever assistance we can. Any idea about what parts of town someone could carry three o' these and not get too many questions? I'll admit I've not been in town as long as you likely have."

[LoyalPaladin]

Damien (Human, Male)
Enforcer's Roost

Damien tilts his head. "Little one, I'm afraid ya look a bit like a snack for these birds." He smiles politely. "If you're gonna pet one though, try ol' Lucy, the owl." He points out a slightly gray owl. "She's a 'bute."

Pondering both Cassidy and Gabriella's questions, he says "Well, there were four people tendin' to the roost. Any Skyborn Enforcer can get in at any time." He pauses. "Y'know, you might try to docks or the thief's guild."

[Snowbluff]

Tristana

"Then we will," Tristana grumbles, backing away from the birds finally. "Come on. I've no patience for this."

Trsistana makes her way outside.

[LoyalPaladin]

Zeph (Human, Male)
Outside Enforcer's Roost

Zeph is waiting outside patiently. "Well, how'd it go?" He is making direct eye contact with Tristana, as if she were not marred by her past.

[Extra Anchovies]

Cassidy
Enforcer's Roost
"Gabriella might be on t' something here - I know if I were planning a theft this big I'd want somebody on the inside. Might be worth keepin' an eye on tha fellows on the night and morn shifts the day of the theft." Cassidy pauses a moment, and her cheeks turn paler than usual as she realizes the implication of her words. "N-no offense meant t' you or the rest o' the Enforcers. Don't mean t' be sayin' you'd let a turncoat join up 'less they did a real bangin' job o' coverin' up their tracks."

Glancing between her companions for a chance to change the subject, Cassidy turns to Sif. "M-miss Fenra, pickin' up any out-o'-place smells?"

Whoops! Hopefully Damien takes that in good spirits.

Anyone paying attention to Cassidy notices that her accent stands out more now that she's all flustered.

[LoyalPaladin]

Damien (Human, Male)
Enforcer's Roost

"S'all right, lass." The enforcer smiles warmly. "Don't get yerself all hot n'bothered." He crosses his arms. "Unfortunately, all the on duty enforcers are in Brigg for questionin' right now." He grimaces. "The great windy lady don't take kindly to failure. But, every lot has its bad'ns." He smiles again. "Don't worry yer pre'y li'le head, lass."

I'll be givin' Cassidy a Sense Mo'ive roll. Be'er roll well, lass.

[Snowbluff]

Tristana
Outside

Tristana avoids his gaze. "Awful. I think we have a couple leads. One of the churches, with possible options to investigate." Tristana looks back at Zeph, an accusatory glare. "Do the bosses normally hover over their mercenaries?"

[LoyalPaladin]

Zeph (Human, Male)
Outside Enforcer's Roost

"Haha" He smiles. "I'm not your boss. I'm just here in case of emergency." He notices her hostile attitude. "I'm here as a friend and guidance, just in case something goes south. I wouldn't want anyone to harm my precious colleagues!"

[Snowbluff]

Tristana
Outside

"Excuse me? You've only just met me," Tristana growls. "All of this is suspect at best, dangerous at worst. It's probably best that you leave."

[LoyalPaladin]

Zeph (Human, Male)
Outside Enforcer's Roost

"You may have just met me, but now that you're in the King's Castle you're a member of the family." His smile is sincere and you get the feeling he isn't leaving.

[IZ42]

Ankhit peers closer at the owl, and exclaims "Mister Damieeeeeeeen! Miss Lucy has scratches on her! She musta fought the baddies, cuz she's got some cloth too! You're a brave birdy!" Ankhit hugs and pets the owl and pulls out a piece of red cloth out from under her.

[LoyalPaladin]

Damien (Human, Male)
Enforcer's Roost, Windfall City

"No way." He looks incredulous and immediately begins examining the bird. "Me poor ol' girl. Ye gotta be more careful, ye ain't a spring chick no more..." He places his hand on her wound and it begins to pulse a faint yellow color, when he removes it, the wound is gone. "That definitely be the color of the robes them folk were wearin'." He looks a bit angry now. "If you find em, give em hell."


Now that you've started paying attention to Damien, make a Sense Motive check!

[IZ42]

Ankhit pockets the cloth and grins, saluting, "Will do, Mister Damien! No one should hurt cities like Miss Lucy! Their kneecaps are mine!" Ankhit's grin takes on a demonic shade and her sharp eyes study Damien

Sense Motive: [roll0]

[Snowbluff]

Zeph (Human, Male)
Outside Enforcer's Roost

"You may have just met me, but now that you're in the King's Castle you're a member of the family." His smile is sincere and you get the feeling he isn't leaving.

Tristana

Tristana growls again, but she doesn't immediately beat him to death. Either way, she waits for the dawdling mercenaries, very unsatisfied with how the mission is going. She didn't want to be involved with this in the first place.

[Scheming Wizard]

Damien suggested they look into the docks and the thieves guild. Gabriella was pretty sure the thieves guild didn't operate openly. She thought about asking the group if any of them knew where it was, but that might be misconstrued as an accusation of criminal activity. The Skyship docks would be a good place to look if the thieves were trying to take the eggs out of the city.

From what Damien said it sounded like a lot of people had access to the rookery. That didn't mean the culprits didn't have inside help, but interviewing all the people with access would take a long time, and maybe cause bad blood with the Skyborn enforcers.

"So I guess we should check out the docks" she said to the group.

[LoyalPaladin]

Damien (Human, Male)
Enforcer's Roost, Windfall City

"Aye, tha might be for the best." Damien smiles halfheartedly. He clearly cares greatly about the bird. "Mr. Quickpaw don't like outsiders creepin' on his business."

Ankhit gets the distinct impression that Damien was flirting a bit with Cassidy, until you pointed out that his bird was injured.

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra
Enforcer's Roost

Sif opens one of her eyes and stops sniffing. Resting her arms behind her head and pivoting on her left heel, she turns to Cassidy."Ash. That's what I smell. Kind of like someone had a campfire going in here say...6 hours ago?" Much more calm than she had been previously, Sif seems like she's focused and thinking.

"Alright, let's get started. The docks it is." Sif smiles and turns to the door, making her way to Tristana and Zeph.

[IZ42]

Ankhit's grin widens as she studies Damien. The Silvestri leans in, whispering conspiratorily "I'll put in a good word with her for you, Mister Damien. You take good care of your birdies, I like that."

Leaning back and smiling innocently, Ankhit turns and skips off, waving the red cloth "Miss Siiiiiiif! I found a clue! Maybe you could sniff it!"

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra
Enforcer's Roost

Sif, once again, pivots around on her heel. She obviously was too caught up in her own thoughts that she didn't even register Ankhit's findings at first. "My presence is needed? Fear not, adorable one!" She walks back to Ankhit and gives the cloth a wiff.


Am I able to track anything with this?
Survival
[roll0]

[Scheming Wizard]

She started walking back towards the rest of the group Fafnir in tow. She kept playing the case over in her mind. So the church of Ignis or at least somebody that smells of ash and wears red robes decides they want three fledgling giant eagles. She never trafficked in exotic animals, but she had looked into it when she was thinking about selling Fafnir. Baby giant eagles were worth about 4,000 gold pieces a head. Three of them would be worth 12K. That was definitely enough gold to tempt almost anyone. If it was some members of the local thieves guild gold would be plenty of motive.

If it was the church of Ignis that wasn't enough motive unless the church had really fallen on hard times or was gearing up for something big. They could be hoping to train the chicks into mounts, but that would take years. Maybe it was a religious test. Make the neophytes swipe something to get accepted into the church. She felt like she was on the edge of a breakthrough, but was still missing one vital piece of information.

[Extra Anchovies]

Cassidy

"You've got a good pair o' eyes on ya, Ankhit. Looks to me like our red-cloaked stranger likely had a hand in this after all."

Cassidy pauses and thinks for a moment after hearing Sif's report. "Well, that smell could be from a torch that our thief used to light their way, but those don't tend t' leave much ash lying around. The docks'd be worth a visit I'd say; if the Flamewrought have a habit of dealing with criminal sorts then they've likely got a couple o' friends in that part o' town."

"Who's this Quickpaw fellow? 'Aven't heard the name before."

[LoyalPaladin]

Damien (Human, Male)
Enforcer's Roost, Windfall City

Damien kneels down to hear Ankhit and turns slightly red at the sylvestris' words. "Ye don't be needin' ta... augh..." Straightening up and clearing his throat he proclaims. "Mr. Quickpaw is the guild master o'the theif's guild. You'll know em when ya see em." He chuckles. "If t'ain't his band o'rascals, he'd be happy to help, I'd be bettin'."

You smell birds, Sif.

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra
Enforcer's Roost

"Not really getting anything weird from this." Sif admits, slightly disappointed in herself. Hoping to make some progress elsewhere, Sif makes her way down the spiral staircase to take the exit. But she can't help but notice the empty desk waiting on the lower floor. "I wonder if..." Sif walks over to the desk and begins to sniff around and below it, not really caring if she looks odd while doing so.


Kay. Let's try this again.
Survival
[roll0]

[LoyalPaladin]

Good guess! Bad roll!

[LoyalPaladin]

As you all begin to exit the building, you notice your good friend Sif examining the empty desk downstairs!

Roll those search checks!
https://45.media.tumblr.com/40c6a257df4afc03799e427e96a488ec/tumblr_mnj7g73NIS1r0682uo1_400.gif

[Extra Anchovies]

Cassidy
"Need a hand with tha' desk, Miss Fenra? If your nose's pickin' up something off, it's worth givin' a good look." Cassidy gives the desk a thorough search.

Search take 20 for 23. She'll pause her search if anything of interest is turned up during the full two minutes it'll take her.

[LoyalPaladin]

Enforcer's Roost Ground Floor, Windfall City

Through combined efforts, you find a torn and tattered leather journal hidden between panels of the desk! When opened, it seems like a log that documents the arrival of high ranking Skyborn Enforcers and the usual increments between new clutches of eggs.

[Extra Anchovies]

Cassidy picks up the journal and flips through it to the most recent entries.

"Well, this doesn't look much like an official record would. Seems somebody's been keepin' tabs who's been going in an' out o' the Roost."

What does the journal say for the days leading up to the theft? Cassidy's particularly looking for unusual events, e.g. people coming/going on days that they normally didn't (e.g. Borzo the Destroyer showing up on a Tuesday when he usually only comes in on Saturdays), or egg clutches that came particularly early or late.

Also, Int check to notice any not-so-obvious patterns: [roll0]

[LoyalPaladin]

Enforcer's Roost, Windfall City

While examining the journal, Cassidy finds none of the information she was looking for specifically, but she is able to assess that whoever was keeping the journal was marking days that the low ranking members of the Skyborn Enforcers were the primary crowd at the roost. That day happens to be Sunday (yesterday). Occasionally there are words written in the book that look like they've been scorched from the page.

[Extra Anchovies]

Cassidy
Enforcer's Roost, Ground Floor

"Looks t' me like our thief had a body on the inside after all. I'll go and have a talk wit' Damien, see if 'e recalls who's been working at this desk. Why don't you all see what else ya can make of th' book?" Cassidy sets the journal on the desk and briskly walks back up the stairs.

Enforcer's Roost, First Floor

Cassidy approaches Damien, taking care not to surprise him or the birds. "If it's not too much trouble, sir, I'd like t' ask another question. On my way out I couldn't help but notice that empty desk you've got on the ground floor. Is there anyone whose job it is t' sit there and act as a receptionist or such?"

[LoyalPaladin]

Damien (Human, Male)
Enforcer's Roost, Windfall City

"T'ain't trouble at all, lass." He smiles warmly. "Some o' the young lads and lassies intern at tha ol' desk." He shrugs. "Mos'ly book keepin'." He pats his bird. "Why d'ya ask?"

Sense Motive
[roll0]

[Extra Anchovies]

Cassidy

"Well, one of them may've been using their book-keeping to help plan the theft of a couple o' birds. Come on, let me show you." Cassidy turns, gestures for Damien to follow, and proceeds back downstairs to the desk.

"Come on, now! 'Aven't got all day!"
Diplomacy [roll0]

Enforcer's Roost, Ground Floor

Cassidy opens the journal and shows Damien a few recent pages, pointing out the markings and obscured words. "These marks are all next t' days when there weren't many o' the higher-up Enforcers at the Roost. My take on it's that somebody was figurin' out when it'd be easiest to snatch those eggs. See, here. That's the day o' the theft."

[Snowbluff]

Tristana
The Docks

Tristana goes to the docks.

[Scheming Wizard]

Gabriella joined Tristana on her walk to the docks. The cobblestone streets were very clean. Her shoes made a clacking sound as she walked. This caught Gabriella's attention as she briefly stopped thinking of the case at hand. She wondered if she should try and strike up a conversation with the girl who was a little intimidating. Gabriella thought they were close to the same age, but Tristana had a bit of an edge on her that made Gabriella think Mrs. Blackwillow as she preferred to be called had seen some things.

[Snowbluff]

Tristana
The Docks

Tristana continues to trot around the docks, looking for anything suspicious. Her braid sways back and forth as Gabriella watches her from behind. "Is there any reason you are following me, miss?" Tristana asks accusingly, without turning around or stopping.

[LoyalPaladin]

Damien (Human, Male)
Enforcer's Roost, Windfall City

"Bless the windy lady's cumulus..." Damien looks exasperated. "I'll see if I can get the interns here." He scratches his head with a gauntlet covered hand. "Come back 'ere tomorrow 'round noon and I'll have 'em."

Zephyr (Human, Male)
Outside Enforcer's Roost

Zeph watches Tristana and Gabriella walk away. He raises an eyebrow, but doesn't move from his leaning position against the wall of the roost.

The Docks, Windfall City

You make your way to the docks. Surrounding you are many vendors, incoming and outgoing vessels, and more people than you can imagine. There is no distinct housing near here, but there are plenty of buildings.

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra
Enforcer's Roost

"Well if that's all the information we can get until tomorrow..Should we head out?" Sif is leaning on the door frame, waiting patiently. "Looks like some of our team got a head start. Why don't we catch up to them together?" Although she's dying to see the docks, Sif has no intention of having any of her team members walk alone.

[Extra Anchovies]

Cassidy nods at Sif's suggestion. "Aye. We'll see if we can turn anythin' up at the docks, maybe give this Quickpaw fellow a visit and see if 'e's of any help. Farewell until tomorrow, Damien." With that, she turns to go, pausing at the door to make sure the others are coming along.

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra

Sif's tail begins to wave as a smile crosses her face. She nods to Cassidy. "To the docks! C'mon Ankhit!"


Sif grapples Ankhit and runs away playfully with them in tow!
Grapple
[roll0]

[IZ42]

Ankhit

Playfully dodging Sif's grasp, Ankhit excitedly agrees, reclaiming the strip of cloth and waving it, skipping forward andexclaiming "Ooh, I know! Miss Gabriella, your puppy Fafnir can sniff this for clues, right?"

My bab is bad :(

[roll0]

What. Ankhit is blessed by RNG gods.

[Extra Anchovies]

Cassidy smiles at her companions' actions. It was good that most of the team was getting along. As she turns to leave the Roost, Cassidy retrieves her party stone from her pack. "Hail t' the King. This is Cassidy. Sif, Ankhit, and I are heading for the docks. Tristana, Gabriella, let's set a location t' meet and plan where to go from 'ere."

[Scheming Wizard]

"Is there any reason you are following me, miss?"

Gabriella looked up from the cobblestone. Fafnir's head perked up quizzically.

"Do you think Zeph is more than a babysitter?" she asked back.

[Snowbluff]

Tristana
The Docks

"Zeph? I think he's a spy. I'm not sure what he knows and why he knows it. It's incredibly uncouth," Tristana says bitterly.

[Scheming Wizard]

"I think he is grading us to see if our team is capable of being allowed to take on mission requests competently. He might have even observed us and picked our teammates."

Gabriella was glad to have someone else to talk to about Zeph. She didn't distrust him, but she wondered if she should tell her teammates that he was probably their grader. Would telling them make them perform better or worse? She really wanted her career in King's castle to be successful.

[LoyalPaladin]

Damien (Human, Male)
Enforcer's Roost, Windfall City

Damien waves goodbye to Cassidy. "I'll be seein' ya la'er, lass."

Zephyr (Human, Male)
Outside Enforcer's Roost

Zeph is waiting outside for you. "So, how'd it go? Two of your teammates left already, it looks like they headed towards the docks." He smiles and shrugs. "Have you gathered any good information?"

[Extra Anchovies]

Cassidy
Enforcer's Roost, outside

"We've got some leads, aye. The fellow we talked wit' in the Roost suggested we pay a visit to a Mr. Quickpaw to see what he knows 'bout all this. Apparently 'e's in charge of a thieve's guild here. How does that even work? I'd've guessed the Peers wouldn't put up with that sort o' thing."

How does the thieve's guild function in Windfall, anyways? Is it something like the Ankh-Morpork guild in the Disceorld novels?
Knowledge (Local): [roll0]

[Snowbluff]

Tristana
The Docks

Tristana suddenly snaps around, so quickly that her braid slaps Gabrielle in the face. "And you don't think that's strange? He's been watching us long before we ever joined his organization." Tristana is watching her with a one eyed glare.

[LoyalPaladin]

Zephyr (Human, Male)
Outside Enforcer's Roost

Zeph rustles his hair a little and sighs. "Dorian Quickpaw..." crossing his arms he chuckles a little. "That man is the greatest cat burglar alive." He makes eye contact with Cassidy. "He isn't a bad guy, but he does break the law often. The peers just have bigger fish to fry. It's the Watch, Peacekeepers, Stone Sentinels, and Skyborn Enforcers jobs to keep local crime under control and with so many lawmen running about, the thief's guild does take a hit." Then he shakes his head. "But no one ever catches Dorian Quickpaw." He pushes off of the wall. "He's pretty easy to find, though." Zeph winks.

[Scheming Wizard]

Gabriella felt strangely tranquil as Tristana's hair hit her in the face. She was pretty certain Tristana hadn't done it on purpose. The girl had no vision on her right side where a large eyepatch covered her eye. Gabriella strongly suspected she was completely blind in her right eye. This was the side she had turned into. Fafnir instinctively hissed sensing his master in danger, but Gabriella sent a sense of calm through their mental link and he calmed down. He was really starting to become an extension of her will. Looking into Tristana's eye as she answered she realized she was a few inches taller than the other girl and much heavier. Tristana must have weighed less than 100 pounds.

"Yes I do find it strange that's why I wanted to talk to you about it. Lots of things don't add up. How did they know when we turned 18? How do they get letters to everyone all over the world? Why do our backpacks violate the law of conservation of mass? Most importantly do you think we should tell the others? I don't think they have given the matter much thought."

[IZ42]

Ankhit skips up behind Gabriella, still waving the red cloth. The small Silvestri remarks, "Y'know, Miss Tristana, I think Mister Zeph is following us to make sure we don't get into any trouble we can't extricate ourselves from, by fighting or talking. I also suspect that we ain't trustworthy enough yet to let loose. Also magic is why we can store stuff in those backpacks. It's super cool really. Like a personal dimension! Could Mister Fafnir sniff this, by the way?"

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra

"Quickpaw, eh? Sounds interesting." Sif twirls her hair around her finger as she contemplates Zeph's words. "How easy to find?"

[Snowbluff]

Tristana
The Docks

"He knows more than that, that's for sure," Tristana says. "Where we live, where we've been... also, why is everyone following me?!" Tristana says, deflecting.

[Scheming Wizard]

Gabriella was very surprised to hear Ankhit's voice right behind her.

"You are quite stealthy Ankhit, and possessed of such great hearing. I'm glad you are on our side. Tristana and I were just discussing how nice it is for Mr. Zeph to take such an interest in all of our lives. Either way why don't we keep this conversation between the three of us we wouldn't want Zeph to get the idea that we talk about him behind his back I think it would make him very sad. I've never tried to let Fafnir track anything before why don't you let him smell the cloth and see what happens."

She sent mental commands to Fafnir telling him not to bite the Silvestri.

Fafnir does have the scent ability, but to track by smell a creature needs the track feat and the scent ability then they make a survival check to track. Fafnir doesn't have track or any ranks in survival.

[Snowbluff]

Tristana
The Docks

Tristana snaps. "Are you and imbecile? Why would you be worried about talking behind the back of man who is so evidently untrustworthy?! Do you know what he must have done to arrange all of this? He was literally talking behind our backs and gathering information on us without our knowing?! How is it not okay for use to discuss this subject matter, which is a matter of our own privacy and personal security, when he's been doing literally the same thing, and WORSE, with far more ill intent!" She throws her arms up in impotent frustrate. If something asking to be killed doesn't show up soon, she might make up an excuse to relief her pent up frustration.

[Scheming Wizard]

Gabriella resisted the urge to cuss in frustration. Tristana had no grasp of the importance of timing or secrecy when it came to plotting against someone. Gabriella had just smoothed things over with Ankhit and Tristana ruined it in about five seconds.

Between Tristana and Ankhit word of what they had discussed was probably going to get back to Zeph, and plotting against your minder probably didn't warrant an A on the mission report card Gabriella was almost sure Zeph was filling out for each of them.

Gabriella only saw one way out of this now. She sent a mental word to Fafnir. Run

He took off at full speed down an alley.

"No wait Fafnir come back" she said as she took off after him hoping to leave Ankhit and Tristana behind.

[LoyalPaladin]

Zephyr (Human, Male)
Outside Enforcer's Roost

"Easy as pie." He snaps his fingers. "We can go to the thief's guild any time!" He laughs. "I'm not a lawman, so they don't care if I show up. Would you like to go?"

The Docks
Windfall City

There are many options and people for you to approach, including quite a few ship captains and trader type people.

[Scheming Wizard]

Gabriella ran for a few minutes taking twists and turns until she was sure she had lost Ankhit and Tristana.

She sent a mental communication to Fafnir to meet her by the fountain she had stopped at. She waited a moment and then he trotted right back up to her letting her pick back up his leash.

In a way this felt right. Just her and Fafnir on a case. Just like in her books she was Sam Wolfe private eye and Fafnir was her assistant Milverton. A short green Milverton she mused. No teammates to persuade of the right course of action and no babysitter watching over her shoulder grading her every move. It was exciting and liberating to finally be on her own. Not a shopkeeper, but an adventurer on an important mission.

First things first she had to find the customs office.

Knowledge local check: 1d20+4 =7

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra
Outside Enforcer's Roost

"Yes! Can we go right now?" Sif begins fidget with her tail, dying to get started. A thief's guild sounds even more exciting than the docks to the young lupine.

[LoyalPaladin]

The Docks
Windfall City

Gabriella takes a few minutes to reorient herself with her surroundings. But after about 15 minutes of exploration, she stumbles upon a large building with traders coming in and out of it. On a large swinging sign, you can clearly see the words "Customs B." marked on it.

Zephyr (Human, Male)
Outside Enforcer's Roost, Windfall City

"Sure we can. Will it just be you two? Or will you be bringing the rest of your team?" Zeph offers a friendly smile. "It's about a 45 minute walk to the thief's guild."

Scheming gets an A+ for his ditzy wizard act.

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra
Outside Enforcer's Roost

"We could go get the others beforehand. But we might get more information faster if we check out the thief's guild while they are checking out the docks. Unless you think we need some backup. Still, it's best we keep them informed" Sif pulls out her party stone and begins to lightly toss it up and down in her hand.

Turning to Cassidy, she continues. "What do you think?"

[Extra Anchovies]

Cassidy Halloran
Outside Enforcer's Roost

"Aye, sounds fair t' me. It'll be nice to see for myself how this 'ole public thieves' guild nonsense works."

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra
Outside Enforcer's Roost

"It's settled then!" Sif begins to speak through her party stone. "Hey team, Cassidy and I got a lead on a Thief's Guild to go see some Quickpaw fellow. We're going to head on out that'a way. So, unless there are any objections or last minute tagalongs that's where we will be walking to as of now. Otherwise, keep looking for information at the docks and keep me posted! Sif out."

Sif tosses the stone a few more times and looks to Zeph. "Until we get any takers, I say we start walking. Lead the way!"

[LoyalPaladin]

Zephyr (Human, Male)

Zeph smiles slyly. "I'll lead the way." He walks you around town for nearly 50 minutes, when you reach the outskirts of what you now know as the residential district. Situated between two large trees is a cottage with no markings, address, or people. "This is the place. He's right inside, I'm sure."

Team Alpha

None of your party stones vibrate.

[Extra Anchovies]

Cassidy

"Psst, Sif!" Cassidy gets her companion's attention with a gentle nudge. "You've got t' say 'Hail t' the King' before you start talkin', else the stone won't work."

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra

"That so?" Sif's eyes widen and she examines the stone, her ears perking up with curiosity. "Guess I missed that! Does it work with your accent?" Sif teases before trying her own stone again. "Hail to the King." Sif repeats her previous spiel, informing her teammates of their whereabouts.

Once they arrive at the cottage, Sif looks to Cassidy. "Well I can't say this is what I was expecting."

[IZ42]

Ankhit, Confused

Mildly bewildered by the odd woman running off with the cute wolf, Ankhit waves at the group following Zeph, yelling "Wait uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuup, I wanna come too!"

[LoyalPaladin]

Zephyr (Human, Male)
Theif's Cottage, Windfall City

Zeph takes a familiar stance, leaning against the outside of the building and smiling. "I'll wait here." He doesn't look worried, but adds. "I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors."

Ankhit needs to choose where he actually is. Zephyr, Sif, and Cassidy were about 15-20 minutes walk away from the docks, still outside the Enforcer's Roost. Tristana and Gabriella took off to the docks and I'm pretty sure Ankhit went with? You did all just receive Sif's message about where she is going. So I'll let you go with them, if that's what you're trying to do. It just adds 15 minutes (which means basically nothing).

[Scheming Wizard]

Gabriella was glad to find the customs office. For an important building it was quite a hassle to find. She heard her party stone vibrating so she pulled it out of her pack and activated it. Sif was on the other line
"Hey team, Cassidy and I got a lead on a Thief's Guild to go see some Quickpaw fellow. We're going to head on out that'a way. So, unless there are any objections or last minute tagalongs that's where we will be walking to as of now. Otherwise, keep looking for information at the docks and keep me posted! Sif out."

Hmm she felt like responding, but she was a little embarrassed that the rest of the team had found the thieves guild already and she had just barely found the customs office. A den of thieves should have been harder to find than a government building even though they arguably gave merchants like herself the same treatment. She decided to call back when she had some information to report.

Gabriella walked inside the office Fafnir in tow.

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra
Thief's Cottage

Sif to her team for a quick moment before returning to gaze to Zeph, "Thanks for the escort." She smiles as she pulls her massive mane of hair back in a ponytail.



Sense Motive
[roll0]

To see if there is anything suspicious about Zeph.

Search
[roll1]
To see if there is anything suspicious about the building.

[LoyalPaladin]

Customs B. Office
The Docks, Windfall City

Gabriella walks in and sees a lot of the same folk she saw outside. Sailors, traders, wealthy men and the like. There is a long line that leads to a counter, if you choose to wait in line there is a very large orc-kin woman behind the counter and she stares at you expectantly.

Zephyr (Human, Male)
Thief's Cottage, Windfall City

"Anytime, Sif. I've got to keep my charges safe!" He smiles genuinely.

Good rolls, sis.

Sense Motive
Zephyr seems incredibly genuine to you. He honestly appears to be here to help!

Search
You find no traces of anything, which is suspicious in itself. The lawn is well kept, the cottage well maintained, and there doesn't seem to be any kind of booby trap waiting for you. As far as you can tell, this cottage appears untouched by time or people.

[Scheming Wizard]

Gabriella waits in line to be served by the Orc Woman. When she gets to the front of the line she asks the woman "Has anyone filed paperwork to ship some exotic eggs out of the city today."

She was pretty sure it wouldn't be this easy, but maybe she would get lucky. Most likely the thieves would file the paperwork, but lie about what was being shipped.

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra
Thief's Cottage, Windfall City

"Well, no use waiting around." Sif smiles, deciding to advance. She motions for her fellow teammates to follow her as she walks to the door and enters the cottage.

[Extra Anchovies]

Cassidy Halloran

Thief's Cottage, Windfall City

As Sif reaches for the door, Cassidy quickly grabs her hand. "Oy! 's rude to enter without knocking." Her face flushes a bit as she remembers that it's not nice to lunge at teammates. "Sorry. Jus' thought it'd be best to be polite as we can if we want Mr. Quickpaw to help us."

If necessary, here's some dice.
Touch attack: [roll0]
Grapple check: [roll1]

[Snowbluff]

Tristana

El Cottage

"Hey, who cares. It's just some cottages." Tristana pulls out the crappy nunchucks she got from the dwarf.

[LoyalPaladin]

Customs B. Office
The Docks, Windfall City

The orc-kin woman looks entirely bored with her job. "Exotic eggs?" She flips through a ledger in front of her. "Who wants to know?" Her eyes narrow.

Thief's Cottage
Windfall City

The door to the cottage opens and standing at the door is the most stereo-typically dressed thief. He's wearing raggy leather armor, a torn muffler, and a dagger clearly visible. "Mr. Quickpaw, sir! The kids from the King's Castle are here!" He shouts, opening the door and gesturing for everyone to step inside. The inside is your typical rustic cottage, there is a wood burning hearth, fur rugs, and even a large mounted head of a dire wolf.

Sitting on a miniature, well adorned wing chair is an everyday house cat. He is wearing expertly crafted leather armor and a pair of thin rimed spectacles, you notice that he is reading a book titled "Technomagic and its Many Benefits". He closes the book with his other paw and stands, pushing his spectacles to the top of his head. "Ah! Young adventurers. My favorite!" With a bow he sets the book on the chair behind him and proclaims. "I am sir Dorian Quickpaw. How might I be of service to you?"

I'm using saddle brown and maroon for the really unimportant NPCs.

[Scheming Wizard]

"Suffice to say some property of the Skyborn enforcers has been stolen and they commissioned me to check into it."

[LoyalPaladin]

Customs B. Office
The Docks, Windfall City

The orc-kin gets visibly nervous and you notice that a few of the people in the office leave. "The Skyborn Enforcers you say?" She flips through her ledger. "We don't need any trouble at the office. I'll copy down all the transportation dates of anything related to your eggs." She nervously scratches down a bunch of dates and destinations on a paper, handing it to you when she finishes.

There doesn't seem to be anything amazing on the list, save for one entry. A batch of three eggs were to be privately delivered to a placed called "Immolation Peak" down on the surface.

[Scheming Wizard]

"Thank you very much mam no one will trouble you any further."

The Skyborn enforcers sure had a reputation around here. Those guys must be pretty hardcore. It had made her job a lot easier.

She was overjoyed and smiling as she walked out of the customs office. She had a genuine lead to share with the others. "Let's roll Milverton our work here is done" she joked to Fafnir. Fafnir didn't understand the reference.

She found a public bench and pulled her communication stone out of her pack. "Hail to the King. Hey I found a lead where can I meet up with you guys?"

While she was waiting for a reply she looked at the sheet the Orc woman had given her. Immolation Peak, had she ever heard of that place before?

knowledge Geography=[roll0]

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra
Thief's Cottage, Windfall City

Sif tried her best not to be distracted by the fact that a cat was sitting in front of her. Her ears twitched in her efforts. "Nice to meet you, Sir. I'm Sif. My team and I are undergoing an investigation of sorts and were wondering if you'd be willing to help us out." Sif shoots her usual two fingered solute and grin as she introduces herself, trying not to get distracted by the scent of cat.

[LoyalPaladin]

Away Team Alpha
All of your party stones buzz, relaying Gabriella's message to whomever picks them up.

Dorian Quickpaw (Awakened Cat, Male)
Thief's Cottage, Windfall City

His whisker's twitch. "Dorian Quickpaw, master thief, is always eager to help young adventurers!" You think he is smiling, but his expressions are hard to read on his feline face. He is standing bi-pedal and strides in your direction. "So long as it doesn't hurt my buisness!" He laughs a little and then focuses his eyes on you. "Please, continue." He is completely unphased by your party stones buzzing and talking.

Knowledge (Geography):
You remember reading that it is a site of dark rituals and the occult from long ago. Although, most people thought that was a thing of the past.

[IZ42]

Ankhit

The door bursts open, and the small Silvestri flies into the room, mouth already running in excitement "HieveryoneIwascomingherebutIgotlostandtooklongerth anexpectedandohmygodsit'satalkingcatit'ssoadorable Iwannapetittttttttttt!" Taking a breath from the flood of words, Ankhit calms down before continuing, "Hi! I'm back! I got lost but now I'm here. You gotta be Mister Quickpaw right? You're so adorable!"

[Extra Anchovies]

Cassidy Halloran

Thief's Cottage, Windfall City

Cassidy rolls her eyes at Ankhit's entrance. "Please pardon my teammate's manners, sir. 'e's more excitable than most."

"Anyway, somebody pulled one over on th' Enforcers and stole some valuable goods from the Roost last night. We've got a couple o' leads, but thought we'd check in with you to see if one of your... One of your associates has heard anything about it."

Diplomacy [roll0]

[Snowbluff]

Tristana

Thief's Cottage

Tristana whips the nunchucks at Cassidy. "Outside, now," she says sternly to the girl.

"Sorry. The long and the short of it is that the fuzz are onto it. The quicker this is resolved, the few of your assets have to be compromised in their investigation," she says more sweetly. "Plus, the less time I have to spend on this insipid goose chase. It's win-win."


Attack [roll0] to throw the stupid nunchucks at Cassidy
Damage [roll1]

Diplo on tibbit [roll2]

[Extra Anchovies]

Cassidy Halloran

Thief's Cottage

Cassidy smirks as the nunchaku whiz past her. "I don't recall you bein' put in charge, missy. You should be more careful with those things. Might put somebody's eye out." After smiling briefly at her own quip, she turns her attention back to Quickpaw and waits for the cat to speak.

[LoyalPaladin]

Dorian Quickpaw (Awakened Cat, Male)
Thief's Cottage, Windfall City

Dorian looks a little take aback by Ankhit's outburst. "I thought that the king only allowed adults into the guild, but surely you must be a child." He seems honest, not like he is tossing an insult at you. "Please refrain from petting me."

Taking in Cassidy's words and watching her exchange with Tristana. "This must be your first mission. You've clearly not found your balance as a team yet." He concludes. "Very well, happy Skyborn Enforcers make for less unhappy thieves, though I personally am more affected by the state of the Stone Sentinels."

He pauses, musing over the information he's about to share. "First let me explain how the law works in the sky cities, Windfall in particular." He saunters over to a table, gracefully leaping on top of it and pulling out four figurines, these are a woman with a parasol, an intense looking dwarf, a man in huge plate armor with a hammer, and a woman riding a bird. "These are the heads of all four law branches, two of these only exist in windfall." He picks up the dwarf and woman with a parasol. "Thunderfist Marx and Charlotte Graceweave lead the Peacekeepers and City Watch, respectively. They handle petty crime, vandalism, and minor threats."

He puts those figures down and picks up the man in plate armor. "The stone sentinels. They are based out of Obelisk and you'll find them in every sky city, save for maybe Stormguard. They handle more significant crime, say if I were to become a serial killer or rob a large bank, leaving no trace." He nods, grinning a large cat grin, leading you to believe the latter may not be out of the question for him.

He sets that down and picks up the woman on the bird. "The skyborn enforcers. They work in conjunction with the stone sentinels, patrolling the skies and cracking down on piracy." He nods, knowingly. "Now, you want to me to help the people who make fencing my... goods... harder? The nerve!" You see a few of the thieves grinning maliciously. "Okay. I'll do it." He bursts out laughing and so do the thieves. "But your friend in the stone got you most of the information I've got for you. Save for the fact that you should prepare for a skirmish with possible fire magic." He grumbles a little. "Who did they give you as an escort? Surely they didn't send you alone."

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra

While Tristana and Cassidy had their minor argument, Sif was busy listening to her party stone. "Hail to the king. Great work, Gabriella! Thanks for keeping us posted. When you're ready, come on over and meet us." Sif relays their location, puts her party stone away, and returns to the conversation at hand.

"Alright ladies, let's try not to kill eachother on our first mission!" She smiles in her usual friendly way, she's not being condescending at all. "Thanks for the information, Sir! As for our escort? Zeph is our man."

[Scheming Wizard]

She wasn't sure why, but she was glad Sif had answered the stone. Fafnir was laying down, but he got up when she did and started walking with her towards the rendezvous point Sif had given her. Gabriella wasn't sure why but she thought of the fact that she had never really had friends her own age. She had no siblings. She had been close to her parents, she had Fafnir, but she didn't have anyone close to her own age she would call a friend. She supposed she had a job now with the King's Castle guild, but were her party members her friends or just her coworkers?

It was a long walk to the meeting place and she also began to think of if she could kill anyone. She certainly practiced with her crossbow enough in the woods to be proficient with it, but shooting at a person was probably different than shooting at a tree. None of her spells were slaying spells as her arcane books called them, although they would theoretically protect her. Fafnir had shown a willingness to protect her in the past and would most certainly bite anyone threatening her. Likewise she knew she would protect him if the time came. Would her teammates protect her though, and would she kill someone to protect them? By the time she arrived at the meeting place her mind was entirely off the case at hand.

[Extra Anchovies]

Cassidy listens intently as the cat speaks, filing the division of legal authority in with the other things she's learned since her arrival in Windfall. "Aye, we're asking you to help the Enforcers - but we're nae askin' for your help crackin' down on whatever you an' your pals are up to. Fellow we talked to back at the Roost said somethin' about calling in th' Stone Sentinels if we can't find the thieves ourselves."

[LoyalPaladin]

Dorian Quickpaw (Awakened Cat, Male)
Theif's Cottage, Windfall City

"Quite right." He nods at Cassidy. "I don't have a lot to tell you and I don't intend to solve the Skyborn Enforcer's problems myself." He brushes his face with his paw. "But I do intend to aid fledgling adventurers." He motions and the man who opened the door hands you each a potion of fire resistance 5. "Those will only last a day! Use them wisely." He eyes Sif. "Tell Zephyr, that he still owes me a beer and could stand to stop in to say hi to an old friend, once in a while." He smiles, showing his feline teeth.

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra
Thief's Cottage

Taking Dorian's request seriously, Sif smiles and steps outside. "Zeph! Your friend wants a beer and a hello from you!" She tugs at Zeph's sleeve and begins to pull towards the door.

[LoyalPaladin]

Zephyr (Human, Male)
Outside Theif's Cottage, Windfall City

Zephyr pulls against the abnormally strong lupine girls grip. "Tell him I'll stop by sometime later, right now you're on a mission." He says, in a fatherly tone.

[Scheming Wizard]

Gabriella saw Sif trying to pull Zeph inside the cottage Sif had told him about over the stone. Zeph seemed to be resisting.

I wonder what's going on in there? She walked Fafnir up to the entrance.

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra
Thief's Cottage

"Lame! A good friend would at least say hello." Sif teases, as she releases her grip. "Suit yourself, though." The lupine girl shrugs, keeping her usual grin.

Sif notices Gabriella's arrival, "Glad your journey was safe!" she links arms with her teammate and walks them both inside the cottage. "This here is Mr. Quickpaw. He's a pretty cool cat." Sif laughs.

[Scheming Wizard]

Sif linked arms with her and took her inside. Fafnir seemed to like Sif he usually tried to bite people who got close to her. This reassured Gabriella immensely Fafnir was an excellent judge of character. "This here is Mr. Quickpaw. He's a pretty cool cat."

Gabriella's mouth almost hung open when she found out Mr. Quickpaw was not only a cool cat, but an actual cat as well. She tried her best to hide her surprise and act nonchalant about it. "Pleased to meet you Mr. Quickpaw."

[LoyalPaladin]

Dorian Quickpaw (Awakened Cat, Male)
Theif's Cottage, Windfall City

Dorian bows politely. "Pleased to make your acquaintance. Am I to presume you're the lady that spoke through the stones?"

[Scheming Wizard]

"Yes it was. I had a very productive visit to the customs office." Gabriella smiled partly because she was proud of how her investigation had gone, and partly because it was oddly fun having a conversation with a cat. It was something that happened to princesses in the fairy tales her father used to read to her. She remembered hearing the adventures of scarlet cloak, emberella, and frost ivory. The heroine always prevailed in the end helped by benevolent talking animals, fairy aunts, and magical items.

[LoyalPaladin]

Dorian Quickpaw (Awakened Cat, Male)
Theif's Cottage, Windfall City

"Well then. It would seem that my help is no longer needed!" He smiles. "Please do be careful on your journey to Immolation Peak."

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra

"We will! Thanks for your assistance, Mr. Quickpaw." Sif smiles as she shows off her potion. "Let's get going, then." She walks out the door, motioning for her team to follow.

[Snowbluff]

Tristana follows, grumbling to herself.

[Scheming Wizard]

"Have a good day Mr. Quickpaw." Fafnir starts to follow Sif out the door, and Gabriella follows before he runs out of slack in the leash.

"Immolation Peak, sounds delightful." says Gabriella in a tone that might be sarcastic.

[LoyalPaladin]

Zephyr (Human, Male)
Outside Thief's Cottage
Windfall City

Zephyr is, like always, leaning against the wall outside. "What did you find out, team?" He stands up and approaches the team. "Or perhaps a better question- where are we going?"

[Snowbluff]

Tristana is still going to Immolation Mountain, and is confused as to why she is being stopped.

[Scheming Wizard]

"We're headed to immolation peak. Fire cultists, black magic, human sacrifice, lots of sharp jagged igneous rock anybody whose anybody vacations there."

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra

"Like she said." Sif points to Gabriella with a sideways gesture similar to a hitchhiking thumb as she passes by. Keeping pace with Tristana, she continues on, "Are you excited? I am!"

[IZ42]

Ankhit

Skipping up to Sif, Ankhit excitedly nods, saying "Warm weather and a chance to hamstring baddies? Sign me up for sure! "

[LoyalPaladin]

Zephyr (Human, Male)
Outside Thief's Cottage
Windfall City

"Immolation Peak?" Zeph sighs and shakes his head. "Other instructors get corn pickers and rat slayers as their first mission and somehow I get stuck traveling for four days in a skyship?" His expression breaks out into a grin. "Just how I like it." He directs the team through Windfall, finally arriving at the docks. He flashes some credential looking item towards one of the ticket sellers and they hand over six tickets. "It's going to be a while till the ship departs, probably an hour or so..." Zeph looks around. "Might as well snag a bite to eat!" While waiting for the ship, Zeph treats you all to a large meal after which you all board a ship. "Raise your hand if you've ever been on a sky ship!"

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra

Sif raises her hand. "To get to Windfall, yep! Canines can't fly."

[Snowbluff]

Tristana

Tristana rolls her eyes. "Is there anything we should be doing before we leave? It's bad enough we're on this goose chase."

[Extra Anchovies]

Cassidy Halloran

"It'd be smart of us to have a talk with Damien about what we've found out before we leave the city. He should hear from us that it's the cult of Ignis behind all this 'fore we go running down to the surface."

[Scheming Wizard]

It would be her first time leaving windfall. Excited didn't begin to describe how she felt. The ship hadn't left yet. When Zeph asked which of them had ridden on a sky ship before her hand stayed down.

Next time someone asked that question she would be the first to raise her hand.

[LoyalPaladin]

Flashback
Damien (Human, Male)
The Enforcer's Roost
Windfall City

Anyone who chose to go to the roost is present. Damien is on the top floor still, helping the birds preen their feathers and oiling some specially designed saddles.

[Extra Anchovies]

Cassidy Halloran
Enforcer's Roost

Cassidy ascends the stairs and gets Damien's attention. Once she does, she explains the situation to him. "Y'see, we've checked the logs at the city customs office and the eggs are headed for a spot called Immolation Peak. Thought it'd be wise to tell you that it's all but certain that it's followers o' Ignis behind the theft."

[LoyalPaladin]

Damien (Human, Male)
Inside Enforcer's Roost
Windfall City

Damien wipes sweat of his forehead and pats the bird next to him. "Ah. I see, lass." Pulling off some leather gloves and tossing them aside, he adds. "Ain't a lot I c'n do for ya." Frustration spreads across his face. "Immolation Mountain is outside my jurisdiction, ya see. The great windy lady don't give a hoot'bout some wee baby birds." He fumbles around in his pocket and tosses you a small packet. "If the wee birdies have 'atched, mix tat wit some wa'er and bo'le feed em." He shrugs. "S'bout all I can do for ye, lass. Tha, an' ask ya to give em hell."

[Extra Anchovies]

Cassidy stows the packet in her bag and gives Damien a friendly salute. "Aye, sir. So we shall."

All done here, sorry for holding things up.

[LoyalPaladin]

Flash Forward
Zephyr (Human, Male)
Skyship
Skysea

"We have four days of skyship travel, team." He crosses his arms and leans up against the hull. "Now would be an excellent time to get to know each other, especially since you're about to enter a dangerous situation." He looks you all over, not entirely sure how cohesive your bond is and sighs. "I'll start, the name is Zephyr. Ex-Skyborn Enforcer, I left for personal reasons but the good news is Aerona liked me enough to let me keep my bird." He chuckles.

[Snowbluff]

Tristana

Tristana groans. "Fine, if you won't tell us anything, I won't either. Hi, I'm Not Caring."

[Scheming Wizard]

Gabriella was standing at the bow of the ship. Her hair was blowing in the wind. She reached out and touched a cloud. The water vapor tickled her hand. She felt truly happy not just excited for the first time since her parents had died.

Fafnir had made himself useful on the ship hunting the rats that stowed away. She had worried she would have to watch him the whole trip.

She walked back to the group. Zeph has tried to start an introduction game to which Tristana wanted no part. Whatever had happened to her in the past she obviously didn't want to talk about it. "I have an idea why don't we all tell jokes? How often did the Paladin clean his armor?" She paused for a moment and delivered the punchline. "Knightly."

[LoyalPaladin]

Zephyr (Human, Male)
Skyship
Skysea

Zeph pauses slightly and grins. "Haha! That was great!" He turns to the rest of the group to see if they thought it was funny. "I've got a paladin friend who needs to hear that..."

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra
Skyship
Skysea

"Is it uncommon for retired enforcers to keep their birds?" Sif asks.

After Gabriella tells her joke, the lupine girl laughs a little louder than she probably should. "Good one! I don't have any great jokes, but I can cross my eyes all funny! See?" She points to her face with both hands to show off her silly little talent. "What do you think Ms. "I'm Not Caring"? Am I pretty like this?" Sif asks Tristana, with eyes still crossed.

[LoyalPaladin]

Zephyr (Human, Male)
Skyship
Skysea

"Fairly uncommon, yes." Zeph nods at Sif's question. When she directs her antics towards Tristana, Zeph's eyes start to water in anticipation.

[Snowbluff]

Tristana

Tristana looks at Sif with disdain. "No, you look more awful than usual." she says scathingly. She turns around to get the wolfkin out of her face.

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra
Skyship
Skysea

"That's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me! I shall cherish this moment for the rest of my days." Sif jests with a chuckle and a light pat on Tristana's shoulder, not bothered by the minor insult. She uncrosses her eyes and turns back to Zephyr. "What's your birds name, anyway?"

[LoyalPaladin]

Zephyr
Skyship
Skysea

"Astella." He smiles. "Now, I suggest we all turn in for the night. We've got a small journey ahead." Zephyr will hand out maps with your room locations on them, it seems you've been split into pairs. Tristana and Sif, Cassidy and Gabriella, and finally Zephyr and Ankhit.

[IZ42]

Ankhit

The small Silvestri skips into the room, jumping up onto a bed. "Why do I have to be with youuuuu? I wanna hang out with Sif! She's funny an' exciting!" Though they seemed to whine, Ankhit didn't seem especially put out. Scrabbling about inside their pack, Ankhit pulls out a pencil and some paper and begins drawing, an intent look on their face. It isn't clear what they're drawing as of yet.

[LoyalPaladin]

Ankhit

The small Silvestri skips into the room, jumping up onto a bed. "Why do I have to be with youuuuu? I wanna hang out with Sif! She's funny an' exciting!" Though they seemed to whine, Ankhit didn't seem especially put out. Scrabbling about inside their pack, Ankhit pulls out a pencil and some paper and begins drawing, an intent look on their face. It isn't clear what they're drawing as of yet.

Zephyr (Human, Male)
Skyship
Skysea

"That's just how it worked out, I guess."* Zephyr laughs. "Fancy yourself an artist, Ankhit?"

*Or rather, how the dice rolled.

[Snowbluff]

Tristana

Tristana takes one of the beds, throwing her back on her. She sits down and impatiently waits for Zephyr to leave so she can change out of her armor.

[IZ42]

Ankhit

Ankhit looks confused, "Why would I wanna be an artist? They don't have money and are weird and have floppy hair and stuff. I wanna be a warrior, cuz they get paid to stab baddies in uncomfortable places. I jus' like drawing, is all." She shrugs, and shows Zephyr his mostly completed drawing, which appeared to be a caricature of Zephyr, accentuating his mouth and belly primarily.

[Extra Anchovies]

Cassidy enters her room and carefully arranges her belongings around one of the beds. After Gabriella enters, Cassidy turns to her roommate.

"So what's your deal, then? You ran off like a madwoman after that lizard of yours and came back with the best lead we've gotten. How'd you know where to look?"

[LoyalPaladin]

Zephyr (Human, Male)
Skyship
Skysea

Zephyr smiles at the drawing. "It looks like you've had quite a lot of practice!" He laughs. "I'm an artist as well, but not in the traditional sense."

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra
Skyship
Skysea

Sif claims the remaining bed with a smile. "Ooo~ Comfy!" She smiles, bouncing slightly to test how springy her new sleeping area is. Not caring to even check if the door has been shut, the lupine girl begins to change into more comfortable clothing, humming as she does so.

[Snowbluff]

Tristana
on a boat
in the sky

Tristana slams the door in Zephyr's face. "Loathsome wretch!" She turns suddenly, her long braid (surely unintentionally) hitting Sif in the face.

"Have you no shame?" Tristana mutters to the little lupine. She looks absolutely ill at the poor manners on display. She shakes her head, changing into some lighter clothes. As she does, her number scars are revealed to Sif. Burn scars, old lacerations, and hideous puncture wounds, as well some unidentifiable markings are visible. The worst part is there is a certain rhyme to them. They not something that would be accrued over time in battle, and surely such grievous trauma would have killed a warrior on the battlefield.

[IZ42]

Ankhit

Ankhit giggles. "Thanks, Zepphy! I've been drawing size I was... err... 6! Yeah, I think 6 is right." Ankhit tilts their head, "Whaddya mean by that? Are you like one of those weird people who draw like a single black dot and call it a polar bear in a snowstorm or something? You don't look like it; ya don't got floppy hair or piercings in weird places."

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra
Skyship

"Shame? What's that?" Sif jokes before noticing Tristana's scars. "You're pretty marked up. Did they hurt?" She asks, showing genuine concern for her teammate.

Realizing her comment may have been invasive, Sif continues to try and make up for it. "There's nothing wrong with scars though! They show history. See?" The lupine girl lifts her hair briefly to reveal her back, presenting plenty of scars of it's own- comprised mostly of what appears to be lash marks. She isn't nearly as scarred as Tristana, but still hopes to find something they have in common.

[LoyalPaladin]

Zephyr (Human, Male)
Skyship
Skysea

"I'm a marksman." He smiles, pulling his handguns out of their holsters, tastefully twirling them at high speeds around his fingers before re-holstering them. "My art involves people dying." He chuckles solemnly. "Now, it's probably best we get some rest. A few days and we're going to be facing some danger, hopefully." He winks and then lies down on his bed, laying his pillow over his head.

[IZ42]

Ankhit

"I never knew killing people was an art!" There is absolutely no trace of sarcasm in the little silvestri's voice, "You can get some sleep, old man. I'm not tired yet, so Imma find something to do."

[Snowbluff]

Tristana
The Bunks

Tristana gingerly touches Sif's back, tracing the scars with her fingers. "What are these showing?" she inquires. The word choice seems to be intentional mirroring Sif's. Her face is dark as she brings her shirt up with her other hand to cover herself.

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra

Oddly enough, Sif isn't startled by Tristana's touch. She chuckles and explains, "No one grows up in the Sun Scar without getting a little marked up. I don't even remember where most my scars, burns, and bruises came from; it's just part of life."

Sif pauses for a moment. "Although... Most of those on my back are from protecting a someone... He's like my little brother. I won't bore you with the details." She continues with an almost sad smile. "They didn't feel great, but family is worth it."

She finishes dressing herself and begins to pull her hair back into a ponytail in an attempt to get it off the floor. Talking with a hair band in her mouth, she questions with slightly muffled speech. "So what about you?"

[IZ42]

Ankhit

Storing his few belongings back inside her pack, Ankhit sheds their armor and shield, keeping her rapier tucked in a emerald-colored sash around their waist. The Silvestri steps out of the room, looking down the hallway on either side, before turning right. Not particularly paying attention, Ankhit bounces along, quietly humming various rhythms and notes to themself.

[Scheming Wizard]

Cassidy enters her room and carefully arranges her belongings around one of the beds. After Gabriella enters, Cassidy turns to her roommate.

"So what's your deal, then? You ran off like a madwoman after that lizard of yours and came back with the best lead we've gotten. How'd you know where to look?"

Gabriella was happy she had gotten matched up with Cassidy. Ankhit was too high energy for her to keep up with. She didn't completely trust Zeph, and she wasn't sure if Tristana would end up attacking her or not. Sif seemed nice, but she hadn't gotten to talk to Cassidy yet.

Gabriella walked into the bedroom. Cassidy was already there arranging her belongings to settle in for the night. Gabriella noticed a bow in the corner. It looked more dangerous than her little crossbow.

Fafnir ran up to the unoccupied bed and curled up on it. Gabriella laid down her bag at the foot of the bed and sat next to Fafnir petting him.


"So what's your deal, then? You ran off like a madwoman after that lizard of yours and came back with the best lead we've gotten. How'd you know where to look?"

"Oh that." Gabriella thought Cassidy had guessed Fafnir's impromptu marathon was scripted. She kept petting Fafnir. He was already falling asleep. Well I used to run a shop in my hometown. A lot of the things I kept in stock had to be shipped and paperwork for them filled out through the customs office, so I assumed the customs office would have a record of anyone shipping mysterious eggs out of the city even if they had forged documents to make them look legitimate. There was a stern Orc Woman in charge of the office, but the minute I said the words Skyborn Enforcers she pretty much begged me to take the information.

[Extra Anchovies]

Cassidy

"Fair enough. If you ask me, it's quite a lucky break that our thieves left papers with customs in th' first place. 'Ow'd that lizard o' yours know where you were goin' before you went, by the way? Is 'e one of those familiars that witches 'ave? Or have you two jus' been together long enough that y' get the same hunches?"

[Snowbluff]

Tristana
Tristana and Sif's bunk


"Me?" Tristana is caught off guard by the question. Most people are content with avoiding her. "I don't have any family. Not anymore, anyway. These scars were sustained in vain." She looks away suddenly, realizing that she had been staring at Sif the whole time she was changing. "Sorry.," she mutters.

She changes in to some lighter clothing, switches to a more casual eyepatch, and redoes her long braid.

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra

It seems Sif either did not notice Tristana's staring or simply didnt care, because the apology made no sense to her. "I'm sorry to hear that." Sif says with her ears tucked back. She quickly returns to her happy self though.

"But family doesn't have to be through blood! Maybe you'll find another one someday!" She says positively. "Wanna go explore with me? This ship is huge!" The lupine extends her hand to her roommate as an invitation.

[Snowbluff]

Tristana

"I've lost both kinds of family..." Tristana mutters. She doesn't like to think about her past. She shakes her head.

"Very well, I will join you. It's not like I have a better way to spend my time," she says, accepting Sif's offer, but not her hand. In Tristana's opinion she has already been too touchy.

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra

Sif is elated, and a little shocked, when Tristana agrees. It's no secret, either. The lupine's tail waves from side to side as she makes her way to the door with a bounce in her step. Holding the door open with her best courteous manner, she waits for her roommate "After you!"

[Snowbluff]

Tristana

"A pleasure," Tristana says. She looks for the dining room, interested in eating before continuing with her day. "So, what brought you to the adventuring company?" she asks Sif, being polite.

[Scheming Wizard]

Cassidy

"Fair enough. If you ask me, it's quite a lucky break that our thieves left papers with customs in th' first place. 'Ow'd that lizard o' yours know where you were goin' before you went, by the way? Is 'e one of those familiars that witches 'ave? Or have you two jus' been together long enough that y' get the same hunches?"

Fafnir fell asleep as Cassidy was talking. Gabriella ran her fingers across his back one more time before turning to answer Cassidy. "Originally he was just an exotic animal a sailor gave me to pay off a debt he owed. After I started learning magic our bond started to grow until one day I could see through his eyes just as he could through mine. I'm not a witch though I'm a wizard. Witches make forbidden deals on moonlit nights in haunted forests with otherworldly beings whose purposes they barely understand to gain their magical powers. Wizards read books." She gestured to the stack of books lying on the floor at the foot of the bed. The thick leather bound copy on top was titled Advanced Polymorphic Theory.

[LoyalPaladin]

Skyship
Skysea

To anyone exploring the ship, it is fairly mundane. The bridge and engine room are locked and guarded, a few extra empty rooms are unlocked, and you can venture onto the bow of the ship for your viewing. There is also a small dining hall that has some busy chefs rushing about. It wont take long for Ankhit to bump into Sif and Tristana.

[IZ42]

Ankhit

Moments Sif leaves the door to enter the dining room, it explodes open again, propelled by a familiar voice, "Ooh! I found you Sif! This place is tiny, y'know? And boring, not enough people that I can harass mercilessly. Speaking of which, hi, Scary Person who I totally didn't forget the name of!"

Out of their armor, Ankhit appears even smaller in stature, but still somehow completely unidentifiable as to either gender. Two tattoos are visible, previously covered up by the Silvestri's armor; the first, a band wrapping around their left bicep, not unlike a Z with a line through the middle, and the second, a smaller tattoo in the shape of a stylized four-point star.

[Snowbluff]

Tristana

Tristana gives Ankhit a disgusted look for their general lack of etiquette. "Hello, I am Tristana. It is a pleasure to meet you again." The words are genteel, but the tone is vulgar. Tristana sounds like she'd be content to dismember Ankhit in a not very expedient manner, probably with future desecration of the resulting corpse in mind. "Forgive me, but I do believe that I have forgotten your name as well. Of course, with manners like those, I find it hard to imagine you ever gave or even had one in the first place."

[IZ42]

Ankhit

Ankhit laughs, wiping an imaginary tear from her eye, completely unconcerned by the only partially veiled threats by Tristana, "Tristy, you are a regular laugh riot! You're okay too! My name's Ankhit Sandfoot! Y'know, m'uncle always said that ya can't fault someone ya don't know for their manners! They really could be raised in a barn! Or a desert, in my case, but that's besides the point. You're all fancy-like though, which is cool. Your face is throwin' me off a bit, but I dig the eyepatch, it's really stylish!"

[Extra Anchovies]

Cassidy

"Aye, so you're like me father, then. 'E never much approved o' how much of a liking I took t' the outdoors, but moonlight rituals and haunted forests sounds like more fun t' me than reading." Cassidy stands from her bed and stretches. "I think I'll 'ave a look about the ship. You can come along if y' want."

[Scheming Wizard]

I'm like her father is that a compliment? Clearly Cassidy felt she'd insulted her outdoor inclinations. She had only meant to show that her magic was as safe and reliable as any other science. It was just like calculus, economics or physics. It wasn't prancing around naked under the full moon with a frog on your head. In other words her magic was not of the same type as the hooliganism they were sailing to go fight.

Cassidy was walking out the door.

"Wait come back. I hike in the woods sometimes. I even hugged a tree once. I think it hugged me back."

Gabriella followed Cassidy out the door to explore the ship.

Fafnir remained on the bed sleeping.

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra

"Well you see I-" Sif's story gets cut off short by Ankhit's arrival.

She watches as the both Tristana and the small silvestri exchange what she thinks is a semi-friendly conversation. A bit unsure where to come in, she decides to pat Ankhit on the head. "Y'know, I don't think that tiny body of yours can handle all that energy!" she comments, chuckling a bit at the silvestri's antics. "I was letting Tristana lead the way. Did you ditch your roommate?"

[IZ42]

Ankhit

"Zephy's boring and old, so yeah, I ditched him. I'm also hungry. And this tiny body has been handling this energy for uhhh... 18 years now! I think. Nownownow, you were gonna tell a story to Miss Tristana over there. I wanna hear it too!" Ankhit bounces up onto a seat, sitting crosslegged and staring at the lupine with a gaze of apparent intense focus.

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra

Chuckling at the little ball of energy that is her teammate, Sif replies with her usual grin, "It's nothing exciting! I was just telling Tristana here that I've actually wanted to join the adventuring company for a long while now. Y'know, to get out of the Sun Scar and whatnot. I did get held up a few years because...something...came up though."

The lupine bites her lip a little as she thinks of how to end her thought; she settles for simplicity over intriguing. "But I'm here now though! So all is well."

[Snowbluff]

Tristana

Tristana glares at Ankhit.


"You've wanted to join intentionally? Conditions must have been pretty poor to make this a better choice," Tristana grumbles.

[IZ42]

Ankhit

Ankhit waves at Tristana.

Bouncing on the seat a few times, Ankhit replies "I mighta been there once, I can't remember though. I actually didn't know about all this hooplah until a few months ago, when Uncle Marcus mentioned it in regards to my birthday. Except he isn't really my uncle, since he's human 'n all. But it sounded really fun and now I'm here and it is really fun!"

[Scheming Wizard]

Cassidy was a super good listener. She didn't say anything as they walked through the ship. Gabriella naturally filled the silence. "You see you have arcane spell casters and divine spell casters. For the arcane you have wizards like myself, sorcerers, and witches. Sorcerers aren't too bad, but extremely hung up on genealogy and bloodlines. Everyone one of them acts like they are the direct descendant of a gold dragon and an angel. Don't believe them for a second. Some of them are related to dragons, but most of them are related to genies or nymphs instead. Not the brightest people either. I mean they have made some solid contributions to meta magical enhancement, but when it comes to new magical crafting they are way behind wizards. Some of them can't scribe a scroll to save their life, and don't get me started on witches. I already told you how backward they are, but on top of that super petty and vindictive. There was an extra wicked witch in the East who tried to kill some commoner girl over a pair of slippers. I mean I like shoes as much as the next girl, but that's just mental. When your a powerful caster you have a duty to the community you can't just go around harassing commoners. Of course how powerful could the witch have actually been she got taken down by the girls friends. A warforged lumberjack, an awakened lion, and a wandering scarecrow. I know what a band of misfits. Then you have your divine casters. It's pretty much just clerics and druids. Supposedly you have favored souls as well, but they are super rare if they exist at all. I've always liked clerics. The priests of Umbriel were always nice to me. I would consider myself a devout follower of Umbriel, but pray as I might I just could never cast any spells that way. I guess he knew I was going to be a wizard. Of course Umbriel knows all kinds of things that's why he's a god. Not all clerics are good I guess though. Look at these arsonist whack-jobs we are going to go kill right now. Finally you have dru..." Gabriella hadn't realized she had been talking that long and now her and Cassidy had reached the deck where Ankhit, Sif and Tristana were talking. "Oh hi everyone Cassidy and I were just talking about our shared interest in magic. Cassidy is such a good listener."

[VirusInk]

Sif

"Well, I can't say it's the most peaceful of places," Sif admits in response to Tristana. "I'd say you should come back and visit sometime with me...but I don't know if it'd be your cup of tea. The welcome still stands though!"


Hearing Ankhit's ramblings sparked Sif's memory a bit. "Speaking of uncles! Another reason I wanted to join was-" her cut her story short once again at the arrival of Cassidy and Gabriella. "Oh hey guys! Looks like you had the same idea as us."

[Snowbluff]

Tristana

Tristana examines her nails. "Occasionally us cultured people have been known to examine other countries, mostly to simply observe. It'd be like a safari.

[LoyalPaladin]

Immolation Peak
Salvus' Surface

Your journey continues for three days and you learn much about each other's strengths and weaknesses, though for the most part Zephyr keeps to himself. On the eve of the final day, you see a large flat plateau poking through the clouds, fire adorning the crest ominously.

"Well, team." Zephyr says with conviction. "I hope you're ready for it to get interesting!"

The skyship sets down on the edge of the peak and you hear Zeph and the captain speaking about pick up times at the same place. Anyone who sticks around for a few minutes can pick up that you'll be stranded here for 24 hours. Which coincidentally, Zephyr will point out, is about how long your potions will last and he advises you to chug them as Sif is the only one suited to this temperature.

The walls are volcanic rock and rough to the touch. Forward, you see a path that you can assume leads you through the peak. From what you see, it looks like these are channels that have either been melted through or possibly carved out. Behind you, is a couple hundred foot drop down a cliff side. The area is well lit by fire, despite it being night time.

Give me a few minutes to get the map up. I'm revolutionizing the way we do maps forever.
Battle Map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1hVUqsKYouqgj21nr4g0RNK_Gj3zcNs_eJB5YKK5Unow/edit?usp=sharing)

Ye find ye self in yon dungeon. Ye see a flask. Obvious exists are: North, South, and Dennis. What shalt yast do? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R22zSrpeSA4)

[Snowbluff]

Tristana

Tristana, clad in her fanciful armor, readies her nunchaku for combat. She sips on the fire resistance potion as well.

We have those potions, right?

[IZ42]

Ankhit

Ankhit bounces from foot to foot, having already consumed their potion. The little silvestris can't contain their excitement, giggling while drawing in the air with their rapier, shield slung across their back.

[Scheming Wizard]

Ok deep breaths Gabriella, she thought to herself. You can do this stay positive.

Ring of Sustenance on finger check.
Dagger in left coat pocket check
Amulet around neck check
Fafnir (he seemed to be enjoying the heat sometimes she forgets that despite his size he's a dinosaur) check
Crossbow loaded and ready to shoot someone. 29 extra Bolts stored in case on back. check
Party Stone and Whistle in right coat pocket check
Scrolls in their cases ready to go check
Water skin (gonna be a hot day) check
Quarterstaff, Spell book, Rope and other belongings stowed away in adventurer pack check

She exhaled, and then drank from the red potion Zeph had handed her. It was supposed to make the heat more tolerable. It tasted like fruit punch.





I have prepared
Level 1 spells: Nerve Skitter, Mage Armor, and Backbiter
Level 0 Spells: Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Read Magic and Mage Hand
Have 2 Scrolls each of Shield, Armor Lock, Backbiter, Mage Armor, and Benign Transposition.
All my scrolls are already deciphered, because I'm the one who crafted them :)

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra

Sif enters the heat with a welcoming smile and comfortable stretch, "I didn't know we were being sent on a vacation! She jests, surprisingly not overheating in a slightest despite her thick hair and full attire.

The lupine casually finishes her potion and begins to stroll forward, following the path. "I actually wouldn't mind if they'd turn the heat up just a smidge."

[Extra Anchovies]

Cassidy's reaction to the heat is markedly different; despite having downed her potion, she is already beginning to sweat. "Ach, I think it's already hotter than it needs t' be. Couldn't this cult've picked a regular mountain like sensible folk?"

[LoyalPaladin]

Zephyr (Human, Male)
Immolation Peak
Salvus' Surface

Zeph pulls his guns, one gold and one silver, from their holster. "Remember team, I'm just here to supervise you and make sure you don't die. So form up and get to work!"

Battle Map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1hVUqsKYouqgj21nr4g0RNK_Gj3zcNs_eJB5YKK5Unow/edit?usp=sharing)

[Scheming Wizard]

Gabriella closes her eyes and says a prayer to Umbriel.

"Under the harvest moon,
When the soft silver
Drips shimmering
Over the garden nights,
Death, the gray mocker,
Comes and whispers to you
As a beautiful friend
Who remembers.

Under the summer roses
When the flagrant crimson
Lurks in the dusk
Of the wild red leaves,
Love, with little hands,
Comes and touches you
With a thousand memories,
And asks you
Beautiful, unanswerable questions."

[VirusInk]

Sif Fenra

Sif readies her chakram with a nod to Zephyr. Positioning herself at the front of the group, She begins to walk forward. "Let's get going then!


Sif will start at 92G and peek around the corner!

[IZ42]

Ankhit

Ankhit skips alongside Sif, unslinging her shield and giggling. "This'll be fun! I 'cn scout ahead if need be. No one notices me until I'm close enough to run 'em through, ya know?"

Ankhit is starting alongside Sif, at 98G

[Scheming Wizard]

Gabriella mentally communicates to Fafnir "ok do you smell anything?" Fafnir tastes the air with his tongue.

The creature can detect opponents within 30 feet by sense of smell. If the opponent is upwind, the range increases to 60 feet; if downwind, it drops to 15 feet. Strong scents, such as smoke or rotting garbage, can be detected at twice the ranges noted above. Overpowering scents, such as skunk musk or troglodyte stench, can be detected at triple normal range.
When a creature detects a scent, the exact location of the source is not revealed—only its presence somewhere within range. The creature can take a move action to note the direction of the scent.

Gabriella takes position directly behind Sif at 99G, because 11 AC doesn't do much...

[Extra Anchovies]

Cassidy recognizes Gabriella's prayer after the first line and stops to recite it along with her room-mate. When her eyes open again, she draws her bow and takes up position next to the wizard.