Cleanup Crew IC

[tonberryking]

Well... if the halfling allows, Wakaba will try to help her back up.

"I'm afraid that I'm a bit more limited, you see...I'm good at kicking and jumping and tumbling... and that's about it." you get the feeling some modesty is being shown, here. But when I mean good, I mean really, REALLY good. And..um.. I guess I'm conspicuous... That may help instead of hurt.

[Reyne]

Elyna smiles kindly before responding with soothing words: "As far as conspiciousness goes, well, I'm a reasonably attractive young woman traveling alone who smells of brimstone; a bit odd in my own way after all. If necessary, appearances can be disguised; we can put on some long hooded robes and call ourselves initiates to a monastery. Though some new adventurers might decide to start pestering the hooded strangers for quests!"

She turns to look at the (half? Third? Two-fifth?) elf that's been oddly quiet during this whole long exchange. "What are your thoughts on the matter, Terjon? You seem a bit lost in thought."

"Oh, and thanks for the offer of the meal, Sirachoe! That would be lovely."

[Yas392]

Noticing others have explain their specialty, Mika continues, agreeing with Wakaba's starting sentence.

Sounds about damn right. Am not bout kicks. But you gotta know my kung fu is a one shot. I pin em down and squeeze em to death, not letting em throw their flimsy sticks and tricks and not letting em chicken out if you can keep him occupied like I say earlier.

[Arokh]

Terjon of Northwall

Terjon pushes himself off of his position, back to the wall, he had for most of the conversation/encounter, dropping out of what seems to be contemplative silence.

"Thank you, Elyna, I had been caught in my own trail of thoughts. While I think the idea of trying to enter the city hooded and robed might work, the story accompanying it could be bolstered by taking a vow not to speak and remove the hood until the city is entered. You know, to be able to tell the guards the truth. Mostly."

He smirks.

"Otherwise, Meltisse and me might enter the city unhindered, and find a way for all of us to enter, should the locals prove to be... less of the tolerant kind."

A quick look from his handsome eyes passes the group, indicating that he might think that to be a possibility.

"As for what I do and do best, I am versed in detecting rhythm in others and our surroundings and, if need be, disturbing somebody else's. Furthermore, I am quite capable of being at somebody's side. For support or not."

[Reyne]

On that note, where did Métisse go? , Elyna responds, looking around for the halfling girl.

I guess she'll be meeting us at Torsdok? Hopefully?

OoC:

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sonofzeal mentioned in the OoC thread that Métisse would be making an unobtrusive exit, and going to Torsdok on her own. In case you're confused as to what Elyna is talking about.

[Phelix-Mu]

Sirachoé

The air genasi leads the group to a nice restaurant.

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Kn(local) to know of a place=+17=(1d20+17)[27]

She picks a place with good food and good drink without the fabulous markup for tourists; she has a considerable sum to blow, having not had any buddies to party with in a while.

[IamL]

For Phelix-Mu only:

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You lead them to the tavern you stayed at yesterday night. It had some killer ale (you remember that, definitely), and good food. To be honest, you're not quite sure if you ever actually checked out, so you might still have a room booked.

You enter the Crimson Bull Tavern, and you are surprised by the number of people in the establishment at ten in the morning, but then remember that the market begins today, and people will have flocked from all over.

It takes a while, but you finally make your way to the proprietor, a minotaur.

[Phelix-Mu]

Sirachoé

Addressing the minotaur.

"Hello, Good Sir. Could I make it worth your while to help my four friends and I find a table so we can partake of your most excellent food and drink?"

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Five friends if Métisse is here, but it seems that she is not.

"We may be here for some time, and I don't want us to get in the way, so a private table or room might be nice," she adds, rotating, ostensibly to smile at her new friends, but coincidentally giving the minotaur an excellent view of her bare back. "If you're booked, though, it's not a big deal."

"I may also be booked for a room. If so, I'd like to extend my reservation for tonight."

[IamL]

The minotaur's face reddens.
"Yes, you have a room, you were....quite memorable last night. I didn't know...that...was even possible.

[Phelix-Mu]

Sirachoé

Sirachoé makes a mental note to check "Embarrass a minotaur" off her bucket list.

"Excellent, if we can just see about a nice table, then. My friends and I will want a pitcher of your best ale and a bottle of fine wine, to start. Also, if you could secure the services of a messenger who could run an errand for me, that would be great."

[Reyne]

Elyna raises an eyebrow at the exchange.

Umm, could we also have something something nonalcoholic please? Water would be fine

[Yas392]

Any thing light will do if you be kind but NO alcohol.

Mika emphasizes the nonchalant gesture.

[Phelix-Mu]

Sirachoé

"I guess this is what I get for hanging out with a bunch of ascetics. Ah, well, I'm sure I can find someone to help me with the booze," she says with a smile. "If you all won't help me drink, can I at least interest you in some fine cuisine?"

Sirachoé moves the discussion toward the table, and there toasts everyone on a good outcome to their adventure.

She has the messenger buy a map of Torsdok and a map of the kingdom as a whole.

Over the food and drink, she produces her journal and enters the names and orders of her companions, and the rough outline of the current mission, including her observations about the group's employer.

Taking a moment to think, she pulls Elyna aside for a moment.

"I recognized the visage of our employer as that of some draconic god, seemingly Io or Bahamut," she says quietly. "I don't want to alarm the others, for now, as this is big news. But I thought at least one other should know in case things go south and I don't make it," she says, looking serious as she gazes at the wine in her goblet, swirling it about.

[Reyne]

Elyna's eyes dart back and forth nervously, as if saying the deity's name would draw his attention.

...Oh wow, really? You wouldn't have told me if you weren't sure, though; that really explains a lot. And leaves so many more questions unasked. It's also flattering that of the rest of the group you chose to trust me.

We should discuss this more sometime later. It's highly suspicious though that a dragon god would come down himself to give us this mission rather than doing so through a proxy, and put up with our rudeness. I'll need to read up more on dragons when I have the opportunity, but one question comes to mind immediately... do dragon gods also play Xorvintaal?

With that said, she returns to the group, taking the opportunity to make conversation with her new companions and get to know them better.

[Phelix-Mu]

Sirachoé

The air genasi woman issues a standing invitation to her room to Elyna, along with permission to kick out any strangers that might be found there and sober up Sirachoé, if necessary.

No hard liquor or mixed drinks tonight; I should have my head about me with this new job.

Thus, any unconsumed booze gets spread around the common room after a bit, though that bottle of wine was much smaller than she expected. Food is also used to dilute the alcohol, a tried and true method of avoiding hideous intoxication.

Sirachoé consoles herself with memories of battle and the thought of the sensory delights and intellectual stimulation that this new job might yet hold in store for her and her new companions.

The light breeze twists about her pulses with her excitement.

[Reyne]

Elyna

Throughout the conversation, food, and laughter of the night, the tiefling woman is lost in thought about the group, their mission, and the eventful day. The group is a rather eclectic mix of humanoids, apparently confident in their competence and skill. But Elyna is much less sure about herself; she never had any formal arcane schooling, never had to match her wits against a confident qualified experienced wizard. I won't let them down. I can't let them down, she assures herself.

To her side, Misty bubbles with excitement at the idea of leaving the city soon. The stink of any city added to the smog of the industries has been nauseating the air elemental; she already misses riding the winds in the cool clean air.

Though Elyna had intended to take Sirachoé up on her invitation, to continue their earlier discussion, she eventually decides not to. She's only just met the air genasi lady, and isn't comfortable entering the room of her teammate in the late evening. Instead she takes her rest early, going to bed to gather her strength for the next day.

[tonberryking]

Yet again, the shifter monk feels out of her depth. "You...mean, that THE god and not some Avatar was there in the alley?!" at least she has the tact to keep this a quiet question.

"This..well, it's a little overwhelming, to be honest. And um, that makes me wonder what kind of reward he's actually promising us... Money would be paltry to someone like that...

[Arokh]

Terjon

Terjon decided to graciously accept the offer for food, taking an entire two small bowls of rice, though declining any alcoholic beverages politely, and tries to procure a bench in the main dormitory for the night.

"Alas, I shall take my leave for this night, and rise with the sun tomorrow, to prpare for the journey ahead. I wish you all a good night."

[IamL]

Your evening goes rather splendidly, though the messenger is rather late witn the maps.

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Yeah, yeah, I'll have the map done soon.

After enjoying wonderful food and drink (the rice is heavenly, seasoned just slightly.)
You wake up early the next morning.

[Phelix-Mu]

Sirachoé

Waking before the dawn, Sirachoé partakes of her morning exercises on the roof of the tavern. She exercises slowly and methodically, ensuring that her movements are silent.

Blood pulsing in her temples, she takes in the sunrise upside-down, in her favorite inverted tree pose (one-handed handstand). She opens her ki points to lower her blood pressure while still managing to push blood up toward her feet, and revels in the early morning air.

She descends once more to her room, and draws the maps she secured yesterday from memory. Clearing her mind and forcing herself to breathe rhythmically (an odd but delightful sensation for one who never needs to breathe), she devotes the face of the minotaur tavern keeper to memory, along with the image of the group's boss, and those of her new allies: Elyna, Métisse, Wakaba, Mika, and Terjon. Looking through her bags, she checks and counts her possessions, setting aside coppers and dried fruit for the street urchins.

Finally, judging herself all but ready to check out, she strategically tears the bed apart, splintering every board, shredding the mattress, and rending the sheets, exercising the focused destruction of Devastating Ape Strike. All as quietly as possible.

She passes the clerk at the desk an extra 10gp on checking out, and apologizes for the mess.

[Reyne]

Elyna

In the past, Elyna had generally lived a less structured life, getting up lazily in the morning to casually prepare spells, and review some knowledge before setting forth. But tonight, she's resolved to become more competent, more focused, so that her abilities are commensurate with the difficulty of the task beforehand.

As such, she'd asked Misty to wake her up at the dawn (if the sun didn't do the task on its own.) Quietly, methodically, she prepared her spells first, reviewing the complicated tangle of words on her book (she was never very good at taking notes), speaking the arcane words one by one, feeling the resonance of power in the air, as if tugging on the skeins of a woven tapestry. As she finished and fell silent, opening her senses to the world around, she felt as if the vibrations of arcane energy around her relaxed into a gentle, nigh-intangible, hum of anticipation.

With that done, she took a moment to attempt meditating. The buzz of fear and anxiety in her mind kept it from being too successful, though she did manage to calm down a bit. Finally, she exited the room, making sure that everything was tidy behind her, leaving a few silver on the bed for the waitstaff, before going to the common room to check out and look for her new companions.

[IamL]

Elyna finds herself in front of a plate of bacon, eggs, sausage, toast, butter, and coffee, as does Sirachoe, though the latter has to spend ten minutes placating a slightly irked minotaur.

[tonberryking]

Wakaba stretches when she awakes with the dawn. And stretches, twists, turns, contorts and gets her whole body, in particular of course the legs, good and limber before heading downstairs... to go for a light jog.

So she shows up late to breakfast, but heartily wolfs down anything that gets put in front of her, barely saying a word or asking anything else of the party...

Until she repeats her last question from the night before: I still wanna know what our contact could be promising us, given, that, well, money would have little value for someone like him..."

[Reyne]

OoC (mostly for tonberryking & IamL):

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Until she repeats her last question from the night before: I still wanna know what our contact could be promising us, given, that, well, money would have little value for someone like him..."

OOC: IamL pointed out earlier, you didn't overhear the conversation. Unless you roll a high listen check, since Sirachoe pulled Elyna aside to tell her in private.

Also, note-to-IamL: Reyne is my user name, Elyna is my character's name. I know it's tricky to get them right, but it'd appreciate it if you could fix that

Though a bit irked by the overly greasy/heavy breakfast, Elyna eats it without complaint. It's much harder to get any vegetables in the city, after all, and offering meat to their guests would be a mark of wealth and class for the inn.

Over the meal she attempts to strike up a conversation with Sirachoé. So, umm, how did you become a monk? And how does the style you learned differ from those of our other companions?

[Phelix-Mu]

Sirachoé

Slightly exasperated after her encounter with the Minotaur, but also pleasantly amused at this whole situation, the air genasi woman smiles thoughtfully before answering Elyna.

"I was part of this stuck up noble family, and was thoroughly going nowhere as a person, when a wandering monk was given a place to shelter beneath my father's roof." She stirs the eggs about on her plate as she leans on her elbow; she clearly has no intention of eating the food, but she does look a bit hungry.

"This elderly monk was a master in the Way of the Unerring Wyrm," she continues, shifting into a new slouch in her chair, "and I was fascinated by his physical power and vigor, despite his being quite old and in overall poor health. I'd already witnessed the power of a dragon earlier in my life, and when I discovered that this strange ascetic practice dealt with dragons, my fascination with those primal beings drove me to study under the monk."

"Well, I became quite talented, and after a period of study, and the untimely death of my alcoholic Master, I went out into the world to explore and learn as much as possible."

"As to the precise methods of Unerring Wyrm, the style teaches the practitioner to strike quickly and brutally at the weakest points of the enemy's body, in an effort to disable, maim, and in the most efficient way possible. Study of various creature types is emphasized, and by combining knowledge of physiognomy and ki channels, the student of the Unerring Wyrm can place their blows precisely and drop enemies as quickly as possible."

Sirachoé's smile broadens and her eyes fix on Elyna with disturbing intensity.

"A humanoid, well, broadly speaking, most humanoids have the same series of vulnerable spots. Eyes to gouge, throat to tear, kidneys to pummel, groin to rip, back of the knee to kick, a number of exposed or semi-exposed nerve bundles to crush, and, of course, key points where the flow of ki can be directly impeded via ki projection or gross mechanical disruption. All of these are weaknesses to exploit, weapons for me to employ to ensure the defeat of my enemy."

She smiles with sudden levity.

"But enough talk of me! How has life been treating you lately?"

[Reyne]

Elyna is rather taken aback by the woman's enthusiastically... viscous response. "Umm, that sounds interesting I guess?"

"Oh, how have I been! Well, I'm a bit nervous about this job thing of course. I guess I'm not used to fighting and taking down enemies as you seem to be. So things are interesting now, though I can't say I'd mind if they were quiet instead. And you?" she responds, a bit noncommittally.

[Phelix-Mu]

Sirachoé
"I like it when things are interesting," she replies. "And things got quite interesting yesterday. Hopefully the pattern will continue."

She looks around at the others eating breakfast.

"We should get going soon," she says. "I may step out if things take much longer, as I'd like to talk to someone from the Merchants Guild, or whatever passes for such, to get an idea of what exactly this wizard did that got him on the government hit list. We can find out in Torsdok, of course, but I imagine that it's the effect on the purses around here that stirred the pot, at least as much as it was concern for the common man."

[IamL]

Make a Gather Information check.

[Phelix-Mu]

Sirachoé

She uses what she's learned about the people of Char over the last few days to help her determine a good place to start.

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Gather Information- +2 synergy from Kn(local) ranks and +4 luck = +6= (1d20+6)[25]

She was specifically asking about news of the incidents from Torsdok related to Umuga's activities, the interruption of trade, affected parties, and who in both Char and Torsdok are the people with the most to lose if some wizard is throwing his weight about.

[Reyne]

Elyna volunteers to go with Sirachoe to assist in her task. Alas, her own questionable social skills are of little benefit to the air genasi woman.

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Attempt at Aid Another for Gather Information
(1d20-1)[5]

...That didn't go so well.