A Rodent's Dawn (5e solo sandbox)

[Smilex]

Your old gang has plenty of needs and wants but in general the gang wants corpses. Corpses become undead which increases the power of the gang. One doesn't even have to kill them, just collect them. So the trick was you pose as a traveling cleric-type monk who does last rites. You replace the corpse with a tied bunch of reeds wrapped in a death shroud or something similar that you bury instead of the corpse. Then you transport the corpse to a contact. Easy. You usually don't even have to look for cases. People come to you to ask you take care of things, all in the name of the Divine.

You left your gang's territory as you left the gang. Safer that way. You found yourself in the Village of Virtuous sharing. Without a better job you've still earned your money with the corpse trade. You've worked the region for a few months. When not working, you've been hanging out at the main village's red quarter. Prices are reasonable and sometimes you can catch a violent death here or there.

Then came the morning of a day, when everybody was talking about a ship of traveling entertainers coming to port. For you though, it was the morning you woke up looking directly into the eyes of a rodent-monkey hybrid creature with tentacles coming out of its nose.

EDIT to freelancer work.

[PartyOfRogues]

7x10 quickly stands up and strikes at the creature, startled by it’s appearance

Spoiler: Rolls

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(1d20+5)[22]
(1d4+3)[7]

[Smilex]

The creature falls down at the force of your punch. It emits a series of noises that sound like a language that you don't know. It wobbles trying to get farther away.

Spoiler: OOC

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You get an attack of opportunity if you want. It looks bloodied from your first attack. And you can do an unarmed attack as a bonus action too if you want to smack the creature more.

The room is still quite dim. The sun must be only now rising. Everything else is as you remember from last night. Nothing looks stolen or broken. The place is an extra room owned by a potter. She rents it for you on the cheap. No sign of other such creatures.

[PartyOfRogues]

7x10 tried to knock down the creature and grapple it, hoping to find out what it is and why it’s here

Spoiler: Rolls

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Athletics check to knock the creature prone, Athletics or Acrobatics to resist (1d20+1)[19]
Athletics to grapple it, Athletics or Acrobatics to resist (1d20+1)[3]

Spoiler: OOC

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What languages do I get from my race, I presume common is one, but do I get any more?

[Smilex]

You knock the creature down and grab onto it. It doesn't try to resist the grapple. It seems passive except that it keeps sputtering in its strange guttural language.

The creature has large eyes that actually glow in the dark fluorescently. It's ears are pointed, small. It's nose also is quite pointed except that where the nose stops, six small pale pink tentacles wriggle around. It's mouth has an array of strong and sharp but relatively small teeth.

The creature has dark coarse fur and monkeylike frontpaws with long fingers. It's hindquarters are more like those of a rat. The creature probably weighs around 6kg, about the size of a baby.

It's not carrying anything nor does it have tattoos, clothes or jewelry. Also you've never seen its kind.

Spoiler: OOC

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The common of the isles is really the language of Tukuut, the leonin empire. Ratfolk have a language of their own but it's almost dead, nobody speaks it because everyone thinks its better to steal a language than use your own.
I think the monks would have taught you an additional language. Pick one from the following: Thieves' cant, terran (earth elemental language), aquan (water elemental language), protean (language of certain chaotic neutral dimensions and creatures), sahuagin, original ratfolk language, kitsune, dwarvish.

[PartyOfRogues]

Seeing that it’s passive, 7x10 releases it, trying to remember if he’s heard of anything similar

Spoiler: Rolls

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All my knowledge skills are at -1, so I’ll let you determine what the most appropriate skill is (1d20-1)[18]

[Smilex]

Hurting from the previous blow, the creature skitters behind a large clay pot and hides there. It keeps sputtering it's odd language sounding agigated. But the loudness in it's voice dissipates into a droning whine.

You've never heard the language but you start thinking about languages and you remember a translator who works at port. Her name's Openpalms.

Another person you remember who knows a lot of languages was a tutor of spies in the gang. The master of languages was a eunuch called Nada. They were quite loyal to the gang but they weren't an aggressive sort. You think they might be approachable even if you have left the group.

Then you remember that bards are famous for having quite a bit of knowledge. Surely they know languages too. The foremost employer of bards in the territory of Virtuous sharing is 'Secrets' Rayne, who maintains a cadre of singers and showpeople east of the main village in an area called The Round.

While thinking you look around a little. Certainly the creature would have come in through the window opening. It doesn't have a glass. There's just a latch that can be pushed open without difficulty.

You peek outside. You're in the second floor of a building. The lower floor is larger and there's a roof garden in front of your window, on the roof of the first floor. The plants grow in large clay pots. Looking between them, you perceive a series of droppings. The creature must've hung around for a while now to have created that much crap. But the plants haven't been touched. Then you remember how the last time you sold a corpse, your contact commented on how something had chewed the dead guy's legs. You had to give a copper piece as a discount. A corpse-eater then?

The pot the creature is hiding behind has dried corn in it. A quick glimpse in the pot shows you the level of corn is nowhere as high as it used to be. The critter might have eaten it and hidden under it even.

A few riddles solved through the application of the clear mind, but the largest questions remain.

What do you do?

[PartyOfRogues]

7x10 tries to calm the creature down, taking it down to the docks to talk with Openpalms, though keeping it hidden if he can

Spoiler: Rolls

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Animal Handling (1d20+2)[5]

[Smilex]

You're having a bit of trouble in handling the creature so you end up tying its limbs with string and putting it into a bag which you tie closed with more string. Not the nicest way to handle an animal but at least you've got it safe, more or less.

You exit your home/hideout and you're now on the streest. The morning is early and there's little enough in the way of movement around. At this hour you suspect Openpalms isn't yet at work but you made a mental note of where she lives.

You approach the other end of the red quarter where there's group of small houses next to a small market square. You can see a number of ratfolk in curious colourful costumes are bringing in lumber to the market area but at this point you're also at the door of Openpalms' home, a small square one floor building.

[PartyOfRogues]

Knock on the door, if he doesn’t get an answer 7x10 will follow the people carrying lumber to see what they’re doing

[Smilex]

Openpalms is a pretty young ratling. Despite the early hours she's oiled her hair and painted her face in a fashionable style. Her teeth are perfect.

She opens the door dressed a toga. She doesn't immediately remember you but when you suggest you've got business, she waves to you to come in.

The room is sparse. There's a straw bed and piles of mats that serve as places to sit. There's a series of pots and jars near a fireplace. The house is only this single room.

What is your request, sir? How may I help you?

I'm presuming you bring the creature out at which point the rat-monkey starts spouting its weird speech immediately.

Openpalms looks surprised and asks you
What is this creature, how did you come by it?

[PartyOfRogues]

”It was in my face when I woke up, I think it has been living in my house for a while. I don’t know what it is, and I was wondering if you would know anything about it or the language it speaks.”

[Smilex]

Openpalms remains bewildered but regains some composure.
-It's not dangerous, then? It speaks very strangely. Some of the sounds it makes don't sound like speech at all but as if it was imitating animal noises... yet... let me listen a while.

The two of you spend a while just listening. The creature slows down it's speech but keeps talking, you notice it starts repeating the same things and it's sounding more and more whiny.

This takes a few minutes. You also hear some raised voices outside while this is going on.

Openpalms finally continues. -First when I saw the creature I was afraid if it might be a werecreature, some kind of weremonkey. That's probably not it, it's speech is too foreign to be just twisted by a spell. The only words that make sense are some anatomical terms. It keeps repeating a word that means clavicle and look, it has a large bruise there. I know the word because the aquan language uses it, but aquan has loaned the word from some other language. Water elementals don't normally have bones, see. ... It's also using words that mean incisor and sternum and tailbone. Sahuagin uses some of these same words when they differentiate with the anatomy of marine creatures and land creatures.

While looking at the creatures clavicle you realize its left arm is hanging in a weird way. It's got a dislocated shoulder.

A small smile comes on her lips. -If you'd like, I could come with you and help you find a sahuagin who could tell you more. Just three silvers for the whole day!

[PartyOfRogues]

7X10 hands over 3 silver, ”Ok, do you know a good place to find one?”

[Smilex]

Openpalms looks almost a little surprised by your quick acceptance. She collects herself and nods.
-Let's go!

The two of you open the door and exit.

In the square the situation has progressed. There's a large pile of wood next to some buildings on the opposite side of the plaza. A number of ratfolk in colouful garb and a few people armed with staves are arguing. You also see a juggler tossing flaming torches quite close to the pile of dry wood.

near this there's three mismatched ratfolk playing instruments. A tall white ratfolk is playing a drum. An abnormally small ratling with a huge curly hairdo is playing a stringed instrument and finally there's an obese ratling playing a flute. A small crowd is gathering around them. In this group you can already see a couple of rats positioning themselves in the way you'd expect pickpockets preparing to work a crowd.

Finally there's a third group quite close to the building that you're exiting. Three ruffians are harassing a ratling who's wearing a headband traditionally worn by messengers of the village's BigHead.

Openpalms looks quite surprised. The creature you're carrying starts humming the tune the band is playing.

[PartyOfRogues]

7x10 moves towards the group harassing the messenger, not intervening, he keeps one of his hands near his sword sheathed under his robes in case it gets violent.

[Smilex]

The three rough guys don't have any easily recognizable gang symbols. They look like the type of stormrats that are often employed in the docks as loaders and carriers.

You don't hear the whole conversation but they seem to be making threats regarding a debt. As you watch a ratling who carries a magistrate's baton approaches the group. The three notice her and slink away, one of them giving the messenger a final shove.

The magistrate comes close and starts berating the messenger:
-Gimlet? You again? Why do I always see you in trouble? You're a messenger, you're supposed to be quick of mind and quick of feet! You should avoid a mess, not dive into it. You will not keep a messenger's job long if you don't shape up!
Gimlet snivels and gives a squeak.
-It wasn't any trouble. They were just asking me for directions. They were a bit drunk but no trouble at all.
-A likely story, I say. Get on with your work then. I'm watching you.

You've seen the magistrate around. She handles most disputes in the red quarter but you're not sure about her name.

The three ruffians are slowly moving away.

The general situation in the square remains as earlier.

[PartyOfRogues]

After the situation is resolved, 7x10 follows Openpalms to hopefully find some Sahuagin

[Smilex]

Openpalms leads you all the way through the red quarter towards highre ground. You realize you're heading to the green quarter where the administrative buildings are. She asks around for someone Pak'heshak.

Finally you find yourself on the main square of the green quarter. This is usually an area where powerful merchants and captains spend time chatting and plotting with the inner circle of the House of virtuous sharing.

There's a surprisingly large crowd in the plaza. Near the edge where you enter the area there's four ratlings in togas loudly arguing about the concept of 'Mindscape' and about the possibility of creatures in this 'Mindspace' affecting the world. These individuals don't seem to interest the crowd at large but you notice there's a couple of individuals following them closely. What makes these people interesting is that one of them has a half bat-half centipede creature that's hiding in their armpit.

Openpalms continues to draw you into the larger crowd. They're listening to a pair of very well dressed ratlings that are clearly performing for the audience. Each of them loudly, almost theatrically expresses their opinion while misrepresenting the arguments of the other one to try to draw the people to their side.
One of the two is carrying a captain's insignia. They're arguing that the sahuagin are dangerous, an enormous threat and that ratfolk need to focus on creating a large army to defend themselves from these hateful creatures. The other one, who you know to be a representative of the current Big Head of the village - he's arguing that the sahuagin are indeed a terrible threat and if they were easy to destroy with arms it would have been done long ago. They favour that the ratfolk should trust the Divine and plead the sacred Moon to smite all sahuagin.

About half of the crowd is silent, the other half is cheering for one debater or the other. In middle of the crowd there's a more open spot and Openpalms is drawing you toward this place. Here stands a lone individual.

Spoiler: IMAGE

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https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/014/681/804/medium/egil-thompson-sahuaginconcept.jpg?1545004569

It's standing calmly, unmovingly listening to the debate. Occasionally it tilts its head slightly to one side or the other.

Openpalms turns to you and says:
-This is Pak'heshak, she's the ambassador of the sahuagin race. Would you like me to just translate or take the lead? How would you like us to do this?