D&D 5E The Fifth City - Episode 1: The Gathering

Queenie said:

She looks down at the letter in her hand, then back to the men. "I could use some advice."

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Korgon lifts his eyebrow quizzically for a moment his grin sliding away for a moment. He nods then turns and heads into a room. An hour later he is down in the common room, clean, fresh-smelling, and in clean clothes. He sits with his boots to the fire, drinking an ale and humming a little tune to himself as he waits.

Queenie said:

"Yes, we have baths here." She suddenly felt badly for whomever was going to have to clean up that mess. "I will take you upstairs." She leads both Rhal and Korgon up to the second floor. She points out the common bath at the end of the hallway and her room, which looks out towards the water. She shows them Markus's room then says, "All the rest are free, take your pick. I am sure he won't mind." She takes a few steps toward her room then turns back to them. "Perhaps after you've refreshed yourselves we can talk." She looks down at the letter in her hand, then back to the men. "I could use some advice."

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Rhal was much more interested in giving advice than bathing. He felt himself a top-tier advisor, cerebral and compassionate.

But, ugh. Baths. Dragonborn didn't stink. They needed a good wire-brushing, a nail-trim and some scale-shaping if one was vain, but they didn't need to go jumping in a little artificial puddle to leave behind the residue of the world. That residue was his. He earned it. It was the dust of his travels, a coating of his experiences. Why wash it away?

Yet, when in the Fifth City you comported yourself as a citizen, and there was some ceremony and human bonding that occurred during a soak in a tub. It would be expected of him to take the whole ordeal causally, chat with the smiling Korgon about... wenches or ale or hunting, Rhal was sure, and do so in only his skin, as if that was natural.

So Rhal stripped down, fell into a tub and chatted with Korgon. He felt no bonding. Water must evoke some sort of calming influence on humans, increasing their friendliness and warming their bones. All Rhal could feel was wet and uncomfortable.

As soon as Korgon felt it suitable to leave, Rhal did the same, clumsily falling out of the tub, throwing on a tunic and trousers and returning to the common room. Still dripping, he found Amisi immediately. "Tell me of this advice you seek," he asked.

I will have more elaboration going on here, but general gist is this:

Markus excuses himself at the docks. He wanted to go check with the city records to review if any underground access existed, such as sewers, that would give access to any protagonists. He states as such to Felix and invites him to join to brain storm for any other precautions. Before leaving he discusses some ideas on gathering possible activity in the area, "I recommend we set up a 4 man watch in uniform, and 4 more to return to their bunks to get in some dirty street cloths to keep an unofficial eye out as well. Maybe we should send another 4 out to speak to any street connections and 8 to return to their bunks for a night shift of the same as the first 8.

There is to be 2 in uniform as a reserve nearby. We should keep the remaining 3 to stay with us as a protective detail. What do you think?" While felix contemplates Markus' recommendations Markus asses the friendships withing the guardsmen while also taking notce of any off reactions or looks by the men - possibly of any of them that might potentially of less then good character. He does not need any one of them pulling off any acts of trouble.

distribution of 25 troops
4 location guard in uniform
4 location guard disguised
8 sleeping for a night shift to do likewise
2 on reserve
4 checking contacts for any thing they can gather
3 as personal guard while traveling about

patrol ship and hippogriff riders:

He will have the hippogriff riders patrol over the docks and bay 1 hour on, 1 hour off. the patrol paterns will be left up to the riders as they know the area by air and knew their mounts' capabilities. The ship's captain will likewise be left to his/her discretion but will be told to include the shore line of the city plus 10 miles up and down.

Maldavos said:

As soon as Korgon felt it suitable to leave, Rhal did the same, clumsily falling out of the tub, throwing on a tunic and trousers and returning to the common room. Still dripping, he found Amisi immediately. "Tell me of this advice you seek," he asked.

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Amisi laughs at the Dragonborn, releasing a little bit of her anxiety over the letter. She had washed up and changed into another frilly dress, more appropriate for wearing around the city than traveling. Once her primping was finished she reread the letter over and over, committing it to memory before she hid it away securely. She went to the kitchen to ask for a snack to be prepared to hold them over until dinner. She was pacing in the dining area, the table set with cheese, bread and wine, when her two new friends returned. She appreciated Rhal's enthusiasm over her dilemma.

She gestures to the table, "Sit, please, and enjoy if you wish." With a smile she answers, "I had been considering waiting until Markus and Felix joined us but we can always fill them in later. Plus, I am not sure how Markus or even Felix will take this and perhaps our methods might be...different... than theirs." She sighed deeply. "You both saw me receive a letter from a friend of mine, someone I trust very much. It's a bit complicated to get into the whole story but the crux of it is, this friend has uncovered a tiny portion of a plot that is to occur here in our beautiful city. He has uncovered proof of a planned assassination, he believes it to happen very soon, though he knows not the target or the perpetrator. I have no reason to not believe my friend but... well, he must think I can do something about this though I admit, I have never done anything like it before. Rhal, I know you just arrived and do not know much about this city and Korgon, I am not certain how long you have been here, but I am asking the two of you for help with this. I feel a little lost even how to begin. In the past I would have just assigned, er, well, I would have asked the City Guard and perhaps the Corp for help but there must be a reason he sent this information to me and not to them."

Korgon had gotten up to the table to have some cheese, bread and wine, and ate as he listened to Amisi. He stood up and walked around with a glass of wine. "I've been here on and off for a while, but I don't know the city all that well. I spent most of my time at the docks. But it is quite a puzzle. Not knowing who the target is or why, or by whom makes doing anything about it tough. I guess then the question is, who is important enough for someone to kill, to hire someone to kill them?"

"Korgon's question is a good one. It allows us to narrow what is likely a long list of potential targets," Rahl said.

"Let us begin at the beginning. This friend of yours, if he gave no indication of how he came upon this information, we can treat nothing as arbitrary. This friend, where did he send the letter from? Where was he traveling? What work does he do? How would he come to know such a thing?" Rhal sighed, "Ahh, many questions. Is there something significant about the timing? If it is to happen soon, is there a holiday, or a celebration taking place that would punctuate or cover such a killing?"

The smile fell off Amisi's face as her companions asked their questions. She hoped they would just take some of the information at face value. She stares hard at each of them, wondering if she could trust them, while she continues her pacing.

"I agree, it would be a good idea to narrow down who might be important enough for this kind of thing or what important holiday or gathering might be upcoming." She breathes in deeply. "I am going to take a chance and trust the two of you, I hope I do not come to regret it. My friend gained this information through the," she glances around to make sure no on is even remotely close to them, then whispers, "Rogue mage underground. That is DEFINITELY not something to share with Markus so please keep that part to yourselves. It is not something we ever talk about around here, just saying that in front of a Corp member could get you thrown in jail or worse. I was sent to Gull to meet up with my friend but by the time I arrived it seemed he had already gone. I do not know any connection between Gull and what this upcoming incident might be. He did send me the letter here though, so he knew I would not find him there." She stops her pacing, "I really do not know how to begin. I think you both have good ideas that we should follow up with. Perhaps tonight at dinner we can gather information about any major events coming up or important people visiting."

Scott DeWar said:

OOC: and you REALLY don't want to mention the mage underground in front of markus!

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