[Adventure] The Paper Chase, Part 2 (Judge: renau1g)

[KarinsDad]

"Let's wait. We get off in two stops. He might get off in one, or he might stay on the lightning rail after the second stop. No need to make a scene quite yet. We'll just be ready for him and possibly any friends of his when we get off. But, I'm not in the mood for some silly academic whose spying on the Professor's business. If this guy is some scholar trying to horn in, he's going to find himself dumped unconscious in a barrel in some allyway if he doesn't wise up. If he's something more sinister, he might find himself dead." Grys replies.

 

[Luinnar]

Spotting the man Mythra summons Martha, his cat familiar, to follow him. Meanwhile he is lead by the women to his cabin, where he has her put his bags in the compartment above (but keeps his tome for some lite reading)

Bring my your finest food and wine. Remember to charge it Professor Farrow, under the name of Grys. Mythra says, shooing the women away. He settles down on the plush cushions, thinking of how nice it is to have peace and quiet for once.

[sblock=ooc]
Martha has unlimited range, so might make for a good spy.

Stealth = 18.
[/sblock]

 

[KarinsDad]

OOC: Using OOC knowledge to try to pull the same type of IC trick is weaksauce. Be original (and plausible).

 

[MetaVoid]

Orsik stops for a moment to look at the strange man. He then proceeds to his place.

OOC: depending on his assessment, he would warn about sinister intent or just professors toady keeping an eye on us

Insight vs spook (1d20+11=24)

 

[Antithetist]

OOC: Prices of refreshments are all included in the ticket price - you gotta be getting something for your 150gp, right?

Martha pads off after the suspicious-looking man as Mythra settles into the luxurious comfort of his private cabin with a platter of assorted delicious morsels of hors d'oeuvre and a glass of the well-respected 986 vintage of sparkling Ghant Bluevine.

Meanwhile Orsik and Muzdum climb on to one of the steerage cars, which proves to be hot, grimy and oppressively dark, illuminated only by what faint light can filter through the few ventilation shafts near the ceiling. Space on the long wooden benches that line the walls seems to be at a premium, and the two of them soon find themselves wedged in tightly.

Grys, Alexia and kal'Tarron find seats in a standard class coach, which is bustling and crowded but not to the point of unpleasantness. The other passengers mostly look like merchants, craftsmen and other fairly well-to-do types. After a moment, now on the lookout, they sight the man in the long coat slipping in from the next carriage along (followed by Mythra's cat, which unobtrusively hops up into the luggage rack and lurks there amidst the cases and bags, keeping watch). The stranger takes a seat in view of the group and produces a newspaper, which he opens up and reads with apparent absorption.

 

[Antithetist]

[sblock=Orsik]You get the impression that the man is not terribly experienced or confident with this tailing business - beyond that, it's hard to say.[/sblock]

OOC: Proper update coming later today, but don't miss my earlier post at the bottom of the last page.

 

[Antithetist]

The coach departs in good time, and is soon leaving the soaring towers of Sharn behind to race across the Brelish countryside. For those of you who have not taken such a journey before (and who are not shut up in the steerage car with no view), the experience is an excitingly novel one, offering some spectacular views of the surrounding landscape. The rail line cleaves to a path along the outskirts of the King's Forest, with the Dagger River sometimes visible as a silver thread far off across the open farmland on the other side of the train.

Dinner is served in a seperate dining car, for the standard class passengers; Mythra is presented with an elegant menu in his cabin, and offered the choice to be served there or in the dining car as he wishes, whilst Muzdum and Orsik dine on rations from their packs on the hard benches of their steerage coach.

The train pulls into Wroat while most of the passengers are still in the dining car with dessert and coffee, and many of them hurry off to collect their baggage. The man of the long coat and suspect demeanour is visible by himself at a corner table, making no move to leave.

OOC: For the record, it's possible to walk from one end of the train to the other while it's in motion, as long as you don't mind traversing the small gaps between coaches. So if you wanted to go talk to Orsik and Muzdum in steerage during the journey, you could. Pausing here briefly again to give you a chance to take action if desired.

 

[KarinsDad]

"Hmmm. I don't like this. Grys says to Kal. "What do you think of the plan of the three of us" indicating Alexia with the nod of his head "giving our supplies to Orsik and Muzdum ahead of time to take off the lightning rail for us. Then when we get to the next stop, us three will stay in the dinning car and depart at the last possible minute. That way, if he wants to follow us, he'll need to jump off at the last moment as well and we'll have a reason to confront him. It might throw him off guard if he expects us to get off and we casually just sit around drinking. It'll at least give us a reason to start a conversation with him."

 

[rb780nm]

"aye, that sounds like a good plan."

 

[TwoHeadsBarking]

Alexia shows a complete lack of interest in the passing landscape, instead staring intently at her food. She frowns slightly at Grys's suggestion but doesn't look up, "That sounds... needlessly complex. I doubt he's dangerous; he's not exactly doing a great job of hiding from us." Her eyes dart up towards the man, and then fall back down to her untouched plate, "Why don't I just talk to him, find out what he wants?"