[Risus] An Adventurer's Life for Me! IC

[Mark Chance]

[sblock=First, Some Bookkeeping]
Burly Woman makes Rabble Rousing check. Marcus counters with Masked Bandit and fails.

Burly Woman Rabble Rouses again. Aka challenges with Con-Man and fails.

Both Marcus and Aka should lose 1 Cliche die each.
[/sblock]

Faced with the overwhelming rhetorical prowess of the burly woman, Marcus and Aka decide to create chaos and run. Cries of "Thief!" spur several patrons to their feet, and the guest with a bag slung over his shoulder stops short and looks around to see who Marcus is pointing at. As Marcus sprints for the door, stair-stepping from floor to piano bench to piano player before vaulting through the air.

"He kicked Buddy!" someone shouts.

About that time, Aka's alcoholic concoction explodes. Streamers of flame arc through the air. People dive for cover. The bartender rushes out of the kitchen, screaming and pulling his hair.

As the pair of adventurers burst from the Gatekeeper into the street, Aka spots a slight man with an aristocratic bearing across the street.

"This way!" the man yells. "Quickly!"

 

[mazzoli]

Marcus rushes over to the man and, glancing over his shoulder at the ensuing chaos, remarks, "That definitely didn't go as planned. My compatriot's fireworks were certainly effective, though. I take it you are a friend?"
[sblock=Cliches]Current status:
Swashbuckler (4)/Masked Bandit (2)/Dispossessed Lordling (2)/Beat Poet (2)/Alcoholic (2)[/sblock]

 

[Mlwells]

"Hello. Do you have any daughters?"

 

[Mark Chance]

The slight, aristocratic man hurries Marcus and Aka past him into the alley.

"No time for that now," he says to Aka. "Down the alley and through the yellow door. Hurry! Before the mob spots us."

About that time, the mob bursts from the Gatekeeper. Several people are slapping at burning sleeves and smouldering hair. Buddy is pinching shut a bloodied nose. The burly woman knocks two slower people sprawling into the mud. If it were humanly possible, steam would be venting from her ears. Curses, demands for vengeance, and growls fill the air.

Once through the yellow door, the slight man shuts and bars the portal. Marcus and Aka find themselves in a crowded storeroom.

"I am Gordon Gerhold," the man says. "I apologize for not meeting you as planned. Certain difficulties arose."

 

[mazzoli]

"Not a problem, Mr. Gerhold. It was a rousing adventure if I do say so myself. I was also afforded the opportunity to gauge the general populace of the city, and I must say that they seem rather uncultured for my perfumed and honeyed words to have so little effect on them. What a waste of an inspired speech," Marcus, forgetting the "unique" scent of the city, sniffs haughtily at that last and starts choking. After regaining his composure he continues, "If I may beg your pardon, what is an esteemed gentleman of our dear Meckwick's calibre attempting to accomplish in such a positively barbaric place as Coruvon?"

 

[Mlwells]

With no fairer sex, alcohol, art, or testing evident, and the able Marcus speaking, Aka found his mind wandering. And with a large storage room with no guards about presenting itself, Aka went at the boxes to find out what was in each of them, always keeping one ear on Marcus and Gordon and the other for trouble (the lawful sort or the rabble-rousing sort).

 

[Mark Chance]

While Marcus and Gordon talk, Aka searches through the stores. He quickly determines he is in the backroom of a music supply shoppe. Shelves hold reeds, mouthpieces, bows (of the violin variety), and so forth. The boxes contain party decorations, cheap religious icons, books of sheet music, and various oils useful for keeping instruments shiny and smooth-functioning.

Gordon says, "It's not my place to comment on Meckwick's motives. I can say that his reputation -- ruined as it is by the scandal -- has arrived in Coruvon well in advance of you two. It has made the necessary arrangements difficult. Fortunately, I have managed to establish a line of credit at Rozzo's Shoppe outside of town on the eastern shore of the Hole. Rozzo will be able to provide items useful for dungeon defense. I've also been instructed to give you this."

Gordon hands Marcus a map.

"It shows the route to the dungeon Meckwick has purchased."

 

[Mlwells]

Since he couldn't find anything that was worth fencing or collecting, Aka turns back to the others. "Pray tell is the scandal that everyone speaks of?"

 

[mazzoli]

Marcus examines the map closely and agrees with Aka, "Yes, I too am quite interested in what exactly has our friend Meckwick on the outs. I must commend him on his purchase. This is prime dungeon material. Offensive, inhospitable location? Check. Nearby settlement to draw adventurers who will meet their end inside? Check. Easy means of resupply? The nearby river works for that. All in all a fine location for a dungeon if I do say so myself. It merely needs to stand up to inspection now, make sure the mortar is good, the shackles are oiled, any demon summoning altars are in workable condition and so forth."

 

[Mark Chance]

Gordon sighs. "Meckwick once was a favorite of the court. The High Lord especially found his divinations useful to ferreting out enemies, making investments, and so forth. Unfortunately, Meckwick was caught taking -- err, let's just say -- distasteful liberties with several ladies-in-waiting, at least one princess, and possibly the High Lady herself. Ordinarily, of course, the punishment for such would be a rather painful death, but wizards are sometimes more fearsome in death than in life, so Meckwick has been put on the Imperial Shun List."

Gordon pauses, holding up a hand for silence, as angry mob sounds move down the alley outside the music shoppe. Once the noise subsides, he continues:

"Which, of course, explains why it is so difficult to find anyone willing to risk doing business with Meckwick."

Gordon goes on to explain that Marcus and Aka have an 800 gold coin line of credit with Rozzo. Rozzo specializes in "exotic services" for the discriminating shopper. Gordon also gives Marcus a sealed envelope, noting that its contents for the adventurers' "eyes only."

[sblock=Stuff]
Inside the sealed envelope is a map of Meckwick's dungeon. I've updated the RG OP with the map. It is numbered, but there is no key since Marcus and Aka will be stocking the dungeon.
[/sblock]