Six From Gate Pass - Chapter 3: Shelter From The Storm

[Gregor]

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Thieves Guild

Lars, you enter the guild and find Father Dusk in his chapel off the main chamber . The priest is lighting black tallow candles in the dark place of worship and you can see the black harlequin mask on the altar catching some of the light.

When you place your order, the masked Father Dusk replies: "What did I explain to you the last time you were here? Hmmmm? That you must give me notice if you wish a potion brewed. No notice, no potions." The visible whites of his eyes stare at you for a moment. "I will grant your request for healing, if only because you look absolutely terrible. Place your gold in the donation plate."

Father Dusk speaks his words, gestures with his holy symbol and places his hands on Lars' chest. He discharges positive energy and heals wounds. As soon as he finishes, he blinks once or twice, pauses and then walks over to the door to the chapel. He closes it and locks it, leaving him and Lars in the gloomy shrine. He turns around and narrows his gaze.

"Well, what an interesting little illusion you've placed over yourself. Quite a simplistic spell, though its a wonder I didn't spot it the first time." He pauses to continue to stare at Lars. "Since I have only seen you within the confines of the guild under this ... disguise, I can only assume that you wish to hide your true identity." He points to his own mask. "I follow a similar path, though mine is divinely directed, whilst yours is likely nefarious eh?" He stops again for a moment, letting the silence build. He then strides over to the altar and runs a finger, lovingly down the side of the black mask there. "What an unexpected boon to find something so precious, your identity, to steal from you, right here in the consecrated shrine to my patron God, Mask, the Lord of all Thieves. What is it worth to you to keep this a secret my young friend?"

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Lyceum

Alric, and Arnir if he joins, you are required to sit around in a waiting area for a number of hours. It is not until lunch hour that Simeon invites you to his office on one of the highest floors of the tower. The office is quite large and filled with shelves of books, scrolls and rolled up tubes of parchment. Highly reflective surfaces, like polished mirrors, hang from the walls and a number of gems and crystal spheres sit on pillows on various chest-height pedestals. Lastly a long golden tube, held up by an ornate golden tripod, points out of a grand glass window and seems to face the cloudy skies.

"My apologies for keeping you waiting, but my attention is drawn in every direction right now." says Simeon. "So much to do and prepare for. What is it that I can do for you?"

 

[Adjuntive]

Alric bows stiffly and low for Simeon, and remains standing.

"Master Simeon, thank you for seeing us. We did not mean to intrude upon your duties and we shall leave as quickly as we can. To get to the point quickly, we had a mishap during our activities to recover the Lyre and now we were hoping to employ someone within the Lyceum to find someone in particular. My colleagues called it divining? Scrying? Finding magic, to locate this person. We would be most grateful for this service, should we be able to get it."

 

[Bannock]

Bannock gathers about half his remaining gold (he takes 100 gp, which with my sloppy accounting leaves 90 left), throws his cloak on over his scraped and dented armor, shrouds his face in his hood and leaves the house with Kirio (if he is amenable to coming along). He first stops by the temple that carried out the restoration ritual on him, and requests some simple healing. He pays for as much as he needs to, or can afford, up to 70 gp. He needs at least the remaining 30 gp or so because then he heads down to the markets close to the piers and browses for workable replacements for his weapons. He buys a simple glaive and longsword for 23 gp in total. Sheathing the sword beneath his cloak and using the glaive as a walking staff, he heads to the waterfront to keep a vigil on the ships there.

He waits, trying to blend into the scene. Occasionally he browses at waterfront shops, or, if there are any taverns along the harbour, he buys a drink and sips it outside the front door, conversing with Kirio and other patrons. He never takes off his hood, and continuously scans the docks for any persons that resemble Kubla or Merrywinter. He does his best to describe the two of them to Kirio, who probably has better eyes than Bannock.

To bystanders and patrons who happen to speak to them, he uses the story that he and Kirio both have family who are expected to arrive by a refugee ship: one of Kirio's ancient Elven cousins, and a half brother of Bannock's, a half orc (on his mother's side), who respectively have strikingly similar features to Merrywinter and Kubla.

 

[fromage67]

********
Thieves Guild

Lars, you enter the guild and find Father Dusk in his chapel off the main chamber . The priest is lighting black tallow candles in the dark place of worship and you can see the black harlequin mask on the altar catching some of the light.

When you place your order, the masked Father Dusk replies: "What did I explain to you the last time you were here? Hmmmm? That you must give me notice if you wish a potion brewed. No notice, no potions." The visible whites of his eyes stare at you for a moment. "I will grant your request for healing, if only because you look absolutely terrible. Place your gold in the donation plate."

Father Dusk speaks his words, gestures with his holy symbol and places his hands on Lars' chest. He discharges positive energy and heals wounds. As soon as he finishes, he blinks once or twice, pauses and then walks over to the door to the chapel. He closes it and locks it, leaving him and Lars in the gloomy shrine. He turns around and narrows his gaze.

"Well, what an interesting little illusion you've placed over yourself. Quite a simplistic spell, though its a wonder I didn't spot it the first time." He pauses to continue to stare at Lars. "Since I have only seen you within the confines of the guild under this ... disguise, I can only assume that you wish to hide your true identity." He points to his own mask. "I follow a similar path, though mine is divinely directed, whilst yours is likely nefarious eh?" He stops again for a moment, letting the silence build. He then strides over to the altar and runs a finger, lovingly down the side of the black mask there. "What an unexpected boon to find something so precious, your identity, to steal from you, right here in the consecrated shrine to my patron God, Mask, the Lord of all Thieves. What is it worth to you to keep this a secret my young friend?"

Lars smiles easily, making sure he shows no fear. It is tricky, but Lars is well used to Guild politics and has been in many other intimidation and blackmail plays. In this case, it is clear he will have to pay up, but the trick is to limit damages.

He says, "Father Dusk, you are wise and perceptive. I would rather not be seen by a few people because I owe them some, but it's not that big a deal. Say! Maybe you could help me. I would gladly make a donation of course." Lars counts out the money he owes plus 10 more gold pieces.

"I have a beef with an elf called Merrywinter. Ever heard of him?"

 

[Gregor]

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North Harbour

GM: Bannock and/or Kirio, you'll need a Diplomacy check to gather information. Also keep in mind that people are giving you strange looks since you're speaking about a refugee ship coming in - there is an Elven blockade and no ships have been allowed in or out for almost a week now. Also, Bannock the going rate for a cure light wounds spell, at lowest caster level (so 1d8+1) is 10gp. Feel free to roll those on your next post.

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Lyceum

Simeon offers a seat at a round table where, in the middle of the surface, a smooth ball of crystal sits on a silk cushion.

"You speak true Alric, the type of divination you are seeking is known as scrying. In essence, a diviner is able to potentially gaze through space, time and even planes of existence in search of a person or thing. I am capable of performing this service for you, but there are a number of variables that I would need confirmed before I could ensure some level of success. In addition, there will be some cost to you for the spell which I would be happy to receive in currency, additional service to Seaquen or as a subtraction from your current contractual award for the securing of the lyre." He pauses for a moment to allow that to sink in. He places his elbows on the table and steeples his fingers under his chin before speaking again. "Let us first discuss the variables I would need confirmed to find this person you seek. First, I would need enough information on the individual that it would constitute me having heard of the individual: name, race, gender, physical description, etc. Second, it would be beneficial to have a possession of the individual - one that you know for sure came from them and was physically handled by them. The more personal the possession, the easier the locating will be. In terms of cost to you, the material components and time would amount to 280 pieces of gold."

********
Thieves Guild

The eyes narrow behind the mask as he listens to Lars' casual explanation. "That is less interesting a response as I was hoping for my young friend. You've taken away my fun. Alas, I shall keep this little treat of information to myself, pocket it away and use it when and if you cross me. I would advise you not to do so." He walks back to the door and unlocks the latch. "That name you mentioned. Merrywinter. I could potentially know something about someone who may or may not use such a name when he or she could be given sufficient cause to do so. I also might be willing to discuss intricacies if someone was willing to perform a certain service invoked for the greater glory of my patron Mask."

 

[Adjuntive]

“You are truly gracious Master Simeon, I thank you for your indulgence in our affairs,” Alric punctuates with another stiff, yet deep bow. He remains standing in a posture of military attention, which to a laymen would appear cold and stoic, or even arrogant, but Alric believes to be a posture of respect and deference to a superior.

Alric then draws forth the dagger Arnir provided that had pinned the note to the door of their house. “This was handled by the individual we seek. I doubt it is a very personal item since they left it behind simply to leave a message, though he handled it in the last couple of days or so. The individual goes by the name of Merrywinter, though I know not if is an alias. A male half-elf, who has some skill in magic and subterfuge,” Alric goes on to describe whatever he can remember of Merrywinter’s description relayed to him by Lars, Bannock and Arnir. “I know not if distance is a factor, but he would likely still be within the city. At least we hope so. That is all I can tell you at this moment.”

“As far as payment, I have hard currency on my person that would cover the cost of the spell. Though I would be more interested in recompense by deed if possible. Please, if you would outline such any such services my party or I could perform for the Lyceum in payment for this spell.”

 

[Gregor]

Simeon looks uncomfortable as Alric refuses to sit down and stands, in his eyes, awkwardly at the edge of the table.

"As you may or may not recall," he begins, "one of the participants at the war council was a knight of the Order of the Aquiline Cross named Laurabec Adelsburg. Her small chapter here is attempting to reduce the amount of religious strife taking place between a number of groups of refugees. Given the diversity of those seeking shelter here, it is likely that there would be a number of different deities that are important to people. However, it seems that the various sects are refusing to cooperate. This is anathema to our plans to encourage an inclusive and united community - something we'll need if the Ragesians or those from Shahalesti decide that they want to take Seaquen by force." He lets it sit in before continuing. "Alric, what we would need in this situation are sharp tongues and minds as opposed to swords. If you were willing to assist Lady Laurabec in solving this problem, I would consider the cost of this spell absorbed by the deed. If we have an accord, I shall begin casting."

 

[The Bashar]

As everyone leaves the house to go about their tasks Hrimr notices no one touched the money or potions he left for the party. He shrugs his shoulders and puts them back in his pack.

Hrimr tells Lars to be careful when he goes off to the Thieves guild. Hrimr walks around a bit, but not wandering too far from where he is to meet Lars. As he walks Hrimr looks at the living warhammer at his side and thinks of the forest. He wonders if some of the trees are recovering. Fires are a natural way for forests to renew themselves. Some trees cannot seed properly without the heat of a fire...

Hrimr catches himself in the midst of his daydreaming. He and his companions are still in danger in this city. He suddenly wonders if he's being watched by anyone. Hrimr looks around him to see if notices anything suspicious.

 

[funkmamagoat]

He does his best to describe the two of them to Kirio, who probably has better eyes than Bannock.

Kirio does his best to support Bannock in getting a lead. He doesn't like it, but having an assassin on their trail is not good for business as it were..., he shakes his head at Bannock's explanation of their relation to the assassins...

 

[Adjuntive]

Alric nods his head briskly, "I recall Ser Adelsburg and I will speak to her forthwith. You also have my word that my blade will not be born except in self-defense. I will see this issue resolved peacefully or you have my word that 280gp will be paid in full upon our next meeting. We have an accord."