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<blockquote data-quote="jayoungr" data-source="post: 6881378" data-attributes="member: 6702445"><p><strong>Baldur's Gate</strong></p><p></p><p>During the night, there were some bumps and thumps from wheelhouse of the second barge, where the cultists were locked, but they weren't able to escape. Landin had the last watch before dawn, and he spent most of it fishing, catching one large fish, two small ones, and a boot. When the others awoke, he cooked a fine breakfast for them. (The fish, not the boot.)</p><p></p><p>The rest of their journey to Baldur's Gate was uneventful. Upon arrival, they turned over the prisoners to the Flaming Fist, the mercenaries who serve as guards and police in that city, explaining that they had been involved in the raid on Greenest. The burly mercenary on duty roared, <em>"My mother lives in Greenest!"</em> and was more than happy to lock up the cultists.</p><p></p><p>The PCs also reported that more wagons would be arriving with treasure stolen from the city, but the guards couldn't do much about that without a list of specific items to look for. They also said that the letter from Rezmir, although suspicious, wasn't grounds to arrest Aravax Foxtraveler immediately. If the PCs could actually catch him doing something dangerous, they would have a much stronger case.</p><p></p><p>Next, the party sought out Ackyn Selebon, Ontharr Frume's contact in the Order of the Gauntlet. She proved to be an elven woman who welcomed them warmly once they presented the letter of introduction. They mentioned that Beyd Sechepol was going to transport the treasure taken from the cultists' barge back to Elturel, and Ackyn agreed to go with him to help protect such a valuable cargo. She didn't know much about Aravax Foxtraveler, however, so she suggested that they find a Harper to get more information.</p><p></p><p><strong>At the Hasty Wizard</strong></p><p></p><p>The PCs found a tavern called the Hasty Wizard which had the Harpers' symbol scratched into the roof supports. It was a bit shabby, but cheerful. A barmaid--really more of a bar matron--asked what they'd have. Atex ordered ale.</p><p></p><p>"What do you have that won't make me ill?" asked Aric.</p><p></p><p>The barmaid looked him over. "You look like a wine drinker to me. We have some Calisham reds; they'll cost you a bit more, but they're pretty good."</p><p></p><p>Aric and Ariana both ordered the wine. Landin asked for some milk or another non-alcoholic option. The barmaid said the closest they had was some ale that was barely alcoholic. Landin ordered that and tipped her a silver piece.</p><p></p><p>"You're insane! That's a hundred percent tip!" Aric sputtered.</p><p></p><p>Landin shrugged. "Well, if I was as cheap as some people..."</p><p></p><p>"Cheap? <em>Cheap?</em> Perhaps some of us just recognize the value of this wealth more than others!"</p><p></p><p>"Cheap," said Landin with a grin as he took a sip of his very weak ale.</p><p></p><p>"Some of us weren't taken care of our whole lives! Some of us had to <em>earn</em> our hoard!"</p><p></p><p>While Atex ordered several ales in a row and proceeded to get happily buzzed, they looked around at the other customers. There were six other people in the tavern, in three groups. First, there was a male halfling who sat on a table and seemed to be people-watching for his evening entertainment. Then there was a fresh-faced young human woman talking to a female dwarf. They were both dressed as mercenaries or adventurers, but the human woman's gear was all brand-new, while the dwarf's was not. Finally, three human men sat talking business at a table. One of them looked like a sailor, one was well over seven feet tall, and the third was grey-haired and slightly better dressed than the others.</p><p></p><p>"I think we can rule out the human woman as a Harper," Aric told the others in an undertone. "She looks fresh off the farm. Just too young and new and shiny." Landin, who hadn't noticed her before, looked with interest at the attractive young woman. She had started sharpening her sword, and the dwarf seemed to be telling her she was doing it wrong.</p><p></p><p>Some discreet questioning of the barmaid led her to suggest they might want to talk to the well-dressed man. By this time, Atex had started singing a popular drinking song. The sailor and the halfling joined in, while the dwarf turned and glared at them. At the end of the song, Atex bought another round of drinks for everyone who had joined in. The halfling parked himself at the party's table and struck up a conversation with Atex, leading to the wizard telling his life story starting from when he was a young lad.</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, Landin wandered over near the two women--partly to listen in on their conversation, partly to discreetly ogle a pretty girl, and just maybe to make Ariana jealous, since she'd been (he thought) cold to him since they left Elturel. By this time, the dwarf had taken the sword and whetstone and was sharpening the human's sword herself.</p><p></p><p>"Just one stroke at a time, see? You don't want to do little ones--you want to do long ones. Now, as I was saying, tomorrow morning we'll go to the north gate. That's where you get on with the caravans. Just stick close to me. They know me, and I'm sure I can get us both hired at the same place. They may want me to be a sergeant, because I'm more experienced. That's okay, because I can make sure you learn what you need to know. It drives me crazy when people do things wrong!"</p><p></p><p>The girl could hardly get a word in edgewise, so she let the dwarf talk. She looked up and made eye contact with Landin, giving him a smile and an eyeroll as if to say, "Can you believe her?"</p><p></p><p>Landin looked at the floor, blushing, and then immediately checked to see where Ariana had gone. She was at the table with the three men. Under cover of apologizing for her companion's boisterious behavior, she discreetly showed her Harper token to the grey-haired man. However, she was having a great deal of difficulty keeping her eyes off the tall young man, who was well-built and extremely handsome in a shy way. Landin noticed and took a couple of steps toward the group, but stopped short of confronting them.</p><p></p><p>The grey-haired man got up for more drinks and, behind the backs of his companions, pointed to the stairs. Then he said he needed to retire for the night and went up. Ariana drifted back to her companions' table so as not to follow him too obviously.</p><p></p><p>"I think your farm girl is looking out for you," she said sweetly as she passed Landin.</p><p></p><p>"Oh yeah?" he growled. "Well, what about tall, dark, and dorky?"</p><p></p><p>One by one, Ariana, Landin, and Atex drifted up the stairs after the Harper, leaving Aric to be monopolized in conversation by the talkative halfling.</p><p></p><p>The grey-haired man introduced himself as Quimby. When the PCs explained their mission, he said he could take them to Aravax Foxtraveler's shop, but he would be recognized there. He could stay outside and serve as backup, but any infiltration work would be up to them. After some discussion, they decided to pretend to be the cultists they had intercepted on the river.</p><p></p><p>With their plan made, they trooped downstairs to where Aric was still nursing his wine. The halfling had moved on to chat with a newly arrived customer by this time. The others who had been there earlier had all left. Ariana asked Quimby about the tall, handsome young man who had been sitting at his table.</p><p></p><p>"Oh, him? His name's Sulesdeg. He's from the Shaar."</p><p></p><p>"Does he live here?"</p><p></p><p>"I gather--" Quimby began, but Landin interrupted.</p><p></p><p>"Don't we have things to do?"</p><p></p><p>"There's always time to be polite," Ariana told him with a smile.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="jayoungr, post: 6881378, member: 6702445"] [B]Baldur's Gate[/B] During the night, there were some bumps and thumps from wheelhouse of the second barge, where the cultists were locked, but they weren't able to escape. Landin had the last watch before dawn, and he spent most of it fishing, catching one large fish, two small ones, and a boot. When the others awoke, he cooked a fine breakfast for them. (The fish, not the boot.) The rest of their journey to Baldur's Gate was uneventful. Upon arrival, they turned over the prisoners to the Flaming Fist, the mercenaries who serve as guards and police in that city, explaining that they had been involved in the raid on Greenest. The burly mercenary on duty roared, [I]"My mother lives in Greenest!"[/I] and was more than happy to lock up the cultists. The PCs also reported that more wagons would be arriving with treasure stolen from the city, but the guards couldn't do much about that without a list of specific items to look for. They also said that the letter from Rezmir, although suspicious, wasn't grounds to arrest Aravax Foxtraveler immediately. If the PCs could actually catch him doing something dangerous, they would have a much stronger case. Next, the party sought out Ackyn Selebon, Ontharr Frume's contact in the Order of the Gauntlet. She proved to be an elven woman who welcomed them warmly once they presented the letter of introduction. They mentioned that Beyd Sechepol was going to transport the treasure taken from the cultists' barge back to Elturel, and Ackyn agreed to go with him to help protect such a valuable cargo. She didn't know much about Aravax Foxtraveler, however, so she suggested that they find a Harper to get more information. [B]At the Hasty Wizard[/B] The PCs found a tavern called the Hasty Wizard which had the Harpers' symbol scratched into the roof supports. It was a bit shabby, but cheerful. A barmaid--really more of a bar matron--asked what they'd have. Atex ordered ale. "What do you have that won't make me ill?" asked Aric. The barmaid looked him over. "You look like a wine drinker to me. We have some Calisham reds; they'll cost you a bit more, but they're pretty good." Aric and Ariana both ordered the wine. Landin asked for some milk or another non-alcoholic option. The barmaid said the closest they had was some ale that was barely alcoholic. Landin ordered that and tipped her a silver piece. "You're insane! That's a hundred percent tip!" Aric sputtered. Landin shrugged. "Well, if I was as cheap as some people..." "Cheap? [I]Cheap?[/I] Perhaps some of us just recognize the value of this wealth more than others!" "Cheap," said Landin with a grin as he took a sip of his very weak ale. "Some of us weren't taken care of our whole lives! Some of us had to [I]earn[/I] our hoard!" While Atex ordered several ales in a row and proceeded to get happily buzzed, they looked around at the other customers. There were six other people in the tavern, in three groups. First, there was a male halfling who sat on a table and seemed to be people-watching for his evening entertainment. Then there was a fresh-faced young human woman talking to a female dwarf. They were both dressed as mercenaries or adventurers, but the human woman's gear was all brand-new, while the dwarf's was not. Finally, three human men sat talking business at a table. One of them looked like a sailor, one was well over seven feet tall, and the third was grey-haired and slightly better dressed than the others. "I think we can rule out the human woman as a Harper," Aric told the others in an undertone. "She looks fresh off the farm. Just too young and new and shiny." Landin, who hadn't noticed her before, looked with interest at the attractive young woman. She had started sharpening her sword, and the dwarf seemed to be telling her she was doing it wrong. Some discreet questioning of the barmaid led her to suggest they might want to talk to the well-dressed man. By this time, Atex had started singing a popular drinking song. The sailor and the halfling joined in, while the dwarf turned and glared at them. At the end of the song, Atex bought another round of drinks for everyone who had joined in. The halfling parked himself at the party's table and struck up a conversation with Atex, leading to the wizard telling his life story starting from when he was a young lad. Meanwhile, Landin wandered over near the two women--partly to listen in on their conversation, partly to discreetly ogle a pretty girl, and just maybe to make Ariana jealous, since she'd been (he thought) cold to him since they left Elturel. By this time, the dwarf had taken the sword and whetstone and was sharpening the human's sword herself. "Just one stroke at a time, see? You don't want to do little ones--you want to do long ones. Now, as I was saying, tomorrow morning we'll go to the north gate. That's where you get on with the caravans. Just stick close to me. They know me, and I'm sure I can get us both hired at the same place. They may want me to be a sergeant, because I'm more experienced. That's okay, because I can make sure you learn what you need to know. It drives me crazy when people do things wrong!" The girl could hardly get a word in edgewise, so she let the dwarf talk. She looked up and made eye contact with Landin, giving him a smile and an eyeroll as if to say, "Can you believe her?" Landin looked at the floor, blushing, and then immediately checked to see where Ariana had gone. She was at the table with the three men. Under cover of apologizing for her companion's boisterious behavior, she discreetly showed her Harper token to the grey-haired man. However, she was having a great deal of difficulty keeping her eyes off the tall young man, who was well-built and extremely handsome in a shy way. Landin noticed and took a couple of steps toward the group, but stopped short of confronting them. The grey-haired man got up for more drinks and, behind the backs of his companions, pointed to the stairs. Then he said he needed to retire for the night and went up. Ariana drifted back to her companions' table so as not to follow him too obviously. "I think your farm girl is looking out for you," she said sweetly as she passed Landin. "Oh yeah?" he growled. "Well, what about tall, dark, and dorky?" One by one, Ariana, Landin, and Atex drifted up the stairs after the Harper, leaving Aric to be monopolized in conversation by the talkative halfling. The grey-haired man introduced himself as Quimby. When the PCs explained their mission, he said he could take them to Aravax Foxtraveler's shop, but he would be recognized there. He could stay outside and serve as backup, but any infiltration work would be up to them. After some discussion, they decided to pretend to be the cultists they had intercepted on the river. With their plan made, they trooped downstairs to where Aric was still nursing his wine. The halfling had moved on to chat with a newly arrived customer by this time. The others who had been there earlier had all left. Ariana asked Quimby about the tall, handsome young man who had been sitting at his table. "Oh, him? His name's Sulesdeg. He's from the Shaar." "Does he live here?" "I gather--" Quimby began, but Landin interrupted. "Don't we have things to do?" "There's always time to be polite," Ariana told him with a smile. [/QUOTE]
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