Bryon_Soulweaver
First Post
How 'bout an update?
Beauty and the Beast: The adventures of Hulgor and Gwennid! Updated 7/11!
Munin
First Post
Yes sir! Look for the conclusion of session IV Monday!
Arkhandus, I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far. The story really picks up over the next couple of sessions as Gwennid and Hulgor involve themselves in the politics of Endhome and start to explore the area around the city. I hope you'll enjoy reading about it as much as we enjoyed playing it.
As always, questions, comments and criticisms are welcome.
Munin
First Post
Session IV, part III
Hulgor and Gwennid in the big city.
Though not a true slum, the western area of Endhome was a seedy place. The watch was much less active here than in the merchant district, and conversely the street life was far more abundant.
Not knowing exactly where to begin their search, Hulgor approached a scantily dressed harlot standing nearby.
Before he even got the chance to speak, the harlot made her move. She put an arm around him and drew a line across his breastplate with a painted fingernail. The heavy scent of perfume mixed with old sweat clung to her as she spoke. “My my, you’re a big boy. What’s your pleasure, hon?”
Gwennid slapped the woman’s hand off of his chest as her temper flared. “Hands off, tramp, he’s not here for that!”
The streetwalker was unfazed. She turned to Gwennid and gave her a soft, sultry stare, “Oh, that’s ok, hon, if that’s your liking, but it’ll cost ya extra.”
Gwennind was aghast. “No! No! NO!” she exclaimed. “It’s information we want! Not…that.”
The change in the woman was immediate; all flirtatiousness vanished. “Whatever, hon, but that’ll cost ya too. A girl’s got to make a livin', ya know.”
Already familiar with the drill, Hulgor reached in his pouch and handed her a few gold coins.
Gwennid continued, “There used to be an opium den around here, operated out of the sewers. I think it’s closed now. Do you know where it is?”
“Ya don’t want one that’s closed, do ya, hon? I know of a few that are open if you're lookin' to chase the dragon.”
“No, we need that one. Do you know where it is or not?”
“Sure, sure, hon, I know where it’s at, no need to get pushy. C’mon, I’ll take ya.”
The woman started off down a side street and the two followed, but Hulgor was unconvinced. He didn’t like throwing his money away, and he didn’t want to throw his hard-earned coin away, and on some whore at that. As far as he knew, she could point to any old sewer grate and he’d be none the wiser. So as they walked along he spotted a couple of street urchins playing marbles near some steps.
“Psst.” He called to the boys.
One of them looked up and warily walked over to the half-orc. “Whatcha need, mister?” he asked cautiously.
“We’re lookin fer an old opium den, closed not too long ago. Know where it’s at?”
“Yup, I know where everything is ‘round here.” The boy replied confidentially.
About that time, the woman stopped near an old, broken wooden fence. At her feet was a grated sewer entrance. “That’s the one,” she said casually, "I used to come here all the time. Can’t imagine why ya’d need it now, not that it’s any a my business."
Hulgor looked at the boy, who folded his arms and shook his head.
The woman glared at the boy. “Get outta here ya little rat! You don’t know nuthin!” she spat.
“I know that ain’t the right spot, you stupid wench!” he shot back.
The two bickered back and forth in an ever more colorful stream of profanity. Hulgor went from shocked bemusement to irritation, which steadily blossomed into impatience and anger. Finally, he lost his patience. He grabbed the boy and spun him around. “Look kid, I ain’t got time for games, is this it or not? Don’t you lie to me now!” he barked, waving a meaty finger in the boy’s face.
Hulgor was never very good at judging people, and this time was no different. He really didn’t want to scare the kid, but by the look of abject terror on the boy’s face, that was exactly what he had done. His face pale went white, and tears welled up in his eyes.
Suddenly, the boy kicked him hard in the shin. Though it didn’t hurt, by reflex Hulgor let go of him. The boy dashed down to the end of the alley, snatched up a rock, threw it, and hit Hulgor square in the chest. The rock bounced off his chestplate, leaving yet another ding. He then disappeared into the crowds.
“Well, that certainly cleared things up, now didn’t it, Hulgor?” Gwennid remarked dryly as she watched the kid disappear into a throng of people.
The harlot cleared her throat. “If you two won’t be needing anythin else…” she said idly while drawing a line through the sand with her foot.
Hulgor paid her for her services, and the woman left.
Once they were alone, Hulgor lifted the heavy iron cover and peered down into the dark orifice. The stench was overpowering, and they hadn’t even climbed down yet.
“Well,” he said as he climbed down the iron ladder, “if the wench told us the truth, we should find the place in no time at all.”
3 hours later…
“Face it Hulgor, we got taken,” Gwennid muttered as they came to yet another intersection in the filthy maze. She was nauseous to the point of being light-headed, and in desperate want of fresh air.
“Just one more block,” he replied. “We have to be close.”
“No we don’t! We don’t have to be close at all! For all you know it could be on the other side of…” On the narrow catwalk ahead of her she noticed something out of place: a pile of fresh dirt. When she got closer she noticed another pile, spilling over the catwalk and into the fetid stream.
“That’s odd,” she remarked as she knelt down next to the pile. She examined the lichen-covered wall next to the piles, and at first noticed nothing out of the way, but then, something about the bricks just didn’t look right. She looked closer, though just as slimy as the rest of the tunnel wall, this area was made with newer brick. It could have been a patch job, she thought, that would explain the dirt. But no, the dirt was too fresh.
She ran her hand around the perimeter of the new section and found a loose brick. First, she tried to pull it out, but didn’t budge. Then, she pushed it in. click.
The section of the wall opened on a hidden hinge. She opened the door just wide enough to poke her head through. Behind the hidden door was a large room; there were two doors on her right side, and two doors on the opposite wall. The room was littered with debris, old rotten pillows, lounge chairs, and hookahs. ‘Bingo!’ She thought.
She opened the door a little more and crept inside. Hulgor followed. A trail of dirt ran from where she was to the furthest door on the right. That puzzled her. She pointed it out to Hulgor, who just shrugged his shoulders and pointed to the closest door on the right.
She snuck up to the door and listened: nothing. She turned the handle and gingerly opened it. Something hit the door on the other side, sending her stumbling backwards as she tried to recover her balance. Two dog-like creatures with mottled brown flesh and long, spine-like manes leapt out at her. They let out a long, baleful howl, and as they did the skin around their faces peeled back, laying bare the eyes, teeth and snout of the beasts. The grotesque visage was horrible to behold. Gwennid screamed in terror and fled through the doorway and down the tunnel in a panic, nearly slipping into the effluent stream as she did.
Not wanting to fight the two dogs by himself, Hulgor kicked the door shut before they could run through and threw his weight against it. The beasts slammed against the other side, but Hulgor didn’t budge. He looked around for something to jam the door with, but nothing was at hand. He knew he couldn’t hold out forever, either he or the door itself would finally give way.
About that time, the other door on the right side opened, and a man poked his head through. “Whaddya want? What’s yer business here?”
“We have…a message…for the owner of this den,” he replied, as the dogs continued their assault on the door.
The man’s forehead wrinkled as he thought, Hulgor could almost see the wheels turning in the man’s mind. Suddenly he shut the door. A few seconds later, it opened again, this time, an older man stepped through. He dressed in simple commoner’s clothing, but carried himself with an air of authority. He eyed Hulgor suspiciously as spoke. “I am the owner of this building. What do you want?” he asked, and then shouted at the creatures behind the door, “SILENCE!”
Immediately the ‘dogs’ relented.
“We were sent here to deliver this message,” Hulgor said between heavy breaths. He handed the man the scroll they had been given.
“We?” he replied, asking the obvious question.
About that time, Gwennid came running back into the room. She was panting for breath, and when she looked at Hulgor she blushed deeply.
As the man read the message, two creatures pushing wheelbarrows filled with dirt entered the room from the far right door. With a shock Gwennid realized that the creatures were dretches, and took an involuntary step back as they passed by. She watched the two demons as they took their load to the sewage stream and dumped it in.
‘So that’s where the dirt came from,’ she thought.
“That’s none of your concern, woman.” said the man, before she could ask the question that was in her mouth.
He turned his attention back to the message, and after a brief minute casually discarded it as if it were nothing at all. As it drifted down to the dirt filled floor, Gwennid noticed for the first time that the parchment was blank on both sides. While she pondered that mystery, another astonishing thing happened: as soon as the page touched the floor, it burst into flame and quickly disintegrated into ash.
He looked intently at the two strangers in his den. “Tell your master that his terms are acceptable,” was all he said, and then he turned to leave. Hulgor and Gwennid looked at each other, shrugged, and then looked back at the man. About halfway to the door, he stopped and turned around. He held his finger in the air as if a thought just occurred to him.
“The two of you do not seem to be quite as imbecilic as most members of your ‘profession’,” he began, “if you happen across any ancient texts, particularly anything concerning the lower planes, or if you chance upon anything of an arcane nature, I would be willing to purchase such things from you, or trade for appropriate services. I am Bezlur Orloff, and this is my assistant, Kaiser. For the time being I can be found here, though in the not too distant future that may change. If so, your master can inform you of my location. Kaiser will show you a less offensive manner of entering my abode.”
With that, the man left.
Kaiser motioned for them to follow. They went through the second right-hand passageway, and down a long corridor. As he passed a doorway on his left, Hulgor glanced inside and noticed the two dretches coming from a rough-hewn corridor, wheelbarrows full of freshly dug earth and stone. They passed down a second corridor and into an unused sewage line. There they were shown to an iron-rung ladder that ascended back to the surface.
When Hulgor lifted the grating and climbed out of the tunnel, he was surprised to see the boy he frightened off earlier waiting there for him, arms crossed and foot tapping.
“I told you I knew the way! You big fat stupid orc!” the boy yelled and then took off down the alleyway as quickly as his feet would carry him.
“Now that kid has something to prove,” Hulgor nodded to Gwennid as he watched the boy disappear into the streets with something akin to admiration.
Back at Heaven’s Gate…
Not surprisingly, Hulgor and Gwennid were most definitely NOT allowed to enter the inn smelling as if they had just rolled around in a privy. In a not-to-dignified manner, they were stripped down in the servant’s quarters, given a steaming hot bath, and provided with fresh clothes.
When they finally entered the inn proper, they found their new employer having a drink at a table. He motioned for them to join him, and ordered a new round of drinks.
“We found your man,” Gwennid began, “and he said your terms are acceptable.”
“I know.” he replied casually
Gwennid and Hulgor looked perplexed, so the man explained, “He contacted my employer before you arrived. The important thing is you succeeded in your assignment.”
He reached down and set a leather pouch on the table. “Here is your payment, as we agreed.”
“You said something of additional work,” Gwennid remarked offhandedly.
“Why yes, I did. But for that, we will need to retire to a more private location. Please, follow me.”
The man led them to a private meeting room, and once they were alone, formally introduced himself. “My name is Daven. I hope that we have a long and mutually beneficial business partnership. As I said before, my employer does have other, eh…difficulties that need to be resolved.”
“Which would be?” asked Hulgor.
“No doubt you have heard of the Green Tree Bandits?”
“Yeah, we heard of ‘em,” said Hulgor. In fact, he had heard more than a little talk of the Green Tree Bandits during their time with the caravan. They were a major concern going into the Penprie Forest area, though the caravan was lucky enough to avoid them.
“Then you are probably aware that the leader of this group of brigands is a man named Fell Tarmick. Not only is he a dangerous criminal, but he is also a possible source of embarrassment to my employer, which would be particularly unfortunate during the current political climate.”
“And your employer would be?” Gwennid pressed.
The man thought for a moment, his gaze drifting down to the drink in his hand. Just when she thought he wasn’t going to answer, he spoke. “It would behoove you not to divulge this information, but in this city it is important to know where you stand.” He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts.
“The Quinchino family* has been an upstanding member of the community for many years, and has an impeccable reputation. However, its history is not quite so spotless.”
“Part of that history is Fell Tarmick, I presume.” Gwennid asserted.
Daven nodded, then continued. “Fernando Quinchino has nominated one of his own to run for the governor’s office. Coincidentally over the last few months the Green Trees have been especially active, to the point that the merchant guilds have finally taken notice and are maneuvering to capture or kill him.
“If the family’s connection to Tarmick came to light, well, the affect among the electorate would be devastating.”
“So you want us to off Fell Tarmick.” Hulgor said unsubtly.
“In a manner of speaking, yes. We need you to enter the Penprie Forest, discover his hideout, and eliminate him. It’s not as if he isn’t already a threat to society, there is a price on his head, we just want the situation to come to a conclusion in fashion most favorable for our goals.
“For this service, you will be paid 3,000 gold pieces.”
Gwennid choked back a cough. “Well, he is a criminal, and as you said, a threat to law-abiding citizens.” she looked over at Hulgor, who nodded his consent.
She took in a breath and looked Daven square in the eye, “We’ll take the job.”
“Good. Finding Fell won’t be easy. In the least I would expect it to take a couple of weeks just to locate his hideout, then you need to deal with the bandits themselves. Fell is not considered to be a particularly dangerous fighter himself, but he is cunning, and an effective tactician. He has outmaneuvered Bragger Bondhome’s men on several occasions. Don’t rush, be methodical. Trust me on this, you do not want to leave any loose ends with this man.
“I want weekly reports on your progress, but other than that you are free to handle this as you see fit. Any questions?”
“Yeah, we’ll need supplies and gear, how about you give us an advance on that money.” said Hulgor in his usual blunt manner.
Daven chuckled dryly. “You seem very well equipped to me, and I just paid you 300 coins for a morning’s work. No, I think you’ll manage with what you have.”
Gwennid cut in, “Alright then, Daven, we’ll get started in the morning.”
Daven stood and offered a firm handshake to both of them. “I wish you well. Good luck.” He said, then departed quickly.
*In retrospect, Daven should have withheld this bit of information. It would have been much more useful to the plot had I made them work for it a little longer. When I thought about it the day after the session, I felt like kicking myself, but the hour was late and the caffeine was running low, so I just went with it.
Hulgor and Gwennid in the big city.
Though not a true slum, the western area of Endhome was a seedy place. The watch was much less active here than in the merchant district, and conversely the street life was far more abundant.
Not knowing exactly where to begin their search, Hulgor approached a scantily dressed harlot standing nearby.
Before he even got the chance to speak, the harlot made her move. She put an arm around him and drew a line across his breastplate with a painted fingernail. The heavy scent of perfume mixed with old sweat clung to her as she spoke. “My my, you’re a big boy. What’s your pleasure, hon?”
Gwennid slapped the woman’s hand off of his chest as her temper flared. “Hands off, tramp, he’s not here for that!”
The streetwalker was unfazed. She turned to Gwennid and gave her a soft, sultry stare, “Oh, that’s ok, hon, if that’s your liking, but it’ll cost ya extra.”
Gwennind was aghast. “No! No! NO!” she exclaimed. “It’s information we want! Not…that.”
The change in the woman was immediate; all flirtatiousness vanished. “Whatever, hon, but that’ll cost ya too. A girl’s got to make a livin', ya know.”
Already familiar with the drill, Hulgor reached in his pouch and handed her a few gold coins.
Gwennid continued, “There used to be an opium den around here, operated out of the sewers. I think it’s closed now. Do you know where it is?”
“Ya don’t want one that’s closed, do ya, hon? I know of a few that are open if you're lookin' to chase the dragon.”
“No, we need that one. Do you know where it is or not?”
“Sure, sure, hon, I know where it’s at, no need to get pushy. C’mon, I’ll take ya.”
The woman started off down a side street and the two followed, but Hulgor was unconvinced. He didn’t like throwing his money away, and he didn’t want to throw his hard-earned coin away, and on some whore at that. As far as he knew, she could point to any old sewer grate and he’d be none the wiser. So as they walked along he spotted a couple of street urchins playing marbles near some steps.
“Psst.” He called to the boys.
One of them looked up and warily walked over to the half-orc. “Whatcha need, mister?” he asked cautiously.
“We’re lookin fer an old opium den, closed not too long ago. Know where it’s at?”
“Yup, I know where everything is ‘round here.” The boy replied confidentially.
About that time, the woman stopped near an old, broken wooden fence. At her feet was a grated sewer entrance. “That’s the one,” she said casually, "I used to come here all the time. Can’t imagine why ya’d need it now, not that it’s any a my business."
Hulgor looked at the boy, who folded his arms and shook his head.
The woman glared at the boy. “Get outta here ya little rat! You don’t know nuthin!” she spat.
“I know that ain’t the right spot, you stupid wench!” he shot back.
The two bickered back and forth in an ever more colorful stream of profanity. Hulgor went from shocked bemusement to irritation, which steadily blossomed into impatience and anger. Finally, he lost his patience. He grabbed the boy and spun him around. “Look kid, I ain’t got time for games, is this it or not? Don’t you lie to me now!” he barked, waving a meaty finger in the boy’s face.
Hulgor was never very good at judging people, and this time was no different. He really didn’t want to scare the kid, but by the look of abject terror on the boy’s face, that was exactly what he had done. His face pale went white, and tears welled up in his eyes.
Suddenly, the boy kicked him hard in the shin. Though it didn’t hurt, by reflex Hulgor let go of him. The boy dashed down to the end of the alley, snatched up a rock, threw it, and hit Hulgor square in the chest. The rock bounced off his chestplate, leaving yet another ding. He then disappeared into the crowds.
“Well, that certainly cleared things up, now didn’t it, Hulgor?” Gwennid remarked dryly as she watched the kid disappear into a throng of people.
The harlot cleared her throat. “If you two won’t be needing anythin else…” she said idly while drawing a line through the sand with her foot.
Hulgor paid her for her services, and the woman left.
Once they were alone, Hulgor lifted the heavy iron cover and peered down into the dark orifice. The stench was overpowering, and they hadn’t even climbed down yet.
“Well,” he said as he climbed down the iron ladder, “if the wench told us the truth, we should find the place in no time at all.”
3 hours later…
“Face it Hulgor, we got taken,” Gwennid muttered as they came to yet another intersection in the filthy maze. She was nauseous to the point of being light-headed, and in desperate want of fresh air.
“Just one more block,” he replied. “We have to be close.”
“No we don’t! We don’t have to be close at all! For all you know it could be on the other side of…” On the narrow catwalk ahead of her she noticed something out of place: a pile of fresh dirt. When she got closer she noticed another pile, spilling over the catwalk and into the fetid stream.
“That’s odd,” she remarked as she knelt down next to the pile. She examined the lichen-covered wall next to the piles, and at first noticed nothing out of the way, but then, something about the bricks just didn’t look right. She looked closer, though just as slimy as the rest of the tunnel wall, this area was made with newer brick. It could have been a patch job, she thought, that would explain the dirt. But no, the dirt was too fresh.
She ran her hand around the perimeter of the new section and found a loose brick. First, she tried to pull it out, but didn’t budge. Then, she pushed it in. click.
The section of the wall opened on a hidden hinge. She opened the door just wide enough to poke her head through. Behind the hidden door was a large room; there were two doors on her right side, and two doors on the opposite wall. The room was littered with debris, old rotten pillows, lounge chairs, and hookahs. ‘Bingo!’ She thought.
She opened the door a little more and crept inside. Hulgor followed. A trail of dirt ran from where she was to the furthest door on the right. That puzzled her. She pointed it out to Hulgor, who just shrugged his shoulders and pointed to the closest door on the right.
She snuck up to the door and listened: nothing. She turned the handle and gingerly opened it. Something hit the door on the other side, sending her stumbling backwards as she tried to recover her balance. Two dog-like creatures with mottled brown flesh and long, spine-like manes leapt out at her. They let out a long, baleful howl, and as they did the skin around their faces peeled back, laying bare the eyes, teeth and snout of the beasts. The grotesque visage was horrible to behold. Gwennid screamed in terror and fled through the doorway and down the tunnel in a panic, nearly slipping into the effluent stream as she did.
Not wanting to fight the two dogs by himself, Hulgor kicked the door shut before they could run through and threw his weight against it. The beasts slammed against the other side, but Hulgor didn’t budge. He looked around for something to jam the door with, but nothing was at hand. He knew he couldn’t hold out forever, either he or the door itself would finally give way.
About that time, the other door on the right side opened, and a man poked his head through. “Whaddya want? What’s yer business here?”
“We have…a message…for the owner of this den,” he replied, as the dogs continued their assault on the door.
The man’s forehead wrinkled as he thought, Hulgor could almost see the wheels turning in the man’s mind. Suddenly he shut the door. A few seconds later, it opened again, this time, an older man stepped through. He dressed in simple commoner’s clothing, but carried himself with an air of authority. He eyed Hulgor suspiciously as spoke. “I am the owner of this building. What do you want?” he asked, and then shouted at the creatures behind the door, “SILENCE!”
Immediately the ‘dogs’ relented.
“We were sent here to deliver this message,” Hulgor said between heavy breaths. He handed the man the scroll they had been given.
“We?” he replied, asking the obvious question.
About that time, Gwennid came running back into the room. She was panting for breath, and when she looked at Hulgor she blushed deeply.
As the man read the message, two creatures pushing wheelbarrows filled with dirt entered the room from the far right door. With a shock Gwennid realized that the creatures were dretches, and took an involuntary step back as they passed by. She watched the two demons as they took their load to the sewage stream and dumped it in.
‘So that’s where the dirt came from,’ she thought.
“That’s none of your concern, woman.” said the man, before she could ask the question that was in her mouth.
He turned his attention back to the message, and after a brief minute casually discarded it as if it were nothing at all. As it drifted down to the dirt filled floor, Gwennid noticed for the first time that the parchment was blank on both sides. While she pondered that mystery, another astonishing thing happened: as soon as the page touched the floor, it burst into flame and quickly disintegrated into ash.
He looked intently at the two strangers in his den. “Tell your master that his terms are acceptable,” was all he said, and then he turned to leave. Hulgor and Gwennid looked at each other, shrugged, and then looked back at the man. About halfway to the door, he stopped and turned around. He held his finger in the air as if a thought just occurred to him.
“The two of you do not seem to be quite as imbecilic as most members of your ‘profession’,” he began, “if you happen across any ancient texts, particularly anything concerning the lower planes, or if you chance upon anything of an arcane nature, I would be willing to purchase such things from you, or trade for appropriate services. I am Bezlur Orloff, and this is my assistant, Kaiser. For the time being I can be found here, though in the not too distant future that may change. If so, your master can inform you of my location. Kaiser will show you a less offensive manner of entering my abode.”
With that, the man left.
Kaiser motioned for them to follow. They went through the second right-hand passageway, and down a long corridor. As he passed a doorway on his left, Hulgor glanced inside and noticed the two dretches coming from a rough-hewn corridor, wheelbarrows full of freshly dug earth and stone. They passed down a second corridor and into an unused sewage line. There they were shown to an iron-rung ladder that ascended back to the surface.
When Hulgor lifted the grating and climbed out of the tunnel, he was surprised to see the boy he frightened off earlier waiting there for him, arms crossed and foot tapping.
“I told you I knew the way! You big fat stupid orc!” the boy yelled and then took off down the alleyway as quickly as his feet would carry him.
“Now that kid has something to prove,” Hulgor nodded to Gwennid as he watched the boy disappear into the streets with something akin to admiration.
Back at Heaven’s Gate…
Not surprisingly, Hulgor and Gwennid were most definitely NOT allowed to enter the inn smelling as if they had just rolled around in a privy. In a not-to-dignified manner, they were stripped down in the servant’s quarters, given a steaming hot bath, and provided with fresh clothes.
When they finally entered the inn proper, they found their new employer having a drink at a table. He motioned for them to join him, and ordered a new round of drinks.
“We found your man,” Gwennid began, “and he said your terms are acceptable.”
“I know.” he replied casually
Gwennid and Hulgor looked perplexed, so the man explained, “He contacted my employer before you arrived. The important thing is you succeeded in your assignment.”
He reached down and set a leather pouch on the table. “Here is your payment, as we agreed.”
“You said something of additional work,” Gwennid remarked offhandedly.
“Why yes, I did. But for that, we will need to retire to a more private location. Please, follow me.”
The man led them to a private meeting room, and once they were alone, formally introduced himself. “My name is Daven. I hope that we have a long and mutually beneficial business partnership. As I said before, my employer does have other, eh…difficulties that need to be resolved.”
“Which would be?” asked Hulgor.
“No doubt you have heard of the Green Tree Bandits?”
“Yeah, we heard of ‘em,” said Hulgor. In fact, he had heard more than a little talk of the Green Tree Bandits during their time with the caravan. They were a major concern going into the Penprie Forest area, though the caravan was lucky enough to avoid them.
“Then you are probably aware that the leader of this group of brigands is a man named Fell Tarmick. Not only is he a dangerous criminal, but he is also a possible source of embarrassment to my employer, which would be particularly unfortunate during the current political climate.”
“And your employer would be?” Gwennid pressed.
The man thought for a moment, his gaze drifting down to the drink in his hand. Just when she thought he wasn’t going to answer, he spoke. “It would behoove you not to divulge this information, but in this city it is important to know where you stand.” He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts.
“The Quinchino family* has been an upstanding member of the community for many years, and has an impeccable reputation. However, its history is not quite so spotless.”
“Part of that history is Fell Tarmick, I presume.” Gwennid asserted.
Daven nodded, then continued. “Fernando Quinchino has nominated one of his own to run for the governor’s office. Coincidentally over the last few months the Green Trees have been especially active, to the point that the merchant guilds have finally taken notice and are maneuvering to capture or kill him.
“If the family’s connection to Tarmick came to light, well, the affect among the electorate would be devastating.”
“So you want us to off Fell Tarmick.” Hulgor said unsubtly.
“In a manner of speaking, yes. We need you to enter the Penprie Forest, discover his hideout, and eliminate him. It’s not as if he isn’t already a threat to society, there is a price on his head, we just want the situation to come to a conclusion in fashion most favorable for our goals.
“For this service, you will be paid 3,000 gold pieces.”
Gwennid choked back a cough. “Well, he is a criminal, and as you said, a threat to law-abiding citizens.” she looked over at Hulgor, who nodded his consent.
She took in a breath and looked Daven square in the eye, “We’ll take the job.”
“Good. Finding Fell won’t be easy. In the least I would expect it to take a couple of weeks just to locate his hideout, then you need to deal with the bandits themselves. Fell is not considered to be a particularly dangerous fighter himself, but he is cunning, and an effective tactician. He has outmaneuvered Bragger Bondhome’s men on several occasions. Don’t rush, be methodical. Trust me on this, you do not want to leave any loose ends with this man.
“I want weekly reports on your progress, but other than that you are free to handle this as you see fit. Any questions?”
“Yeah, we’ll need supplies and gear, how about you give us an advance on that money.” said Hulgor in his usual blunt manner.
Daven chuckled dryly. “You seem very well equipped to me, and I just paid you 300 coins for a morning’s work. No, I think you’ll manage with what you have.”
Gwennid cut in, “Alright then, Daven, we’ll get started in the morning.”
Daven stood and offered a firm handshake to both of them. “I wish you well. Good luck.” He said, then departed quickly.
*In retrospect, Daven should have withheld this bit of information. It would have been much more useful to the plot had I made them work for it a little longer. When I thought about it the day after the session, I felt like kicking myself, but the hour was late and the caffeine was running low, so I just went with it.
