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<blockquote data-quote="Capellan" data-source="post: 1073538" data-attributes="member: 6294">&quot;Something's Cooking&quot; and &quot;The Ettin's Riddle&quot; (WotC Free Adventures) - Part 1Back in Amberdale, Elspeth and Ming Li sat together at a table in the inn.&nbsp; Both women were enjoying a peaceful breakfast: something that could be difficult to do while Twinkle was in town.&quot;Are you going to be in town today?&quot; the ranger asks, looking up for a moment from her half-empty plate, &quot;Or are you heading back to the caves for more meditation?&quot;The monk sets her knife down neatly before answering,&quot;My studies at the cave are complete, for now.&nbsp; I have learned several new techniques, and must now put them into practice, so that I may perfect their use.&quot;&quot;Great.&nbsp; You'll have to show them to me, sometime.&quot; Elspeth's distracted tone belies her apparent interest, &quot;Listen, I need to go over to visit that wizard, this morning -&quot;&quot;What wizard?&quot; Macwood hurls himself into a chair on the opposite side of the table.&nbsp; The chair rocks alarmingly under this treatment, but the halfling does not seem to notice: his attention is firmly fixed on the two plates of food a waitress has just placed in front of him.Elspeth pauses, clearly contemplating the option of ignoring the bard, who seems to have lost interest in the conversation in any case, but Briar chooses that moment to arrive, carrying another two plates.&nbsp; He puts one in front of his own seat, and one in front of Macwood.&quot;Morning.&quot; He greets the two women, &quot;Anything going on?&quot;Elspeth nods,&quot; I have to go over to see that wizard - the one who lives with the cook -&quot;&quot;Excuse me,&quot; another voice breaks into the conversation, causing the ranger to mutter an oath under her breath, &quot;Could I interrupt you for a moment?&quot;&quot;Why not, everyone else has.&quot;The newcomer is an attractive redhead.&nbsp; She wears fine clothes and a gaudy cloak, though currently she has that pulled close around her, and is hunched forward somewhat furtively, as if trying - badly - not to be seen.&quot;Thank you.&quot; The woman immediately takes a seat and turns away from the ranger to face Briar and Macwood, &quot;You see, I'm in a little trouble.&quot; Her hand drops lightly onto Briar's, &quot;And I was hoping that you big, strong men could help me.&quot;Elspeth nearly chokes on her mug of ale.&nbsp; Ming Li, perhaps fortunate not to be eating at that moment, merely raises an eyebrow.&nbsp; If they notice the reaction of their female colleagues, neither Briar nor Macwood gives any sign.&quot;Well, it's always a pleasure to help a pretty lady -&quot; Briar begins.&quot;She wuth talkin' to me!&quot; Macwood interjects, through a mouthful of scrambled eggs.&quot;What kind of 'trouble'?&quot; Ming Li interjects, &quot;And how did you get into it?&quot;The woman blinks, evidently put off stride by the monk's brusque interruption,&quot;My name is Marble McCray -&quot; she smiles winsomely.&quot;We've met.&quot; Ming Li answers flatly, &quot;The night the cockroaches attacked the inn.&quot;&quot;We did?&quot; Marble offers a deliberately blank look, &quot;I'm afraid I don't remember you - just these two fine young men.&quot;&nbsp; On the other side of the table, the 'fine young men' make claw shapes with their hands as they emit hissing and spitting noises.&nbsp; A glance from the monk silences them both.&quot;What kind of trouble, and how did you get into it?&quot; she repeats.&quot;Well,&quot; Marble visibly collects her thoughts, &quot;as you know, I am a dealer in 'special goods'.&nbsp; Things that are valuable or hard to find.&nbsp; Recently, I accepted a commission to sell an item on someone else's behalf.&nbsp; It was a standard deal; I found them a buyer, they paid me a commission; but afterwards, I found out that the item was stolen property.&nbsp; And the original owner really wants it back: in a 'hand it over or die screaming' kind of way.&quot;&quot;Then why not purchase it back and return it?&quot; Ming Li asks, reasonably.&quot;Because I don't know where the buyer went.&nbsp; And even if I did, I don't have the money.&quot; Marble answers, testily. &quot;I only got a commission on the deal.&nbsp; The seller got the bulk of the gold, and he's dead.&nbsp; Bounty hunters got him.&nbsp; They very nearly got me.&quot;&quot;Bounty hunters?&quot; Briar's head snaps up, &quot;Who are they?&quot;&quot;I don't know.&quot; Marble shrugs, &quot;And I don't want to find out.&nbsp; Look, I don't have much money, but I can give you ten gold each if you'll protect me from the hunters.&nbsp; Is it a deal?&quot;</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Capellan, post: 1073538, member: 6294"] [b]"Something's Cooking" and "The Ettin's Riddle" (WotC Free Adventures) - Part 1[/b] Back in Amberdale, Elspeth and Ming Li sat together at a table in the inn. Both women were enjoying a peaceful breakfast: something that could be difficult to do while Twinkle was in town. "Are you going to be in town today?" the ranger asks, looking up for a moment from her half-empty plate, "Or are you heading back to the caves for more meditation?" The monk sets her knife down neatly before answering, "My studies at the cave are complete, for now. I have learned several new techniques, and must now put them into practice, so that I may perfect their use." "Great. You'll have to show them to me, sometime." Elspeth's distracted tone belies her apparent interest, "Listen, I need to go over to visit that wizard, this morning -" "What wizard?" Macwood hurls himself into a chair on the opposite side of the table. The chair rocks alarmingly under this treatment, but the halfling does not seem to notice: his attention is firmly fixed on the two plates of food a waitress has just placed in front of him. Elspeth pauses, clearly contemplating the option of ignoring the bard, who seems to have lost interest in the conversation in any case, but Briar chooses that moment to arrive, carrying another two plates. He puts one in front of his own seat, and one in front of Macwood. "Morning." He greets the two women, "Anything going on?" Elspeth nods, " I have to go over to see that wizard - the one who lives with the cook -" "Excuse me," another voice breaks into the conversation, causing the ranger to mutter an oath under her breath, "Could I interrupt you for a moment?" "Why not, everyone else has." The newcomer is an attractive redhead. She wears fine clothes and a gaudy cloak, though currently she has that pulled close around her, and is hunched forward somewhat furtively, as if trying - badly - not to be seen. "Thank you." The woman immediately takes a seat and turns away from the ranger to face Briar and Macwood, "You see, I'm in a little trouble." Her hand drops lightly onto Briar's, "And I was hoping that you big, strong men could help me." Elspeth nearly chokes on her mug of ale. Ming Li, perhaps fortunate not to be eating at that moment, merely raises an eyebrow. If they notice the reaction of their female colleagues, neither Briar nor Macwood gives any sign. "Well, it's always a pleasure to help a pretty lady -" Briar begins. "She wuth talkin' to [i]me[/i]!" Macwood interjects, through a mouthful of scrambled eggs. "What kind of 'trouble'?" Ming Li interjects, "And how did you get into it?" The woman blinks, evidently put off stride by the monk's brusque interruption, "My name is Marble McCray -" she smiles winsomely. "We've met." Ming Li answers flatly, "The night the cockroaches attacked the inn." "We did?" Marble offers a deliberately blank look, "I'm afraid I don't remember you - just these two fine young men." On the other side of the table, the 'fine young men' make claw shapes with their hands as they emit hissing and spitting noises. A glance from the monk silences them both. "What kind of trouble, and how did you get into it?" she repeats. "Well," Marble visibly collects her thoughts, "as you know, I am a dealer in 'special goods'. Things that are valuable or hard to find. Recently, I accepted a commission to sell an item on someone else's behalf. It was a standard deal; I found them a buyer, they paid me a commission; but afterwards, I found out that the item was stolen property. And the original owner really wants it back: in a 'hand it over or die screaming' kind of way." "Then why not purchase it back and return it?" Ming Li asks, reasonably. "Because I don't know where the buyer went. And even if I did, I don't have the money." Marble answers, testily. "I only got a commission on the deal. The seller got the bulk of the gold, and he's dead. Bounty hunters got him. They very nearly got me." "Bounty hunters?" Briar's head snaps up, "Who are they?" "I don't know." Marble shrugs, "And I don't want to find out. Look, I don't have much money, but I can give you ten gold each if you'll protect me from the hunters. Is it a deal?" [/QUOTE]

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