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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lwaxy" data-source="post: 5866791" data-attributes="member: 53286">23rd of RhuneDear MomThanks for going to find someone to take this packet and the spymaster off our hands. We have been watching over both and I think Nev is beginning to get paranoid. He's pacing around and is looking out of the window every few minutes or so it seems. Other than this little issue, all is fine here, so you really don't need to send my dear sister. Really, it begins to sound like you are just looking for a way to get rid of her, too! Oh, I met a mage from the 13th Circle of the Western Kingdoms! He's al elf in his 700s and amazingly good at teleport spells of all versions. He only needs a picture, or the description of the mind image of someone else, and he can teleport there. Isn't that just great? I want to learn that, and since the priests at the Temple of Knowledge say they can't teach me much more, I'm considering taking a trip to the Western Kingdoms. The mage, a Grand Master Thelorian, has offered to take me on as temporary apprentice, as I am technically above apprentice state. He is traveling to the Southern Mines to meet up with a dragon friend, but on the way back he could take me along for a while. We will always he able to return to Freeport as he will create a teleport circle in our magic garden. He says thanks to a high magic grid over the city, only few people could create such a circle but he can. I'm all excited. Please mom, don't argue against it! Your excited son OrlathHonored Lady Theka!I will be glad to be rid of all this secrecy business, so your help is very much appreciated. Orlath is getting paranoid, I believe. He is constantly pacing through all the rooms, ruffling his hair and muttering something under his breath. He also does not eat much. Flip is behaving a bit weird, starting to defy Orlath, supposedly on your orders. He has likely not told you, but Orlath is going to hire another servant to do house duties, which should suit Flip fine. Am I right to think that Flip's business is not the least our own when he is out at night? I can certainly keep the prince occupied if needed. We met an elf mage from the Western Kingdoms. He has managed to fix my fireball problem. It seems that I was forgetting a middle step in casting the spell, something that does not matter to anyone who has an affinity for the fire element. Well, I do not so I need the extra effort. My main affinity, it seems, is with water and time. Orlath wants to travel with this Master Thelorian, which would suit me as well as he has offered to take us all along if we don't want to split. But I don't think Uthas likes the idea much, and Flip was openly resistant on leaving Freeport at all for longer than a few days. I suppose it has to do with the work you gave him here. Ever in Your serviceNevukhMost High Lady Theka!I have placed the note in the rack of Odingo's weapon and arms display with little difficulty, I just had a bit of an issue escaping, as I had not counted on any boxes being searched when brought out. My mistake, I should know a collector of old and expensive things would fear theft more than anything else. It was considerably easier to place the bloody dagger in Count vingar's hands at the whore house. He was promptly arrested for the murder of a mesenger, which I find vaguely interesting.Yes, I have figured out that while the jobs came from the guild, it was you behind it. I am that good, or you would not eploy me. It was a great help in any case, because it basically means I had 2 less jobs to do as they would have come to me anyway. The politics in the city are a true mess. The council considers disbanding the Sea Lord position, and everyone is split about it. There is barely any other talk. Just Nev and the prince have not really noticed yet, they are too absorbed in this spy business. They are both getting paranoid, if you ask me. All nervous and sneaking around, looking out of the windows and talking to themselves and such. And now they even consider leaving the city, although it might truly just be an interest in more adventure and learning magic. Orlath does not like me to be much more than a servant, and it is getting more difficult to maintain the ruse. We need a second servant around here. I may need to arrange something to that end. Your humble servant FlipFor a moment, the halfling hesitated. He had not told her about the assassination of  slavers he had pulled off despite having crashed into the wall the night he took the sword from the statue. Neither had he mentioned the killing of a Realms merchant who also happened to be a slaver – he suspected the Freedom guild had put the hit on. It was after the fact that he had found out that said merchant might have also been a realms informant, and he suspected the High Lady would be less than happy with him if she found out. As Flip sent the letter, he turned the feather he had been writing with over in his hands and wondered, once more, what was in the package. He thought he knew the High Lady well enough by now to be sure that her interest in it was a bit too personal. Given that Uthas and Orlath were out to do some clothes shopping and Nev had gone to the roof garden, he decided to take his chances and peek inside. They had already determined it was not trapped in any way, so what could go wrong?"Eh, boss?" Uthas was hardly visible under all the stuff he carried for the prince – full backpack, several bags and pouches hanging from his belt. "Are you sure we need to go to more shops? I will fall over with all this already." Orlath chuckled. "You never do. And yes, we need to go to one more shop. And then back to the curio. I need to talk to Falthar." If Uthas' face had been visible, the prince would have seen him pale. "All the way to the curio? Can't we rent a cart? Boss, if someone attacks you I can't protect you this way and that's some good walk." For the first time since he started his shopping spree, prince Orlath really looked at his bodyguard. He couldn't help but chuckle. "You have a point. Let's find a cart." As they rented the cart and the half-orc filled it with the bags and packs, he proceeded to tell the prince about the latest rumors he had heard. The council wanting to abandon the Sea Lord's position was just one little side story, as the barbaric fighter had little interest in politics. But he had heard of an increase críme rate, so much that his new friends in the guard had just asked him – while he had still been packed with the luggage, to his dismay – if he could probably help out with protecting a shipment for important people. The guard had no man to spare for extra duty, and with all the extra guards in the private homes, with what the burglaries and murders, it was hard to find anyone to do temp jobs. Uthas asked if he could probably take the job, maybe with Flip, if the price was sure to be busy in the temple. He had had enough of learning for a while, and the temple was well guarded. "You are asking me to stay at the temple while you do errands for others?" Orlath was definitely amused. "It sounds like you are placing me under house arrest." "You are pulling my ears, aren't you?" Uthas started at the smiling prince and grinned. "Does that mean you want to come along? It is simple, they said. Friend from a councilor needs some silk stuff from the docks to some storage across town. Basically just to show  someone is there to watch.""Sure, we heroes of Freeport need to show presence," the prince agreed. "When?" "Tomorrow noon," the half-orc grinned. "I smell you want to take Flip along." "But of course. He is spending too many nights who knows where. I am thinking I will wake him with a method he is all too familiar with." Orlath winked, and they both chuckled. The curio was surprisingly busy when they finally fot there, with two visitors from the Wild Lands checking out things and asking for advice. Uthas parked their cart in the small backyard and helped himself to some coffee and tea – stranely enough, he usually drank both at a time – while Orlath went through the new aquisitions not yet labeled to see if anything would strike his interest. Finally, Master Falthar came to the back room, full of energy and definitely happy for the sale he just made. "Ah, there you are," he beamed. "I was hoping you could make it, what with being heroes and all some such." He winked. "What do you need from me?" The prince sipped his own spiced tea, trying, again, not to imagine how coffee and tea must taste together. "Actually, not only you, although you being the prince I thought I talk to you first. I'd hoped all 4 of you could be of aid, and Nevukh seems to follow you around most of the time.  Well, maybe the two of you would actually do." He took an unsure breath. "Ineed you to help me help someone to find someone," he started. "The guard had no people to spare in those times, and most people do not grasp the importance of the situation, so I thought I'd ask mages who know what it might mean." "Can we get to the point?" Orlath asked, somewhat amused. "Who is missing, and why would you need a mage to find them?""Jasper is missing, the hightly talented cat familiar of a young sorceres and daughter of one of the guard captains. Jasper has a talent for killing rats in masses, thanks to some spells the cat can do. He patrols some old ruins of houses that were burned  when the inhabitants died of the plague. And he's the only cat who dares doing that. People fear the plague will spring up again now that the cat is gone, and the girl is distraught but kows her familiar still lives." "You want a prince to find a cat?" Uthas frowned. "I like cats but... but..." "Not just any cat. A familar. A priced rat catcher. And, weird as it sounds, a good friend. I had Jasper over to get rid of my own rat problem a few months ago."Orlath nodded thoughtfully. He had not found a familiar yet, but his mother's old owl had died a few months back and it had been a real tragedy. "Well look for him. Just give us the details and we'll get to it immediately." "Great," Falthar beamed again. "So, this is where he normally is..."Flip looked around in the small room of the ramshackle building once more. No hints of his identity anywhere, not so much as a drop of blood from the couple in their bed he had just killed. They had not been married, at least not to each other, and he suspected that was part of the reason someone had wanted them dead. He knew the female orc by rumors though. Where she walked, people went missing, even children, and the story went that she was some sort of evil witch doing dark rituals. From what he had seen in the room, the papers now scattered on the floor, she had been merely a slaver, albeit a very ruthless one. Probably stepped on too many toes, or bothered someones business. Just like the Real merchant, he supposed. In Freeport, most groups settled their business without the help of assassins, only political disputes and dealings with truly despicable beings, like this orc, were considered not worth making your own hands dirty. It would make picking jobs easier, Flip supposed. Less chances to kill someone he did not want to see dead. Coming here in broad daylight had been a bit of a risk, but their supposedly secret meetings in this rent-a-hut area was probably the only place without their guards close by. And it now gave him more time to work with at night. If, he thought wearily as he sneaked out and mingled with the crowd, the prince would not come up with another stupid and childish idea to keep him at home. His mind went to the contents of the packet he had checked earlier. It had been easy to open and easier to close, and none would be the wiser. But the information contained within had come as not a small shock. Now that he knew, there had been hints, and he had seen some similarities in the people concerned but... he shook his head as he almost bumped into a vendor at a market. He needed to watch his surroundings better and not drift off like that. As he had a better look around, he saw her again! The girl from Milton's party and from the rooftops. By now, he knew where she lived and who she was. A daughter of an important family, he father was the head of the Merchant's Guild. Too bored to just live the life of the rich. A thief by choice and not by need, and a very skilled one at that. The guild was a bit upset over the unknown thief dubbed 'Nighthaunt' by many, who obviously didn't want anything to do with them. But in Freeport, unlike in other places, guild membership was not enforced. You simply didn't get any of the benefits if you happened to get into trouble. Flip found himself staring at the girl who was at least one and a half times as tall as he. Margaret Roth, that was her name, but her family called her Margy. Maybe if he would not try to catcha  glipse of her and her doings so often, he would have finished a few more of those guild jobs already. Was he obsessed with her, maybe even falling in love? With a human? The girl had finished her shoppings and went on with her business. Flip tried to push away the urge to follow her but failed. Trying his best not to be seen and hoping for a chance to 'acidentally' bump into her, he pushed through the crowd, trying to stay out of sight. For now. Bosslady, We was in sewers again for help your friend Falthar with finding some cat which is familiar of other friend. We is son of yours and me, as flip busy and Nev kinda dreamy. Dreamy is what Olath says he is, I would not know. Anyway we was going into basement of house where they say cat always go in and out. Not much there but dead people fallen through from upstair and other trash. But then we come in long room and skeletons fall from ceiling. I go shmash all very fast, but then see them all fake. Not fake as in not skeletons but no undead. All tied with wire and rope and make to come down when steping on trigger. Silly, huh? Someone not have money to pay a real necro but that fine with me. Skeletons on strings! I still laugh about it. So then in next room we find cat cornered by carrion crawlers. Looks like the little rascal was keeping things off with some spells. I smash them and think now we take cat and go home but Jasper, that's cat, runs off looking at us weird. Orlath say we need follow. One level down we wiggle through old machine son of yours says was made by alce... alchu... those wizards working with all the weird substance. It's to clean water afterward. Then we kill more worm like things – wonder what the city pays for critter removal? Rats fetch a copper a piece I learn today because when in and out of old tunnel going under the sewers we come to very large cavern with lots of rubble and rubbish and rats. The RRR cavern I call it. Some rats were in traps and that's why we think first it is some rat catcher not wanting to share prey who drive off people and angered by cat. But then some rat-like halfling sized people come and take caged rats away. Which is weird for they look like them rats themself but then humanoids catch monkeys so yeah. The RRR has 2 tunnels going from it so we follow the rat person. Orlath says to be quiet as rats hear well but I fall over rubble and make noise. But no one come. We find some small guard room with 3 rat people. They want fight but Orlath does some charm thingy and they tell us all about them. The wizard making them wants revenge on some councilor for burning the sick people from the houses above alive, and lots of healthy ones, him included. Only the councilor they say it was is dead, died with the Milton Drac monster. So we go on with them to very big lab cave and find the wizard. He is about to make more rat people. Son of yours and he have a small magic duel but then they kinda talk after half the cave falls in. See, the guy use real rats to make rat people. Wants his own army. I'm sorry for rat people, they just not natural and don't know where to go. Son of yours says he talk to council, see if the wizard and his rat people can become sewer wards and pay them and all. Also Orlath super angry with all the burning alive thing and says he will see if families get some money from it and rat wizard, too. Poor guy all burned up even with magic to heal. And yeah Jasper the cat just want to stick with rat people and rat wizard until someone found the guy. He go back home to his master now. Then when we go back through the RRR cavern, there is more carrion crawlers and this time son of yours just all make them fry as he wants out of underground quickly and no need to be quiet now. Also, me think he was so very angry at dead council man. He say he wants not to tell you all this because he say last time he told you about going underground you gots all mad at him but this time I was with him so it was no danger. And he is hero and all that. But still not good with sword, just more strong. More strong bad tho cause when he hit me with his swing at crawler first time I got nasty bump on head. Next time he go and find some magic to make him better maybe it is magic adding some skill. Tomorrow we go do small guard job for friend of some councilor as not much guards are free to hire. Nev say it is going be easy as a feather. Me, not so sure but 2 mages, a servant-thief and a barbarian, what can go wrong?~U</blockquote>

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