Kulan: Knightfall's Crisis in Bluffside Game [IC]

[Neurotic]

"Bards are the glue of the society. They keep remote villages informed, return their events and stories to the centers of the civilization and they are able to talk with crowds and keep their virtue and walk with kings - yet don't lose the common touch. I will gladly go to meet a bard so successful that he is able to keep his tavern here a haven for the dangerous element of the society and prosper."
Akos seems quite eager to go slumming. For him, apparently, new crowds are a good thing.

OOC: Detch: No, I've never learned that spell. It's not marital enough for me." He is dedicated husband and everything he learns must be in support of the marriage

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

As an afterthought, Big Tim suggests that, if a rickshaw was available, Kaleb could be helped into it, and Tim would pull it himself, which would allow them to make good time; it would also make Kaleb more comfortable during the trip.

 

[JustinCase]

Tuck appears restless.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go see this Finus Lomusin!"

OOC: As an urban ranger, has Tuck ever met or heard of this guy?

 

[Envisioner]

"Clear!" pweeeeeeeeeee FUMPH!

 

[Knightfall]

Big Tim offers, "I know nothing of Wizard matters, and have no desire to walk into a seedy tavern and talk to bards, either. I will take him. It makes sense; I have the strength to easily support him, and if he gets too tired, I can even carry him without breaking a sweat. Mine is the task of service. And this task is best suited to me."

Tim then stands straight, at attention, as if waiting for Lady Émilienne to command him.

"I thank you, sir," Kaleb says meekly. "I will try to not be a burden to you along the way."

Lady Émilienne nods her thanks to Big Tim.

"Bards are the glue of the society. They keep remote villages informed, return their events and stories to the centers of the civilization and they are able to talk with crowds and keep their virtue and walk with kings - yet don't lose the common touch. I will gladly go to meet a bard so successful that he is able to keep his tavern here a haven for the dangerous element of the society and prosper."
Akos seems quite eager to go slumming. For him, apparently, new crowds are a good thing.

"Jamtulon is definitely gluey," Lady Émilienne notes with a grin. She notes the look on Akos face. "Oh no, don't get me wrong. He's a good man but sometimes he can't help himself. So, don't tempt his ignoble moods."

Custodio shakes his head in disgust.

OOC: Detch: No, I've never learned that spell. It's not marital enough for me." He is dedicated husband and everything he learns must be in support of the marriage

OOC:

As an afterthought, Big Tim suggests that, if a rickshaw was available, Kaleb could be helped into it, and Tim would pull it himself, which would allow them to make good time; it would also make Kaleb more comfortable during the trip.

"There aren't any rickshaw services in Old City. I'm sure I could order up a litter from one of the lesser noble families. But I doubt we'd find anyone who who matches your size who could handle the other end," Lady Émilienne says.

"I'd rather not arrive home in a litter," Kaleb insists. "My father would be, well, amused or maybe even annoyed at such a show."

"They could roll you home in a cart or 'barrow. I'm sure one of the merchants in the Sublime Bazaar could be persuaded to lend one to the guard," Detch suggests. The old guard dig out his pouch and pulls out a dozen silver pieces. "Here lad, this might grease one of them."

(Lady Émilienne leaves to get an audience with the headmaster of the Academy of Arcane Arts.)

The young guard takes the coins, reluctantly, and lets Tim carry him to the bazaar. Custodio goes with Tim, mainly out of habit. It takes 20 minutes to find a merchant willing to lend a cart, but only as long as the trio agrees to buy an old donkey for 5 silver that's seen better days. The merchant, an oily man named Johan Bischoptree, seems determined to put the animal out of his sight.

"You can have the old beast pull the cart," the merchant says to Tim. "Save your sword arm for takes that matter, eh?"

"Why don't you donate him to one of the local orphanages?" Custodio asks insistently.

"I'm not running a bloody charity," the trader spits on the ground. "If you want the use of my cart, you're going to take the animal. Give 'em away if you don't have use for the ol' beastie. I don't care. I'm just tired of feeding it, and I just can't kill it and leave its corpse in the street, now can I?"

----

Tuck appears restless.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go see this Finus Lomusin!"

While Big Tim helps Kaleb get to his home on the other side of Old City, Tuck and Akos hurry ahead with Relgar in tow to meet with the bard, Jamtulon Staciaenial. Tuck knows the way out of the district. They have to enter New City and take one of the gnomish steam elevators down from Falcon Square. With all the troubles that have occurred in New City, it takes a bit of time to get access to the district and then an escort to the Way Down as many of the locals call it.

While the streets of New City were sparse, the stone corridors and carved out caves of Undercity are packed with races of all kinds. There is a place for anyone in the Undercity and the smell can be overwhelming to newcomers. It takes more than an hour to make your way out of the Cavern Harbor (where the steam elevator spat you out in the throng) to the short but wide tunnel that leads to the Coach & Six. Then it's a push to get through the market to the eastern end where The Bard's Tale sits.

Once there, both Tuck and Akos are happy to sit down at one of the tables sitting just outside the small cave that is the shadowy interior of The Tale. A young lad who hums quietly to himself, as he clears away the plates from a nearby table, points at Tuck and makes a gesture as if to silently say, 'the usual?'"

OOC: As an urban ranger, has Tuck ever met or heard of this guy?

OOC: Oh, Tuck has definitely heard of Jamtulon, or Jam to his friends. He's infamous, even for a bard. Before he opened The Bard's Tale, he was an adventurer by trade. His open-air café sits at the far eastern end of the Coach & Six Market. The interior of The Tale is a small cave with half a dozen tables and chairs sitting outside it. While the food is good fare, for the Undercity, most come to Jam's bar for the coffee and the entertainment. While The Tale isn't a go-to place for the kobolds living in the Undercity, Tuck has found himself sitting there on occasion, talking to locals and listening to the young beatniks. Jamtulon doesn't like to talk about how his adventuring career came to an end, but it is whispered he encountered something horrible in the Underearth with a group of old friends. FYI, I'm assuming you meant to say you were going to go see the bard, not the headmaster. The headmaster is Finus.

 

[JustinCase]

Tuck nods at the lad, and motioning for himself and Akos he adds, "Two, please. D'you know if Jam is around?"

OOC: My bad, indeed I meant the bard. Thanks for picking up on that. The kobold just ordered two coffees. Never imagined such a thing would happen in a D&D game, but there you go.

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

Once they are out of earshot of the greasy merchant, Tim whispers the following to Custodio:

Tim whispers, "After the beast serves its purpose, we shall indeed do as you suggested. I think the children would love having it for a pet. I can also leave behind a small amount, perhaps 2 platinum pieces, to help pay for the animal's care and shelter for the first few months. What say you to this idea?"

 

[Neurotic]

Akos sits tentatively on the dirty bench. Frowning, he looks around, noting patrons and their clothing, noting shabby interior...
"How can a bard live like this? Where is the flair? Where are the lives of the mighty? What importance could these wretches hold that is worth his time?"
While he can talk about and to common crowds, while he can probably talk or intimidate his way out of trouble, Akos is still too much fey, appreciating finer points of life and everything it can offer. This...tavern...barely can support necessities.

 

[Knightfall]

Meanwhile...
Breva feels like he'd been waiting forever for Sir Silvon Silas. Of course, it is the right of the Commander of the Castle of Purification to keep people waiting. He is the epitome of the tenets of the Purifier. Still, Breva is on the edge of being annoyed. Perhaps it is a test. Or perhaps Sir Silvon is as busy as Breva has heard since the young paladin of the Purifier has arrived in Bluffside. Sir Silvon is considered to to be a saint by many in the faith and he has the respect of his peers and his foes. Breva has heard that Sir Silvon considers it his mission to help the poor and downtrodden of Bluffside. The man is all about charity and spreading hope among those with none.

Breva stands in the Great Hall of the Castle and admires the workmanship, which isn't gaudy. The walls and towers outside the temple are painted a brilliant white and the interior is just as clean. In a huge city like Bluffside, it is quite an accomplishment of order. The skies above the city would be choked by the vapors of the gnomish steam elevators and the pollution of the constant mining if it wasn't for the fact that Bluffside sits on a great cliff and that is it constantly lashed by winds and rain from the sea. Still, how the Order keeps the outer walls white has to be more than hard work. A cleaning orison, perhaps.

Breva stands and stares as the statue of the Purifier that sits in the center of the Great Hall. It is, too, tastefully done. It portrays the Cleaning Light somberly but without malice or woe. The statue is carved out of simple stone and Breva is certain it is dwarven work. Behind him, the doors to the hall finally open and a cadre of armored paladins enters ahead of Sir Silvon. There are a dozen paladins of various ages who walk two by two. As the approach Breva, they split and encircle the statue without nary a glance towards the young paladin. Sir Silvon walks right up to Breva speaks without ceremony.

"I am sorry you have been waiting for me for so long, young squire. I have been arguing with The Five for days about the conditions in New City. The time for martial law in that district has long passed and I am tired of their excuses. The Order of the Purifier will not stand for such flouting of the city's law, and I have told them what will happen if the decree is not lifted immediately. The conditions in that district is causing considerable suffering both there and in the Undercity. It could be chaos."

He sighs.

"Ah, but you are not here to discuss politics. I believe you have something for me?" Sir Silvon waits for you to speak.

 

[Scotley]

Breva self-consciously straightens his cloak and comes to attention before Sir Silvon. He reaches into a pouch and produces his letter of introduction. "Sir, the head of my order prepared this letter of introduction for you. Breva Sciarra late of the siege at Redfrost at your service. If there is anything I can do to help with the situation in the New City you have but to ask."

He stands ridged as Sir Silvon reads the letter though his eyes wander to examine the other paladins in the room hoping that he compares well.