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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Knightfall" data-source="post: 8706872" data-attributes="member: 2012">One of the noblemen sits next to Lord Jadon and the young man seems intimidated by him, so he quits fidgeting. Jadon obviously knows him and the man bows respectfully to Lady Talitha and waits for her to be seated as Akos does. Next to him sit the half-elven woman and her lord. Across from them, Lady Heather and her father sit together next to Lord Nathaniel. Lady Heather sits closest to the young nobleman and she flirts with him, casually. Her father is more serious and he looks like he is ready to spring to life at a moments notice. The mysterious dwarf sits next to him.[Spoiler="For Neurotic Only"]I'm assuming that Akos takes one of the seats closest to Lady Talitha since he will be the main speaker for the party.<a href="http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=265734" target="_blank">Akos - Knowledge (nobility and royalty) check:</a><a href="http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=265734" target="_blank">1D20+8 = [15]+8 = 23</a>- The result is 25 for Lady Heather and her father.Akos isn't familiar with most of the guests. He is certain, however, that the androgynous dwarf noble is from the city of Orra. He can tell by their attire. The nobleman and his half-elf lady are a complete mystery to him. The other human man is obviously a noble from somewhere to the north but the Loremaster doesn't know from exactly where.He is aware of Lady Heather Devereux and her father, however. They are from the Thalassocracy of Coeurdî, which controls half of the Isole di Rysenet. (The other half is controlled by the Kingdom of Almadon.) Lady Heather is the fiancée of the Prince of Coeurdî, Octave Deniaud! Her father, a hard man named Lord Vespasien Devereux, is likely her official escort and protector while she is visiting Bluffside. He is the Lord Marshal of the Gardes Rouges and his rank is second only to the High Commander of that Royal Guard.For her to be in Bluffside without a huge entourage is very odd. Of course, Coeurdîan nobles are known for being eccentric and sometimes outlandish.[/Spoiler][OOC]<a href="http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=265737" target="_blank">Breva - Knowledge (nobility and royalty) check:</a><a href="http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=265737" target="_blank">1D20+2 = [15]+2 = 17</a>[USER=11520]@Scotley[/USER], roll isn't high enough for Breva to know who the nobles are or where they come from.- I'm putting Breva right next to the man named Lord Toren. (See below for my intro to Lord Toren.)<a href="http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=265738" target="_blank">Big Tim - Knowledge (nobility and royalty) check:</a><a href="http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=265738" target="_blank">1D20+3 = [20]+3 = 23</a>[USER=6790669]@Tellerian Hawke[/USER]:Okay, so the natural 20 becomes a 30, so the total for Tim is 33; 35 for Lady Heather and her father. You can read the spoiler I added for Neurotic, and I'm going to post more details about the various nobles in the OOC thread. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />[/OOC]Tuck watches as Akos manages to capture all eyes in the room. The Loremaster is in fine form. Yet, one set of eyes can't help but notice the kobold urban ranger. The half-elven woman watches him keenly but without any signs of malice. She whispers to her lord and he glances towards Tuck for a moment and nods. Then, he goes back to listening to Akos.The woman continues to keep one eye on Tuck and even gives him a wry smile.Lady Talitha listens to Akos intently. She glances towards Lord Nathaniel with both disapproval and genuine affection. When the Loremaster begins speaking of Phelix Del Cannitha, she becomes engrossed in what Akos is saying. She is visible shocked when Akos mentions 'demons and otherwordly beings' and gives her son a chastising look.He looks at her wide-eyed and shakes his head silently as if to say, 'I didn't know'."Your words trouble me greatly," she says. She looks to the nobleman and his half-elf paramour. "Lord Toren, my friend, Saltmarsh is closer to Khasan. Have your people had any problems with the Brelish? Have you heard of this Renegades family?"He nods. "Indeed, I have heard of the Del Cannithas of Khasan. But I'd never heard of this Phelix person until we arrived in Bluffside a week ago. It seems your people are in a dire situation. I wish I could promise you help from Saltmarsh, but we must answer to our peers in Orra." He glances towards the dwarf. "What say you, Suzerain Kayden?"The dwarf looks at the nobleman and then at Akos. "Let us wait to see what else this man has to say. I will think upon it," they say in a lilting voice.OOC: It would be a Spot check in the current situation. A Search check would require Tuck to actively move through the room.While Akos keeps the nobles enthralled, Tuck studies the room as best as he can from the far side of the table. He doesn't see any obvious signs of a peep hole, although there are four very large painted portraits hanging on the walls. two on one side of the room and two on the other. He knows one of them could easily have peep holes built into the eyes. The portraits are hanging at just the right height for human observers, but if there are peep holes built into a portrait's eyes, he doesn't notice them.He does note that two other nobles also have discreetly hidden weapons. One of the human men has a dagger sheath built into his boot while the woman known as Lady Heather has a pair of long, steel hairpins holding her hair in place. They are longer than any normal hairpin and are obviously designed as a defensive weapon.If the others also have weapons, Tuck cannot see them. He senses that the half-elven woman would never go into any situation unarmed. She has the look of a sleek cat who could pounce on anyone who threatens her lord."It seems this renegade of yours is quite the villain," the intimidating man, next to Lord Jadon, says. He looks at Akos with a hint of respect but there is also caution in his gaze. "You may be right about too much excess but the noble caste is important both here and in my homeland." He looks at Lady Talitha as if she were his beloved sister. "Milady would never throw away her life or the lives of her children.""Loremaster Akos, may I introduce Lord Cristoval Dey de Caulon of Tarminan," Lady Talitha says. "He is a dear old friend to both me and my husband."The man nods to Akos.Lady Talitha seems annoyed to be chastised in her own house, but she doesn't overreact. Instead, she looks to Lord Cristoval, hoping he will react for her.He shakes his head and glares at Lord Nathaniel. "Loremaster Akos is right, milady. You must punish him this time. Such behavior cannot be tolerated. If he was my son, I'd send him to Edanfort so that he can learn discipline fighting against Rezothix Clans. A few years of that will toughen him up and teach him to respect the laws of the land."Lady Talitha listens solemnly to her old friend, but just as she looks like she might begin to cry, she bursts out laughing and pats her son's hand. "It's a good thing he's not your father." She says to her son. She shakes her head and points at Lord Cristoval. "I will not throw his life away or punish him beyond what is reasonable." She looks back to Akos. "I know you are having a tough time dealing with this renegade, but I will not destroy my son's future as the next Lord Aceron just because he took a few bribes from the wrong people."Silence fills the room for several minutes."I am Suzerain Kayden Greatmane of Orra," the dwarf sitting next to Akos finally says. "I think we can all agree that this Del Cannitha person is bad for business and for the people we rely on for our continued wealth. Trade withers under the constant threat from this renegade. He must be brought down for the good of all." They look towards Lady Talitha. "While it is not my place to suggest a suitable punishment for your son, I do think you should do more than slap him on the wrist. Perhaps a few months of forced sobriety at Rockgrave Keep. The monks will toughen him up, but he won't face any real danger under their watchful eyes.""Gods! I'd rather fight with the mountain rangers!" Nathaniel says, aghast.The nobles all laugh, except Lady Talitha. She doesn't like the direction of the conversation. She clears her throat and the room grows quiet again. Only Lady Heather has trouble controlling her mirth but a quick look from her father makes her look down at her lap."I have already admitted to you that it was a mistake to get in with Phelix and his allies. No amount of money was worth the risk to my life. I see that now. But, I'm not the first guard to take the occasional bribe. I just took it from the wrong person.""If this was Saltmarsh, your actions could have you swinging from the gallows, Lord Nathaniel. Be grateful that these heroes took pity on you and that your mother has enough wealth to pay back the The Five for your crimes." Lord Aerkin looks to Akos and then Sir Breva next to him. "That is likely what the Acerons will have to face as a family. Much of their coffers will be forfeit to The Five, and he will lose his place among the Bluffside Regulars.""You should have him exiled to a remote island and force him to survive on his own," Lord Heather's father finally speaks up."Father!" Lady Heather snaps. "You should not say such a thing. He is just a young man who went astray. I'm sure Lady Talitha will admonish him appropriately.""What I need is assurances that my son won't hang!" Lady Talitha says abruptly and loudly. She sighs. "You have brought him to me, and I thank you for that kindness, and I know he will face some sort of discipline from my husband. I will have to discuss it with him and hope he sees reason.""Mother..." Nathaniel finally seems worried."I will discuss it with your father!" she snaps. "Now tell them what you told me about the corruption in the ranks."Nathaniel sighs and sits back in his chair. He looks towards the Exemplars and goes into a long litany of the corruptions among the guards of Bluffside. He accuses the Regulars of being completely corrupt and almost all of them being in Phelix's pocket or taking bribes from his agents or from others outside of Bluffside. The way he makes it sound is that you cannot trust any of the Regulars."There are many of them that have sworn their allegiance to the Rising Swords," he says. "Others follow the orders of ostracized commanders who gained too much power in Bluffside.""Erwan Patenaude?" Custodio asks."I don't know that name, but anything is possible."The young guards details the corruption among the Elites next. He is less specific about them but he notes that it isn't the rank and file who are corrupt but the those above them. "This is all specific to Old City, of course. I've never been stationed in New City or the Temple District.""What about the Sectarians?" Vinny asks."I admit that I don't know anything about them, but power corrupts and your order has a lot of power in the Wizard District."Falen considers asking again about The Dusk, but he is unsure of the motives of the nobles at the table, so he stays silent. There is something familiar about the half-elven woman but it is only a feeling."Surely you're not accusing all of the Elite captains and commanders of being corrupt," Custodio replies. "I can't believe that for one moment.""Old Oakfirst, no," Nathaniel replies. "He so honest, it's painful to watch. But there are others like Angelina Merkatz, Christean Launceleyn, and Gregor Leventhorpe. And you already known about Lowenan Wearne."[OOC]Christean Launceleyn is the Elite Captain of Riftwatch who ordered for the Iron Gate to be opened without permission. None of the PCs have met the Elite Captains known as Angelina Merkatz or Gregor Leventhorpe, but Knowledge (local) could be useful.I'm taking a break. I'll write up the details for Big Tim's Nat20 Knowledge skill check result later today. Much later.<img class="smilie smilie--emoji" alt="🥱" src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f971.png" title="Yawning face    :yawning_face:" data-shortname=":yawning_face:" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f634.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":sleep:" title="Sleep    :sleep:"  data-smilie="20"data-shortname=":sleep:" />[/OOC]</blockquote>

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