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Message: <blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 352170" data-attributes="member: 1210">We Don't Like Adventurers Here!Ah, civilization!  There’s nothing like a warm bed, a bath, a meal that’s been cooked, some wine or ale (or both) and a few wenches to take the edge off of months of wandering the wild parts of the world, a diet of fish, fish and more fish, and the death of old friends.  At least that’s the predominant feeling of the party as they approach the city the giant dropped them off near, though Turk loves fish and can never get enough of it.  Sadly, however, as they top a rolling hill and the “city” comes into view- well, it ain’t exactly a metropolis.  It’s more like... well... a town.  A mid-sized town.  From their vantage, the party can see that at least there’s a harbor; maybe they can book passage and get home.Speaking of which, where exactly are they?  Nobody knows.  Wherever it is, though, they’re confident that they can at least get that bath, bed, and booze.  Probably the wenches, too.  And to wash the stink of blood, mud and ooze out of their clothes.  And... and... just a break from it all.Yes, adventuring is fun, rewarding work- the party members are all rich compared to the average peasant- but it’s also stinky, dirty and violent.  Which suits some people quite well.  So our heroes descend the little rolling hill towards the town, passing by several outlying farmhouses on the way, none of which have what could be considered exactly thriving crops.  The soil looks poor to Droidi, and as a druid he should know.  A river seems to run along the far side of the town, spilling into the sea.  The buildings are mostly sod, with a few wooden ones; there don’t appear to be many trees here, either.  As the group gets closer to the edge of town they note a simple wall that looks to be about 6’ high; not exactly great military defense, rather more of a border marker.  There’s a gate, manned by a couple of commoner-looking types.  Droidi’s wearing the orc ring to disguise his strange, reptilian features and two heads and Spukoni has disguised himself with a spell of alteration.  As they approach the two tired-looking gatemen greet them, looking the group over suspiciously.  “What’s your business in Poppin?” the first asks.  He’s an older human graybeard.“We’re adventurers,” Krunkshank announces.  “We want to charter a ship.”The gatemen exchange a glance.  The graybeard almost snarls at them as he leans towards them.  “You be on good behavior here!  We don’t want no trouble with adventurers.  You cause any trouble and we’ll kick you right out of here!”  “Oh, we’re not here to cause trouble,” Captain Clambake says.  “Arr, in fact, we just want to spend some of our gold here.  Arrr!”The gatekeepers watch them suspiciously as they tromp into Poppin, wondering what that was all about.  The town seems rather diverse, showing lots of mixed human-elf and human-orc blood; but almost everywhere they look, our heroes find themselves meeting cold stares, disapproving glances, and hostile faces.  A little confused, the group decides to first find a bar or inn, so they start asking the locals for a recommendation.  The first person they stop is a human woman who looks at them nervously.  “Yer not gonna hurt me, are ya, lads?” she whines, backing away.  They let her go, scratching their heads in befuddlement.  Vito, meanwhile, has been looking on the sides of some of the buildings, where there are some sort of posters.  “My friends,” he says, “look at this.”  The group clusters around and reads the posters.  They appear to be asking for votes for someone named Tangus the Brilliant in some sort of “election”.  This “election” thing seems to be due in twelve days.  A small discussion ensues with the whole party wondering about this.  What exactly is an election, anyway?  They corral another of the locals, this one a burly-looking half-orc male.“Get outta here, adventurers!” he snaps at them.  “We don’t like your kind!”  And he stomps off.Puzzled, Vito finally manages to get the lowdown by turning on the charm and describing himself as a simple businessman.  It seems the group is on the island of Dorla, infamous for experimenting with unworkable forms of governance; this election thing is to determine who will be the new Governor of Poppin.  What’s more, Vito manages to find out why nobody seems to like adventurers.  Finally, he also gets directions to a place called the Drinking Dwarves, where they can get at least a beer or twenty. “My friends,” he reports, “I think we should keep a low profile here.  This town’s last Governor was killed by adventurers.”The group groans collectively.  They all have a momentary vision of high prices, hostile shopkeepers... and a short stay.  “Well,” suggests Captain Clambake, “why don’t we just go to the harbor and charter a ship?  Arr!  Or buy one!  We could sail it ourselves- just like the Wraith!”“We don’t know how to sail,” Bolfol reminds him.“Oh, arr, but I do.  Just follow me lead!  Arr!”“I think we should have a night’s sleep in a bed first,” Vito says, “as well as a bath.  And perhaps we can do something in this town to clear our names, and the names of all adventurers like us.”“Screw that!” says Krunkshank.  “Let’s go get drunk!”So the party heads towards the Drinking Dwarves, catching dirty looks all the way.  As they do, Turk hems and haws, and finally he announces, “Well, I think I’ll be on my way, then.  I’m not really an adventurer, I’m a fisherman.  I’m going to go check out the fishing here.”  Spukoni, too, takes his leave, vaguely saying something about finding something fun to do and wandering away.  The rest of the group stops periodically along the way to read some of the election posters, trying to get a feel for the town politics.  They see more flyers supporting Tangus the Brilliant, several of which emphasize his status as a local priest.  Others are in support for a fellow named Ooluts, and these ones indicate that he’s throwing a huge open feast and party in a few days.  Vito finds another of Tangus’ posters- and this one has a diatribe against adventurers on it.Next Update Soon, when our heroes reach the Drinking Dwarves, meet one of the other candidates (who has a total of +22 to his perform (satire) check!), hear him play the spoons, and find out why they can't simply charter a ship out of the harbor!</blockquote>

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