NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="spyscribe" data-source="post: 1968897" data-attributes="member: 5808">Part the Ninety-FirstIn which: Eva chats up sailors in a bar.The party's ship arrives at Descentport.  The harbor is on the small side, but packed with a forest of masts bearing the colors of settlements from all over the Halmae.The town itself is the most elaborate shantytown they have ever laid eyes on.  Apparently, a small settlement grew up at the mouth of the river, and as it became a great port for ship-to-ship transfers the buildings were shored-up to make it through the winter.  Most of the buildings look solid enough, but it's clear that the settlement was thrown together rather than planned. The party bids Lord Hiru goodbye and are taken ashore with their gear and horses in a smaller boat.  All of the sailors on their ship heave a sigh of relief to see the bear lumbering onto someone else's craft.At the mouth of the river, the party comes ashore and finds a huge barge, crewed—curiously enough—entirely by dwarves.  Lira, Reyu and Anvil go aboard and the captain, Gripp Ironroot, quickly agrees to have them as passengers for the journey up the river to the Lake of Exalted Heights.He is even willing to make arrangements for Paws, the bear, provided he travels for the price of a person, not a horse, which the party happily agrees to pay.Business concluded, Gripp rubs his hands together happily, "The ship leaves at dawn, so we'll expect you before first light tomorrow.  Yes, this is going to be a good trip.""Why particularly good this time?" Lira wants to know.The dwarf shrugs elaborately.  "Plenty of cargo, plenty of passengers.  What's not to be pleased about?""Are there passengers besides us?" Reyu asks.Despite his professed happiness, Gripp seems less and less inclined to talk.  "Some.""I hope they will not be troubled by the bear," Reyu ventures.Gripp stokes his beard, suddenly thoughtful.  "Me too."  With that, he quickly makes his excuses and hurries on his way.Back with the others, everyone is glad arrangements have been so easily made, but somewhat curious as to who their new traveling companions will be.  Eva decides to use the evening they have before departure to see if she can gather more information.###The dockside tavern Eva and Thatch locate is truly the most minimal establishment which could be fairly called by that name.  It consists of a large room with a bar in it and several tables, populated with large burly men, and the occasional large burly woman.Eva surveys the room and finds a likely looking table of men playing cards.  She watches for a few hands, then throws a few coins on the table and asks to be dealt in.Being neither particularly large nor burly, Eva gets more than a few odd looks.  So does the wakazashi.  Still, her gold is good and they give her a spot.Eva plays with enough concentration to keep from fleecing the men she's playing with, but doesn't let them rob her blind either.  After a few hands, she begins making discrete inquiries.She learns that the town is mainly filled by dockworkers and professional sailors, but they do get the odd traveler through now and again."Anyone interesting around these days?" she asks, taking a miniscule sip of the ale that has been sitting by her right hand all evening.An uneasy silence falls on the table.  Eva looks around and flashes a self-deprecating smile.  "Aside from me and my friends of course."The suddenly quiet man to Eva's left asks, "Why'd you want to know?"Eva lays out her cards, realizing too late she has the strongest hand at the table by a long shot.  "No reason.  I'm new to these parts.  Just want to know who's around."The man clears his throat and folding, cashes out of the game.  Muttering something about early departures and angry captains, the others quickly follow suit.  Eva departs the suddenly empty table and goes to collect Thatch, who has been steadily loosing at arm-wrestling all night.His fist hits the table as Eva appears at his elbow.  "I think it's time we left.  Now."Given their prior experiences with encounters in taverns, Thatch in not inclined to linger.  He pays the winner and the two quickly make their departure.As they make their way back to the group's base for the night, Thatch turns to Eva.  "What did you find out?" he asks.Eva shakes her head and discretely checks to be sure they are not being followed.  "Not a lot.  But there's someone around here that no one wants to talk about."It isn't long before the party finds out whom.  As they board the dwarven barge the next morning in the gray of the pre-dawn, they find five fellow travelers gathered in a circle on deck.Three are obviously guards carrying both wakazashis and katanas.  The fourth wears a wakazashi, but does not carry himself as though it is his chief weapon.  All of them stand flanking a woman, who turns and stares at the party as they board.  As the party draws closer, they notice she wears well-crafted armor that has been equally well decorated and carries both a wakazashi and katana.  The woman stares at the party as though she is looking not only at them, but through them. Around her neck is a large holy symbol that looks like a variant of Anvil's.  The whole effect is of a Justicar, only slightly more stiff.She can only be an Inquisitor.</blockquote>

Verification