[4E] Adventures in Fallcrest - IC

[Haberdashery]

At this new proposal, The Shepherd responds in record time. Record time for him however is a thirty second delay.

"I can follow her too, if you would not mind my presence. For some reason I am often confused for being a rock, and so go unnoticed..."

This obviously troubles the goliath, but he waves his hand, dismissing it.

[Nai_Calus]

Eltain looks mildly worried at having the two most naive members of the party go off by themselves and chastises himself mentally for his reluctance to put himself in danger, though he consoles himself with the point that he really isn't the best person for the task.

"Well, if you think you can handle it. Perhaps I should follow at a distance in case something happens..."

[Hzurr]

DM Post

[OOC:]
In order to follow the girl, give me 4 checks. Perception, Streetwise, and two Stealth Checks. [/OOC]

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard/MC ranger

Lucan sets off after the girl, trying to remain inconspicuous. He finds it relatively easy to keep an eye on her in the crowd, which, despite its strangeness, seems pretty predictable. Keeping hidden is easy at first, but he fears he might have exposed himself at one point, when he bumped into a merchants stall and sent several apples rolling.

Spoiler

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Perception - (1d20+10)[26]
Streetwise - (1d20+6)[21]
Stealth - (1d20+7)[26]
Stealth - (1d20+7)[14]

[Haberdashery]

The Shepherd moves with a grace and fluidity that belies his impressive stature. He blends effortlessly into the gray stone of the city, the dark markings of his skin mirroring the cracks and markings in the walls. There is but one tense moment, where the girl looks back as the crowd breaks suddenly around Shep, giving him no time to hide. The sight of a very large unassuming rock meets her eyes.

Spoiler

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Perception - (1d20+8)[25]
Streetwise - (1d20)[17]
Stealth - (1d20+9)[21]
Stealth - (1d20+9)[25]

[Nai_Calus]

Eltain silently shoots Aramil a questioning glance as the others leave.

[Hzurr]

DM Post

The girl makes her way through the town, taking the path that winds its way down the ravine in the middle of town, rather than taking the bridge over. Shep and Lucan manage to follow her without too much difficulty, but Lucan's bump into the apple cart turns out to be his undoing. The tumbling of the apples makes the girl pause and turn back.

She sees Lucan, and recognition flashes into her eyes. She quickly walks over, and begins helping him pick up the upset apples. "You were at the bar earlier, weren't you? With that strange man who warned me about goats?" she asks Lucan, apparently oblivious to the Shep's large figure only 15 feet away.

As far as you can tell, she hasn't quite figured out the implications of your presence here.

-----------
Pavrick, you notice a strange procession exiting the taphouse. The Halfling leaves in a huff, and heads north very quickly. Soon after you see the serving girl leave, followed a minute later by Shep and Lucan; all headed East but aside from that, no one else comes in, or out of the bar.

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard/MC ranger

Lucan's not brilliant, but he's wise enough to tell that defending Shepherd might not help him here, so he laughs easily. "Yes, Shepherd is a very interesting fellow, isn't he?"

"My name is Lucan," he continues. "What's yours?"

Spoiler

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Diplomacy - (1d20+12)[30]

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick quickly ducks behind a small bush when he sees the halfling leave. He considers following, but decides he's already got a good lead to the situation and it would be stupid to risk that to follow up on something less likely to pan out anyway.

When the woman leaves, Pavick attempts to look inconspicuous. He watches the other two follow her, but still does not approach. The way they seemed to be trying to follow her, it would probably not help matters if he were to try to talk to them.

He decides to wait where he is until the rest of the group exits.

[Hzurr]

DM Post

The waitress gives the half-elf a warm smile. "My name is Shara," she says, extending a hand. Once the apples are picked up, she looks at him curiously. "Wow, you must have left right after I did. Was there a problem with the bar?" She looks down at the apples. Or were you just in a hurry to get somewhere?"

Insight DC 14

Spoiler

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she's obviously very interested in this smooth talking half elf. For the moment she's more curious about you than she is about why you're there

[Haberdashery]

The Shepherd does his best to remain perfectly still despite oddly feeling as though his feelings have just been hurt...

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan -- Half-elf bard/MC ranger

Lucan tries to read her mood, but misses completely. Is she suspicious? How can he tell?

"No problem," Lucan says. "I just don't like being cooped up for too long. I'm a hunter." He pays for the best looking apple. "Of course, visiting the city has its own rewards. Wild apples are rarely as good as what they grow in the orchards around here. Are you here to shop too?"

Spoiler

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Insight - (1d20+6)[8]

[Hzurr]

DM Post

"Shopping? No, I'm just delivering a message." She makes a grimace, and looks back over her shoulder at the road heading east. "I actually need to hurry, but you should come by the bar more often. I usually only see dockworkers, never something exciting like a hunter." she blushes slightly at the last bit, gives a quick smile, and then awkwardly turns to go. She pauses, briefly, every so often as she walks away, and gives a slight wave.

OOC: If you want to continue following her, make another stealth check, however, it will be more difficult now that she's glancing back more often. Shepherd, take a -1, Lucan take a -4 to any more stealth checks to follow her (the hazards of having an 18 Charisma....)

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf Bard/MC Ranger

Lucan waves back as he "returns" to his shopping. "You better go without me," he whispers to the goliath.

[Mando Knight]

Aramil discretely holds a finger up for a moment, then after a bit he whispers "Alright. They should have a good enough head start now. Let's see what they got themselves into."

[Haberdashery]

The big rock otherwise known as The Shepherd nods. This is very strange since rocks do not usually have the capacity to nod. Baffling...

Spoiler

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Stealth - (1d20+8)[18]

Again Shep takes to blending into the shadows of the streets, the gray of his skin meshing with the gray of the cobblestones.

[Nai_Calus]

Eltain nods quietly and follows Aramil as they leave.

"I wonder what Pavrick is up to," he muses quietly once they're outside. "Also, I apologize if I seem hesitant and cowardly in this matter, but... Well, there's a reason I no longer dwell among my kin in the Feywild. I am... Not exactly good at this sort of sneaking around."

Spoiler

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I assume we're meant to make the same sort of checks for when we're following them.

Perception: (1d20+3)[10]
Streetwise: (1d20+5)[19]
Stealth: (1d20+3)[15]
Stealth: (1d20+3)[9]
(Not taking the armor penalty from the armor I'm not wearing. :P)
Edit: Not that it HELPS... Sigh. Eltain is apparently out to lunch and klutzy.

[Mando Knight]

Knowing that his armored companion would have difficulty keeping his armor quiet and not being particularly sneaky himself, Aramil simply walks casually.

[Hzurr]

DM post

Shep, you continue to follow the girl throughout the market, and at first it appears as though she's headed out of town. Just before she arrives at the city gates, she turns down a small alley to the South. As you glance down the alley, you see her about a block down, knocking on the door to a small, unremarkable house. You can see a small slit in the door open up, allowing the person (or persons) inside to peer out. Shara and begins speaking in a low voice

[OOC: You can try and make a perception check from here to listen to what's going on, or you can make another stealth check to move closer. The closer you make it, the lower the perception DC /OOC]


As Eltain and Aramil walk out of the taphouse, they soon spy Pavrick waiting for them in a small side-street. A few minutes later, Lucan rejoins them.

[Haberdashery]

Flash decisions were never Shepherd's strong suit. It makes him tense up a little at the thought. Knowing better than to simply try his hearing and potentially miss the entire conversation, he slips closer into the alley way, sidling along a single wall so not as to block the light filtering down the narrow space between the buildings.

Spoiler

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Stealth - (1d20+9)[27]
Perception - (1d20+8)[23]

The shadows welcome his thick frame into their gentle embrace, and he slips from sight. A slight bulge in an uneven alley. He pricks up his ears to catch what he can of the conversation.

[Nai_Calus]

Eltain casually slips next to Pavrick. He raises an eyebrow at Lucan's early return.

"Well, did you find out anything?" he asks of both of them.

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard/MC ranger

"Well, um, I'm afraid she spotted me," Lucan says. "I had to make up some excuse, but I think Shep was able to follow her the rest of the way."

[Hzurr]

DM Post

Sticking to the shadows, Shep slides himself into a position to hear everything without being seen. Shara speaking quietly to someone on the other side of the door.

"I don't know who it is, all I know is that Kelson said that a gnome is going to be helping out tonight, a wizard or something like that."
"Did he check him out first? What if this wizard is a spy? Tell Kelson to stop being a damn fool, and to quit hiring people before he knows anything about them. He'll screw up everything."
"So what will you do about the gnome? He's going to show up tonight, he'll have the glove so you can recognize him."
"Not sure yet. He might be useful, but we'll be ready in case Kelson bungled. Anything else?"
"Yeah, Kelson said to keep an eye on those idiots Patsy and Lambert. They were arguing in front of customers, and even dropped Stephen's name. Lambert keeps insisting that he's out."
"I'll take care of them. Tell Kelson to throw them out if they show back up at the bar. 'S that all?"
"Yeah, that's all."

The viewing hole in the door snaps shut, and Shara gives a sigh, muttering something about "fool men with brains no better than an ogre" as she passes Shep. She walks within arm's reach of the Goliath, but doesn't appear to take note of him.

[Haberdashery]

If there's one thing living high in the mountains teaches you, it's how to hold your breath. He makes not a sound as Shara passes him, and exits the alleyway. He slowly exhales when she is out of earshot.

As any good shepherd knows, keeping your head down until the disobedient sheep can no longer see you is ideal. The Shepherd waits a few moments in his hiding space before he slides down the edge of the alleyway to its corner, and peers after Shara. He makes doubly sure she's not looking behind her and is a good distance away before slipping out from the alley and seeks safety back in the moving crowd. He keeps an eye on the waitress as he returns to his fellows.

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick pulls the glove from his pocket. He is beaming from ear to ear. "I've got a job for the night. A couple hours past sunset I'm to meet up with some folks at the Upper Quays tonight, 4th dock. This is the signal to let them know I'm one of 'em." He waves the glove for a moment, before tucking it back away.

"I'm sure I'll have more for you by the end of tonight. Yep, I told you to leave it up to good old Pavick and I really pulled through." He seems entirely too pleased with himself.

[Hzurr]

DM Post

Shara's path is fairly direct back to the Lucky Gnome, and Shep has no trouble following her. She seems deep in thought, and fortunately doesn't glance down the side street the rest of the party is gathered in. She pauses before she enters, wipes her hand on the apron, and steps in.


It's now mid to late afternoon, and the party is back together on the lower west side of the town outside of the taphouse, roughly 100 ft. from the river. The sun will start setting in about 3 hours. The streets are still relatively empty, although traffic is picking up slightly.

[Haberdashery]

As quietly and nimbly as a rock, the Shepherd ducks down the side street his fellows are down, and quickly checks over his shoulder. He pulls down his hood, and scratches his hairless head before smoothing out his tangled beard. With a wave of his lithoderm-studded hand, he strides over to the group.

"Mr. Lucky Gnome," he whispers to Pavick as he gets close, "I bring you news. You are not as lucky as your moniker would lead you to believe."

With a troubled expression, he begins to stroke the sides of his jaw. He takes moment's pause and then launches into a word-for-word recount of what he saw and heard. For someone as seemingly thick as The Shepherd is, his memory is oddly impressive. He skips not a single detail.

[Mando Knight]

As quietly and nimbly as a rock,

If a rock falls down a mountain and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

"Actually, my rocky friend, this situation is almost precisely what we were hoping for. While their suspicion is unfortunate, they're still going to see what Pavick's got. While they're doing that, we can set a counter-ambush to isolate and capture some of the ruffians."

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick waves away the goliath's concerns. "Nah, I'm still lucky. Wouldn't have got the job otherwise. Course they're gonna be suspicious. People who have something to hide are always suspicious. I've still got enough tricks up my sleeve that I think I'll be fine. Still wouldn't be a bad idea to have backup ready tonight, just in case. Maybe some of you could find a place to hide nearby."

He begins pacing back and forth. "It might also be a good idea to see if we can track down this Patsy guy. If he is so insistant that he is 'out', he might be willing to share what he is 'out' of. Could take some convincing, but it seems like a possible alley for further exploration."

[Haberdashery]

If a rock falls down a mountain and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

Well played fellow rock philosopher, well played.

The attributes of lucky gnomes and what happens to make them lucky are lost on Shep. He resigns to the fact that this gnome must be so lucky it defies his manner of logic. Truly, this is a pinnacle of luckiness.

"I will trust you, then." The Shepherd nods his head pleasantly.