[4E] Adventures in Fallcrest - IC

[Nai_Calus]

"Having at least some of us hiding somewhere just in case might be a good idea, yes. And perhaps talking to that other guy would be good as well... Probably not someone who's had any real contact with them so far, though, lest it look too suspicious," Eltain muses. "Which leaves the question of who, and how we track him down. And also what a good place to hide would be."

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard/MC ranger

Lucan says, "That's a good idea. Perhaps I can ask around, see what I can discover about this halfling. Maybe I can find out what a whole ling is."

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I have a decent, but not spectacular, streetwise, of +6. Does anyone have better. I so need to take Bard of All Trades.

[Nai_Calus]

"Er, Lucan, I don't think halflings are half of anything, I do believe it's simply a term that refers to them being generally about half the height of a human," Eltain says, scratching his head in mild confusion.

"That may be a good idea, though I wonder if perhaps you aren't a little too known by now..."

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard/MC ranger

"But if that were the case, then surely they wouldn't call themselves halflings, would they? It's like calling yourself shorty or midget or... or dwarf!" Lucan protests. "Hey, wait a second..." He trails off, lost in thought.

Then he recalls that Eltain said something else. "Oh, what were you saying about asking questions? Too well known? What do you mean? The only one who knows who I am is Shara, and I won't ask her. I suppose I could dress differently, or something."

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OOC: Lucan has a +6 to bluff as well.

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

"I would offer to ask around too, but I want to try to keep a low profile at least until tonight. Asking too many questions could blow my opportunity to get information for tonight. Maybe I'll go down by the docks and try to scout out a location for a bit of backup to hide tonight. Anybody want to come along?" he asks with a shrug of his shoulders.

[Nai_Calus]

"I suppose I could try, though I'm not that up on the ways of the city..." Eltain muses. "True, you have only been seen by Shara, but I just worry that word will get back around that you've been asking. Well, we should be fine, either way."

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Eltain just has Diplomacy and Intimidate trained, and +5 in streetwise and bluff.

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard/MC ranger

Lucan, carefully avoiding the bar where he's known, asks around a bit to see if he can find the halfling who wanted out.

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Streetwise - (1d20+6)[23]

[Hzurr]

DM Post

As Lucan journeys from bar to bar, he is met with nothing but blank stares and shrugs of shoulders. Eventually, you arrive at the Blue Moon inn, and have slightly better luck. The owner, an older man named Par Winomer, pauses when you ask him about the house. "Oh, Lambert? Yeah, he was in here earlier. In a foul mood too. Drank a pint as fast as anyone I've seen. " He pauses and scratches his head. "He left heading back Northwest, I think he lives over there, just on the other side of the bridge."

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard/MC ranger

Lucan heads toward the mentioned house, but moves carefully, not wanting to give himself away too soon. He's none too successful in his efforts.

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Stealth - (1d20+7)[9]

OOC: Are the others with me?

[Hzurr]

DM Post

OOC: Are the others with me?

OOC: Did anyone choose to come with Lucan?

[Nai_Calus]

OOC: I'll probably regret this, but yes, Eltain wouldn't have let Lucan go alone.

[Haberdashery]

OOC: I think Shep would have followed his stealthing buddy, so he'll have gone too.

[Hzurr]

DM Post

Lucan, Shep, and Eltain manage to find the house without too much difficulty. The house, while small for a human, is slightly too large for a Halfling. You guess that at one point or another it was designed for dwarves. The house seems be right on the edge of disrepair, where a little more work or a little more neglect could push it over the edge. From inside the house, you hear what sounds like a very drunk Halfling half-singing/half-talking to himself (or possibly someone else).

As you move up to the door, a small crate of apples catches Lucan's foot, spilling open noisily. From inside the house you hear the singing stop, and a slurred voice call out "Whooo's ther?! Whad'ya want?"

A window next to the door opens up, and the Halfling pokes his head out and eyes the three of you suspiciously. "You tryin' ta take my apples?" He ends the sentence with a slight burp.

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard/MC ranger

"Of course not, good sir," Lucan says smoothly. "Although it's hard not to admire such fine apples. Do you grow them yourself?"

Lucan speaks lyrically, his words containing just a hint of song.

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Use Words of Friendship.

(1d20+17)[26]

[Hzurr]

DM Post

The Halfling squints at the half-elf, lets out a very dignified hiccup, then moves around to open the front door.

He saunters out, and looks at the apples on the ground. "Well...nah, didn't grow'm; but I know how to choose'm. These humans, y'see; they wouldn' know a good apple even iffit was blessed by Pelor hisself..." He picks one up, and takes a bite, smacking his lips with obvious pleasure "The trick issin how it feels when ya squeeze it..." He begins launching into an overly detailed description of the feel of an apple, full of some very...inappropriate comparisons.

Eventually he stops talking about things that are squeezable, and tilts his head back, looking up at the odd group. "Er...what brings ya out here, anyway?"

[Haberdashery]

The Shepherd nods his head at the halfling's comment.

"This is very true. I have encountered many a human who cannot tell a proper milking goat from a cheese goat. In fact, they cannot tell the difference between a goat that will produce sweet milk, and sour milk, either."

The Shepherd winces, a pained look in his eyes as if the topic of misunderstanding which goat does what hurts his very head. And yet, he seems rather blissfully unaware of the halfling's crude remarks, they wash entirely over his head. Breasts are not so different from udders, certainly; he must be thinking of a different kind of milk. Odd that he would want it from humanoid, and Shep does wonder how that exactly would taste. Probably rather awfully, but Shep has not met many halflings. Perhaps it is a cultural delicacy.

"Humans have poor deducing skills, I am coming to discover."

[Hzurr]

DM Post

Pavrick is able to stroll about the docks area with relative ease. Without too much difficulty, he makes his way to the 4th dock (the furthest from the waterfalls), and is quickly able to see why this one was chosen.

Map:

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(North is Left)

The dock is relatively small, but still large enough to support many different types of vessels. The near-by lighthouse only has windows looking to the north, so any business conducted at the dock is sheltered from the prying eyes of the watchmen. The only other building overlooking the dock is the customs house, which is practically abandoned at sunset. The streets aren't busy, but are easily wide enough for carts to be brought down right to the river front. There are a number of buildings and alleyways to the East of the river, any of which could be used to hide potential ambushers. The only structure that seems out of place is a small shrine to Bahamut with a blue dome to the northeast.

The key advantage of this dock, however, is that the bend in the river just to the south allows loading and unloading of goods out-of-eyesight of the other loading docks and the rest of the village.


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The halfling gives Shep a pat on the knee. "You said it, big guy."

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard/MC ranger

"So if you don't grow apples, what do you do?" Lucan asks.

[Hzurr]

DM Post

The Halfling puffs out his chest a little bit and says with an air of cockiness "I work for..." his voice trails off, and his head drops down a little bit, then mumbles "I'm lookin' for work." He raises this bottle in hand "This here is my 'I quit' brandy." He pauses, thinking deeply for a second, then takes another swig of the bottle. "An' it was a long time comin'."

He looks at the group in front of him. "So what'r you fella's up to?"

[Nai_Calus]

"We're between jobs as well. Man, the last one I had, my boss was a complete slavedriver. Just ridiculous, really, the stuff he expected me to put up with! I was so glad to be able to quit, 'cept I already drank my 'I quit' booze. Man, sounds like you've had it rough, tell me about it, get it off your chest and you'll feel better," Eltain says, putting a hand on the halfling's shoulder.

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Diplomacy: (1d20+12)[15]

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard/MC ranger

Lucan eyes the halfling carefully, trying to tell what the proper way to approach him on this might be.

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Insight - (1d20+6)[22]

[Haberdashery]

This would be the cue to follow along. To which, of course, Shep stares very blankly for a few moments before attempting to act naturally. He stops standing so erect, and tries to look relaxed in his posture; he swaps between slouched over and leaning back airily a number of times before settling for a middle ground between the two. But he just can't seem to figure out what to do with his arms. He crosses them, puts them in his pockets, places them on his hips, puts them behind his head, but each time he just feels rather silly. He elects to go with leaving them tensely by his side, fidgeting slightly as he tries to display an air of nonchalance. It takes Shep just a few more moments of blank staring to realize to truly follow along with his companion's lead, he actually should say something. He frowns. And then clears his throat.

"Ehm....yes. Hrrrmmm, quite. He was a slavedriver. And ridiculous. Hummmmm, a ridiculous slavedriver, in fact. Yes."

Shep pauses a moment, proud of his statement before realizing something important. What was so ridiculous about him? How can he truly be playing along if he does not give an example of this ridiculous man? Why, it would not work at all. The Shepherd thinks for a moment before settling on what is easily described as the most ridiculous thing he has ever heard in his entire life.

"He tried to make me feed my goats barley. Can you truly imagine such foolishness? Can you?"

[Mando Knight]

Aramil, obviously not with Pavick nor the awkward-yet-charismatic crew, decided to scout out the docks himself... separately, so as not to increase any suspicions by being spotted with the gnome. Noticing the out-of-place temple, he casually saunters in.

[Hzurr]

DM post

---EDIT-- Had to add in the word "tilts" because the alternate word I used is censored on forums --/EDIT--

Shep, Lucan, and Eltain -

The halfing tilts his head thoughtfully at Eltain's suggestion. "Nah, Nah, can't really go into details. I may not like 'em, but I'm not the sorta guy who goes around blabbing people's business."

Lucan:

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You notice that as he says this, there's a flash of fear in his eyes. He's obviously nervous about much more than simply being a gossip

The halfling starts to open his mouth to speak again when Shep clears his throat. At the comment about goats, the halfling takes a step back and looks at Shepherd, then at the other two, then back at Shepherd. "Hey, waitaminute... weren't you the fella's at the Lucky Gnome earlier?" His eyes narrow in suspicion.

OOC: Could all 3 of you give me a perception check.


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Aramil -

You walk into the temple, and it's surprisingly well kept. A few small statues of Bahamut and some of Bahamut's more revered saints are spread around the temple edges, with benches in front of each one for petitioners. Two humans sit quietly in front of the statue of St. Hecar, kneeling and whispering, although you aren't sure if it's a prayer, or if they're speaking to one another. At the front of the church, an old dwarf (one of the oldest you've ever seen) hobbles forward to meet you. He greets you in a slightly-too-loud voice that hints at his own lack-of-hearing. GREETINGS TO YE, AND WELCOME TO THE SHRINE O' THE GLORIOUS PLATINUM DRAGON. HAVE YE COME TO PAY TRIBUTE AN' ASK FOR HIS BLESSING?" He gives you a wide smile as he leans on a polished brass cane.

OOC: Give me a perception and an insight check.

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard/MC ranger

Lucan shrugs. "Maybe. We've been to a lot of taverns today."

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Perception - (1d20+10)[21]
Bluff - (1d20+6)[13]

[Nai_Calus]

"Hells, probably. I barely remember anymore. These days I just crawl from tavern to tavern hoping something'll come up that'll give me some work and trying to forget my life in my booze." He reels slightly and his breath conveniently still smells of the earlier beer.

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Perception: (1d20+3)[16]
Bluff: (1d20+5)[23]

[Mando Knight]

"Something like that. I was also wondering how a shrine to Bahamut manages to stay intact in a place with such an ill reputation."

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Aramil is neither the most insightful nor the most perceptive person in town...
Insight - (1d20)[20]
Perception - (1d20+5)[17]
...But he can apparently get some good rolls on occasion.

[Haberdashery]

The Shepherd scratches his chin.

"Maybe. There are so many Lucky Gnomes today I can hardly tell which is which."

---

* post roll count doesn't match database

[Haberdashery]

(OOC, whoops, rolled Insight instead of Perception.)

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Perception - (1d20+8)[18]

[Hzurr]

DM POST

Eltain, Lucan, & Shepherd:

The Halfling begins backing up at Lucan's shrug "You were there, I remember. You're out t' finish me off for Stephan!" His eyes grow a bit wide, as he tries to reach for a sword at his belt that isn't there. He begins to calm down slightly at Eltain's words (and his breath), but still watches you suspiciously. "Who're you, and why're you here?" His eyes are glazed, but focused on you.

Shep & Lucan:

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Roughly 30 feet down the street, there's a tall, thin human peering around a wall watching you. He doesn't seem to notice that you've spied him.

Lucan:

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You catch the vaguest reflection of sun off of steel in his hand, and you notice that he seems to be focusing on the halfling, although he tries to keep an eye on all of you as best as he can

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Aramil:

The Dwarf turns his head and gives a hacking cough before yelling at you. "'ILL CIRCULATION?' NONSENSE! I MAY BE OLD, BUT I'M AS HEALTHY AS I EVER WAS! I'M NOT EVEN DOWN TO ONE LIVER YET!" He frowns at your rudeness.

In spite of the old dwarf's shouting, you manage to pick up a snippitsof the conversation of the other two men
"...we've got some people out there now to show him what being "out" really means..."
(The response is too hushed to make out)

The two men stand, and head towards the exit, giving a reverent nod to the dwarf (who doesn't notice), and an icy glare towards you as they exit the temple, and head back towards the docks.

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Pavrick:

OOC: You up to anything at the moment?