The Wrong Guys IC II

[Savannah]

Rana shakes her head, "Never." She turns back to the shore, watching the people carefully for any signs of trouble or anything out of the ordinary.

OOC

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Setting up new people to describe themselves

[Cardea]

Tayet

A covered man walked through the streets of Diamond Lake. What could be seen underneath covering was armored, in greens and browns. And covering it was a wide green cloak, reaching down just above his feet, but reaching up enough for its hood to cover his face to those who weren't looking directly up at his face. He led along a horse, which, interestingly enough, had a rather large eagle riding it. And only one thing ran through the man's mind as he trudged up and down the market of Diamond Lake, which was simply:

That this day was a waste. Only a tenth of the stock sold, and the rest still running the chance of becoming wasted goods. He had enough supplies to last for a few months, but it still took a week to get here. A week of not-fishing, not-trapping, not-gathering. Nothing. Just a week with Cape and Morrison. A bird and a horse. Cape was fine; he stayed silent. Morrison complained.

Morrison always complains.

Leading him through the town was trouble enough, but having to keep his cloak open enough to show off his sword, so that people would consider for a moment longer whether or not they wanted to rifle through his gear, was just added trouble. More and more trouble. Tayet swore this was the last time he'd make a trip this large. The only thing worth of interest in this entire town was talk of a lone ship coming in. Which really speaks volumes about how lively it is, if a ship coming in from the water is news.

Still, it wasn't what he was expecting.

The ship was more than a wreck; it was a disaster on water. Missing pieces, no rail and it looks like... was it tipping to the left? Definitely tipping to the left. Far to the left. And the people. Scruffy, beaten-down. Looked like they were wild-men, just about. And Tayet watched as they started unloading cargo off of it, and watched as odder looking people stepped out into the open. These people didn't unload cargo. These people merely stepped out into the open and spoke. And his lessons kicked in, and he noted the peculiarities about them.

First one. Only one who helped unload. Heavily-muscled. No weapons. Pugilist? Scruffy. Second one. Armored. Muscled. Holy Symbol of Aldaran. Definitely a Paladin. Definitely not good news. This one almost made him walk back into the crowd, but then woman came out. Small. Nowhere near as built. Says little. But wolf. Large one, too. Seems to respond to woman. Peculiar. Garett said other people had connections like his to animals. Perhaps, she is similar? Maybe. Maybe not. He'd observe, though.

He took off his hood, wiping away accumulating sweat from his brow. A slightly average looking man, his green eyes squinted in the sudden brightness of the sun. As his eyes adjusted to the difference in lighting, he saw the woman looking over the crowd. He cocked his head, and just looked at the wolf curiously, an eyebrow raised. It might get her attention. It might not. Maybe she's looking for someone in particular, maybe she's looking for trouble. Either way, he'd find out soon enough.

[Savannah]

Rana spots the eagle, and suddenly smiles for the first time since she came up on deck.

[Jallorn]

A small figure emerges from below decks just as the unloading is about finished. If he were in better condition, he might've looked almost proud at having avoided the work, but all he can seem to manage to look is relieved. Ducking around the workers, he heads for his comrades, doing his best not to be trod upon.

[Nanoblack]

Llaars

With everyone together, the big man give the rest of the group a knowing nod. He shoulders his pack and straps a well kept longsword across his back as he follows his nose further into the market in search of edibles.

[Strawberries]

When the Halfling steps on the deck and Audric realizes that he has somehow managed to avoid all the physical work, he shots him a glance that is equal parts amusement and exasperation, and has a good amount of fondness in it: the trip has been taxing for all of them, but Audric suspects that Antal, hyperactive as he is, has had the worst experience of them all in being cooped on a small boat for four days.

He starts to say something, but then notices Rana smiling at something in the crowd, and follows her gaze, to see...nothing, really. Or better, too many things all together: the town is a bustling port, and there are so many unfamiliar sights that he can’t distinguish what the druid has fixed on. Too many people, too, a good percentage of which is looking at the boat – they probably are a sight to behold, ragged as they are.

The paladin arches an eyebrow at Rana, silently asking her if she wants to elaborate.

[Savannah]

Rana just shakes her head. "Where are we going? I'd rather not stand here drawing attention all day."

[Strawberries]

Audric assesses the crowd once again - he doesn’t seem entirely convinced by Rana’s dismissal - but doesn’t press the issue. “Finding someplace to eat, I would say” he answers, inclining his head in the direction of the obviously starving Llaars “Somewhere that is quiet and out of the way. Although quiet and privacy may be difficult to find, in a seaport. Maybe I should ask the captain.”

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((Well, if there are no objection gather information - (1d20+5)[24]. Plus, he was meaning to press the captain to report the accident... ))

[Cardea]

Tayet

Tayet motions towards the boat, pointing Cape's attention to the woman. He shakes his head, and pulls Morrison back into the crowd. He goes back a few feet into the midst of them, keeping an eye on the group of them from afar.

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Going to stalk the group. Because this is definitely how you get yourself into the party.

Move Silently: (1d20+9)[28]
Hide: (1d20+9)[10]

Increases to +2 vs. Audric.

[Strawberries]

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((Uhm...with that move silently, I'm certainly not going to hear you, Cardea. Let's see if I spot you?

spot - (1d20+3)[4] Edit: nope. You're safe from the big bad paladin. ))

[Ajadea]

Finding somewhere quiet proves to be a rather large challenge. Everyone, everywhere, seems to be talking. However, there are are many edible items, or at least there are if you believe every word that comes out of the merchants' mouths. Most of it is fried in lard or bathed in some unknown cloying sweet substance. There are fried mashed potato balls, fried fish, flat fried bread, sausages made of unknown meats dipped in batter and fried, tiny and slightly soggy turnovers that are suspiciously flat considering how much they cost, portable meat pies that are apparently filled with genuine pig if not genuine pork... Very little of it is recognizable as food.

Eventually, Rana spots a tavern with a sign that depicts two crossed fish. It looks nearly as crowded as the market, but it's a good bet it's more quiet and has more recognizable food. And presumably someone in there knows where to find a bathhouse.

[Savannah]

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Auto success on Spot roll to notice Tayet (minimum roll 12).

Rana nods towards the inn. "That looks promising," she calls above the noise of the crowd. She leans slightly towards Audric and murmurs, lips barely moving, "Don't look now, but I think we're being followed."

[Strawberries]

I should have checked for magic first, before we started walking.. To his credit, Audric doesn't turn to look, even if the temptation is strong. He can't avoid tensing a bit at Rana's warning, but tries to dissimulate it by feigning interest in the inn she pointed out "Promising, yes. At least is out of the marketplace." He steps closer to the druid and lowers his voice to match Rana's tone "How many people are there?"

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((OOC: I'll roll a bluff, in case Cardea wants to counteract with a sense motive. Let's say if I roll low, Tayet will notice Audric has been warned: body language and all that. bluff - (1d20+4)[17]))

[Savannah]

"Just the man with the eagle," she whispers, before hurrying towards the inn, Shadow close at her heels. "Come on, I'm starving!"

[Strawberries]

"The man with the what?" Audric replies, with a somewhat confused expression. Not turning around has suddenly become much more difficult. He hurries behind Rana, towards the inn, but pauses at the door, keeping it open for his allies to enter, and takes advantage of the fact to throw a look behind him.

Now that he knows what to look for, he spots it almost immediately. That is definitely an eagle, perched on the saddle of that horse. What in Aldaran's name would someone keep an eagle for? The obvious answer, some performer who has trained it in order to make money, presents itself to his mind and is immediately discarded. The man doesn't look like a performer. Cloak, weapons and armor, all battered, all in sober colours, make Audric think more of a vagrant. Decidely a battle-capable vagrant, which is all the more worrying. What could he want from us?

The paladin pauses at the door just for a couple of seconds, the time to quickly scan the man, looking for signs of magic, then follows the others inside.

OOC

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((Detect magic on the mysterious stalker (sorry Cardea). And I assumed I could take 10 to the spot check, since Rana forewarned him and all. If someone minds I'll retcon the second half of the post.))

[Cardea]

Tayet

Tayet watches as they go through the... food... market. He follows behind, trying to ignore the smells of fried food material, as he pinches some spice, rubbing it into his fingers, and bringing them up to his nose. He keeps just far behind that he watches them enter a tavern. He sees the Paladin pause in the doorway, and then enter. He looks around for a place to tie Morrison, avoiding directly going into the building with them.

[Ajadea]

A short, stout, human stops Rana in the doorway. His breath (and the rest of him, to a lesser extent) reeks, a fact which is made very clear by his utter lack of a sense of personal space. "No animals. Leave your beast outside," he snaps at her. His arms are crossed - he doesn't look like he's in a hurry to budge.

There is at least one person sitting at every table - if you want to sit, you're going to have to share. At least half the people here are carrying weapons of some sort. But the food looks pretty good, if you don't mind black bread, and the portions are large.

Spot DC 15

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A pair of people in the corner seem to have taken notice of Rana.

Audric

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There is a slight trace of magic around the man, just slightly too strong to make him the mere victim of a spell. It sounds like dogs baying for blood and wild things stalking their prey in the night.

[Nanoblack]

Llaars

The big man had stopped partway to the inn, bewildered by all of the exotic "foods" surrounding him. Even more bewildering is the distaste everyone else seems to be showing for it all. Seeing Rana point toward the inn, Llaars follows along, convinced that he would eventually get to return to purchase his fill of these unknown edibles.

[Savannah]

"He is not a beast. I'm sure you can make an exception." Rana smiles and rests a hand on her money pouch.

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Spot (1d20+11)[12]

[Strawberries]

In a calm, low voice the paladin adds "I can assure you, sir, that he is quite well trained. I can guarantee he will not cause troubles to you or any customer."

((Diplomacy? diplomacy - (1d20+12)[15]))

[Ajadea]

The man looks at Shadow for a moment, then shakes his head. "No exceptions. If your dog's so well trained, you can tie him up and leave him out here for an hour or so," he says.

There's a very small stable off to the side of the tavern. There's a pair of grey mules in the two farthest stalls. There's only two more stalls wide enough for a horse to walk around in. One of them is occupied by a large black horse, the other appears to be empty. The rest are tie stalls, not even wide enough for a pony to turn around in.

[Strawberries]

Audric takes a breath and puts an hand on Rana’s shoulder. He can see she is starting to get angry, and he really doesn’t think it would be a good idea to draw any more attention to them. “Rana,” he starts, quietly, “you do not have to tie him up, don’t you? But if you don’t think Shadow would be fine out here on his own, we can look for another establishment.”

He looks a bit concerned. There's already one person showing too much interest in us his expression says Please do not add others.

[DeafnotDumb]

"Hey, relax." The voice appears from the entrance to the bar. "If the dog's that important to them, let 'em have it in. These are people I need to talk to."

Voices are generally attached to people, and this one is attached to a dark-skinned smiling woman who looks like she's lived life just a bit too much. Her hair is cropped and pulled back, her clothes are plain, and the only thing conspicuous about her apart from her smile is the symbol of Aldaran hanging about her neck. "Also, your boss owes me." She adds, shrugging one shoulder. "So, you gonna help him work of that debt, or...?"

[Cardea]

Tayet

Tayet pulls Morrison to the wide stall, leading the pack horse into the temporary 'housing'. He begins to unhook the saddlebags off of him, but stops himself. He'd take 'em off if he was going to stay here. He leads Cape onto his shoulders, adjusting to the new weight. He steps out of the stables, and heads towards the tavern entrance. He comes up to the entrance, stopping himself behind the dark-skinned woman. He looks up at the small group in front of him, tensing up as he sees the Aldaran symbol. He taps Cape's foot, pointing towards the wolf, directing the eagle's attention. Forcing himself to a calm, he speaks. "Something wrong here? Or can I get past?"

[Ajadea]

The stout man grumbles and steps aside. "If these beasts cause any trouble, Sandry, that's on your head," he snaps. Even if he's letting you in, he's not happy about it.

You've clearly drawn a bit of attention from the people near the door with this little commotion - more than a few people are openly staring now.

[DeafnotDumb]

"Oh, I never cause trouble. It just finds me. Speaking of which-" Sandry turns to the group with a smile that is both friendly and utterly unreassuring. "-let's get you in. I'm buying."

She waves at the turned heads as they look at the new happening, flashing them a smile. Whoever she is, she's not shy about gathering attention at the moment.

[Savannah]

Rana ducks her head and holds Shadow's collar tightly as she follows, shooting a suspicious look at the man with the eagle along the way. Shadow's ears go back and he presses himself close against her side.

[Strawberries]

The paladin turns towards dark-skinned woman, a smile and a thank you ready on his lips, then notices the symbol of Aldaran she’s wearing. You would swear that his expression changes in that moment, becoming more guarded. “Thank you, my lady” he says, formally. He steps to the side to allow the man with the eagle to pass, following him with his gaze, but doesn’t address him. Someone who knows a little about body language would probably notice that Audric's posture is strange, too: he is standing close to the woman with the wolf and the small Halfling, almost as if shielding them.

Not a paladin, she couldn’t be. An Adept? Refusing her offer would probably attract more attention than accepting would, but still… He throws a nervous look to Rana and Antal, before answering, stiffly “I am not sure if we are the people you seek. We have only just arrived. ”

[Nanoblack]

Llaars

The big man had partially raised his hand in protest, taking a breath to ready a threat for the bouncer... until the dark skinned woman spoke on their behalf. Instead he settles for a snort in the doorman's direction as they walk through. "Audric, you didn't tell us you were meeting someone here."

[DeafnotDumb]

Sandry leads the group to one of the tables in the center of the room, right in the closest concentration of the hustle and bustle and noise. The more observant will also notice it's a table with several very clear lines of escape leading to either behind the bar, through the front door, or out the back.

"Gab!" She shouts out to one of the people around, and draws a circle around the group with her finger. "Drinks!" She sits, and starts to speak more quietly, if with the same enthusiasm.

"Sorry 'bout using you like that, but there's a man out there looking for me that I don't want to be talking to just yet. He may be stupid, but he's not gonna try anything if he comes in and sees me sitting with a buncha heavily armed peoples. And you looked like you could use someone to introduce yerselves to this fine place." She leans back, pleased with herself. "Name's Sandry, as you heard, though I never been a lady." This last bit comes with a wink at Aldric. "What's your story?"