Madness, Blood and Thunder in Ravens Bluff IC

[Jeff the Green]

Fiddler's Green

"And I imagine Keeva's fine too," Mirielle says. "She's the early bird and didn't get my note, so I'll have to fill her in later. Why don't we head to a pub and get lunch. I have a proposal for all of you, and it's always nicer to discuss these sorts of things on a full stomach."

[candycorn]

Magnus replies, "Sounds like a decent enough idea, and news is always more palatable when it's accompanied by hot food. I should be able to fill you in on an idea that I've got. Anyone know any decent places to eat?"

[Sallera]

Fiddler's Green

"Sounds good. Aside from Asam's fishy feast for five fools, I haven't eaten prepared food in quite a while. Let's head in... that direction, and we'll find something along the way." Picking a street in the distance with no apparent reasoning, Aya glances over with a small smile.

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Knowledge: Local (mostly just because I can) to see how educated a guess that is: (1d20+3)[19]

[TheFallenOne]

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the Raven's Glory is in the same district, rather big dancing and dining club. Restaurant is on second floor(of three). The place is quite popular and primarily serves seafood and birds.

[Cardea]

Keeva
The Quiet Mind

"Fantastic, I wasn't sure I'd find the right place. I'm Keeva LeCor." Keeva says, starting to fidget. "And I'm looking for people to help me connect a bit of history, and I was told you know a thing or two about weapons. More specifically, I'm looking around for something called a, uhm, a 'Heart of Gold.'"

[TheFallenOne]

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you already said that about weapons... Try to give me more than that, the only answer he can give now is 'Yes, what of it?' If you keep the content of each post that low every conversation takes ages

[Frog Dragon]

"Sounds like a good idea. I'm getting hungry anyway." Jorran says, following Aya. He had even less idea about this city's layout than most, so he'd be happy to just follow the rest around for now.

[Jeff the Green]

Raven's Glory

As the group walks into the sprawling restaurant, Mirielle asks the maitre d' for a corner booth where they can talk at least semi-privately. She orders something swimming in sauce--anything but fish, really--and gets right to business.

"Well, I told the others why I came to Ravens Bluff, Aya, so I'll catch you up. I have a proposal to make to all of you, and Keeva if I can find her again.

"I spent the last seven years working in the Kelemvorite library in Chondath. Mostly preserving records and scripture, but some research as well. A few months back I woke up to find my cell, along with the rest of the dormitories and the library on fire. Most of the other priests and monks there were very old, and several had already died before I was able to get them out. We saved as many manuscripts as we could, but in the end the entire building collapsed and the scrolls and codices and files went up like so much kindling.

Mirielle sighs and wipes her glasses before continuing. "The fire wasn't an accident. As I came out with the last bundle of parchment in my arms, I saw pretty clear signs of alchemist's fire in the atrium. I still had enough contacts in the world of business to figure out who did it. An elf assassin called Cybrarvain who has something of a fetish for fire.

"Since I'm no longer attached to the library, I have a bit of leeway to decide how best to serve Kelemvor and his church, so I tracked Cybrarvain up to Ylraphon, but I lost the trail there. Last month I heard from a friend of mine that he's here, in Ravens Bluff, and so I came down on Asam's boat." Mirielle grins wryly. "You know the rest of that story.

"I talked to an old family friend this morning, and he gave me some advice on finding Cybrarvain. I mean to catch him, and remind him that justice is as much Kelemvor's domain as is death." she says indicating her holy symbol, a skeletal arm holding the scales of justice.

"But I need help. I could probably find others if I had to, but I already know what the three of you can do and being kidnapped together creates something of a bond, wouldn't you say? I don't have a great deal of money and I can't guarantee that there'd be much reward in catching Cybrarvain, but I know you're all here for something. If you're willing to help me, I'd be more than happy to return the favor." Mirielle considers for a second before correcting herself. "Assuming it doesn't involve something like murder or theft."

[TheFallenOne]

The Quiet Mind

Malgaris seems somewhat intrigued by the question. "No, I never heard of that one. Quite peculiar to name it thus, I wonder what kind of weapon they'd have associated with a heart... My initial guess would be the name stems from a magical property, not the physical form.
So, what do you know about this weapon? Perhaps I can find out more."

The Raven's Glory

You remember the sailors calling this 'a nightmare in blue', and it proves quite true: the walls are a deep navy blue, with royal blue dyed fur rugs and tapestries that are 'colorful' in the sense they feature various shades of blue. The wooden floor, tables and booths are a refreshing brown, though an observant guest might notice the walls of the booths are made from blueleaf wood.
The room is hushed, each booth having its own small lamp and a breadbasked hanging from a chain above.
At the entrance, a sign cautioned Use of magic strictly forbidden for your own safety.

[candycorn]

After being seated, Magnus asks for something simple, a stew. If options are available, lamb or mutton. If not, then whatever they have. While waiting, he listens to the story of Cybrarvain, then responds, "I'm game to assist you, but I'd need to know what manner of help you need. I'm not much of a tracker, but I could probably seek out information about your quarry from others. If you are to the point of staging an ambush, I could likely make it difficult for him to sneak away. Still, I don't often make it a practice to hunt assassins; however, I'm sure I can come up with an equal service. All of the tasks I'm seeking, however, have a decent chance of pay. Probably a foray into Sarbreen, if I had to pick a service that was of equal risk. The dwarven ruins this city was built on hold some secrets, and there's a few, in particular, that I am looking for. Perhaps the information's down there, perhaps something that I can barter from dwarves on the surface, a relic or somesuch. I'm not particularly picky, but I hear there's treasure enough to be had down there, so decent enough chance of pay.

Speaking of pay, if we're in need of a bit of it soon, I know of a couple of the hamlets surrounding Ravens Bluff having a bit of an unusual goblin problem. The goblins are charging the towns most of their earnings for the privilege of water, which they've dammed up without permission, clearance, or right. They've threatened to flood one of the villages if attacked, but I figure we could talk our way in, find out how to stop them, safely open the dam, and get the towns water on a more permanent basis. Our prize for this would be whatever the goblins had extorted, which should be somewhat decent, if they've been wringing money from these towns for long. The towns get lifted from this burden, begin getting their water free again, and their payments to the goblins becomes bounty for their removal. Fitting, I think. Especially since the dam could become a boon for the towns, storing excess water for the dryer parts of the year, or whatever it is that dams are used for legitimately. Thoughts?"

With that, Magnus begins waiting, both for responses, and for stew.

[TheFallenOne]

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it's just 3 or 4 small villages, no towns

[Jeff the Green]

"Ah, I should have explained that better," Mirielle says, tearing into the crusty bread. "I have an idea of where to start of looking for Cybrarvain, but it's always nice to have an extra pair of ears to the ground, so to speak. But more than that, I need to make sure that once I figure out where he is that he doesn't escape. I don't know if he's here on a new contract or what, but there's a good chance he'll have some associates with him, even if they're just hired toughs. I don't want to walk into something I can't walk out of.

"I'd say that both of those ideas sound good, Magnus. I'd be happy to help you down in Sarbreen. I've got a new wand to make healing easier than it was on the ship. Plus things living in the dank and dark tend to shy away from the sun, and my family's unusual heritage has given me certain abilities in that direction," she says with a smirk.

[Sallera]

The Raven's Glory

Aya orders roast quail, then listens quietly to Mirielle's proposal. "Well, I don't have anything in particular I need help with, at the moment... but I like you, so we'll just consider it a favour owed." She grins suddenly, a smile only half-seen in the shadows of her hood. "He's not the sort I'm usually called to deal with, but I'd hate to see you killed by some half-baked assassin because I got picky."

Turning to Magnus, she nods. "If you're setting up an expedition to Sarbreen, I'm game. I'm sure I could find something useful down there."

[candycorn]

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it's just 3 or 4 small villages, no towns

@TFO:

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I used both hamlet and town in the description. I'm being intentionally vague.

[Frog Dragon]

Jorran orders something with an abundance of red meat.

"I'm game, so far anyway." He says. "I know where that priestess can be found already, so I don't really need anything other than not getting on Blacktree's bad side." Jorran states. "Well, more on his bad side anyway..." He mutters.

[candycorn]

"Excellent. I'm laying ground work for the Sarbreen expedition, and likely will be for several days. I'm also trying to get a bit of information on the goblin issue, and was looking to hopefully depart for that within a couple days. If anything pressing comes up, however, neither issue seems to be immediate enough that it can't be put off for a short time."

[Jeff the Green]

Mirielle smiles. "Sounds good," she says. "After lunch I'm going to head to Silverscales to talk to someone... ah... Misti Marva. Aldar told me she knows most of what happens in the seedier parts of town, and even if she doesn't know how to find Cybrarvain, she'll know where to start.

"Oh, and before I forget, Aldar also mentioned that some friends of his own several apartment complexes and I should be able to get a good price for one. A bit more expensive than the Sanctuary, but more privacy and you wouldn't have to eat out all the time.

"Anyway, if either of you want to come with me while Magnus is looking into Sarbreen and the goblins," she says, looking at Jorran and Aya, "I'd be happy for the company. And muscle; Silverscales is supposed to be a bit rough, and groups seem to attract fewer daggers between the shoulder blades."

[Sallera]

"Sure, I can watch your back. If this assassin let you track him here, either he's not very good, or he wants you to find him. Either way, it shouldn't be too hard to set up a meeting." Aya smiles serenely, apparently content to gloss over the more disturbing implications.

"And meeting your contact sounds like it could be useful, too."

[candycorn]

"Oh, I didn't plan on doing any research into things today. That was tomorrow. If accompanying you to Silverscales will make things safer for you, then I'm all for it. Besides, it's always good to know the parts of town I shouldn't wander into alone."

[Cardea]

Keeva
The Quiet Mind

"Only as much as I can guess, unfortunately, or what I can try and piece together. I can try and guess a trident of some sort or some other weapon designed to inflict precise wounds, but what I've read up so far is that it is either some sort of power source, to power some the actual weapon its linked to, something linked to transfiguration, or something big." Keeva says, recalling what she could link up from what little she was able to read, before catching the ship to Ravens Bluff. "Do you know of any period where people had large weapons, or had similar naming conventions?"

[Frog Dragon]

"Sounds good. We'll go see this Misti then?" Jorran was mostly surfing along. He had the time to kill.

[Sallera]

The Raven's Glory

Spearing bits of meat with obvious enjoyment, Aya falls silent for a while before washing down the meal with water from her flask and turning to Magnus. "So, these enterprising goblins of yours, do you think they'll be that easy to fool? I mean, it's a fairly clever set up they've got, and after making a threat like that, they're not likely to take the approach of a few well-armed adventurers as anything but an attack. Seems to me they'd probably set up something on the dam that requires regular maintenance too, or an easy way of collapsing it that one person could trigger. Or both, for that matter. I'm not saying we couldn't dismantle their operation if we tried, but I doubt we could just talk our way in."

[Jeff the Green]

The Raven's Glory

"I think so," Mirielle says to Jorran as their food arrives. "I don't think Silverscales is to far from here."

She replies to Aya through mouthfuls of partridge "I don't know. That's not how I'd do it. If the dam's destroyed they lose their extortion money until they can build it back up again. Better to make it strong and heavy so that they have time to take down anyone who might try to sneak in and destroy it.

"I do think you're right that they won't take kindly to us walking up to them. It might not be a bad idea for one or two of us to take a look one evening." She looks at her companions. "I think it might be better if it weren't me or Magnus. Armor tends to make noise and my skin doesn't really help me stay hidden. And I'm worried that Keeva might get distracted by something. Like a butterfly."

[Sallera]

The Raven's Glory

Aya giggles, covering her mouth with one hand. "I don't think she's that out of focus, but fine, I can take a look. Need to get a couple things done first, though."

"See, if they're threatening to flood the village as retribution, they've got to have an easy way of doing it, and they won't care if someone else can trigger it - not necessarily collapsing the whole dam, sure, but opening it enough to let the reservoir drain. And they'd want to set it up so that it'd be hard to stop them from releasing it just by rushing in."

[candycorn]

Magnus replies, "The way I see it, they may have something like that. They may not. Truth be told, they probably do. But they also need to take payments from the hamlets. They also are not likely to break the dam for any minor nuisance. After all, that dam is their meal ticket. They can only break it once. If they do so, they're gonna have to clear out, and quick. I doubt they'd survive long, with no threat to hang out there.

So I think we could approach safely, but I agree, scouting wouldn't hurt. After all, until we attack, they can't risk blowing the dam. One of the things I was going to look into was the composition of the goblin group, any rumors about their leader or leaders, and the terrain they've holed up in, before we put people on the ground. Consider it pre-scouting scouting."

[TheFallenOne]

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Keeva
The Quiet Mind

"Only as much as I can guess, unfortunately, or what I can try and piece together. I can try and guess a trident of some sort or some other weapon designed to inflict precise wounds, but what I've read up so far is that it is either some sort of power source, to power some the actual weapon its linked to, something linked to transfiguration, or something big." Keeva says, recalling what she could link up from what little she was able to read, before catching the ship to Ravens Bluff. "Do you know of any period where people had large weapons, or had similar naming conventions?"

I'm a little confused, is Keeva making this up as she goes along because she suspects Malgaris might lose interest when she admits she has no indication for the Heart being a weapon in the first place, or are those clues she's actually supposed to have?

Point is, I already decided what the Heart of Gold is, how to make it, where to find it, and how Keeva might learn about it. If you pull out new information without warning it might conflict with what I am planning thus far.
Naturally, Keeva might have made assumptions or come across false leads, but as far as 'official' information goes you're basically at Square 1: you know the name of the item, and that it was supposed to have been made or kept in the Bluff an indescript though certainly not short amount of time ago.

[Cardea]

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These are all assumptions based on the name alone.

[TheFallenOne]

The Quiet Mind

Malgaris pauses in thought for almost a minute. "Big weapons... We got some artifacts from the time of the orcs of Vastar. They had ogre mercenaries, or maybe slaves, and later fought them in a civil war. It's no coincidence the Sword of Ogre Decapitation was forged in that time and place."

[Jeff the Green]

"Good idea," Mirielle says. "I'd rather not bet a village on my estimation of goblin psychology."

@All

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Unless someone has something else to talk about, why don't we gloss over the rest of the meal?

[Cardea]

Keeva
The Quiet Mind

"Do you? I remember reading about those a long time back. Could I see some? Even if they don't help me out any, it'd sure make my day to see some of them." Keeva says, her mood brightening.