Hunting Blackpool Hall [IC]

[Oh My God]

OOC Thread

5th of Tarsakh, The Year of the Awakened Sleepers, 1484 DR
The trip North has been an uneventful one, boring as can be. Hitching a ride from Corymr to Waterdeep with first one caravan for weeks, and then up the Rivers Grayflow and Delimbiyr on an ox-drawn barge of another. There have been no bandits, no goblins, nothing whatsoever of interest. The only enemy the group has faced in weeks is tedium. Spring has only just begun to break the icy grip with which winter has held the North in thrall for months, and the morning bears a chilled breeze from the northwest. A mist hangs low over the Delimbiyr river, shrouding the low huddled bulk of the city's walls, rendering its skyline a muddled blur.

The company bears with it three letters, all written out in the pinched hand of their patron's major domo, Yulaster Craddock. The first is proof of purchase of an abandoned warehouse on the banks of the River Running, to serve as a depot and base camp for the company. The second is a letter of credit addressed to the Most Honorable and Ancient House of Janicierre, gold scriveners who have a small branch office open in Loudwater. The letter directs any funds for 'reasonable general expenses incurred in their duties" be made available to you. The third and final letter simply states that the company is currently in the personal employ of Baron Blackpool, and that they thus do not need to possess a charter and are immune from prosecution for its absence. This last last should not be needed here in the North, as lawless and free as it is. The other two, however, should prove their worth.

The city of Loudwater proper lies on the southern banks of the river Delimbiyr. Mostly one and two story houses of mixed timber and stone, the occasional tower rises amid its twisting streets. Comprised of three wards, the city numbers somewhere around eight thousand souls. The Inner Ward, also known as Old Town, lies within a second curtain wall (though it has quietly been covered with a thick coat of mossy growth), and was the bounds of the city before the Spellplague struck. In its aftermath, the neighboring towns of Llorkh and Zelbross were abandoned, and most of their residents relocated to the safety of Loudwater. The New Town that they erected has only recently been enclosed in its own wall, some twenty years ago. The last ward, the Docks, plays host to dozens of warehouses and twice as many piers.

Along the main thoroughfare sit such establishments as the Green Tankard Pub, Starra's Sharps, Loudwater General Store, Danryn's Dry Goods, and at least two smithies so far. The city bustles with a healthy, quiet heartbeat. Though it may be a far cry from the genuine metropolises of the south, Loudwater clearly is benefiting from the trade that passes through it between Waterdeep and Netheril Restored.

Your official 'mission' is spelled out in the paperwork that accompanies your letters; to determine the location of Blackpool Hall, to remove any and all squatters or other transients illegally residing therein, and having accomplished these tasks, to notify Yulaster Craddock of said success.

The warehouse, the bridge across the cerulean river, and the frontier all lie to the north, through the town. Whatever the future holds, it bides on the other side of the River Running.

[Mahrke]

"Haha! Finally, a town with more than three people in it." The voice rings of the youthful vigor that belonged to none other than Pix Popsicopolis, a self-styled merchant/inventor/adventurer that hadn't yet seen her sixteenth year. "We should bring the stagecoach around to whatever passes as a market square in this place so I can set up shop while you adults do the hard stuff." Once more, playing the 'kid' card. Funny how Pix seemed adamant that she could handle herself whenever a fun, if dangerous, task needed doing...but as soon as some boring, trivial chore, like having to get an inn room, or fill out paperwork, cropped up she was 'but a child'.

Pix wastes no time, scratching something in a ledger with quill, likely going over the illegible inventor she'd managed to keep track of. "So, what's the plan chief?" she looks up from her notes, across the middle of the comfortably-spacious stagecoach that had carried the crew for the trip, at the sturdy Son of Magnus sitting across. "Are we only staying here the day to collect leads?"

[Dunkoro]

(OOC: Who exactly is Pix calling chief? It's not like we've decided who's gonna be our leader yet =])

Well, I could use a few days of rest and maybe even entertainment in this town, after all this travelling, but as it holds we're on a mission and thus we're supposed to reach our destination as quickly as possible. But I suppose a few days "investigating" couldn't hurt anyone, could it? What do you say?

[Mahrke]

"Whatever makes me some coin. I only have, like, ten gold pieces, and I ran out of half my reagents a week ago. I guess its not such a big deal if we're out actually -adventuring-, but I think its waaaay more likely that we're gonna spend a bunch of days just wandering around looking for a needle in a haystack if this place is as 'lost' as everyone makes it out to be."

The reply comes with that lilting tone. She couldn't help feel excited about the prospect of being in a city after so many days riding in a wagon, staring out at boring fields.

[Ithandor]

Magnus

Magnus snaps out of a reverie, looking up to his companions. "Aye, it'll be good to be off the road. We have this warehouse to check out - it do seem to me that our esteemed employer thinks this task'll take some time, if he be givin' us a base of operations. I'd say we should set ourselves up - maybe introduce ourselves to the local authorities, never hurts to get on a good side early - get the lay o' the town a wee bit, and then aim to head on out after that? I must say, a pint and a warm meal, and then maybe another pint, would hit the spot." Magnus strokes his long, reddish-brown beard before continuing. "After that though, I wanna get this underway. Done too much sittin' on my arse, for weeks!"

[J-H]

Petunia nods agreement from her seat.
"That sounds good to me. We should also see what the local trade routes are, and what they used to be. At one point, Blackpool had to have some roads going to it."

[Dunkoro]

((OOC: Didn't realize I have the biggest Ride check. If it is so, then sure, I can.))

It's settled then, we're staying here for a few days to hear of some local gossip and maybe get some idea where exactly should we get started. I say we should start from a local tavern. It could be even better if we split up for a while, 4 separate people usually gather information much more efficiently than a group of four would. Opinions?

[Mahrke]

"Sounds like a plan then!" Pix snaps closed her inventory ledger. "I'll set up shop, and get the horses stabled. I'll try and learn what I can from the townfolk." She squirms, turning around in her seat and looking out the window of the coach, before gesturing. "Oh, over there! See that open bit? Looks like a perfect spot. Bring us around over there, Kal."

[Ithandor]

Magnus

"Well, let's get on with it. I'll go check out this warehouse. Anyone care to join me?" Magnus asks, shouldering his shield. Small gears whir in his armor as he dismounts from the carriage, stretching his muscles as he does so. Once on the ground, he mutters a few divine words, before turning back to the group.

Spoiler

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Casting Divine Insight on myself, duration 4 hours or until used.

[J-H]

After the carriage is parked and the warehouse checked out, Petunia heads to the merchant districts to see if she can recognize anyone she's seen before.

Spoiler

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Also, Gather information (1d20-2)[6]

[Mahrke]

With stagecoach strategically positioned, Pix sets about setting up shop. Roll of fine black silk is drawn from her backpack, the material wispy and featherlight. She unfolds the ends, laying it along the edge of the coach's floor, before gently pushing it back, letting it unfurl. Each inch revealed shows not some grand tapestry, nor comfortable bedsheet. Instead, what unfurls is...a different floor. A wooden platform with a large trap door set into the bottom corner of it. The teen hefts the knocker of the door, pulling it open, and peering down into the well-lit depths of her own personal 'shop'. Defying all logic, it is a good fifty feet deep, with multiple levels.

Pix lets out a short, shrill whistle. "Bolt! Nut! We're opening shop." With that said, the girl hops down from the inside of the carriage, and goes around to the side. She grasps a brass lever with both hands, and rocks back on her heels with a mighty pull. Two long steel rods spring from the roof of the carriage, a canopy strung between them, and when they reach their limit of length a small banner, colored with blues and golds, unfurls at the end.

~~Courtesy of West-Faerunian Mercantile and Mercenary Company~~
Pix's Emporium of Deals

Pint-size entrepreneur then sets a small podium before the carriage, and draws a lute from the small back at her side, strumming out a jaunty tune, and making rounds around the square, as a pair of tiny clockwork golems make slow trips form the depths of her pocket-dimension, bringing out crates of merchandise from those mysterious depths.

"Come one, come all! What wonders to see
A place like none-other; where value is key
Tonics, and tinctures, and remedies pure
All of fine quality, you can be sure
Gadgets and trinkets, and weapons to boot
For the right price I would sell off my lute!
So come to my little Emporium of Deals
With fine goods and services, all of them steals
You should be quick though, the hour is late
And Pix's Emporium closes at eight!"

Spoiler

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Pix sells all Bottled Goods, Specialty Goods, Weapons, and Armor listed in her shop at 90% market price, and will haggle down to 75% market with savvy customers. She will also take orders for magical items.

[Dunkoro]

Seems like it's down on me to go to local taverns and ask for any information anybody might have there

After these words, he too left Pix for his own doings and went to a tavern.

Spoiler

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Gather Information (about the Blackpool Hall)
(1d20+0)[3]

[Oh My God]

Magnus

The trip north through the city is rapid. Though the city is manifestly active, traffic does not swell to ever block his forward passage. Reaching the Dock Ward, his pace slows so that he can start to track down the building he seeks. Picking through an active wharf is a tricky business, avoiding pallets of goods and carts rumbling down cobblestone streets.

Eventually Magnus reaches the end of the directions noted in the bill of sale. Outside, the warehouse is unremarkable. A hundred yards long, maybe twenty wide and three stories high, it is as nondescript as a large barn can possibly be. One of the side doors proves to be unlocked. The interior is virtually empty, one massive room. There is scant evidence of what once filled the warehouse. A discarded tarp is draped across the ground here, and in the corner an empty barrel sits in forlorn isolation.

Not far from the warehouse, the ancient stone bridge which prompted the creation of the city itself vaults the River Running. Hard to pick out at this distance, but still visible, are the low ruins of a handful of ancient structures of some sort on the northern bank of the river.

Kalthar

Hitting four pubs and one street-cart restaurant, Kalthar has come to an unpleasant conclusion.

Virtually no one knows anything about Blackpool Hall. Most people haven't even heard of the place. After all, the average man on the street shouldn't be expected to know much about some ancient ruins abandoned centuries passed. The only gossip he does manage to pick up (and this overheard while loitering around the hot-sausage-inna-bun cart), was that two travelers were considering delaying their trip further west on account of stories they'd heard about a pack of werewolves that had started hunting in the area.

Petunia

Heading for one of the centers of trade in town, Petunia spends some time searching out any familiar faces. Merchants get around, after all. The odds are decent that she should be able to find someone she knows from her earlier life. And yet, it seems as though she can find no one. Odd, that. Seemingly exhausting the grounds for her hunt, she heads back towards the carriage when rounding a corner, she catches sight of a knife-sharpener she recognizes. Sitting underneath a small awning, he spins his massive whetstone and holds the edge of steel to it, spark flying from its surface now and then as an imperfection is ground off. Looking up once he finishes his work on the current knife, he nods in response to a greeting and responds," Petunia, right? Good to see you. "

According to him, the only significant trade route through the area runs east-west. With one end in Waterdeep, and the other at the Shade Enclave of Netheril Returned. Whatever routes or roads once ran to Blackpool Hall have long since fallen into disuse.

[Ithandor]

Magnus

Magnus looks around the warehouse, having stepped back inside. Well, it dinnae be glamorous, but it'll do the trick. Rooting around in his backpack, he removes the Aspect Mirror. Looking at the marvels Pix produces, it was sometimes hard to remember that she was so young.

"Pix, you there? I'm at the warehouse now, over on the north side o' the city. Seems in good nick, bit empty, but I'm sure you'll have all manner o' clutter in it shortly. We could use a few good locks for the doors, if you have any"

[Mahrke]

Pix's face beams at the dwarf from the other side, the sound of a chattering crowd making it somewhat harder to hear.

"Hey Magnus! What? Oh! Yeah, yeah. I've got some...uh..." She looks away for a moment, distracted. "No, those are 30 a piece. I'll give you the rest of the crate for 140 though." Her attention returns. "What? Oh, locks. Yeah, I can take em off the manacles. How big is it?" Her attention strays once more. "Five for a bottle. Cures stomach-aches, head-aches, and heartache. Guaranteed!"

[J-H]

Disappointed in the lack of luck, Petunia heads back to the warehouse, avoiding the large crowd around Pix's stall in favor of a quieter, less traveled route.

[Oh My God]

Magnus and Petunia

Shortly after Petunia's arrival at the warehouse, a man with a rolling gait enters via the unlocked side door with which the pair of PCs have already arrived. He looks startled to see people at all, and then more startled still by your particular appearances.

" Um, ah, ah," he starts with a stammer, and then manages to get out a," Are you supposed to be here?"

Pix

It doesn't take long for a small crowd to gather, drawn by song. Once they get an eyeful of the artificer's unusual shop, however, the crowd swells in earnest. After all, if there's one sure thing that'll draw a crowd in the North, its a spectacle. The fact that bargains are promised as well? Pure bonus. These people will be talking about Pix and her magical traveling shop for weeks.

Sales are limited principally to the things that the typical working man would find useful. Her alchemist's fire is a hot item, the Unguents of Timelessness have run out of time on her shelves, and quite a few blacksmiths pick up an Auran Mask. Two children try out Pix's Tonic, and vanish promptly into the crowd. Pix ferrets out of her would-be customers that there are two other sources for magical goods in town, and it seems like it'll take some doing to horn in on their business. One, by the name of Kieran's Kuriosities, sounds like it resells magical baubles that have entered the market flow from adventurers, and the other, known only as The Depot, sounds like it whole sales items from Netheril Restored.

With regards to the location of Blackpool Hall, Pix comes up empty. The only thing she can really get on ruins regards the elven shambles on the north side of the river. Supposedly, they're the remains of an ancient philosophical society. And they're haunted.

[Mahrke]

By the time the crowd has filtered out, Pix is a happy camper. She merrily helps her wrights pack in the merchandise, and takes a seat inside the stagecoach, counting her lucre, and scratching down notes in her inventory logbook on what to produce more of, and what to cut down in her future endeavors. Once all is said and done, she flips open her aspect mirror.

"Hey guys, anyone home?" Comes the sound of cheery voice. "I'm all done for today, and I need someone to bring one of the horses down so we can pull this coach back to the warehouse. I got some good info on this place too, besides all the gold."

[Ithandor]

Magnus

Magnus speaks quietly into the Aspect Mirror, "Pix, I'll get back to you on that one." Leaving the connection open, but dropping the mirror to his side, Magnus speaks up, addressing the newcomer cordially. "I think this is the right place, alright. My name is Magnus. Who are you?"

Spoiler

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Sense Motive, as to whether I think this guy is acting suspiciously:
(1d20+5)[18]

[Oh My God]

Magnus and Petunia:

" Jarvis, sir. I'm the watchman for this part of, you know, the docks. Make sure no one's camping out in the warehouses what don't have workers in them frequent," the man says in a tone that is earnest and tired. If he's lying, then there's no truth in the world. He takes his hat off and scratches at his forehead. " I heard there were new owners. Uh, I guess you're them?," he asks, his tone obviously confused. You two couldn't look less like merchants or shipping factors, after all.

[Ithandor]

Magnus

"Guardsman Jarvis, nice to meet you!" Magnus says, shaking his hand. "This here is Petunia, and we are the new owners. Well, two outta four anyway. Do ye be needin' to see the papers? Pix must have them squirrelled away somewhere."

"What's this area like Jarvis? We're new to town, just arrived earlier today."

[Oh My God]

Magnus and Petunia
Jervis is knock kneed and thin as a rake. He draws himself up and salutes. " Watchman sir, not a guardsman as such. I don't stand outside with a pike or anything. I just keep an eye on things, and go get the militia if there are any squatters."

" The docks, sir? All full of hustle and bustle. Barges loading and unloading all of the time, longshoremen lifting things, winches, er, winching. You know. And papers, well, whenever you have the chance, you know. You two seem pretty trustworthy. Not like the sort what camp out in abandoned warehouses, you know."

[J-H]

"Another member of our group has our writ of permission for this place. You may have seen her setting up a very noisy stall selling magic items earlier?

We don't intend to be here more than a few days."

Petunia looks around for a dry place and takes off her pack. Finding a small pile of discarded but dry straw nearby, she brushes through it with a booted foot to confirm it's clean, and then moves it over near her pack and arranges her bedroll on top of it.

"This is a dry place to sleep, but I'll get enough trail rations later. Where's an affordable place to get good food without too much drunken company?"

[Dunkoro]

Pulling out his Aspect Mirror, Kalthar connected with Pix:
I'm coming Pix!
And then he went to the spot he has left Pix in.

After reaching the place he again turned to his companion:
Can we go? I suppose Magnus and Petunia are waiting for us at the warehouse.

[Mahrke]

Pix's head pops out of the door upon the arrival of Kalthar and one of the group's horses. "Hey! Finally! You guys are such slowpokes.", she chides, hooking the horse up. "Yea, the dwarves are getting hassled by 'The Man' up in our warehouse. Sounds like they need papers or something."

Pint-sized engineer yanks on the leather harness' connection point to the stagecoach, ensuring that its tight, before she clambers back inside. ""I'm sure I put em down here somewhere...hmm..." The teen ponders the extradimensional space of her shop on the floor of the stagecoach, before she tosses shouldered haversack (Rule Number #1 of portable hole ownership; no mixing extradimensional space) on the seat, and descends beneath the trapdoor, rifling around in an effort to locate the document of choice.

[Ithandor]

Magnus

"I suppose we'd best find somewhere to park Pix's coach too. Ah, speakin' of!" Magnus exclaims, as he hears the unmistakable clatter of the stagecoach coming from outside the building. "Lookin' forward to gettin' this show on the road. You hear much from around the merchants' Petunia?"

[Oh My God]

Kalthar and Pix

Pix discovers the proof of purchase swiftly enough among her sundry other items, and it isn't long before they're headed to the warehouse. Thanks to the broad thoroughfares that spread through the city, it is a short voyage indeed, wheels rumbling and rasping over the cobblestones.

They trundle to a stop outside of a large, nondescript warehouse. Anonymous and gray, it blends in with the other warehouses that line the dock front. The most obvious signifier is its absence of a sign or trademark. There are large, sliding doors at either of the ends for loading and unloading cargo crates, and a few smaller doors along its length for more pedestrian sized traffic.

Magnus and Petunia

Magnus has no doubt that the wagon would fit within the warehouse with space to spare.

At the question from the lady dwarf, Jervis tugs on his chin a little in thought before answering," A few of the dry goods stores sell packed lunches, for dockworkers and miners mostly, so they can eat on the job. Beyond that, you've got a good number of public houses, but there'll be drinking there, of course. Hard work means hard drink, yeah?"

" Oh, yeah. You'll be needing a copy of the key to the place. Ah, here." Pulling out a large ring of keys, he thumbs through them until he finds a broad brass specimen, frees it, and hands it over to Petunia. " That'll handle any of the locks on the doors here, it should."

[Mahrke]

Pix pulls herself out of her workshop, before folding it up, back into a shimmering silken cloth, which she tucks in her non-magical backpack, and then hops down from the back of the stagecoach. She pulls open the doors of the warehouse, leaning back on her heels and giving some mighty effort to pull the large sliding (aluminum?) panels apart. She runs inside, leaving Kalthar to bring the wagon inside, before going about her exploration with a common youthful vigor.

Papers for the place aren't forgotten, however. She hucks them carelessly over her shoulder as she sprints to the other side of the warehouse. Instead of fluttering to the ground, though, they stay aloft...and the carefully folded parchment floats over to Magnus, and begins to insistently whap his helmet for attention.

As Pix takes in their new warehouse, she rattles off her findings for the day. "So, sold a bunch of stuff, and got a lead. Nobody could tell me anything about the Hall, but apparently there's a neat little set of elven ruins to the north of the river. They're supposed to be haunted...spooooky. What'd you guys find?"

[Ithandor]

Magnus

"Thanks Jervis,", Magnus says, taking the keys from him. Swatting at the letter repetitively thwacking against his helmet, he eventually manages to snatch it down out of the air. "here are the papers, if you need to see them."

Oh yeah, I saw those ruins in the distance Pix. I wonder how old they are? If they were still.. eh... unruined... around the time the Hall was about, maybe we can find somethin' there that might point us in the right direction." Magnus looks around for reactions from the rest of the group, as he moves to help Kalthar with the wagon.

[Dunkoro]

Well, seems like we have nothing better to start with, so we might as well go there tomorrow.