Here, where the world is quiet [IC]

[Ataraxian]

"Pretty much," she says. "I guess some people sit around in the tithing pits, telling stories to the Mayor... it's a fine way to get freshened up every once in a while, but if you don't do anything else, well, most of them go snake sooner or later. Other than that, I think scraping by is all most of us can manage."

[Alkapwn21]

"The whole snake thing... pretty bizzare," Aldrich said as he walked with the halfling, looking at the numerous buildings around him. "I've seen some crazy stuff in my, er, life... but that was, I think it's safe to say, one hell of a show."

Aldrich turned to Gammell. "I don't figure you've got a clue what our next move should be, eh?"

[Eonas]

"Tithing pits?" Gammell asks, apparently oblivious to Aldrich's question.

[Ataraxian]

The halfling flaps a hand at what looks like a particularly ruined building; in the center of the tiled floor, an ugly sinkhole has opened up, swallowing about six feet of the mosaic pattern.

"Tithing pits are all over," she says. "You just go down there and, um... have a talk with the Mayor. Leaves you feeling better. After a fashion." She shivers slightly.

---------------------------------------------

You turn into a wide street lined with more tumbledown gray stone buildings. There are more signs of life here--- people move about in twos and threes, keeping a respectful distance from one another, occasionally drifting into one building or another.

"The Shambles," she announces grandly. "Hazard's is this one on the left." Indeed, the crumbling facade she is pointing at has been labeled, in neat white paint: "Hazard and ...."

"Used to have old Inky's name on it too, but like I said he disappeared."

She beckons you inside. The room is huge, built without any regard for human comfort or proportions, and seems to take up most of the building's interior. It smells of solvents and bleach. The "store" portion of it clings to one wall near the entranceway, where a long row of shelves hold neatly labeled scrolls and potion bottles, and what looks like a bundle of preserved severed hands.

Flea starts to drag the orc toward the other end of the room, where a makeshift screen hides what must be the laboratory. "Mr. Hazard," she says, "got you another one!"

From behind the screen, a gruff voice answers. "Let's have a look then, shall we?" You hear a clattering noise. Two hands detach themselves from the pile--- one, you notice, is thin and slim-fingered; the other is dark-skinned but might be covered in some kind of tattoos? They climb to the top of the shelf with spider-like facility. The slim one picks up a heavy glass jar, tipping it so the other can access the contents. The dark one reaches carefully and withdraws an eyeball. Carefully, it scans the room.

"Ah, new faces!" The voice from the back seems pleased. "And who might you gentlemen be?"

[Alkapwn21]

"You can call me Aldrich." His eyes shifted from the hands and eyeball to the curtain, unsure of where he should be talking to. "I don't suppose it's just a mouth sitting behind the curtain, huh?"

[Eonas]

Gammell feels uneasy in the shop - he isn't squeamish, but the bizarre nature of the shop's contents leaves him with an unpleasant (albeit vague) sense of deja-vu.

"Gammell Angell," he says. "Who are you?"

[Ataraxian]

Behind the curtain, Hazard laughs hoarsely at Aldrich's "just a mouth" comment. "No, I'm all here. I just don't move that fast these days, is all."

Hazard wheels himself out from behind the screen. He's an old man, dressed in a threadbare robe of maroon velvet, and sitting in a rickety wheelchair. His short beard is grizzled. "Almost all here, anyway." He gestures at his right leg. "Happened before I got here. Elf-shot back in the Three Creeks War. Poisoned."

He instructs Flea to bring the orc into the lab and attach her to various machines before addressing you again. "Firstly, gentlemen, let us start off our relationship on the right foot, with payment where it is due. You may each take one of the potions on that shelf, if you like... they intensify one's physical or mental abilities. The effect tends to be temporary, although sometimes it sticks. I suspect that if the attribute had been increased in life,
the experience of having it raised can act as a useful reminder."

"Now, I keep a running list of special commissions from customers, which, given my condition, I am unable to fulfil. If you are interested in giving me a hand--- non-literally, I assure you", he chuckles--- "I can tell you more about them. Or if there is anything you are looking for yourselves... I flatter I know a tolerable amount about where you might start looking."

[The potions Hazard has offered you are labeled "strength", "dexterity", etc.]

[Eonas]

Gammell smiles politely at the man and takes one of the offered potions (labelled "Intelligence"). "Thank you, sir. What sort of special commissions are we talking about here?"

[Ataraxian]

From behind the screen, you hear machinery starting up: the grind of gears, the hiss and whoosh of a pump.

"Let's see," says Hazard, wheeling over to a shelf and pulling down a dog-eared notebook. "One of the Mayor's people was in here the other day, obsessing about the Many and what they were up to. I don't know if they're planning to conquer the city or not, but there do seem to be a good number of them nowadays, and they keep their plans close. He had all sorts of suggestions for finding out--- everything from eavesdropping, to kidnapping one of them and dragging him off to a tithing pit. Sounded pretty foolhardy if you ask me, but perhaps it's your idea of a good time."

"The Garritch--- ghoul from the Green Street mess--- has been looking around for warlocks for the longest time. They're a kind of magician; like to shoot bolts of force out of their fingers or something. Not very common. Apparently the Garritch is trying to learn how to do it, and he'll pay a commission if you help him find one. Assuming he eats the warlock and not the other way round, of course."

"Finally, I wouldn't mind knowing what happened to an adventurer by the name of Tavistock d'Esperance. Woman called herself a scholar-soldier; eccentric and paranoid, but handy with a blade. She'd gotten herself the idea that there were things to be found in the mists out beyond the city, and since that was where my former partner was exploring when he vanished, I told her to keep an eye out for him. Now, if she'd just disappeared as well, I wouldn't have thought twice, but two days ago a grubby little scamp tried to sell me this." He pulls out a rapier in a battered leather scabbard from behind the shelf. It doesn't look like much, but its appearance is remarkably detailed: bronze studs and snaps, marks of wear in the leather. Most mundane objects here are gray and generic-looking. "She didn't just leave her sword lying around," Hazard continues. "Someone took it from her, and that makes me wonder if she found something out there after all."

"Let me know if any of those sound interesting. And even if not, I'm always ready to buy anything interesting you might find yourself in possession of. Only do be a bit more careful with the heads next time."

[Alkapwn21]

Aldrich took a bottle labeled "Dexterity" from the shelf and turned to Gammell. He spoke in a soft whisper.

"Whadya think?" he asked. "I wouldn't mind helping find his scholarly friend, but I don't want to be around here too long with that Garritch fellow looking to eat me. That may be an issue we'll need to see... handled, in due time."

[Eonas]

Gammell gives no indication of having heard Aldrich, focusing his eyes slightly more than normal on Hazard. "Where might we find this Garritch and the first person you mentioned?" he asks, still very politely.

[Ataraxian]

"Let's see," Hazard replies. "The Mayor's assistant... they all look the same to me. Flea, do you recall?"

She pokes her head out from behind the screen for a second, holding what looks like a needle-tipped hose in one hand. "The tall skinny one, wasn't it? Cavor? Candor? Spends a lot of time down around the square with the dry fountain." She points a direction.

"The Garritch, now. He's part of the Green Street mess. The ghouls separate into messes--- dining clubs, so to speak--- and they mark their territories with paint. The Shambles is supposed to be neutral territory, and we use white. Green tends to show up around that way"--- he waves a hand, "maybe ten minutes slow walking."

[Alkapwn21]

Aldrich turns back to Gammell. I'm fine with whatever. But make no mistake I will not be eaten. Our presence is still almost unknown at this point, so I'm not worried about The Garritch. I will, however, place self-perseverance at the utmost importance . . . I already died once."

Aldrich looked around the room and back to Gammell. "Perhaps the other choice wouldn't be terrible for now. We might be able to learn a thing or two."

[Eonas]

"Yes, this Candor person seems very interesting. What, if you don't mind me asking, was the special commission you were given concerning him?" Gammell asks, his attention still mostly focused on Hazard.

[Ataraxian]

"He was the Mayor's lackey. The one who wants to know what the Many are up to. Apparently the Mayor is willing to pay for information about them... or if you just grab one of them and drag them into a tithing pit, that'll work too."

[Alkapwn21]

"How would we go about find one of the Many?" Aldrich asked.

[Ataraxian]

Hazard snorts. "What, one on their own? Good luck. You go that way, you'll find whole packs of them." He waves, indicating a direction broad enough to encompass half the city.

Flea emerges from behind the screen again; whatever's behind there is making a series of rhythmic squishes and groans that presumably don't require further attention.

"Look," she says. "If you're going to roam all over the city, it's probably easier if we just..." She pulls a short knife from her belt and gingerly pricks a finger with it, squeezing some blood out onto the blade. She offers it to you. "If you lick this, you'll probably be able to find your way around at least a little."

[Eonas]

"I'd like to speak to this lackey. How many people are in the Shambles, by the way?" Gammell asks, as he hesitantly takes the blade and licks the blood off of it.

[Ataraxian]

Gammell: As you lick the blood from the knife blade, you stagger--- you're so clumsy! And so tall! Your mind reasserts itself quickly, although not quickly enough to stop Flea smirking at your shakiness. Thinking about how to find the Many now brings vague directions to mind, and you feel as though you might dimly remember a variety of useful things that you didn't use to know.

[you gain a half rank in knowledge (local)]

Hazard tells you there are a few thousand people in the city; most of them, except the Many, drift through the Shambles every so often. Only a hundred or so people actually live in the Shambles. It's the city's market center, but it's not actually very big.

[Eonas]

An expression of sheer delight spreads over Gammell's face as soon as he realizes this. "Wow! he exclaims. "How long do the effects of one of these doses last?"

As he asks this, he racks his mind to 'remember' what exactly Tithing pits are, the route to find the Mayor's lackey, and what happens to summoned creatures here after the spell ceases to have effect on them.

Spoiler

Show

Local Knowledge Check for Tithing pits: (1d20+3)[16](19)
Local Knowledge Check for Mayor's Lackey route: (1d20+3)[14](17)
Local Knowledge Check for Summoned creatures: (1d20+3)[9](12)

[Eonas]

"Right, thanks. I'll go find this person. Coming, Aldrich?" Gammell says, and sets off towards where he 'remembers' the square with the dry fountain to be.

[Alkapwn21]

"Yup, right behind you," Aldrich said, securing his potion away, "You weird, vampiric, son of a hag."

This world was... different, that was for sure. Aldrich wondered if there was any way to return "home" before following Gammell out of the door.

[Ataraxian]

With Gammell's new directional insights, it really isn't difficult to find the square with the dry fountain, which is still part of the Shambles, barely a few hundred yards from Hazard's as the crow flies (although the city's bizarre geography forces you to walk around quite a bit further).

The tall, thin, red-haired man is propping up a pillar to one side of it. He's wearing a patchwork cloak, though the rest of his clothing is gray. He's whistling an old ballad tune. Although he stops and straightens up as you approach, he waits for you to make the first move.

[Eonas]

As he walks beside Aldrich, Gammell speaks to him in a somewhat distracted manner, albeit with a peculiar gleam in his eye. "That was... amazing. I KNOW things now, I've learned things in moments that would have taken far longer to find out otherwise. And that's just the beginning: a drop of blood from a halfling girl. Imagine what it might feel like to eat an entire body, maybe even that of a sage! My father would have -"

Gammell stops dead in his tracks. My father! Do you suppose he'd be here?"

Confronted with the red-haired man, Gammell tries to remember whether he might be the Mayor's lackey.

[Alkapwn21]

"I suppose I've done worse for less," Aldrich said. "Self preservation was a fickle thing in our last world. I'm not sure about your father, does everyone who dies come here? Did you learn that through your little snack back there?"

[Eonas]

"The girl said only the very capable came here. I wonder how capable my father was." Gammell says pensively.


To the lackey, Gammell says "We were sent by Hazard to you to inquire about the Many. We're new here, but we can still help you get a hold of some of them."

[Ataraxian]

The lackey looks back at you.

"Ah, Hazard sent you," he says. "Well, he usually finds helpful people. And we have a standing agreement with him over payment, so unless there's something special you want, you'll get store credit with him if you find out anything useful."

"The Many aren't necessarily the most dangerous element in the city," he goes on. "But they're the hardest to figure out. They don't use the tithing pits, and they don't buy or sell in the Shambles. It's hard to tell what they're up to. But there are a lot of them, and the number seems to be growing. They used to take mostly volunteers, but we suspect that nowadays they're snatching people off the streets when nobody's looking. People nearby report strange sounds and smells, and there are persistent rumors they're building some kind of weapons or devices."

"You won't learn anything interesting by eating one, by the way. They seem to be able to swap their memories around at will. You'll have to sneak in and figure out what's going on. Alternately, if you can capture one of them alive and drag them into a tithing pit, we think the Mayor might be able to learn some secrets that way."

"Do try not to get caught yourselves. Hazard's usually a good judge of people, and most of the ones he chooses to do these kinds of jobs make out all right. But the Many are remarkably adaptable. Assume they'll have exactly the skills you're worst at dealing with--- at least that way you'll never be surprised."

[Ataraxian]

The lackey informs you both that you can identify the Many by how they talk-- they have their own language, and speak Common with an accent. Failing that, everyone in the Many district of the city is one of them.

[Eonas]

Gammell nods. "So, do they have any particular strengths or weaknesses we should know about? How would you suggest going about capturing one of them?"

Spoiler

Show

Gammell also tries to remember where the Many district is. (1d20+3)[20]

[Ataraxian]

The man laughs. "If I knew how to go about this, I wouldn't mess about hiring people, would I? They have plenty of strengths--- they're adaptable, numerous, close-mouthed with strangers and very quick to pass news around with one another. As for weaknesses, well, one on one they're just like ordinary citizens. You can beat them, stab them, or enspell them like anyone else. And regardless of what skills they're using at any given moment, some of them are inherently more powerful than others... it seems to depend how experienced the person was before they joined up."

You may know what to do next, or you may not. Either way, you're pretty confident you know where to go.