Dyer's Absalom Beguiled IC

[DyerMaker]

Maria: Explaining her principles to the tradesmen, Maria's silver tongue smooths the situation and the men thank her for the drinks, leave their coin on the table and quietly exit the pub. Maria notices Berengir sharing his ale with a slightly larger, rougher-looking half-orc.

Ryl: Ryl crosses the street to the Church of Asmodeus where he examines the bone more carefully. After some time Ryl is able to discern a strong aura of divination magic on the bone. In an attempt to use the bone as a magical device, Ryl comes to the conclusion that there must be some other component(s) for this bone to serve its purpose. Entering the church, a petite, dark-skinned woman dressed in purple and black robes greets Ryl; All hell bends to his will, Hail the Prince of Darkness, His time is nigh. She bows slightly and awaits some acknowledgement from Ryl.

Rufus: Waiting in the corner should things go wrong, Rufus listens in on the conversation between Alice and Zhou.

Berengir: After explaining to Truk how he doesn't have the money to help pay off Truk's gambling debt. Berengir mentions that he might have a job for his friend in the near future. Truk responds; Um, bad news fer Truk, maybe, um, we roll Penny Boy, say, you say? Yes! we roll Penny's! Truk git club. The half-orc stands, his chair falling backwards, rambling a bit on the floor as he proceeds toward the door.

[grifter730]

Oberon

Mountain's breath! I must've been knocked out pretty badly, Oberon thought to himself in disbelief as he realized his surroundings.

Assuming the perpetrators to be long gone, Oberon ignores the voices nearby for the moment. He creaks his neck, and looks at the boy for a few heartbeats. "Might be your lucky day here, boy. Got a gold coin if you can tell me what you saw here." He rummages his pouch and pull out a gold coin, flashing it at the boy.

[Blinkbear]

Alice: Opening the door for Zhou, Alice is confronted with a shy, meagerly dressed half elf male. Zhou is holding a piece of folded parchment bound with string. Miss Alice, Master Leonel wanted you to have this. He said the contents were found in the middle of his dining table. Nothing but this Miss Alice. He hands to parchment to Alice. Should I go now Miss Alice?

"No, please come in, Sir. Have a seat, treat yourself to a cookie, if you wish." She smiles. "I'd rather read this and maybe send you back with an answer if possible. Oh, and please don't mind my friend." She shows Zhou the way to the living room / office, takes a seat behind the desk, and motions Zhou to sit in the very same place that Leonel had sat a few hours ago. Then, she unrolls the parchment.

[Eldest]

Maria

Maria takes the coin quietly, and goes over to check if their drinks need refilling.

[dantiesilva]

I see so either it is meant for me to commune with someone, or for someone to be able to watch me, no doubt from the other end. I believe I will be placing this inside a safe place. Ryl says as he looks to his loyal companion. "Open your mouth please." He directs the summon before placing the item inside. "Now when you return to your home plane I expect you to drop that item off in a safe place where no one shall find it until we find whatever it is supposed to connect to, we do not want it being used against us, is that understood?" Ryl asks the outsider, making sure it understood what he wanted it to do.

"All hail the lord of of law, who even the gods do not disrupt in his proceedings of carrying out his sacred duty. We shall bring law to this unholy land, and the name of Asmendous shall be upon the lips of all citizens." Ryl replies in kind, bowing his head to the sister. "I have not meet you here before, then again I have only been here for a little over a week now. Could you tell me if anyone has come here recently fitting this description?" Ryl asks the young priestess, describing his acquaintance Oberon to her.

Spoiler: If she says she has not seen him in the church all day

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" I see, well thank you for your time, I must be off, I think he may be in danger and the Lord has plans for him I believe." Ryl explains rushing back outside and trying to search the few places he had seen the man before.

[Hella Lugosi]

Damn it. Roark sighs heavily to himself as rises to his feet, propping himself up against the wall. “Thank you for coming to my aid, madam. How long ago did you hear the noise? I need to know how long I was out.” Then, as guilt washes through his mind, another question forms. “Do you happen to know if someone named Leonel lives nearby? I have an urgent message I need to deliver to him. In person.”

Spoiler: OoC

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Diplomacy: (1d20+7)[10]

[DrK]

Rufus

Seeing Alice relax and the messenger clearly a real one Rufus helps himself to a drink before sitting with them listening a little but mostly just keeping an eye on things in case the messenger wasn't as trustworthy as he looked.

Spoiler: OOC

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Just being polite and keeping in the background

[DyerMaker]

Darkness falls.

Oberon: Flashing the gold measure at the lad in hopes of retrieving information, the boy looks at the coin with the gaze of a Bodak. I saw you! Hahaha! You're bleeding, mister. ... my sister, she saw another man. The lad points toward the east. Looking around the corner you see two figures, one could be Father Roark.

Alice & Rufus: Zhou nods timidly toward Rufus; G'day sir, as he takes a seat appointed by Alice. Unrolling the parchment, Alice finds a single card, 2-inches square, stamped upon it in black ink is a trident. This is the mark of the Black Sahuagin, a once powerful gang within Absalom, but now reduced to only a few members and petty theft. Rufus is immediately aware of the significance of the card. In an earlier time, the Pistolero would have left a similar card at the scene of an assassination, or to warn, in a mocking way, a potential target that they had 24-hours to live.

Maria: Finishing up a few pub-specific duties, Maria prepares for the evening rush of patrons. But, the rush never comes. A few regulars drop by for a laugh and a shot of Throatburn (a very potent whisky typically made by the gnomes of Kalsgard, but distilled now in Absalom with less quality under the same name). Berengir and Truk have their exchanges, comings and goings when an older man enters the bar. His aesthetic is not one that Maria would normally serve. Homeless vagrants typically carry no coin. The man wore dirty, torn robes as he slowly saddled-up to the bar, his gaunt features and wisp of grey hair upon his nearly bald head gave away his apparent age. His eyes were not quite blue, but not green, somewhere 'tween the two. The man stares at Maria for a moment; rice wine.

Ryl: Having sent the bone to a distant plane via his eidolon, Ryl turned to the acolyte for information concerning the possible sighting of Oberon. No, my brother, I have not seen your companion. She bows and walks deeper into the church. Ryl continues to look for Oberon, possibly in Green Ridge.

Roark: As Roark questions the woman, she attempts to answer his questions; At first, we heard the loud crack, my baby brother and I. It wasn't until we heard a woman screaming that we came outside. It took a bit to wake you as well, maybe 10 minutes? ... Leonel? Leonel Coruna? Why yes, he and his lover, Bella, live two doors down. I'll take you.

[grifter730]

Oberon:

Oberon's heart stutters at what looks to be the priest. They didn't make it out? He wonders to himself, but he could already guess the answer. Anyone capable of taking him out would easily dispatch a priest burdened by a dependent.

Oberon flips the boy the gold coin without thought as he turns and walked towards what looks like Roark and another figure. As he gets closer and his fears are realized, Oberon lets out a harsh curse, knowing it's his fault that they're in this predicament again. Should've been more alert. Should've gone straight to the Starwatch. Arrogance always took its payment.

He claps the priest on his shoulder by way of greeting, and nods slightly at the lovely woman speaking to Roark, listening in their conversation as the woman explained the recent events.

Spoiler: OOC

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Oberon will introduce himself after she's finished, and follow along. He also used Sense Motive on her (rolled a 22 in the OOC thread since I can't roll from editing if I remember right).

[Eldest]

Maria

She sets a bottle of rice wine and a glass down on the counter, out of his easy reach. Money. Please.

[dantiesilva]

Now where in the nine hells is that man? He never misses his sparing session. Ryl thinks to himself as he walks through Green Ridge with darkness beginning to fall. "It seems we may have to stop and spend the night in this part of town my friend, I do not like the idea of us trying to walk back to the temple in the darkness." Ryl states to the outsider walking directly behind him, the problem was Ryl wasn't very familiar with this part of town and as such didn't know where to go. All this time he had stayed close to the temple district, making short explorations throughout the city each day to look for his family, however he had never made it this far before due to not knowing enough information about the area, and thus not having a clear destination to set up shop for his search. However here he was now, and there was very little he could do about it, something told him his friend was in danger and he would wished to see how badly.

As such Ryl and his summon began looking for a inn to stay the night, he could ask questions there about Obren and with luck make a few contacts in this part of town.

[Hella Lugosi]

Roark sighs with relief at the woman’s answer. “Thank you so much, you have no idea how much this helps us. As soon as my friend is up, we must-” He is cut off as Oberon firmly claps his shoulder. “…One second.” He turns to his ally and, noticing his wound hasn’t got any better, grabs his arm in return. He closes his eyes as he begins to summon forth divine energy. Adressing Oberon now, his tone shifts to one of concern. "How bad did they get you? Aside from the bullet wound, I mean."

Spoiler: OoC

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Cure Light Wounds: (1d8+1)[6]
Spells: 1st: Obscuring Mist, Bless, Shield of Faith

[grifter730]

Oberon

Oberon exhales a sharp breath as the healing magic takes its effects. "Thank you for that. I wasn't aware just how badly that was affecting me. I'm physically fine elsewhere. Merely wounded pride, that's all. Nothing that will affect me for long, as my master used to tell me. Now, I take it our charge has been taken from us? I was thinking of heading straight to the Doxy, it's our only lead after all. There's also someone I know that may be able to help us out. It's clear we're dealing with a very capable group of people, and we could use all the help we can get."

Spoiler

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Oberon is back up to full health 12/12. Thanks!
Also, don't forget my Sense Motive check from the OOC thread!

[Blinkbear]

Alice doesn't say anything and just shows Rufus the card, one eye-brow raised. She suspects that Rufus knows what this exactly means, as he was older and more familiar with the gangs. Without waiting for any comment from Rufus' sight, she asks Zhou:

"Is Master Leonel at home now? Is he alone?"

[crowe]

Berengir: After explaining to Truk how he doesn't have the money to help pay off Truk's gambling debt. Berengir mentions that he might have a job for his friend in the near future. Truk responds; Um, bad news fer Truk, maybe, um, we roll Penny Boy, say, you say? Yes! we roll Penny's! Truk git club. The half-orc stands, his chair falling backwards, rambling a bit on the floor as he proceeds toward the door.

Berengir grabs Truk's ear before he storms out and whispers desperately in his ear.
Truk my friend, I know your need is great, but bashing pennies isn't going to get you anywhere. Hang out here, we might have a real job for you.

[DyerMaker]

Oberon: They didn't make it out? Oberon wonders to himself as he sees the priest speaking to a woman in the street. It's dark now but the street lamps of Green Ridge provide low light visibility. The monk moves closer to Father Roark to listen to the conversation. Oberon has a hunch that the young woman is genuine and wanting to help. Oberon welcomes the healing by Father Roark and mentions someone that might be able to help them.

Roark: The priest heals Oberon as Belén offers to escort them to Leonel's home.

Ryl: Looking for Oberon, Ryl doesn't want to be stuck in an unfamiliar neighborhood at night, so he looks for nearby lodging and finds what looks to be an older and prestigious building, The Anvil & Ivy near the north-western section of the district.

Maria: The old man slides a silver weight across the bar. Rice wine was consumed by the gods. It is said that Aroden favored it over all drink. Tell me of your first encounter with this beverage?

Alice: Showing the card to Rufus, Alice asks Zhou if his master is at home and if he is alone. Zhou replies, Master Leonel is at home, yes miss, and no, he is not alone. The help of the house is with him along with one of the masters from his employ.

Berengir: Grabbing Truk by the ear, Berengir saves his friend from making a grave mistake and urges him to patience. Truk not lose hed. Truk need coin, now! The half-orc slams his fist on the table in frustration, but settles afterward. Truk remember stronger drink. No more ale.

[dantiesilva]

"You may return home for the night, walking into this establishment with you will only bring unwanted attention to me. I shall call you first thing in the morning however, or if I feel the need once I have a room." Ryl informs his construct, waiting for it to fully vanish from the material plane before opening the door to the Anvil & Ivy inn. Slowly making his way to a counter of some sorts to rent a room for the night he waits to be acknowledged before stepping forward. " Good evening, I was wondering if you had any open rooms for the night, it seems I spent to much time in the markets today and lost track of time." Ryl explains to the person behind the desk as if he were speaking to an old friend.

"Also am I to late for dinner? I can understand if I must pay a little more do to the late hour, however I am more than willing to do what is needed." the summoner says kindly to the greater waiting to see how their interaction went before deciding if it would be wise to question such a man, or look for a dinning area, or bar within the establishment and simply listen to the stories being told.

[grifter730]

Oberon

"We must tread carefully, my friend," Oberon says to the priest. "These people threw an entire group at us to recapture Belladonna. Who knows if her family is being targeted as well. It would do well to proceed with caution. We may be walking in to another ambush, yet, we must also hurry, for perhaps we may be able to spoil their actions. Such is our predicament."

Oberon briefly introduces himself to the woman, and then asks her to point the way while he takes the lead. Moving cautiously with his staff ready in hand, Oberon proceeds to Leonel's house, eyes alert.

Make them pay, Oberon thought to himself. Please, please be at the house. I'll make you pay for the humiliation suffered -- it's just wounded pride, didn't you say so to the priest? Pay attention, lest you're humiliated again. Pay attention. Pay attention. Just survive through this, then maybe we'll go and fetch Ryl and his strong pet, and we'll put the hurt on everyone. Pay attention. Pay attention.

Spoiler: OOC

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Stealth: (1d20+6)[13]
Perception: (1d20+5)[20]

[Hella Lugosi]

“I understand that time is more pressing than ever, but while we’re here, Leonel may be able to give us some additional leads to pursue if the Doxy turns up blank.” As soon as Roark mentions his friend, he nods. “Excellent. If we can trust him, he will no doubt be useful. Allies in this city are hard to come by.”

He turns to depart, following Oberon to Leonel’s house, but not before giving a few parting words to Belén. “Be careful. Before today, I never thought of this being a rough part of the city. Now I’m not so sure.” As he rejoins Oberon, he lowers his voice to a whisper. "I advise caution. If we charge in, I may not be able to heal you again."

Spoiler: OoC

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Stealth: (1d20)[10]
Perception: (1d20+5)[7]

[DrK]

Rufus

Rufus leans forward as the card falls onto the table and glances at Alice. "Alice, this is dangerous stuff. What have you got involved in. I know these scum and they aren't the kind you want to meet in a dark alley." Looking at Zhou, "Do you know what your master has been involved in to get this sort of card and provoke trouble from these gangs?" He drags his gun out holding it on the table, but not entirely threatening. "Give Miss Alice here some more infomration please friend"

[Eldest]

Maria raises an eyebrow at the man, but humors him. I was 17. We had swiped a bottle, Krelista an' me, an' we'd decided ta drink the whole thing. Bad idea, that, but we was young. She smiles, amused at the memory. Drinking down by the harbor and we's woke up inna rowboat, drifting in th'Ship's Graveyard. Hadn't the foggiest what we'd did, other than nobody bothered us much when we got back. Can't drink rice wine without tasting brine now. So you can keep your God's drink. This last bit is said with merriment.

[DyerMaker]

Ryl: enters the Anvil and Ivy after dismissing this eidolon for the evening. The Inn is one of the older buildings in Absalom and maintained in excellent condition. A human man, well dressed, with thinning hair white hair welcomes you from behind the counter; And how may I help you today, sir? He replies that he does have open rooms, 2gp per night, and that you are not too late for dinner; No sir, dinner is still being served, local fowl and fava beans. How many nights will you be staying? The man hands you a key with the number 15 stamped upon it and points you toward the dinning hall.

Oberon & Roark: Belén explains to Oberon and Roark which home is Leonel's. Moving in that direction the pair find the residence behind a locked gate with a simple sign upon the solid wooden gate; Under Guard — No Trespassing.. Oberon moves with determination while Roark advises caution.

Rufus: Observing the card, Rufus warns alice and then hints at a threat to Zhou who replies sheepishly to the inquiry; Sir, no sir, I'm simply a messenger for master Leonel and miss Bella. I know nothing of these matters.

Maria: The man smiles widely at Maria's tale, some of his teeth are missing but he seems harmless enough. The man pays for another portion of the rice wine and then departs without notice. Maria didn't see him leave. It was almost as if he had vanished, a thought that humored the half-drow. Approaching his place at the bar to remove his glass and claim the silver weight he left as a tip, Maria notices an odd object cradled by the empty glass. It was a bone, a very old-looking bone, perhaps one from a finger or the hand?

[Eldest]

Maria smiles after the old man: he'd vanished, damn mages, but he'd paid. She swipes the coin off the table and starts slightly at the bone. She picks up the glass, examining it closely, drawing on her knowledge of the body.

Spoiler

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Arguable this is either know:local (humanoid based knowledge) or know: nature.
Here's a roll for each.
Using a round of Luck.
Local
(1d20+10)[16]
Nature
(1d20+4)[24]

[grifter730]

Oberon

Oberon momentarily ignores the warning on the sign, examining the locked gate, and peeks inside. "Is this sign always here?" Oberon asks Belen, and then turns to speak to the priest. "We can politely knock, which would potentially warn anyone inside of our arrival, or we can jump the gate, and potentially be arrested for trespassing, especially if foul play has occurred inside and we're caught leaving the place. Thoughts?"

Spoiler: OOC

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Perception: (1d20+5)[22] looking for signs of a break in, or a struggle.

[dantiesilva]

"To be honest I am not sure at the moment. With luck I should be able to find what I am looking for come the morning, however one can never be certain of things in such a large place." Ryl replies kindly enough to the older gentleman behind the counter. Upon hearing what was for dinner Ryl's eyes alight with a glow as he licks his lips in anticipation. " I hope it is as good as my parents used to make it." he says placing the two gold pieces on the table before taking the key for his room. "I assume I may sit anywhere, or do you have assigned seats for specific rooms? I know back in my home certain groups of people tend to sit together and I wouldn't want to seem rude or cause a fight in your fine establishment." Ryl remarks to the older man behind the desk wanting to make a good impression on him incase he would have to stay more than one night.

[Hella Lugosi]

Roark studies the building intently before making his decision. “I say we enter politely at first. I’m not exactly built for climbing, and we to approach honestly if Leonel is to trust us. Plus, if we get caught and nothing’s wrong… we will look more than a bit foolish.” He thinks for a moment. “Alternatively, one of us could knock and enter that way while the other sneaks in over the wall. If Leonel is in danger, a distraction may be our best resource.”

Spoiler: OoC

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Perception for any signs of a struggle: (1d20+5)[7]

[grifter730]

Oberon

"Great idea!" Oberon tells the priest. "I can do the sneaking. I'll jump over the fence from the side or the back as you knock. Just give me a moment to get to the other side first."

Spoiler: OOC

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Also waiting on the Perception results before moving forward.

[DyerMaker]

Maria: Having examined the bone in the glass, Maria determines that it is one of the metacarpals of the hand, possibly of the 2nd or 3rd digit, due to its length. The bone looks old, aged with a few pits and black on both ends.

Oberon: Seeing no signs of a break in at the gate, Oberon decides to scale the back wall while Roark knocks on the front gate.

Roark: Roark knocks on the front gate as Belén assists, calling out in her soft voice; Leonel, Leonel, its me, Belén! Moments later a gruff voice is heard behind the wooden gate; Uh, Belin, is that you? Are yu'n alone? It's me, Sam. I can't let'cha in if'n ya with others.


Ryl: Why yes, sit anywhere you like. ... Entering the dining room there are only two people currently seated. A middle-aged human male and a young-looking half-elf woman sit at a table near the bar. There are brown cloths on each table with place settings prepared. A server, a tall human man with slick-backed black hair and a brown apron approaches you with a gently smile, Good evening sir, sit anywhere you'd like. I'll be with you shortly.

[Eldest]

Maria shrugs and pockets the bone. She'd seen odder tips.

[Hella Lugosi]

Roark turns to Belén, speaking under his breath. "Do you recognise this voice?" Waiting for her to answer in the affirmative, he prepares his next words for the man behind the gate. "Sam, I am Father Roark Alba of the church of Sarenrae. I am aware you have a job to do, but we have grave news for Leonel concerning Bella. Turn us away if you must, but do not do so without letting your master know that her life is in imminent danger, and that I am here to help rescue her."

Spoiler: OoC

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If Belén doesn't know the voice, Roark will remain silent and let her do the talking.
Diplomacy: (1d20+6)[18]