Tales from the Well [IC]

[Bigmac]

Yergals yells <Argonessen>"Ith Dalug gromor chu' Relgo!" (A profane curse of dragons) at the fleeing drow. He then walks over to the drow that he killed and spits on him as he says, "Cowards." Yergal then bends down and begins searching the corpse for money and weapons that he can take from his fallen foe.

[fendrin]

Darryn

"Well, that was... interesting."
Darryn says as he makes his way back down to the drow he felled.
"Someone should check to see if any of these fellows are alive."
Meanwhile, he searches the drow.
"Let's see what we can find out."
In Old Elvish he adds "While I'm normally all for saving damsels in distress on principle, my companion is right that it will probably hep us all if you can tell us what this was about."

[Cogito]

Wroen

Wroen begins to salvage the arrows he shot as soon as the finally Drow flee while listening to the dancer's explanation.

[The_Lonely_d12]

Althan

Althan lets go of the barstool, appreciatively pets the top of Gix's head, and picks up the previously forgotten plate of food. Looking it over quickly to make sure it was still fine, he puts it within easy reach of the clawfoot, and begins searching the drow that he felled. Calling out loudly as he does so, Althan says

"If we need to, I don't think there will be much problems with tracking the survivors. I don't know 'bout any of you, but I could use a bit of healing before we try any of that. I'm not dead yet, I might go for a walk or something...but I'd rather not chase after our dark friends there beforehand."

Switching to a grumbling tone which begins to diminish slightly, he can be heard to say
"that's the last time I walk in anywhere without at least my tangat, and courtesy be damned. It's bad enough I have to leave Gix outside, but whenever you see a halfling with a weapon as big as he is, you damned humans start to get nervous for no good reason.

Looking over the bit of teeth and blood spat out from the bullet-wound, he thinks to himself Certainly left enough of themselves to get a good scent, thats for sure

[Maurkov]

The bard climbs back down to the stage, offering Jardin a hand if he wishes to descend that way as well. Lahara comes out of hiding, but she's pretty spooked. She's jumping at shadows and maintaining a good five feet of personal space. The bard tries to calm her and she punches him in the shoulder, [Old Elvish] "You said they wouldn't come this far!" She hit a little close to his axe wound and he gasps. Seeing real pain she bites her fist, instantly contrite.

[Old Elvish] "It surprised me too, baby."

Soph arrives at the second level with a small wheeled platform-- a dolly. "We use this for moving kegs, mostly," she says to Yergal with a slightly histerical giggle. "Will you help me clean up?" She leans up and whispers, "Looting is unseemly... but there'll be plenty of time for it once they're in the storeroom." She seems to take most of the carnage in stride, but she turns away from the stuck wizard.

The bard addresses the assembling adventurers, [Common]"Thank you. Thank you all. I owe you a debt. My name is Alkmaion. I'll tell you all I know but drinks first. Oh Khyber." He's looking across to the bar where Emile stands frozen and ashen faced.

Alkmaion rushes over. Lahara follows in his wake. The barkeep is catatonic, still clutching the carving knife. His knuckles are white. The tip of the knife doesn't shake. It vibrates. Alkmaion approaches slowly, as if afraid something might explode. "Old friend...," he says.

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Before Soph arrives to remove the bodies, Darryn finds 5 platinum pieces tied on a string and some nasty fetish or something made of black feathers, a lizard skin pouch, and the skull of a monkey. Yergal finds... well, he finds the drow's rapier.

Edit: No survivors.

[fendrin]

Darryn

When Soph arrives with the cart, Darryn helps (well, not much, but he tries) hoist the body onto it. "Grisly work, this, but necessary when folks refuse to be... civil."
An observer will note that although he was searching the body, Darryn did not remove anything.

[Kirnon_Bhale]

Jardin

Shuddering at the gristly scene Jardin limps (even though he was not struck in the leg.) to a table to clear up some spilled liquid.

"What is going on here? Why were you attacked Alkmaion? What are you and Lahara running from? While I appreciate your skill in saving my life, I am all to conscious that the only reason I ended up the way I did is because of your presence.

[Bigmac]

Yergal smiles at Soph's comment about looting. He motions with his hands as he explians, "Not looting. I'm taking the coward's weapons. He must make a way across death's land without them now. Pheh, he won't make it far." After his explaination, Yergal takes a moment to wipe his blade before returning it to the scabbard on his back. He places the rapier between a belt and his armor and then lifts the corpse onto the dolly with little effort. Seeing the wizard Yergal utters "Nice Shot" quietly to himself. After gathering the bodies he'll accompany Soph to the storeroom to see to them.

[Velvet Elvis]

Dugby

Dugby seems rather irritated at the banter in what he guesses to be the elvish tongue, and reiterates his question, this time to the bard. He also quickly adds a remark to the gnome, "This was not only because of their presence," he nods to the bard and the drow dancer, "but because we don't take it well when people--any people--think to disrupt our ability to relax in this place."

At Yergal's muttered comment, Dugby's face lightens and he chuckles slightly morosely. "Yes, well, I actually hit something too," a booted toe pushes a couple of teeth across the floor, "And my friendly bat didn't do so badly either, you know." He winks away the thought that he might actually be jealous that his own results were not worthy of comment.

As he slips the sling back under and over his belt, he looks back to the bard. "So, would you kindly fill us in while this mess is cleaned up?"

[Cogito]

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I don't want to dampen Dugby's success in hitting somebody, but I think Yergal meant the wizard Wroen shot through the head. Might be wrong, though

Wroen

"I don't want to be rude," Wroen says towards Dugby, "but do we always kill people when they have an argument with somebody although we do not know what's behind it? These two might be criminals, or worse, hunted by one of the more powerful Drow tribes."

[Velvet Elvis]

Dugby

Dugby glares at Wroen, and replies heatedly, "If those drow have an issue with the bard and his woman, they can take care of it outside. If you don't feel that murdering a patron of this place warrants action, then you and I do not see the world in the same way. Furthermore, when they drew arms against the first of us, they drew against all of us. Keep that in mind if you remain interested in being part of this team. If you plan to make spot ethical decisions in the midst of combat that may put one or more of us at a disadvantage, you'd best find other employment. If we can't rely on your aid when expected, you are a liability, and we can't have liabilities out there in the jungles. Liabilities get people very much dead."

He may appear to be expanding the issue out of proportion, but there is a sense of history in his words that seems to support his passion.

OOC

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You might be right about Yergal's statement. It was so long ago, I forgot about it. I've edited.

[Cogito]

Wroen

"I forgot," Wroen calmly retorts, his face losing all expression, "just remember that you do not only put your own life at risk with such actions."

Wroen turns away from Dugby again, gathering the arrows that went stray on the upper level.

[fendrin]

Darryn

"Althan, Dugby, get everyone calmed down as best you can, then maybe we can find somewhere... private.. to meet with the intended victims? I'm going to go assist in the.. trash disposal."

Darryn follows Soph to the storeroom.

[Velvet Elvis]

Dugby

"Decisions like that need to be made quickly. There's no time for debate when one of our own is facing a hostile blade," Dugby says confidently to Wroen.

He nods to Darryn, then turns to the bard, making a visible effort to decrease his intensity, "Our drinks may take a while under the circumstances, so, if you'd both follow me to an out of the way table...."

Dugby briefly scans the southern end of The Well, and begins negotiating the path around any debris. There were no patrons left near the table he chose; he took the seat nearest the back wall, and waited for the others to approach and arrange themselves.

[Maurkov]

Lahara looks blankly at those speaking common. Alkmaion isn't ready to answer questions just yet.

Alkmaion's eyes don't leave the barkeep. He leans across the bar and grabs a bottle off the wall. He passes it to those behind and reaches for another. As he hands that one off, the barkeep snaps out of it. He points the knife at the bard.

"Must you take my condition so lightly?"

"Was there a better way to rouse you?" asks the bard, as he pays for what he pilfered. Emile jams the knife into the cutting board and then busies himself with some dishes. Alkmaion turns back to the party. "You'll be wanting that story now."

Soph is greatful for the assistance. The three of you move the bodies quickly, but Soph accidentally brushes against Yergal more than once. Even he notices. You take the bodies to an empty storeroom, left of the kitchens. "I guess we'll leave them here until the Flame can take them tomorrow." She holds out a key. "Lock up behind you?"

[fendrin]

Darryn

Darryn reaches out and takes the key.

Once Soph leaves, He turns to Yergal.
"Let's get this done with, so we can get on to other tasks. I want to know what we've stuck our collective nose in, and that girl obviously needs some comforting, and has just as obviously chosen you. So, here's how this works. I see what's magical, you shift 'em around until we find it. Then we look for anything else useful on them."
And with his long-winded instructions out of the way, Darryn makes a few odd gestures, then pulls out a scroll and casts the spell off of it.

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Infuse Skill Enhancement (UMD) into his pack //+3 to UMD
Scroll of Detect Magic (in case you couldnt guess)
UMD - (1d20+17)[34] //includes +2 for Artisan Bonus
DC 21

[Cogito]

Wroen

Having collected and cleaned the arrows, Wroen grabs a chair near the others and sits down, gazing at the bard in silence.

[Bigmac]

Yergal gives Sophs a nad and slight grin as she leaves. As he moves the bodies of the fallen around for Darryn he begins to ask a few questions. "So, you know the others from before? Will they hunt the drow down? How does your group normally work? I didn't get a chance to read the charter, so I'm in the dark here."

[Maurkov]

Since the excitement, about half the crowd has left. It seems it idea of rubbing elbows with rough adventuring types is more attractive than the reality. Those that stay are much quieter on average than the previous patrons. Soph returns without Darryn and Yergal. She carries a pail from which she scatters sawdust over the spilt blood. Emile has composed himself and heads over to fire the bouncer.

Milking his audience, Alkmaion studies the labels on the two bottles. He puts one on the table and the other on the floor, next to his chair. "I was Out There, South of the plateau, maybe a hundred miles from here. I had a few friends with me. I try to tread lightly, but the locals were stirred to a high dander, and we tangled with a few of them. She was their captive.

"It seems the chieftain of her tribe imposed new religion-- new or very old depending on your perspective. Tradition is strong in her, and Lahara still honors the scorpion god. She was convicted of blasphemy, and her punishment was to be indentured to the high priest. She ran away, was captured, and then rescued.

"My friends and I had a falling out over what should be done. I brought her back. They continued on."

"We were performing tonight to secure a little spending money before we head to Sharn. It seems I underestimated how badly they wanted her. The last few years have been hard for her. She needs time to heal."

He looks at her thoughtfully.

[Old Elvish]"Did you want to say anything to our new friends?"

[Old Elvish]"Tell them thank you. Tell them they have saved not only my freedom, but my life. Tell them that while I have no gifts to give them, that I will beseech Vulkoor for a boon, for they have aided me, his faithful."

The bard looks a little uncomfortable. "She says thank you."

[The_Lonely_d12]

Althan

Having sent his clawfoot outside to finish his meal, and at least tried to calm down some of the patrons, Althan walks over to the gathering, and somehow manages to plop down on one of the chairs, despite the actual seat being more-or-less eye level to him. Hearing at least part of their story on the way over, he asks when the bard finishes talking

"Are those two likely to come back and finish the deed, or with friends of theirs? I have to ask, because if they are, the longer we wait, the further away they can get, and they'll probably hold a grudge against us for helping you."

[Maurkov]

Loot list (items found by Darryn & Yergal)

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35 platinum pieces. The coins have off-center holes and are strung on cords. If they ever bore writing, it has long since warn off
5 rapiers
6 daggers
6 hand crossbows
51 bolts
3 envenomed bolts
3 flasks (small stoppered but unsealed glass jars; 5 doses of venom)
2 flasks (small sealed clay pots that slosh. There is an X scribed deeply on each of the four sides)
1 flask (small sealed smoked-glass jar that sloshes)
5 gold plated spheres, each the size of a large marble, individually wrapped in cloth, inside a pouch.
Some food-- berries, dried meat, bread (very hard and dense), some herbs
Various personal items:
Some shards of bone tied together
an irridescent blue butterfly dried and pressed between pieces of wood
several flints
about twenty small seashells

[fendrin]

Darryn

"Well," he says, talking to Yergal while sorting through the stuff, "the charter isn't specific as to whether or not we go after those two drow. We intentionally didn't put anything like that into it, so we could make decisions based on the specifics of each situation."
Darryn splits the findings into three piles. (see below)
"It is a lot clearer on the distribution of the stuff we find. In fact, it would probably be best for you to put the rapier you took with the other rapiers. If you want, you can mark it for your own use, but for now it should be in that pile."

((note the contents of these may change based on player actions))
Pile 1

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a ring
two (identical) potions
a small bundle of black feathers

Pile 2

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34 platinum pieces //removed the one Yergal took
5 gold plated spheres, each the size of a large marble

Pile 3

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5 suits of chiton armor
6 rapiers //added the one Yergal had taken
6 daggers
6 hand crossbows
51 bolts
3 envenomed bolts
3 flasks (small stoppered but unsealed glass jars)
2 flasks (small sealed clay pots)
1 flask (small sealed smoked-glass jar that sloshes)

[Bigmac]

Yergal pulls the rapier from the belt and places it in the pile. He stares intently at Darryn and asks, "So, exactly what DOES it say about the distribution of wealth?"

[Velvet Elvis]

Dugby

Dugby takes the bottle in hand while the bard speaks, glancing at the label. He makes a face indicating he thinks it's good, but not the best, then opens it, despite only having an inferential invitation to do so. He figured his team earned at least that much.

Pouring himself a glass and depositing the bottle in the center of the table, he glances up at the pair as they exchange words. When the bard translates the woman's lengthy comment into two words, Dugby stifles a chuckle, and says, "That's unfortunate. Well, here's to your scaring up enough for passage to the great city of Sharn."

Dugby raises his glass and takes a large sip.

"Oh, and Althan asked the question that pertains most directly to us: what odds are there that those remaining two will return? I can already guess they won't be alone if they do," he asks, one eyebrow raised, and another sip in the works.

[fendrin]

Darryn

"Well, to summarize and over-simplify, when we are out in the field, we spilt stuff up as best meets the needs of the moment. However, all loot is party property until we return to civilization and have the chance to properly divvy it up. That means that I might use an item out in the field, then have to return it to the party for fair distribution when we come back to the city.

Fair distribution involves a fifth of the loot be kept in party holdings, typically in the form of cash. The rest of the stuff we divvy up amongst the group, using appraised value for items and such."

He sighs.

"And believe me, that is the summarized and over-simplified version. We're done here for now, lets go see what the story is."

He heads out the storeroom door, waits fro Yergal to exit, then closes and locks the door. He pockets the key and joins the others.

[Bigmac]

"Guess this is an advance then." Yergal says as he grabs one of the platnium pieces on his way out. Better a coin in your pocket now then later. When he gets back to the main room, Yergal will see if he can spot Soph. If he does, he asks her for some more food, if not he'll ask Emile. The fight had awakened his hunger, and now he had some coin to buy a real meal.

Yergal walks up to the table and grabs the bottle from the center. He takes a large gulp of the drink before looking to pass the bottle on to someone else. If there are no takers, he sets the bottle back on the table with a soft thud. He gives the girl a lusty gaze, but speaks with compassion in his voice. "You O.K.?" Instead of sitting down at the table with the rest, Yergal leans up against the back wall near the table.

[Maurkov]

"I have already proven to be a poor predictor of the dark elves' ways," he says, but doesn't let that stop him. "I don't think they'll be trying anything more again tonight. The one that hit me didn't look like he could lace his boots without direction, and the other one is going to need a week to recover. He sure looked mad, though. Whoever hit him with the bullet had best watch out. He'll plague your childrens' children."

The barkeep wanders over, glances at the bottle on the table and replaces it with another. "Mind if I sit in?"

spot 12 to notice:

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He lifted the bottle Alkmaion had set aside.

Yergal catches Soph as he's leaving the storeroom, and she eagerly heads back to make him a plate.

[Kirnon_Bhale]

Jardin

((OOC: Text removed till later as per Maurkov's suggestion))

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Jardin has come to Xendrik to try and learn more about the Drow and the magics that they employ. He is trying to make a name for himself by coming across a great discovery much like the discovery of how to create Warforged or the binding of elementals. He is otherwise not materially minded.

[Maurkov]

((That's probably an incorrect assumption. It seems unlikely that you'd be back there with Yergal and Darryn. But feel free to save that block of text for later.))

[Velvet Elvis]

Dugby

The druid's eyes cloud slightly at the bard's sidelong warning.

"Well, I've run into their type a few times before, though for other reasons; monetary, primarily. I'm not going to lose any sleep over them. However, the next time I see them, I won't be pulling any punches. And if I'm not alone, I expect neither will the rest of us." He gulps down the rest of his drink, leaving his inference undirected.

As he sets the glass upon the table, he notices Emile drifting closer, and then his subtlety with the bottle. The slightest chortle escapes his lips, followed by a mild shaking of his head.

He looks up again to the bard and his...mistress...he supposed. "So, how soon will you two be leaving, then? I expect sooner, now, rather than later, eh?" Dugby made an effort at small talk ostensibly to see if the bard had any other items on his agenda. At the moment, he had no inclination toward delaying his plans for the expedition.