Adventurers' Guild: Bridgeport IC

[Daryk]

Marko

Marko watched Bruce leave, then immediately turned to Jerris and said, "So, Jerris, about that ballista... What will it take to get the money needed to install one aboard Sampo with a proper crew? As I told Bruce, I already have Woetjans looking for a supplier and <gunner>."

[DavidByron]

Jerris:
Ah yes the money! The money.

I should predicate this by expressing my deep appreciation to the guild for releasing me from the anti-magic dungeon in the old tower at the Doge's palace. I didn't get much of a chance to say anything about that at the time as my rescuers all ran off to catch up with "the master". So I've been thinking about how I could reward you all and I remembered that I have some loot left over from my earlier days adventuring and I think some of the items -- and yes, cash -- that I had stored away might suit some of your needs.

I've given Berwin instructions on where to locate the cache. It's buried in a false grave in Bridgeport's graveyard. Some of you could go and grab it tonight if you like. You're adventurers: you should probably all dig up a grave at midnight at least once in your career.

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Sheila:
Yes, Fin. I'm quite aware my father is missing. Unless you have a lead, this is not news. I checked for him before Broken Mountain.

Ulysses, responding to Shiela:
But, that was two weeks ago. He's still missing?

[Daryk]

Marko

"Right then! Let me get my shovel. Do we have any other spares available? Digging usually goes faster if you have more than one person..." Marko said enthusiastically.

[Thymin]

Dravick:

Taking in everything that is going on around him, Dravick decides that it would be best to help Captain Marko get the gold needed to get the boat in working order. "I'll come along, if we can't find a shovel, I think I might be able to help the same way Durx did with digging the cells." He flashes a winning smile before turning to go look for a shovel.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Shiela

(To Ulyessus)
"Indeed. Hes not returned home, and people I've talked to have turned up nothing. The only thing I'm hearing is that an imposing-looking woman with red hair is looking for him." She says through a scowl, even through the mildly humorus remark of hearing rumors abot herself looking for her father.
"Everyone has promised me an ear to the ground, but thats it."

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan looked around the room nervously.

"Everybody who had d-dug a grave in this room did it f-for a reason, Right? RIGHT?" Even emphasized, it was still a quiet statement and people could either miss it completely, or dominate Zan's words with their own discussion.

"At any rate, this b-being a false grave, there's nothing wrong..." He knew he was mostly talking to himself at this point, so the cleric sighed and walked off to procure yet some more ale.

[DavidByron]

Jerris:
Zan, right? Well it was a long time ago but I'm pretty sure I didn't bother to hide the cache under a real body.

Now there were some other things.... you know in my day we didn't have any organisation or orders or anything. Still for the time being I suppose we'll do it Bruce's way. I've got a few jobs to fill out. OK, treasurer. Who wants to be treasurer? How about when we get the loot we get everyone to guess how much the gems are worth....

Matthew:
I'll do it. I've been learning more about appraisal recently what with Fiona, and I know my way round the local shops.

Jerris:
Good. One treasurer. That was easy. We also need a liason with the Obad-Hai lot in case we ever need to borrow those Giant Owls again. Omoris-- you're a druid, right?

Jeff:
Giant Owls? Hey, I might want that one.

Jerris:
Hmm. Well I need a spy to work alone... someone said you knew Khorinis pretty well, Jeff?

Kyte, in his usual dead sounding voice:
I work alone.

Jerris:
Uhuh. Well these assignments aren't set in stone but I need three scout groups, one by sea with captain Marko and two riding horses. About half a dozen each. And I need a wizard in each group if possible.

Ulysses:
Put me down for the cavalry. Do we have the horses yet?
[hr]

Fin, to Eodrick
Do you think your skills could help trace a missing tailor? The trail may be two weeks cold I'm afraid.

[Akyana]

Approaching Bruce Well I'll be down as a scout if you need me. I'll be back after everyone clears out so you have more time. she never really liked being around crowds that much, more so when they are begging to be picked for something. She catches up with Zan Something bothering you, I'm not talking about the grave. she follows Zan wondering what is up with her old friend

[Karaswanton]

Eodrick

I've tracked colder trails. This one for instance.

[MK Kilmarnock]

When Sandra approached him, Zan was draining half of the flask into his mouth, and refilling it at the bar. It was only when she spoke up that he finally turned to her, capping his prized drinking container for a moment.

"Oh... um.... well, yeah. I, um, get bothered about a l-lot of things. This shouldn't be any d-different. However, I am please to hear from Jerris that, well... you know, the f-false grave and stuff. It's n-not against my religion or anything, I admit Boccob is very uncaring about small m-matters, but I personally c-couldn't do such a thing. B-by the way, um...."

Zan fished into his cloak and pulled out an unholy symbol of Nerull.

"T-take a close look at this, and tell me what you d-derive."

[Akyana]

Sandra looks at the symbol That's a symbol of Nerull... Zan you haven't changed religions have you? she looks a little worried at him as she sits down next to him. She shakes her head You know your grumpy old dwarf of a father wouldn't approve of that

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Knowledge Religion - (1d20+2)[14]

[TwoCents]

Dragutin Tadijanovic, Paladin of Garl

"I'm a marine, sir! Trained in ship handling and ship defense, and blessed by Garl to boot. Unless you object, I'll be going with Cap'n Marko here." Dragutin clapped Marko on the shoulder with a hearty thump. "And if you've got a shovel for me, I've got the strong back and weak mind to use it!" Dragutin laughed merrily.

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan shook his head. "Y-you assume much. Look..." He pulled out his own holy symbol of Boccob. "I'm n-not one to accept change easily, if at all. But Thaghor, who I m-must remind you is not my father, even though I know what you meant.... anyway, he gave this to me." Zan turned the symbol over for her, showing the etchings on the back.

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They're in common, and you can check the character sheet to see exactly what it says. I'm not sure if I remember correctly, and I don't have enough time at the moment to go back and check.

"This is what I w-wanted you to check out. By the way, care to help me, um.... ... you know, refresh my memory, S-Sandra?"

[Akyana]

Sandra nods a little. When he says he needs his memory refreshed she sighs You honestly don't remember me? she looks down a little Well I guess I did have longer hair back then. She moves to behind Zan then leans against him and pretends to cover his face with hair Remember now?

[MK Kilmarnock]

".... OH BOCCOB!" He darted forward, out from under her hair, and turned around with the capped end of the flask against his mouth.

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You said pretend, I know, but it was the only way I could see of how to word this.

"Y-you? You're that Sandra? W-wow... um...." He seemed flabbergasted, when best put. He reached behind him and lightly touched his back where she had leaned against him, though his scythe largely impeded this. "N-nice to meet you again?"

His face flushed red, mostly from the personal contact, and also at meeting what could SORT OF be worded as a childhood acquaintance. He remembered her being very young; she left the village before he did. Still, he was avoiding anything involving... well, what Sandra just did, because Sandra was both six years younger than him, and he was unsure of his status with Ana.

[Akyana]

Sandra smiles probably for the first time at his reaction and even giggled a little Well you know I did have a little crush on you back then. She moves closer and wraps her arms around him Never thought that I would see you again really, I was hoping that I would again it was clear to anyone she was coming onto him very strongly as she starts leaning in a little closer to his face

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan backed up as far as he could before being wrapped in her arms, his eyes closing. "D-d-d-d-d..." He bit his tongue and tried to focus. "I remember t-that. You were a lot younger than me, but still managed t-to bother me. To think that s-somebody your age would taunt me like that. I, u-um... guess I was just a wimp. B-but you know, Sandra, there's a w-woman here named Ana, and I believe we're... w-well, you know. Therefore, um... this is f-fairly wrong."

He winced, hoping that this wouldn't provoke Sandra into hitting him. He had rather painful memories, always shocked by the strength she had...

[Daryk]

Marko

Returning to the library with two gnome sized shovels, one of which he handed to Dragutin, Marko said, "About that wizard requirement, sir... We're only four by river so far, and not a wizard among us. And how did you want the spy to get to Khorinis?"

While waiting for the answer, Marko turned to Durx and Dravick and said, "Sorry gentlemen, shovels in your size were a bit big for me to maneuver up the stairs in addition to these two."

[Thymin]

Dravick:

"Aye, Aye Captain, I'll run down and grab them for us. And just for the record, I'm definitely no wizard, but I can help with some spells."

He then turns and heads down to the basement to retrieve the shovels.

[DavidByron]

Vlax:
I don't like the sound of horses but I'll take that sooner than a boat.

Inagu:
I'll go wherever I'm the most use. I'm no sailor though.

Matthew:
I think we have a pick axe somewhere too... from when we were digging out the prison cells. If I am the treasurer do I get the keys to the storeroom?

Jerris fishes around inside a pocket and throws some keys at Matthew. Quickly enough a pick axe and a normal sized spade is produced, along with a lantern and a couple of torches from the stores.

Berwin:
It's getting late. Let's get going.

[DavidByron]

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You can chat in the guild HQ or come with Berwin.
Btw, for those not familiar with Berwin he was in team Adder and a cleric of Neraynh, a sort of goddess of graveyards among other things. Berwin knows his way round Bridgeport's graveyards and has delivered more than a few corpses to some of them since his time in the guild.

Heading to the graveyard

Berwin leads as a smaller group of the Adventurers pick their way through the empty and silent streets of Bridgeport carrying spades and picks and torches. There is no curfew in effect but most people these days stay in late at night. Only a month or two ago this part of town near the old center would have been a lot more lively.

The group heads out of town towards the North West and the large graveyard just beyond the city limits. It's a fair hike and by the time they arrive it is close to midnight. Many of the adventurers returning from the Broken Mountain passed through the same graveyard earlier in the day. The site has a small chapel (not dedicated to any specific faith) and office, although you can't see it from the main gate where you enter the grounds.

There's a light out in the graveyard ahead. The adventurers are not the only ones about it seems.

Berwin:
Odd. I know the caretaker here. If it is him we should be fine.

[Daryk]

Marko

On his way to the door after Berwin, Marko said, "Well Inagu, you have a strong back and a clear eye. It won't take much to make you into one. And at the least, we could use a hand with the digging tonight."

At the graveyard, Marko nodded agreement with Berwin and said, "Then we should check first, no? Let's go see who else is wandering about at this hour."

[DavidByron]

Berwin:
Yes, we should check.

You head towards the light. Carrying your own lights you are likely to be spotted too, and so it seems. You can make out 4 humanish shapes in the darkness and it sounds like they are digging. They stop. One approaches with a light.

Cloaked and hooded man:
Who--- is that you Berwin?

The cloak has a grey tear drop shape on it prominently which you can see by the light from the man's torch. He looks grey and ghoul-like, cheeks sunken. Rather thin. However his voice has a note of enthusiasm.

Berwin:
It is, sir. I hope we didn't disturb you.

Dark figure:
Nnnng.

The three dark figures further back continue digging, this time without the aid of the lamp.

Cloaked and hooded man:
Deposit or withdrawal?

Berwin:
Neither. Well--- a withdrawal, but....

Cloaked and hooded man, glancing behind:
I better get back to them. But come and see me some time. We should talk. The caretaker has my address.

And he turns about and walks away towards the digging noises.

Berwin:
Our grave is over towards the West. An unmarked grave dedicated to Saint Cuthbert.

Berwin also wears a long dark cloak with a grey tear drop on it.

[Daryk]

Marko

Marko gave Berwin a concerned glance and said, "Something doesn't look quite right there, but I suppose what we're doing doesn't look quite right either. Let's get to digging, eh?"

[DavidByron]

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That's very suspicious -- why wasn't he more suspicious about what we were doing?

You find what appears to be the right grave marker and get digging. The earth is soft enough to make the pick axe no great use. Those of larger build take it in turns to enthusiastically attack the ground with the big spade and then hand off to someone else. The gnomes pace themselves more with their smaller spades. Before too long you hit something metal. It's a large trunk or chest made of metal, or largely metal reinforced. The condition is good, or good enough. There are handles on top so you don't have to dig it out. A couple of ropes through the handles and the trunk comes out. All told the digging takes no more than an hour. Fortunately the trunk wasn't a full six foot down.

Berwin:
OK fill her in. Let's not leave a mess.

There's a big padlock on the front of the trunk. It's a special two lock padlock. Don't see many like that.

Berwin:
There's a catch. It's magically trapped but Jerris lost the key. He said to open it inside the anti-magic cell back where we rescued him.

That's in the basement of the old tower of the palace. It's on our way...

Or we could just take it back to him and I dare say he could figure it out eventually.

Grabbing the trunk you prepare to leave the graveyard. There's no sign of the other group this time.

[Daryk]

Marko

"Do you think they'd let us down to the cells at this hour? I think Jerris is more likely to be up and about, but you know him better than I do, Berwin," Marko said thoughtfully.

[DavidByron]

Berwin:
I don't know if there's a guard. The tower was just empty when we went through it. No internal wooden floors like it had been gutted. It was stone floor and roof and stairway and that was it except a trap door to the cell.

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Not trying to rush anyone-- if you want to comment more in between leaving the graveyard and arriving at the tower just post below and I can delete this post and re-post below.

The old tower at the palace used to be part of the larger palace complex and building although it dated back to a much earlier period than the rest of the palace or for that matter any of New East Bridgeport. All that area built on top of the ruins of ancient Zarif dates mostly to the old Doge (Aloysius III) who decided to fund some grand new buildings in the Zarif style and create a new center for Bridgeport. It was a popular move.

When the Tree appeared it knocked down the Doge's palace. Instant rubble. (Those of you not present have heard this story from the others by now) That started the revolt against Argos and also killed many of his guards. But in the rubble of the palace, standing against the Tree like a fence post in proportion to the Tree's seven or eight hundred feet height, the old tower remained untouched. On top of the tower is where the "master" had opened a portal straight through to the Broken Mountain. At the bottom is where the Badgers found Jerris locked away.

You arrive at the Tree.

Despite the hour -- or perhaps because of it? there are a number of people about. They mostly look to be vagabonds but there seems to be a religious service of sorts going on. You can't see any town guard present. There's little to guard but the Tree itself and a lot of rubble.

Inagu:
The main door to the old tower is blocked. To get in we had to walk along that big thick root. You can't really see it from here, but there's a window or something.

You might be able to get up there without being seen, although as in the graveyard it's not clear that the other group has any more legitimacy to be out here at night than you do. This time however the setting is more civilized. Not two hundred yards away lies the new city center, the new library, the marshal's residence and many new guild houses. Behind the Doge's park is the cathedral of Pelor, itself the tallest thing in Bridgeport before the Tree.

[Karaswanton]

Eodrick

Hm. I've heard rumors about the dead walking in this graveyard. I wonder...a withdrawal from a graveyard?

[DavidByron]

Berwin:
Graveyard humor..?

Sometimes the work of Neraynh involves stuff we don't like to talk about. People wouldn't understand. Goodson... the priest back there... he used to be a sort of mentor to me. He's OK.

Berwin grins:
They kicked him out of the church of Nerull so how bad could he be? Hey! I wonder if he would be able to tell Zan anything about that symbol of Nerull he was asking about.

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If Dragutin is on this trip I can tell you if he sensed an evil aura which he would get even without actively seeking it since this would be a cleric's powerful aura, not merely an ordinary human.

[Akyana]

Sandra stops when he says he has someone else. She smiles again then gives him a hug Well, I did assume you might have found someone. she does hit him but not in the normal sense as she punches his shoulder, not hard to her. Made me make a fool of myself for no reason. she shakes her head and sits down next to him again So how are we suppose to search for the meaning on the back of that symbol?