AVB - The Fallen One

[Rizban]

This thread is for TheFallenOne and his GM(s) ONLY. Do not read it otherwise.

Moving northeast towards Guildsman, he sees numerous shops, a few fancier houses, and lots of places to spend money. He also spots a couple of inns, taverns, and boarding houses on this road, including The Dancing Wizard (inn), Eystein's Eagles' Landing (boarding house), and Pale Sea, Dark Brew, and a Bard (tavern that might have rooms), all of which are still within Midtown.

The closer to Guildsman that he gets, the less fancy and more utilitarian the buildings become. Further down the road, the buildings appear to become workshops and smithies and the like, and he becomes unsure as to whether or not it will be easy to find adequate lodgings in that part of town or at least along this road.

[TheFallenOne]

Sedrach takes a walk around all the sites offering lodgings he can find, interested in the surroundings at least as much as the actual building.

Spoiler

I'm looking if the buildings have a decently obscured spot within up to 30, preferably 20 or less feat. I want to be able to Blink Shirt in and out unnoticed. If none of those 3 is suitable, I hope GI 25 is enough to learn where other inns outside Midtown are.

[Rizban]

Almost every building in Midtown is built extremely close to the surrounding buildings, creating narrow alleys between them. All three places appear to have places that could serve that function.

[TheFallenOne]

Satisfied with the results, Sedrach decides on Pale Sea, Dark Brew, and a Bard as having a tavern right available is always useful for him, although he has to admit the mental image of the Dancing Wizard was quite appealing.

A good day to you", he says to the proprietor or whoever is currently running things. "Do you perhaps have rooms to rent for weary travelers? It doesn't need to be fancy, but I wouldn't mind a soft bed, a wardrobe and one of your eponymous dark ones while we talk business."

[Rizban]

Pale Sea, Dark Brew, and a Bard is a rather bawdy tavern with a distinct nautical theme. When you enter, you notice a man dancing on the bar while playing a strange instrument that seems to be an assortment of long pipes attached to a thick bag. There are about 12 people drinking and singing along, despite the time being just before noon.

[TheFallenOne]

Sedrach spends some time clapping four-handed in rhythm with the dancer; he always liked appearing a bit random and carefree. At the end of the song, he looks for someone of the working staff to inquire about lodging.

[Rizban]

At the end of the song, the bard hops down from the bar and approaches you, the instrument making a horrendous sound as the bag begins to deflate. The other patrons make loud noises of complaint at the interruption.

"Welcome to my tavern! What's your poison?"

[TheFallenOne]

"Oh, no poison. That rumor poisonous snakes taste better than other ones? So not true. But, a dark one perhaps? And if you offer it a room for the next week at least. Gotta love a man who hands me a beer with a song."

[Rizban]

He raises an eyebrow at you, a smirk on his lips.

"Not from around here, eh? Don't just rent out rooms to just anybody. Buy a couple drinks first, tell us some stories, and we'll see if you can earn a room."

Turning to the crowd with a grin.

"That's how it works 'round here, right boys?"

The crowd lifts their tankards and shout agreement. A few slam the tankards back down on the tables in rhythm while calling out to you for a tale.

[TheFallenOne]

"Oh, stories?" Sedrach again scratches his head with both right hands. "Sure know one or two. That extra arm thing? Was pretty nice to dress up as a Thri-kreen at a game of masks. It was so good this one lady thought me the real deal and wanted to hire me as a tracker. I don't know the first thing about surviving in the wilderness, but she was so cute and pretty, how could I refuse?" He pauses, looking questioningly at their faces. "As you may imagine, things went crazy from there, because I sure as hell didn't understand the trail I was following was of a dire wallabie..."

Spoiler

OK, what exactly is expected? Charisma check? Write out a story? Just hint at it as I did now?

[Rizban]

Spoiler

It's up to you. Pick a skill you think fits or roll Cha or write a story. Your choice.

[TheFallenOne]

Spoiler

I'll go with a short story, skirt length

"Truth be told I was impressed with myself I found the track at all, these things are no elephants. But sadly not the prize stallion the lady was missing either.
So, I keep wandering the woods, coming the same place time and again because I lost the trail. It was hot and the costume did the rest. I was sweating and dropped bodypaint from it. She right about noticed when the wallabie jumps at me from a tree and lays into me. Those things are fierce! So there I stand, costume ripped to shreds, and she looks me in the face. For a second I was hoping for some lucky 'ugly beast turned into charming prince' shtick..."
He paused, making a face. "Well, I got the stick. That cute little lady chased me out of the woods, pounding me with a big branch all along the way. So remember the lesson guys: never dress up as a Thri-kreen and pretend to be an expert tracker to make an impression on a pretty girl!" His triumphant smile falters after a moment. "Well, perhaps not that catchy a lesson, huh..."

[Rizban]

You get a few chuckles from the crowd, and one particularly drunken man in the back laughs loudly and points to his own face every time you say the word "I" as if it is inherently hilarious.

The bard/owner smiles and nods at your story.

"Well, I hate to say, I've heard that one before. Still, it's a good tale, even if you left out the part about the rabid mongoose."

[TheFallenOne]

"Heard before? Come on, there can't be that many four-armed humans around!" He makes a big shrug with all his shoulders.

Spoiler

just to be clear on my Gather Information checks. Is the DC for learning more about the captured spies over 32, or is the information flat out impossible to obtain with GI? I would have thought people do talk about it and there likely were witnesses.

[Rizban]

Spoiler

I don't give out metagame information. Your best bet is to roll and see if you come up with anything, keeping in mind that each GI check takes 1d4+1 hours, additional hours if you try to do it inconspicuously.

He just shrugs and motions to the bar.

"At least have a drink or two."

[TheFallenOne]

"Sure will." He takes another dark beer, for a moment indecisive with which hand to pick it up. "So... You're the bard, dark brew is clear enough, but what about pale sea? We'e not pirates or sailors here, are we? I hate seagulls with a passion. They get everywhere, almost as bad as sand."

[Rizban]

He forces a small smile and ignores the question, opting instead to take a long swig from his own tankard.

[TheFallenOne]

Raising a curious eyebrow, Sedrach just drinks the two beer her was prompted to and waits what happens next.

[Rizban]

Seeing that you're just going to drink for now, he picks up his instrument and resumes playing a loud song, the patrons joining in.

[TheFallenOne]

Spoiler

well, I did try to engage in conversation and he didn't bite, so Sedrach will just sing along and once that is done repeat asking for a room.

[Rizban]

Spoiler

It's obvious he didn't like the question, and you didn't say anything else that he would have responded to, then drank in silence. So...

You ask for a room again after the song ends.

"Yeah, so you said. Room, huh? Well, I do have one that's empty at the moment. It's more of a large closet with a hammock though. It's yours, at a reasonable rate, if you do me a little favor first."

[TheFallenOne]

"Wow, is the housing situation so bad around here you need to do favors before you're allowed to pay for a closet?" It's somewhat ambiguous whether he's serious or mocking. "Let's hear it, but if you don't mind I'd like to see to room first before agreeing to whatever to propose."

[Rizban]

"There's no housing problem. These are my rooms. My rooms, my rules. Simple as that. You want to see it, fine."

He shows you through a back door, tosses you a key, and points to a door just on the other side. The door has a hefty lock on it.

[TheFallenOne]

The four arms silently agree the left, real one should do the catching. He opens the look and looks around the room, checking the window if any to see if a suitable Blink spot is in range. "What's the favor then?"

[Rizban]

The "room" is a 10 x 5 storage closet with a small chest and a hammock. Two mops, a broom, and a few other cleaning supplies lean against the wall near the doorway.

"I'll get those out of there if you do rent it."

You notice that there are no windows in this room, but you also realize that it is on the outer wall of the building next to the back.

Responding to your question, he says, "It's obvious that you're a real upstanding citizen of fine moral character and a high regard for the rule of law. So, the favor is this. There's an inn down the road called The Dancing Wizard. This evening, the proprietor will be receiving a cask of fine dwarven ale imported from a rather nice brewery."

[TheFallenOne]

"Ah. So the innocent option is I should make sure it arrives savely and unharmed. And the less innocent option quite the opposite.

I don't know how highly you think of the privilege of renting this room, but if you want me to do anything that can get me on somebody's bad side you have to offer adequate compensation. But hey, at least you didn't ask the foolish new guy to go into the docks at night." He makes an exaggerated wink.

[Rizban]

"No, see, I want it to get there. I just want you to intercept it temporarily. Just find it, pop it open, piss in it, seal it up, and send it on its way. Quick, easy, effective."

[TheFallenOne]

Spoiler

Knowledge Local - Dancing Wizard (1d20+5)[6]
Lore(Bardic Knowledge equivalent) of same (1d20+1)[21]

"Such a waste of a good drink... Eh, alright. Long as you promise the place doesn't belong to some powerful, vengeful guy I'll do it. Know where the cask is now or when and how it is moved?"

[Rizban]

He recalls passing The Dancing Wizard about a block back and passing by it to come here. He doesn't know anything more about it.

However, he does recall that The Dancing Wizard is a themed inn much like this seems to be a themed tavern. Other than having a wizard theme, he recalls very little in the ways of tales or stories other than that they have a full time minstrel who doesn't like competition.

"No idea. I just know that there's an import shop somewhere in town that brings in the ale and delivers it to his shop. Once it reaches his door, it'll be too late."

[TheFallenOne]

"So, I have to do some research, and break in unnoticed... Look, I can handle the peeing part well enough most days, but the rest really isn't my skillset. Sorry man, good luck finding someone else." He departs, going to Eystein's Eagles' Landing instead to inquire about rooms for rent there, excess arms tucked beneath his cloak.

Spoiler

I could actually pull it off quite well with good GI and Blink Shirt, but... There's absolutely no reason to. He offers me a whole lot of nothing in exchange for breaking the law and getting into the middle of whatever spat he has with the Dancing Wizard. I'm not gonna bite into every plot hook I stumble across just because it is a plot hook. That's what got Leaper killed.