Location: Ptolus. Dates: Kingsday, 2nd of Growth and Airday, 3rd of Growth
Participating characters:
Alcott - Half-Elf Rogue, level 1
Crispin Ellindril - Elf Ranger, level 1
Quinn Farshore - Human Fighter (Magical Adept), level 1
TM and © 2022 Monte Cook Games, LLC
Kingsday, 2nd of Growth -
Inside the Farshore Estate, #1 Barrister Street, sits Maerin Ironoak clutching a copy of The Midtown Partisan, folded to frame one important article. The 107 year old matriarch anxiously awaits the return of her great grandson Quinn.
Quinn Farshore arrived to find the foyer brightly lit and the door to the parlor standing open. It was there he found his great grandmother sitting alone. Spry for her advanced age, Maerin crossed the room with a grim look upon her weathered face, and handed him the paper, tapping her crooked finger on the article.
BULPO GREENSTONE GUILTY OF SILVERSHINE MURDER.
The story described how Bulpo had stabbed Rary in the back with his family dagger, having lost over 100 gold pieces to him playing Dragon Scales. Missing from the scene were the money and Silvershine's custom Dragon Scales set. The dagger meanwhile remained in the victim's back, piercing his heart.
Greenstone's execution was set for Airday,10th of Growth, one week from today. Bulpo was being held in the prison pending his execution.
The name was not unfamiliar to Quinn. During his childhood his great grandmother had recounted tales of his great grandfather Quinn Ironoak's adventures and one name that came up often was that of his dwarven companion Bulpo Greenstone. "I'll have to visit him." Quinn remarked.
----
Crispin moved along Jawline Walk, coming to a stop before a shop with a sign reading - Investigations - and bearing the symbol of an eye. Next door was Wilian's Keys. His tiefling paramour Tisha shared this building with Wilian, and she lived in the long attic above both shops.
He entered the door to the sound of a small cowbell, followed by her pleasant voice "Not one more step. You smell awful, like you've been traipsing through the sewers. Come any closer and I'll beat you to death." "She could do it too," thought Crispin.
"You arrived at the right time! A month without work and two jobs arrive in one day. I can handle the cheating husband task, but this other one is better handled by you and your friends. It's a missing delver case." Tisha filled him in on the matter. "The missing delver Avery Conklin, has been gone now for 3 days. His last note said he found a dungeon below Citation Street and was going to explore."
----
Airday, 3rd of Growth -
Unable to shake the feeling that Maryanne and the three street gang members from yesterday had a connection, Alcott decided to try finding and trailing the woman for some of the day. North Market is where the mugging had happened so he chose to start there.
The market area was busy. Stalls, wagons, vendors, and stores were crowded by hundreds of customers and browsers. Blending in would be easy, but finding his quarry would take some doing, that is if she had not immediately spotted him. "Hi! I'm so glad to see you. I wanted to thank you all again for retrieving my amulet. You saved my job."
"You look a lot better than yesterday, healing well." Alcott noted. "Not being swollen and purple must make a difference." Maryanne quipped. The two conversed for a while, moving to the street side to avoid blocking the heavy traffic. Maryanne was easy to talk to, and quite attractive. Her long, light brown hair shone auburn highlights, and her soft brown eyes sparkled in the sun. Despite being younger than her by at least 5 years, Alcott decided to turn on the charm.
----
Early in the morning Crispin arrived at Quinn's home where they discussed the missing person's case. There was a problem with it from the start, which of the two Citation Streets in the city the missing delver was exploring. Nothing from Tisha's information made this clear. It was at least made interesting to the pair that Quinn's estate was about one block away from the Citation street in Oldtown. The pair talked as they walked there to have a look around. It was decided that getting access to the Delver's Guild library and map room would improve their chances of finding Avery Conklin.
TM and © 2022 Monte Cook Games, LLC
The first order of business was becoming members of the Delver's Guild. A short hike into Midtown brought them to Delver's Square, formally known as Runihan Square. There, beyond a fountain and a statue of Abesh Runihan were the great steps down into the Undercity Market. Below the Square the market resided in a great hall where once Kagrisos the Ghost Lich laired. The hall was lined and filled with tables, and booths of all sorts, and it was there, in a hallway just to the southern side of the great stairs, the Delver's Guild had their headquarters. The two made their way in and inquired about membership.
Taking notice of the new arrivals, Rena smiled and greeted them. "Welcome to the Delver's Guild, can I be of assistance?" Crispin explained that they were there to join the guild and Rena explained the membership levels. "And 10% off at Ebbert's Outfitters in the Square above." Twenty gold pieces each later, "We can now access the map room in Oldtown." said Quinn. Rena smiled and asked "Do you have a name for your delving team? "Wayward Sons," Quinn remarked. She made note of it and wished them "Good delving!"
----
After some more conversation that included compliments on Maryanne's appearance, Alcott asked her to join him for a meal. The offer was that she choose the location with a few suggestions of his own to entice decision making. Maryanne agreed, "Let's walk a bit while making up our minds. Telenn's Sweetery is just around the corner, let's stop there first."
Strati Telenn, the gnome proprietor, took great pride in making the sweetest of sweet treats in his bakery. He was also very dedicated to maintaining a festive and inviting appearance to his business. The sign outside bore a cake, surrounded by candies in a panoply of bright, cheerful colors. The inside was just as pleasing to the eye, pastel pinks and greens contrasted with the warm fudge coloring of the woodwork. Customers with two coppers to spare could get a variety of tiny treats any time during the day, like the sweet rolls Maryanne and Alcott had purchased.
Alcott sighed inwardly in relief when Maryanne made her choice and didn't pick the expensive wine cafe from his suggestions. "Good Eats in Fairbriar." She had chosen an inexpensive restaurant known for its gnome and halfling cuisine. They strolled casually through Midtown chatting as they went, ignoring the hustle of people and tradesmen, arriving at their destination half an hour later.
Settling in at a cozy table for two, they placed simple orders, open faced hot turkey for Alcott, a green leaf salad and bowl of vegetable beef stew for Maryanne. "Oh, and a berry cream tart to share." He noted to himself, "The lady likes her sweets."
Over their meal they shifted from the small talk of their walk to getting to know more about each other. Alcott learns from Maryanne that she and her parents moved to the city when she was five. They fell on hard times and when she was about 9 or 10 they accepted a monetary offer for her to become an apprentice to the wizard Endicott. In a brief time it became obvious she had no magical aptitude so mostly spent time cleaning the abode and lab. "You wouldn't believe how many times I changed color from contact with failed potions." Now she runs errands for him. In turn, Alcott shared a little about himself, but was careful to keep his history and upbringing hidden. He began to gradually move the conversation around to the three thugs that had mugged Maryanne the previous day.
----
Quinn and Crispin made their way to the Delver's Guild Library and Map Room in Oldtown. Within the lobby head librarian Shad Livbovic is taking down some expired notices when the pair approach. "Are you Guildsmen? Perhaps I can be of service." Displaying their very new membership papers, they explain that they are seeking a map that may aid them in locating a missing member of the guild. "New, today! Good! Wait here, I'll fetch a lad to assist you finding things." Shad returned quickly with a young man who would guide Quinn and Crispin upstairs to the map room.
Lining the walls were scrolls, books, map folios, and hundreds of pieces of paper, some neatly stacked, most haphazardly placed in pigeon holes and cubbies. Tables and chairs, some occupied, filled the center of the room. Delvers and assistants looked at and copied maps and journals. "You can examine the maps as much as you like, but making copies costs 5 gold per page, minimum 50, and I am at your disposal to help." He led them around the wall to find any maps concerning Citation Street as they requested. The young man stopped and examined the pigeon holes under the C heading, eventually finding a mention of Citation street. There were two cubbies, one empty, the other with six sheets of loose paper.
The notes and sketches indicated that there was a dungeon access point below the South Market Citation Street near where it meets Crumpet Street, and a sketch with the name Galen's Leather Shoppe. Other notes and sketches included were vague. Off of the sewers it seemed to indicate a hidden area beneath the shop, and much further below, a series of ornate doors into an unknown space.
----
"I make an effort to help people. My current project are the three kids that attacked you. I want to get them involved in something positive. Does Endicott have a need now for an apprentice?" Alcott's question surprised Maryanne. "I . . . can ask. Do any of them have any magical aptitude?" Alcott hadn't seen any sign in the brief interaction he had with them. "How would I find that out?" Maryanne was quick to respond, "There are a lot of tests that might bring it out, but the one Endicott prefers is to scare them. It might get a reaction. I peed myself." A deep blush came over her face when she realized she probably revealed too much. "I shouldn't have said that." To his credit Alcott carried on as if he hadn't noticed her admission. "One of their fathers is a carpenter I hired to repair a window frame for an old woman, but I don't think the boy wants to carry on that line of work."
"How can I reach you?" she asked. Alcott responded, "Do you know Brother Fabitor?" The reply was just as quick, "St. Gustav's on the Square! You can reach me there too. I'll let you know what he says. I have to go now, business to attend to. oh, and, you're very charming," she said with a smile.
Their lunch date ended there and after Maryanne left, Alcott paid the tab and set out to Crispin's place to catch up on things.
----
New information in hand, Crispin and Quinn began scoping out buildings and sewer grates along Citation Street. All of the sewer entrances appeared on visual observation to be locked so they instead turned to Galen's Leather Shoppe.
Galen was a sight to behold. A tall elf, his height was accentuated by high heeled shoes made from some sort of reptile hide dyed deep crimson. Above those, his tan leather pants bore vertical stripes of green silk. A bright yellow sash was tied around his waist. He wore a dark blue shirt beneath a black leather vest tied closed in the front, and on his head a white skull cap pierced by three ragged pigeon feathers and a silver hat pin to hold it in place. His husband was right, stereotypes be damned, "If you're competent at your work you can make a living. If you're good at your work you can make a good living. To make a great living you have to stand out, to be memorable, to play to people's desire to be unique."
The shop was also different. It had a long street facing of nearly 40 feet, and a depth of 20 feet. Every square inch of wall was hung with outfits and costume pieces. Dummies draped in outfits stood scattered about amid work tables, thick carpets, and piles of leather and fabric.
Crispin engaged the shop keep in conversation with questions of all sorts. "I'm looking for something to give as a gift to my tiefling girlfriend." Galen muttered "Kinky" with a wink and smile, "what shade is her skin?" Crispin described Tisha's skin as being somewhere between pink and flesh tone. "Hmmm, I may have just the thing over here," Galen worked his way to the back wall pulling out some clothes from behind another display.
Quinn prowled about the shop doing his best to avoid drawing the owner's attention. Unwilling to risk moving tables, piles of material, and carpets, he looked for anything obvious and tried pressing his weight onto sections of floor hoping to perhaps find a trap door. While he did remain unobserved, his efforts provided no signs of a way below.
Galen presented Crispin with a dark red suede cape with sleeves halfway down the arm, completed with delicate red lace continuing to the wrist. "This is a unique piece, one of a kind." Crispin briefly considered then asked the price. "Fifty gold pieces." Crispin paid for the cape in a mix of coinage while Galen wrapped and tied the item gently.
It was now Quinn's turn to distract the owner so Crispin could take a walk around the shop. His questions were less directed toward any specific fashion having no interest in making a purchase. The discussion and search didn't last long and Crispin quietly indicated he too had found nothing. The two left the shop and decided to split up to take care of personal things before meeting back at Quinn's estate.
----
"How long have you been waiting here?" came Crispin's voice from behind. Alcott had been about to knock on the door to Tisha and Crispin's business and residence. "We were supposed to meet at Quinn's." Alcott stepped aside to let Crispin open the door and followed him inside," I had some business to take care of and thought Tisha might know where you two had gone."
It took only a couple of minutes for Crispin to hide the present beneath the bed and return to let himself and Alcott out of the business. Locking up, the two returned to Quinn's home in Oldtown.
The three talked about the missing person case as they walked Alcott to the Delver's Guild headquarters to get him signed up. So far they had seen a map and notes that staff at the library indicated Avery Conklin had been there to examine 6 days ago. Crispin and Quinn had also briefly explored the apartment building attached behind Galen's shop. They noted the locked sewer entrances and no sign of a way down inside on a short look around. After getting Alcott his membership they walked again to South Market to reconnoiter the surroundings. It was decided that a nighttime search might yield better results when they could physically check the grates and maybe inside the shop with less attention.
No comments:
Post a Comment