A fresh start

[Jenara]

"Interesting." Brax says as she rubs her head, ignoring the discussion above her as she checks out the map.

"I believe Master Searos is correct, this appears to be of some importance, perhaps if we overlaid a map over the top?" She mutters to herself, looking up she sees what is going on before her.

"Gunter, Searos, take some of these with water it will make you feel better." She says producing a small handful of herbs from her belt pouch. "I was waiting till we were all together, to say this, but Amon, without you, we would be dead." She smiles, tapping his shoulder as she stands in the middle of the group. "Thank you."

She then turns to Echo, offering her hand, "Yes we disagree on much, but I want to get back at them, and so do you."

She then turns to Geraldine, once again offering her hand. "Celanadra Brax although most just call me Brax."

[Stik]

Echo finally takes a look at the colorful man in the room. "You look more like a fool than an adventuring, entertaining, swashbuckler," she says, then smirks. "You fit right in with the rest of these miscreants. I'm not sure I can handle another fool, so...go away."

Martin turns his gaze on Echo, a look of exaggerated annoyance on his face, which suddenly brightens into that of a person who has made an important realization. "Ohhhhh, wait, I get it. This is one of those 'defrosting the ice queen' situations, isn't it? You'll be all haughty and nasty to me, criticize my plans, call me names, kiss the handsome farmboy, et cetera, et cetera. But then the day will come that you disguise yourself as a bounty hunter to rescue me the palace of a slimy crime lord. You'll see.

"As to your map, Master Searos, and the other page you have there: it's clearly a code of some sort. Signals, perhaps. Passwords. Signs and countersigns. Knocks and scratches at a door. Something similar."

[The_Muffin_Man]

Searos nearly chokes on his food at the "dethawing the ice queen comment." He slaps the table a couple of times trying to clear his throat and laugh at the same time which is clearly not going well. Finally he takes a moment to center himself, or at least as best as someone like he can. He's about to open his mouth and make a comment about the ice queen comment when two thoughts occur to him. 1) Probably not the best time. No reason to get the spear pointed at you when someone else is running right into it. 2) Probably not the best time to remind them all that he didn't feel like he was in any danger from the smugglers on account of trying to join them and his ability to slip his bonds almost at will. He takes another moment and then looks down at the map and sheet.

"Yes. A series of codes. Quite. Well, it looks more like a inventory for each leg of the smuggling operation. At the first leg, its mostly legitimate goods with a small amount of smuggled material. At the second leg, it looks like more contraband with a... second(?) good of some sort? Maybe some sort of sign to denote the goods? Finally, at the last leg, its all smuggled goods. If I'm right, that leads me to believe that where ever the goods are coming from has extremely tight security and they can only risk so much material. The second leg, I'm assuming Saltmarsh maybe, has less security and is where the goods are collected for more efficient shipping. Maybe Saltmarsh is actually the staging point for the last leg. There's virtually no security here and the vaunted "council" couldn't find its arse from a hole in the ground. Perhaps that would allow them to just collect all the smuggled goods here and ship them out in bulk to their final destination. Given that they appear to not fear having their goods searched in any way, I would say it must be a private dock they have absolute control over."

Searos scratches at a neck beard that is starting to get a little long and then notices the herbs. "No thanks Bright Eyes. I actually think better when I have a soul-splitting headache."

[JadedDM]

"If that's the case, then we could use this as a way to hunt down the rest of the operation," Amon says. "Although...that's assuming they haven't packed up and moved on already. Sanbalet got away, so they know we're on to them. They may even know we found these documents."

[Breila]

(ooc: Amon never let anyone know he had contacted the council to save them! Nobody but Brax knew of the ring! How could they recognize his contribution?)

"Sanbalet and the smugglers got away, yes." Kim throws in. "But perhaps they have no easy way to contact the rest of the group, and we might still catch them. Do you remember that window on the upper floor that was enchanted? There was a shuttered lantern standing next to it. Perhaps their only means of communication was by light signals."

(ooc2: Kim came up with that theory before I started mastering, so don't take this as hint from the DM)

[JadedDM]

"But we don't know where they went, or how they got there. Did they have a boat, I wonder? If so, we'd need one to catch them, and they're already a day ahead of us."

=====

(OOC: Presumably Amon told the group during the elapsed time?)

[Breila]

Geraldine speaks up: "When we explored the cavern system last night, we found barrels of whiskey and brandy and bales of fine silk. And the lowest cavern opens to the sea. We found evidence of a small boat that must have left just a short while ago. That is probably how the smugglers got away."


(ooc general: will post the council's arrival later today)
(ooc@ Jaded: you never said he did, so I modelled Kim's reaction on not knowing)

[JadedDM]

Amon considers this. "Do you think they had a ship waiting for them, then, out at sea? Otherwise, they couldn't have gone very far in a small boat."

=======

(OOC: It makes more sense to me that Amon would explain, or someone in the party would think to ask how the militia knew to find them. I can't imagine that nobody in the party would wonder about that and not ask.)

[Jenara]

(Ooc I assumed he would have told us, fits his character and his desire for approval.)

"Then presumably this is a map to where they went. And if Searos is correct, the symbols are how they communicate?" she looks at Amon assuming her words mean't nothing, "Your father is a fisherman correct? Then perhaps he knows of these symbols?"

"Searos, a moment please?" she asks, moving away from the group once Amon has replied.

[Breila]

(OOC: Guys and gals, I'm absolutely thrilled with the number of posts you've been doing in the last 24 hours. I hope this means you're enjoying yourselves.

As a meeting with the council was scheduled, I'll let it take place once Amon and Searos have had their say. Not that it would be really needed, you folks are moving the story along all by yourselves...)

[JadedDM]

Amon shrugs. "He might. Assuming they are some kind of universal code. I suppose we can ask him when he and the rest of the council arrives."

[Jenara]

Brax nods to Amon, "That would be wise." She says with a little purse of her lips.

With that she takes Searos away from the group if he lets her. ".on't be alarmed, I just wanted to talk to you." She looks directly at 'Drake', "I don't know who he is, but you need to watch him. I have enough of my old life left to distrust him greatly." Grinning she turns back to the thief. "You would have liked the old me, ruthless and cunning."

[HorizonsDream]

Ohhhhh, wait, I get it. This is one of those 'defrosting the ice queen' situations, isn't it? You'll be all haughty and nasty to me, criticize my plans, call me names, kiss the handsome farmboy, et cetera, et cetera. But then the day will come that you disguise yourself as a bounty hunter to rescue me the palace of a slimy crime lord. You'll see.

"That seems to be the impression everyone gets when they meet me," Echo says. "For some reason, everyone seems to think that I'm just this great person deep down. They just have to break down all of my defenses to get to know me." Echo rolls her eyes at the very idea. "I'm nasty and hateful to everyone. That isn't likely to change. Oh, and I would leave you with the slimy crime lord if you were stupid enough to caught by him in the first place," she adds with a shrug.

Turning to the rest of the group, she asks. "When is the council suppose to be here anyway?"

[Stik]

Martin merely beams a knowing smile at Echo, one that could mean anything, or nothing at all. He maintains it for an uncomfortable length, glad to know that he has managed to get under her skin to the point that she has made an uncomfortable admission.

Then, growing bored, he looks around the room to see what or who or what he can mess with next.

"So. Smugglers. my experience with smugglers is somewhat limited, although I did once become involved in a challenge employing the manly art of fisticuffs against a pirate. And by the way, there's never just one pirate. Keep that in mind at all times.

"Friends (and you, Frosty) pray heed, for I have just had a thought. This being a rare occurrence, I believe I had best to share it with you all, lest it become lonely or get lost in this head.

“It seems you have run afoul of smugglers, or they of you. Now smuggling is often a quite profitable enterprise, but it does have its dangers. Local government can be a huge problem for even the most careful smuggler. This is why it is important for any good smuggler to arrange for those who oversee local shipping overlook his shipping. Whether this involves actual cooperation or merely willing ignorance varies from place to place, but the important fact is that if money is being made, some powerful local personage is likely dipping their beak in the stream.

“But what does this all mean? I’m glad you asked. It means that there is likely a member of this town council, or possibly more than one, who stands to lose should these smugglers fall. So be careful who you trust.”

[JadedDM]

Amon frowns at the stranger's interjection, especially at the implications. "Hold now, sirrah. You don't know what you say. The Council is made up of my father, my master, a cleric of Pelor, and a very successful merchant and entrepreneur. All four have done a great deal for this community, and I can assure you that none of them would ever engage in such criminal activities."