Time to prepare

[Jenara]

"We did." She says taking a seat, "He was somewhat... nervous of us being near the pack animals, we did not ask too many questions if I am honest. He was going our way, and that suited us." She explains calmly, "If he was smuggling, we did not ask, he seemed nice enough, and did not react too badly to my appearance."

[Stik]

Martin watches Udo leave and sighs. "Mark my words: if they are here, they'll be waiting near the kitchen, to come up behind you when you go in, just like Tomaso deSimone."

He looks at the others, wondering why they do not understand him. "Tomaso deSimone? From Bravi Ragazzi? Tomaso walks into a house with two other mafiosi , thinking he has been brought there for his uomo d'onore ceremony, but is murdered instead. Does nobody here go to the theater?
"Anyway. If you have a weapon, stand ready. I shall check the kitchen." He drops his duffle bag, draws his dagger in one hand, and his plush mallard in the other, and advances to the closed door. After checking to see if the others are taking the potential threat seriously, he opens the door and looks in without advancing.

[Robbo]

Gunter stands behind Drake and sighs loudly before turning to glance at the rest of the group.

"Do you do this every time you go somewhere new?"

[Breila]

The door Martin opens indeed leads into the kitchen/day room. A wood-fired, stone hearth is at the left wall. Straight ahead is another door, and a shuttered window to the left of it. It lets pass enough light to allow Martin's half-elven vision to see that there is a bench below it with its backrest missing, and a table. In the corner next to the door is something that looks like a spinning wheel. Immediately to the left of the door he has opened, an open staircase runs up along the wall.

[Stik]

"Of course not. If I did, I would never get anything done. I only behave this way when there is a chance that someone might be planning to kill me. I mean, other than the usual suspects - angry husbands, broke gamblers, religious zealots, people I have heckled, et cetera.

"Think about it: we are in quite the precarious position here. We have put ourselves in the way of criminals we know very little about - we don't even know who we are taking on, let alone what they are capable of - whereas we ourselves have made no effort at all to conceal our identities or our activities, despite how said activities would severely inconvenience some obviously bad men.

"Then we are offered this house to stay in, gratis. You must admit that if someone wanted us dead, it would be to their advantage to get us all in one place, and thinking we are secure, rather than scattered through half a dozen different lodgings in town, neh? All the fish in one barrel, so to speak.

"Let me ask you this, Gunter: who else has a copy of that key? And what's to stop them from using it when we are all abed?" He lets that sink in for a moment, then says: "Hey, who wants to look upstairs?"

[Robbo]

Gunter opens his mouth to reply, but in a strange way the man's words make a lot of sense.

"As far as I know we have the only copy...perhaps the constable might have another one though. What you are saying makes sense to me. We have been a little haphazard in our request so far. I just assumed the thrives were cowards but that doesn't mean they can't lay a trap for us."

[Breila]

At the constabulary

Geraldine takes a few notes and nods. "Thank you for the information" she says. "You may leave now."


At the house

"I will go to the constabulary and tell Brax where the house is once she's ready" Kim offers. "I can try to get information from Geraldine about the house, too.


(OOC: I am not going to write down the conversation of the two NPCs, but Kim will come back with the results)

[Stik]

"Of course I make sense. I am a fool by profession, but I can tell a hawk from a handsaw, if you catch my meaning. I swear, if more people were to take my advice, the world would be a much better place. Or at least a more fun one.
"And assumption is the mother of...something-or-other. I forget what. But it's something bad. Who wants to go upstairs?"

[Breila]

(Please tell me where everyone is, still on the street, in the front room, in the back room? Also, the only light right now is coming through the door and the gaps in the shutters both front and back.)

[Robbo]

Gunter is going to go upstairs with Drake...looking for a candle or lantern to use as a light source along the way.

[Breila]

A lantern can be made out on one of the shelves lining the back wall of the front room. Closer inspection shows that one of its glass panes is missing, but in the house it will do. There is even some oil left in it, it's a bit rancid, but can be lighted.

Everything in the house is covered by a slight layer of dust. The shelves are mostly empty. In a corner of a lower shelf, there is a small stack of playing-card sized objects. The floor in the front room is uneven, it is made of the same cobblestones as the street outside. Small pieces of debris are locked between the stones. The latch on the big window can be lowered to the outside to make a stall to display any wares on sale.

The back room has a wooden floor except for the first feet around the hearth.

[Stik]

"Did anyone bring a broom?" asks Martin, looking around the room. "If not I shall have to borrow one from my friend down the street."
He's no tracker, but he will look for obvious signs that the dust on the floor has been disturbed. He'll also look at the junk on the shelves to see if any of it is of interest. Not of any value, really, but of interest (a ball of twine, or rock that looks like a frog, would be of far more interest than a silver coin. He's kind of a half-elven magpie). If there's nothing there to keep his attention, then he'll head upstairs.

[Kafen]

With the group gone, Reller sits at the table for a few minutes before he heads back to Kristina's place.

[Jenara]

"Thank you." Brax says with a smile, "Kim is coming to get me..." She adds. "Reller, what of him? He seems useful, someone useful to have around.. Where does he live?" She asks standing by the door.

[LittleLuna]

"hey, wait I want to have the fun too"
Vee follows Drake and Gunter the steps upstairs (not as carefully as the boys of corse) trying to catch an eye on the next floor