CH. 7: The Viper's Nest

[HorizonsDream]

Kendra's eyes widen as the healing warmth washes over her, and she looks over to Arulia in complete surprise. She reaches up and touches the spot where her neck was injured. "...That...you...healing.." she stammered. "How did you do that?!"

[djhyland]

Arulia shakes her head. "I...I wasn't sure if that I could do that..." She pauses for a long time before saying, "It's...it's a gift of the old gods. The Dragon queen isn't the only one of them that's decided to touch the world again, now that we're coming back to them."

[JadedDM]

Haahqae and Gregeddin (Checkpoint, Harbor District)
One of the goblins takes the forged paper and squints at it, trying to shade his eyes from the nearly non-existent sun. He peers at it intently, then after a moment, turns it upside down and peers at it some more. Then with a shrug, he hands it back to Haahqae and says, "Whatever. I think Klub was on duty here last night. You can probably find him at the Happee Ohgr at this time of day."

"Or any time of day he's not on duty," snickers another guard.

Grubnick (Outside Temple of Takhisis, Harbor District)
After buying and stowing his new gear, Grubnick leaves the marketsquare. He shows his papers to the Baaz guards and is allowed to pass. When he turns north to Blade Street, he crosses another checkpoint, then another. This most recent one is staffed by goblins, as he has now entered the harbor district. They are armed just as the draconians are--black, well made chain mail armor and short swords.

From there, he passes through two more checkpoints (both manned by goblins), each time showing his ID papers and waiting for approval. Finally, he reaches the temple to Takhisis, formally the Seeker council hall.

The building has gone through some rather dramatic renovations since the occupation. The most notable is that an elaborate statue of a five-headed dragon has been placed outside the entrance. The heads are all stretched out in different directions, their mouths open in silent roars. It gives the appearance that the statue is guarding the place.

A pair of guards in black armor stand at attention outside the gate, both carrying wicked looking maces. Their helms obscure their faces completely, but they can still see through them apparently, as they scan the streets carefully for any troublemakers.

Grubnick doesn't see any on-duty draconians in this area of the city, but some off-duty ones show up to the temple and enter. But this entire section of the city is patrolled by goblins only. He doesn't see any mercenaries; only the soldiers and the guards outside the temple seem to carry weapons.

(OOC: Grubnick buys three sets of bandages for 9 copper pieces, a dark-stained briar-wood pipe for 1 steel piece, a pound of tobacco for 5 silver pieces, and a small belt pouch for 8 silver pieces.)

[BishGada]

"Well, everyone heard of the Belzorites and your love for snakes, so looking at your mutual characteristics it's not hard to get who you are." Tulbas says innocently. "I don't have anything against the Belzorites, the Seekers, the followers of the Master, or even Takhisis, besides that one of her followers murdered my uncle. Every one is entitled to believe in whatever he wishes. I don't judge."

"Hmm... It looks tasty and I appreciate your willingness to feed me. But I'm not that helpless. Maybe you can untie me so I will eat on my own? And wear some cloth?" Tulbas says. "I promise I won't try to burn anyone." He smiles. "Were will I go anyway?" He tries to give some logic argument.

[Haahque]

Haahqae hadn't noticed that he was holding his breath until the goblin finished looking over his paper. Letting out his breath he thanked the goblin for the information. "Thank you kindly, good goblin. May Takhisis smile upon you." Before she eats you. Haahqae ends mentally. It's not that all goblins are bad, he just never met one that he's liked. There was one he was traveling with last week that was ok... but Haahqae has had some bad run ins with their kind before.

It helps that goblins are stupid, he was completely fooled by the fake papers even though I haven't given it a magical aura yet.

Haahqae will head towards the inn suggested, looking for this Klub guy the goblin suggested.

[HorizonsDream]

"An old God reached out to you?" Kendra asks. This was real healing magic, but she didn't know enough about the old gods to know what exactly Arulia was talking about.

[djhyland]

"I started having dreams," Arulia says with a nod. "I dreamed of the Dragon Queen and her armies coming to Haven a few days before they did. The day after that first dream, I met a man who saved me from some cultist thugs. In thanks, I agreed to do a favor for him--he led me to the alley behind the Grinning Goat, where you had just come out of the sewers. He knew you were there, and wanted me to help you!"

Once she starts talking, Arulia finds her words spilling out of her in a rush. After taking a deep breath, she forces herself to slow down. "He looked like a frail old man, but when I finished binding the worst of your wounds--when I was sure that you wouldn't bleed out on the street--he changed into a knight in shining armor, strong and hale. He took the body of the dwarf--your friend?--with him, saying he'd see that he got to where he needed to go, and disappeared in a blinding light."

"He came to my dreams again last night," Arulia says. "It started the same as the first dream, with the Dragon Queen and her armies, but this time, he hid me from her sight. He said that he would give me a part of his power so that I could work against her." She shrugs, and pulls out her platinum dragon medallion. "He is the Platinum Dragon, Paladine, and your wounds are healed with his power."

[TristenC]

Those guards with maces couldn’t possibly see… without magic… perhaps they are clerics of hers… Grubnick shivers, involuntarily. No weapons in the temple… interesting… I wonder how hard it would be to get a set of the goblin chainmail…

He moves over to one of the goblin checkpoints. As he approaches, he looks to see if there is any distinguishing mark designating one the leader (badges or the like). Shading his eyes against the sun, he asks; I hear there is a goblin-run inn around here somewhere, how do I get there?

Once he has his directions, he heads towards the place. It might be a good idea to look into a room where I would blend in better… He greatly preferred the High Hand, but if things turned poorly, he figured it would be impossible not to stand out as the only goblin around. Come to think of it, if I stir up the goblins and dracs the way I want… It may not be safe for me to be there if things do go according to plan…

Along the way, he again keeps an eye out for anyone aside from the army carrying weapons. He watches the goblins closely as well, and looks to see if any dracs are in this area of town. He makes a mental note to go back to the High Hand the other way through town, to take notice of where/how the other transition between goblin and drac patrolled areas of the city looks.

As he moves deeper into the poorer part of the city, he suddenly realizes how much money he has on him. Checking to see that nobody is watching, he sets his pack by a building or cart and begins to rummage around in it as if looking for something. He puts his money in one of the internal pouches so it doesn’t jingle, except for his small change and 2 steel pieces which he leaves in his coin purse. Grubnick then puts his pack back on and continues on.

[JadedDM]

Haahqae and Gregeddin (Happee Ohgr, Harbor District)
The two return to the Happee Ohgr. The same bartender is there before, the goblin woman they spoke to yesterday. Her eyes light up at the sight of them. Well, specifically, at the sight of Gregeddin. She waves them over. "Welcome back, boys. Can I get you a drink?"

Tulbas Erogund (Unknown location)
The woman shakes her head. "I don't believe that would be wise. You've proven to be very dangerous. More than that, you were looking for us. Who was it who sent you? The Seekers are gone, so I suspect it was the followers of this Takhisis. Am I right?" she asks with suspicion.

Grubnick (Happee Ohgr, Harbor District)
Grubnick could not see any badges or markings to determine rank among the soldiers at the checkpoints. Were they all the same rank or did they have some other way of distinguishing each other?

He gets directions to the Happee Ohgr, which he learns is a tavern not an inn (they have no rooms for rent) in the harbor district. So he makes his way there. Along the way, he keeps an eye out. He doesn't see anyone carrying weapons who is not a soldier. He does spot a draconian now and again in this section of the city, but they don't appear to be on duty and otherwise ignore the goblin soldiers.

After he moves his coin around, he arrives at the Happee Ohgr. He looks up at the horribly misspelled sign, which features a drunken ogre on it. Stepping inside, he finds it is a smoky den with drunks in the corners or slumped over sticky tables, despite it being still before noon.

There are also a number of off-duty goblin soldiers here, drinking and eating.

Overall, the place is dirty, smells awful. Behind the bar is the bartender herself, also a goblin. She has short black hair, yellow eyes, and red skin. She is standing on some kind of raised platform so she can reach the bar easily. She is speaking with two men who are decidedly not goblins. One is a human in well made clothing. He has a sword on his belt and a quiver full of arrows over his shoulder. The other is a gnome, shorter even than Grubnick, with a goofy looking hat, shoes with upturned toes and a short white beard. He has a quiver full of arrows slung over his shoulder, as well. Neither appear to be soldiers, despite being armed, and neither is wearing armor.

(OOC: And only just now, after nearly two years, do I realize Gregeddin's appearance doesn't actually say much about him, just his clothes and possessions. I have no idea what his hair, eye or skin color is. )

[Haahque]

Haahqae pulls off his hat and gives the barkeeper a low, sweeping bow which effectively hides him below the bar before he comes back up again and returns his hat to his head.

"Greetings, I wish we had time for a drink or two but we're actually here on important official business and we must hurry about it. Do you perhaps know the goblin named Klub? I hear he often frequents here and I would much like to speak with him."

[TristenC]

Hmm… the first two armed people I’ve seen that aren’t with the army… They must be mercenaries of some kind… with permission to carry weapons… that means they are working for her… or they have convinced her they are… This is too rare an opportunity to pass up…

Grubnick takes a seat not far from the soldiers where he can observe the two mercenaries inconspicuously without disturbing any of the patrons. If someone comes by to take his order he will have an ale. He scans the group nearby to see if he can distinguish between soldiers, mercenaries and officers.

Surprised that gnome hasn't gotten himself tied in a knot yet, coming in here... Grubnick thought to himself. The weapons and the human are probably the only reasons he hasn't ...

Try as he might, Grubnick just didn't feel easy around gnomes. Even his dwarven friends found them flighty and silky, which was infinitely better than what most goblins thought of them. Still, I suppose I'm living proof every member of a race isn't the same... he added, grudgingly to himself.

[HorizonsDream]

"The God of Good and the Good of Evil," Kendra says softly. "What did he say to you in the dream?"

[JadedDM]

Haahqae and Gregeddin (Happee Ohgr, Harbor District)
"Klub? Oh, sure. He always stops by after work for a nightcap. Or a daycap, I guess, since he is up all night." The bartender shrugs. "That's him, over there." She points out a skinny, yellow skinned goblin wearing an army uniform and an eyepatch over his left eye. He is sitting at a table with half a dozen other goblins, also in uniform, each holding a mug of ale.

Grubnick (Happee Ohgr, Harbor District)
Grubnick takes a seat nearby and orders an ale for a copper piece. As far as he can tell, nobody here appears to be an officer. There are just off-duty soldiers and a handful of civilians. The presence of a human and gnome among them doesn't seem to draw too much attention. Either the patrons are accustomed to seeing them or are simply too drunk to care.

The gnome removes his hat with a flourish to the barkeeper while the human throws her a wink. They ask to see someone named 'Klub' on important business and seem to be in a hurry. The bartender points out the table next to Grubnick's. There are half a dozen goblins sitting there, all off-duty soldiers in uniform.

(OOC: Grubnick spends 1 copper piece on an ale.)

[TristenC]

Grubnick nurses his ale and keeps his ears open for the conversation at the soldier's table.

[BishGada]

"I'm not so dangerous, and even that only when I'm threatened. Five people in cloaks blocking both sides of the alley in the small hours of the night is very threatening. Regarding Takhisis, I'm not a follower, but I keep it to myself. Opposing her directly would get me killed in no time. So... now that we have it cleared up, will you release me? I give you my word I won't try to harm anyone.
About Belzor... looking at all of you around, obviously there is some power at action. No one will deny it. I'm open minded, but lately there were so many fake cults around, it is hard to keep track. I'd like to hear more about Belzor and his divine powers." Tulbas tries a different angle.