CH. 9: Winter is Coming

[Chris1234]

"Are either the High Hand or the Steel Flagon on your way to the temple?" Shima responds to Gregeddin.

[HorizonsDream]

"He is a lot different than I previously thought he would be," Kendra whispers to Norris. "And a bit more intimidating." Part of her wasn't sure she was going to be able to do this.

[djhyland]

"Good! Don't come back!" Arulia leaps to her feet and shouts through the closed door. She glares at both her parents, then turns and stomps up the stairs. She knows that she's going to have to pay for her actions tonight, but right now, she doesn't care. She slams the door to the bedroom that she shares with her sisters behind her and throws herself on her bed. If they--her conniving father and her turncoat mother!--want to scold her for defending herself, then let them come to her!

[mgbevan]

"Once we get to the market square the temple is to the north, and the Steel Tankard is to the south. Both quite close by but in opposite directions. " the bard replies visualising the City in his mind

[JadedDM]

Haahqae, Gregeddin, Tulbas and Shima (Temple of Takhisis)
Gobax decides to call it a night, so the party heads to the High Hand and drops him off. They then proceed to Gregeddin's house to drop off the extra gear.

Next, they head to the temple. There is that an elaborate statue of a five-headed dragon 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. "We have been expecting you," they say. Their mask obscures their voice to the point that it is difficult to determine gender. "Please enter. The High Priestess is expecting you." The guards push open the door and stand aside to let the party pass.

The first thing they notice upon entering is the darkness. To say the temple is not well lit is a bit of an understatement. This becomes even more pronounced when the guards slam the doors behind the party, cutting off what little sunlight was streaming in from outside. It's not complete darkness. There are several candles lit in strategic areas. These are unusual candles, in that their light is dark purple, and consequently they aren't terribly bright. But it is just enough light to let the party navigate by, but also enough to hinder the infravision.

The second thing they notice is a strange...presence. It's difficult for any of them to put in words. But there's an almost oppressive feeling all around them. All of them recall memories of their childhood--that feeling one gets when their parents or some other authority figure was angry at them. Their faces feel hot and they are immersed in waves of discomfort. They feel as if they are being watched...which they probably are. There's no telling who is standing there in the darkness, observing them. But it's more than that. It feels more like they are being watched by someone or something incredibly powerful.

With nowhere to go but forward, the three follow the trail of purple lights. Now and again, they can hear something in the darkness. The soft scrape of the sole of a sandal on the floor, or whispering. They can never seem to figure out where it is coming from. At last, they reach the end of the trail, a small room that is a bit more lit than the rest of the temple, although still with the violet lights. There is a desk here with four chairs in front of it. A woman sits behind the desk, facing them. She is wearing black robes and a hood that conceals her face. This is not the woman they met on the street. She sounds older, more experienced. "You have, at last returned," she says, a hint of annoyance in her voice. "I expected regular reports from you. Instead, I have had to use my own spies and divinations to keep track of you. I do not appreciate that. Give me your report."

(OOC: mgbevan, the party did discuss where Gregeddin's house was and that they would meet there in the morning. So that shouldn't be a problem. However, Ne-Chanz and Felran were not present for that, so they'll have no idea there even will be a meeting, much less where.

Chris, you can see a map of the city and its locations in the Places and People thread which shows Gregeddin's house, the Steel Tankard, the High Hand and the Temple on it. Neither inn is on the way from Gregeddin's to the temple, but the High Hand is on the way from Arulia's to Gregeddin's.

I'm assuming Haahqae, Shima and Tulbas are going with Gregeddin, unless I hear otherwise from their players. I had Gobax head back to the High Hand since he can't go into the temple anyway--unless he wants to be instantly discovered by Takhisis.

Let me know what you are dropping off at Gregeddin's place so I can remove it from your inventories.)

Kendra Greylock (Prefect's Mansion, Ballroom)
"If you wish to go home," Norris offers, "I can come up with an excuse to leave without causing offense."

Kendra recalls the priestess' threat should she fail in her mission. To give up now might have severe consequences. But maybe she was bluffing, and her family would be fine. If she is going to act, though, she should move quickly. Time is running out and the party won't last forever. She feels so out of her element here. It was one thing to wade into battle with her blades; relying on wit and charm at a dinner party was quite different. But in this case, it could be just as deadly.

Tethys wanders about, greeting people cordially. The nobles and wealthy merchants bow and curtsy and sing his praises. They compliment his home, his governance, his outfit and anything else they can think of, hoping to earn his approval.

She could use this opportunity to slip away and try to find something. She would need to return before dinner starts, or she would likely be missed, though. Another, better opportunity could open up after dinner, but she couldn't be sure. Or she could approach him, see if she can beguile him and get him talking.

Arulia Seroth (323 Three Forks, Seroth residence)
Some time passes. Arulia can hear her family in the other room a bit. She hears the clinking of cutlery, but there seems to be little to no conversation.

Eventually, the door opens and Thoron steps through. He's holding a leather book in his hand. He holds up his other hand to stem any comments she might have, and simply hands her the book. "I want you to see this. Your mother and I...we didn't want to worry you. Any of you. But it's clear now, you don't fully grasp what is happening. And we need you to understand that."

Opening it, she finds that it is some kind of financial logbook in Thoron's handwriting. Flipping through it, she learns that it costs 30 steel a month (5 steel for each family member) to keep the family fed, clothed and in good health. Thoron makes about 15 steel a month at his smithy and Vera makes the same at her job as a cobbler. So for awhile now, they have been just barely making ends meet.

As she gets closer to today's date, things go awry. Her mother has lost her job, so her income now is zero. Cassilda's new job pays 8 steel a month, but that is not enough to make up the difference. What's more, Thoron's own salary keeps dropping after the new tax was introduced. He only made 12 steel last month and if things continue this way, he'll make even less than that for this month. Take into account that prices have nearly doubled in recent days...

"I've let go of all of my apprentices," Thoron admits. "The last one was let go today. I feel like a hypocrite--angry that your mother lost her job, but here I am, firing good people myself. But even doing so, it's not enough. The numbers just don't add up. This family won't live through the winter. Not all of us. And homelessness is a crime now. So we can't even wind up on the street. The army will round us up and either ship us off to their slave mines to the south or...rumor is, they are looking for women to work at the brothel the temple is opening. I can't let that happen to my girls." He lets out a deep sigh. "If marrying you all off seems like a desperate move, it is. I am desperate. I'm terrified. Osred is an ass, but he's well off and can take care of one of you. I know it's not a 'kender tale' ending, where everyone lives happily ever after. But if one of you married him, you'd be healthy, safe and provided for. It's more than I can offer any of you."

He looks out the window at the light snow covering the ground and buildings. "Maybe there will be other suitors. Better ones. Or maybe there won't be. But you may have to ask yourself if your pride is worth the lives of your family. You may prefer starvation over being married to someone like him...but what you did tonight was choose starvation for all of us." He looks back to her. "I wish there was another way, I really do. But I'm just not seeing it. There are no jobs left, prices are going up, and winter is coming. Do you understand?"

[Chris1234]

If time allows, Shima will enter the High Hand, "give me about 20 minutes, going to see if I can find out about the pair that took your stuff;" (leaving all the looted kit and her own weapons) with Gregeddin & co out of sight (party can choose where, but probably simply around the corner from the Inn.)
Shima then enters the High Hand alone, looking pretty much as he had the night before and looks for the cloaked pair, a man and woman that spoke Cant. If not there and nothing else catches his attention he leaves, returning to Gregeddin & colleagues.
{If they are present, he buys a drink and takes a table near to them and tries to discretely eavesdrop. After a few minutes. he approaches and says "Evening," in a normal voice, then leans down to reach for a stool and introduces himself quietly (in Cant), "I'm Shima, new here, trying to see how it works, what's happening, any jobs, you know the sort of thing." If this goes ok, he will ask if they know of an outlet for items of armour, like chainmail for a human male, inferring that he's looking for a fence. If this goes ok, he describe the two that stole from the Haahque & co, merely asking if this pair (man & woman) know of them (2 women), and looking for lie indicators, too..

Leave all looted kit plus own weapons at Gregeddin's place, unless Gregeddin advises to take one's own weapons to the temple.

For the duration of being in the temple Shima keeps quiet unless directly questioned.

[HorizonsDream]

"No," Kendra says. "I have to do this." The threat against her family was enough to put her to action. She takes a deep breath, and lets it out before she finally approaches Tethys. "Lord Tethys," she says with a light smile. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

[BishGada]

At Gregeddin house Tulbas leaves the quarter staff. "Let's go to see the priestess. Indeed I wish we had better report to give but maybe now they can track Belzor and send us after him."

As they arrive the dark church, fear takes over Tulbas again. You would imagine only the first time will chill your bones, but the same happens again and Tulbas wonders if eventually he will get over this aweful feeling or get used to it. Going forward his high senses detect no noise but their own cloaks whispers as they lightly scratch the floor and the sudden light in the priestess room comes in surprise. He looks at the woman with respect and waits for the conversation to start before adding anything to it.

[spyguy1503]

"Well, I can offer you a portion of the money they stole from us. 10%?"

[TristenC]

As Gobax returns to the inn, he contemplates the events of the past two days... Failure... Some good work was done, but ultimately failure... No, he silently chided himself, not failure, a life was rescued. That was the goal, after all, to save Tulbas... One goal, anyway. Another was to find how the mercenaries operate and insinuate himself... he supposed he had done that as well, even to the point of being invited to stay... he tried not to make character judgements quickly, but he was beginning to like this group... maybe even the gnome... maybe a little... A soul had been turned to the old gods as well... a good turn, that...

Sirrion's work had been done in the destruction of the cult's followers... Belzor... The word failure drifted up again. How he had fumbled that one... Had I not tried to convince them to release Tulbas... but would they have done any different? No traps... we might have been strong enough to finish it without that... he shook his head. It had been foolish, a desperate attempt to save Tulbas and perhaps warn the cult... a group that opposed the Dragon Queen... Still... had I known just what they were doing, turning men into beasts against their will, would I have done any different? Surely Tulbas' safety woyld have seemed more tenuous, not less... The attack itself would have warned them we were coming anyway...

Shaking himself from his reverie, he takes a good look around the common room. Afterwards he stows his weapons, shield and gear upstairs before returning to the bar.

[Still in armor and belt pouches]

[djhyland]

Arulia is still fuming when her father comes up to her room, and ready to shout down any protests at her driving Osred away. However, his calm demeanor is unexpected, and it disarms her rage. She listens with growing fear and shame as he describes their family's situation. When he hands her the account book, the blood runs from her face as she reads.

Finally, she stammers, "I'm...I'm so sorry. I didn't know how bad things were, and I'm sorry I've been so stubborn about marriage. I wondered why you let Osred stay after he insulted you to your face. I thought that if you weren't going to call him out for it, I would. I...I didn't understand."

Blinking back tears, she hands the book back to her father. "If marriage is what it takes, I will marry the next suitor you bring by, if he'll have me. I'll do whatever it takes to make this right."

[Haahque]

"Well that's the thing. It's been a rather interesting experience looking for this cult. We didn't know that you wanted to be reported back to twice a day or we might have been able to do that, but as it is, here we are with the job still only partially done. Oh and also, your book." Haahqae hands back the book that he had borrowed. "Thank you for that, very interesting read. Anyways, on the first day we fanned out and scouted for the cutlist base, we got some good leads, but only Tulbas managed to find their base. His methods, however were suspect, as he got himself captured and couldn't communicate with us the location of the base. So we had to track him down, from our knowledge of where he was searching, and we eventually tracked down his absence to find the cultist base, an abandoned house near the brothel. Our first scouting mission was an abject failure, we were clearly outmatched by the cultist guards, so we turned to hire some extra muscle and rescue Tulbas, as well as wipe out the heretics. We got a good group together, or most of the group was good anyways, but it was powerful enough to breach the cultists defenses the next day, find and rescue Tulbas and withdraw to regroup before we made our final assault to wipe out Belzor once and for all. But it wasn't that easy. First of all, two of our new hired muscle happened to be thieves, and stole a large amount of steel and potions from us while we were infiltrating the cultist base, we tried chasing them, but they were much faster then us and had a head start. The army, by the way, was royally unhelpful in finding them when we tried to garner information from a checkpoint that they had bribed. The next day we returned to defeat Belzor himself, however he had fled the base by this time, so we settled for destroying their statue that was preventing the base from being scry'd and we were just on our way back here to report when one of your spies approached us to tell us that you desired a report."

Hopefully the priestess is good at processing information quickly, Haahqae once again showcases an incredible ability to speak without needing to take breaks for breath.

[mgbevan]

Gregeddin opted to leave all the weapons and armour at home, quite resigned to the fact that if the High Priestess decided they were to die that day, fighting a dragon or an old god would not go so well in his favour. He deposits all weapons and armour, only bringing things of utility with hims, papers, ID and so forth.

While first walking trough the purple lit hall, Gregeddin whispers to the group "This place could really use some livening up, little fireplace, music, wouldn't do it any harm." The bard considers a little whistling tune as they walk but thinks better of it as he gets the feeling of cold eyes staring at the back of his neck, lips and throat going dry, feeling very silly as he stifles a small cough.

Gregeddin holds his breath as Haahqae begins to speak, wondering what mysteries might unfold from the gnome's lips. However, he withdraws his mind's original opinion after hearing him give an accurate and logically constructed report. The bard nods along agreeing with Haahque. Offering a general summary at the end of Haahquae's report, Gregeddin adds "First day finding the lair, second day killing most of the Belzorites, day three go back to finish Belzor off." counting on his fingers, "But now you can scry for Belzor he can be finished off!" with an enthusiastic ring.

[JadedDM]

Haahqae, Gregeddin, Tulbas and Shima (Temple of Takhisis)
Shima did not see the couple speaking cant he saw the other day.

The priestess listens to Haahqae's rambling and Gregeddin's epilogue. Taking a moment to digest it all, she says, "So in other words, you failed. You allowed their leader to escape into the night. Had you reported in the night you discovered the lair, we could have sent a large task force in to utterly destroy them all. Failing that, had you instead reported in on the second night, we could have then sent in a group to take out their leader before he escaped. There is no explanation for these failures beyond simple incompetence." She leans back in her chair. "I suppose this is what I get for asking Magnus for aid. I won't make that mistake a second time."

Shaking her head, she adds, "Consider your weapon permits voided as of tomorrow morning. No need to turn them in. We are implementing a new system for them starting tomorrow anyway, so any of the current permits will no longer work and any attempt to use them when get you arrested."

(OOC:
Shima is no longer in encumbrance.
Gregeddin is no longer in encumbrance.)

Kendra Greylock (Prefect's Mansion, Ballroom)
Tethys looks Kendra up and down as she approaches and offers a polite smile. He looks slightly impressed; but Kendra can't help but feel if she had worn that blue dress instead, it would have made a much stronger impression on him. He offers his hand and when she accepts it, he brings it to his mouth (he has no lips, so cannot kiss it exactly). "Charmed," he says. "And who might you be? Nowhere near pale enough to be a noblewoman," he deduces, letting go of her hand. "There is some muscle on you, yet you walk with the grace of a dancer. A warrior, perhaps?"

Arulia Seroth (323 Three Forks, Seroth residence)
Thoron sits down on the bed beside her, and accepts the book. He uses his free hand to gently stroke her hair, like he used to when she was a child. "I'm sorry things are this way. It's not fair to make you girls choose between happiness and survival, especially at such a young age. But there just isn't any choice. We have a month, at least, to somehow earn 30 steel pieces. I just have no idea how we'll do that. With my salary, and your sister's together...if we can marry off at least two of you, we'll make it to next month. I'll put out the word. Hopefully we'll find another suitor. Maybe one even richer than Osred, but without the attitude."

He stands up. "Your mother saved some dinner for you, if you're still hungry. It's in the kitchen."

Grubnick (High Hand Inn, common room)
After dropping off his weapons in his room, Grubnick walks down to the common room. The elderly plainswoman who owns this place tends the bar. There aren't many people about, as it is nearly curfew.

An old woman in her late 60s sits by the fire, nursing a drink. Another woman, half the age of the first one, wears an eye-patch over one eye and sits alone in a dark corner. A third woman, about the same age as the second, quickly finishes a meal at a table with a dwarven woman.

Two men sit at the bar, drinking. Both wear heavy cloaks with the hoods up. A trio of kapaks sit at a table alone, watching the others--including Grubnick--carefully.

(OOC:
Grubnick is no longer encumbered.)

Felran and Ne-Chanz (Grinning Goat Tavern)
The barman chuckles. "But how much is that? Ten percent could be a lot or nothing at all. And do you think these two were lonewolves or part of the guild?"

[djhyland]

Arulia shakes her head at her father's offer of dinner: she's found that her appetite has quite fled in the tumble of her emotions, and she's not sure she can face her mother yet. Instead, she asks, "Why can't you take Niniva and Camilla and I to the forge with you? We may not know as much as your apprentices, but we can help you out as we can. You won't have to pay us, and maybe we can help you do more work...at least, until you find husbands for us."