CH. 9: Winter is Coming

[mgbevan]

"Grab whatever weapons and equipment you can salvage and I'll start chaperones us home, if that's all the business we have here, we can even meet at my place for breakfast since we all know where it is?"
Gregeddin begins to collect any swords bows or similar weapons and attempts to coral the troops towards the exit

[Chris1234]

Sihma helps collect and carry things and follows Gregeddin.

[HorizonsDream]

Kendra hands her cloak over to the elderly man. "Thank you," she says. ~The best way to search this place would be through the servant's area,~ she thinks to herself as she walks in the direction of the ballroom. "I, uh, really like what he has done with the place," she commented dryly.

[TristenC]

Grubnick lends a hand with the equipment, grabbing armor too. Maybe we should take a less direct route to your home with all of this. It might look suspicious. Can we use some of these containers to hide the nature of our cargo?

[Ooc: I don't suppose there is anything goblin sized...]

[JadedDM]

Haahqae, Gregeddin, Tulbas, Arulia, Gobax and Shima (323 Three Forks, Seroth residence)
The party collects the short sword, hand axe, short bow and quarterstaff from the guard room. They also acquire two suits of chain mail and a suit of leather armor, both human sized.

The party then heads to Arulia's place to drop her off. Now that the half-elven woman is home safe, they should decide where they are heading next.

(OOC: Let me know who is carrying what; those chain mail suits especially will put some of you in encumbrance.)

Kendra Greylock (Prefect's Mansion)
The elderly servant nods. "The prefect has put considerable effort into making himself feel at home."

Kendra and Norris remove their cloaks and hand them over to the old man, who takes them to the northeast door on the left. Norris then offers his arm to Kendra and walks with her into the ball room.

The ballroom is quite large, taking up a significant portion of the east wing. It is well lit with some warm braziers that are also keeping the place warm, especially compared to outside. Large bay windows allow a great view of the city. All of the noble district is up on a hill, so from here Kendra can see the little lights of the homes and businesses below as the sun goes down.

In the corner is a band of minstrels playing music. About a dozen people are already here, talking and dancing. To the north are more double doors, hanging wide open. They reveal the dining hall. Every now and again, a servant leaves the entrance hall, heads into the dining hall, then returns. They are still setting things up for dinner.

"Well, shall we mingle or would you care to dance?" asks Norris.

Felran and Ne-Chanz (Outside of Una's Weaponshop)
Felran and Ne-Chanz stand outside of the weaponshop, trying to decide what to do next. Curfew is in less than two hours, so their time is limited.

[spyguy1503]

"Let's head to the slum districts. Someone there might know something." They head for the seediest tavern they see.

[BishGada]

Tulbas will take the quarterstaff and ask Grubnick for the permit he lend him the other day.

======================================================
(OOC: If we searched the Barracks and the Gore room and the bodies, where is Leota's spellbook?)

[Haahque]

"Does anyone else need escorting home?"

Haahqae will take the short bow.

[TristenC]

"Hmm? Oh, the pass! Of course..." Grubnick returns it to Tulbas. "So long as we get back safe. I hadn't thought about that pass recently..."

[HorizonsDream]

"Um, mingle?" Kendra asks. She looks to Norris, feeling a bit lost on how to handle this situation. "I've never been to something like this before, so I'm not really sure what to do."

[djhyland]

Arulia thanks the group for her escort home, then pushes open the door as quietly as she can. It's not that she's afraid that her family will reprimand her for gallivanting about and putting herself in danger, she tells herself, it's just that she wishes to prevent a repeat of last night's dramatic late homecoming.

(OOC: If nobody is in the main room when she enters:) Once inside, Arulia dashes up the stairs to the room that she shares with her sisters and removes her armor as quickly as she can, makes a half-hearted attempt to straighten her hair, and throws on a chemise and a skirt. Deeming herself halfway presentable, she descends back to the family room. "Mother? Father? I'm home," she calls.

(OOC: If she's caught by her family:) Arulia closes the door behind her and greets her family. "I'm...I'm home," she stammers. "How...how was your day today?" After as little small talk as she feels she can get away with, she hurries upstairs to remove her armor and dress herself appropriately for home. When she returns downstairs, she's much less nervous, and happily joins her family in dinner preparations.

[Chris1234]

Haahqae, Gregeddin, Tulbas, Arulia, Gobax and Shima (323 Three Forks, Seroth residence)
The party collects the short sword, hand axe, short bow and quarterstaff from the guard room. They also acquire two suits of chain mail and a suit of leather armor, both human sized.
(OOC: Let me know who is carrying what; those chain mail suits especially will put some of you in encumbrance.)

{OOC: Assuming the party do want to carry off all this kit, it's not going to carry itself... Quarterstaff (4lb), Short sword (3lb), handaxe (5lb), shortbow (2lb), chain mail (40lb), 2nd chain mail (40lb), leather (15lb). Carrying an extra 12lb drops Shima to a movement of 4"}

Just as Tulbas picks up the quarterstaff and Haahqae takes the short bow and are about to walk off, Shima pipes up, "Folks, sorry to be a party-pooper, but this stuff won't carry itself and the reputation for my race to be able to carry mountains is somewhat exaggerated. I'll show you."
Picking up a handaxe, he wanders a few feet as normal {6"} and then pick up a set of chainmail as well, and is clearly struggling {3"}, but dropping the handaxe, is less slowed {4"}.

He adds, "So if you're serious about getting all this stuff out of here, who exactly is going to carry what? And bear in mind I've only got short legs. And that isn't a euphemism. Some of you can walk twice as quickly as I can at best." Shima drops the chainmail back onto the pile and picks up the hand-axe again, and then looks around the group, conscious of being the 'new fellow on the block' and wary of coming across like a big mouth.

[JadedDM]

Haahqae, Gregeddin, Tulbas, Gobax and Shima (323 Three Forks, Seroth residence)
Tulbas grabs Leota's quarterstaff, so now he has two, carrying one in each hand. He also takes back the weapon permit Gobax was holding for him. Haahqae grabs the short bow. Then Shima grabs the hand axe. The party then drops off Arulia at her place and stand outside in the cold, deciding where to go next.

(OOC: Tulbas searched the barracks twice when he was being held there and didn't find anything. So maybe Belzor took it with him. It was only a level 1 spellbook though and didn't have any spells that Tulbas doesn't already know.

If nobody else claims them, I'll assume the remaining items are left behind.

Tulbas acquires a second quarterstaff and reacquires the real weapon permit.
Haahqae acquires a second short bow.
Shima acquires a hand axe.)

Kendra Greylock (Prefect's Mansion)
"Alright," Norris replies. He scans the room carefully. "I know some of these people, either personally or by reputation." He points out a man and woman dressed elegantly, albeit all in black, standing in the corner and talking quietly. "The Gutans. Very wealthy, from old money. They can trace back their name to the the city's beginning. Not terribly social, but nice enough once you get to know them. They have a finger in nearly every business in Haven."

He points out another couple dancing casually. Both are blonde and light skinned and dressed in silks and satins. The woman is caked in makeup and has her hair up in a very elaborate style. "The Settlers. Also very rich and also from old money. They own more property in the city than even the former mayor once did. This gives them quite an advantage when it comes to leasing buildings for other businesses and homes. Nice people, though, if a bit snobby."

Nodding toward another couple, he says, "The Tenor family." The couple are older with some distinguished grey in their hair, but dressed quite smartly. The woman is wearing furs, in fact. A younger woman, about Kendra's age, is with them. The couple seem to be arguing about something while the younger woman stands and watches nervously. "A bit of a mystery. Nobody knows where they came from, actually. Rumor is, they came into great wealth right before the occupation. Some say they had deals with the army or the church, but nobody has the guts to say it to their faces. Something shady about them, if you ask me. Although their daughter seems nice enough, from what I've seen."

There's a young woman standing alone by the window, looking out at the city's view. She's dressed conservatively, not showing off even a bit of skin. "The Widow Darling," Norris says. "They say her husband, a very wealthy merchant, died on their wedding night. She inherited everything. Some say that seems rather suspicious..."

"There's the Shoal family," Norris points out. There's an elderly gentleman, a middle aged couple, and a couple of teenagers. They would all be quite attractive, but they all wear sneers on their faces as if disgusted by everyone and everything they see. "Not a happy bunch. I'd watch my back around them. They say even those who are nice to your face talk about you behind your back. Most of them just talk about you to your face, though."

He looks around further. "Can't say I know who anyone else is. Where do you want to start?"

Arulia Seroth (323 Three Forks, Seroth residence)
When Arulia steps inside her house, she finds the family has already set the table for dinner and are all waiting. They are wearing their nicest clothes (which aren't all that nice, really, but they're the best they have). Cassilda's left hand is bandaged up.

"Where have you been?" asks her mother, hurrying over to check her for wounds. Satisfied to find she isn't covered in blood again, and seems to have no new injuries, she adds, "Osred will be here any minute! Hurry, go get dressed before he gets here. We need to make a good impression. Wash up and put on something nice." She ushers Arulia to the girls' room

Felran and Ne-Chanz (Grinning Goat Tavern)
Felran and Ne-Chanz are already in the slums (the harbor district), so they find the seediest tavern they can find. This is the Grinning Goat, a textbook definition of a dive. It's dark, it's dank and it smells awful. The tables have graffiti carved on them, one of the windows has been broken and boarded up, and every now and again a cockroach or rat skirts across the common room.

There aren't many people about. A couple of passed out drunks and some very shady looking people at a table in the corner.

The bartender, a rough looking man with a patch over one eye, watches them closely as they enter. "What'll be?" he asks in a gruff voice.

[BishGada]

Tulbas leans on the quarterstaff he took while looking at the dwarf and wondering why he collects the goods and then drops it. But he says nothing. When Grubnick returns the permit he asks Gregeddin quietly, "Maybe you could create few more permits for the rest of the group?"

[HorizonsDream]

"I hear these parties are more about business than actual mingling," Kendra says thoughtfully. "And since you are with me, we might as well try to help your business right?" she asks. "So I would suggest the Gutans first."