Fireballs and Floozies
In the morning ,the party of heroes set out to Denhow's Pub and Grub to meet with Rogord. On the way, Gil heard the sound of a roaring whoosh, rather like the sound of a fireball, and screams down a street to the side. Tesrae reacted quickly, drawing her sword and pushing through the crowd (heading the opposite direction) toward the noise. Bob Arby followed in her wake, as did Gil.
They arrived at a scene of carnage. A market stall had been the center of a fireball that had not only killed the man running the stall, but also killed several bystanders and set fire to the awning of another stall. Three men remained in the area, unhurt, and talking like they were responsible for the damage. One was heard to remark that "He won't short change me again." as he grabbed up some produce and his friend picked up the cash box from behind the stall table. These men talked like bullies, but also with the speech of uneducated, rural laborers rather than learned wizards.
Tesrae and Gil both advanced while Bob hung back. One of the men said they had the power to do whatever they wanted now and the one in the back of the three pulled up his sleeves and made like he was about to cast a spell. Bob reacted first, however, and a volley of magical missiles struck the man down. Gil and Tesrae both attacked next, dropping their opponents to the ground (Gil in particularly bloody fashion as his sickles ripped through the man's throat).
A quick loot of the bodies as the sounds of the local militia's whistles approached turned up a bit of loose change and a scroll. Examining the scroll later, Bob believed that the spell written on it (magic missile) was made up of some fairly unique mnemonic devices to that point that just about anybody could prepare the spell for casting on their own, even a non-spellcaster. Further research, however, would be required.
The meeting with Rogord went as expected. He was sitting in the most remote corner of the room he could find as the adventurers joined him. He revealed that his sources said that Slavelords have been seen entering a brothel called the Sign of the Rose and not leaving. That would have to be the location of a secret entrance into their network and, ultimately, fortress. Facing increasing trouble with the Scarlet Brotherhood, Rogord volunteered to come along and help. He also asked that if he should fall, that the adventurers would keep his sword out of the hands of the Slavelords. It is apparently a blade with some lineage. Tesrae's cursory examination suggested it was worth a lot of money and was decorated in an old Aerdy style, dating from the times of the Great Kingdom at its height.
On the way back to the inn, Gil decided to check out the Sign of the Rose and got some of the local currency at the money changer to spend. He first got a tour of the place from the madam (it was early and there were few patrons yet) as he tried to wheedle from her which room gets used often by visiting dignitaries (slavelords) and thus might have the secret entrance. The madam was dogged enough in her focus on the business of sex and was not going to crack. Switching tactics, Gil asked to see the girls instead, hoping to pick a young and relatively inexperienced harlot who might give up information easier. He chose Lees, a 16-year old girl who had been working for about 7 months.
Back in Lees's room, rather than getting to the business she expected, Gil started asking leading questions while stacking money on her vanity. She caught on that he wasn't a regular customer and was angling for information on the slavelords. She resisted talking for a while, afraid of repercussions, but a substantial sum of money plus an emerald (and promise of more) were enough to get her to indicate that there was a particularly interesting room at the end of the hall on the ground floor *wink wink nudge nudge*. Gil told Lees that he would make sure she was rescued when the planned raid and toppling of the slavelords occurs.
Next episode: Beneath the Sign of the Rose.
They arrived at a scene of carnage. A market stall had been the center of a fireball that had not only killed the man running the stall, but also killed several bystanders and set fire to the awning of another stall. Three men remained in the area, unhurt, and talking like they were responsible for the damage. One was heard to remark that "He won't short change me again." as he grabbed up some produce and his friend picked up the cash box from behind the stall table. These men talked like bullies, but also with the speech of uneducated, rural laborers rather than learned wizards.
Tesrae and Gil both advanced while Bob hung back. One of the men said they had the power to do whatever they wanted now and the one in the back of the three pulled up his sleeves and made like he was about to cast a spell. Bob reacted first, however, and a volley of magical missiles struck the man down. Gil and Tesrae both attacked next, dropping their opponents to the ground (Gil in particularly bloody fashion as his sickles ripped through the man's throat).
A quick loot of the bodies as the sounds of the local militia's whistles approached turned up a bit of loose change and a scroll. Examining the scroll later, Bob believed that the spell written on it (magic missile) was made up of some fairly unique mnemonic devices to that point that just about anybody could prepare the spell for casting on their own, even a non-spellcaster. Further research, however, would be required.
The meeting with Rogord went as expected. He was sitting in the most remote corner of the room he could find as the adventurers joined him. He revealed that his sources said that Slavelords have been seen entering a brothel called the Sign of the Rose and not leaving. That would have to be the location of a secret entrance into their network and, ultimately, fortress. Facing increasing trouble with the Scarlet Brotherhood, Rogord volunteered to come along and help. He also asked that if he should fall, that the adventurers would keep his sword out of the hands of the Slavelords. It is apparently a blade with some lineage. Tesrae's cursory examination suggested it was worth a lot of money and was decorated in an old Aerdy style, dating from the times of the Great Kingdom at its height.
On the way back to the inn, Gil decided to check out the Sign of the Rose and got some of the local currency at the money changer to spend. He first got a tour of the place from the madam (it was early and there were few patrons yet) as he tried to wheedle from her which room gets used often by visiting dignitaries (slavelords) and thus might have the secret entrance. The madam was dogged enough in her focus on the business of sex and was not going to crack. Switching tactics, Gil asked to see the girls instead, hoping to pick a young and relatively inexperienced harlot who might give up information easier. He chose Lees, a 16-year old girl who had been working for about 7 months.
Back in Lees's room, rather than getting to the business she expected, Gil started asking leading questions while stacking money on her vanity. She caught on that he wasn't a regular customer and was angling for information on the slavelords. She resisted talking for a while, afraid of repercussions, but a substantial sum of money plus an emerald (and promise of more) were enough to get her to indicate that there was a particularly interesting room at the end of the hall on the ground floor *wink wink nudge nudge*. Gil told Lees that he would make sure she was rescued when the planned raid and toppling of the slavelords occurs.
Next episode: Beneath the Sign of the Rose.
posted by Bill D91 at 11:07 AM
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