Hunting Fiends pt3

When last we left our heroes, they had popped open a pair of footlockers in the room belonging to the gentlemen you're pursuign, the swordsman known as Oinig. You have found multiple sets of data and two seperate sets of books indicating works in Vandalheim and Tashraan, in the DEsolation and Veyshan respectively. It's not exactly clear waht he's doing in these places, but its obviously part of something. So far, smuggling has been loudly speculated.

The room may yet still have more secrets within it but you have not yet located them.

GAME: Baz da Ork rolls Perception: (18)+7: 25

GAME: Morgan rolls knowledge/geography: (19)+20: 39

GAME: Hun'rar rolls perception: (2)+0: 2

GAME: Serraphine rolls perception: (10)+3: 13

GAME: Sasha rolls perception: (10)+6: 16

GAME: Kore rolls perception: (20)+16: 36

Morgan is studying the charts "Ok I know his rout and we can cut him off, but the problem is there are so many and we do not know what one to start at."

The big Ork 'searches' for relevant equipment. Bottles are openned, sniffed and then drank. The bath one seems to be exceptionally popular as bubbles begin to foam out of the Ork's mouth. Drawers are pulled out and dumped, shelves are cleared. Somehow numerous pairs of under garments end up hanging from his spiked armor like christmas decorations. Pawing through the wardrobe Baz even manages to tie a dressing gown around his neck so it hangs over his blackened armor like a gaudy cloak.

Serraphine is just moving from area to area through the room. Just sort of tromping along, somewhere along the lines she pulls out a couple cookies and starts chomping on them. Leaving a trail of cookie crumbs behind her, so that's it's easier for her to figure out where she's searched. It also distracts her from searching because those cookies are quite good.

Sasha has no idea what to do to help, so she's standing back....

Hun'rar takes the time to cast a pair of spells, trailing them over everything in the room. First he looks for hidden evil and then for any hidden magic, although it takes a couple of tries for him to get his Detect Magic off with all his armor on.

Baz moves the gown and Kore frowns for a second. She moves up past the Ork, blinking up at him as she presses past the hanging gown. Then she is pressing her figners to the back panel of the drawer from whence it came. After some prodding, Kore... Puts her fist through the board. And comes up with nothing.

The woman looks sheepish for a second until she flips over one of the bed sheets and pulls a small pouch from inside hte lining. This she empties onto an end table to reveal the glitter of valuably cut, rare blue diamonds. She got there in the end.

"Wot ya got there?" Baz says, a cloud of floral smelling pinkish bubbles errupting from his mouth as he speaks to Kore. "Oooh, pretty stones. I could put dem in me armor for me Kor design." He jerks a thumb at the rhinestones and marbles he's smashed into his chest plate for the symbol of Kor. Of course now there is a small waterfall of bubbles slowly running down his chest as he speaks. "So we gots a map and we gots shiney stones." There's a pause and a belch. "I gots me drinkies."

GAME: Morgan casts Scrying. Caster Level: 10 DC: 21

GAME: NeverSleepsPool rolls 1d20+12: (20)+12: 32

Iskandar watches the others search the room with various styles snd varying levels of effectiveness. Iskandar himself pours over the maps and floorplans discovered before. He spreads a few floorplans across the desk and does his best to piece together where in Alexandria the houses are, and what they look like from the outside.

Morgan sits down away from the others as she gets a mirror as she starts to say some words as her voice gets a hollow sound to it. The mirror stops showing her reflection as she keeps saying strange words. She keeps looking at the mirror for a long time "Ok I dont know these areas that well, does any one know Tashraan or Vandalheim at all?"

Sasha says, "I...might. Just a little bit. Mostly because of my friend, Kisaiya. but I'm not completely familiar with it....as Kisa is.""

The big Ork begins to dismantle the bed looking for more shiny stones. He glances up when asked about Tashraan and Vanalheim and shrugs. "Nevah heard of'em." Then goes back to ripping apart the bed. Soon he's sitting in the middle of the remains of the mattress and frame. Still spewing bubbles as he breathes and talks, covering himself in a sheet he squats into the destruction and seems to be making a comfortable fort for himself.

Hun'rar shakes his head to Morgan and continues to rifle through books and other items as she casts her spell. Perhaps check behind any paintings or book shelves for anything just to be sure, mostly trying to reason out where the next clue could be.

Iskandar holds out his hands in a shrug. "I've ever been to either of those lands," he admits. "I've only traveled the nearby coasts. Until now," he adds with relish.

Morgan nods "Well I can teleport us to one, what one should we go and check first."

"Well den, lets got to Tarspan." Baz finally says as silence reigns. "If no one is gonna make the choice I will. We go dere, we sack the place, look for what we need. If not, den we go on to Vandelmemem and sack it too. Or maybe we just sack both for da hell of it."

"I think they both sound like reasonable places." Serraphine frowns and then looks over at Sasha. She squints, /squints/, at the cleric, "The one dating Serra, the Agent of Chaos? That Kisaiya?" A further frown and agrumble as the cookie is not nearly so tasty with the knowledge she is next to a friend of the bethrothed of the Agent of Chaos.

A pause.

Well, that's silly, the cookies are better than this news. Munch-munch-munch-munch.

She offers one to Sasha.

"Tarspan, then Vandalheim. We'd best be moving to visit them all," Kore agrees simply. The diamonds are scooped up and tucked away with anything else Kore handles. Into her pouch to be shared out later. The Monk clearly doesn't buy herself nice things, they're probably safe.

Hun'rar shrugs, "Whichever, more than likely we are better off visiting both to get the full picture. But if we are going to, then we better go."

Sooo.

You have an hour to kill. In a brothel. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your point of view) the Dancing Mermaid has caught onto your reason for being here and more or less you're served only the alcohol you'll want while you wait for Morgan's spell to come up empty. It is, however, unclear if this may have tipped off Oinig to teh fact that he's being pursued.

Still, you have two potential locations to explore and soem scrolls of teleport to buy now. Where first and how to start searching there is now the question to be asked.

Iskandar

Morgan looks to the group and says "you have a hour to bumb around I will keep watching for anything else, and I bet some of you would like to pay the girls here a visit."

"Ew...no." Sasha seems mortified at the thought of 'visiting' any of the girls in the brothel. "I'll just nurse a mead and hopefully not be bothered by the guys that want to bed me. ugh.

Iskandar checks his short bow and makes sure his quiver is reasonably full. "We're going to a city, so food and shelter will be plentiful," he reasons. "Perhaps we should dress as the locals do." For his part he throws a hooded cloak over his shoulders, enough to conceal his gear and shroud his features in shadows.

"An hour in here?" Baz perks right up, rising up out of his bedfort like a titanic armored, clothing, feather and bubble covered monster. "I will be back." With that he stomps his way out of the room and begins selecting play-pals at seemingly random. Girls, men, patrons, an empty keg with the spigot removed, the spigot. The yells of one of the sailors as he's dragged down a hallway reverberate into the very bone.

"...I am tired of *all* the guys who want to bed me," Kore replies to Sasha in a sympathetic tone. She'll stay nearby, the tiniest Half-Elf and a gigantic blonde. Kore does her best to scare off potential suitors.

Constantin has arrived.

GAME: Kore rolls Intimidation: (4)+Intimidation: 4

GAME: Kore rolls Intimidate: (5)+6: 11

Constantin flirts with everyone, maybe not as indiscriminantly as Baz, but that's a relatively low bar. He gets tight lipped about Tashraan, and somewhat more perky about Vandalheim, and hides that frustration through his interactions, flitting around the common areas.

Serraphine also gives a look toward Morgan as she mentions that, a shake of her head in disapproval. "Why would I want to visit them? I do not know any of them. What would you expect next? That I would ask if they would like to get lunch tomorrow? Pah!" Serraphine throws her hands up and then launches-

-At Mayra, it is time to wrestle the doggo for a while.

GAME: Morgan rolls 1d100: (29): 29

GAME: Morgan rolls 1d100+inv: (12)+inv: 12

GAME: Morgan used a Scroll of Teleport.

GAME: Morgan used a Scroll of Teleport.

GAME: Morgan used a Scroll of Teleport.

GAME: Morgan used a Scroll of Teleport.

It's not exactly /fun/, you know. Teleport lets you go as far as the eyes can take you. All Morgan has to do is see a horizon and you can go there! That's how in the space of a few hours, you go from Alexandria, to the mountains, to the vast plains of the Desolation (but not the vast plains ot the Vast) and to the edge of the city of Vandalheim and that's to say nothing of the dangerws of teleporting in a region known for cataclysmic releases of magical energy and the so-called 'Everstorm', which you can still see in the distance, a great circling storm rumored to encompass the lands where the legendary city of Kulthis once stood and responsible for much of the oddw eather that is inflicted on the area and on the surrounding countries as well.

But that's not your destination, thankfully, simple a piece of its geography.

Vandalheim is a known haven of smugglers, mercenaries, thieves, and scum and villany of all sorts.

Situated both on the edge and within the great Rift Canyon, said to've been formed by the falling of a blade during the great wars of divinity, it is a sprawling mess of a city that looks exactly like you'd expect.

And there you are, on its fringes, looking for one man within it all.

Good luck.

Morgan looks to the group "I know you have a wide selection of wizards to select from, but thank you for choosing Arcane Morgan." the wizard says to the group as she looks a bit tired and would like a few minutes of rest."

"

Constantin looks out over the city, "Thanks, Morgan." He cups his chin in one hand, the other hand holding his elbow. "Well, this should be fun."

Serraphine rode on Mayra on the way there. Posing at each stop of the Teleportation with one hand tucked inside of her tabard reaching for a cookie that she dropped on the way out of Alexandria. She'll find it eventually, riding toward the edge of the city at a slow canter, the hand still tucked away inside of the cloth until finally - with vindication - it whips free and stuffs the cookie back into her mouth. "Immfa nna ook 'round."

GAME: Iskandar rolls knowledge/local+2: (10)+5+2: 17

GAME: Serraphine rolls Diplomacy: (13)+8: 21

GAME: Constantin rolls knowledge/local: (17)+2: 19

GAME: Sasha rolls diplomacy: (4)+16: 20

Serraphine figures that the others are going to follow the map, but - BUT - she's got a better idea as she rides into town on her hyena. She'll just ask people. So ask she rides along, she pulls out a sketchbook and some charcoal that she begins to draw with. Her tongue poking out of the corner of her mouth as Mayra takes her in the right direction... or whatever direction.

She trusts mayra to take her to the right spot.

As she sketches out an idea of what she thinks the Captain looks like. With eye patch and appropriate features based on what the descriptions they've been given. And with that, it's off to ye olde watering hole of a tavern, preferably near one of the air docks (not to be confused with the sea dock). With her drawing in tow!

Have you seen this Captain?!

Iskandar unrolls the map of Vandalhim they acquired at the Mermaid and peers at one of the marked points. Then he lowers the map and eyes the city, looking for landmarks. "There," he points back and forth between map and cityscape. "If that tower is represented by that square on the map...then that's one of the marks. Let's start there," he suggests.

Breaking off from the rest of the group, Sasha starts her way towards another area, such as the marketplace near the airdocks and begins to ask around. Mostly asking strange questions as she looks through odd trinkets. She plays the part of a customer well, even asking about certain airships as the conversation steers that way. Then asking about certain captains. Her purse is a little lighter, but she does get a few lovely trinkets for her time, if nothing else.

Constantin takes a moment to look out over the city, then starts prowling along with Iskandar. He, if nothing else, makes his body language match that of the locals -- a rough town seems like a natural fit, for all of his flash. He prowls through the streets looking for a convergence between air-crew places and that red dot.

Kore ends up reviewing maps and looking brooding. She's making little progress on her own, but at least she manages to look busy while teammates are considering how to solve the problems at hand. She'll eventually start wandering the city to see what she can learn. After setting an appropriate time to meet, of course.

It's going to take the better part of the day. First, to identify the various dots on the maps of Vandalheim you have.

Second, to try to find out if anyone has any record of him coming and going (here? Yeah, right. Records, ahaha.)

Third, to avoid drawing TOO much attention to yourselves. It's that last one where you're not so succesful, really.

Still, the locations identified: a watchtower, a beacon, a flophouse, a merchant's association, and a single well deep in the bowls of the rift.

A great deal of time is spend navigating to bring these things down to that point and waht they share in common is less than clear. There's no handy-dandy convenient pentagram of summoning laid out in the map, either, or anything like that.

Still, each of you is now getting the distinct impression each of you is now being followed.

Every. One.