Can you D.I.G. it? - Varga - 18/11/2021
Nov 20, 2021 14:43:44 GMT
Jaezred Vandree and Delilah Daybreaker like this
Post by Varga on Nov 20, 2021 14:43:44 GMT
An Adventure of Six Spies in a Boat (to say nothing of the Goose),
In which the party briefly changes occupations, a monk roundkicks a wraith, and a barbarian feeds a guy dinner.
Went to an estate just outside Daring Heights. Some 'discreet business' advertised. So I left Cleaver to look after CHAOS. He's better suited to desk work anyway.
Met Carnan, Ivan and Jaezred at the estate. They weren't arguing. Was worried they've fallen apart or something. Maybe it's not the same without Oziah. Hope they will make up soon. It's not good to have a divided party before a raid.
Also met two others I haven't met before – Cyclone, a genasi monk, and Tinuviel, dunno who or what she is, couldn't see her face. They both seemed very lightly armored, so must be brave, good addition to the group.
Talked to Lady Saria Underwood. She's a lawyer. Does desk job, like Cleaver. She said we're now the intelligence.
Well, this city is doomed.
We were told to go to Feywild and spy. Jaezred and Tinuviel found another spy in the room, named Duchess. Weird name. She wasn't coming with us. Dunno why would someone spy on their own spies. Seems like a waste of effort. This city will fall over bureaucracy. We were supposed to go find someone called Ceres, she knew Farstep. I was concerned mutual hatred for him won't be enough for our teambuilding. So on the way out, I encouraged Ivan to start talking to Jaezred again. That's what friends do. They started arguing again. We were all good to go.
On our way through the city, Ivan bought a leg of lamb and a casket of ale to have after the mission. Jaezred and Tinuviel started spying immediately. Maybe on us. Normally, I encourage practice, but I've had enough politics for one morning, and it started to become a bit annoying. We teleported from Portal Plaza. Ended up on the Meandering Flotilla. Lots of boats connected together. Some stacked together. I respect their neglect for safety regulations and water traffic control. They all must swim very well.
A guy on the nearest boat said "Hello, welcome." We ignored him and walked past.
"Are we pretending to have some purpose here or are we just going around asking if anyone knows the lady who can tell us about Farstep?" I asked the others as they looked around, assessing the environment.
Jaezred rolled his eyes. Must've been too sunny for him.
"We don't have to mention him. We just need to find Ceres, so we can start by looking for her. She will tell us about Farstep."
I shrugged and went back to the guy who said "Hello" to us earlier.
"Hey, you. Do you know where we can find Ceres?" I asked.
The guy frowned.
"Well, maybe I can recall something about her… A good dinner in a pub always helps…"
The first person that day to speak plainly. I felt relieved.
"Forget pub, I know what you need," I said and turned back. "Ivan, get over here!"
I explained Ivan he had to give the guy his dinner for information on Ceres. The guy was surprised we had a restaurant-made dinner with us, but told us where Ceres's raft was and how she looked. Myself and Ivan exchanged looks. Spying is easy.
We went to a huge tree cross section where Ceres lived. Ceres was a half-lightning elemental, and a fighting teacher. Respectable occupation. Tinuviel didn't go with us, instead hid in the shadows to spy from the distance. Carnan charmed a goose to act as his spy. We haven't even gotten to the place, and the amount of espionage and intrigue was already ridiculous. Ceres agreed to tell us about Farstep if we get her a new boat. She wanted a haunted one next door. Very understandable. Only she didn't want it to be haunted. Strange. Ghosts are great for training, because you don’t have to pull your punches – they already died. She wanted us to get rid of the ghosts. Carnan left the goose behind to spy on Ceres.
"Of course," I grumbled as we were walking across the other rafts. "If there are ghosts on the boat, who you gonna call? Dawnlanders!"
But secretly I was glad we got to hit something. We came to the haunted boat. The guard, a gnome, asked what we were doing here.
"We're Ghostcleaners," Jaezred answered quickly as the rest of us were ogling the wards on the boat. "Here to clean the barge for the good of the community."
The gnome was very happy, and asked another guard over. Explained him what we were doing. The other was also very happy and called the third guard. I began to see another bureaucratic pattern forming and decided to help Jaezred.
"Come on, open up! We've got a category 5 specter here, need to deal with him quickly!"
The guards agreed and started to unlock the glyphs.
"We'll close the door behind you. When you're done, say the password to get out," the second guard said, very importantly.
"What's the password?" Jaezred deadpanned.
"The password is…" The guard looked around, clearly lost. "Paladin."
"In what language do you want me to say it?"
The guard scoffed.
"Undercommon!"
Jaezred shrugged.
We got into the room. Carnan lit up his staff. It looked like someone looted the place before us – counters, broken ornaments, all this eery stuff. Nice place, Ceres has good taste. We were told the boat owner was selling ghosts, and then ghosts killed him. This is very stupid, but then, I remember dad telling me a story how he and his mates got drunk one night and repeatedly fell on their own axes while trying to get up, so dumb things happen.
"Found what you're looking for?" We heard as three greenish-blue wraiths and a ghost of the shopkeeper appeared.
As a matter of fact, we did, so the question was surprisingly pertinent.
He wasn't glad about it, and lashed at Ivan, Carnan and Tinuviel, and got them pretty good. He also did some spell that made everything feel very cold. Probably was nothing.
In retaliation, Tinuviel slashed at the ghost with her daggers, slashing what remained of the shopkeep's attire and flesh. I followed suit and hit it with the flail on the head, and across the torso, taking the whole chunks out of his ghostly form with every strike. Ivan got really angry and split the shopkeep in two with his greataxe, but the apparition mended itself instantaneously. The wraiths retaliated, but of course, I barely felt the chill touch of their ghostly claws.
Carnan slammed his spear on the ground and roared "Fear the Light of Sylvanus!". As a globe of light thundered from his spear, we all felt better, and the wraiths tried to fly away in fear. We had no time to chase them.
Cyclone cartwheeled in front of me and Tinuviel, hit the shopkeep once, and then missed. Upset, she cartwheeled back, giving his jaw a roundkick on her way over the counter. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Jaezred, standing ever so slightly behind us, taking out his want. As he pointed at the ghost, a red dot appeared on the shopkeep's ghostly forehead. The wraith looked surprised – the last expression he ever wore, as a bolt of energy pierced his skull, and he crumbled on the ground, dead. Even more dead, that is.
After this short but glorious fight, we looked around the boat. It was mostly empty, although me and Tinuviel found a ledger of all the ghosts. I didn't care about it much, but she seemed to be interested. Maybe wants to make ghost spies, who knows. I had no use for it, and let her keep it.
Jaezred knocked on the door and said something.
"What the hell did he say?" The second guard asked from behind the door.
"I think he said Paladin. In undercommon," the gnome guard replied.
They let us out, and we presented Ceres her new boat. She was finally content and answered all Jaezred's and Tinuviel's questions about Langston Farstep. Apparently, he's a con man who was competing for King Ulorian (a known coward) at the Amaranthan Games, and failed to set the Mote of Souls properly, destroying valuable machinery. They lost, and Ceres got the bulk of the blame, while Farstep ran off. Well, we already knew he was a coward. He doesn't really want freedom, just a little crybaby who can't follow rules. The more we know about him, the more pathetic he appears. Just an idiot who came across a powerfull energy source and can't even use it properly. Back home we call such people "Sheg Ar Kokog Radgor" - "squirrel with a smokepowder keg". Cause you never know when it's gonna screw up and explode in your face, but you know it will.
We returned to Lady Saria with that information. And apparently, our spying was successful enough that we got paid, and even got presents. They came in boxes. With pink bows. Mine was an adamantine statue of Bahgtru. It was a bit too well made, but very impressive. It now has its own corner in CHAOS, as it should.
I'm also keeping the bow.
In which the party briefly changes occupations, a monk roundkicks a wraith, and a barbarian feeds a guy dinner.
Went to an estate just outside Daring Heights. Some 'discreet business' advertised. So I left Cleaver to look after CHAOS. He's better suited to desk work anyway.
Met Carnan, Ivan and Jaezred at the estate. They weren't arguing. Was worried they've fallen apart or something. Maybe it's not the same without Oziah. Hope they will make up soon. It's not good to have a divided party before a raid.
Also met two others I haven't met before – Cyclone, a genasi monk, and Tinuviel, dunno who or what she is, couldn't see her face. They both seemed very lightly armored, so must be brave, good addition to the group.
Talked to Lady Saria Underwood. She's a lawyer. Does desk job, like Cleaver. She said we're now the intelligence.
Well, this city is doomed.
We were told to go to Feywild and spy. Jaezred and Tinuviel found another spy in the room, named Duchess. Weird name. She wasn't coming with us. Dunno why would someone spy on their own spies. Seems like a waste of effort. This city will fall over bureaucracy. We were supposed to go find someone called Ceres, she knew Farstep. I was concerned mutual hatred for him won't be enough for our teambuilding. So on the way out, I encouraged Ivan to start talking to Jaezred again. That's what friends do. They started arguing again. We were all good to go.
On our way through the city, Ivan bought a leg of lamb and a casket of ale to have after the mission. Jaezred and Tinuviel started spying immediately. Maybe on us. Normally, I encourage practice, but I've had enough politics for one morning, and it started to become a bit annoying. We teleported from Portal Plaza. Ended up on the Meandering Flotilla. Lots of boats connected together. Some stacked together. I respect their neglect for safety regulations and water traffic control. They all must swim very well.
A guy on the nearest boat said "Hello, welcome." We ignored him and walked past.
"Are we pretending to have some purpose here or are we just going around asking if anyone knows the lady who can tell us about Farstep?" I asked the others as they looked around, assessing the environment.
Jaezred rolled his eyes. Must've been too sunny for him.
"We don't have to mention him. We just need to find Ceres, so we can start by looking for her. She will tell us about Farstep."
I shrugged and went back to the guy who said "Hello" to us earlier.
"Hey, you. Do you know where we can find Ceres?" I asked.
The guy frowned.
"Well, maybe I can recall something about her… A good dinner in a pub always helps…"
The first person that day to speak plainly. I felt relieved.
"Forget pub, I know what you need," I said and turned back. "Ivan, get over here!"
I explained Ivan he had to give the guy his dinner for information on Ceres. The guy was surprised we had a restaurant-made dinner with us, but told us where Ceres's raft was and how she looked. Myself and Ivan exchanged looks. Spying is easy.
We went to a huge tree cross section where Ceres lived. Ceres was a half-lightning elemental, and a fighting teacher. Respectable occupation. Tinuviel didn't go with us, instead hid in the shadows to spy from the distance. Carnan charmed a goose to act as his spy. We haven't even gotten to the place, and the amount of espionage and intrigue was already ridiculous. Ceres agreed to tell us about Farstep if we get her a new boat. She wanted a haunted one next door. Very understandable. Only she didn't want it to be haunted. Strange. Ghosts are great for training, because you don’t have to pull your punches – they already died. She wanted us to get rid of the ghosts. Carnan left the goose behind to spy on Ceres.
"Of course," I grumbled as we were walking across the other rafts. "If there are ghosts on the boat, who you gonna call? Dawnlanders!"
But secretly I was glad we got to hit something. We came to the haunted boat. The guard, a gnome, asked what we were doing here.
"We're Ghostcleaners," Jaezred answered quickly as the rest of us were ogling the wards on the boat. "Here to clean the barge for the good of the community."
The gnome was very happy, and asked another guard over. Explained him what we were doing. The other was also very happy and called the third guard. I began to see another bureaucratic pattern forming and decided to help Jaezred.
"Come on, open up! We've got a category 5 specter here, need to deal with him quickly!"
The guards agreed and started to unlock the glyphs.
"We'll close the door behind you. When you're done, say the password to get out," the second guard said, very importantly.
"What's the password?" Jaezred deadpanned.
"The password is…" The guard looked around, clearly lost. "Paladin."
"In what language do you want me to say it?"
The guard scoffed.
"Undercommon!"
Jaezred shrugged.
We got into the room. Carnan lit up his staff. It looked like someone looted the place before us – counters, broken ornaments, all this eery stuff. Nice place, Ceres has good taste. We were told the boat owner was selling ghosts, and then ghosts killed him. This is very stupid, but then, I remember dad telling me a story how he and his mates got drunk one night and repeatedly fell on their own axes while trying to get up, so dumb things happen.
"Found what you're looking for?" We heard as three greenish-blue wraiths and a ghost of the shopkeeper appeared.
As a matter of fact, we did, so the question was surprisingly pertinent.
He wasn't glad about it, and lashed at Ivan, Carnan and Tinuviel, and got them pretty good. He also did some spell that made everything feel very cold. Probably was nothing.
In retaliation, Tinuviel slashed at the ghost with her daggers, slashing what remained of the shopkeep's attire and flesh. I followed suit and hit it with the flail on the head, and across the torso, taking the whole chunks out of his ghostly form with every strike. Ivan got really angry and split the shopkeep in two with his greataxe, but the apparition mended itself instantaneously. The wraiths retaliated, but of course, I barely felt the chill touch of their ghostly claws.
Carnan slammed his spear on the ground and roared "Fear the Light of Sylvanus!". As a globe of light thundered from his spear, we all felt better, and the wraiths tried to fly away in fear. We had no time to chase them.
Cyclone cartwheeled in front of me and Tinuviel, hit the shopkeep once, and then missed. Upset, she cartwheeled back, giving his jaw a roundkick on her way over the counter. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Jaezred, standing ever so slightly behind us, taking out his want. As he pointed at the ghost, a red dot appeared on the shopkeep's ghostly forehead. The wraith looked surprised – the last expression he ever wore, as a bolt of energy pierced his skull, and he crumbled on the ground, dead. Even more dead, that is.
After this short but glorious fight, we looked around the boat. It was mostly empty, although me and Tinuviel found a ledger of all the ghosts. I didn't care about it much, but she seemed to be interested. Maybe wants to make ghost spies, who knows. I had no use for it, and let her keep it.
Jaezred knocked on the door and said something.
"What the hell did he say?" The second guard asked from behind the door.
"I think he said Paladin. In undercommon," the gnome guard replied.
They let us out, and we presented Ceres her new boat. She was finally content and answered all Jaezred's and Tinuviel's questions about Langston Farstep. Apparently, he's a con man who was competing for King Ulorian (a known coward) at the Amaranthan Games, and failed to set the Mote of Souls properly, destroying valuable machinery. They lost, and Ceres got the bulk of the blame, while Farstep ran off. Well, we already knew he was a coward. He doesn't really want freedom, just a little crybaby who can't follow rules. The more we know about him, the more pathetic he appears. Just an idiot who came across a powerfull energy source and can't even use it properly. Back home we call such people "Sheg Ar Kokog Radgor" - "squirrel with a smokepowder keg". Cause you never know when it's gonna screw up and explode in your face, but you know it will.
We returned to Lady Saria with that information. And apparently, our spying was successful enough that we got paid, and even got presents. They came in boxes. With pink bows. Mine was an adamantine statue of Bahgtru. It was a bit too well made, but very impressive. It now has its own corner in CHAOS, as it should.
I'm also keeping the bow.