Chapter Two: The Hippocampus on the Cracked Lintel

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Jan 14, 2016 12:27 am
Zangua listens impassively to any suggestions, then turns to find the innkeeper to inquire about rates and room availability.
Jan 14, 2016 1:10 am
Now behind the bar with her baby balanced in one arm, the woman in charge of the tavern lets you know that rooms are 5 silver per night.
Jan 14, 2016 1:17 am
"Where'd our other friend go?" Leth asks.

We just need one room, right?
Last edited January 14, 2016 2:02 am
Jan 14, 2016 1:22 am
Shamush raps the bar with his knuckle and then turns around and leans on it. He surveys the establishment, such as it is, with a lazy eye. He lets out an awkward chuckle and says aloud to no one in particular, "Eager to try the beer here in Beerpool." He shakes his head and laughs again, more loudly, and continues, also more loudly, "It's been so long since I had a drink that I could empty the goddam eponymous pool of all it's beer! Ha." He muses on this and mutters to himself, "By the time I left, they'd call this place Pukepool..."
Jan 14, 2016 4:39 am
Shamush finds the local brew, a dark ale, very agreeable.

One room is a bit small for all of you to sleep in, but it'll do for a conference room.
Jan 14, 2016 9:35 am
Felor nods at the barkeep and orders a round for entire party (those who are currently in the inn, that is).
Last edited January 14, 2016 9:35 am
Jan 14, 2016 12:58 pm
OK, once we have all had a beer we can retire to our room (let's go ahead and get 2 rooms in case we are able to come back and get some rest after this meeting) and exchange information.
Jan 14, 2016 3:47 pm
Drinks are 5 copper each. Shamush, Felor, adjust your fund balances accordingly. Who's paying for the rooms?

Once you're upstairs, you can reasonably assume you have privacy to talk and plan.
Jan 14, 2016 3:55 pm
Good ol' Mord will spring for the rooms.
Jan 14, 2016 4:47 pm
To say the rooms are sparsely furnished would be an understatement -- there's only a straw pile, a stack of blankets, a stool, and a privy pot in each. But it all looks and smells clean, which is no small thing to be grateful for.

Looking forward to seeing what plan you guys come up with!
Jan 14, 2016 5:48 pm
Is there any vantage point from within the Inn (the common room or the guest rooms, even if it is not our rooms) that has a view of the door with the Crown on it? Mordred is willing to snoop around the Inn a bit to check, if it is not immediately apparent.
Jan 14, 2016 6:02 pm
You can see the house from the east side of the inn (and you could have requested rooms on that side easily enough, so we'll say you did), but not with a clear sight of the door -- between the octagon, the other houses, vegetation and uneven ground, etc, there's just too much obscuring the view.
Jan 14, 2016 10:20 pm
Just to get things rolling, here are the two options Mordred proposed:
rocksteady says:
So thinking about planning our stakeout, Maybe Felor and Leth can conceal themselves in the Garden, while Zangua and Shamush hide in the Octagon, waiting for a shout?
This leaves Mordred and Vad going to the door alone. We've established that the villagers would probably notice any obvious attempts to hide and lie in wait, so the others might be better off positioning themselves casually nearby, rather than actually hiding.

The alternate suggestion was:

rocksteady says:
We are already super obvious in the village, so maybe just all of us go knock on the door of that house and hang out until dark if no one answers?
Jan 14, 2016 10:42 pm
I think don't think myself, Vad, or Felor should be the ones to meet them, because of the chance we'd be recognized. I'd suggest Zangua, because he was the one originally approached for information, and Mordred, because if they're part of a demonic cult, maybe they would be more interested or open to what a tiefling has to say? I also think we should establish fake names for ourselves. I might be acting a little over cautious, but I say better safe than sorry.

As far as what to do if things go south, if the rest of us stayed behind in the inn, how many rounds would it take to get to the house? And does anyone have any ideas on how those of us in the inn could be alerted? We can't see the door of the house, but might we be able to see enough to get an idea of when things go bad?

One final consideration: We're approaching the witch-men under the guise of providing them with information. What are we going to tell them? I think Zangua should approach the witch-men with Mordred, saying that his teifling friend has some information they might find useful... and I think it may be worthwhile to feed them false information about Zora at that point, because A) it may throw the Crown Cult off course a bit and B) it would allow our foot in the door for further conversation about the cult. Perhaps once we've given them the false info, we could lead in with a 'so who are you guys anyway? why is this girl so important to you?' or something. We just need to think through what we're going to tell them so we don't give ourselves away as soon as we start talking to them.


Edit: Also just a heads up, I've got a lot of work this weekend and I don't know how much I'll be able to get on
Last edited January 14, 2016 11:03 pm
Jan 14, 2016 11:32 pm
The second floor of the inn is at least 4-5 combat rounds away from the house.
Jan 15, 2016 6:16 am
...do the windows open? If so, could we jump out of it to the ground below if necessary? And also, are we talking 4-5 combat rounds with the dash action or just at normal speed?
Jan 15, 2016 6:55 am
That's full running speed, and jumping from the second floor would not be without risk.
Jan 15, 2016 7:24 am
Don't know if you want me to roleplay it out as it seems we're discussing a generic plan, but Zangua would suggest that since we're pretty obvious in this small town, we ask what significance that mark has on that house compared to the others. Sort of like curious tourists, he'd inquire with the innkeeper if that was the house of the mayor or something. Get people to talk about it, if they're inclined, and maybe reveal a little more details we could use.

I suspect, of course, that these villagers may be afraid of the mark, possibly knowing what it means when strangers start asking about it. I wouldn't know if they're feeling threatened by it or by the organization it represents, but given the "feel" of this place, it's not too far removed from my imagination.
Last edited January 15, 2016 7:27 am
Jan 15, 2016 1:15 pm
Felor's thinking about buying a fishing rod, so he could go and sit at the edge of the pond opposite the octo-hut. Seems a couple of rounds closer than being on the top floor of the inn, and is a plausible reason to hang out in the open.
edit: wait, I misremembered, it's not the octo-hut that has the crown is it? How far away is the edge of the pond to the crown-hut?
edit 2: Can you even see the crown-hut from the pond?
Last edited January 15, 2016 2:49 pm
Jan 15, 2016 2:09 pm
I like the idea of asking around the town.
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