CH. 11: The Show Must Go On

[spyguy1503]

(OOC: Alright then....)

Ne-Chanz rolls his eyes at the dwarves' griping. "I have no qualms about destroying these flotsam, but if you wish to move them, fine. You can do the talking. But from what you described, the south won't lead to the north chamber." Felran votes for relocating the dwarves.

[HorizonsDream]

Kendra leaves the prefect's mansion, and heads to the marketplace where the performance is being held. She wants to get the lay of the land so she is prepared just in case something happens.

[Haahque]

"You're quite right that I'm charging people to see the show. It is what I do to make a living after all, and many traveling entertainers charge everyone a full steel piece to see such a show. But haven't hasn't seen a show like this in a while and the dragonmen don't seem to like spending money every much, so I'll be charging them only half the amount. However, you don't have to pay anything. It's not my goal to squeeze money out of people that have none. The money is for a seat at the concert, if you stay away from the sitting area, then you can watch the show for free."

"But please don't tell anyone that. If the dragonmen hear about it I could lose a lot of money that I'd rather wish I have."

Should Haahqae ask her to collect money? She did say she's not afraid of the dragonmen, and she seems fairly trustworthy, but Baaz are pretty stupid and might give her a hard time if they're forced to pay money to a young girl. Hmm, interesting thought, this deserves more thinking and maybe I can get back to her later on it.

What happened to that goblin? Wasn't he supposed to have come by by now?

[BishGada]

"Are there ways to overcome impaired hearing? At least limited? Any spell that can help with reading lips maybe? Reading lips in front of a mirror? What about causing hearing problems to the opponent? That might give one who practiced impaired hearing an edge? It might also help avoid noises that might distract the Mage, right?"

[TristenC]

[Ooc: ok. Grubnick will take a cloth hood as well then.]
Once he finishes with his mutton, he says to Delarn Well, I guess i'd better go sign up for collection duty... I'll look for an opportunity to lay some traps in the seating area. Do you have time to get a couple fire-traps ready? Maybe I can drop them during seating before the show...

Grubnick heads over to Haahque, Alright, I'll help you with collections. Do you have a basket or aack for it and a safe place to store it all as I go? I probably won't be able to carry 500 steel around while collecting...

[JadedDM]

Haahqae (Grand Market)
"Okay!" Camilla agrees. "I won't tell nobody, I swear." This seems to brightens her spirits considerably.

Just after Gobax returns to tell Haahqae he'll accept the job, the gnome notices Kendra approaching. She is wearing the uniform of one of the prefect's elite, his own personal bodyguard.

Kendra Greylock (Grand Market)
Kendra makes her way to the grand market. She notices as she walks, that people give her a wide berth and any soldiers she encounters greet her with a salute. Her new uniform, marking her as a member of Tethys' elite, seems to yield more respect from the other soldiers but fear and loathing from the townspeople. It's clear that many of the people of Haven see her as a traitor, at best.

When she reaches the market, she finds a large part of it has been cleared away and an impromptu stage has been hastily erected. Haahqae stands near it, speaking with a young girl of about 12 years of age. The performance won't begin for another few hours.

Tulbas Erogund (Mageware Shop)
"I'm not aware of any spell that allows one to read lips," Magnus answers. "But there are spells that allow one to read one's thoughts and that would work nearly as well. And yes, there are illusionary spells that can create loud sounds to disrupt and distract others. Usually these spells have a danger of deafening the caster as well, but if you were already hearing impaired to begin with, the danger would be minimal."

Grubnick (Grand Market)
Grubnick spends another 7 silver to buy a cloth cloak with a hood. He then goes to speak with Haahqae, who is speaking to the same young woman as before.

He also notes another woman entering the market. She's human, wearing studded leather and the uniform of one of the prefect's elite soldiers--his personal guard. She has twin long swords at her hips and long blonde hair. She easily stands out, as he has not seen many soldiers that were not either draconian or goblin. But also, people are giving her a wide berth; crowds are parting before her, which makes her arrival quite noticeable.

Felran, Ne-Chanz and Shima (North Sewers)
Shima searches around, but there are no mushrooms growing down here. Fungus requires earth to grow, and there is no earth--just stone walls and floors.

He must now decide whether to continue to the south and continue scouting or listen to his companions and return to the north.

[Chris1234]

"I'm undecided. Felran, if you want to move them, then where will you move them to?" asks the dwarf.
Shima closes the southern door and the three of them head north, Felran at the front, Ne-Chanz second as originally agreed and enter the northern chamber.

[HorizonsDream]

Ignoring the looks from the various people on the streets, Kendra approaches the little girl and Haahqae. "It has been a little while, Haahqae," she says. "Hi," she says to the little girl with a small smile.

[Haahque]

You know that time when you’re thinking about someone and he just shows up? That happens to Haahqae twice in the span of about five minutes. Grubnick is first, with a question about collection. As usual, something Haahqae hadn't fully thought out beforehand.

"Umm, yes sure." Haahqae replies, doffing his cap. "This can hold a surprising amount of coin, of course I'll need it when the show starts, so return it to me before that event and we can find something else for you to collect with during the show. Do you have a hat of your own?"

Kendra arrives second, but not by a huge margin. "Hi Kendra, great to see you. I tried contacting you a couple times before, you know with jobs of mine that I needed some help with, but your husband seems to dislike me for some reason and I find it unlikely that he conveyed the messages on to you. However, I'm fine still. All alive and in one piece and all that. How have you been?"

This would be an acceptable speech and welcome for a normal person, but Haahqae isn't normal, he has to address the other thing that's on his mind as well. "Fortunate that you arrived when you did, I was just talking about you with Camilla here. She's looking to the future and she's interested in following in your footsteps. She wants to be a warrior, but it's likely that she'll be married. Please, tell us a bit about how you manage to stay happily wed as a soldier, and if you have any advice for her."

[djhyland]

Arulia looks at Bear's sack of ore appraisingly. "I can smelt all of that in a day, I imagine," she says. "I can probably get it done tomorrow. We haven't had much demand for that in a long time, so I have to ready the furnace and buy the proper fuels first. But once I'm ready, it shouldn't take so long, especially if my sisters help me." She looks at him inquisitively. "Will this do for you?"

[TristenC]

Hat? No, I don't have a spare hat. Maybe I can find a sack or something. Do you have someone to guatd it while I'm collecting from latecomers?

[JadedDM]

Haahqae, Kendra and Gobax (Grand Market)
"Hullo," the young girl says to Kendra. She looks vaguely familiar, but it isn't until Haahqae mentions the name of Camilla that Kendra remembers her. She hasn't seen her in years, and she's grown considerably since then, but it is Arulia's youngest sister.

Arulia Seroth (Thoron's Blacksmithy)
"Tomorrow?" he repeats. He scratches at his beard in thought and looks around the room at the conspicuous lack of other customers, as if he wants to ask why she needs to wait. But instead, he just shrugs. "Aye, I suppose I could wait one more day then. How much you charge? And what time should I come by tomorrow then?"

Felran, Ne-Chanz and Shima (North Sewers)
The three head through the northern corridor, which spills open into a massive chamber. It's the same underground river they encountered earlier, a fast flowing stream of toxic sludge pouring through the area. There's an old, rickety dock here. Although there is no boat nearby. But more pressingly is the small community of gully dwarves that have made their home here.

Gully dwarves, known formally as the Aghar clan, are considered the most repulsive and embarrassing of the dwarven clans (at least to those who recognize them as dwarves at all). Most consider them little better than cockroaches or rats; vermin that dwell in the underbelly of any society, digging through trash and eating whatever scraps they find. Gully dwarves are abysmally stupid, notorious cowards, and are generally pretty filthy and disgusting.

This small tribe, consisting of a dozen in total (including children) seem to have turned this chamber into their home. They've collected a bunch of thrown away objects, garbage mostly, including old cooking pots, soiled sleeping bags, and whatever other refuse they could find. A handful are armed, but most are not. Even those who are only have clubs, daggers and knives.

The gully dwarves don't seem to have noticed the party's approach yet. This is despite one of them standing guard at the door, holding a club and wearing stitched together padded armor. But he's asleep on duty, snoozing peacefully while leaning against the wall.

[djhyland]

Arulia thinks for a moment before responding. "On second thought," she says, "I think that I might have just enough fuel to smelt your ore. It'll be close, but I think that I can still do it today." She smiles self-deprecatingly. "I can do it for seven steel coins, and see you on your way with your iron before curfew."

[spyguy1503]

Felran shrugs, then snags the weapon from the sleeping guard. Ne-chanz hands off the torch, grabs the guard and holds the blade to his throat.

[HorizonsDream]

"My husband tends to dislike anyone that puts me in dangerous situations," Kendra points out. "It doesn't have anything to do with you personally, at least I don't think so. Though, aside from that, I've been busy. It seems that you've been busy too. I'm assuming you are the one putting on this performance that I keep hearing about?" she asks.

She looks towards Camilla for a moment, and kind of gives her a double take as she realizes who the girl actually is. "Well, it helps if the guy you are marrying loves you like Norris does me. He doesn't like that I put myself in dangerous positions, but there isn't a lot he can do about it. In your case, you are probably entering into an arranged marriage, so the man is probably going to expect you to be the prim and proper young lady."