A new day for The Outriders (dnd ttrpg PM Siobhan before joining to see if she can handle another)

[Minxee]

Bubbles opens an eye to see who comes in and closes it again
"there is room at the end of the bed for you... Nuada said he just needed a place to sit so he could be able to fit up here as well. Good thing we are all small..."

Bubbles goes back to meditating... trying to calm her thoughts before sleep...

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

Trilan shrugs, but he won't turn down the offer of a softer place to sleep. He crawls to his feet and lies down at the foot of the bed, curling up on his side.

 

[Btq97]

Nuada followed a little behind stopping to get a couple of jugs of water. He put the jugs on the dresser. Pulled a hooded cloak from his pack , wrapped it around him and sat on the bed back against the wall and pulled his hood up.
His eyes closed he started trance.

 

[Minxee]

Bubbles feels Nuada climb into bed before she falls into a deep sleep.... Nightmares plague her dreams and she whimpers softly and twitches in her sleep... tossing and turning... but continues to sleep through...

 

[Btq97]

Nuada's trance is broken by Bubble's whimpers and twitching.
He sighs quietly to himself then reaches out and wraps arm around her making sure the cloak stays between them.
Then he settles himself and tries again.

 

[siobhancan99]

The morning came early, the sun burning away the haze to blaze down, hot and unrelenting on the baked clay of the buildings of the city. The noise and bustle of the citizens, and the smells of pastry and cooking meats did their own part to wake the assembled quartet. Greta munched on some sort of feta-philo pastry as the quartet made their plans for the day. "Unless someone has any objections, I'll spend the next day or so mingling with the entertainers and other riff-raff while you all check out the temple leads." Greta and Bubbles were able to give a basic layout of the city to the men, using mugs and plates on the table. The central square of the City was reserved for government and had its own walls. Down the street to the east was the second largest square, which served as a large market and the third major square was west, which was the temple square.

North sat the poorer quarters. They were farther from fresh water, being downriver. The southern neighborhoods held the richest merchants, houses of some of the nearby Beys for use when visiting the city, the head priests and more important city officials. Being upriver, it had the freshest water and the newest construction. The inkeeper warned the group that the streets of the north section of town were a warren of houses, outside the City walls and simply thrown down with little to no regard for planning. Streets just ended abruptly or doubled back. "Plus, the area is very dangerous."

 

[Btq97]

Nuada his hood pulled over his eyes drank a large glass of water and shoveled spoon full after spoon full of porridge sweetened with honey, "That sounds like a good idea, once we have all eaten we will head off to the temple square and see who knows what, the guild hall may have some leads as well" He returned to eating and fell silent.

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

Trilan makes his way downstairs to stuff his face. “We may be able to find someone in the market who knows something, as well. A cult hiding in the city would need a place to do that hiding, and those shady types tend to know about such places.” He smiles at the flavor of the food

 

[Minxee]

Bubbles sits quiet and thinks it all through.
“Would it be best if we split up and go to various locations or stick together? I know that if we split up we would cover more ground and let’s face it there are parts of the city that are probably more favourable for each of it… but it’s also dangerous to go out there alone - especially in the not so safer parts…”
Bubbles voice trails off as she gets distracted by something. She looks around the room trying to see if anyone is watching but it’s hard to see from where she is sitting so she just shakes the feeling from her head and goes back to drinking her milk.

 

[Btq97]

Nuada said "we have not spent as much time in tow as you to. How have the townsfolk been with you? I know some places are less than welcoming to non humans. Also I suggest that the Trilan and Bubbles should have a big person with them just to reduce the chances of unpleasantness"

 

[Minxee]

"well.... it depends on the situation. Lately I have had been with Greta so people are usually busy looking at her and ignore me... otherwise I have my ways... But sticking together does sound like a better idea - safer..."

 

[Btq97]

"So we swing by the guildhall to see if there are any jobs in the forest. Then the temples" he glances towards Trilan who is shoveling food into himself "then have a poke around the market. Always good gossip at the food stalls"

 

[Minxee]

"sounds like a good plan to me... How long till we leave?"

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

Trilan swallows a particularly large bite with a gulp. “I like this plan, and I’m ready when you all are”

 

[Minxee]

Bubbles takes a piece of cloth from her pocket and places a few pieces of bacon in it before wrapping it back up and placing it back in her pocket. She then grabs a sweet roll and places it in a different pocket.

“Well then I guess we are ready to go….”

 

[Btq97]

Nuada grabs some bread rips it open and fills it with bacon, finishes his water. "Right to the guildhall."

 

[Minxee]

Bubbles takes a deep calming breath before pulling her cloak up over her head. She swings her backpack up onto her back before following Nuada.

 

[siobhancan99]

Greta slipped out, ostensibly to find the entertainers and other ne'er do wells that she might press for information. Eschewing the advice to seek information from the temples, the party headed to the local troubleshooters guild. The guild took some finding, as they were new to the City. Most merchants were unaware of the workings of the guild and most guardsmen too low on the hierarchy to have any interaction. Finally, a bored looking sergeant near the main square directed them into the northern part of the city, but still within the walls. The guildhouse was in an older, poorer but not abjectly poor area of the city. Being within the walls it was still upper-lower class in terms of the denizens. A large number of nonhumans lived in the quarter, a smattering of tieflings, a large collection of halflings and humans of foreign origin. The streets were clean and seemed reasonably safe, "poor but proud."

The guildhall itself dominated the street it was on, covering a quarter acre of ground. Though a single level, its vaulted cielings made its stand as tall as the multi-level dwellings on the surrounding block. The doors opened to a large hallway, covering some 2000 square feet. The floors and walls were inlaid with intricate mosaics depicting various scenes of local legend. Arrayed along the walls were series of tables with bored looking officials. Small lines of what appeared to be the public were gathered at various points, seemingly to speak with the officials and obtain the services of the guild. The signs were all written in the native tongue and were indecipherable to the party.

Near the back of the hallway stood two guards with pikes, and a sign that in the trade-common tongue said "staff only." After showing their newly minted credentials, the trio were ushered into the back. A small tour was arranged. It seemed that the guild held a library, an alchemist who sold various products at a reduced cost to guild members, and infirmary, rooms for rent (though they were largely occupied) and various meeting areas and guild staff offices. After being shown around, the guild administrator asked "so what brings you in?"

 

[Btq97]

Nuada "We are new to the area, looking to pick up any bounties for bandits or gangs in the forest. Also we have heard of some sex cult luring the unwary in and wondered if there was any information about this. Had heard the children of some local dignitaries had been caught up."

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

Trilan shrugs at Nuada's forthrightness, and watches the guild administrator for his reaction, wondering if he knew about the cult already

 

[siobhancan99]

"a sex cult? Seems like something the provincials would say is in the big bad city." He laughed and waved his hand dismissively "all manner of licentiousness is attributed to the men of this town by the oh-so-pious country bumpkins who populate the hinterlands. I wouldn't put any stock in it. If their children ran off they ran off to work better jobs in the city. There's no conspiracy and there's no devils behind it." He poured himself some mint tea, and offered it to the party with some biscuits "if you don't believe me, check with the priests in the Temple square. I'm surprised you didn't go there first, to be quite honest. It is good you came in though. You can make use of the facilities here all you like as part of your guild membership and if you have questions about any particular people in town you can probably find someone who knows a little something."

 

[Btq97]

Nuada "The temples are where we are heading after. I wanted to get a read on the situation from someone who works in the real world. So are there any open jobs at the moment?" He took a drink of the tea and ate a biscuit. "These do go well together"

 

[Minxee]

Bubbles keeps behind Nuada and looks around the room trying to see if anything of interest stands out or seems out of place. The boys seem to have the talking covered thankfully as she knows that females and non-humans were not liked in this city.... which means that she was right down on the list of desirables and doubt anyone would give her any information directly so she would need to pay attention in other ways to try and ascertain things, The way that she said that the sex cult was all made up and that the priests in the temple would say the same thing did seem unusual and that there was a coverup happening. And if you cant trust the priests who are supposed to be holy and lawful and truthful... who can you trust? Bubbles doesn't like this at all and feels restless and nervous. Hopefully they can find some work here and leave soon.

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

“Thank you for the tip. Perhaps we’ll check the temple square after we search the market,” Trilan lies. He doesn’t like the way the administrator dismisses the idea of the cult, so he would prefer he not know where they’re going next.

 

[Btq97]

Nuada "Where do you get these biscuits from , what stall on the market?" he takes another sip of tea and another biscuit. "So is there a notice board for work that failed to spot on the way in? Bubbles have you tried these biscuits?"