3 - 036: Can You Keep a Secret?

[K Man]

SEA GREEN

Antyca descends to the ground, depositing you a few hundred years away from the outskirts of the city. You take what you need, ordering the bird to protect herself. She tilts her head side to side, blinking those massive shield-sized eyes in agreement. You walk towards the path into the city, keeping to the shadows so that you might see what's in store for you ahead.

The city of Bazarkrak itself is not impressive, but the fortress beyond it is. Lit up by the many torches and bonfires in the city, the massive face of a screaming Dwarven warrior dominates the night skyline. You can make out a gate set into the open mouth, currently shut and drawbridge pulled tight. Smoke drifts lazily out of the stone reliefs' nostrils, giving it a terrifying visage.

The village itself probably houses no more than five hundred at a given time, but there are certainly more people than that here now. Bonfires are set into pits all around the city around which drunken revelers dance, shout and generally celebrate. Mugs overflow with ale, cheers of victory in the Dwarven tongue echo through the night.

You'd guess these people just won a war with the way they celebrate. Whatever the case, things look joyous and harmless enough to perhaps approach a little closer...

-----------------------------------

Natsumi -

{Wow, that's a BIG DC for a BIG guy!}

Amassu seems pleased at your performance, a slight smile spreading across his face. He begins to tap his foot, blissfully unaware of your subtle yet purposefully slow movements, the minute inflections in your voice that are designed to subdue the weak-willed and feeble- minded...

SPOILER: Click to show

FAT Will Save DC 31 @ +15
[dice=20]
[Die Results = BOO YAH! Natural Freakin' 1!]

Amassu seems entranced by your performance, perhaps unhealthily so. He can only slightly manage a nod when asked if you should continue. His eyelids appear woefully heavy, not even the strength of the giants can hold them open. He has been subdued.



"You have done..." Amassu breaks of a massive yawn, opening his titanic maw large enough to swallow a horse. "...well bard. Rest, for tomorrow I shall further explore your talents."

The giant rolls over onto his side and begins to snore loudly.

---

---

DARK RED[/size]

The Elven woman eyes you suspiciously, years of scraping and fighting for the best deal taking over. She doesn't seem to roll over too easy and counters Wanderers initial offer.

"Without me, you have nothing. No representation and no contacts. You'll be lucky if you make it one day in the Lower Wards when others hear what you're holding... My generosity to you is not letting others know what you're carrying. For this, I am willing to lower my fee to a paltry forty percent."

She bats her eyelashes, playing the part of the innocent lass. You notice Lenny and Tyrano engaged in a round of drinks nearby, their eyes never leaving your table.

You'd better seal the deal.

{Assuming you guys agree to 40%, Thalia will go on.}

"You've made the right choice. Listen, from here we will go through the lower wards to the docks. There, these men have a large warehouse where they can be found in great number. I will do the talking, you just make sure you bring the bone with you."

"Show me this bone so I don't go walking in looking like a fool..."[rand=00209540379165612525613569392054705526679737715071102961479732183747]

[TheUdjat]

[Agree this early in the haggling process? Hah! We'd look like the amateurs we are.]

---

Wanderer snorts derisively at the elven woman's words. "Do you think you are special? That there aren't others like you willing to get a share of all the money one can imagine?" He shakes his head, giving Gildas a look like 'Can you believe her?'

He focuses on the woman again. "And you make threats. Are you an idiot? Do you have any idea what we went through to get this? The last thing we're worried about is thugs."

"We'll give you a third. Last chance, or we find someone else to play representative, and you hope you make it home safely tonight." He shifts a big shoulder, emphasizing the weapons on his back.

SPOILER: Click to show

[I'm not sure if you want bluff, intimidate, or what--we'll probably fail either way. If she agrees to the haggling, we'll proceed--and if she doesn't, Wanderer will cave and give in. It's just an act, after all.]

When the price is settled on, Wanderer shakes his head. "You're just gonna have to trust us about the bone until we're there. Don't want you running off to go tell anyone where it is, after all."

[VemuKhaham]

Gildas sits by, looking at the elven woman with a dour face, obviously unimpressed by her words. In reality, he looks dour because he cannot gain any pleasure out of this haggling. He wasn't naive enough not to know that down here in the lower wards, it was cheating or be cheated, so he played along. Their objective was too important, and he wanted to get to their objective, the deathspeakers, before the deathspeakers could get to them.

He nodded when Wanderer turned to him with his face of disbelief. "You see those two over there?" he briefly turned his face to Lenny and Wystfalrun sitting at the next table, knowing that sooner or later she'd probably have to learn about them anyway. "They will want a piece of the reward too, for the blood they spent with us to get that bone. Now, do they seem like they can't handle a few thugs of the Lower Wards? And on the other hand, do we seem fool enough to you that we will simply arrange a meeting with such a powerful organization without bringing along what they want? Alright then, bring us to them, and be happy we'll pay you at all."

Gildas stood up, ready to go. He waved his other companions to come over and finished his beer with one long haul. "Alright, let's do this," he said, whiping the beer from his moustache.

[TheZebraShakes™]

Natsumi breathes a heavy sigh of relief as the sky king falls into his deep slumber. She stands still for a long moment, not wanting to move for fear of waking him. Eventually she gathers the folds of her robes and walks with soft steps away from Amassu's immediate vacinity.

If there is nothing designated as a resting place for her, Natsumi takes out the thick winter planket and spreads it out, as Henrick had done for her so many times before, upon the floor at the foot of Amassu's immense bed. She does not lie down however, assleep is the last thing on her mind at this point in time.

Natsumi walks as soundlessly as possible across the room to the pool of water which Amassu had fashioned for her, hoping to catch a glimpse of her companions. She thinks of Ella, the mutual respect which the two women demonstrated toward one another. Sean, whose tears flowed as he began to distinguish tall tales from realities. Black Jack, silent and pensive throughout the journey. Gro Bug, eternally misunderstood, and now along with the bone of copper he wields, an immense guilt upon his shoulder. And Henrick, Natsumi thinks of him the most. She fears for him, hoping that his grief and torment do not manage to snuff the light by which his soul is guided.

Natsumi moves about once more, careful to take her steps in unision with the sound of Amassu's snores and breathing that any sound she should make would be drastically overshadowed by his own noise.

She begins to roam about the cloud, searching to learn more about it. She attempts to find out if this is it, does he simply fashion what he should need when the moment arises or were there actual things in this place? Other rooms, other people, any furnishings or luxuries which would speak of a sense of permanence.

[Japic]

Unless her companions disagree, Ella will move close in, trying to gain a sense of what this is all about. Hopefully there is someone not too engaged in drink to be of assistance.

{We need to learn what the celebration is about, and then how long the Dwarven hall will remain sealed. Based on the time we must wait we can make our decision about what comes next.}

[ryngo]

Wystfalrun, uncertain of the purpose of Gildas's summon, heads warily over watching the shadows very carefully as he goes.

[TheUdjat]

Wanderer manages to refrain from cursing and yelling at Gildas for revealing their allies--he'd been hoping to have Lenny and Wystfalrun keep to the shadows to better ambush the Deathspeakers. Now they'd all have to be in the open, particularly the one bearing the bone, which Wanderer didn't particularly like.

Too late now, though. He just nods along with Gildas, maintaining that tough, criminal exterior. No going back now...

[VemuKhaham]

Gildas says to Wystfalrun and Lenny, when they come over: "We're going to sell the bone, and this elf will take us to the buyers. Follow, and make sure nobody pulls any tricks on us."

Gildas was unaware of Wanderer's cursing thoughts and indeed had an entirely different plan of action than him. He knew that the elf had spoken of a warehouse with a great many deathspeakers, and ambushing one of those with but the four of them was something he would not likely consider. Instead, he simply needed the elf to lead them to the warehouse, and, once they approached it and the base was identified, they could dump the elf and meet the deathspeakers on their own terms, instead of on theirs; cause that what would happen if they'd arrange a meeting.

So that's what he'll do: when they're nearing the warehouse, but before the elf contacts the deathspeakers, he'll speak up.

[Wicksy]

Gro-Bug will stride confidently with the others though he will keep quient and act cool if they start looking at him funny.