Hello and welcome again to the Naturals. I am your guest GM Rianth and I will be taking you through the no longer one-shot adventure uh called Naturals Spring Fling, featuring most of the Tater Tots playing some different and unique roles. Why don't I go ahead and take a moment and let you introduce yourselves to get started? Hi, my name is Eris. My pronouns are she they. I am going to be playing uh Sir Keya Thornfound, an assassin from uh the Shaded Grove Um, she's in the in the in the village, um, looking for information about her sister. Jen, you want to go next? Go ahead. Okay. Uh I am Michael. I go by revealing too much online, and I today am playing Best at a Katari wizard who likely thinks that she is better than everyone else. So we'll see how that plays with a group of friends that hopefully don't think that I think that. Uh Qataris are though cat-like ones. Correct. Yeah, no, that fits. That seems a little inspiration. Uh I kinda based my character on um Bagira from the jungle book. So I just uh that was kind of kind of what I was going for. So um I'm Jen and I'm playing a Rowan comp today. She is a wildborn halfling guardian. And I think uh I I I think that she would normally um come from like maybe surrounding forest or woods to to the Equinox festival. So maybe maybe I plan to be there anyway, but then I heard heard about uh some trouble and I cannot stop myself from trying to solve problems Whether they want to be solved or not. Speaking of problems, the adventurers have been brought to the village of Piraeus to try to solve the village's problem. They've been invited by the priestess of the mother and some concerned sharecroppers to discover what in the world the dragon knife is planned and hopefully to try to stop it. When last we met, our party basically got introduced to each other, and they had one interrogation, I mean investigation session at a local tavern that did not go so well So with that in mind, our Intrepid Adventurers can restart or continue their investigation. And where would you all like to start at this point? M maybe some of the merchants who are setting up for the festival would would have information that guessing that the locals are here early to, you know, can camp out in the best spots before the festival starts. Yeah, there's some of that and there you there are actually some stands along the main streets, like little temporary um stands of of people selling things and there's like masks and um sweets and treats and all kinds of things. Um that you know hawkers are trying to get your attention to buy as you're walking along now. It's it's a little later in the day. It's beginning to be a little busier with the visitors. And there are a lot of visitors. There are a lot of people that Like I say, don't sound like some of the other folks here, for those of you who have noticed. So Where would you like to go? Can I find a pair of sunglasses? Sunglasses. They have visors The sunglasses are would not be at the streets on the like you'd have to go probably looking for a specialized shop for something with glass. But they do have like visors that, you know Would shade your eyes. I'm thinking I already have a hood, so I guess I I'll just put my hood up over my head to like guard the sun 'cause I'm like Oh my gosh, the sun is crazy. The sun is bright. The the and and the village proper has some trees, but not a lot of shade, right? Near at least not it it's not designed for looking nice in the shady spots. It's designed to let people go through the through on the main roads. Do you know where you're going, Rowan? I can follow you. W you could. Oh I'm also good at finding things. You could not. Oh. You don't like me? I don't know you. I'm sure that you're quite a nice person. I know your name. Oh, but you just Oh okay. You don't you do know me though. I know your name. I don't know uh much about you. And that's okay. Like like you saw Vio's mouth start to open and you're like Closing the door. No. No, no. Maybe another time we could spend some time getting to know each other better. Um and kind of a pat Vio on the shoulder. I'm looking for uh a vendor Like people that seem local. You know, like they're settled in, they are greeting people that they recognize because they Oh sure, that's easy. That's easy to find. If they sell masks, that's the locals are the ones with the masks for the most part, because they've prepped up beforehand. So You know, if you want to go take a look at some masks and they're all there's the the stall that you approach first that you find easily, they're um wooden masks. Um and they all have like eye holes. They're only half covering, so it's like your mouth is free to to talk, whatever. Um and the They feature like really large eyes. Um, and then they usually have some kind of a symbol or a uh um design on them that kind of is meant to be distinctive so people can, you know, maybe tell A little bit, you know, the these aren't all the same people. Everyone wants to look a little different and be unique, not be confused for somebody else And the the the the hawker like calls you over, like sees you kind of look and goes, come on, come on over. We got we got what you're looking for. Uh I think seeing the wooden masks, right? Cit could I just trouble you t to find out did you cut wood for these masks? Oh yes. Or was it put potentially found wood freely given by the trees? And she's just saying, oh yes, and then it's like, uh we have those? And she like points you away from the ones she was showing off to these other ones that are a little more uh less They're still polished and and lacquered and they look nice, but they are less uniform than the other ones over here. And she's like, these ones. . . These ones are uh from from the from the the river. Riverwood. The driftwood. Oh, ooh, very interesting. And I I moved down to check those out looking She kind of like does this. She she saw she she saw your coin flying away and you know Yeah. Now now that I've got the hawker on edge a little bit. Just kinda like, you know, pushing the masks like m you know Aside, kind of digging through the selection and gonna I'm gonna try casual this time. I've heard rumors that there might be some trouble around here. Have you heard anything like that? She she kind of looks looks both ways like she's concerned about who might have overheard that Um we've all heard things, I I suppose Like she admits, but she doesn't want to, you know, give you any more than that without More. Well, uh, I pick up one of the masks and you know hold it up to my face like I'm trying it on. Uh yeah. And I eyeball her through the mask? Like anything you would be concerned about? Um, go ahead and give me a roll. Give me a presence roll. Alright. Well that was terrible. Uh That is 12 with hope, but I'm gonna spend my hope to add my strength. So we're up to 14. Um so I'm not sure so um The uh the the the hawker like like nods at you and look oh oh that's that looks lovely. Breaks out your eyes And I've seen some things to be concerned about. I've seen some medallions about. They try to hide you. I try to hide. Hide like behind masks. I set down the mask and pick up one with a larger price tag. And ooh, that's that's even better, she says. Um, you know, their symbol. And she like holds up a it's like does her fingers to like here. It's like a little uh you know, pendant. Um a little life, she whispers. And uh She kind of looks around again. Some people thought it would be funny, I think, if their mask had that. jagged thing. Asked me to make some, I refused. But I'm sure someone el them there's some unscrupulous folks around who probably thought it was quite clever. Hmm, interesting, interesting. D do you happen to be able to point me toward where One might see this symbol of a jagged cutting tool Some strangers. Probably it, you know, ruffians. The bad part of town. And she waves in a direction. Uh which uh if Sir Kay is around listening, that that's where the uh the Radiant Goblin's at, obviously. That's that that obviously Okay. Uh if Rowan would indicate that she's ready to pay for this mask. With a receipt, please. A rece a receipt? Oh, it didn't I mention? I'm here on official business. I have to turn in my receipts. She she actually looks look looks confused. Official business? Like High Priestess of the Temple, you know. She gasps. Personally selected me. She gasps at that and is like, um, oh no, no, no, no, no, no charge. And just like tries to shoe you away. Okay. Are people wearing masks now? Do I put it on to blend in? No one's wearing masks. No one's wearing masks at the moment. Yeah. Alright. But you do see a number of people shopping and buying them. Yeah. And and pack it into my my little travel satchel. Thanks for your time. Mm-hmm. Nope. Anytime. Tell your friends. Bring them by. And, you know, she looks around hopefully at anybody else. More masks, uh, hand-handcrafted-handcrafted lacquered masks here. Um she's obviously a little shaken uh at your official uh business. uh declaration. Rowan's turning away, pulling out her notepad already to start putting the information in. Uh, and maybe maybe she's saying it out loud while she's writing it down so the uh the other people who accompanied her into the tavern, if they're still hanging around, would also have that information. I think Vio is still following behind um behind Rowan. I think they've been put in their place a little bit and they're reminded of a conversation that they had with their mentor um not but like a week ago where they were saying like sometimes you just have to be the eyes and ears and not the mouth And so they're they're taking that to heart and they're like, okay, what can I look at? What can I find? Um, because when I'm not talking, it means I'm I'm able to like spy better basically. Um so they're kind of on the lookout for anybody. They actually were probably listening. Uh they were probably nearby the the stall. uh listening to the conversation uh with the hawker and so do they notice anybody with like medallions Obviously they wouldn't be wearing them out like on the outside of their clothing, but like did they notice any like chains or anything of somebody like hiding a medallion beneath their clothing. Why don't you go ahead and give me uh instinct role on that? I would love to. Cocked. I wish I could have taken the cocked result. Um, let's see, that's a five and seven. So 12 plus 3, so 15. And can I use my experience iSpy with my own? Oh yeah, that'd be great for that. Okay. Uh so that's 17 with 17 seconds. Um, thank you. I'll take that. I almost forgot. Never. I won't remind you. Um This this puts a whole like unexpectedly evil twist on never gonna give you up. Doesn't it though? Hold on. You guys saying that song didn't already have an evil twist? Never willing to give you up. It's tot totally normal. At least it's in a good key, unlike, you know, some of the other songs. Alright. Um So you actually do notice that that there are, you know, chains chains of of you know for necklaces uh aren't unusual, and there's a few like just out and about and you see pretty pretty dangly bits of jewelry and those kinds of things. Mostly on the mostly on the visitors. Um uh and there are a few people that you do notice that the things are tucked away That they're that they're not displayed outward, they're tucked into something. Um and there are also a few people that like are walking around with a uh like holding a clasp of the cloak like this. Um like they're holding their coat like there was a clasp there or wasn't the clasp there. But from the their hands you can see that maybe there is a clasp there. How hard would it be for me to trip into one of them and pull their cloak? Um I also have deft maneuvers that I can sprint anywhere within far range without making digital. I'm just picturing them like ricocheting like but pinball just like that didn't work. Sprint to the next one. Yeah, yeah. Um I would say you're trying to be a I would guess say it was just a an agility rule, right? Because you're trying to instead of dodge, you're trying to bump into somebody, but it's the same skill, right? So yeah, go ahead and give me just give me an agility roll Uh that's a crit double twos. First card of the second. So you take a hope clear of stress, which I don't think you have. Um yes. Um yeah. So the the the the person you happen to bump into is one of those folks who's like you know holding his cloak like he's cold Um and it's a it's a kind of a large male fungal uh that you that totally trips over you. Like and rolls in the dirt, like in his cloak his cloak flies off. Right I hope he's a bad guy. And uh and he's like, uh and his cloak's in a heap on the ground and he tries to go and grab it like Dust himself off and what what what's going on here in And he's like. Do I see a new medallion? You don't see a medallion on him. Do I see it? No. Um, but could I pick up the cloak like I was you know, j saw that they had bumped into each other and helpfully pick up the the cloak and shake it S spread it out like, you know, I'm trying to help him put it back on. Uh yeah, you could do that. Yeah, you could you could you could attempt to do that and uh and like Fungrils are kind of pale and pasty, at least this one is, and he kind of goes a little whiter as you pick up the thing and he snatches it from you, but not before you see that he does have a little dagger clasp on it. Um it doesn't look terribly jagged, but it does have a crook like it it's not like the it's not like an a it's not like a it's an S, right? Not like But um it's close enough that you that you're convinced. So correct correct me if correct me if I'm wrong here, but the priestess told us there were no fungals here, right? Living here. Yeah, living here, yes. Yeah. Yeah, he he's not he's not from round. That's what I'm saying. So he's definitely not, yeah. We gotta we got a second nobody has eaten this one yet. Interesting. Yeah, so um He he he what he he grabs the cloak and throws it over his shoulders. He doesn't bother to hold in the clasp um anymore. He's just kind of He he kind of quickly pockets that if you if you're, you know, like he the clasp is no longer visible. Um like he's just settling it over his shoulders As he takes it away. Ruffians getting in the way Oh, I'm not a ruffian. I'm Theo. Um I'm so sorry for running into you. Um Are you? I'm sorry to ask this so forwardly, but are you a part of the Jagged Knife? Like, uh his his his gill cap kind of flutters uh like his hair, but you know who Does that mean yes in your language? Rowan is like studiously not looking at them, pretending to be browsing the wares nearby. Just leaving Vioto alonesome. Okay. Um Certain certainly not. What why? How dare you? And he starts to stomp off and like turn away to stomp off. When he turns away when he turns away to stomp off, can Bastet have stepped into that space? And like he runs right into her. Her arms are folded again, because that's how she spends most of her life. I'm picturing this because I was thinking I was gonna follow him. So my thought is that he runs into you and I run directly into his butt cheeks. Because He's much taller than me, so it's just like and it's like squishy and in my face. That's so specific. Yeah, the this is a very squishy fungal. Yes. Well-endowed fungal. No no not well in doubt. Just just like between Rotund, yeah. And and he bumps into bumps into pastet and excuse you ooh me. Um and and he kind of like He kind of like kind of circles around trying to get you out of his track. What this this My face is like a little slimy. No no festival is worth this. And he and he starts to go a different direction. And his cloak now is like when you when you uh ran into him, his cloak started to fall off his shoulders, so he's just slung it over his arm. Sorry. I I feel you're gonna describe it being launched between his cheeks. Yes, but he he like like it started to fall off that way. And so he like Grabbed it as he turned around and dislodged her and wrapped it over his arm. I gave him a wedgeie! Oh my god. Um I'm gonna follow him. If he's trying to go the other direction, you're trying to go to run into Bastet and randomly is like basically like I'm gonna go walk that way instead and goes Around you, kinda going towards the other way. Okay. I'm gonna keep more of a distance this time, so if somebody were to be in front of him, I would not run into his butt cheeks again. But I am going to try to follow him and I might try to like hide a little bit, like in between the crowd so that he can't see me following Uh as much as I can. Ooh, sneaky sneak, as our friend teacher would say. All right. Yeah, sneaky sneak style. Um what what do we use for sneaky sneak? Finesse, typically. Hide, finesse. There we go So go ahead and give me a finest roll. It is not any heavy shadow? No, it's it's midday. There's not and and you're in the middle of the busiest street going through this section of town. So there's not a lot of shadow here. I mean you could duck under uh you could try to duck under a uh a hawker's table and and it wouldn't be it'd be shaded there Hmm, I don't think that would count. I'm just trying to see if I could use my um low light living advantage, but I don't think it it would count here. Um that's a five and a three. You said it's finesse. Um hang on. Um wait a second. Hold on. I got something for this. Um where is it? Oh, so I can use stealth expertise to give an ally within close range advan Oh never mind. Would you was that with hope or fear? Fear. Fear. So I can uh I'm gonna mark stress. I'm gonna change your result to a hope role. Oh, awesome. Thank you. So I I I would have been following along. Like just out of curiosity as because I wanna walk I wan I wanna watch via work a little bit. So I'm trying to hide, but I'm I'm kind of bumping into things and being loud like I am. But I think I'm like super successful because I'm a professional spy. So that's now an eight with hope. Okay. And um Bastet, were you just gonna let him continue to walk away now that he's changed directions away from you? She'd be watching him. Okay. And She'd also be watching everybody else kind of do whatever it is they're doing. Just more of a curious eye than anything. So um are you are you doing this stealthily, um cirkea? Are you trying to blend in with a crowd or anything as you're following Bio? I don't think I really need to blend in. Well, I don't really need to do anything special for the crowd because Okay. Um He didn't interact, so he doesn't know that you're with me. Rowan, are you um Along with this ride, or are you just standing there trying to figure out what's going on How are you reacting to all of your newly introduced people tripping into an old- I did not say friends because she made she made it very clear she does not consider you a friend. Um I'm not sure was Serkeya following Or or just watching? I mean following it at just enough a distance where I can watch. Um Vio. Um try stealth. So you so you're following Vio but at a diff at a distance, so you don't get spot following. Okay. Yeah, I I think uh Rowan is kinda trying to blend in with the crowd like You know, pretend I was just a random passerby who grabbed the cloak that fell and was trying to help Sterling. We don't need your teeth on the microphone. I can live here. More on the spore. For for for Sterling, not for you. You noticed? Yeah. Possibly. Yeah. Um yeah, see um the the fungal kind of glances back every so often, like he is concerned about being followed, and spots Vio just instantly. and uh shakes his head and starts trying to, you know, get a little more lost in the crowd, so to speak. Um rather than running somewhere else he's just trying to, you know Blend in, which is really hard, he's the only fungal you've seen, right? So he's he's really easy to spot. And he's pretty tall. He's he's a tall thumb belt. He's not he's not a little little uh stool. He's you know he's very tall. So um You're kind of watching each other as you wander through the thing, and eventually he kind of starts meandering towards the the the the less nice side of town as as you probably expected. But as you do as he does that, you notice the commotion actually coming from the direction he started in before he angled off to the bad side of town, basically down the main road. Um, there's a little bit of a commotion as uh someone comes striding towards your direction. Do I recognize them? Do you recognize them? Um No, you haven't met them yet. Perhaps Serkea has seen them. There's a a human woman striding towards you. Her hair is dark. really raven black in an asymmetrical bob that bounces with each like marching step she takes purposefully towards you. Um and her She's clearly evil. You you don't like it? You don't like bob cuts? Okay. Um And she is dressed much nicer than most of the people you've seen. She's wearing a um Royal blue silk blouse with lantern sleeves, and over it is a uh bone-white sash edged with corded yellow embroidery. Um And she's wearing black riding pants, uh leather black riding pants, and a again, uh matching leather riding crop. There's no horse here, but she's striding forward. Um and uh A regular C. Serkea Serkea would recognize her as the lady Jean Jean. um who is you know the the n lordling here and in fact uh i suppose um bastet would recognize the house colors of the enjamp family uh the rulers of this domain And she comes striding forward, and when she sees a halfling with glasses, like stops right in front of the halfling with glasses and folds her arm, tapping the writing crop slightly. Hello? You are the one? Uh Rowan kind of looks around, peering over the top of her glasses. So Is there another? You're the one bothering my people? Making them uh afraid and concerned of these horrible rumors? Certainly not. Flip back in my notebook. I was assigned by the high priestess of the Temple of Ardeea. to investigate what is going on in this town. Yes, you are Savan Zens, you need to stop. This is a festival. You will not interrupt our celebration. Actually, technically, the festival hasn't started yet. The festival is a three-day festival. The final ceremony will begin this evening. But we have been celebrating for two or three days. If you've been celebrating, where is your mask? The mask are only for the final ceremonies. And I have mine prepared. Of course. So, in your opinion, flipping forward in her notebook again, the ceremony is separate from the celebrations The ceremony is the capstone of the celebration. Hold on, I'm making notes. And we have already increased this guard. Capstone. I have more than double the guard, just in case there is some unfortunate happening. But there is no need for you out outside. Do you think it's a serious enough risk? Not at all. I am merely assuaging the concerns. You're welcome to And how do you know the Jagged Knife? Who does not? My family was at the hundred year celebration. Oh. You were part of that, were you? But of course. All everyone who is anyone was at the hundred year celebration. Were you not there? Clearly Rowan Rowan is reading more into this than would necessarily make sense. Involved in the attack at the Hundred Years Celebration. Noting it. Like she's she's not actually even paying attention to what you're writing, right? She's she's like literally looking down at you. Um it's okay. I'm I talk out loud while I'm writing. You and View have something in common. I was gonna say, can't bust that look around and see if anybody else is writing and speaking out loud. Maybe it's just a thing that everybody does here. And and and she looks around, she she th Jeanne looks around at this point and and is like like she's looking for your friends. Um, because she was told there was more than you, but you were the ringleader, basically. Checks out. Wait a minute. It's because of the glasses. As I said, I have been assigned to to interview people and determine the truth of the matter You cannot interfere with my investigation. Whoa, like like her eyebrow like twerks up at that. And and and you notice that she does like Like a as you're talking, she kind of does this. Um, and there's like several guards that followed her, which is part of the commotion. Uh that wasn't just her, she goes with her entourage, right? Um see I'm gonna I'm gonna step to the side because halfling so it's not like I can see them and peer over the top of my spectacles. Yeah. Count them. Write that in my book. And she just kind of like like like they some of them were like really offended and gonna step forward and she's like, no, no, no, I got I got this. Perhaps you are unaware. I am Jean Ajean. I am the lady of this village, and I the High Priestess did not have my authorization to begin an investigation. You're sounds like something you would need to address with the priestess. Mm-hmm. I will. Well, in the meantime, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go talk to people. Um, Sean actually like slides over to the side like where you were gonna go. Much like Bastet actually, like arms folded. Um very s very similar pose, just no claws. Basta folds her arms harder. Not one to be shown up. And and and and and Basta like like she glances over Basta like, oh wait And and you see her eyes widen a little bit. Like, she knows those colors. She knows you totally outrank her. And she's used to being a very big fish in a very small pond. And now she's got a bigger fish from a much bigger pond there. And like her demeanor like subtly changes. And instead of like she visibly like uncrosses her arms and instead she's frustrated so she taps that writing crop against her leg instead. Perhaps I should invite you to uh our our more highbrow um associations. And She actually holds out a token, like a little coin with her um stamp on it. It's like a coin, it's not really, it's a it's a a token with her family's uh crest on it Present this at the um present this at the Willow's Oak, if you wish to partake of a higher class of party. But do not trouble yourself. You are wasting your time If you wish to, uh, continue. I there there there is nothing. And with that, she kind of glances over at Bastet again and inclines her head very, very politely. And um Storms away. Bestat just kind of like smiles to herself very slightly. Doesn't react otherwise. And you know, y you can do what you want with that token, uh, Rowan. Probably spend it on milk. VO and the fungrel have have gone while the fungrel is still looking over his shoulder at this dwarf. Still following the floor. Well Theo, were were you distracted by the arrival of the of the pretty lady or were you um following what following the fungal? I say I was following the fungal, but I'm also a terrible spy. So how I mean, how far did the fungal get? Would he have gone out of the vicinity where I could have still seen this interaction. Um I think he I think if you if you had followed him um well let's uh let's have you uh let's have you roll for it Let's have you roll um um no agility um or because you're boy You're trying to be let's try your finesse roll again, because you're trying to you're still trying to hide. You're still trying to find You're still trying to keep an eye on him. Um I'll let you go either finesse or instinct, whichever whichever is higher, whether you're trying to hide more or see more. What's your focus? Um I think I would be trying to see more than hide, because I'm not very good at hiding. Um So that would be instinct. Um, so ten plus three is thirteen. Is it possible I could use my experience? Don't worry, I've trained for this. You have certainly had training in watching somebody and tailing, right? Um and uh what did you say you got a thirteen with thirteen plus two if I use that experience. So yeah, so fifteen was that with hope or with fear? Uh with hope actually, so I will take the high. Alright, okay. Alright. Sorry. Um, yeah, so take the hope. So you managed to Keep your eye on the fungal, but then when um lady uh handed the token over, you wanted to see what what that what that was. You'd never heard of a token before. So you looked away. You know exactly which buildings he slipped between because you saw where he was standing. Okay. But he's now gone down an alleyway that that he's outside your vision. So you can hurry up to follow after him if you want. You know where he went. Um, but you don't have eyes on him at the moment. Guys, I I think he went this way. Is is that token thingy important or can we can we follow him? I I feel like it was important that we follow him, 'cause like he's maybe Jagged Knife, but Yeah, so this was all this was all within eyesight. Like you like This happened off the main road. He was trust starting to go off the main road into like the side areas. But there was there's been the the ro the place right next to the road was clear in this section. So until he ducked down you all were able to see him. So You you're all still close enough together to be able to communicate if you raise your voice. Right. Does and does anybody respond to Vio hollering about the potential jagged knife member to her companions, their companions. Anyone in the crowd, you mean, or any of the canons? Either way. I mean, I think best I would would follow Vio. Um and did you actually say the words jagged knife out loud calling to your friends? Did I miss that? I mean I did. Okay. I did. Uh And I stand by it because that sounds like something my character into. Just making sure I heard that right. Um, like at the word shagged knife, like all of the locals, like the the the loc the the more common looking people for the most part and some of the merchants like a bunch of them literally like look around panic um Like this is the worst thing they've heard and they've been expecting this and they're expecting knives to like come out of the dark but it's sunny, right? Like they're expecting bloodshed right now and some people are starting to pack away their stuff and try to cover things with a cloth just in case. Um basically you caused a little bit of a panic amongst the locals, whereas the other people are like looking around going. The jagged knife for losers, right? Like what's going on? Right? Very different, very different uh impressions of the jagged knife But no one like goes running towards you or away from you. It's just like people are like, oh no, jacket knife, what's going on? I'm going to uh spend a stress to use my deft maneuver ability. to sprint anywhere within far range without making an agility roll. Um so I'm gonna just try to get as close as I can to him. So assuming that he's gotten out of far range, I'm just gonna get Right. That much closer to him, I guess. Or where he was going at least. Is everyone following Dio or they uh Yes. Okay. Best that would be, yes. Yeah. Yeah, that that seems like my best feed so far. By accident. It was it was Vio's plan, but it looked horribly accidental. Right? Yeah. That's my best work. I'm an expert at spy. What do you expect? Deal is now a dwarven Maxwell Smart in my head. I'm sorry for this. I don't know the reference, but I will look it up. Okay. So Sir Kay's kinda torn between following the lady and following the fungal. Because this is the closest she's gotten to the nobility of the land so far since being here. Oh for sure. Oh for sure. It's an opportunity that she really shouldn't pass up. But there's other things equally important. And uh she's not sure she she can but with the m the guard presence around um she's like This is probably a losing losing situation, so she follows uh Vio. Uh so Vio, you do catch sight of the fungeral heading towards the Radiant Goblin. Um and you you know it's the radiant goblin because it is the sign outside is a goblin, the big giant like big giant eared goblin with the lighter core in a halo around this goblin. So you oh actually since you're an atheist you might not know core, but you would know that it's a symbol of light around them, right? Like it's got like a sun-shaped light thing around it. He's not running. He's just you know Heading that way. Uh and he's but he's gone into the building ahead of you. I assume with my deaf maneuvers I've got in there quicker than the rest of the party, so I will Try to stand on one of the barrels or something, like look in the window, uh, but wait for the rest of my party Um, I probably knock some things over on my way up the barrels and stuff, so I'm not being super stealthy. Um yeah. So they might see me kicking in the window. I don't know. I can roll forward if you want. So the the the Radiant Goblins windows are not exactly clean and see-through. In fact there's a crack on one of them. And uh you would almost say they were frosted, like you're not supposed to be able to see in, except you're pretty sure that's just the accumulation of grime. Grime. Probably grease and grime on the inside. Um nothing comes off on your hand because you're on the outside looking in like this, right? Yeah. But you can't see a lot. There's it's it unlike the last bar you had, it's a little later in the day. Um this one seems to be hopping. And and uh there's a there's a large group of people in there and they're well having a really good time, at least from the sounds of If I put my ear to the crack, do I hear like you already put your face in a crack. So are you sure you wanna do that? I'm bringing it back around. I like a little crack. Iris and I were on the same wavelength that was both like, ooh, crack joke opportunity All right. Um uh so there's a a hubbub. You hear um some this this bar doesn't have stringed instruments. They've got a guy on drums like bongos and and large hand percussion uh drums, just d driving rhythms and hubbub abound. Uh there's no specific conversation you can necessarily catch, um, unless you're like wanna give me a roll and and try Harder. There there's probably 20 people in this bar that just from the amount of noise and volume. Yeah. I think it's probably fair to say like I just hear the the hubbub. Um seeing that I'm outside and I'm trying to hear through a tiny crack in the window. And and it's not hard to hear. This this this tavern has kind of like saloon doors, right? So you're not you're not being secret. There's there's just raucous Noises. In fact, you do hear some cheers every once in a while. Like, oh like people are betting on something. Do I see my friends? I think best best Bastat would catch up. I think Bastet would catch up. Sir Serke would also be well, would be closer to Vio. Um just be like, oh hey We're back here. Who made it? I think best that seeing um Vio like standing on this barrel, kind of like peering in, listening in. Would look over at Vio, just kind of shake your head, and then just walk straight in to the to the tavern. What? And just kind of gau gauge the reactions as she steps in. She'd be looking around. I'm just gonna go just gonna be like behind Bastard, like wait You're like, wait, wait, wait, wait, no, no, no, hang on, wait, wait, wait. She she doesn't. She doesn't. But just pulling on deaf ears. S She does not wait I try to hop down from the barrel and fall. Fall? Making more noise out there? Okay. I would have been um looking at looking down, looking at my notebook as as I was following along behind them, you know, going over my notes. So It's possible that right at the time that I approach the door, VO falls off the barrel and rolls into me. I roll and I just look right up to Rowan and I'm like, oh, hi. You ready to go in Oh. Do you need a hand? I'll take two if you got 'em. Come on, get up. Thanks. And then we push. push the doors in. I think I was thinking you two weren't friends. Oh they're my friend. I'm just not theirs. Listen, uh I I even helped the the dragon knife person with the cloak. Okay. Like At least I'm polite. Wait, are you Jackie Knight? Mm-hmm. Sure you are, sweetie. I'm gonna like uh grab my my shirt and like, you know, kind of flop it in front of Vio and be like, do do you see the Jaguat symbol here? Oh, I thought you were putting the gold gun in front of my mouth so I couldn't talk. No. Um, okay, thank you. Thanks for the clarification. Of course. Maybe we should go in. As you all are outside having this conversation, you notice that there is a hush that kind of falls over the bar as a noble person walks in and is noticed. And like that's exactly the kind of reaction Bastette wants when she enters a room as an aside. So Ken notices the the the unusual quiet and she's like, oh no. Yeah, everyone in the bar is looking at the door as bastette like Pushes them open. And do you stand there with them open? Like your arms kind of thing, or do you just let them fall behind you? I think she would let him fall behind you. Like l let him fall behind her. She doesn't want to like overdo the the effort. So holding the doors open would be it'd be a lot. Okay. So yeah, you walk through the the doors swing closed and as the doors swing closed, like the hubbub starts to die, um, just in time for everyone else to help each other up and and be heard in the silence. And then the the drummer like is the first to recover, oddly, um, and starts like Pounding out a new rhythm, you know, one he thinks is fancier for noble people, but it's really just wilder. And uh the bartender motions you forward with a not just a like a come here but like a sweeping please take any seat you would like gesture um and snaps his fingers for someone to attend you As the So you don't have to go to the bar, obviously. As the as the drummer starts this beat, I think that you'd really notice that best that's kind of swaying to it as she walks. Like she just kind of naturally has the rhythm of the music. You don't even know if it's necessarily intentional, but like She walks kind of musically naturally because she's so I mean dignified is one word, but also she's just very peaceful confident and and I think that's part of it. And so she she goes and finds an open table. And Takes a seat and kind of as she sits down, she throws her cloak back to kind of like make sure it's out in its full splendor as she uh as she takes this seat Sir Kay's gonna come in the doors and j she's gonna she're gonna greet the bartender oh the yeah bartender Just like uh So GM, what would this bartender's name be? Do you have one in mind? This bartender's name is Tobwin. Tobwin? Tobwin. T-O-B-W-I-N. Tobwin it to win it. Nice. I th you know there's all these things that keep coming up that I hadn't noticed. I should have gone with Janet to win it. It was right there. That was that was a lot better. Anyway. I swear I wasn't thinking of you all when I was making character names. Hey Tobuin and I'm gonna uh Tobin Tobin gives you a nod like a familiar oh yeah. Mm-hmm. Bastet does not ign acknowledge Serkeya. Like I I don't know I think Bastet doesn't know how this is gonna pan out. So she's she's just kinda like sitting down in her seat, not acknowledging anybody else. Were you sitting at a bar or at a table? She'd be sitting at a table, she wouldn't. She wouldn't she wouldn't sit at the bar. Yeah. Like a like a peasant. Yeah. A a a s suitably attired tavern wench uh runs to your table to to take your order while um Tobun just gives you gives uh Serkea a a friendly wave So Kaya, you noticed that that this is this is the lower crowd. There's a lot of different people here. Over in the corner, right by the door, just as you came in on your to your left. Uh there's a whole bunch of people kind of ringed around a table and you hear a as as someone's arm gets slammed down. to the to the table. Apparently there's some kind of an arm wrestling match competition going on over there. On the other side of the room there's some people dancing, kind of swaying, doing different stuff. And at the bar, who was trying to look um totally unconcerned, but now that there's more people entering basically on his heels is the fungrel. who kind of slumps a little bit and then um chugs something and starts moving towards the uh the uh corner with the uh the competition Okay, um I'm gonna make my first stop. I'm just gonna I'm gonna keep walking like I have no interest in a fungal up to Tubwin. And just gonna be like Check out who I brought along. Motions over to Bastic Does b the bl best laid best laid plans of mice and guitari are often gone as straight. I'm curious if she knows that what she was How how close are you sitting to the bar? Would you s did you try to get on the the far side where it's a little quieter? I I think I think she would be slightly away from like kind of set apart from people if possible. So w whatever table that would indicate. Now s so you might not have heard, but you did see the gesture. Okay. In your direction, I'm I'm pretty sure. Okay. Yeah. Her eyes narrow a little bit at the gesture. And and and Tobin kind of grins at at uh cirkeya and bringing up bringing up the class a bit here, I Be nice to her she's pretty but she's deadly. Everybody is deadly. Everyone is deadly, mate. Come on. She does she got the coin. That's true. That is true. Um speaking of I was wondering if you could help me out a bit. I'll I'll I'll owe you one and I will pay back however you wish I was wondering if you could get me if there's been any murmurings of I don't know. undesirables with certain you know Sharp-edged insignia milling around. Tobwin chuckles at the Anyone I should watch out for. At the idea of undesirables in his bar. Yeah. I know Tobwin. Yeah, you're being here, darling. Come on. These are come again. I mean, I'm talking about cruisers. Come on. I know most of our clientele are, but These are out-of-town losers. Hey, those are my customers you're talking about. We both know it's true. Yeah. We both know it's true. Yeah, they're they're Just to be clear, are they having this conversation in the earshot of other patrons? Because if the bar's crowded, like clearly Oh yeah. Like oh yeah. They can hear and and the the bartender's pretending to be, you know, like come on, you know, you're offended, pretending to be offended, but he he knows Serkea Serkeya and and is like he wants to be on her good side, but he doesn't want to piss off his customers too. Right? Mm-hmm. Okay. You know, and you know you know what happens yesterday what happens yesterday. What we don't we don't share. We don't share tell tell tales on that. Yeah, of course not. But he you know but he he does he do he lowers his voice. But you know I if you want to know what's going on here, and he kind of nods his head towards where the fun girl went. Uh, that that table's been busy all day. And as he says that, there's another shout, and you know, as as as someone else loses or wins, depending on whose side of the betting you are on the folks were on. uh happens at that table. And and again you can't really see what's going on at the table because there are kind of a a circle of people around it, including the fungal, right? He's he's over there standing. Like pumping his fist and and cheering. I assume by this point that VO had entered the bar dusting off, you know, the dust that they'd gotten all over their pants from falling down Um and they're immediately clocking to look where the fungal went. Um, so they'd probably try to go over to that area. where the fungal was. Is there anyone that's like gonna stop me from going over that table? Uh there's no one that's gonna stop you, but you know, you're shorter and smaller than most of the people that are you know, there at the table and you can't see much without trying to push your way through. Um and so you might want to do some agility to try to get through. And I crawl under the tables? Can you crawl under the tables and under their legs? Yeah. Uh wow. Sure. You could you could try to do that. Yeah. Oh is this a crit? So that's a nine. Is this a nine or a six? No, it's a six, darn it. Um Oh man, I was hoping for a crit on that one. Oh I know, it would have been great. Is that is that with fear or with hope? With hope, but that's agility you said, right? Yeah, yep. That's plus two, so 17 with hope. Yeah, you you manage to scooch under the tables um and as as you're doing that Um like your best view of of what's going on here is at is of the foot level, right? Under the table. One guy once two sets of feet move away from the table and the fungal's feet actually come into the table. Um and he's facing some really large furry simia feet Okay. Um shoeless, obviously, with the, you know, uh very obvious uh simia toes that kind of grip the floor a little bit. Um and if you want, you can pop up at the table where they're I think I you hear coins being set down on the table uh as people wager on this uh contest between this fungal and the Symbia. I think I have an advantage here. I'm assuming they don't see me yet. So Yeah, you you you your role was very good. You didn't bump into anybody, you didn't knock your head, you didn't like alert Which is surprising. As you were climbing under their tables, right? Very unlike me, but I mean not because I'm the best spy ever. Um I'm going to try to just sit here for a moment and try to listen in to see if there's any conversations happening. Um why don't you give why don't you give me a perception roll while you're down under there? That's a crit. Double threes. Ding! Man, you guys roll too good when it when when I really don't want you to. No, I mean uh Seems to be the way it goes, doesn't it? So you hear you hear the one, two, three, and the the Like they're both grunting a little bit, but you also hear they're talking as they're doing this grunting, like they're whispering to each other. Um and uh The uh fungal goes basically which years of followed. I think they're on to me And and uh the simia actually doesn't really respond at first until he slams the guy's arm down into the table like he was pretending, like he was He he was pretending to struggle and grunt, but when he when he hears that he slams him down and go, get out, go and we'll meet up later. And like Andre's breath says, We'll meet up later. And You hear the crowd cheer and whatever else is said, like, is drowned out by the the the cheering and coins changing hands again. Is there any way I could tie his like legs together or something without him noticing Uh the fungels the fungrel um was is wearing uh sandals. That they're they're not strappy, they're they're like they're like they're not tied sandals, they have like little buckle straps. Um so there's nothing no laces. there to do that with? Missed opportunity. Of course the simia isn't wearing the simia isn't wearing shoes. Okay. Well I thought about it, so Um, I'll stay where I'm at for now. Um So Kaya will have been making her way over the s over the s look over to the table with um with a flag in in her hand. like a flag and a veil. Right. And she's she's gonna target the fungal. She n she she recognises him. Yeah. She's gonna she's gonna like lay all of her charm on. She's gonna be like Hey handsome. You have a be has anyone ever told you how beautiful your skin is? And the a absolute marvellous complexion. I would love to know. I'd love to get to know you. And she tries to sidle on to the um fungal's lap. Well uh to try uh keep him there. While he's distracted and I use my rope from my pad to tie his legs together But like a little bit loosely so that like hopefully he can't feel it. This is a flawless plan. This is a flawless plan. plan. I'm betting. I'm betting on Zerkea touching him inappropriately so that I can get away with roping him. A few things happen as this is going on. So one the fungal was starting to stand already as as um Sirkea came over, but like she flops onto his lap and he fumps down back onto the the seat and Um, he looks completely confused. Like he's never had this kind of reaction from any non-fungal woman, at least. Um In in his I had a very pretty phone nonetheless. Yeah. Um but he's he's never heard these words. And at the same time the simia over across um from him, which which when you look like Um you know how simia kinda look like different monkeys, right? Um like he has a face more like a a chimpanzee like and and bulk of a of a chimpanzee, um not a not a gorilla. Um but he has a a a mane of black fur like a howler monkey but black. And He he he looks at at uh cirqueas, what we're we've we've got we've got things going on here. Take that elsewhere, boo. And and the fungal tries to stand again, and you're like not really inclined to let him get up very easily, right? Oh come on, I'm just having a bit of fun. You do like fun here, don't you? I even bought you a drink. Uh the fungeral like glances to the simia, like, what the heck do I do about this? kind of look on his face. Um And instead of getting like he instead of trying to get up to Leaf, he traced the scoot over to make room for someone else to like sit where he's sitting, like further into the table, so someone else could, you know, do the arm wrestling thing if they really wanted. But he doesn't take the drink and he looks really confused and he's kind of stammering. As as y uh like uh uh uh uh uh phone dot your toe Cause she'd like to. Come on, if if you're shy, I have somewhere we can go. Somewhere quiet. You can tell me all about yourself. Um the the the the fungal seeing it out, right, because he's been dismissed. He's been told to go away. Uh he's he's he's he's like, uh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And he just kind of nods and yeah, yeah, yeah Let's do that And he starts scooting back the other way trying to get out of the thing. And at this point, um, have you successfully tied your thing around his legs? Uh, should I roll for that? I now I mean he's just he's very clearly distracted. If you are still intending to do that, you have done it. Yes, I am done it. And at the same time, you know, get out of this get out of this booth, the table. And um as he starts to try to lift you up. The rope catches him and he literally dumps you on the floor or falls on top of you. Right at the edge of the table. And um I don't know how tightly you tied that rope. You said it was very loosely. Did it just come off? Um, loose enough that he wouldn't feel it immediately, but tight enough that he couldn't get it off very easily. I guess I don't know how big his feet are, but Yeah. Yeah, so so it's basically wrapped around his legs and he's tripped down below and and he's like what the and he looks down and finally sees you underneath there. I do a little giggle. And the simia hears this and looks down and just he just like glares at you with these shining yellow eyes What's going on here? Are you trying to cheat? Give him leverage. Uh no. Looks like I've not the ill with their eyes on you. No, I'm not trying to cheat. I just, um I wanted to see what was going on over here. It seemed like you guys were having a lot of fun and I couldn't really get around all the people, so I'm pretty short, so I just thought it might be easier to get over here under the table. And then of course, you know, I'm I can't pass up a little mischievousness, so Hence the uh tying his legs together, but you can't the the the sim the simia crooks a finger at you to come up I I like to the table. I start to stand up and bonk my head on the the table. That's just about the right height, isn't it? Yeah. Um and meanwhile the fungal um which is now on top of you, fallen on top of you, cirke cirkea Sorry. So Kaya um is like trying to scramble up and he's still got this rope around him and he's like like trying to get it off. Like he's totally confounded at this point. He's lost his cloak. He doesn't know where that's at. Um, and he's gotten the rope off finally, and he's trying to stand, like brushing himself off looking disgruntled. Oh, what a rush. For the record, Best Ed is just sitting sitting at her table. Just one eyebrow raised, just absolutely like We're gonna see what happens here. I'm gonna shout over over to Tobin. Hey darling, do you sell one of those rooms for you? You know what what one near the back. Tobin chuckles. For you, darling, anytime. Any he you know the one. Just you know your your your standard your standard room is uh is open is what he's telling you. I love the implications here. Won't you help a girl up? And I I uh uh I offer my my hand to uh the fungal Expectingly expectingly. The fungo kind of glances back at the Simia again and over at the like and kind of shakes his head and shrugs and you know, offers a hand to help you up and escort you wherever we're go wherever we're going. Um and which again there's a the the bar On the the far side of the bar, there is a door that leads to some rooms in the back. Unlike the previous tavern you were at, which did not have any kind of lodging spaces, at least that you could see. So this one does have a a a private sign over the over the hallway. Not really wanting people to run back there, but does have lodging available. So Songle starts to walk off with you. Um Vio, are you able to sit at the table as the Simea has invited? I will probably, because I'm so short, have to stand on the chair to reach it, but I will stand on the chair across from the Sinia and say I thought this was the place where um we could do some arm wrestling and maybe talk a bit. The Sivia laughs. You want to arm wrestle? Okay. Oh. And he just he just puts out his arm, like, you know, his big m simia hand, just ready to envelop your tiny little dwarf hand. I'm pretty strong. Do I roll for this? Oh, please. I mean I'm just I'm imagining if this fails, she sh uh th they're just gonna get slammed into a wall or something. Up the twenty-two with fear. A twenty-two with a fear. Whoa. The the symbia is completely unprepared, right? Like yeah, I totally underestimate you. Like he's taking the symbol and you nearly take his his hand all the way to the table before he can like recover and be like what the heck is going on? And um he manages to get you back up towards the top and you s you're but you have the leverage on him at this point. You said it was with fear? Yes. Yeah. He starts to bring it back up and then his hand like grips yours really hard. Like your painfully hard. And as you manage to leverage and pin it back down. So while you you you actually win, right? And the crowd goes nuts. Nobody had bet on you except for this one guy who's like, I'll take it. And uh he just he just made bank off of everybody because everyone was like, no, this isn't even worth betting on. But this one guy just cleaned house. And he's like, drinks for everybody! And he throws he throws a bag towards the towards the bartender. He's so excited. Um, so um Uh you manage to to bring him down, but that grip on your hand, it doesn't cause damage, but it does stress you out a little bit and causes gives you will give you a point of stress on that. And um With that hand for a little bit you'll might have disadvantage. Okay. Uh because it's sore and aching. Okay. Um off of that. So did we have any conversation while we were while we were arm wrestling? The the the Simei is so surprised, he's like I can't believe it. I I've I've never seen such a thing. I And you know, so like you while you've been talking, you could have been you're welcome to have asked them some questions or whatever you'd like. Because this this was this was not a quick slam like he was been doing to people. This was a real battle and he you actually won. So I managed to overhear, sorry about that, your conversation with the um girl that was sitting here before, and I have some questions. Um Now we know why he lost. He was so startled by that question. Yeah. Like that's his excuse. Yeah. Um I've heard some chatter. about your organization here in town. And I was wondering if you need more recruits. You can see I'm strong. Didn't see that one coming. Okay. Um W Wickham, uh, the the the Simeon introduces himself. Uh Wickham. Wickham. Wickham Marsh. Nice to meet you. I'm Leo. And and and he like rubs his arm a little bit. Like he's so not used to having any kind of a fight. Like you you're like he's like I don't uh uh and he waves away the crowd for me. He's like, I need a break here. I need a break here. Uh ten ten minutes. We'll we'll we'll we'll get this sorted out. And the crowd kind of like looks disappointed, except for that one guy who's like, you know, taking handfuls and pockets of coins here and there from everybody. And everyone gets a round of drinks of whatever they're whatever they're looking for from that one guy. So if you haven't ordered yet, feel free to do so. What what makes you think we would eat recruits? He chuckles, like glancing around Wondering, you know, who else is listening any earshot. And he's got kind of a booming voice. He's not terribly quiet. I mean But he's trying. Maybe not normal recruits, but I'm not your average person. As you can see. I've been trained. Highly trained. And I have some special skills that I think you might find useful. Like um. Shakes his head again. Never would have believed it. Never, never would have believed it. No, no, no, it I'm not sure what you think is going on here, but uh uh I I'm really not sure what you think is going on here. And and and he just kind of stutters at that, um, shaking his head at you Not not having admitted either that he is recruiting part of the Jagged Knife or anything. He's just He's not quite that um that clueless. Well, if that's not what's going on here, do you care to enlighten me? Uh give give me uh a presence role and while that's happening, let's swap over to um the fungal who's being in the back room and once once he gets to the back door, um, like and the door's closed in between him and the rest of everybody else, he like starts trying to pull away from you and go out the back back door Which is down at the end of this hallway. He's like, oh thank you very much, Miss, I needed that. And and and starts to kind of walk away. He feels a sharp object press into his lower back. Like, where do you think you're going, Hansie? I didn't give you permission to go. I well I've got my my small dagger pressed into the smaller's back. I'd pulled it out of out of my uh my boot when he pulled me up. I just had it it like hidden in my palm Uh You're gonna tell me all you know about your organization. Uh wouldn't that be fun? Uh I don't maybe I don't know nothing. Think they they're gonna kill me if I tell Awww. And you think I won't? Uh he feels he kind of like feels that he feels that knife and um maybe not. It's a question. Aww. If you tell me all I wanna know, you won't get harmed. Unless you want to. What do you wanna know? What do you wanna know? Who are you working with? Is it What is your organization Um the the this this chapter of the Jacket Knife is is led by um the the Black Main. Interesting. The simia? By any chance? Uh oh figured that out, teacher. Figured that out, teacher. Telling. He likes he's like trying to You're not very good at the secret keeping st no no I'm not What do you want? I just wanna leave We're just here to make sure nothing happens. We're here to stop it. Whatever's going on. What are you hitting? Wait, I don't know. Black man will tell us. When we figure it out. We've been we're being slandered. It's not our fault. I didn't do it. I didn't do it. And he starts crying. Tell me a little more and I'll believe you. Where's your where did you agree to meet Mr. Blackmain? We've got some camps in the forest. In the forest Aw, that's sweet. Do you want to draw a map for me? Uh, I mean, uh Go on. Uh He he he crumbles. He's like, here's the village. He like draws he like he like he like uh just he doesn't have any paper, right? But he he like writes on the on the wall here, like village, uh forest uh he like draws this wavy line that kind of like follows up some path in his head and and uh here's one that's mine only one I know There's others. Oh, you're so good. There's others. Uh you won't get away with hurting me. Oh? Only key social? We've got friends. I'll tell them he liked it. And I uh I press the knife in hard enough to draw a bit of Blood? Fungal blood? What is fungal blood, I wonder? Okay. Sure, alright I trust this will stay between us, yes? I'm I'm going straight to the camp. I'm going there. I'll see you uh not there, right? Not there. Don't go. Shh Don't mean cut out your tongue too. Mm-hmm. Mm-mm-mm-mm-mm. Good boy. Run along now. Like he sprints down the end of the hall and like doesn't even wait for the door to fully open before he's slamming it out and running running away now. So back at um back at the table, um, what was your presence role Uh so it's twelve total. I did use my bold presence ability to add my strength modifier. Um so I spent So it's with the strength modifier it's a twelve? Yeah. Not great. No, not great at all. Uh yeah. Wickham chuckles at you. I like you, kid. He calls you a kid even though you're probably older than him as a dwarf, but you're so small he's a kid, you know. Yeah. Uh You you just want to stay out of this. You don't want any of this. But I don't. This is what I was sent up here to do. He kind of squints at you. What? Did I say something? Do I smell? Sent Who Who sent you? Oh, um my friend told me not to say I won't tell. You promise? Crosses his heart. Do I believe him? Um I don't know. Do you believe him? I think I would have disadvantage on this because I am so trusting. Uh what would be perceive? Instinct? Yeah, I think it would be an instinct role, yeah. So one of the ones, that's 12. And then do I roll as D6 and then just minus it or Um I don't think you'd have disadvantage on I mean you're trusting. You're you're you're trusting and I think it would more uh I just based the difficulty based upon you being trusting. Okay, gotcha. So you don't have to do disadvantage. Yes. Twelve. Uh hope, actually. Oh, take a hope. Um yeah, uh He sees he you see him and oddly you trust that he won't say something to somebody if if he gives his word. Um, like you there is apparently honor among some jagged knife, if not amongst thieves. Oh, okay. Um, I I come from a secret society called the Skyward Path and We're trying to figure out what's going on up here, and I have a feeling that our organizations might actually work well together. Uh this actually like again catches catches the simia completely by surprise. His eyes get really big. I mean they're normally kind of BD, but they get as big as his eyes can get. You want to join the revolution? I mean, I don't know much about it yet, but I'd love to see your literature. He laughs. He laughs. We don't write this down. We are here to help topple the corrupt systems that govern this land. Oh. Corrupt systems govern this land. I write in my notebook. Um, I I wasn't aware of that. I mean, I know Piraeus is evil because they took over our our town And pushed us downwards a hundred years ago or more. But Only one example of their evil. Oh Their floating city? Yes. Fueled by the blood of the common. Wow. I had no idea. Whether or not that's true, it's what he believes, Michael. So Hey, canon now. This doesn't have to be your canon, that's what I'm saying. I'm saying this is what he believes Um I just am so surprised because everyone I've met up here since since coming up here has been so nice that I really was starting to doubt that what I was told Since I was a child was true. Is everybody in on this? No, most are just simple sheep who follow. It is the leaders we must beware of. Be aware of authority. Thanks. I I'll write that down. Uh that's very helpful Um he's like he likes wait you're writing all this down? He's like, oh no. Um Oh yes, you said don't write things down. Don't write things down. Just be careful you share that with him. Not everyone understands the truth. Yes. Yeah, that makes sense. And you don't know who you can trust, I guess. Exactly. Is is the high priestess in on this? He he he looks confused. The pre priestess? No, uh I'm I'm speaking of the nobility The rulers. So like Sean Baljon or whoever her name is. The Lady Anjamp is not hot highly of in my circles, no. Okay. Javon Balchon. Bad. Okay, this has been very informative. Thank you so much. Is there a place that that I can get more information if I If I'm scouting around town? I mean I'll be honest with you, I came up here and I did not know what was going on. But you've really been super helpful and if I wanted to link up with your team, uh, is there a place that I could do that? Or is it just here? Are you headquartered here? He he taps the table and said, we'll have ways here. Come back here. Someone will someone will be able to guide you. How will I know who they are? And he he um he looks around and he slides over a little token to you. Um a little a little wax seal with an imprint of the jagged knife on it. They'll be ha they'll have this. Oh good to know. And they'll be wearing it or they'll just have it on their person? They'll have it they'll have it available. Show them this. You'll know. But if I show this to somebody who's not Jagged Knife, isn't that gonna give me away? He sa he flips it over. And it's blank on the back? Start with this side. Oh, okay, okay. Start with blank side. Okay. Thank you. And he he like he like shakes his hand and rubs his shoulder and he kind of looks around and and uh Be careful, little one. And he stands up and and and actually starts to leave the bar. Thank you. I have things to attend to. He he he looks to the crowd, he's like, Aww, I've been bested. I will take no more challengers today. Feel free to best her if you can. Or them. If you can. Yes. Um and now people are beginning to line up at the table going, I can take this door. I can take this. I would love to take all of you down, but I just don't have time. So why don't you uh figure out a situation among yourselves? I've gotta go talk to my friends. Sorry. And I'll hop off of it. Is anyone gonna att attempt to stop Wickham from leaving? So Kaya, I'm assuming that your conversation and these ones are happening some pretty close at the same time. But your just got done a little faster. So you could be coming out of that door to see him standing up and starting to walk towards the door. If you wish to uh react in some way. Um No, I'm going to I'm gonna let it be this time. I was thinking I might follow. I I I'm gonna have so I I was thinking I might follow. But I I would definitely wanna meet up with my friends first, so I think I'll I'll probably be headed towards you. Uh I will I will just come out the door and I'll have and I will ask um Tobin d to dispose of a cloth that I uh doesn't know but i it has some weird weird liquid on it Sware where I'd wipe my knife by the way. Not anything else. You dirty bastards. Some cream of mushroom if you will. Mushroom goop. Um Oh, I'd like to apologize to everyone who just heard that. You all take a stress. You all took a stress, and that's my fault. Yeah, just Tobin, be be a darling. This was this for me. I guess I have to look like that. Someone kinda looks at the thing before and starts to reach out. Yeah, don't the rest is taken care of. That didn't reassure him. Like he's he's like, oh okay. And then he's like, wait. No, no, no. She wouldn't have she wouldn't have taken care of the body and left me the cloth in his head. He's like, no, it's okay. It's all fine. So he uh he takes that he takes that rag and uh drops it and you hear a little whoosh like there's a little incinerator underneath the bar like this is something that happens here on occasion thank you hen you are the best And Wickham leaves, not really paying attention to any of that, and allows a moment of quiet as the bar goes back to its normal hubbub for you all to chat and figure out what you want to do now. I'm gonna walk over and join Bastard. I was gonna say, does she look inviting? Like she wants company? Yeah, she does. Oh wait, sorry, I was channeling uh Kea there. She's infecting everyone. I think she would nod, let people sit down. With that I uh I will hop up on one of the stools. Standing again. Then that's where we'll pick up next time when we start the next part portion of this adventure. Yay. Thank you. I've been having a lot of fun as this character, I just gotta say. So have I. I'm the so nice being a more outward going character. I like both of them. I was assuming people could want to play something different and do something fun. And you guys have been a blast. So thank you. Thank you.
