That's awful! I don't understand how they can just ignore the law like that! And steal from you.
But, well, I don't see what *I* can do about it. I don't know boats, I'm not a negotiator, and I'm not real good at sneaking or investigating, either. I don't want to start a fight, either, especially not in town. Why me?
So Lady Vanderboren's story explained their parties odd distribution. Some muscle, some (presumed) stealth, Himo at the least could work magic. But that didn't explain everything.
"As Himo said milady, why us 6? Surely someone of your wealth could afford a more... standardized source of help?" Anders asked, trying to keep the skepticism in his voice to a minimum.
Roll: 7 +4 = 11 for Local Knowledge to recognise the arrogant bastard and his friends.
--
Well, this didn't feel like a con job at all. "I'll pay you later, once you help me get my money". Yeah, that seems likely.
On the other hand, if the thugs want something from the ship, there's probably something worth the time there anyway...
Following on from Anders: "Say, the four obviously seasoned adventurers who you were just meeting with? Or did they turn you down 'cause you couldn't provide payment up front?
-- Don’t forget.
Always, somewhere,
someone is fighting for you.
-- As long as you remember her,
you are not alone.
Knowledge (Local) rolls to: 1) identify the leaving party, 2) remember whether Lavinia's family actually owns the castle, the ship and all the relevant assets that she is attempting to 'restore access' to, 3) remember anything about Soller Vark, his reputation, etc, 4) remember how the Vanderboren family died and what their relationship with their daughter was — http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4361808/ Jeez, where's the consistency. Can one take 10 on Knowledge rolls btw? With my +7 I would occasionally prefer doing that (in the future, a bit late now). Roll for the critical fail — http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4361815/
The other guests were asking all the right questions, so Moshka continued to sip her wine quietly, watching the conversation unfold.
Holden nodded his at the others. He wasn't all that comfortable. The lady was very pretty! But there were a lot of questions being asked that he wouldn't have thought of. Payment up front? Smart! He nodded again. Play it cool, Holden, play it cool.
“The wind went mute and the trees in the forest stood still. It was time for the last tale.”
You can't remember their names but you're fairly certain they are an Adventuring band that, at least till fairly recently were patronaged by one of the noble houses
Bacchus
1) Jade Ravens, a known mercenary adventurer party, whom was patronaged by the previous Lord Vanderboren
2) The Castle is the old governmential castle, under which there most of the nobility (and some others) have vaults, in which its said, most of their gold is hidden
3) Soller Vark is an all out unpleasant man, known as quite the bully, whom have a reputation of boosting that he has ties to one of the major thieves guilds in town, talk around in town is that he has a profitable business, moonlighting as a smuggler, trading food and illegal goods with pirates.
4) The Vanderboren family died a month ago when they were inspecting a new ship they was looking at buying, which somehow blew up and they died in the flames, Lavinia is their elder child and favorite, while she have a younger brother, whom you don't remember anything specific about.
OOC : Checks, checks, checks ... I like people rolling them
From what you can tell its honest and true, but theres something about it that make you feel it might not be the whole truth, although you can't quite put your finger on what
Aliandra frowned sympathetically as she listened to the Lady Vanderboren's story. Some of her fellow nobility were arrogant and unfeeling, but the Lady showed no disdain toward the motley selection of citizenry she had convoked, some of whom were possibly vagrants or criminals, certainly of a far lower order - and that in itself was charity. Here was a kind woman in distress - what better deed with which to commence her adventuring career than to help her peer in need? What's more, it was the goddess Lydia's particular exhortation to help the disadvantaged women of the world. The good lady might be in far better straights than the common woman on the streets, but an injustice had been done her ...
Ali's musings were interrupted by the polite interrogation of her recent acquaintance Anders, and the less-couth interjection of the young elven woman she hadn't had a chance to formally greet yet. Her frown deepened as she once more questioned her ability to navigate this new world of intrigue and extraordinary endeavours. Could her comrades be correct, the fair lady a serpent? For now she held her counsel, though she disapproved of the elf-girl's forwardness, waiting tensely for the Lady's reply, and wracked her brain to remember what she could of the Vanderboren family's history and entanglements and any clue to what might be in that ship's hold ...
A few Knowledge checks for me too, I think - Local to see what I know of that other band, History as it pertains to the Vanderboren family, and Nobility and Royalty for anything else about them:
1) You come up blank on the other band ... beyond the obvious that they're probably a adventurer band
2) The Vanderboren family is one of the 'younger' noble houses, roughly at the same age as Meravanchi, and historically they've gotten their wealth partly as self-made adventurers, partly as scholars of the obscure, and lastly by having patroned several expeditions into the ruins of the Jungle, searching for lost treasures or traded with some of the native tribes that live there.
3) Well ... they're Noble ...
Lavinia looked at Himo and Anders and answered clamly "That is because i'm hopeful that if I could get you to help me with this task. Then i would be able to call on you later for other tasks of assorted kinds. Its a tradition in the family to so speak."
Lavinia pales slightly by some of the unclouth questions from Kaisa "If you have to know, they were a Adventurer band allready in my employ that was asked to bring vital communication to my uncle, in Cauldron. And the reason I'm unable to pay up front is that I need the signet ring as a key to get access to the family vault where the money is, and as I would otherwise need to wait a month before the bureaucracy is able to reset the vault security and bind a new signet ring to it and bring it to me. Time which i don't have"
