Savage Tide : In Character

[Lewwyn]

Holden poked his head into the courtyard cautiously. He wasn't sure what to expect. For starters he'd never been allowed anywhere this grand before. He notices an elf standing by the pool talking about bugs or something. Stepping fully into the yard he can hear him talking about the fish, or is it to the fish? He doesn't know if there's a difference.

By the benches he notices a familiar face. The man is from the Champion District and Holden has seen him around before. Near him is also a halfling who seems to have enaged them in conversation. He walks over.

He speaks first to Anders. Hi, I'm Holden. We haven't met before but I've seen you around the Arena. You do these types of things often? He speaks eagerly and quickly with the blush of youth and inexperience. And well met Miss, may I know your name. Holden hadn't talked much to women. Much less Hafling women.

[Mardoc]

I figure she wants someone to improve this garden for her. I mean, either that or get a pet. Cause that's what Anders and I do, find interesting things in the jungle...and, I mean, it's cool that she's got a piranha, but this really could be so much more!

I don't think I've seen you before. You must be some sort of craftsman!

[Lewwyn]

Well not a craftsman. But I guess you could say I'm new to being a fighter.

Please to meet you Moshka. I guess my skill is required. That's what I was told.

[Bacchus]

Well this was developing into something peculiar. Not one prospect that Moshka could fathom for an activity involving two large, athletic men from the Arena and two tiny, fragile and seemingly daft non-humans looked appealing.

Good evening, Holden. I am Moshka, pleased to meet you. Brought here by a message? Your particular skills required? Moshka took a small, casual step towards the wine glasses, conveniently avoiding being flanked by the two gladiators. Pets can be so much fun, indeed. A pleasure to watch them play. ... And piranha, you say? Fascinating.

[Mattimeo]

Well, this was certainly something. First, an elf and a human, the latter visibly tending towards the brute side of things. Then a halfling (wait, was that the girl who'd had her stash of magical goods hit last week? Kaisa was suddenly glad of not having taken that job) detached herself from a conversation to follow them in. Shortly thereafter, another brute entered as well. Not exactly an expected group composition for 'an opportunity directly suited to her skills'. Unless it was an excuse to send some trouble out of the city. She didn't think she'd offended anyone *that* badly, though...

After a short wait with no other prospective entrants showing up, Kaisa gave up watching and went into the manor herself.

"Hm. 6 glasses of wine and 5 of us here. One for our host, do you think? Or is your friend from earlier coming back, halfling?"

[TheHumanHydra]

Finally, Aliandra stepped into the courtyard, and had to catch herself from stopping short. She supposed she had expected other guests, but not of quite this description. Surprise swiftly faded, and she smirked. No, this dinner was not some clever ploy on the part of her family to lure her back into aristocratic life, as she had come to fear in the day since the invitation. On the contrary, judging by the appearances of her perhaps soon-to-be compatriots, it was a positive opportunity for Adventure. Her grin faded as she realized she was utterly improperly dressed for the occasion, sporting the sole silken gown, in the fashion of the aristocracy, she had retained for encounters such as this - but she looked decidedly uninspiring as a prospect for roughing it through the wild and doing deeds of renown. Should have worn that leather cuirass, she reflected ruefully - the arms and armour she had purchased yesterday were safely hidden in the tavern-room she had rented till tomorrow.

These thoughts flitted through the young lady's mind in the brief seconds it took for her to stride over to the gathering. She effected a pleasant smile. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," she greeted (though none of them properly were either), meeting the eyes of each of them in turn. "You may call me Aliandra. I don't believe I have made any of your acquaintances," she prompted.

Now would be a good time to dispense with the social graces, she told herself, if I'm to win these people's trust. The common folk often don't take well to the haughtiness of nobility. A pause - As well they shouldn't. With this she prepared herself for what would certainly be the most unusual - and, with luck, momentous - soiree she had ever experienced.

[dtay]

Oops, lots to catch up on while I was sleeping

Anders had seen manors this opulent before, but never been inside. His work for merchants had always tended towards the seedier (and poorer) sort. Not that he ever did anything illegal, but he suspected had he bothered to pay more attention to his employers doings he might have seen things he ought not see, heard things he ought not hear.

Himo and Anders were alone at first, but alone with 6 carefully placed glasses of wine. "Six then, its a job for six." Himo (as usual) seemed to lose focus rather quickly as they waited, and wandered off to poke around the pond and chatter on about the "wildlife". Himo had always been an odd one, but their friendship worked... somehow.

Not too long after their arrival a third guest made her appearance. A small female halfling, dressed in simple clothes, definitely not a warrior. Anders gave the halfling a nod, but left her alone as she went to converse with Himo.

The fourth guest Anders recognized. A young gladiator. Not enough to recall a name, but he had definitely seen him around the Champion's district before. And something about a shield? Anders recalled something about a shield.

"Call me Anders. And somewhat often yes. I imagine the Lady Vanderboren wants to upgrade her security. Probably got into some trouble she can't handle." That was a slight fib. The first part at least. This felt too odd, haphazard for a normal job; there was the air of something special about. But no need to lend voice to unsubstantiated suspicions.

The fifth guest arrived. A slight, lightly armed elf. Anders gave another nod and let the others talk amongst themselves.

The sixth was the strangest. Undeniably a noble. Dressed in a long silk gown, entirely unarmed. At first Anders thought her their Lady host, but no, she introduced herself as Aliandra, and acted as just another invited prospect.

Anders made a stiff bow, "Anders, a pleasure to meet you." That was substantially more formality than he had shown anyone else, but his experience (and the word of fellow mercenaries and gladiator) had taught him "Keep the nobles happy, and they'll pay you well."

[Mardoc]

Huh, the animals here are boring. The only interesting part is the wild stuff that's come in through neglect; the tame fish and plants are, well, at least they seem to be well fed. But definitely not loved .

The people, though, it's surprising to see such a collection. Probably the oddest is this new arrival; let's try drawing her out.

Hi, Aliandra! I'm Himo Siannodel. Me and Anders, we've worked together, so I know what he's good at. Good guy to have at your back in a fight! But he's also grounded, keeps me focused.

Me, I know the jungle like the back of my hand. All the friendly and not so friendly animals and plants. I know a couple tricks to get them to cooperate with me, too. I'm pretty good with a sling, and I can use a blade if I have to. I'll bring along another friend of mine, Fluffybuns, but he's not comfortable in a house like this, not with strangers. So I left him home with a bone to chew.

What about you? You're dressed like a noble, but your calluses look more like an archer. Or maybe swordsman?

[Sian]

Some 5 minutes after Aliandra arrived the smallest of the three doors out towards the courtyard opens and 4 persons emerge; a jaunty male half-elf dressed in a leather armor with at least a dozen daggers of different shapes and sheaths, a dark-skinned dwarf that looks like he just ate a lemon in brownish green robes, carrying a large curving spear, an highly attractive but haughty women dressed in dark purple robes and a crescent moon on the left cheek, and lastly a tall, handsome man dressed with a polished breastplate and a bastard sword in a shiny scabbard over his back. The last man stops for a moment sizing you up and grunts "Hmmm... You must be the help that Lavinia is bringing in to do the chores. Best of luck to you" and leaves with the rest of the group out of the atrium.

Knowledge Local to recognize them

Immediately afterwards Kora comes out of the same door "Lady Vanderboren is ready to speak with you now. This way please..." and enters the door again.

---

The Private dinning hall you enter is comfortable and cozy, softly lit by wall-mounted lanterns. A window overlooks the courtyard you've just been in, and the carpet is thick and soft.

A large portrait hangs on the wall, a fine work depicting a handsome young man with a short beard. Standing before the portrait is an attractive young human woman wearing a long flowing blue dress. She smiles as you enter introducing herself as Lavinia Vanderboren, whom invites you to sit at the table which is covered with a number of dishes, mainly various delicious fish dishes and a number of fruits and vegetables and a flask of wine.



Doing the dinner she starts explaining her reason for inviting you to her house.

"As you may have hear, I recently inherited my parents' estate Along with this fine house, unfortunately, came a fine amount of dept owed the Dawn Council, the harbormaster and quite a few guildhalls. It seems my parents, for all their success as adventurers, were not as skilled at finance as one might expect. If I'm to get these taxes paid, I'll need to access my family's vault under Castle Teraknian."

"And that's the problem, you see. The vaults are magically locked -- keyed to special signet rings. Both of my parents had these rings, at least, until recently. My mother lost hers a few months ago. She arranged for a replacement, but it won't be done for another month or so, too late for me. Which leaves my father's ring. He never wore it -- he had a thing about men wearing jewelry. He kept it hidden somewhere on his ship, the Blue Nixie. The problem there is that the harbormaster's seized the ship until someone pays for the last four months of mooring. I've paid the fines to the man the harbormaster's put in charge of my ship, a brute named Soller Vark. Yet when i went to claim my ship, Vark's men wouldn't let me board, claiming that i hadn't yet paid the fines. I spoke to Vark again and he denied ever receiving my payment. My complaints to the harbormaster have fallen on deaf ears -- he's a doddering old fool who trusts his man and won't relent"

"Vark and his men are up to something on my ship, I know it. What i need is to find out exactly what they're up to. Unfortunately, Vark's not the type to react well to diplomacy or logic. I need someone who speaks his language... which is where you come in. If you can find out what he's using my ship for, or even better recover the money i paid him, I'll pay each of you 200 gold in return once I've access to my vault"

[TheHumanHydra]

Edit: Whoops, that was a cross-post. Just pretend it came before Sian's.

"Likewise," Aliandra inclined her head to the heavily-armed human man. "Hello, Himo," she replied to her other greeter. She could not help the slight smile that crept onto her face at the elf's exuberance. "I suppose you could say I'm all three," she said in response to his query. "I ... had a varied education," she said simply, electing to forego telling the whole tale for now. She smiled again to reassure him and Anders she wasn't hiding any dark secrets. Privately, she wondered at the elf's skill at observation, picking out the calluses on her hands - from only a year or two of practice - after but a moment's interaction. Simultaneously, inwardly she beamed at being identified as some sort of practiced warrior already - clearly the time spent at the range and in the sparring-hall had payed off. A light blush lit up her cheeks. "I must confess myself a little out-of-sorts at this meeting," she continued, absently smoothing down her gown, "I had thought this was to be a bit more of a formal evening. If I had known - "she didn't quite know how to conclude that remark - "I would have worn ... something else," she finished, grinning again awkwardly as she looked from Himo to Anders. She winced inside. I really needed to get out more - learn how to interact with this sort.