Butcher’s double-crossing

Sunday October 2nd, 402 (1:22 p.m.) [17]:

     After a long wait in the outer vestibule under close scrutiny by three neatly-dressed security guards, the door to the Commissioner’s office opens and Caleb and Ydoran are greeted by Sir Chardes himself, a man small in stature and admirably fighting a losing battle against hair loss, somewhat pale and bowlegged, with red eyes that suggest he’s struggled to fight back tears in the last hour or two. The office is stately and yet relatively spartan, without a speck of dust to speak of on the furniture, three chairs, a desk, and a line of portraits on the back wall that show, presumably, the line of succession of the office that Chardes now holds. The pair are asked to sit and explain their presence.

     When Chardes hears what they’ve found out [I’m assuming here a free exchange of information], he appears pleased with their news, but the anxiety doesn’t leave his face. “Darius…interesting, I think you have a good lead there, I wouldn’t put it past him to try something like this. But I’m afraid I can’t be involved in dealing with him, it would damage our relations with Kenchra to accuse him without firm evidence, so no authorities involved for now, you must go about this alone. I can tell you, though, if you do find and board the Golden Hare, and you do stumble upon my dear Bubkins [this is Chardes’ pet name for Kyrlix], and should a fight break out that sees Darius and his minions perish, there will be no charges brought against you. Do whatever you need to do, you have unofficial sanction to bring Kyrlix back by any means necessary.”

     Does Ydoran have any questions to ask Chardes here? Or will he take the information (scant as it is) and ‘extra permissions’ and leave with Caleb?

1:35 p.m.:

     “The Golden Hare? Yeah, I know where it is,” the bleary-eyed tavern-goer mutters as he sloshes the unidentifiable liquor in his glass. Drayven and Konishi sit across from three labourers nursing their libations before heading off to their swing shifts, with the middle one piping up while the other two stare off to the bar sleepily, where Kai and Whispin cozy up to other patrons in search of more information. “The name’s Putter, buy me a drink and I’ll spill it, if you catch my meaning.”

     “Yeah, weird you guys bring that name up, I had to make a delivery there last night, a special delivery, I’m a butcher’s assistant, two guys showed up there last night and told us to whip up a bundle of meats, the cheap stuff, offal, and bring it to that ship pronto, gave me a map to it, of course they didn’t bother to mention the name of the ship would be all covered up by a tarp, took me twenty minutes to figure out what was going on. Anyway, I delivered it, and of course they didn’t tip me anything, so what a waste of time that was. Don’t you know if someone provides you good service you’re supposed to tip ’em well?” Putter takes a pause and a long look at Drayven as he mentions this last part. “Yeah, I don’t owe them nothing. You know, I may still have that map on me somewhere, I coulda sworn I had it, isn’t that strange?”

     What will Drayven do here? And, once the group is back together again, how will they proceed?

J

Comments

  1. Shane

    Hare of the Dog

    After Putter makes his non too subtle request for a drink, Drayven will politely signal the waitress for another bottle* of the swill then men are drinking. Not one for subterfuge, the elf is pleased the conversation is flowing well. That said, he doesn’t feel bad about making use of their inebriated states…in fact it might make them forget the conversation later which would benefit their safety.

    As the man speaks, the paladin makes the following mental notes:

    • The dog is very likely on this ship and alive (and will be kept so) based on the large meat order
    • The hiding of the ship’s name certainly makes it appear the crew is up to no good
    • It was best Kai and Whispin didn’t try and find the ship, per Ydoran’s suggestion, as this man had a map, and it took him 20 minutes

    Drayven meets Putter’s long look with a friendly smile and replies thoughtfully with, “I agree completely, so rude of them to not tip you, especially after making your task extra difficult. How much of a tip would you say you were owed? I ask because I’d like to make sure you get your tip*…in fact I’d be happy to give you that sum now and then speak to these men about payment. Of course to do so I might need to borrow that map, you know to locate them and all. And if you wouldn’t mind providing a description of the ship that could help. Does that sound fair? [Typically, the elf would be more direct but it seems like Putter wants to take a more subtle approach and Drayven is okay with accommodating the man.”

    Back at the ship, the paladin listens to Ydoran’s update and his first thought is, At first it just seemed like wounded pride, but this man truly cares for his hound, so this is more about love than ego. This makes the situation more palatable to Drayven, even if Chardes is okay if the dognappers die in Kyrlix’s rescue.

    When he is permitted to speak, perhaps after Ydoran or Caleb contribute their thoughts on next steps:

    • Knowing the pet name ‘Bubkins’ might make it easier to find or even calm the dog. Since party are strangers, Krylix might not want to go with them. Another thought would be to get some choice cuts of meat that the dog would prefer, perhaps that would help entice the hound.
    • Drayven apologizes for not thinking of this sooner but perhaps one of Chardes worn shirts would be helpful in calming Krylix. The man’s scent might’ve put the dog at ease.
    • Scouting at the ship would a good idea. It would allow the party to see if there are any guards and determine the crew size. Also are they wearing unforms and how frequent are their comings and goings. As well how close any other ships are…some of the plans below might work or not work based on how close other people are.
    • Drayven will offer to [subtly] use his detect evil ability near the ship to gauge the potential level of hostility.
    • He’ll politely ask Kai if any of her spells are of divination in nature, that could help ensure the hound is still on the ship and maybe even show a more precise location.
    • The elf will ask if anyone has a spell or item that would allow them to breathe underwater. If so:
    • Perhaps something could be done to the anchor to ensure it couldn’t be raised [in case the ship sets sail].
    • It might allow some party members to gain access to the non pier-side of the ship to do scouting etc.
    • On other ways of gaining access, while we’d likely have a better idea after scouting, perhaps the party could show up with a meat order from the butcher. They could pretend there was a mix up etc. Of course with most of the party in armor it might not be feasible and it also could lead back to the actual butcher…so maybe not a good idea.

      • S

      *Please let me know the cost. 🙂

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