2. The First Delve

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Starbeard
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Re: The Adventure Begins

#161 Post by Starbeard »

Day 1, Afternoon (turn 7)

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Weeba stands vigilant with his bow as the pair of hobbs, as similar as they are different, move down the hall in either direction, prodding and examining with caution. The wizards prepare spells of magical revelation in case nothing is found, but it isn't necessary. Both hobbs notice the tell-tale signs of traffic in the dust clustered around either end of the hallway. With this information in hand, the hobbs are quickly able to identify the outlines of secret doors in both eastern and western walls of the hallway.

Examining the dead-ends closely, they both discover secret panels set into the south wall, similar to the one in the middle of the room—and as expected, hidden conspicuously within these camouflaged panels are handles of the same design.

Actions?

Image

Light sources: Digsby's lantern, Weeba's lantern (held by Doughty), Biddle's torch (all burning 1 turn)

Biddle Spratt, Hypnotist Extraordinaire (Wiz, ST 10/12 LK 14 DEX 10 — Adds: +2/+2) CON: 11/11
Digsby Mudfoot, Halfling Gardener (War, ST 7 LK 12 DEX 15 — Adds: +1/+4) CON: 19/20
Doughty Doughball, Halfling Cook (Rog, ST 5 LK 7 DEX 15 — Adds: -3/+0) CON: 4/16
Garrick the Fortunate, Elven Archaeologist (Wiz, ST 7 LK 17 DEX 12 — Adds: +3/+3) CON: 9/9
Spindlethrash, Halfling Ne'er-do-well (War, ST 5 LK 13 DEX 18 — Adds: +3/+9) CON: 32/32
Weeba Zortz, Warrior in Triplet (War, ST 13 LK 10 DEX 17 — Adds: +6/+11) CON: 9/10[/quote]

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Re: The Adventure Begins

#162 Post by Rusty Tincanne »

Excited about the door he found, Doughty calls to the others. Perhaps a bit to loudly...Hey guys! I found a door! Right here in the wall! It's secret, though, so don't tell no one, 'Kay? he asks if he should open it.

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Re: The Adventure Begins

#163 Post by coffee »

Weeba steps up so he can cover the little guy.

"Open it, but then stand right back," he says. "In case anything attacks."

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Re: The Adventure Begins

#164 Post by Khaboom »

Biddle beams and tells them they can rely on his magical prowess should opening the door formerly known as 'secret' prove beyond them.

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Re: The Adventure Begins

#165 Post by ClockworkPoltergeist »

Digsby catches Doughty's call just as the shovel-wielder discovers the hidden mechanism to release the secret door's latch. Digsby sheaths the cleaver and fishes a stick of chalk out of his pouch. He quickly marks the hidden panel with an X and then turns to hasten back to the others. "I've found another door at the other end with the same mechanism. I marked the latch panel with an X just in case we need to get out of here in a hurry." He pauses for a moment, "I'm good with proceeding through either door but a thought just occurred to me - Is anyone keeping track of our twists and turns? I'd loathe to get lost down here."

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Re: The Adventure Begins

#166 Post by Starbeard »

Day 1, Afternoon (turn 7)

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Digsby marks the secret western exit and regroups with the others at the east end of the corridor. Doughty throws the switch and leaps back, letting the secret door slide open with a soft grind of gears and a swish of air.

The exit leads directly into the middle of an oddly trapezium shaped room lit by torches, about 40' by 50' with the diagonal wall on the left hand side. The only exit that can be seen is a corridor that leads out of the chamber directly across from you.

Along the diagonal wall rests a rickety food stand with a faded sign that reads: Rat-on-a-Stick. The old but well-loved stand is obscured by three tiny picnic benches, each shaded unnecessarily by a red-and-white striped umbrella. A bearlike human man is casually wiping off one of the tables as the door swings open, which catches him off guard. Immediately he spins around to adopt a peculiar and threatening martial arts stance, which involves placing one leg in the air and one arm behind the head—but after seeing the party, he lowers his guard and beckons them in.

"Ho ho ho, well boil me down into grue glue, you sure gave me a surprise! We usually don't get visitors through that door unless they're pesky orcs. Come on in! Have a seat, you look new around here, must be hungry. What'll you have?"

Within the stand you can see another man and woman moving back and forth, whistling merrily as they fill the chamber with the spicy aroma of cooked meat.

Actions?

Image

Light sources: Digsby's lantern, Weeba's lantern (held by Doughty), Biddle's torch (all burning 1 turn)

Biddle Spratt, Hypnotist Extraordinaire (Wiz, ST 10/12 LK 14 DEX 10 — Adds: +2/+2) CON: 11/11
Digsby Mudfoot, Halfling Gardener (War, ST 7 LK 12 DEX 15 — Adds: +1/+4) CON: 19/20
Doughty Doughball, Halfling Cook (Rog, ST 5 LK 7 DEX 15 — Adds: -3/+0) CON: 4/16
Garrick the Fortunate, Elven Archaeologist (Wiz, ST 7 LK 17 DEX 12 — Adds: +3/+3) CON: 9/9
Spindlethrash, Halfling Ne'er-do-well (War, ST 5 LK 13 DEX 18 — Adds: +3/+9) CON: 32/32
Weeba Zortz, Warrior in Triplet (War, ST 13 LK 10 DEX 17 — Adds: +6/+11) CON: 9/10

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Re: The Adventure Begins

#167 Post by Khaboom »

"Why, that's most civilised!" Biddle smiles. "Thank you, sir. I'll have a sherry please. Tell me about this establishment, if you would be so kind. I know what you mean about pesky orcs!"

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Re: The Adventure Begins

#168 Post by coffee »

Weeba looks at the menu board, if any, but he also scans the rest of the chamber for any threats.

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Re: The Adventure Begins

#169 Post by Rusty Tincanne »

Doughty smiles at the offer, and before anyone is the wiser, he is behind the man, in the kitchen, asking questions about spices, seasonings and sauces used in this part of the world. He makes small talk as he does so, As the man says, orcs are rough around the edges. Lacking manners, but what can you do?

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Re: The Adventure Begins

#170 Post by Starbeard »

Day 1, Afternoon (still turn 7)

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The man taps his finger to his brow and says, "Jocular Joey, at your service." He points to the sign, where you can see a menu painted:

Rat-on-a-Stick!
Jocular Joey, Fancy Francine & Wizardly Walt, Proprietors

Code: Select all

EATS                                  DRINKS
Rat (plain, fried, or seasoned)       Rat-o-Ade™ on a stick…         4sp
    …on a stick              4sp      Rat beer on a stick…           8sp
    …on a big stick          8sp      Rat sherry on a stick…        12sp
    …on a really big stick  12sp      
Stepping out of the stand, another man—Wizardly Walt, by the look of his pointy hat—comes out and hands Biddle a sherry, plus a handwritten bill for 12sp. "It isn't quite like the stuff you get back home in Quendor, but you won't find any better here in the Eastlands."

Fancy Francine hangs out the window and waits for Weeba to make his order. "I'll make the menu easy for you, handsome. They're all rats. But good rats." Swatting Doughty away from the frying vats, she adds, "Hey, don't touch that unless you've come to fix it." Wizardly Walt intervenes and herds Doughty over to the spice cupboard, where he proudly introduces the hobbit to the curious scents and tastes of Eastland green peppercorn, honkleroot, and pickled vadoosh.

The proprietors happily take orders from the party, having not seen any other Quendorians in several months. With the succinct clarity of a group who has had to explain their presence many times before, the trio inform you that they too were once adventurers from the Old World, hired out to explore this strange new continent. After stumbling upon the deeds to a Rat-on-a-Stick franchise, they have hung up their spurs and entered the lucrative world of dungeon cuisine.

Actions?

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Light sources: Digsby's lantern, Weeba's lantern (held by Doughty), Biddle's torch (all burning 1 turn)

Biddle Spratt, Hypnotist Extraordinaire (Wiz, ST 10/12 LK 14 DEX 10 — Adds: +2/+2) CON: 11/11
Digsby Mudfoot, Halfling Gardener (War, ST 7 LK 12 DEX 15 — Adds: +1/+4) CON: 19/20
Doughty Doughball, Halfling Cook (Rog, ST 5 LK 7 DEX 15 — Adds: -3/+0) CON: 4/16
Garrick the Fortunate, Elven Archaeologist (Wiz, ST 7 LK 17 DEX 12 — Adds: +3/+3) CON: 9/9
Spindlethrash, Halfling Ne'er-do-well (War, ST 5 LK 13 DEX 18 — Adds: +3/+9) CON: 32/32
Weeba Zortz, Warrior in Triplet (War, ST 13 LK 10 DEX 17 — Adds: +6/+11) CON: 9/10

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Re: The Adventure Begins

#171 Post by coffee »

Weeba orders two fried, on a stick, and one beer on a stick (he's not sure how that will work, but is willing to give it a try).

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Re: The Adventure Begins

#172 Post by Khaboom »

"Do you have anything other than rat, if I might enquire?" Biddle asks, sniffing involuntarily.

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Re: The Adventure Begins

#173 Post by ClockworkPoltergeist »

After surveying the vicinity for a few moments to ascertain if there were anything out of the ordinary or otherwise caught his interest - aside of the presence of an open-air-market food vendor in the tunnels of the Eastlands - Digsby steps forward. He nudges Biddle as he steps near the counter, "One of the lessons we learned during the Great Dire Weasel Uprising: eat when you have the chance. You never know when, where or what your next meal may be." The halfling nods to Jocular Joey, "I'll take a pair of big sticks, fried, and a Rat Beer, please." Digsby takes a seat with his back as near to the wall as he can make it so he can stay alert and observe the rest of the area. "I'm curious, have you found it to be true that the denizens of this land actually like the granola from Antharia? A great part of our mission is to locate new markets and facilitate introductions with our distributors."

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Re: The Adventure Begins

#174 Post by Rusty Tincanne »

Bandy asks to smell and taste some of the spices, concentrating on spices that would go well with granola. He also orders two big rat-on-a-sticks, and a Sherry.

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Re: The Adventure Begins

#175 Post by Starbeard »

Day 1, Afternoon (turn 8)

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Fancy Francine whips up two rats and a beer each for Weeba and Digsby, plus an order of rats and sherry for Doughty, all on a stick. The beverages take awhile to get the hang of, but soon they are able to drink without dribbling on themselves.

"Rats and just rats on the menu, I'm afraid, but don't knock it till you try it," Wizardly Walt explains to Biddle and Digsby. "The monsters of this country really only eat rats and granola. They love granola, don't ask me why. But granola mines don't occur naturally here, so whatever we'd sell has to be shipped in from the Old World."

Jocular Joey, who seems like the businessman of the group, seems quite interested in what Digsby has to say. "If you can supply us with granola, we'd be happy to buy. We'd be the first granola retailers in this part of the Eastlands. We'd make a killing! How does 1 gold piece a crate sound?"

The party continues to munch on fried and seasoned rats, which are surprisingly tasty, as far as vermin go. Doughty considers honkleroot the superior spice, and believes it could go well with granola in a variety of ways.

Soon you are sated and feel up for anything. Joe and Walt wipe off the tables and make small talk about the current standings in the Antharian Shark Wrestling leagues.

(Washing down a rats heals 1 CON, big rats 2 CON, once a day.)

Actions?

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Light sources: Digsby's lantern, Weeba's lantern (held by Doughty), Biddle's torch (all burning 2 turns)

Biddle Spratt, Hypnotist Extraordinaire (Wiz, ST 11/12 LK 14 DEX 10 — Adds: +2/+2) CON: 11/11
Digsby Mudfoot, Halfling Gardener (War, ST 7 LK 12 DEX 15 — Adds: +1/+4) CON: 20/20
Doughty Doughball, Halfling Cook (Rog, ST 5 LK 7 DEX 15 — Adds: -3/+0) CON: 8/16
Garrick the Fortunate, Elven Archaeologist (Wiz, ST 7 LK 17 DEX 12 — Adds: +3/+3) CON: 9/9
Spindlethrash, Halfling Ne'er-do-well (War, ST 5 LK 13 DEX 18 — Adds: +3/+9) CON: 32/32
Weeba Zortz, Warrior in Triplet (War, ST 13 LK 10 DEX 17 — Adds: +6/+11) CON: 10/10

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Re: The Adventure Begins

#176 Post by Rusty Tincanne »

Doughty checks his belongings for a pre-printed contact for the rat vendors to sign.We can get you the granola, but 1 gold piece or crate seems hardly work it on our end. We've got to mine it, crate it, ship it, then lug it down here, past a trip, a magic fox and orcs. I'm thinking 10 gold per crate sounds more fair. He makes it clear he needs his companions thoughts before anything is signed. He also asks for directions to get back to the docks, certain there must be a more direct route.

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Re: The Adventure Begins

#177 Post by ClockworkPoltergeist »

Digsby listens to the proprietors interest and Doughty's counter-offer. "Honestly, gents, and lady," he nods to Fancy Francine, "I was thinking it might work to everyone's advantage to negotiate a percentage, say 15% of the negotiated price, as a kind of finder's fee to introduce you to our distributors. This gratuity would be in force for, say, the first year of your relationship with them. Whatever your order, large or small in that first year, our finders fee stays the same." He looks around the table, "We don't need to be greedy, our primary duty is to scout the tunnels for his majesty and secondarily locate new markets for him. The more markets we find, the more in our pockets."

The halfling continues eating his rat-on-a-stick, gnawing as he gets closer to the actual stick. "I don't think we ever figured it out, is anyone mapping the tunnels we've been going through?" The shoveller looks around, surveying the group, "Has anyone seen Garrick recently? I don't recall seeing him since the teeter-totter room."

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Re: The Adventure Begins

#178 Post by coffee »

Weeba shakes his head at the talk of commerce, smiling. He just enjoys his meal and waits until the others have concluded their talks.

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Re: The Adventure Begins

#179 Post by Khaboom »

Biddle offers to draw up a contract. "I once thought about training as a lawyer. They generally do pretty well for themselves. I swotted up on it but decided that it would be more profitable if I turned my talents towards the more penetrative arts. At any rate, I know how to turn a water-tight phrase!"

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Re: The Adventure Begins

#180 Post by Rusty Tincanne »

At The mention of "penetrative arts" Doughty snickers. Then catches a glimpse of Spindlethrash and blushes remembering the halfling's comments about the orcs.

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