The streets of Desorcy, capital of Arvadarre, are bustling today.  Not that this is unusual: Arvadarre is  a merchant nation, and Desorcy is the hub of its trade empire.  Currently led by Grand Marque Traydelle LaChyse, an elven woman of considerable skill and renown, the nation has had few major problems of late, though fighting with its neighbors (especially Joquill and Wruthfell) does break out from time to time.

It is to this city that the lot of you have come.  Perhaps you're Arvadarrean natives, or perhaps you come from elsewhere on the continent.  Regardless, fate has brought you together here, to this grand city, on a chilly spring day.  As your unusual band walks the streets, you see merchants hawking their wares, government officials and messengers running to and fro, and hears the bells of local temple ring out.  You even spy a preacher extolling the praises of Kryssenthe, a supposed goddess-in-flesh, whose temples have been springing up rapidly across the Western Realm over the last couple of years.  Most scoff at such nonsense, but a few people stop to listen, apparently intrigued by the idea of a god who has not distanced herself from Aquilae the way the others have.

But for you, that's mostly a distraction.  You've come to the city to put your lives on the line to strike it rich.  Now you just need to find some work...

Rather than starting in media res, I'm going to do this properly and let you plot your own course.  Since you're looking for work, why doesn't everyone (at least, everyone with an approved character sheet) give me either a Charisma check or a Perception check to dig up some rumors and job opportunities.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:53, Sun 21 May 2023.

In reply to GM Maleketh (msg # 1):

Tamlan came into Desorcy filled with a mix of fear and hope. There was fear that the people here might reject him as his home village had done, and hope that coming here would give him the chance to find a new life and fulfill his ambition to become true Beast Master. His cat Wat stalked at his heels, alert for challenges from the local creatures.
As he came through the gates and followed the streets full of market stalls, he looked about with curiosity. He had come to the city before, but only with his father Tamric and only on specific errands which allowed little time for learning the ways of the city.
Now he was seeking a job, he kept his ears open for talk of places that might need skills -- stables that might need another stableboy, groom or horsebreaker, a huntsman who might need help with his pack of hounds, a noble's zoo that might need an assistant keeper, a store selling exotic pets that might need help tending the stock. But although he was willing to take what he could get to begin with, he was particularly interested in the chance for travel beyond the city -- a merchant needing someone to tend the mules of his train or the oxen that drew his wagons along the road, or especially an expedition heading out into the forest that might need his knowledge of the beasts that dwelt there. He hoped that some day he would find a fierce and loyal animal companion, and the great beasts of the forest were more likely choices than the creatures of the city. His shy but friendly rustic manners seemed to win him welcome from the city folk. As the day went on, he began to pick up some hints that seemed worth following up...

His search also led him to meet several others likewise seeking jobs in the city, and as they accepted him as a partner in the job search, he began to try to find some kind of commission that they could work together to fulfill.

OOC: I chose a Charisma ability check because Tamlan's Charisma is better than his Perception. His Charisma is +1, so I rolled d20+1 and got 19. I take it this should be a positive result.
I was not sure whether he had met the rest of the party yet. I revised this after I was told we had actually met.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:41, Sun 21 May 2023.

Keeping an eye out, that's what he was doing, for had he not been given just such a charge?

Well?

Well not really. He didn't really know for sure. The whole inaugural festivities process and the amount of pomp and ceremonial wine involved, well... well it was all kind of a blur now, and poor Quel found himself in the capitol with only the vague notion of having been assigned a quest, but having absolutely no recollection of what it was!

No matter, he was determined, and that had to count for something! He'd remember, sooner or later. He was quite sure of this.

Just had to pay close attention in the meantime, for many was the opportunity if only one knew where and how to look for it!


Quel the Questor rolled 3 using 1d20-1.  Perception. Yeah! Way to kick things off!

"Well, old chum, you're in a proper pickle now. Jobless. Nearly copper-less," a somewhat dumpy middle-aged man muttered to himself as he walked about the streets of the capital in search of work.

Absentmindedly, he retrieved an old apple, long past the bloom of its youth, and munched on it, his face remaining impassive during his idle mastication, its expression not even changing when the path of his biting crossed the brownish, mushy regions.

"And tasteless," he wryly noted to himself. And that was the problem for a former taster of poison.

10:52, Today: Hexus rolled 1 using 1d20.  Perception check.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:36, Sun 21 May 2023.

Tamlan eyed the two he had met so far cautiously. They did not seem likely to be generous patrons --more likely poor fellow-adventurers. Well, adventuring in a party was safer than going out alone...He said, "Well, here we are in the great city. Does anybody know a  good cheap tavern --or at least, a really cheap one, where we could get acquainted over a pitcher of sour ale?"
This message was last edited by the player at 01:46, Sun 21 May 2023.

"Ugh. No. Ne-ver-a-gain... may the Ecclesiarchy outlaw such swill forever!" Quel shuddered.

Seeing his companions' looks, he added soberly, "I had a bad experience."

"Besides, If we go sit in some smelly tavern, we won't be out looking, and if we're not looking, then we won't be finding!"

In the back of his mind, the Quest was always pushing itself to the fore, relentlessly and with a will. At least one of his lazy eyes seemed to always be on the lookout for it, the clue which would jostle his memory.

Quel rubbed at the end of his nose absently as he looked around. The bulbous beak was too large for his face, or perhaps his eyes were too close together. His ruddy complexion was enhanced by a set of sideburns that any self-respecting halfling would be proud of. His gait, his stance, his bearing, his movements... everything about him was just... awkward. He was also quite short for a human, something of a runt in fact.

He glanced around the streets as if expecting something big was going to happen at any moment.

15:19, Today: Ospbo i Nen rolled 15 using 1d20.  Perception.

You may smoke again when you find work, Ospbo assures himself as he hustles, trying to ignore the shakes.  Tobacco costs money.  You need money.  Keep lookin’, hoss.

Yet he fears his pointed ears may make it difficult for him to find work.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:25, Sun 21 May 2023.

Tamlan takes to asking around town, using his natural charm to question the locals directly.  He hears a couple of promising leads.  The first is that a small hamlet east of Desorcy, Evrard, is concerned about a gang of bandits holed up in an abandoned church nearby.  The second is that another small hamlet to the south, nestled in the forest, has been harassed by goblins of late, and the governor is offering a bounty for goblin ears.



Quel doesn't pick up any job opportunities, but he does hear an interesting rumor: "It’s said that those who travel in solitary ships in the northern bay are likely to be attacked and raided by Wruthfell navies."  There's probably not much your group can do with this information, but it might be worth filing away for later.



Hexus makes an effort to try and listen in on some local gossip to catch wind of rumors and job opportunities, but only hears a rumor about his mother's sexual proclivities.



Ospbo listens around and hears a rumor about the same ruined church Tamlan learned about: That the structure is actually a gateway to another, darker world, one full of monsters and treasure.  He also hears a rumor that Arvadarre is not necessarily at peace as it might seem, and that several terrible blackguards lair within its borders.  Details are sparse, but it seems like helpful knowledge.

Those of you who failed (Quel and Hexus) should be sure to mark the Failure column on your sheets for the abilities you rolled.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:39, Mon 22 May 2023.

Tamlan tells his new companions "I've heard that a small hamlet east of Desorcy, Evrard, is concerned about a gang of bandits holed up in an abandoned church nearby. Another lead is that another small hamlet to the south, nestled in the forest, has been harassed by goblins of late, and the governor is offering a bounty for goblin ears.
For myself, I tend to favor trying for Evrard. At least the ruined church is a specific target, better than just wandering around in the forest looking for stray goblins. Mind you, I also like hunting in forests, and I'm willing to go for goblins if you all like that option."

One of Quel's eyes twitched to the left for a brief instant. He had been about to voice his thoughts, but felt compelled to check with the Quest first. After a moment he simply shook his head, for neither choice seemed wrong.

"Snuffing banditry seems more noble than winging packs of runts..." He grunted. His own stature didn't really leave him much room to talk.

"Could be they've got a lair of some sort, filled with gems and coins and pastries!" This last was followed up with, "I know they're probably drying out, all the more reason to hurry!"

Without even having consciously chosen to do so, the former taster of poison had fallen in with fellow job seekers. Before long, they were a proper little band. It was as if they'd been banding together for years.

Not wishing to complicate matters and finding the matter of "goblin ears" to be distasteful (not that he would ever get to sample their taste), Hexus sets his sights on the church along with the others.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:21, Wed 24 May 2023.

“Pastries?  How exciting,” Ospbo mutters as he slowly, carefully packs his pipe.  No need to know his ‘alignment language’ to translate the sarcasm.  “I vote for church.”

Here comes your reward, big guy, he thinks as he lights the pipe.

Elsewhere in the city, a religious scholar does some digging of his own.  Like Tamlan, he catches wind of the goblin ear bounty in Evrard.  He also learns a bit about the ruined church, discovering that it was active until about 10 months prior, when raiders from Joquill made landfall and destroyed it during a skirmish with Arvadarrean soldiers.

"There you are!" Sif calls out to his odd group of companions.

"I found out that the church near Evrard is apparently the home to a group of bandits. And, there's a bounty on goblin ears at a little hamlet to the south.

The church was ruined when Joquil raiders destroyed it, about 10 months ago."

Sif's triumphant smile wanes, when he realises that most of what he explained was already known.


Sif rubs his hand over his high forehead and the thinning hair above it. "Bloody hot today, don't you think? The church might be easier to find, but we would face thinking men who are entrenched in the building.

But, if that's the consensus, so be it."

Tamlan says "I never heard that bandits were thinking men. But the news about when the church was ruined is useful. Apparently it is not an ancient ruin of the type that usually boasts as fearsome reputation."

"As long as the Joquilis have moved on and the bandits are simply bandits and not raiders, I see nothing to fear. We're a resourceful bunch, intelligent, well-organized, and quite good-looking. Shan't be a problem to cleanse the church, at least to my mind."

Ospbo takes a puff of rich black smoke into his mouth, then blows it out.  "Never could make a ring.  One of my many tragic flaws." He gazes into the burning weed as though searching for his lost soul.  "So when do we head out?  I say the sooner the better."