The three men grinned like children overlooking gifts under a christmas tree. This was their first big break, the first solid lead. "So uh... what are the chances of us just walking out of here with that book?" Jehan stated, breaking the happy mood.

"I mean," he continued, looking around, "there are books here, we could put it in a bundle of books to purchase, but surely she would noticed the his name on the cover... What do you think. You two distract the woman whilst I stow it away under my shirt and say something along the lines of, 'Greg needs more water, ill be back' or something of the sort and hide it in our cart? Or perhaps the more noble approach and ask if we could take it, trying to unwravel the web of that shrouds this not-as-it-seems town." Holding the book in his his hands, he look at his two friends.

"Personally, im up for the first, I havent stolen anything in a while. Could be good practice. But its a majority vote here, I wont want to exclude your opinions. I value them most highly."
This statement took the two men off guard, it wasnt often Jehan showed signs of being... Well a human with emotions or relationship ties, anything other than wooing a strange woman. He treated these men like brothers, it was rare for them to see this side of him. It slipped out occationally.

A large grin creeps across Eike's face at Jehan's idea. He makes eye contact with Jehan then Zoltan, "Let's save ourselves time and money here and just grab it. I've got some pretty quick hands too." After taking a moment to weigh their options he speaks up again, "It may be stealing but at least it's for a good cause this time."

EIke takes a moment to think of other ideas and converses with his companions. While examining the staff in his hand he suddenly has an idea. He looks over to Jehan with a grin on his face, "When the old man turns away, slip that journal to me and I can hide it under my robe." He then looks over to Zoltan, but not before Zoltan catches Eike glancing at the stools that were knocked over on their last visit. "Zoltan, just go walk over by those stools real quick and we can get out of here."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:31, Sat 10 Oct 2015.

Zoltan could almost laugh at his pounding heart. The excitement from finding that false bottom really got his blood pumping.

"I mean, it's not like the old man knows it's here," he suggested with a shrug at his companions. "He won't be missing any stock, so therefore, he won't be losing out on any coin."

He caught Eike's glance and almost sighed but instead silently shook his head in shame knowing the burden he must take on to ensure the plan's success. With a deep inhale, he puffed out his chest and casually browsed over a few shelves before 'accidentally' hooking his foot on one of the stools again, causing him and the stool to fall down with a clatter. He groaned, "not again," as he started to push himself back up with a slightly pained face. The accident was staged. But that doesn't mean falling on the ground doesn't sting a little.

Furniture for sale occupied half the space of the General Store floor, creating a maze of narrow walkways between the tables, stools, shelves, and other household things. A child could have a lot of fun ducking in and out of these artificial valleys while their mothers browsed for what they needed, though always keeping an eye on their progeny in the hope they didn't hurt themselves (often in vain). And like any mountain pass with its precarious rock croppings on high ridges, where there persisted that ever present danger of an avalanche; so too did the General Store have its towering stacks of stools and chairs and others things primed to bury a clumsy passerby. Zoltan was that passerby.

At least this time it was deliberate. Zoltan bumped into a tower of stools – ironically the exact same one he collapsed an hour or two past – and they, along with himself, timbered onto the ground with a clamour.

The old man behind the counter, who had been lost in a listless reverie, seeing some memory of his youth only visible to his eyes, jolted out of his daze and out from behind the counter. He hustled in a kind of elderly shuffle to where Zoltan was slowly sitting up, still on the ground. "Huh?..Wuh?" the old man spoke in a dry sounding voice, shocked that the same stools would fall twice in one day - and by the same person no less! He seemed both concerned and confused, like a groggy person who was just woken from a nap. "Are you ok? These stools... I must really put them somewhere else!"

Meanwhile, Eike and Jehan stood only a couple aisles over at the rear of the room, hovering over the dark desk with Manual Keirch's journal inside. Jehan nudged Eike with his elbow, encouraging him with bad habits, of which a certain Paladin would frown. But perhaps that's what made it fun? Now was the opportunity!
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:19, Fri 16 Oct 2015.

A light snort erupted from Johan. Zoltan was always the one to take one for the team, even at the expense of the way people would view him. Along with the elbow the bard delivered to Eike, the sorcerer felt something else deep in the sleeve of his robe. The journal.

[Jehan Roux rolled 20 Slight of hand, Slip book on Eike's person.]

With a wink, Jehan whispered, "Get that to the cart, ill help give you some cover." As soon as he finished, the bards face slowly changed to that of worry, and fear. Somehow forcing himself to sweat a little bit. Quite impressive really. As quickly as he could he ran around the corner, as if he had no idea what happened, only hearing a harsh crash and grunt from Zoltan. As he slid around the corner, he and the large fighter made eye contact as the old storekeeper tried to help him up. "What did you do to him?!" Shouted Johan at the storekeeper as if he attacked his friend. "Explain yourself! And dont give me the whole 'oh he simply tripped again'. Nobody does that. What are you trying to pull on us here? Just because we're new you think you can walk all over us? NOT TODAY!" While he shouted, he walked closer to the older man, raising his voice in intencity, bordering rage. Inside, he was laughing as well as feeling almost bad for acting this way with full knowledge of what was happening...


What could he say? He hadn't had a chance to act in quite some time. Zoltan on the floor, Johan advancing toward the 'hostile' store owner. This would be the time for Eike to get the book outside to the cart.

Though a Certian Paladin might frown on their shenanigans, he may be impressed with their 'on the fly' teamwork.

[Should the store keeper be confused at johans outburst and speak up for himself, saying he had nothing to do with what happened, the bards attitude slowly changes and eventually leads to an apology, claiming they have been taken advantage of before and is "sorry for his outburst", to reestablish positive relationship]
This message was last edited by the player at 01:41, Sat 17 Oct 2015.

Eike takes hold of the journal as he feels it in his possession. He starts swiftly walking towards the door, but at the sound of Jehan's shouting he stops for a moment and turns his attention to the old man. After taking a moment he lowers his head while shaking it in response to Jehan's out burst.

Once he's out the door Eike makes his way to Greg and their cart. Before putting the journal into the chest takes a quick look at it while he waits for his companions to make their... escape.

Zoltan groaned as he slowly pushed himself to stand up again. "I'm sorry, it was my mistake," he said the the shop owner. "And perhaps another location would help...."

He stood and rubbed his butt as Jehan came and started shouting. Zoltan looked terribly confused. "Easy now, it was my clumsiness that caused it," he put his hands out with a gesture for him to calm down. He glanced around to see if Eike was still in the building and to make sure no other customers were watching.

Stools cluttered the main aisle of the general store, with Zoltan sitting among them. Slowly he stood up from the ground. Although the accident was fake, the pain in his ass was very real; wood floors hurt to land on, staged or not. He rubbed his behind as the Old Man stood in utter confusion. Then, Jehan turned the corner. Taking one glance at the scene, he began yelling at the shopkeeper, accusing him of attacking his companion. Though it was all a trick of course, and a particularly mean one!

Frightened, the Old Man struggled with his words, "Huh?.. I.. no. I didn't. He did... you know!" Zoltan at least had a sense of pity and duly explained that preposterous accusation away. Jehan immediately changed to a tone of apology and understanding. And all this seemed to only fluster the Old Man even more.

But needless to say, they were just buying time – time for Eike to exit out the front door with Manual Keirch's journal in hand – which he promptly did. Seeing their heist successfully pulled off, they bade the Old Man a final apology for the mess and a farewell, and both hastened out the door, leaving the Old Man in his confusion. Although they didn't know it, the Old Man would end up standing there for 20 more minutes trying to figure things out, only to end up forgetting all about it when the elderly Ms. Yurich came in to pick up her medicine – who he had a huge crush on.

Outside, the adventurers met up with Eike by Greg and the cart. Eike took the book out of his sleeve in triumph – their first successful heist – and like all accomplished heists, they reveled; and pressured Jehan for a song!

While Jehan thought of one up, Eike opened the journal. It was time to reap the fruit of their labor. As they flipped through the pages, they noted that most of the book was actually rather boring; Manual Keirch wrote mostly about mundane affairs at the Iron Mines where we worked as foreman, his opinions on the state of politics, and whatever else entertained his fancy – he was very philosophical in many matters. It wasn't until the last few pages that things started to become unusual... A few excerpts from the entries stood out.


This message was last edited by the GM at 16:46, Sun 18 Oct 2015.

An overly zelous grin was slapped across Jehans face, being his first high-stakes heist was a success. The other two raised an eyebrow at the bard. "Okay okay I know, I didnt need to be that harsh, belligerent or for lack of a better word, ridiculous." he said raising his hands in his defense, "I just really really wanted his attention off of Eike as he make his escape. Spur of the moment. Sue me." He said lowering his hands with a shrug, "It worked didnt it?"

The group studied the pages, coming along the last few enteries, the party scratched their heads. The constant building riff Jehan was practicing on his Lute didnt help them think much... pacing behind Eike and Zoltan, Jehan peered a curious eye over between the shoulders of the men. "Something... something blah blah 'has secret box behind' blah... 'must get'." The two looked over with eyes of curiosity as well as slight anger that it came so quickly to the flighty musician. "What?" he said, stopping abruptly. "The little words are easy, so many combinations you can make with three letters... sheesh..." He gently wrapped his beloved instrument in a blanket and tucked it safely away in the chest like a child going down for their nap. "The bigger words are up to you guys. I only have enough creative juices to flow to one thing at a time. Now im trying to work up a song... to sing a bit further away from a store we just robbed maybe?" He added with a chuckle.

A small group of women passed by, and Jehan made no attempt to hide his gawking. He leaned on the crate as suave as possible and gave one of the women a wink. "Okay, maybe I have enough creative juices to work on more than one thing at a time" he said slowly turning his head with a devious smile, "Im just selective that way."

With a sudden jolt, his 'Suave' elbow slipped off the cart, causing him to spin awkwardly around. Somehow, he managed to catch himself and make it look as if it were on purpose. With a cough, he approached the men again, "Perhaps we aught give those floorboards a visit, eh?"

With an equally zealous grin, Eike proceeds to go in for a high five with Jehan as he makes his way back to EIke. "It sure did work! I don't think the pruney old man even saw a hair of me. Good work guys!" Trying to stifle his laughter once again just remember Zoltan and the stools, "What I wouldn't give to see you fall over those stools again."

Returning to the journal that he has already been looking over for the last minute, "So it looks like there was some kind of embezzling   or stealing going on with the mines. It could go as high as the Baron himself, but I wonder what someone might be taking money from the mines for. Let alone would be worth killing someone over."

That last entry in the journal is what the real mystery is. Speaking to himself, "has secret box. must get." To the others, "So someone else has the box? Maybe someone else found it? I do agree, we should check out those floorboards."

In reflection to the kind of conspiracy they might be getting into, Eike has a few more thoughts on how prepared he really is, "It might do me good to try to grab a crossbow for us. I have a feeling that things might get a little messy." At the fear of not sounding over confident, "I mean I don't want to just end a fight too quickly using my incredible powers, and not let you guys have any fun."

"I'll let you two.." He catches Jehan's jaw open at the passing women. "Uh... I'll let Zoltan see if he can figure out that coded part while I head back in to see if the old man sells any crossbows"

Eike walks back into the store to the old man. Attempting to act flustered, "Woah! Those two fellows, they seemed quite odd rushing our of here. That one was a giant! Are you alright sir?" After trying to act as concerned and confused as the man himself he hopes the man did not recognize him. "It looks like you have a little bit of everything for sale here, do a have any crossbows? Actually a light crossbow by chance?"

Zoltan couldn't help but laugh as well at the two men. "Yeah you done good, boys!" he gave them each a hearty pat on the back as if they were his own children, praising them for good school grades. "While it was at the cost of my behind," he said rubbing his butt. "It was well worth it. But you're not getting my anywhere near those stools anytime soon," he added giving Eike a nudge with his elbow.

"And yes, a crossbow would be good. You might need something to protect yourself if you 'incredible powers' somehow don't don't come through for us," he said with a playful roll of his eyes.

He took hold of the journal and first flipped through a number of the entries before settling in on the last one. While waiting for Eike to return and Jehan to stop staring at the women, he worked through the code and put the last pieces together and ended up with "Learned Baron Anton (guessing) has secret box behind portrait. must get."

"Hm, for a guy trying to save his hide with a code, he should have picked a harder one... it took us a matter of minutes. Oh well I suppose that might be why he's dead... or at least why he's missing one of his hands."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:16, Mon 19 Oct 2015.

Three women were passing by the cart, whom Jehan gawked at brazenly. Two of them were a little old for him (and probably married) in their early thirties, but one, a youthful twenty year old wearing a blue shawl and brown dress – and not bad looking either - gave him a little wave with her fingers. They continued on their way. Jehan was smitten. And suddenly all that came to his mind were love songs.

While Jehan was in another world, Zoltan finished unraveling the encrypted journal entry. He thought it was easy. Easy huh? Well, let me tell you buster - the next one won't be! Err... Where was I?.. Ah-

But it was an earlier entry of the journal that seemed both more curious and more pressing. 'Hidden under the floorboards...' While they deliberated on this next course of action, Eike decided he needed a little more firepower, and so, re-entered the General Store where the Old Man stood in a confused daze. It wasn't until Eike gave him a little shake on the shoulder that he snapped out of it. Heck, he probably could've robbed him blind if he hadn't!

The Old Man came to. "Huh?..Oh.. You, you're back. Crossbow? Yes, I think I have one here." Moving in his elderly shuffle, he slowly moved back behind the counter and pulled out a light crossbow from the lower shelves. "This was Robert's ol hunting crossbow, yes. Sold it to me two weeks ago. Triggers a little stiff but it works alright I think. Huh?..How much?.."

Charisma Check {Eike} ~ "...Oh, 25 gold for you son. Good to see the young people hunting these days. Village tradition you know. I got some stories, yes, but you don't want to hear those I don't think..."

"Oh and you'll need bolts too, right son? 7 silver for 10 of em is fine. Remember not to drink while your out there. Don't want to shoot some traveler by mistake. Happened to Joncan way back – poor guy – took a bolt to his arse and could never quite sit right after that..." He pulled out a couple of bolt quivers. Eike relished the weapons in front of him. Sharp-pointy objects, that were about to be his.

While Zoltan sat next to the cart, Jehan rested his elbows on the mans burly left shoulder, hands cradling his chin as he saw the lovely young woman walk past and out of his sight. The bards weight wasnt enough to cause the much larger man any discomfort. With a slight sigh, he tapped the top of zoltans head with his hand. "Hey, what rhymes with 'bewitched'?" Zoltan rolled his shoulder, sending the bard down to the ground. While he found the sound of the mans impact in the dirt enchanting, he was too busy with the book to laugh. "Huh?" He asked, clearly not listening to the flirtatious fellow. Quickly popping up to his feet as if nothing had happened, he dusted himself off, broken of his trance. "Nevermind, thinking out loud." he said as he sat next to Zoltan, re-reading its pages.

"Seems kinda obvious what we should do then now right?" he posed, "Floorboards gotta go - With the owner of the buildings permission of course." he added with an eyeroll. "Maybe after we find out what that is, we can pull a serious heist on the barron... Behind his portrait." Jehan tightened his miscellaneous belts which held his weapons and small pouches in place. He looked around the small town. Lovely place. He then looked into the window of the store they had just caused a small scene in and saw the shopkeeper handing Eike a crossbow to inspect. "Ah shit..." He mumbled... good feeling melting away. "What do you think the odds are he would know how to use that? If he shoots me, im going to-... well be pretty upset, but then end up milking his emotions to get as much out of him as possible." he added, good feelings returning as a smile began to brighten up his face

"Did you see how she waved at me though? Thats definatly a good sign. I am so in." With his hands on his hips, it wasnt hard to see that the bard was rather proud  of himself.

With a silent turn of the head, Jehan began to walk down the city road. "Im going to go ahead of you two to Rosie's. I dont wanna be near that guy with a projectile weapon." He said in reference to Eike. The bard put his hands in his pockets and whistled a tune as he walked to the floorboards that seemed to be screaming his name, almost oozing with curiosity, he marched on. Before not too long, he spun on his heel to shout to Zoltan, "Oh and if he doesnt shoot you, dont let him point it at me!" A moment of silence passed, and he continued with a follow up thought "Well, if he does make sure he kills me, Or else I just might return the pointy favor!" He added with a chuckle, turning back as he walked down the road patting his rapier.

[At the moment, he looked rather playful and carefree - The bard kept an eye out for strangers that seemed to follow them, or show up often in case they were being spied on]
This message was last edited by the player at 16:13, Tue 20 Oct 2015.

Excited about the price of the crossbow he gladly accepts. "That sounds great! I'll take it!" He reaches into his robe and grabs the coin for the old man. "Here you are." He put 25gp 7sp in the mans hand and takes the crossbow and bolts with a large grin across is face.

After exiting the shop and seeing Jehan still in some sort of trance, Eike shows off his new crossbow to his two companions. "Well here she is! Look how pointy it is!"

To Jehan's last comment about the girl, "Well if we ever cross paths with her I'll be sure to tell her all about you. But let us get going. Unless there is something else either of you would like to take care of first, I think we should check on those floor boards at Rosie's."

Eike checks the cart making sure everything was where it should be and hung the crossbow over his shoulder on his back. If Zoltan doesn't object then they go to Rosie's.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:51, Tue 20 Oct 2015.

"Trust me, pal, that wave was just her being polite," he chuckled as he closed the journal. He tucked it in his pocket for now and stretched his arms over his head as Eike approached.

"And right, those floorboards are simply going to have to go. Let's head back to her place." He followed Jehan down the road to the woman's house and calmly knocked on the door. When Rosie answered he simply asked if they could check out the study one more time. He didn't feel it'd be courteous to come right out with stating that they wanted to tear up the floor. He was hoping there would be a lose board that was easily removable, but he was ready to whip out a hammer and go to town on the floor.

It was a bright and sunny day. Clear blue skies stretched from one side of the valley to the other, disappearing beneath the high horizons of the cliffs. Traces of snow lined the towering edges on those rocky walls; and sometimes, when the hour of the day is right, the sun will shine through them and create dazzling displays of light in the valley below. Even in the town of Varna, built at the base of the northern cliff, despite being a mile beneath the topmost ledge, it sometimes happens that the streets are paved with rainbows. The adventurers hoped that they would catch sight of this optical majesty before the day was out. But for now, the sun lingered right above them, marking the time at midday.

Jehan walked ahead of the others in an especially cheerful mood; mainly, for the obvious reason that a girl just waved at him. It doesn't happen everyday you know. He whistled a little melody that, he hoped, would soon translate into a song that could woo his future bride. Perhaps he was getting a little carried away.

Ten paces behind him followed Eike and Zoltan, with Eike pridefully showing off his new device of destruction. His admired the glossy wooden body of the crossbow – which in truth wasn't anything special, but only seemed so by being his – and placed a bolt on the track, though only for a moment. He delighted in the sharp, pointyness of it all, a stark contrast to his usual approach to fighting, which normally involved either keeping a distance or hitting people with a stick.

Finally they approached Rosie's house once again, having left it not thirty minutes ago. They wondered if she would be at all surprised. They knocked. The door was opened almost right away by an exceedingly pretty young woman, no older than twenty, with gold colored hair tied in a pony tail. She wore a yellow dress to match. This was not someone they expected! She wasn't one of the girls they had earlier seen in the street, nor was it anyone they had seen before; nonetheless, the suddenness of it took the adventurers by surprise.

They immediately felt a surge of panic and wondered if they were at the right house! Eike, awkwardly, back away and observed where they were on the street – it was the right place. "Who are you?" the girl asked almost accusatively. As Jehan began to stutter an answer, the adventurers were then saved from their confusion by a familiar voice inside the house. "Who is it hun?" The girl turned over her shoulder and replied, "A few weird looking people." "Oh!" replied someome joyfully. "It must be those nice folk I was just telling you about." At that moment, the familiar Rosie came to the entrance, "Back so soon? Come in – don't want to stand out there all day!"

The girl retreated inside while Rosie beckoned her recent guests back in. They obliged. Once again the adventurers were inside Rosie's quaint house, their noses occupied by the scent of many herbs growing about the near window sills. The girl stood in the kitchen with her arms folded, giving the adventurers a skeptical eye, clearly more wary than Rosie regarding funny-looking strangers.

With the awkwardness passing, Zoltan proceeded to business and asked Rosie if they could have a look at the study. Rosie looked a little perplexed by the request. And the adventurers soon understood why. "Study? What study?"

Map of Rosie's House

This message was last edited by the GM at 16:31, Thu 22 Oct 2015.

The half-warm welcome was not without its troubles. Who is this new girl? Family perhaps? or maybe the group had finally began to draw the wrong sort of attention. Jehan stood for a moment, biting down on his lip.


Suddenly he snapped out of it, large smile emblazon across his face. "Miss Rosie," He began, slowly walking to the friendly woman, "We apologize to appear uninvited... again." he said, slowly making his way to her, subtly feeling the floorboards with his feet for creaks... weakness'... anything unusual. "Lovely as always," he said extending his hand to hers, kissing the back of her hand as chivalrous as he could appear to be. He turned his attention to the Herbs growing in the window. "Heh, my mother used to do this" He said, walking toward them, "I used to get picked on often for smelling strongly of Thyme and Mint." He turned to Rosie, "We were told by Henri that his brother had some sort of study. We thought it would be a nice gesture if we could find something of his to give to him. A keepsake for him if you will."

Jehan then turned his attention to the new woman in the room, though he smiled, he checked closely at her clothing, looking for a hidden weapon or anything that could deem her a threat. He walked slowly toward her, feeling the ground as he walked. "Hello miss, Im sorry we havent been introduced earlier, we came by here earlier today. Helping out another man in town in fact. Everyone is so kind to us, its quite warming to the heart." He said as he stoped a few feet away from her "Though 'weird looking' was quite cold," he said with a playful chuckle. "Also slightly hypocrtical," he said raising an eyebrow and grinning, to be obvious he was being playful, "Seeing as we have the same hairstyle. You did just half insult yourself you know." He chuckled, extending a hand toward her. "I joke of course, may I ask your name miss?"

Jehan Roux rolled 21 Slight of hand, should there be any flowers with the growing herbs, I get one unseen and hide it in my sleeve to hand to the girl with a flick of the wrist to impress her.
Jehan Roux rolled 7 Sense motive, blonde girl. Honesty/malicious intent?
Jehan Roux rolled 20 Knowledge local, who is the blonde girl?
Jehan Roux rolled 7 Search, signs of loose, or altered floorboards. The hiding place on the floor.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:00, Fri 23 Oct 2015.

While Jehan is speaking with the new girl they have just met, Eike tries to get a sense from her if she is merely an innocent bystander or if she has a different motive for being here.

10:42, Today: Secret Roll: Eike rolled 13 using 1d20.  Sense Motive (new girl); Varna.

Eike does a quick look around the room they are in before turning to Rosie,"Could you show me where Manual's room was?" {Assuming she brings me there} "Again, we're sorry for the intrusion once again, thank you for the hospitality. If you don't mind me asking, who is that girl?"

After Rosie leaves the room Eike does a thorough search to find anything out of the ordinary.

10:49, Today: Secret Roll: Eike rolled 8 using 1d20+1.  Search check; Varna.

Zoltan was quite surprised at the sight of this woman and had to collect his thoughts for a moment before determining his next move.

"I hope we aren't interrupting anything?" he said politely giving the ladies a soft smile. "And yes, that's right, we were hoping we might bring Henri something. Are there any personal affects that the dearly beloved might have left behind? He seems to be still really worried about his brother and maybe having some kind of keepsake will help ease his mind."

He had stepped inside but was still mostly in the doorway, blocking the entrance nonchalantly so the lady couldn't dash on out without another moment for their companions to try and figure her out.

"Are you two friends?" he asked still smiling.


23:32, Today: Secret Roll: Zoltan Zanderhawk rolled 17 using 1d20+1.  Sense motive on girl.

"They're not so odd looking hun," Rosie explained to the girl. "They're – you folks were actors right? - they played a lovely song when they were here; too bad you missed it! Was after they had some of the soup you helped make. They quite liked it I should mention." "Oh," the girl replied, now eyeing them more as a curiosity. She leaned against the kitchen counter and patted off some bits of chopped vegetables clinging to her yellow dress. On the counter beside her was a squash well minced.

Sleight of Hand {Jehan Roux} ~ Jehan, being suave, approached her, while discreetly plucking a flower from the potted herbs nearby. He presented it to her as though drawn from midair.

"Oh, uh, thanks," she replied, accepting it. She seemed to be deciding what to think about them, mainly between whether they were entertaining or annoying. Jehan, still suave, then inquired as to her name. "Neska," she stated, starting to lean toward 'entertaining'. Rosie addressed the adventurers, "This miss is a lovely friend of mine dearies. She's visiting from Amsley and has been staying with ol' me the past few days. Very helpful around the house, the spry young thing. She was picking up some groceries for me while you were here last."

Knowledge Local {Jehan Roux} ~ She wasn't local, Jehan concluded. He felt like he would've heard about such a golden haired beauty if she was! He noted that Amsley was a small, rural village was a few days travel from here, on the other side of the northern ridge.

Sense Motive {Eike; Jehan Roux; Zoltan Zanderhawk} ~ And nothing about her struck the adventurers as malevolent nor evil; and the only attention she gave them was as an oddity. Nonetheless when she said her name, she seemed to pause a little before saying so. Perhaps she was just being hesitant, or, perhaps she was exercising a certain creativity. It was hard to be sure. In either case, she probably wasn't too relevant to the quest at hand. Maybe, just maybe, she was another one of Varna's little secrets...

Search {Eike; Jehan Roux} ~ But despite the distracting young woman, Eike and Jehan didn't forget what they were looking for. While they walked into Rosie's home, they paid more attention this time to the floorboards beneath. However, they discerned nothing about the floorboards as unusual or odd; in fact, they seemed as ordinary as floorboards came!

Eike asked Rosie if she could show him Manual's room old room, to which she replied, "Well, his old room is my room now hun, but there's nothing of his in there anymore. And not to mention it isn't appropriate to let strange men into the bedrooms of women, married or not!" That closed off that possibility very quickly. "If you're looking for something nice for Henri, I'm afraid I've sold all of Manual's old things. It's been two years you know. But I gave most of Manual's stuff to Henri in the beginning, so I wonder why he'd be so nostalgic all of a sudden? I'll have to ask him 'bout it later I suppose."

"Who's Henri?" asked Neska. "My neighbor hun, just down the riverside," Rosie replied. "So – ah, where was I? - oh, Henri said something about a study? Odd. I don't think Manual had a study. He had his desk sure, but he kept that at his bedside. It isn't such a big house you know. I hope Henri hasn't been drinking again! It would explain all this oddness of his..."

Suddenly the adventurers saw a sharp knife out of the corner of their eye! Chop. Hastily they turned toward it. It was Neska... who had begun chopping a zucchini. That's all. The adventurers resumed feeling at ease. Maybe they were just being paranoid...
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:50, Sat 24 Oct 2015.

Eike wipes the sweat from his brow as discretely as he can. He looks over to Jean and seen the same sense of uneasiness in his face, but Zoltan didn't seemed phased. Whether it was the sense of a dead end or his paranoia, Eike made his way towards the door of the house.  He looked to Rosie and with a nod, "Again sorry for the intrusion miss. We don't mean to over stay our welcome so it's best we be on our way. Thank you for allowing us in once again."

Once they were safely back outside Eike looked to his companions, "Well that got us no where. Why don't we check out the mine where Manual worked."

If there are no objections Eike starts walking down the road and says with confidence, The mine was this way, let's get going."

Being rather skilled at manipulating others, Jehan had gotten the hang of controlling his facial expressions, to keep him out of trouble if he were to get caught red handing doing something 'bad'. It was as if even his sweat glands were trained to keep up a charade, keeping oneself from perspiring makes one appear less suspect.


His body on the other hand... was cursed with high energy, giving him quick reflexes that he had not quite gotten to master hiding yet. After the knife hit the board cutting though the vegitable, the lovely girl looked up for some reason, as if something had caught her eye. She looked over the counter and saw Rosie, Zoltan, Eike... Where was the fourth? The odd bard?

A sudden flash of gold from the other side of the counter startled her slightly. Jehan had stood up so quickly that his hair whipped from his face, around to his back again in a rather lovely arch. "Whew, that was embarrassing." He said, raising his left hand and rubbing the back of his head. "It would appear I had slipped. Mopped recently miss Neska?" He added with a chuckle.

However, what she didnt notice was the slow metallic slide and click of a sword being placed back into its sheath. Jehan had saw the metal being raised before the others and instinctively ducked on the other side of the counter, weapon partially drawn, ready to catch the lovely attacker off guard. In the short moment it took for him to do this, he made sure no eyes were on him, so as far as they knew, he did slip. His right hand remained on the hilt of his sword however, resting in a non-threatening way; but looks are deceiving. Mother always said, "Trust your instincts." Little did she know she gave that advice to a paranoid womanizer with slight anxiety issues.

A few awkward statements of 'embarrassment' followed, he pointed his attention to Rosie. "Our aplogies for the unwarrented visitation miss. Next time, well ask a few hours in advance for the honor of your presance, hows that?" he said, sharing in laughter with the woman. "If you ever need anything, we'll be in town. Just ask someone to point out the 'weirdos'." He said, hanging on the word weirdos while shooting a playful expression to Neska. "It was lovely to meet you as well miss Neska, hopefully we can meet again under better, and less surprising circumstances. Hey maybe ill play you a song." He added, giving a wave and following Eike out the door.

"Waste of time." He grumbled. "Its gotta be in the mine," he agreed with the sorcerer. "Im going with the lil bugger. Join us wont you Zoltan?" Requested the bard as he trotted off to catch up with Eike toward the mine.

Zoltan watched Neska closely with curiosity. He couldn't help but think of a number of possible identities for her. Was she also investigating the disappearance? Was she a spy for the Baron? Was she just a nice old friend of Rosie? He couldn't help but play out a few scenarios in his mind, distracting him from the rest of the house. When Jehan somehow fell down, he broke form his reverie.

"Guess I'm not the only one with two left feet," he said with a smile. "And yes, thank you for your hospitality, we should really be on our way now."

He followed his two companions on out and down the road. "Right, to the mines it is."

Neska gave the adventurers a funny look, as though confirming in her mind they were definitely wierdos. "Nice to meet you too, I think," she answered to Imbellem's overly courteous farewell. Rosie, however, smiled brightly, radiating a warm disposition. "Oh do feel free to drop in anytime. I do like visitors you know! Take care!" Cheerfully she waved as the adventurers departed out the door. Once again, they were in the streets of Varna.

Yep – a waste of time. This, they agreed on.

But Rosie's house wasn't their only prospect, for they had still yet to explore the Iron Mine where Manual Keirch worked. Deciding this looked very promising, they headed to the Mine. The Iron Mine of Varna was located on the north side of town at the base of the cliffs. Since Rosie's house was located on the riverfront, the adventurers had to walk through the whole of town to get there. But thankfully, this wasn't actually that far. It was a small town.

The adventurers traveled through the familiar town square where they passed by the Varna Inn – it was there they had their first performance. Then, they passed by the General Store. Through the big glass window, they could see the old shopkeeper with another customer – an old woman – who he appeared to be flirting with! Go get her tiger.

Leaving the town square behind, the adventurers turned onto a northbound street, and the buildings of Varna faded out very quickly. The quarter-mile between town and the Iron Mine was mostly field with bit of green forest here and there. Nobody built houses or shops in this strip of land, mainly because the town didn't own it! This area was owned by the Baron, Anton von Auspitz, who also owned the Iron Mine.


The adventurers traveled along a dirt road surrounded by waist-high grass on both sides. A little ways off to the left was a patch of forest. It was there, peaking over the tips of the trees, they could see the top of the Baron's manor – which was no doubt the biggest building in Varna. They then passed by the road leading to his estate. Perhaps, in the future, they would go down it. But for now, they continued northward to the Iron Mine.

After passing through a thin veil of trees, the adventurers reached the Iron Mine. The rocky cliffs looked staggeringly high from this vantage, extending nearly a mile into the sky. In front of the adventurers, at its base, was the entrance to the Mine itself, which was a large round tunnel that probably led to a whole network of tunnels in the cliffside. It was wide enough that several tracks for big metal carts ran side-by-side into it. The place was fairly lively. Around them, about ten or so people were going about their business. This involved unloading iron ore onto a nearby wagon, fixing a pickaxes and tools, and another still was washing his face in a bucket of water. Two men, pushing a laden cart, came out of the tunnel at this time - their faces were blackened with dust and dirt.

Beside the entrance to the Mines themselves, to the right of it, also stood a perfectly square wooden building with a pyramid-shaped roof. It was windowless and very plain looking, but on the front door was nailed a simple white sign – "Foreman's Office." The door opened and out came one of the miners. This miner had a bushy beard, and the adventurers quickly recognized him as one of the men they met earlier at Varna Inn. He went off to the water bucket to wash his face and beard.

The adventurers had made it to the Iron Mine. Now, they had to use their wits to figure out where to go from here!

As they walked the short distance to the mine, they took a time of silence, which was rare with a bard... They simply took in the scenery and looked about, taking in the beauty of it, as well as making a mental map, where as not to get lost on the way back. The others could see Jehan with his head down, lips moving, but no words coming out. Assuming he was up to working on a song about Neska, they decided to leave him alone enjoying the quiet for once.

As they came to the mine, Eike and Zoltan stopped to survey the area, Jehan still had his head down and bumped into the back of Zoltan right before muttering, "IM not weird... You're the weird one, who cooks with zuccini? Grandmothers? Weirdo-"


He looked up to see a confused Zoltan, "Sorry about that, word of my own." Without moving his feet, he arched his body to the side simply popping his head out from the side of his large companion. "Dibs" "On what?" Eike asked inquisitively, looking around, expecting to see a woman about. "No like, dibs. meaning mine. Its a mine. Get it?" Zoltan and the sorcerer both just looked at eachother. "Nevermind." Said Jehan, unphaped used to his failed attempts at 'humor'. As he spoke, he walked to the side of the road where a bucket lie and picked it up. Turning on his heel, making sure to not let the bucket touch his clothes, he walked up to Zoltan, stuck it out toward him and simply stated. "stick your hands in the bucket."

Zoltan just looked for a moment. "Oh come on ya Lilly, that was one time and the snake wasnt even that poisonous. I checked. Well, technically it bit me first, but I didnt wanna die alone. Now Lather up, buttercup." The bucket he held was dirt, simple dirt. "If something goes wrong, which it always does, you're our cover. Youre the only one who could pass as a miner out of the three of us, so if you look the part they wont question it, yeah? So we gotta get you good and dirty before we check the office."

"We come from the south, you're a miner. Sorry about your luck, but I couldnt pass as a miner if I tried. I'm Sir Maximilian, and he;" nodding at Eike, "is Leif, Right and left hand of the foreman of the southern mines record keeping and making sure things run smoothly. Making a surprise inspection, coming to 'marvel' at how theyre doing so much better at breaking rocks out of the ground and asking for advice to bring back to further our exploits in the south. You are Durumina, Miner extraordinaire, a bit of a silent type, but you are sent to explore the inside, checking for 'health hazzards'...AKA buying us time" He stood still with a goofy grin, wondering if this scheme would float past the two, arms locked, still presenting the bucket of dirt to zoltan. "Friend, pick faster, my arms are getting tired." He said as his arms began to visibly shaking. "If I blow it, you could fake a miner for a day. Maybe even get some free iron you can slip in your pockets... Or paid. Either or. Unless you have a better idea"

"Also I may or may not, but defiantly may, slap you with dirt. You gotta look authentic. So. Brace for impact."

Jehan-Sir Maximilion zoned out for a moment and chuckled. "Behold," He proclaimed to the two men, "The wisdom of my mother, shitty woman, great advisor; 'When youre knee deep in shit, or about to get caught, just keep your head forward, mouth shut, and pretend that you know what you're doing.' You get dirty, we gotta head off to the office, hopefully we can head in without snags. We just gotta walk in like we belong 'Leif'." he added with a smirk
This message was last edited by the player at 15:25, Mon 02 Nov 2015.