OOC: Opps, forgot this.

"Rowyn Kellani? Of course Sire, I will see what I can find out about her today while you are at... work."

Logan nods to Kassius.  "Huh, yes.  It seems a great many nobles are short of servants.  Or at least several I've run into in the past week.  Of course, that's not always a bad thing, depending on what you want..."  Logan trails off, the sights of the mansion registering with him after the surprise at seeing Kassius.  The rogue couldn't believe he was allowed to come into such a place.  His fingers involuntarily clenched, and it took an effort of will to stop mentally calculating the value of every object he could see.  Tessara would be aghast if he managed to save them from Shadowshore from pilfering everyone not tied down here.  No, he had learned better...

Logan's internal monologue trailed off again as he found himself studying Kassius's cat, and he cocked his head at the animal.  Does it know what I'm thinking or...  Logan shook his head again as the door chimed, and Kassius opened it to reveal Celene.  A smile replaced Logan's look of pensive worry.  "Good morning!  I wonder what the Lady Vanderboren has planned for all of us?  It must be something rather unique to gather all of us here.  I gather from last night that Alohan and Angati are also on their way?"  Logan shook his head again.  "You know, as much trouble as it is to live in Shadowshore, I think it's even more trouble to be rich.  At least they seem to have much more complicated problems.  First the, er, business we had together, then the wedding and the dopplegangers..."  Logan looked at the stairs, as if expecting their hostess to appear.  "I'm actually a little excited to see what new problems the nobility of Sasserine have found!"

At the eight chime, the native concluded he'd have to work up a sweat to make it in time. Alohan grabbed the handle, turning to Remmi before departing. "I appreciate you hoaaloha," he stated meeting his friend's eye. A moment between friends, a moment past, and Alohan was out the door.

The native cantered through Sasserine at a steady pace, looking to make the Vanderboren estate before everyone broke their fast. He was hungry and although he'd be fashionably late and Alohan had hoped he'd make it in time to meet Lavinia. Soon enough, Alohan found himself in the Merchant District deciding it was no longer proper to be running. He ceased his gallop and turned to look for the Vanderboren estate.

"Good mornin'" he said cheerily, in-between deep breaths. He waved at his companions and invited himself inside the estate.

OOC: I know we are all suffering from NPC saturation, but these are the last four I promise!

The parties friendly good-mornings are interrupted by the double doors at the far end of the room (the ones circled in red) opening. Three figures stride through the doors, talking and laughing loudly - they also have some sort of animal with them.



The first is a young male half-elf with blonde hair, dressed in leather armor and armed with a dozen daggers of different shapes held in shealths all over his body. He is also twirling a dagger in one hand while spinning a round object in the other - it becomes clear that this second object is... a wheel of cheese.



The half-elf is talking in a jaunty tone to a dark-skinned dwarf dressed in green and brown robes. The dwarf absent mindedly strokes the neck of a huge furry animal that is waddling on all fours beside him - the animal has black fur on its body mixed with white furry streaks on its head, but it is so obese that it is difficult to identify exactly what type of animal it is. The dwarf breaks out into a loud laugh. "Well at least we got breakfast!" he exclaims.



A beautiful dark-haired woman walks just behind the two men, holding a hand on each of their shoulders. She is an attractive lady, dressed in green robes covered in many bracelets and necklaces, and has a tattoo of a crescent moon on one check. Her attractiveness is somewhat marred by her haughty demeanor - when she speaks her tone is arrogant and condescending. "I think Tolin is hoping to get more than a little breakfast!" she says with a mocking laugh.



With that a fourth figure stumbles in through the doors, followed by the old halfling lady they all met the night before. Kora Whistlegap is physically pushing a handsome bearded man in out through the doors with an angry look on her face. "It was just a business proposition!" he smirks, much to the amusement of the other three people in his party who begin laughing heartily.

The four of them continue down the corridor until they reach the party. Each of them splits off and talks to one of the characters.

OOC: Except Angati because... she's old. But feel free to speak up in defence of any of the others.
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:41, Tue 02 June 2015.

"Ha! Well, good to meet somebody else who's from the 'wrong side of the grand canal'," says the half elf as he claps a friendly hand on Logan's back. "My name is Zan Oldavin and my tricky fingers hail from the Azure district. What about yourself?"

Logan feels a movement against the back of his pack. When he whirls around to look he sees that Zan has his hand inside the pack and was trying to switch the cheese with another item - Logan's thieves' tools!

14:14, Today: Secret Roll: Dungeon Master rolled 13 using 1d20+8. Zan tries to pick-pocket Logan DC20.
14:15, Today: Secret Roll: Dungeon Master rolled 14 using 1d20+8. Logan perception check to notice PP.
OOC: Damn, it would've been much funnier if he had managed it, but I promised myself I would live with the result of the dice roll. I guess your can't trick a trickster.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:48, Tue 02 June 2015.

The dwarf draws along side Kassius and stares at Kibeti with bulging eyes. "What in the name of all that is holy is that?" he says, focusing on the great cat's strange jaw and unusual bulges. He drags his own animal forward, and the creature sits back with its front legs in the air, and its huge belly flops out.

"My name is Kaskus, and let me introduce you to my animal companion, Baxtor, I got him from a place you might have heard about - NATURE!" Baxtor whines and Kaskus absent mindedly produces something from his back pocket and feeds it to him - it appears to be a large chocolate biscuit.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:42, Tue 02 June 2015.

The women stops when she is nose to nose with Celene. "I'm Liamae Teslikaria, and you must be the... flat chested... replacement for me." She moves her ample cleavage around to make the point. He accent is unusual - she is definitely from somewhere in the north and not a native of Sasserine.

"Let me give you a piece of advice kid... never work on credit, always get payment up front."
This message was last edited by the player at 12:43, Tue 02 June 2015.

The finally the bearded man reaches Alohan. He adjusts the bastard sword at his waist and then straitens his breastplate which has been polished to a silver sheen. "You're the leader of this bunch? I'm Tolin, and we're the Jade Ravens, the baddest ass adventuring group in the jungle coast!" The rest of his team back him up with a cheer.

"You know, leadership is an important responsibility," he looks down at Alohan's vest and loin cloth. "...and certainly something worth putting a shirt on for."
This message was last edited by the player at 12:49, Tue 02 June 2015.

Logan turns his pack from the newcomer and tries to inconspicuously checks that his belongings are still safe with him, even laying a reassuring hand on his new (to him) rapier.  Finally, he turns to glare at the other half-elf.  "Wrong side of the canal," the Shadowshore rogue says in a condescending voice.  "Yes, you've surely grown up a hard life, with the whalers running rampant and the occasional exotic animal getting loose from traders."  Logan sniffs.  "But let me tell you what things are like in Shadowshore.  You ever seen a man killed before you, simply because he was in the way?  Your own father crushed to death beneath a cart, and no one caring?"  Logan makes a quick motion with his hand, intending to try Zan's trick against him, but fails.  "Well, I guess you learned a few things, even if Keltar's kept you lot safer than Dractus has kept us."  Logan glares at the others, clearly not liking the new additions to the room.

13:13, Today: Logan rolled 16 using 1d20+8. Sleight of hand.

Alohan frowned more at being called the group's leader than Tolin's poor attempt at an insult. Was that how others viewed him? He sure the hell hoped not -he left Nuari to escape the pressures of leadership. He hated how the position continued to plague him.

With a delayed smile and a polite courtesy, Alohan returned the greeting. "It be a pleasure meetin' ya Tolin... and de Jade Ravens!" he began, hoping the others noticed him not indulging in their petty squabbles. "I be sure de jungle coast be better for having ya. And I assure ya Tolin, leadership is not in what ya be wearing. It be in how you treat others." He let the accusation hang, hoping their piss poor attitudes went elsewhere.

The native remained silent during Logan's rebuff, feeling the anger swell in the boy. He tried to meet his eye, hoping he'd keep a level head around those looking for any excuse to make a fool out of them. None-the-less, Logan was right. Shadowshore wasn't like anything he had ever experienced. It took a tough soul to be born and raised in such squalor.

"I am delighted to meet you, Liame, my name is Celene." Feeling slightly sorry for the woman, who apparently needed to work on her self-esteem, Celene had no mercy for bullying behaviour. "Oh, I could never hope to replace you, that's not at all within my competences, you're quite right. And I would never feel comfortable doing it for money, surely. I am sure that takes your kind of... girl."

Not sure how quick the woman in fact was, Celene continued while letting the meaning of the retort sink in. Trying to let it go there, as if saying "are we even now?", she quickly moved on to more casual chatter, albeit with a true curiosity. "Am I mistaken, or are you native to some of the Northern countries? Perhaps even the empire? I have only heard few - but fascinating - stories of the fabled empire."
This message was last edited by the player at 07:20, Wed 03 June 2015.

Angati saw no need of using her sharp tongue on Jade Ravens, her companions were doing pretty well themselves.... there was however a question, that needed to be asked, and the moment to do so was just perfect to cut everything short and hopefully turn the Jade Raven's bitterness elsewhere...

She smiled coldly as she approached Kora, and speaking loud enough to be heard by everyone she asked "So... Kora, what is the point of this coincidence ?, has it been staged to mock the Jade Ravens? That is unnecessary and bad practice...  or maybe you were actually planning on humbling us to get better pricing ?... if anything, we do not approve of seeing other adventurers that we admire treated so!!".

She paused for a second before continuing "There was no need for this meeting and I trust you have very good reasons for it, so I beg you explain to us without dwelling on this fruitless exchange any longer".

OOC: I do not like rolling my social / perception rolls myself... it feels like imposing something, so just feel free to roll or let me know when I need rolling please. Otherwise just let me know if you prefer the imposing part :)

OOC: In NPC mode



Kassius takes his time, staring at the opulent animal companion. Finally a smile appears on his face - its friendly effect ruined by his pointed incisors becoming visible either side of his mouth. "It is a badger... a giant badger," he says as he stares at the animal thoughtfully, then turns to the dwarven druid.

"Sir, I see that your animal companion is grossly fat," he says in a matter of fact way. "You need to attend to its nutrition."

OOC: Hmm, Kassius probably wouldn't have said that. Never mind.

A look of horror appears on Kaskus' face and he steps back to cover Baxtor's ears with his hands. "It's not his fault! It's glandular!" he says abruptly.

OOC: Everything is in order. You should really get Celene to cast detect magic on it some time you know...



"Woah man! Take it easy!" says the half-elf as he takes a step back and puts his hands up with palms facing outwards. "You shadowshore guys always take things so seriously. Look, keep the cheese okay!" he says, and steps back again until he is bunched with his friends.

"Ha!" laughs the woman haughtily, and she tosses her dark hair back over her shoulder. "Well, you'll learn if you continue on in this line of work. If you live long enough that is..."



"The Empire of Thyatia? Trust me it isn't that great... or fascinating. I come from Traladara, or the Grand Duchy of Karameikos as it is styled now. But one day we will be free again. I hear that Sasserine was under the Thyatian boot for about one hundred years, and Traladara is coming up to that same anniversary. When the time comes, I will return and help my country fight for its freedom, but until then... this work suits me well enough."

This message was last edited by the player at 19:18, Wed 03 June 2015.

"What? Oh, yeah, yeah! I know that!" replies Tolin, quickly taking his hands off his extremely bright breast plate.



"Oh no!" says Kora. "It isn't like that, I promise Madam Lidu!"

"Madam Lidu, eh?" says Tolin, apparently noticing her for the first time. "Well, Madam. It is good to hear that you have heard of our exploits, although I must say that I am surprised to see a lady of your breeding and... seniority mixing with this rabble."

He clicks his fingers as though figuring something out. "Are you their book-keeper?! Keeping track of the team's accounts is one of the many jobs of being the leader..." he glances back at Alohan as he says this, ".. and one I do not enjoy at all. Maybe we should hire you? <chuckle> After all, not much accountancy is required here. Zero plus zero equals zero!" He laughs at his joke and Kora gives him a withering look.

"Come on Jade Ravens! Let's move out!" he says while making a vaguely military signal with one hand. The other three follow him out of the mansion along with the gigantic badger; Kaskus and Liamae are chatting happily to each other, but Zan keeps glancing over his shoulder at Logan as he walks out.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:16, Wed 03 June 2015.

Once the Jade Ravens are out the door...



"Oh, I am so sorry Madam Lidu!" says the little Halfling lady as she wrings her hands repeatedly. "The Jade Ravens have been in the employ of the Vanderboren family for many years, but recently it has not been possible to keep them on retainer due to... some financial issue which Lady Vanderboren will be so happy to explain to you. M'lady thought that if she invited the Jade Ravens for breakfast and was then able to introduce your two teams, they would understand that the mission would be a success and payment would not be an issue. They were invited a little earlier than you so this could be explained, but..." Kora hangs her head. "...but they were not open to negotiation. They left as soon as they had finished breakfast." It looks as though the old lady is on the verge of crying.

"Please, please Madam Lidu, Master Alohan, Master Logan, Miss Celene. Please come this way and all will be explained."



OOC: Agreed. What is the point in making a perception roll to see if an NPC is trying to deceive you, if you know the result of the roll yourself.

Secret roll made. Kora Whistlegap appears to be genuinely upset, and is apparently being honest with you. No roll needed for social intimidation. She is already pretty intimidated.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:17, Wed 03 June 2015.

Kora leads the party through the atrium and under the mezzanine floor. As they pass by the staircases on either side, they see that the next space is filled with a jumble of objects stuffed just out of sight from the main door. Logan automatically tries to calculate the value of what he is seeing but it proves impossible – the collection is what might be called ‘eccentric’ if one were being kind, or otherwise just ‘strange junk’. Before he loses track, the thief spots large pieces of furniture made out of rare tropical woods, strange native masks, primitive weapons ranging from flint tipped spears to bola and boomerangs, stone idols, woven mats… the most impressive objects are the large stuffed animals. All are all various types of strange lizards of different sizes, but all with jaws filled with razor sharp teeth.

OOC: Map will be posted this evening.

Through the double doors at the end of the room they enter into a small garden surrounded on all four sides by the house. The mansion was built into the side of a hill, so the garden slopes downwards from south to north. At one end a fountain sends a small jet of water bubbling up into the air, which feeds a small stream which flows down to the southern end of the building and disappears through an iron grill into a basement level.

The old Halfling leads them through the small park down a bark path. Palm trees and tropical ferns crowd either side of the path and threaten to overwhelm it – it looks as though the plants have not been cut back for some time. They cross a little wooden bridge and reach some doors into the building on the other side. Kora enters without knocking. The room they come into is a small private dining room with a large wooden table sitting in the middle, and the remains of a breakfast sit upon the table. The room is comfortable and cozy, rather than the typical ostentatiousness of a Sasserine noble’s house, and has a thick, soft carpet and large family portraits hung around on the walls.

[Private to Celene: One portrait immediately catches Celene’s eye. Directly ahead of her, the sorceress sees a large painting of a handsome young man with a short beard. He is quite some years older, but she recognizes him. He is definitely the young, dark haired man she saw in her dream… the one who was there on the night of the fire!

OOC: Picture will be posted this evening.]

On the other side of the room stands a young lady in her early twenties dressed in a long flowing blue dress, and with her hands clasped in front of her. She smiles as the party enters.

“My goodness! I can recognize you all from the wonderful descriptions that Kora gave me of you. It is fantastic to meet all of you. Please, take a seat and enjoy some breakfast while we talk. Oh…” The young lady looks at the table, and seems to notice how much of the food is gone. And even the food that is not gone is not in good shape. Each of the remaining bread buns have had exactly one bite taken out of them, the croissants have all been roughly cut open and thrown around and many of the fruit dropped on the floor. The only things that haven’t been disturbed are the many folded napkins spread around the table. These have been manipulated into a wild variety of shapes, most of them cleverly representing some sort of exotic monster. Dragons, goblins, trolls… even a brave attempt at a paper napkin beholder. These are interspaced with a large number of the same type of flower – it is a flower that is not immediately familiar to anyone in the party.

“My goodness. The Jade Ravens ate a lot more than I thought they would. I am so sorry. But please at least have some cheese and crackers, I know there was an unopened wheel of cheese… Oh! That has disappeared, how strange! And the chocolate cookies… I baked them myself… they’re all gone?! My goodness!”

“Perhaps m’lady,” interjects Kora. “Introductions first?”

“Yes, of course Kora, thank you,” the young lady straightens a little. “I am Lavinia Vanderboren. Well, Lady Vanderboren I suppose now. But please, just call me Lavinia! And see if you can find a little breakfast at least.”

Celene is visibly paler than usual, but seems tear her eyes from the room around them, to snap back out of whatever brooding thoughts she was in. "Lady Vanderboren... Lavinia, it is most kind of you to think of breakfast for us, but I have been up early at the temple, and had my share earlier, so I am quite full." Celene happily takes a seat, though. "I am Celene, even though I understand you already know that, and it is equally pleasant to meet you. Yet, you have the advantage of knowing about us. May I request to know a bit about you? My knowledge of people around this city has been shown these last days to be quite lacking."
This message was last edited by the player at 08:07, Thu 04 June 2015.

"You know me already Lady Vanderboren... I am Angati Lidu... and much like Lady Celene, you need not worry about breakfast. We have already enjoyed the cultured conversation of your previous invitées and can very much figure out what's happened with your missing breakfast".

Angati took a chair to seat where indicated by Lavinia, hoping to relax a bit the situation making herself at home without regard for the state of things "I trust some tea can be found and that will be very much be more than enough to make our visit agreeable. But please do tell us the object for this meeting. Your cousin Amarilde, mentioned in between drinks that you had quite a few dire problems that needed some solving. I do sincerely hope to find your side of the family more trustworthy in its proceedings than hers, she was not yet married and already... hmmm...  my word and vows are sacred, I do hope you feel that way towards yours".

Lavinia nods. "Certainly. I am the oldest child of Verik and Larissa Vanderboren. My parents sadly died a month ago in  a tragic accident, leaving me in charge of the family businesses and estates. I fear that I have not been that successful in taking over from my esteemed father… and as for my younger brother Vanthus..." Lavinia nods up at a large portrait of a scowling young man behind her. "…he has not been any help at all. By the time I had managed to overcome my grief and try and set things in order, the family finances were as much a mess as this breakfast..."



"Greetings Madam Lidu. Ahh yes, the Jade Ravens. My family has paid them a monthly stipend for years just so they would be on available when demanded - often they were paid for doing absolutely nothing. But now that I am two months behind in paying them, so they are refusing to work. It is a shame, because they are a very competent group, even if their manners are poor. Tolin, that's their leader, propositioned another method of payment but..." Lavinia's cheeks colour. "...it was not appealing to me."



"A pot of tea sounds like an excellent idea! Kora, would you be so kind?"

The old Halfling lady nods, and heads through a door in the north wall.

"It was a good idea to send her out anyway," whispers Lavinia. "Looking at this ruined breakfast was making her sad, I could tell. She was up half the night making it, and even I was up early to do the napkins... And it is also best not air family 'dirty laundry' in front of the servants... Yes, dear cousin Amarilde. She is a big worry to me, but we can only hope that marriage will calm her down a bit. I hear that they call he 'All the way Amy' down in the Azure district. <tsk tsk> I am surprised that she was able to tell you anything in between drinking. But before I begin telling you about the task and why I thought of you all, please make yourselves comfortable." She motions to Logan, Alohan and Kassius.

"Perhaps a bowl of milk for the cat?" she suggests to the hunter.

As he surveys the wreckage of breakfast, Logan scowls.  His initial distaste for the Jade Ravens grows even deeper, and he shakes his head sadly as he surveys the mass of food that would provide for dozens of starving Shadowshore inhabitants.  Feeling somewhat guilty at the wasted plenty in front of him, Logan sidles up to the table and surreptitiously takes one of the bread buns.  He nibbles most it, discarding the barest sliver of the already-eaten piece under a paper wyvern.

He fishes around his pack, and produces a wheel of cheese.  "Is this what you're trying to find?  Zan was trying to exchange this with my thieve's tools...er, that is..."  Logan blushes, awkwardly scrambling for a word.  "Er, my tools for unsticking locks.  Anyway..."  Logan trails off and deposits the cheese on the table as well, fussing with it until it arranged nicely on one of the plates, then takes the seat offered by Lavinia.

"If the Jade Dragons have grown too fat and spoiled by your largess, we're more than happy to step in."  The rogue looks at the others, expecting their response.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:38, Thu 04 June 2015.

Vaninia Vanderboren


Vanthus Vanderboren


Updated Map

Catching Logans words, Celene quickly chips in, "Oh, I think you mean Jade Ravens, don't you Logan? The Lotus Dragons are another lot we've heard of, and from what we heard, they quite a bit worse, even. I think we're especially on the lookout for any signs of them. In fact, I believe we were told your brother Vanthus, whom you just mentioned, is connected with them. But of course, it's just hearsay."

[Private to GM: It was Vanthus on the picture you pointed out earlier, right?]

"He doesn't stay here, then? I mean, in your manor? You live here with only Kora? It's an impressive manor, but then again, I've hardly seen a noble mansion before, from the inside I mean."