In reply to Thane Harkensen (msg # 55):

Dal kept quiet when Thane was telling about his history.  When he had talked in Dwarvish before, much of it had been...hard...to understand.  She nodded when Thane asked if she thought they might be the ones that fled but it is hard to to tell.  "Thank you for thinking we're more than just pretty faces.  I know it throws most people off.  See a pretty face, a good body and males think of other things."

Dal winked at Kir and smiled as she raised her tankard to both of them.  "I enjoyed working with both of you.  To many more adventures."  After taking another pull of her drink, Dal lowered her voice.  "They could be the same ones.  Although protection deals have gone wrong for many races.  They will always be around.  Still it is worth remembering to tell the others."

"I wouldn't have minded going your route but they wouldn't take girls," Kira said with a little shrug.  "So I taught myself how to use a knife and now and then had someone to look out for me and teach me more weapons so I could protect myself.  Wasn't easy and there were lots of real cold and hungry days.  Most of what I learned didn't require a team but it's sorta common sense and I'm not too stupid," she added with a grin.

She overheard the talk of Luskans extorting money for protection and grimaced, taking a long pull from her mug.  When Thane queried if they thought it was the same people she nodded and tipped her mug to Dal.  "To friends," she said in answer to the toast.  "I figure Grim and Arnan'll be interested for sure.  Hope they're doing okay," she muttered just for their table.

In reply to Morgrim Ironhammer (msg # 56):

"Hunh," Arnan grunted, looking over Morgrim's shoulder (never very difficult with a Dwarf) and reading some of what was written on the papers that he had found.

"I can see how sailing-times for local vessels would be very helpful information for a lake-pirate. And I think it likely that this Master Connelly can tell us some useful things about when and where he meets up with this troublemaker, Derrick . . . well, once we know where to find Connelly himself, that is."

Thane nodded at Dal and Kira, then grunted.  He stood up and took a deep breath.  "I'm going to ask those men who they're talking about.  If they don't seem to like me much, one of you can come rescue me, eh?" he said with a grin although his voice was serious.

Then he made his way over to the nearest of the men complaining about the Luskan racketeers, and he cleared his throat to get the man's attention.

"I couldn't help but hear about your problem with some fools running a racket on you," he said in quiet but friendly tones.  "Men like that don't do an honest man like me any favors when I'm away from home.  I don't like what they're doin'.  If you can point me their way, maybe I can do something about this racketeering of theirs," he suggested, hoping these men would hear his words and not just his Luskan accent.

A leany, wiry weather-beaten man identifying himself as Gibb responds to Thane's query. "They not from around here. That much for sure. People say they shacked up in Bryn Shander. Maybe Easthaven. I don't know," he admits.

"If a man were looking to do something about it, and by the looks of you and your crew," his eyes linger lustily on Kira, "I see that you mean something of the such."

"You should talk to Speaker Crannoc Siever, but mind yourself when doing so." Pausing for empasis, "He's a little touchy now and is more like than not to bite his own tail just for wagging!" This last comment elicits an unusually loud riot of laughter from the group of men he is seated with.

Gibb then adds, "Hard to miss him...living in the Caer and all..." this last sentence he says lowly while watching Kadie work the room.

The party may later learn Kadie's father was the previous speaker of Caer-Dineval. As a child, she lived in the castle with her brothers, though she seems reasonably happy with her current lot in life and not wistful about the old days. If anything, she is concerned about the present calamities within the dale and the troubles before Speaker Crannoc.

A gust of chill wind announces the return of Morgrim and Arnan from their walk about town. Catching the innkeeper's eye, Morgrim raises his hand and signals for two ales to be brought for the thirsty pair. Then he settles down next to Dalgura and Kia, noting that Thane was busily speaking with one of the locals.

"So, survive without me?" he asks, nudging his sister with an elbow as he grinned.

In reply to DM Shard (msg # 61):

Thane nodded and gritted his teeth when Gibb confirmed that the men were not from around here, and he tried not to scowl when it was thought they might have come up from Bryn Shander.

"I heard of thugs like these when I passed through Bryn Shander myself," he said, perhaps shading the truth a bit.  "I heard they'd been run out.  Seems they set up shop here," he shook his head in disapproval.  "I'll share this news with my companions, might be that we act on this.  At least we'll talk with your Speaker Crannoc about the problem.  But truly, if someone were simply to run these men out of town, who would complain, eh?"

Thane nodded friendly to the man and left him in peace.  Rejoining the table, he noticed that Grim and Arnan were back.  "Seems that man Slim has set up shop hereabouts," he shared by way of welcoming the two back.

Kira unabashedly listened in on the conversation Thane was having, inwardly amused that the guy was checking her out and thinking he had some stones given she had arrived with three big men.  Grim and Arnan finally returned and she grinned as Grim plunked down and teased Dal a little.  "I've behaved so of course she survived," she teased a little, pushing a chair out with her foot for Arnan to join them.

"Has he?" Morgrim replied, glancing up at Thane as his ale arrived. He thanked the server and pushed Arnan's mug across.

"Enterprising fellow." Morgrim paused and took a swig from his tankard.

"Arnan and I poked around at the docks. You'll be happy to hear a dwarf matching Helda's description passed this way on route to East Haven. They chartered a boat but the boat hasn't come back into port yet. Can't be sure it was her, but it certainly sounds that way."

"I've got a boat ready to take us out on the lac tomorrow," Morgrim continued, glancing at Arnan to see if the huntsman had anything to add.

"We also did some digging around Derrick's hovel and found a dockmaster's manifest from Easthaven. Not quite sure what to make of that yet, but maybe there's some clue in there as to where Derrick is likely to be found."

Arnan nodded when Morgrim slid the mug of ale across the table to him, and took a hearty drink from it as he listened to Thane and Morgrim recount what they had learned.

"Do we want to run into this fellow Derrick when we are crossing the lake tomorrow?" he asked his companions, leaning in towards the center of the table and keeping his voice low.

"If we get lucky, we might give him and his crew a bloody nose -- maybe even kill him. Of course, if we get unlucky, he might sink us out in the middle of the lake."

"It occurred to me that if wanted a showdown with Derrick, we ought to start talking up our trip tomorrow. I suspect that the man may have ears around town, people who get information to him -- although that may be giving him too much credit."

"However, if we want to reach port in Easthaven without incident, we ought to play it pretty close to the vest, it seems to me."

Dal visably perked up when Grim sat down and asked if she missed him.  "Oh of course I missed you.  How else can I keep an eye on you if you aren't here?"  Dal grinned and bumped her elbow against Grim.  "Thane and Kira have kept me from getting into trouble.  They knew just how to do it.  Food and drink!  I like the way they do it."

Dal then leaned against Grim as if she was tired.  She did it for two reasons.  The first was because she really had missed her brother and the second was so that she could tell him what they suspected.  "Actually we might have found out something.  Thane is following up on that.  It seems that the local fishermen were grumbling about a pair of Luskanites.  They were doing the protection scam. Some of the fishermen bought into it but not all.  They were to paint boats with elaborate sigils and magical wards to guarantee protection from the pirates of Lac Dinneshere.  It reminds me of the "change the names to suit the circumstances" stories."

"Well, we've got the rest of the day ahead of us ad Caer-Dineval is a sight smaller than Bryn Shander. There's time enough to do something if we chose. I'll go and have a word with the speaker after lunch."

"I'd like to go with you to meet the speaker," Thane announced.  "I wonderin' if this Derrick fellow and these Luskan racketeers aren't working together?  If they are, couldn't we maybe bait them into a trap?  Or work it the other way and give them the slip to ensure we cross safely?"  Either Thane was grasping at straws, or he had struck on a legitimate way to cross up both nefarious parties.

Kira listened to the others though her eyes were roving all the patrons as she sipped from her mug, chair tilted back on its hind legs and rocking slightly.  "I figure we should stick together at this point now that a few know we're asking questions," she said softly for just those at their table to hear.  If the one who'd been looking at her before still was, she'd give a little wink hoping to keep some cheer on that end which meant a willingness to talk or help.

---

10:39, Today: Kira rolled 15 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 11.  Insight (Sense Motive on patrons).

Kira does not sense any skullduggery or untowardness among any of the assembled patrons. If anything, to a man and woman, they seem genuinely peeved about the sudden emergence of Luskanite thugs to these parts. "They can keep their nonsense back in that back-stabbing city of theirs!" one unfortunately prune-faced woman comments a bit too loudly. To this another man echoes, "Heck, I hear people is so cold-hearted in those parts a mother can't even be expected to let her only-born babe suckle from her shriveled tit!" More grumbling mixes into a dull roar.

***

Later, Kadie vouches for the part and helps them gain audience with Speaker Crannoc Siever in the banner and tapestry-festooned hall of the small castle atop the Cliffs of Dinev. Crannoc is dressed a bit ostentatiously, a marked departure from Speaker Duvessa's understated and functional attire. Taken with his admittedly boisterous attire, he presents an image of a man who thinks highly of his physical and prowess and power. Crannoc wears his dark hair pulled back, and his weathered face seems to always be stretched taut, his jaw constantly grinding. Though he is not particularly tall, his thick arms and chest lend weight to his projection of power. This is a man who moves, speaks and thinks loudly.

Crannoc's attendant pre-briefed him on the nature of the party's visit and he visibly blusters with rage as he enters the audience chamber. "What know you about these god-forsaken pirates?!" he roars, his voice projecting loudly throughout the hall.

"About the ones out on the water?" Morgrim replied, stepping forth to address the speaker. "Not a great deal yet, though I've no doubt we'll soon know more. But about the ones hitting up your fishing boats for protection - well, Bryn Shander just suffered through something very similar."

Morgrim explained the situation that they'd left behind, and the threats made by Valish Gant to expand his influence across the Ten Towns and into East Haven in particular. "They tried to throw down speaker Shane but we put an end to it. If they're setting up shop here I'd say its only a matter of time before they try the same in Caer-Dineval."

Kira wondered if his undergarments were a bit too tight or if mayhaps he needed to add some prunes in his diet, but when Crannoc roared into the receiving room she gave Dal a look.  Grim spoke first and she was rather glad because this certainly wasn't a time for her smart remarks.  For now she stood with a pleasant expression, observing the man who was leader of this place.

In reply to DM Shard (msg # 71):

Arnan leaned against the back wall of the audience chamber, his arms crossed across his chest

~This Speaker seems like a blowhard who has a rather high opinion of himself. Or maybe he's just in a bad mood all the time, 'cause he begrudges the fact that he isn't the overlord of all that he surveys, the way that his ancestors were.~

Dal walked up by her brother and smiled.  A smile can cover a lot of what you were thinking.  "You must be Speaker Crannoc Sieve.  It is an honor to meet such a great personage.  Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to meet with us.  I am Dalgura Ironhammer, Priestess of Sharindlar."

Crannoc's nostrils visibly flare while listening to Morgrim's report, his face growing more flushed by the moment, a dark vein streaking across his jugular. Here is a man who looks like he's one meltdown closer to a stroke.

He's about to completely lose any cool he might have left when Dalgura introduces herself. This seems to have the effect of slightly calming him down. Once he has gathered himself, he explains the source of his anger: apparently he used a portion of town funds to pay for a significant portion of the black ice ram that now adorns the bow of the Howling Fiend. The same ram which is now being used against the fishermen of Caer-Dineval!

Crannoc explains that several local fishermen first came to him with the idea of purchasing the black ice ram from the dwarves, after having seen some trinkets made of the material a couple months ago. The fishers were eager to defend their right to the lake's waters against Easthaven's encroaching fleets. With the backing of a few town businesses, the fishers commissioned a ram for the bow of their ship from a dwarf named Baerick Hammerstone, the dwarf stone carver of Kelvin's Cairn whose "black ice" pieces have started appearing throughout Ten-Towns.

"Damn Derrick Gaffner to hell!" he seethes. "Always knew he was up to no good, but never thought he would betray his own townsmen!"

The Speaker then relates Derrick is a fairly well known ruffian on Lac Dinneshere, his face battered from a lifetime of brawling. Derrick captained the Howling Fiend, so named because the demonic shape of the black ice ram, using it to chase away Easthaven's fishers from Caer-Dineval's share of the lake.

Apparently Derrick turned against his townsmen and now operates a pirate vessel that sacks ships bearing any flag.

"Damn him to hell..."

"Then this mad-dog must be stopped."

Thane stepped forward slightly, so that the speaker could plainly see him.  The warrior pursed his lips and looked for all intents like he was fighting a mental battle against a school of slippery wriggling minnows.  Then his face brightened immensely.

Must have caught one!

"Mister Speaker, is there anything special about the Howling Fiend, aside from the Black Ice ram?" he asked, but paused only long enough for the question to ring and register in the speaker's brain.

"Because back in Luskan, City of Sails, as you're knowin', the great Ship's Captains are always goin' round and round about the best way to take down other sailing vessels.  Aside from ramming and Gnomish cannons, the solutions usually involve fire.  Is there any craftsmen in the city that could rig up some flame-cannons or some small catapults that can lob small casks of burning pitch?  If you want to be done with this vessel, I'm thinkin' the best way is to set her on fire and let her go down in flames," Thane issued forth quickly but without undue haste.

"I mean, it's what them High Captains would prob'ly recommend, Sir."

Morgrim cleared his throat. "Where would Derrick drop anchor away from Caer-Dineval, Speaker Siever? Is there a safe harbour away from the fleet he could hide?" he asked.

"And would you by chance know a Mr. Connelly, possibly of Easthaven?"

Arnan had never even heard of things such as flame-cannons or catapults that hurled barrels of flaming pitch -- let alone witnessed such a thing -- but it didn't take much imagination to understand how such things would be deadly to a wooden sailing-vessel.

~Assuming that we could hit the broad side of a barn with such things, that is. I have no idea how difficult it would be to operate such contraptions. But if there are such things and we could operate them effectively . . . 'twould most likely ruin this Derrick's whole day.~

He waited to see how the Speaker would respond to Thane's suggestions.

---

OOC:

I can remember reading about how much of a terror "Greek Fire" was IRL. Gnomish Fire, maybe? :)

Speaker Siever responds to Thane's query by stating there are no such Gnomish tinkerers in these parts and the town's remaining fishing vessels are too small to rig up catapults or other such large siege weapons. Apparently the Howling Fiend was the largest ship in their fleet and its fate is already known.

"She has a cold, heartless crew too!"
The Speaker also states the pirates typically attack before dawn, when the first ships of the day are testing the lake's waters, or at dusk, when the most dedicated or desperate fishers are pushing their luck trying to make one last catch. The Howling Fiend has been sacking vessels for the past few weeks, looting them first then setting them ablaze with their crews still aboard to either perish in flames or in the lake's icy embrace.

Generally speaking, the waters are fairly clear during the day, unfortunately, he grumbles "knuckleheaders' don't bite in the middle of the day neither!"

He goes on to state the pirates occasionally make raids during misty or snowy days, but on clear days such as today, not so much.

The Speaker has no knowledge of where the Howling Fiend might be dropping anchor, "If we knew that much, it would be no great feat to take action, now would it?" he asks harshly.

Speaker Siever is more helpful with Morgrim's next question, claiming he knows a Mr. Connelly of Easthaven, "A ferryman, he is. What's Creedon got to do with anything?" he asks.

"Well, that's about as useful as broken main-mast," Thane muttered after the speaker's reply about the state of the villages ships and possible ship-borne weapons.  He really was hoping to avoid the problem of tracking down the ship and doing a boarding action.  Not really his specialty.

"This Derrick guy sounds like an idiot," Thane complained.  "If he keeps this up, he won't have any more ships left to plunder.  Then what's he gonna do?  It's not like you folks up here are going to be able to quickly rebuild your ships in the midst of winter.  So what's his real game, anyway?  Typical pirates do a slow bleed on their victims, they don't go wholesale into taking everybody out!"

Thane huffed.  "Why someone would want to go around and ruin people's lives like this is just beyond me."

Crannoc's emotional and unstable attitude made Thane feel secure in openly griping.  In truth, Thane didn't have any solutions to offer.  And he didn't know much about the details of Creedon's journal.  He left that discussion to Morgrim.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:52, Fri 06 Oct 2017.