Finneas looks to Filimena with his head slightly tilted, [Language unknown: "Teons heard omeoneman'outthi alliththe linhasnot."]

The halfling shrugs at his sister's silence then turns to Marik, [Language unknown: "Poout arusee p uretraera io iners fi stliti hat po n plpomoer k e elwi acpl nd a a, m Ear lillet o llndri u ntni ousichati a ratanyyin icasa neolwe ntele eromha."]

Filimena chooses to overlook the fact that her brother has apparently decided to ignore her suggestion for now. "We came here to look for you, actually. The offer of drinks extends to us, presumably?" She looks at him innocently.

Finneas nods, "Of course, I'm heading out in the morning for Pallem.  Hoping to reach Spineguard in a couple of days if the usual raiders aren't about.  So next week I'll be back north of the Spine I think."

Filimena lets out a breath of air, disappointed. Is that all he wanted to say? After luring her in with the book, and the note, leading them on this little game of chase? There's so much more she wants to know. But it hardly seems fair to protest him leaving, after she left herself without a word.

"I see. Seems like you're quite the traveller yourself now. Like I said, we really only came down here looking for you, so I guess I'll just stay the night and hang out around here. But if we don't get the chance to talk again... It was really good to see you again. I mean it. Say hi to mum and dad for me. I'll write, of course. Let them know where I am. And you know where I am now too. Feel free to come by if you're ever in town again. No need to sneak notes into suspicious books." She grins somewhat cheesily.

"You could always come with me."

Filimena frowns and lets out a long sigh. "You know I can't do that," she says, sadly. "I have responsibilities here now. There's something happening in this city. Something that isn't right. I'm not sure what it is yet, but it feels like something we need to figure out. Not to mention the tavern..."

Filimena gets up from her chair and turns to look her brother in the eye, then turns to look at the people around them. "It was wrong for me to leave then. It would be wrong for me to leave now, too. I can't change the past, but the future... well that's in the making."

She taps a finger against the table, thinking for a bit before continuing. "You know, there are opportunities here. What kind of job were you doing in Titan's Gate? You need a store front? We have one. Kind of." She looks towards Marik, then back again. "And, Titan's Gate is on the water too. Just saying." She let's the hint of a mischievous smile show on her face.

Marik doesn't quite know how to act in this last exchange, already feeling he said too much or something inappropriate. He noticed Finneas talking to Filimena in their mother tongue, probably to ask her if he's crazy or what his deal is. He prefers to stay silent and see how this plays out.

"You can't leave without a drink at least," Finneas waves to one of the passing staff, a young half-elf woman, and gestures in a circle to the table to which the half-elf nods as they move thru the space.

"Wait wait wait ... You want ME to try and convince our folks to move all the way down here to Titan's Gate?  That's a tough sell ... even for me," he pauses as the server comes by and deposits a trio of mugs at the table. "Thank you Podo," Finneas says as he deposits a few coins into her hand.  Podo smiles, nods, and wanders off into the crowd dropping drinks off at other tables.

"Now, I understand responsibilities just not terribly sure how you became an tavernkeep"

Filimena accepts the drink and raises it to a silent toast.

"Well I was planning to write, actually, but... I thought there was a chance I might need a bit of extra endorsement," She chuckles, taking her first cup of the beer, then gazes down at it, frowning slightly. "I know it isn't fair, after running away, and after all these years, to expect mum and dad to pack up everything to come here... It's just a suggestion, you know? I'm just saying, it's an option."

"As for how we ended up with the tavern..." Filimena looka up at the ceiling, eyes widening. "Where do we even begin." She begins to give a brief summary of how she and Marik had accepted a job to rescue someone who had been kidnapped, traced his location to the hideout of a local gang, found themselves in the sewers under Titans Gate facing off a brain with legs and, of all things, a mindflayer.

"And then, instead of being paid in cash, like we were hoping, we got this house instead, which, shall we say, had some 'prior residents who weren't keen on leaving'." She gestures some air quotes.

"So you two sort of got taken by that fella, then?"  Finneas says with a raised eyebrow.  "Or did you want to become business owners?"

[Language unknown: "Aveanyure ectdindin es ingvensta ek earounousear lahowe"] respond the elf. [Language unknown: "Ouil unlote t nteesswil reswerenc conandset ecstur ndti O ughwhirea i nce o notis o fo outed et"]
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:47, Tue 29 Nov 2022.

Filimena shrugs. "Yeah, I was a little annoyed at first, but... Starting to like it, kind'a. What about yourself? You running some kind of trade?"

"Oh me?  I'm doing a little of a lot,"  Finneas says off-handedly then takes a swig of beer.  He gestures at the bag slung over his seat, "Working on a verity of trinkets, occasionally singing or playing, and interviewing folks I meet."

Filimena perks up at this. "Interviewing folks, you say? You must hear a lot of interesting stories!"

"Of course! though if I told them to you well then ... then you won't read the book I'm working on." Finneas replies, grinning.  He pats the satchel that's hanging behind. "Some Zahatharb fellow I met in The Scoundrel and Dirk got me a line on a publisher, which to be honest was far more legitimate than I expected."

Filimena bursts into a wide grin and raises her drink to a toast. "That's incredible! Congratulations! When will it be out? I look forward to reading it!"

Something nags at her, though. Where has she heard the name "Zahatharb" before? "Hmmm," she begins, once the excitement dies down a little. "This person you met at the Scoundrel and Dirk. Zahatharb, you said their name was? What did they look like?"

OOC: I know it's Disanz. But I had to check to confirm it, so I think Filimena would have to as well =P

It doesn't take long for Finneas' description to line up with what Filimena knows of Disanz.  The rest of the folks at The Pilgrim's Hall don't seem to be paying your group any mind, though a few to keep looking at Ironclad who's standing unmoving near the table.

Filimena can't decide if she feels more amused or annoyed. She must have mentioned to Disanz at some point about her looking for her brother, right? She doesn't quite remember, but it seems like something that must surely have come up at some point. "That's the guy I was talking about, who uh... gave us the building on Snakeskull Alley in exchange for rescuing his friend. How long ago did you meet him?"

After ordering another round, Finneas replies, "A couple or three weeks back," then downs his beer. "Nice chap, little full of himself though."

Filimena chuckles. "He's alright. I should introduce you to Ironclad. He's been travelling the world, learning about things too, it seems. Maybe not interviewing people per se, but sort of the same deal right? You could be friends."

The motionless suit of armor waves at Finneas, which frightened a few folks nearby,  "Ironclad was design to be a good traveling companion. As Ironclad does not eat, drink, nor need to sleep."

Marik is intrigued. That can't be right. All life is touched by spirits in some ways.

"What.. do you... need then?" he ask the ironclad. "Surely...you must run on something? Fire? Water? Rocks? Or maybe...[Language unknown: stngolun]...hum...sparks? Like those other... constructs we saw in Jzadirune?"


OOC: Just realized (late, I know) that Ironclad matter-of-fact statement raised quite an interesting point. Since I don't want to hold the party too much and this conversation appears to be wrapping up, maybe we could open a new thread where we return to the tavern to press forward while I continue the conversation with a few more post with Ironclad in this thread?
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:15, Mon 23 Jan 2023.

Ironclad states simply that they have yet to require rest or sustenance of any type.

The night wears on and as the city gates are closed, you are offered space at The Pilgrim's Hall to spend the night. Hankerin, Kodo, and Podo are always wandering thru taking care of folks needs, as well as making sure things never get too rowdy.

Finneas floats around abit, talking with most everyone from the look of things, he does stop by from time to time to check in on you, and folks keep offering to buy you another round as the Finders of Jzadirune.


OOC: Any other questions feel free to ask, we can either start a new thread as you return to SnakeSkull Tavern or anywhere inbetween.

At some point during the evening, having imbibed multiple rounds of ale, Filimena allows herself to be swept up in the moment, hopping onto a table and entertaining the crowd with a tale from the party's time in Jzadirune, surprising even herself!

Afterwards, she keeps a look out for her brother, hoping to catch him before things get a little too out of control, to ask him how best to keep in touch. "You can always write to me at Snakeskull Manor here. Even if I'm not in town to receive it, I'll have one of our staff hold it for me till I get back. But what about yourself? I don't suppose you really have anything like a permanent address. If I write to the folks, will they be able to forward anything to you?

OOC: Hehe. I don't think this is very like Filimena's character, but then she's finally spoken to her brother!

22:20, Today: Filimena the Gentle rolled 18 using d20+5+d4, rerolling ones with rolls of 11,2.  Performance with Guidance.

I'm okay to start the next thread back at Snakeskull Alley. Can't really think of where else Filimena would go at this point. I don't really have any questions to ask, other than the above, but if Marik has anything he wants to explore RP-wise, I'm okay to keep this thread running in parallel as well, like we did with Ghelve's Locks?