Joey pulls up a chair near the goblin and watches him carefully from behind the shadows of his hood and says softly, "Jengus?"

Kevin was so much taken aback on being called a "cutie" from the bartender that he was speachless.  "Ummm...eerrrr..."

The bartender headshakes Rhagar. "While we DO have watered-down ale, we let our customers know. That stuff is cheap, which is why it's watered-down. But the real stuff is here too."

Meanwhile, the goblin glances over and up at Joey. "Eh? Yeah. I'm Jengus. Who wants to know?"

Helja heads over to the others to provide support via presence.

Meanwhile, the bartender looks back at Kevin. "Some'm wrong, fluffy?"

  "Real stuff it is."  Let's see, Kevin is being more attention getting than himself (convenient), Joey had discovered the one goblin in the room is the one they are looking for (also convenient).  Now he can enjoy his drink, if nobody starts flipping over tables.

  Chekin just looms quietly by Joey.  He suspects both hairy ones fit in here even less than he does.

Joey nods to Jengus.  He slides the note over.

"My friends and I are more impressive than the Poison Tooth tribe," he asserts, "They didn't last thirty seconds.  You can call me Joey."

Kevin shakes his stunned feeling and blushing though his fur off.  "I'll take some of the real stuff.  No offense, but I don't know what's in he water here."

The bartender flips a couple bottles and pours the drinks for Rhagar and Kevin simultaneously.

Jengus grins up at Joey. "That so? Alright... so how do you know about me? Find my note on Captain Awesome?"

The orc glances down at Helja. "I better not find your sticky halfling fingers on my stuff, little one."

Helja shrugs and says, "I won't."

The bartender looks back at Kevin and says, "Drink's on the house if I get to feel that fur of yours..."

  Not creepy, at all.  Honest.  But at least Rhagar is feeling good about being a dragon man right now, and he's the least suspicious person in the room.... Least suspicious person out of the players in the room.

  "That was seriously his real name?  What is with the people in these lands?" The Bug Man thinks you are a bunch of weirdos.

Joey is getting table-flipping angry and the growl rumbling from under his cloak is giving it away.  He points at the note and nods to answer Jengus' question.

"You're a recruiter, aren't you, Jengus?  What's the general's offered pay?"

Kevin just blinked...sighed...and leaned closer to the bartender, almost expecting him to yank the fox over the bar in an act of wanton snuggling!

Helja has a hand on her dagger, eying the bartender suspiciously.

Jengus nods, "Sort of. I get payed to send messages a quick and untraceable way. You sound upset, Joey... what's got you all wound up?" He then glances at Checkin. "Eh? So what if his name's Captain Awesome. At least it's pronounceable. Unlike a bunch of others I know..."

The bartender is much more creepy than to merely snuggle. No. He reaches to pull the hood off the fox and starts caressing Kevin, scratching behind Kevin's ear and giving an evil pleased smile. He is breathing heavy like he's getting a little bit of a high from petting Kevin.

The actions of the group seem to have caught the attention of the darker-skinned human lady as she eyes them with a raised eyebrow.

  Rhagar suspects that the bartender was never allowed a puppy as a child, probably for good reasons.

  Chekin meanwhile, is finding that Joey is even more sensitive than he is.  "He has been answering your questions, not mindlessly trying to stab you.  That's a change of pace for the good around here isn't it?"

Joey nods.  He gingerly slides his finger along the blade of his scythe, the blood stones glowing red for a moment making his fur stand on end.

"You could say it's in my blood," Joey answers, his voice sounding very guttural, "I don't react well to the misuse of my allies."

He slowly turns a bloodshot eye at the bartender, teeth bared.

At first, Kevin eeped at the bartender's advance, but then the petting went right into a certain point under his chin.  Kevin started to relax, his eyes closed, and his right leg started to bounce.  He made a half-scared, half-contented murr out of his throat.

Just as it looks like the bartender is about to make an advance on Kevin, Jengus calls over, "Eh, bartender! You're making my friend here uncomfortable! No advancing on his pal."

The bartender looks disappointed and eventually pulls his hand away from Kevin. "Deal's a deal... the drink's on the house."

Jengus looks back at Joey. "So back to business. Tell me what you'd like, Joey."

Helja glances from the bartender to Jengus and raises an eyebrow.

  Rhagar just shakes his head at this bizarre situation and drinks his booze.  At least he might get stabby in the Fox's favor if things get too grabby, but at the moment's it's just in weird and awkward territory.  Oh good, he won't have to stab the guy.  Probably.

  "If that is considered a high price for a drink, my opinion of this place is going up."

Joey muttered something under his breath that sounds like it was in the language of demons.

"My friends and I are well worth our wages," he says, being intentionally vague about how much the group was paid to kill the Poison Tooth Tribe, "Though we each seek our own unique...  favorites.  Chekkin values the hunt for its own sake while I find great satisfaction in its swift end - the vanquishing of large numbers of enemies in a moment's time, for example.  I might be willing to negotiate on my own pay depending on what sorts of foes your general expects to face, but I'm not to speak on their behalf when it comes to their compensation.  But you haven't told me yet if this will be worth our while.  What is the offered pay and whom shall we be fighting?"

Kevin just slumped to the chair behind him, his body limp by the scritching, and he panted for a bit.  Everyone all around could tell that he actually liked that in spite of who delivered that.  (The females around might consider doing that, hint hint, just in case that cleric would prefer girls scritching him behind the ear.)

  "We can do subtle, I swear.  Well, I can.  I'm starting to wonder about the rest."  He does not stare at the cleric, it will only encourage them.

  Rhagar comments, "I doubt subtle is what they are interested in."  Unless they needed to infiltrate a heavy metal concert?

Helja keeps it in mind for when she wants Kevin eating out of the palm of her hand. To Rhagar, she comments, "I can do subtle when I wanna..."

Jengus shrugs. "I'm not one of Killroy's. I'm just a popular alchemist goblin. I'll just find out if the guy is interested in hiring people he doesn't know the background of. And if he is, maybe you can ask him."

He pulls out some stone with an arcane rune on it. "Hey Killroy... got some adventurers who claim to have wiped out the Poison Tooth Tribe with little effort. They seem interested in you."

A voice comes from the stone, saying, "Eh? Alright... send 'em to the port. I'll have a guy meet 'em there."

Joey stands up, nods to Jengus, then heads for the door without another word.  He makes sure his friends are with him before he leaves, keeping a close eye on the half orc and the bartender.

Kevin couldn't get out of that tavern fast enough, and even so, he tripped over his own tail a couple times.  He wondered how much he had to spend in the confessional for this one.

  Rhagar nods to Jengus on the way out,  "Thank you for your time."  His player is facepalming at the Dragonborn's not noticing ICly the best poet in existence.

  Chekin compound eyerolls under his mask as he makes sure the less cranky, more clumsy fox makes it out of the tavern.

Once the group is out of the Tavern, Helja looks over at Kevin and asks, "Seriously... what in the world?"

Don't worry, Rhagar. Reverie exists at all. This means she will come up eventually.

Helja shakes it off and says, "Well at least we now have a foothold. Here's hoping."

Soon, the group arrives at the pier and they do see a bugbear.

Joey spends the walk in silent prayer, trying to calm himself, though he does listen for an answer from Kevin to Helja's question.  When the group arrives at the pier, Joey glances about, looking to make sure there aren't any city guard watching.  Once he's sure the coast is clear, Joey approaches the bugbear with hands tucked into opposite sleeves.  He waits for the bugbear to speak first.