Jan
   The sailors are happy when the phrase, "free drinks" is used.  As Miriam makes an appearance they comment, "I think I want to switch my religion" and "Did he say the Lady of Graves, I would have bet she was a Lady of Callistra...".  Otherwise they keep playing.
Not much time has past and it is a low-moderate stakes game, so you haven't had a chance to win very much yet. Does Jan want to ask any specfic question?


Catessa Fallowfield
The dwarf seems to be looking at the bar, then turns back - "Well I prefer Dwarven Ale, but it may be too much of a drink for you.  Otherwise, our bar serves any drink there is, just name it."

Tanrov
A couple of darkskinned foreigners come over and sit at the bar with Tanrov and say, with a thick Garand accent, "Thanks for the drinks.  Why don't we buy you one."

Miriam
"My name is Grigori and I run this place."  He looks at his table, "Unless it violates some precepts of your religion, I would just as well talk about your quest in my office upstairs.  And since it's close to lunch, why don't you have lunch with me."
[Private to Miriam: You think he doesn't want his patrons to hear your conversation, which he assumes will be about Death cults and such.]

"Something spicy and made of lamb if you got it...or whatever meat based meal you have available." Jan said with a "charming" smile to the pretty serving elf. Jan refrained from leering too much, but he was appreciative of the Elf's form. Thoughts of taking these sailors to the cleaners ran in his head, but Jan stopped himself slightly. He would try not to be shark them too bad, just enough to make some drinking money.

"So you lot come here often when your ship is docked here? I'm new in town myself, formally of Westcrown, but its been a while since I've been back there. What sort of things are going on in the motherland?" Jan asked with a smirk, his accent still more or less from Cheliax. He makes small talk with the sailors, easing himself into the bar scene.

Once Talis walked in, dressed and looking like Foxglove, Jan would try to shift the conversation there. In his experience sailors usually liked to hang out in the same set of bars on whatever routes they worked. He met a few friends that way.

---
21:54, Today: Jan Harlow rolled 20 using 1d20+6. Gamble.

Cat smiles, the dwarf is probably right and Cat doesn't want to test her luck. "Just a lighter ale, please."

Miriam tuned out the sailors' commentary on her appearance - she wasn't so very unused to such comments, though they rarely made of an impact upon her - and focused her attention upon the tavern owner.  "A generous offer, Grigori.  I'm not aware of any tenets of my faith which would preclude me from sharing lunch or wine with you, so I believe I'm at liberty to accept.", she noted, with a smile.  "I am Miriam, as you quite likely already know.", she said, offering her name anyway out of a sense of politeness.

Tanrov/Garth will allow the two dark skinned individuals to buy him a drink and I will nurse that one if they let me.

Everyone(except Miriam) needs to post a For save and per check (you can take 10 on the skill roll if you want) next round.

Jan
   The elf waitress takes your order in a very friendly manner. [Private to Jan Harlow: Bending over just enough to give Jan a nice view of her "assets".]  The sailors notice and grin broadly.  She heads over to the bar and put's in your order.  Oddly, you see no way to get to a kitchen from the bar and no one goes anywhere.  They must have a communication system of some sort.
   The sailors will make small talk while they play, nothing of much consequence.  Though there are comments about how "lucky" Jan is getting, with the pretty lady and in the game.  Nothing serious yet....
   When Talis/Aldern enters and Jan tries to steer the conversation, the sailors only seem be interested in talking about The Rich and how the Rich get richer while the Poor get poorer, nothing specific.

Catessa Fallowfield
The dwarf will return with a pair of drinks (Cats order and the round Tanrov is buying), then she leaves Cat alone.  She does stay nearby though.

Tanrov
   The pair of darkskinned foreigners from the south are new in Magnimar and are interested to know about it.  Tanrov get's the impression that they bought him a drink from some sort of Honor code.  Tanrov can easily nurse his drink, since they are asking him lot's of questions, he can spend lot's of time answering them.

Miriam
Miriam leaves with Grigori through the double doors.
[Private to Miriam: He will escort you upstairs, through the kitchen and to his office, he says, "Yes, I have heard of you.  And I must say, the reality is much prettier than the rumor. I have also heard of your...quest, shall we say.  And talk of death and such tend to put a damper on sales.  Hmmm, though maybe a nice gothic play, one from Ustalav maybe.  Have you ever thought about acting?  So what can I help you with?"  You get the impression that he doesn't mean you harm (unless you classify a guy trying to seduce a lady harm).

  In the kitchen he puts in an order for some lunch.  He takes the cook aside and has a quite conversation, though not about Miriam.  She notices a ring of iron, 18" in diameter.  A halfling hand passes through and drops a piece of paper on the counter.  The bar communicates to the kitchen through a pair of Ring Gates.  That's a pretty expensive item for a tavern in Underbridge!

  Once in his office you are interupted by a halfling voice coming from the kitchen.  It has a strange accent, "Well, is she here yet?"  Grigori seems upset and excuses himself, "Be just a moment."  The door is left with a crack if Miriam is interested in looking.]

Talis/Aldern
Talis enters and takes a table.  He acts all nervous and such.  The bartender looks at him briefly, seems to shake his head, talks with the gnome assistant, makes a drink and takes it to Talis.  He talks quietly with Talis for a moment, then returns to the bar.

Jan smiles as he gets behind the Rich and Poor divide talk, there is no reason to steer the conversation to urgently and the others had their agendas to look for. The Alchemist agrees that the rich only get rich off the sweat of the hard workers like these Sailors in front of him. He makes it a point to loose a few rounds, non-consecutively, and complain that the Sailors are starting to scare away his hot streak.

"Hey, seeing as my luck is starting to run out, how about some drinks and good eats on me. What are you guys drinking?" Jan smirks friendily, trying to head off any suspicion, as he wins a round after loosing a round. The Alchemist had been drinking from his pint of ale all the while, and was considering getting another to go along with his lamb-based meal. It was not the worst he had, it was acceptable.

---
11:08, Today: Jan Harlow rolled 12 using 1d20+11. Perception. Wow, I botched that.
11:07, Today: Jan Harlow rolled 27(31) using 1d20+7(11). Fort Save. Hmm, nice.

Even knowing it's Talis, seeing "Aldern" sends a shudder down Cat's back. After a sip of the ale and a few calming breaths, she tries to get the dwarf's attention, Id successful, she'll ask, "Don't I know him from somewhere? He looks familiar."

10:16, Today: Catessa Fallowfield rolled 16 using 1d20+7. fort save.
10:16, Today: Catessa Fallowfield rolled 5 using 1d20+3. perception.

PM

[Private to DM: Miriam smiles at the conversation and says, "Well, it's honestly not my intention to depress your sales in any way.  I know well enough that Underbridge is a difficult place to make a living, no matter what your line of work.  And no, I hadn't really thought much about acting - I don't know that my natural talents really run to that sort of thing, and I find the work I do on behalf of the Lady of Graves to be most fulfilling.", she said.  She takes note of the ring gate, but doesn't comment upon it.

"What can you help me with?  Well, while other matters do occasionally occupy my mind, I am quite focused on my...quest, as you say.  Owning a tavern here in Underbridge as you do, you must hear a great many rumors about what goes on down here.", she said, before they were interrupted.  "Of course.", Miriam said politely, as Grigori excused himself.  She opts not to try to position herself at the crack at the door and instead takes a casual look around Grigori's office.]

Zer-wedula walks in and pauses, frowning.  He looks about haughtily for an open table and goes to it if there is one.  If not he will uncertainly move to one end of the bar.

[Private to DM: Cast Message before I go in]

Seeing Talis/Aldern come in gives Garth reassurance that the plan is coming together.   Upon seeing Zer-wedula come in Tanrov/Garth's heart will skip a beat at seeing an old friend.


20:42, Today: Tanrov rolled 26 using 1d20+6. for fort. save
              Tanrov will get 25 on perception skill
This message was last edited by the player at 03:45, Thu 15 Sept 2011.

Jan
   The elf waitress flirts with Jan some more, getting quite brazen. (I however am not good at flirting, so use your imagination) The hourglass on the stage runs out, but nothing happens.  The sailors begin to look around for the next act.

Catessa Fallowfield
The dwarf will looks at Aldern/Talis, "Some local noble, comes in every now and then.  Why, you interested, or is this business?"  Cat suddenly realizes that the waitress is asking if she is a prostitue.  Then Zer walks in...

Tanrov
   Tanrov is making some new friends, then Zer walks in...

Miriam
[Private to Miriam: While you do a quick "search" of the office you hear voices from the kitchen, but you don't hear what they are saying.  Miriam's look reveals a shortbow and arrows in a corner.  On the desk is a ledger.  Under his desk she finds a disguise kit and an outfit that is not from around here and size small, too small for Grigori.  Otherwise the office looks clean but cluttered.

Miriam hears the conversation stop.  Grigori enters and smiles, "Just some business.  Where were we?  I can assure you Miriam, you will find no mask made of human skin or sacrifical knife around here.  I am not a member of this Deathcult you seek."  He takes a seat, and continues, "Yes, I hear plenty..." and he is interupted again by the cook who hands him a note.  He looks like he want's to yell at the man, but instead grabs the note and get's even more perturbed.  "HIM, NOW!  By Calistra's b.....ells."  You are pretty sure he was going to be more graphic, but remembered there was a lady present.  He sits there thinking hard, the note forgotten in his hand.  Finally he looks at you, "I have some business to attend to, a guy who owes me money has shown up unexpectedly.  Let me go deal with this and then we can have a nice lunch."

He will get up and leave.  Stay or Go?

If you go, he will escort you downstairs and ]

Talis/Aldern
Sees Zer walk in and take a seat.  Uh oh, you look like Aldern!

Zer sees Aldern sitting at a table.  Tanrov is at another with a couple of guys.  Cat sits alone (you saw her dog outside).  A group of humans are at a table gaming.  There is a halfling and gnome tending bar.  There is a couple (man and woman) in the far corner.  A halfelf waitress approaches and asks for your order.  Oh yeah, and there is a 15' tall 2headed troll by the front door with a halforc next to him - the bouncers.

I am waiting for a reply from Miriam to continue and I just ran out of time, sorry for the delay in action.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:58, Sun 06 Nov 2011.

PM

[Private to DM: Miriam finished her search of the office, curious about what she'd found, and managed to give what she thought was a decent impression of someone who was not searching an office by the time Grigori returned.  She started to say something, but their conversation kept getting interrupted, and so she simply followed him downstairs when he left without saying anything.]

Cat flushes as she realizes what she must look like. In a moment of stupidity or genius, she lets it stand. It may come in handy later. "Thank you, no," She sees Zer perks up, grabbing both pints of ale. In order to stop a misunderstanding, she stands up to intercept him, handing him the full glass. "You found us! Good, come sit. The chap over there," she glances at Tanrov, "bought everyone a drink, Come sit and fill me in since I last saw youi,."

DM: Clever Cat
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:10, Fri 16 Sept 2011.

Zer-wedula scowls as Cat interrupts his train of thought.  "I had a dream or premonition involving a monkey, a monster, and a knave," with a quick glance at Aldern at the last.

Jan sits with the sailors and tries to blend in with them. He frowns at the disappearance of the next act. That was just bad practice.

The Alchemist however welcomes the flirting, and returns it with his own. Loosing a few games in the process. The elf has caught his attention.

Jan and Tanrov can't help but get a sense of anticipation as if there was a lot more to this poat than they can read... :)

[Private to Sammiya Koi: Sam sees an elf enter the bar just before her.  The 2 dogs appear well trained and beyond sniffing, show no overt hostility toward each other.  She enters and sees a tavern.  ooc: please read msg 242
An elf (you just saw sitting with a halfling female
a big man sitting with a couple of darkskinned southerners
a group of 4 humans and a group of 2 humans and a single human female off in a corner]

Miriam
[Private to Miriam: Grigori says, "Very well, I'll have the cook send lunch to my table."  For some reason he wanted you to stay up here.  In the kitchen he passes a note to the cook and then escorts you downstairs.

As you enter the main floor you see that Zer has apparently been released by the church and has somehow tracked you down.  He looks a little pale, but otherwise healthy and is sitting at a table with Cat.  Talis/Aldern is doing his best to keep his face hidden from Zer, who isn't in on the plan.]

Cat moves over and sits with Zer, giving him 1 of her drinks and talking.
[Private to Catessa Fallowfield; Zer-wedula: In PM mode, post a will save dc 15.  Failure = you are effected by a rage spell and are feeling very angry.\
Feel free to post a quiet conversation between you 2 in the same pm.]

Grigori enters with Miriam and escorts her to his table before joining Talis/Aldern at his.  They talk quietly for a moment.
[Private to Talis Revain: Grigori sits down and looks Talis/Aldern over, "You look better than you did 3 weeks ago.  Funny, I didn't get the message that you could stop paying...you owe them 600gp.  But we can talk about this change in your deal and what really happened at your house later.  Give me a couple of minutes to conduct some business.  Just keep an eye on the halfling."  At that, he motions to the bartender.]

The doors open and a heavily armed halfling female in Tian armor enters.
[Private to Talis Revain: Grigori looks from Cat to the new halfling and looks confused, then starts motioning frantically at the bartender.]
[Private to Miriam: The new halfling is wearing the same style of dress as the disguise kit.]

Suddenly, a light appears on the stage and the candle at Cat/Zer's table flares up.  The stage shows a dog and a halfling male performing tricks with a scimitar and whip.
[Private to Sammiya Koi: Shushiro and Rikiya]
[Private to Tanrov: Tanrov begins to get this strange feeling that there is something undead around, but you can't quite figure out where.  When the dog on stage appears you realize, it is an undead.  You don't know how you know, but you just know.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:18, Sat 17 Sept 2011.

Once inside the inn Sammiya scanned the room. Not seeing what she was looking for, Sammiya then approached the bar, but stopped when the halfling appeared on stage. At that point she found an empty table and sat down to watch the show. She watched the show intently.  Sammiya didn't want to disrupt the show...so she went to stand against the wall between the stage and the door.

[Private to Sammiya Koi: DM: You do realize that is your brother and dead? dog on stage?

"Sammiya didn't want to disrupt the show, but neither did she want to make it easy for Shushiro to escape without confronting her after his show was over. Getting up from the seat she had just taken, Sammi went to stand against the wall between the stage and the door. She was happy to see her dog, but was disturbed since she had been certain that it was dead. Against the wall, Sammi resumed waiting for Shushiro to finish his act."

DM; There are issues I would like to keep secret such as you plans and relationship to your brother, please post actions only until the group get's together.  Which door are you standing beside - see map for details.  You came in the doors to the east/right and everyone is seated in the bar area, around or near the round tables. ]
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:54, Sun 18 Sept 2011.

As the 2nd and 3rd halfling appear in the door and on stage, Talis, as Aldern, looks from Cat to the 2 new halflings and says in a stage whisper to Grigori, "Which halfling?"

pm[Private to Zer-wedula: Cat looks at Zer, "Tell me more of your dreams," She glances at the stage act with a frown. Are they mocking her?

11:59, Today: Catessa Fallowfield rolled 21 using 1d20+9. Will save. ]

With the Tian Halfling coming in, the halfling performing on stage and Talis/Aldern talking with the tavern owner, Jan playing cards, eating and flirting and Miriam appearing to seat alone and last but not least, Cat and Zer talking [Private to GM: but especially because of the feeling that there is undead in the room.  ] Tanrov/Garth gets a headache from all that is going on around him and shakes his head to try to clear it but cannot.[Private to Catessa Fallowfield; DM; Jan Harlow; Miriam; Talis Revain: Because of the headache Tanrov has lost the plan.   Someone better  do something before he does something stupid like: go up to Aldern and say hi.  (The kid in him gets bored real easily)]
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:55, Sun 18 Sept 2011.

[Private to Catessa Fallowfield; DM: Zer-wedula glanced sharply at Aldern.  His spell told him otherwise but surely this was Aldern!  Old memories stirred and his instincts told him to flip the table and rush the man.  "We need to kill Foxglove!" he hissed]
[Private to Catessa Fallowfield; DM: 20:18, Today: Zer-wedula rolled 14 using 1d20+5. Will save. ]

Zer-wedula appeard to be getting agitated with whatever Catessa was telling him.

PM [Private to DM: Sorry, you must think I'm a real dingbat. I was assuming the stage was that circular shadow at the front of the pews on the map, so I was intending to stand by the door on the north/upper side of the room.]
[Private to Sammiya Koi: I wouldn't go that far.  That is the stage.  The door going outside, or the other one.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:21, Mon 19 Sept 2011.

Following the flare the halfling on the stage casts a Faerie Fire spell, which at the last moment targets the table Cat and Zer are sitting at, outlining them with light.  The halfling on the stage says in a Tian accent, "Sister you should have..." then does a double take as he notices the Tian halfling and then back to Cat, "You aren't...^%$#[Private to Sammiya Koi: a Tian curse word], Grigori you fool, you have a group of adventurers here.  Take care of them before they link you to us and bring the guard."

Grigori pales slightly and says loudly, "Code yellow," then in a normal voice to Talis/Aldern, "Aldern I will consider paying your current debt if you help us knock everyone out so we can sort this out."  Then the troll speaks in a deep voice, "No!  Code red.  Kill them all."   Grigori shakes his head and then shrugs his shoulders.  Now you know who is really in charge.

There is a surprise round, but only some npcs are surprised.  Everyone may a single action.

Pc's, except Tanrov and Sam, are sitting down.
The room is dark, so 20% miss chance for any target beyond 10', 20' for low light vision.
There are 3 serving ladies, all with no visible weapons.
The 2 bartenders are behind the bar, but don't wear visible weapons.
The halforc bouncer has a Falchion, but no armor.
The Troll has leather armor, but no weapons.
Grigori has a rapier and chain shirt.
There are 7 other patrons - 3 chelaxian sailors - daggers and rapiers
                          - 2 Garandi sailors - daggers
                          - 1 man (local clothes)
                          - 1 woman (slutty clothes)
[Private to Miriam: Know's there are at least 2 cooks upstairs.]

We will say standing from a sitting position replaces a 5' move.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:35, Tue 20 Sept 2011.

Zer-wedula shrugs at Cat and says, "Nothing changes, does it?" and then casts a  spell.

[Private to GM: Zer-wedula casts Lightning Bolt DC 16 at Grigori]