Aerin nodded "Aye, a terrible fate indeed. Regardless of how the search for the boy turns out, we should be looking into that orc-matter as well." she said with a grim tone in her voice. "Thank you, that's giving us a few leads to pursue already." the Rashemi added and took a big bite out of her food.

"I for one believe if they were running as adventures then the orc issue would surely draw them, especially if a dwarf was steering them. Perhaps we should begin with the refugees. " the Duskblade said to the others once the servers moved away.

 Having been overheard despite his modest precaution, Tseran keeps his peace for a few moments, letting the intrusive half-elf talk... and talk (the irony of this line of thinking never occurs to him, of course) until she has most definitely departed to speak to others, whereupon he quietly remarks "It may be possible for me to learn something from the chamber in which the parties were held, given a few hours. The possibility is low, but it exists."

Aerin leaned over to Tseran, listening to what he had to say and nodded _{"Then I shall see if we can get in there."} she sat upright again, digging into her food but holding out for Ethel, hoping to catch her attention once more.

When the proprietor notices her and comes over the dragonkin speaks to her in a low voice "Ethel, would it be possible to check out the rooms this Vyperwood boy used for his parties? We um... were considering renting them for celebrating _after_ a successful mission." she said and gave the woman a wink.

"And yes, I would enjoy staying at your inn, though I cannot speak for the others." the Rashemi added and smiled.

Ethel made a show of considering this request. 'I don't see why not. Anybody can rent the private meeting rooms, ten gold coins for a night, but you're free to inspect. They've been cleaned up now, of course.' she explained helpfully. She went on, with a hinting tone 'Unfortunately, Kallen Vyperwood left with a sizeable unpaid tab. I'm not sure I'll see that money now...'

Orophear asked,"How big of a tab?"

Ethel rolled the gold coin Aerin had given her through her fingers. 'Oh, fifty more like this one should cover it.'
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:45, Wed 06 Sept 2017.

The elf stared at the woman for a moment and then slid his hand into a small pouch on his belt. Pulling the hand out Orophear put a small stack of ten platinum coins on the table, his hand not moving.
"We get the room for as long as we like... undisturbed. " the Duskblade stated before removing his hand and sitting back in his chair.

 Settling back, Tseran watches as the more... Well funded... individuals in the group negotiate for access to the chamber in question, his curiosity piqued by just how readily they throw their intellects and resources behind even the most tentative suggestion of a lead.

 With this level of commitment, things might just work out after all.

Ethel was surprised by how much more Orophear passed over, but quickly and discreetly pocketed her bribe and a half. 'Yes, that should do it, and more. The meeting room is yours for as long as you need it, for legal and tasteful uses, of course. This way, please.' She led the adventurers out of the common room, though Maelarra elected to stay behind and enjoy her lunch along with Tamae.

In the quiet back area, Ethel showed them to a spacious private dining hall for hosting parties and meetings. The walls were decorated with artworks from up and down the Dragon Reach lands. She lit the lanterns, and pointed out the various amenities and services provided. '...and we have an arrangement with the stables next door. We can reserve stalls for you and your guests' mounts, should you require.'

'Kallen Vyperwood made good use of all our facilities: he kept several horses in the stables, and held parties in here for his guests. They preferred their privacy though, coming and going in heavy cloaks and hoods like they thought they thought they were being subtle. Everyone knew Dorn Crownshield the mercenary though; a dwarf is a bit obvious.'

"Thank you, Ethel." Aerin said "Yes, there are horses that need stabling, taking care of them would be welcome." the dragonkin said with a gentle smile. "Dorn Crownshield? Never heard of him, have you seen him recently? What's he like?" she asked, curious if this name could be an alias for Dorn Hammerhand or if it was somebody else indeed.

'That was the name he gave, but I think we was connected to the Hammerhand mercenary company.' Ethel mused. 'They provide security to one of the noble houses, I think, but they're rumoured to be secretly excavating the city for lost dwarven treasure... Anyway, he seemed your typical doughty dwarf. I haven't seen any of them for, oh, six days now.'

Aerin nodded affirmatively, keeping her own observations and ideas to herself, it appeared that it was Dorn Hammerhand, just under an alias. She looked at Tseran, the mysterious stranger had claimed he might be able to deduce something from the room but she hadn't seen him do anything. Then again she didn't know how his senses or whatever it was, worked. The Rashemi waited for another minute, allowing the others to ask more questions.

 Tseran is stood to one side of the proceedings, looking around the room and every so often glancing meaningfully at the maidservant who led them up to the room - the lass who sells information in a building full of adventurers in a city that treats any independent use of magic or magical arts as a good reason to be introduced to the inside of a dungeon.

 Patiently then, he waits for the girl to be done being interrogated and fills his time in the interim with idle examination of the room.

[Private to GM: 12:30, Today: Tseran Tal'chiar rolled 4 using 1d20.  Search (why not)?
 That's be 11 then, so never mind. ^_^]

Ethel left when the adventurers had no more questions for her.

The hall was clean, well-furnished, and decorated. The wall-mounted lanterns turned out to be magical, with continual flames upon their wicks that could be covered or dimmed by sliding a component inside the lantern.

 "There will be little to see, but please try to remain quiet." Tseran remarks as he moves to the centre of the room and casually uses a small piece of chalk taken out of a pocket to draw a near-perfect circle on the wooden boards, settling inside it and taking out a few small geegaws - a flawed stone, a candle, a scrap of parchment. Foci more than anything, not necessary as such but aids to memory and attentiveness as he closes his eyes and hums a soft note.

 One that the room answers him with, the very furniture and walls shimmering with a soft bass murmur that's sustained over several moments, rising and falling as Tseran alters his own pitch - as though he's using the sound to quest for responses.

 Over the course of several more minutes, a glistening sheen starts to coat pretty much every static surface, fading when poked or examined too closely.

 And time starts to pass, in unhurried fashion.

 He did say hours, didn't he..?


[Private to GM:  Okay, don't know how useful it is but hey, there might have been passionate arguments, triumphs, despair and right now we have nothing:

You gain historical vision in a given location. Rooms, streets, tunnels, and other discrete locations accumulate psychic impressions left by powerful emotions experienced in a given area. These impressions offer you a picture of the location’s past.

The types of events most likely to leave psychic impressions are those that elicited strong emotions: battles and betrayals, marriages and murders, births and great pain, or any other event where one emotion dominates. Everyday occurrences leave no residue for a manifester to detect.

The vision of the event is dreamlike and shadowy. You do not gain special knowledge of those involved in the vision, though you might be able to read large banners or other writing if they are in your language.

Beginning with the most recent significant event at a location and working backward in time, you can sense one distinct event for every 10 minutes you maintain concentration, if any such events exist to be sensed. Your sensitivity extends into the past a maximum number of years equal to 100 × your manifester level.]

Time passed. They waited. This looked like it could take a while...


OOC: Tseran's thing has an hours-long casting time and duration, and it will take a few posts for me to dole out information, so feel free to carry out other investigations while you wait, either here or elsewhere in the inn. Or else study whatever Tseran's doing. ;)

*

...To Tseran's third eye, the room came to life, filled with flickering images of people, moving, acting, speaking, as real as dreams. This was the whole emotional history of this hall, all jumbled together. By focusing on the most intense emotions, working his way back, complete events appeared

...Merchants in their hose and feathered caps, arguing over a deal. Mouths hang open and eyes bulge, fists wave in the air or bang on the table, wine sloshes from their cups and scrolls scatter. Tseran senses anger, frustration, greed...

[Private to Tseran Tal'chiar: This is a hall for hire, used for meetings, negotiations, celebrations, parties, etc., so you can expect to find a high number of emotionally charged events. Your Manifester Level is 7, isn't it?]
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:04, Wed 13 Sept 2017.

 Once you get over the gleaming surfaces and the faintly choral tones permeating the room, there's just not a hell of a lot to see here. It's a tad more exciting for Tseran of course - he's actually privy to something of the past but for anyone else?

 Well, maybe they'll have something to do.

 ---

 Yup.

Kaijn had joined the rest of the group in the rented room and curiously watched the elf perform his magic, picking up every hand gesture and syllabi spoken.

OOC: 21:43, Today: Kaijn Tur'kin rolled 20 using 1d20+16.  Spellcraft .

...Sages and scholars holding a conference, in sombre robes and square caps. One points to diagrams on a blackboard, holding forth on her topic. An audience surrounds the table, scribbling notes, listening attentively, whispering to each other, drinking Durpari kaeth and eating little cakes and biscuits brought by waitstaff. Tseran senses curiosity, discovery, and boredom...

*

It looked like spellcraft, it had the effects of spellcraft, it even kind of smelled like spellcraft, but it was like no spellcraft Kaijn had seen, not in a long time anyway. Tseran's ritual, circle, and foci had no function, and were more like what a fraud or hedge-wizard might employ. Yet it seemed to be working.

[Private to Kaijn Tur'kin: Tseran seemed to be practising the so-called Invisible Art of psionics, also called mind magic, an obscure craft with long history. The empire of Jhaamdath, long rivals to Netheril in the south, were psionicists.

14:51, Today: Secret Roll: DM BadCatMan, on behalf of Kaijn Tur'kin, rolled 21 using 1d20+12.  knowledge: arcana.
14:51, Today: Secret Roll: DM BadCatMan, on behalf of Kaijn Tur'kin, rolled 12 using 1d20+6.  knowledge: history.]

 There's definitely power thrumming in the air, but their relationship to Tserans actions is unclear at best. Irritably, after the first hour or so - during the course of which he idly extinguishes what proved to be a modestly scented candle (which had no arcane purpose beyond offsetting the stink of the streets) - he reports "The room was last used for a mercantile conference, one that roused great passions..." and permitting ten minutes to pass, then adding "Before that a conference, kaeth and biscuits, the topic opaque..."

 This is where the purpose of the parchment becomes clear as he uses the little stone as an impromptu ink-block (rubbing ink into the flaw and dampening it) then taking hasty notes in an elegant hand.

 The circle though, that's just a bit of quality boffo, the Ladies College Divination Course included a module on it since your average diviner doesn't do anything half as visually impressive as chucking fireballs and you need something to impress the ladies.

Half an hour passed and Aerin got bored. Seriously bored. That would be another emotion that could be picked up eventually. Trusting Tseran to share what he found out, the dragonkin excused herself "Alright, if you stumble on something relevant or need a hand banishing a ghost or other monstrosity, don't hesitate to fetch me. Otherwise I'm downstairs, sampling food and drink after stabling our horses."

With that she quietly removed herself from the hall and put her words into action...

Orophear too stood bored as Tseran worked his magics. When Aerin mentioned she was going to do something else the elf followed behind quickly and determined to assist the draginkin on her tasks.

Tseran:

...Rogues in hooded grey cloaks surrounding a trio of frightened sailors, gleaming knives and blackjacks drawn, miniature crossbows cocked. A pouch of gold coins changes hands, yielded to the thieves in ransom or tithe. The air is thick with menace, tension, and fear. One of the thieves, a leader directing from the back turns and, incredibly, glances toward Tseran – before his vision is mercifully whisked away...

Aerin:

Aerin briefly left the Mocking Maiden to visit the adjoining stables. They were slightly seedy but functional, and if anything the smell was better in the stalls than in the streets, being the comparatively more natural aroma of horse and dung. There were only a few contented horses here now.

The stablemaster was a greasy fellow who gave Aerin a suspicious look while shoeing a horse. 'What d'you want?' he said in a surly tone.

Everyone else:

Leaving Tseran to his divinations, the adventurers returned to the common room to resume their meals. Maelarra and Tamae were finishing their roast lamb. The priestess looked up at their return to the table. 'What did you find?' she began, before noting Tseran and Aerin were not yet rejoining them. 'Ah, well, I had an idea that if the scions were going out adventuring, they would come back in need of healing, particularly before returning to their homes. Investigating the local temples might be well worth our time. There are three in Calaunt: one to Selûne the Moonmaiden; one to Loviatar, the Maiden of Pain; and one to Tymora, Lady Luck. In particular, Eltain Mintharl seems to be a man of faith, given the story of him being in religious seclusion, though his grandmother Duchess Saleska is a priestess of Tempus, Lord of Battles... Anyway, I could make some discreet inquiries at the temples under cover of my freelance cleric trade, while you explore other options.'

"Well met, sir." Aerin replied, not reacting to the man's rude address. "We're staying over at the Mocking Maiden and Ethel told us we could stable the horses here." she said, not saying how she felt about letting her four legged companion in a place like this. Quietly she was hoping they would be able to leave the city soon. While she enjoyed one or two of a city's amenities, this one was just ugly enough to run away form, as quickly as possible.