He nods. "Head up to the main house then. Stay on the path." He reaches into his cloak and pulse out a small silver bell. He rings it. Nothing seems to happen. He puts it away and continues. "When ya get to the main house, go winders Hinsdale around it until you come to the kitchen outbuilding. Don't go to the front door of the house. At the kitchen ask for Desek."

You walk up the path. The woods on each side seem dense. Almost like you are in the wild instead of in Korvosa. Several birds alight on the various branches of trees, many are kinds you have never seen before. Most are very brightly colored and exotic looking. The word parrot floats through your mind. If so, these birds are further north than your usual haunts.

The path winds past the tower Belgar saw before. A group of guards are gathered around a campfire in front of it. They eye you as you pass but say nothing. You notice the guards armor seems to be of good quality. The Arkonas seem not to skimp on such expenses.

As you continue up the trail, you hear a loud crash in the underbrush ahead. A deer bolts across the path ahead, rushing into the wood on the other side of the trail. It has several large gashes in it's haunches. It is moving too quickly to see much but something has been after it. It is gone in a moment. Nothing else comes barreling out of the underbrush. You can see the Manor ahead.

Moving us on. However, please feel free to make whatever kind of roll you wish concerning the deer. If you wish to chase after it let me know.

The wall around the Manor itself is low. You can see what must be the kitchen outbuilding not far from the eastern side of the manor. A couple of servants are rushing between the kitchen and the Manor house, carrying trays of food.

Heading for the kitchen or the main door or elsewhere?

Selvin was a bit uncomfortable being without his nearly-constant companion surrounding him. He felt naked and vulnerable. He did his best to smile as Zuni did the talking. He wondered why Tarrov wasn't the one doing the talking, but Zuni seemed to handle it just fine.

He idly wondered who's birthday it was.

He smiled slightly at the birds they saw. Pretty but not from around here. The tower was interesting, and he wondered if they would be heading there. The guards he didn't stare at, just a quick glance and then look away, taking care not to change his stance or anything as he did so.

The deer startled him and he stopped when it burst past. He blinked a few times. He opened his mouth but then closed it again. They had a job to do.

OOC: I vote for the kitchen to 'establish our cover' first.

In reply to Selvin Larst (msg # 4):

Kitchen it is then

The kitchen seems to have more people and food than it can hold. The aroma of roasting meat, sautéing vegetables, and baking pies rolls over you at the doorway with the subtlety of an invading army. A halfling woman with a scar across her face and hair the color of iron wipes her hands on her bloody apron and nods at you. "Yeah. I'mean Desek. You're  what? A circus? Calendar send you? Ever since the riots I hadn'the heard a word from 'er. I figured she got wasted. Well. Even if not you'really timin' is good. Was afraid I'don't have taken tell the Family there was no entertainment. You don' have any dog acts do ya? Tha's fine then."

She motions for you to follow and leads you towards the main house. She leads you to a gate and inside a rather lush and surprisingly tropical garden. Exotic looking butterflies of dark blues, crimson and purples float admit orchids and irises. You see what appears to a spiky oblong fruit you've never seen before growing on an odd looking tree. Towering over everything is a statue of a woman with three heads and six arms. The woman in the statue snarls at you and seems unhappy to be here.

Desek heads for a side door and opens it, ushering you all inside. It looks like a small room used for storage. "You can wait here. I'll have some bread and wine sent over. Get comfy. Party won'the start for another few hours. Questions?"

Tarrov raised his hand.  "Is there a privy we can use?"  He smiled.  "I mean, if we're going to be here for a few hours.  Also, would it be possible for us to get a look at the area where we'll be performing?  Our show will be much-more entertaining if we can use the space we have to its full advantage."

OOC:  I'd like to make a knowledge: religion check for the many-armed statue.

13:46, Today: Tarrov Garrick rolled 19 using 1d20+11.  Knowledge (Religion) Check.

In reply to Tarrov Garrick (msg # 6):

It ain't pretty but we got a map. Group 0. D5 is the storage room Desek is sticking you in. D4 is of course the garden. D11 is the room we will discuss in a mo. That bit of building to in the lower left corner is the kitchen.

The statue is unfamiliar Tarrov. It looks Vudran in origin. But you aren'the overly familiar with all of the various deities. And it does appear to be some sort of goddess.

Desek Jenks her head, indicating you should follow her back into the garden. "You can take a dumb in the outhouse behind the kitchen. As for the party...it may be out here or it may..." she leads yo u across the garden to a set of finely wrought double doors. They lead into a dining room. A large, long table of beautifully polished black mahogany inlaid with mother-of-pearl and silver takes up most of the room. The chairs surrounding it are just as ornate. The furniture in this room alone costs more than most Korvosa answer make in a lifetime. "The Masters are capricious. They may have ya entertain in here. I'm assumin' such uncertainty a' venue w9n'the be a problem, eh? Now then. Let'stand head back to tha store room. Like I said, I'Lloyd send along some food an' drink. You lot can rest and relax 'til showtime."

She begins to show you back to the storeroom.

Zuni looked back towards the kitchen and all of the wonderful foods that were cooking in there.  She could feel her mouth watering as they walked through there before.  She wanted to ask about the food, if they could perhaps have some, but stayed quiet.  They were playing the roles of entertainers after all and it wouldn't help the act none if she asked about the food like a beggar.

"Are there any sort of performances that the Masters prefer?  We'd like to make sure to include such things in our performance." she asked Desek.

Selvin made mental notes and kept a running map in his head of what they were shown of the manor grounds. He didn't want to get turned if they had to run at some point later. He didn't have to pretend or act as he inspected the areas they were shown with a critical eye....he just wasn't looking at with an eye for entertainment, more for combat.

He gave a nod to the one showing them around, but kept his mouth shut until they were all alone again.

In reply to Zuni Runesong (msg # 8):

Desek smiles in a vague sort of manner. "They like danger. If you can work that in that'd be good. Especially knives." She puts a hand on the door. <Rex>"Alright. I have to get back ta work. I'll send a snack over."</Red>

And with that she's gone. A quarter of an hour later a hunchbacked dwarf brings by a basket of bread stuffed with meat, vegetables, and a very spicy red sauce as well as a couple of bottles of wine. He just shrugs at any questions, pointing at his ears and shaking his head. He leaves the room quickly


Whatcha wanna do?

"Is anyone else getting a distinctly creepy vibe about these Arkonas?"  Tarrov asked as the door closed behind Desek.  "Because I'm getting a distinctly creepy vibe about these Arkonas.  Something about this place and these people is just wrong."  He gave the four walls of their room a searching look, as if they might provide a clue regarding what was going on.

He sighed.  "We're here for Seneschal Neolandus.  I don't think the Arkonas are just going to produce him for us if we ask nicely.  It seems like we need to find him and see what he thinks about what is going on in Korvosa, and try to convince him--if possible--to declare the Queen unfit to rule.  He's the only one with the authority to do it."

Tarrov ran a frustrated hand through his silver hair.  "Although with the way things are going, I'm not so sure how much sway the rule of law has in this city any longer.  I've never been one to toe the line on every regulation, but it sure is nice when at least the leaders follow the rules."

He looked at each of his companions.  "So, shall we scout about for Neolandus?  Or does one of you have a better idea?"

"Should we split up and use lost on the way to the little entertainer's room or are we going to try and stick together. The latter might be harder to explain away, but I'm not sure I want to be alone by some danger and knife loving Arkonas."  The disguised half orc fortune teller took in their surroundings a bit, but he doubted they were in immediate danger now.

Selvin pursed his lips for a moment. He nodded to Tarrov. "Oh, no, definitely agreed, but then everything in this city right now feels wrong. It's a bit disheartening actually."

He straightened a bit and pushed those thoughts away. "Well. I can cast Invisibility, but it wouldn't be good t'rely solely on that as there're ways around that. But I think at least one person should scout, an' while I'm loathe t'split up, I don't think we could easily explain away how ALL of us're roamin' around if we got caught."

He shrugged. "I'm not that much of a performer, but I'm also not the sneakiest. I can summon up my ally for the performance, or I can summon up various animals or monsters if we prefer."

Chandanar has been standing by the door, keeping it open just a crack and keeping a watch. He suddenly makes a Tch sound and waves at the rest of you. There are apparently doings in the garden.

A small crew of workmen are erecting a small platform stage under the arms of the demon-goddess-thing statue. Actually it's surprising how much they have gotten done and how you didn'the notice it. With all the hammering and sawing you wounderstand have thought they'd  be making a racket.

Desek is standing not far from them talking to a woman who must be an Arkonan. 'Must be' because she looks too good to be anything but pure evil. Long, thick Auburn hair hangs over her slim pale shoulders like blood on fresh snow. Her dress is tight enough to qualify for the term 'second skin' and manages the neat trick of being too bondage to be vampy  and too vampy to be bondage. She's like ripe nightshade berries in a starving man's hands. Sure it's a mistake. But that moment before the cramping starts will be the sweetest taste ever.

Desek days something to her and gestures in the direction of the door you're peeking through. The woman glances coyly in your direction and brushes a strand of hair off her perfect ear. She smiles and says something to Desek. She then turns and walks towards a door in the east.

Desek says something to the workmen ando heads in the direction of the kitchen. The workmen start finishing the stage and gathering their tools.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:27, Thu 04 Feb 2016.

For being dressed up as a clown, Belgar has the same drab expression he always has.  It's a curious juxtaposition.  Axes in hand he bares down on their grips as he see's the red headed woman, generating the familiar popping leather sound.  It's not easy to tell how seriously he's taking the performance charade.  He could just as easily plant an axe in the nearest Arkona as a show target...

Zuni helped herself to some of the food and was nibbling on a small bun when Chandanar drew their attention outside.  The woman catches her eye immediately and Zuni sized her up visually.

"That woman is trouble.  Wonder who she is..." Zuni said softly before turning away from the door to face her companions.  "I'm a fair hand at sneaking around.  Did a lot of it in my younger days, that and pick locks.  I'm not too shabby with a knife either, and that Desek did say that the Arkonas did enjoy dangerous acts and knives.  We're not going to find Neolandus acting the part of performers in front of a crowd.  Unless, Tarrov can talk the information out of them."

She paused for a moment.  "Maybe we can do both.  Try getting the information out of the crowd during the performance and then we can sneak away afterwards.  It would be helpful if we had some way to focus our search."

So wacting for the performance or trying to sneak a out now?

"There's always the chance..."  Belgar grumbles, "they put two and two together and we lose the initiative.." With an axe in each hand, he stretches his arms and rolls his neck. "I'm quiet enough. Even with my armor. I say we slip in now." He intentionally avoids eating or drinking anything offered.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:32, Sat 06 Feb 2016.

Tarrov grinned.  "I'm very good at talking, if I do say so myself.  But somehow I don't think a woman like that," he gestured to the auburn Arkona, "is going to be taken in by sweet words.  And waiting for the performance might not be the best idea."  He gave the courtyard a troubled look.  "I'm starting to think that the entertainment we're intended to provide might not be as voluntary as we'd prefer."

"So I vote we try and find Neolandus now.  I'm pretty good at sneaking around and if I'm caught I can probably talk myself out of whatever bind I'm in."  He smiled again.  "It's always worked for me before.  But I think what we might want to do is try and get some of the Arkona staff alone and try to get some information that way."  He frittered his hand through the air, somehow indicating privileged nobility.  "When you're dealing with high and mighty types like this, the servants always seem to know a lot more than you'd think.  And if they're hiding Neolandus here he needs to be fed.  So maybe the someone who works in the kitchens would be a good place to start?"
This message was last edited by the player at 06:34, Sat 06 Feb 2016.

Belgar nods and immediately commences putting his armor back on.

"Alright then.  Let's do it." Zuni agrees and starts to change out of her performing dress and slip on her chain shirt back on.

The workmen are leaving out the garden gate to the kitchen...

Alright. I uploaded a better copy of the map to Group 1. As you can see you have a lot of doors to choose from. You are in D5. Gowing clockwise from there, the double doors to the east of D5's door is Door #1. Then continuing clockwise door 2, 3, 4 etc which gives us a total of nine doors including the one to D5 which lead out of the garden/area D4.

Door 3 leads to the dining hall Desek showed you earlier.

Door 4 is the garden gate to the kitchen.

The woman from earlier went into door 6.

So? Where to?

"I think heading to the kitchen is the most believable thing we can do," Tarrov said, pointing after the workers.  "I don't think anyone is going to think twice at the members of a traveling entertainment company going to the kitchen in an attempt to get more/better food.  In fact, that's exactly the kind of thing a real company would do."


Do we see any reason to believe that we would be noted by anyone aside from workers if we went through the garden gate to the kitchen?

In reply to Tarrov Garrick (msg # 23):

There were a lot of servants in the kitchen earlier. So assuming they are still there, the odds seem high you would be spotted. The privy is a small building beyond the kitchen. So you could use that as an excuse of you are.

I'm not worried about servants.  We want to--or I want to, at least--kind of hobnob with the servants and workers while we're waiting, getting the best gossip, sharing tales, etc.  That's a regular occurrence almost everywhere, so it probably wouldn't raise any eyebrows if we did it.  The worst they will do, most likely, is shoo us back to our room.  I'm only really worried about upper management, like Arkonas.

Alright in then. Garden gate it is...

The kitchen is still a hubbub of activity. The staff have the doors open to vent the heat. Smells of garlic, roasting pork, and baking bread wash out of the small cottage. Inside you can see three older women and two men at work preparing dishes for the party. A younger girl is seated on a stoop outside, peeling carrots. A small path to the privy runs to the west. The path to the front of the house runs north and south.

The girl doesn'the seem to notice you. She seems intent on her carrots.

Tarrov ran a hand through his silver hair, took a deep breath, then walked over to sit next to the younger girl, giving her his most-genuine smile.

"Hey there," he said, drawing his knees up and putting his arms around them.  "I'm with the entertainment troupe.  We thought we might find the kitchen and see if there's any food available before our show starts."  He looked over his shoulder toward the kitchen, then back at the girl.  "What do you think?  Would that be all right?  We're," he gestured to the rest of the party, "new here."