"Oh my goodness! Yes, Logan, that is the 'Cudgel Blue' I was thinking of, it is the best cheese in town. Now at least we have something to put on the crackers. That was very thoughtful of you. <sigh> I wish the other group had shown the same level of courtesy."




"Vanthus?" She glances up at the large portrait of her brother behind her. "Connected with some sort of thieves' guild? I can't imagine that, I mean, doing something silly like trying to mess with Amarilde's wedding? Maybe, but not more than that."



"Oh, my little brother?" Lavinia rubs her cheek. "No, he has left town. And as to everybody else, I am afraid that I have not been able to pay the servants and now it is just little old me and Kora inside this huge house. But I mean to change all that - with your help!"


[Private to Celene: Yes, that was Vanthus. He is the dark haired boy.]
This message was last edited by the player at 19:35, Thu 04 June 2015.

The native grins at Logan's quip as he follows the group into the private dinning and to an available seat. He absently picked up a bowl of java plums that have been discarded upon the floor, blowing off whatever foreign matter clung to it's skin before tossing the bite sized melons into his mouth. "Unlike me friends, I be not eatin' dis mornin'," he grumbles under his breath. He continues to eat as Celene asks her questions -a curious looking croissant followed by macadamia nuts scattered all about the dinning room table. The pitcher of water had something precarious floating in it so the native poured himself a glass of pear cider hoping that the alcohol would dull whatever the Jade Ravens used to spoil the beverage.

During this time of indulgence, Alohan hadn't actually been following the conversation. In fact, when he actually paused to look at Lavinia, he had actually noticed how beautiful she was. 'Oh my,' his heart told his head. While Amarilde was surely good for the eyes, Lavinia was something Alohan needed. As quickly as Rowyn entered his life, Lavinia had stumbled in.

Now that the entire party is seated around the table, Lavinia also sits down and begins her story.

"As I mentioned, I inherited my parents' estate about a month ago. Along with this fine house and a plantation, came a fine amount of debt owed to the Dawn Council, the harbourmaster, and quite a few guildhalls. It seems like my parents, for all of their success as adventurers, were not as skilled in finance as one might expect. If I’m to get these taxes paid, I’ll need to access my family’s vault under Castle Teraknian where they kept the treasure from their adventures."

"Oh Kora, the tea! Thank you. Please start with Madam Lidu, anybody else for a cup?" Lavinia starts fidgeting with a paper napkin as she speaks, folding and unfolding it countless times.

"So, my goodness, where was I? Oh, so that’s the problem, you see. The vaults are magically locked—keyed to special signet rings. Both of my parents had one of these rings, at least, until recently. My mother lost hers a few months ago. She arranged for a replacement, but it won’t be done for another month or so, too late for me. Which leaves my father’s ring. He never wore it — he had a thing about men wearing jewelry. He kept it hidden somewhere on his ship, the Blue Nixie. The problem there is that the harbormaster’s seized the ship until someone pays for the last four months of mooring. I’ve paid the fines to the man the harbormaster’s put in charge of my ship, I think you have heard of him... he is a brute named SOLLER VARK."

Lavinia starts folding her napkin with more purpose, making it into a shape.

"So after I paid, I went to claim my ship but Vark’s men wouldn’t let me board, claiming that I hadn’t yet paid the fines. I spoke to Vark again, but he just laughed and denied ever receiving my payment. My complaints to the harbourmaster, have fallen on deaf ears — Keltar Islaran is a doddering old fool and deathly ill to boot. He says he trusts his men, and won't help. I think he knows death is close and just can't be bothered."

"Vark and his men are up to something on my ship, I know it. What I need is to find out exactly what they’re up to. Unfortunately, Vark’s not the type to react well to diplomacy or logic. I need people who... speak his language. Which is where you come in. After my SECOND COUSIN told me of your successes against Vark yesterday morning, I though you would be the right people to tackle him. If you can find out what he’s using my ship for, or even better, recover the money I paid him and get my ship back, I’ll pay each of you... two hundred gold. Would that be acceptable?"

Lavinia pauses, and places the folded napkin on the table. It is the same strange flower as half the napkins on the table. "Of course I can't give you anything right now. And you'll have to help me access the family vault so I can recover our family reserves after you're finished on the boat."

Two hundred gold.  Two.  HUNDRED. GOLD.  Logan said the number to himself a few times in his head.  How much money did this woman's family have?  The rogue looked to the others, to see how they were handling the information.  He calmly stood up and walked over to the table, cutting himself a piece of cheese and a cracker, using the time to steady his thoughts before he tried to speak.  But his thoughts kept echoing: Two Hundred Gold.  Finally, Logan had himself under what he thought was good control, and cleared his throat as he regained his seat.

"That's a terrible story.  We've all had run-ins with Vark in the past.  Come to think of it, he was actually involved with stealing Amarilde's dress."  Logan shakes his head, suddenly distracted from thoughts of the possible gold reward.  "That can't be a coincidence, can it?  Does Vark have some kind of grudge against your family?  Or Keltar?  Because I can't imagine Vark actually thinking of something like this on his own.  It's too..."  Logan waved his hands in the air, "Too...intellectual for him.  He's more of the smash and grab type thug, like the business with Bronson and the wedding dress.  Someone else must be behind this.  Who else knows about the ring and the vaults, Lavinia?"  Logan blushed, remembering he was addressing nobility.  "Er, Lady Vanderboren.

He paused again, then added: "I'd be glad to help, of course.  If nothing else, just to knock Vark down another peg.  I just want to make sure that we're covering our bases, and not walking into a bigger mess than we started with."

Alohan nods along with Logan, never taking his eye off Lavinia. Another damsel in distress needing his particular skillset -how convenient. The prospect of him needing to harm someone over a silly ring didn't quite sit well with him but another run in with the criminal Vark could potentially make it worth while. Furthermore, it gave Alohan the chance to mingle with the seedy underbelly of Sasserine, something he might be able to take advantage of in the long run.

"Dis...  Keltar Islaran" he began, carefully enunciating Keltar's name. "He be at de wedding, no? Coughin' his innards out all of de night. If I be rememberin', Logan be chattin' wit him. What kind of a man is dis Keltar. Type of man to be havin' such criminals in his employ?" The question was more for Logan than Lavinia. If Keltar was some form of criminal harbor boss, Alohan would like to know.

Celene sits thinking about the story and the responses for a moment, before speaking up. "Logan, you are on to something, but I think you were not present at one more piece of information that came our way. As you and Alohan were after that Vark Fellow, this girl, a side-kicks of Varks, overstepped hear bounds, as Angati persuaded her to speak of things she should not. She was rather talkative, in fact. And what she said and implied was that Vark was in fact in the employ of your Brother, Lavinia! Her words were along the lines of 'Soller and I have our own ship now', clearly meaning some large, ship. But then she followed that they 'just need to do one more load for the Lotus Dragons and then...', at which point she suddenly broke off, and blurted 'Oh frak - Vanthus said he would kill us if we said anything.', before making a surprising exit into the harbour Water. Yes, sorry about the cursing, but those were her words. I think, Lavinia, that it may be time to face up that your brother is no longer the innocent child you probably played happily with when you were younger."

OOC. Just jumping in to give Lavinia's opinion of him. Logan should feel free to answer as well.

"I don't think he is a bad man," says Lavinia. "Just too old and sick to do the job properly. He has hired more and more men to take over the day to day tasks of running the harbours, and he really doesn't know what is going on anymore. Then he is so depressed that none of his sons are worthy of taking over the job of harbourmaster, or even want to do it, that he has given up on everything."

She sighs. "And I made things worse for myself by not having a witness when I paid Vark. That was just foolish, especially considering it was a large amount of money - one hundred platinum coins!"



"Oh no! Vanthus isn't like that. I mean, he has fallen in with some rough sorts since he came back. And has been drinking... and gambling. But he would never try and steal the Blue Nixie. I mean, what would be the point? He could just ask me for it! I would gladly let him borrow it or even give it to him."

"Well, I am afraid it was a bit naive, but we all act naive at times, expecting the best in people around us, especially those authorised by people in charge. But do you have any other legally binding or confirming documents, such as a deed on the ship, an agreement on the lease of a Anchorage in the harbour or such? Or perhaps some other proof of your payment? Did it come in a secured container, perhaps?

Have you talked with the harbourmaster about it personally? Perhaps we should give him a try?

We have been foiled once before in apprehending Vark, by his hiding under dubious rules and regulation and corrupt law enforcers. Any copy of such documents, or your written authorisation, would be of great help. We would of course give you a concurrent signed agreement on our rights and limits of your authourisation, to avoid you ending in a similar but even worse predicament..."



"So, you would basically give him all of the family property and wealth? Because piecing our intelligence with your story of the missing ring pretty much paints the picture that this is what he is after... If so, should we just give in to him, if he appears and demands the family property and that we leave? that is giving us a pretty poor mandate to work from..."

Angati profusely thanked Kora when she brought the tea and listened to the whole story frowning at certain points. She was about to speak when Celene stepped into the conversation, and she pretty much summed up all that she was about to say.

At Lavinia's response she just couldn't hold her tongue any longer... "Excuse me for saying this out loud, dear, you are a charming girl and I really feel for your troubles. In fact I would very much like to help you prosper for you seem the only one with a well furnished head on her shoulders in this family of yours but..."

She took another sip of the tea, which was just delicious, "Hmm this is a great brand and finely timed, how long is it ? minute and a half resting ?... hmmm anyway... as I feel rather inclined to believe you, my only conclusion is that you are being robbed by your own brother. Was this idea of giving 100 platinum to Vark your own idea ? or was there someone else that suggested it ?".

"Have you thought about it ? have you thought, how comes that your brother... away as you say he is... can manage to contact Vark, and have him work for him from afar while you ... giving him that amount of money manage to get laughed in the face ?. Things just don't match... you are either too innocent or you are being taken advantage of... who would pay all that money just to get into the ship to look for something, and why do it with Vark, instead of directly with the person responsible, when you know or think that he is trustworthy enough ?"

"Finally dear... who do you owe this money to ?""

Logan interjected quickly.  "I think Lavinia is right about the Harbormaster.  Keltar is old and sick and most certainly not doing enough to keep us the harbor, but I don't think he's actively malicious."  The rogue shook his head.  "Vark, on the other hand, and probably Vanthus are another story."

OOC: Heaven defend us from Lawful Good clerics of the goddess of Law! :P

"Oh, yes! Yes to most of those. Both the deed to the ship and the anchorage agreement are in my father's office, I think he also has... well, had... the blue prints for the Blue Nixie up there as well, he showed me them once. Oh Kora, would you be so good as to go upstairs and get those?"

The old Halfling answers that it would be her pleasure and disappears through a door to get the various papers.

"Now, as regards proof of payment of the outstanding anchorage fees... oh, Miss Celene, I have been so silly! No, I didn't get any sort of proof. But I did hand him the money in a monogramed pouch, it has our coat of arms on it. If the money is still in there when you find it, perhaps that proves something? It is exactly one hundred platinum coins, which is a large and unusual amount I am sure you will agree.!"



"Yes, Keltar was the first person I thought about going to. But he is deathly ill and says that he trusts his people. Apparently Vark is one of the people he has sub-contracted to collect anchorage dues in the merchant district, can you believe it, that brute is actually on Keltar's payroll!"





"Yes, you can take the originals if you like. And I will write up a letter authorising you all as my agents in this matter. KORA! BRING A QUILL, INK AND SOME PAPER AS WELL, THERE'S A DEAR!"



"Oh, really? No, that won't be necessary, I trust you all implicitly!"

OOC: That's that cleric of law coming out again!



"What? Oh no! I wouldn't give him everything! He would drink and... snort it all away in a couple of months. But the Blue Nixie is just one ship and he was so disappointed about not getting anything in the inheritance. If he said that he needed the Nixie to set off on his own and make his fortune I would understand."

"That said, if he turns up and demands it, of course you shouldn't just hand it over to him! He should come and see me, as the head of the family, and I can make the necessary changes to the deed."

"And don't jump to conclusions about my mother's missing ring. She probably just put it down somewhere in the house and forgot about it. I'm sure it will turn up one day."



"The tea? Oh, it is Alphatian green all the way from the highlands of Bellisaria, my family has a monopoly on it here in Sasserine and yes, the timing of the 'draw' is VERY important... Hang on. Madam Lidu, are you trying to distract me? No, you don't know Vanthus like I do, he wouldn't cheat me like that. And no, the 100 platinum was the amount owed - five months at two hundred gold a month. Berthing in the merchant district is expensive, but nothing to do with my little brother!"



"Oh, don't worry. It is just the Dawn Council - at any point in time half the families in Sasserine owe it money. And then some of the guildhalls... the merchants guildhall, the smiths guildhall, the shipwrights, the taxidermist guildhall. All just part of running a big business, you know how it is. But all of them are above board and no-one would try and sabotage my family, I am sure of it."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:14, Fri 05 June 2015.

Kora returns to the room with a bundle of rolled up documents under one arm, and quills and ink in the other.

"Thank you Kora. Oh, and here are the plans for the Blue Nixie!" Lavinia's delight at seeing the blue-prints is obvious . "It really is a fine ship, I remember my father being so proud of it when it was first built."



"And here are the anchorage deeds. See, the deed grants my family has the right to moor at the end of pier five in the merchants district for 200 gold a month in perpetuity. Pier five is the one between the merchants' guildhall and the Smiths' Guildhall, it isn't too far from here." Lavinia glances at Celene. "So the law is clearly on our side as I have now paid all of the money owing. The ship should be released."



"And now I will write something to authorise you all as my agents." Lavinia finds a piece of paper with the Vanderboren coat of arms on top - it is a eight pointed star with several concentric circles in the middle.



Lavinia quickly and deftly writes up a document and signs it. He excellent writing speaks of years of practice in using a quill. When she is finished, the young lady passes it onto Celene for checking. "Do you think this will do? It is only in case the authorities get involve - which they won't, that's the whole problem. Vark and his bunch aren't going to care about this at all, can he even read?"

Celene nod at the paper, agreeing it is fine. She quickly makes a similar document stating their rights and what is not their right, particularly that they forfeit any claim on the Vanderboren ship and any part of the money that they might recover for her.

That finished, she asks around, "so, is our best shot irecovering the money, if it is still to be found, in the pouch with the Vanderboren crest? Or confront Vark to persuade him first person?" The first should perhaps require stealth, the second more direct means...?"

Alohan continued to eat while everyone deliberated, tossing java plums and macadamia nuts into the air only to casually catch them in an open mouth. He was finding his poor command over Sasserine's language to be a bit of a hindrance- his accent was too thick for anyone to understand and he was finding people were generally ignoring his inquiries. Furthermore, the intricate web of cousin-lovers and nefarious deeds were too much for him to comprehend. Tried as he might, understanding the Sasserine people was entirely too complex. Most were the hard working type, looking out for them and theirs but there were also a few powerful individuals lusting over gold and materials while individuals continued to live in squalor. No amount of power and gold could placate their desires and to him, this was too much to comprehend. It was not the Nuari way.

After a time, important missives and paperwork made their way to the table and Alohan had eaten his fill. He stood to pace about the small dining while the topic of infiltrating the Nixie was discussed. "I not be de as fleet of foot as we be needing for sneakin' but I can swim like de best of em'. It be doing us well to observe de boat. See how many people be on watch. If de got weapons, if de care to post a guard. See if we be seeing Vark."

Alohan stops to consider how much time would be needed. "A full sun span, maybe."

---

Plan: Alohan would suggest observing the boat from afar for a period of time. Just enough to get a feel of the comings and goings and determine the best time for infiltration. I would want to swim up, toss a rope, gain entry to the boat.

Anansi looked around his companions, there were far too many questions to be asked, but it seemed they'd have to trust the lady, rather than loose time trying to prove if what she said was the truth.

She shook her head from side to side, not voicing out her concerns and said "Your trust on your brother is commendable. could we arrange a meeting with him ? if he is trustworthy, he can probably ease up the search through Vark... so that he does what he was paid for... and if he is not, well, you'd learn something that you need learning".

OOC: I'd agree with Alohan. We can also try to watch for the girl that we met at the docks, and I'd touch on Logan's acquaintance before anything else. Maybe there is something that he still cares for that we could bargain with...

OOC: Only answering Angati since the other comments were aimed at the other party members.



OOC: Err, isn't Anansi your twin sister? Or is that her doing the observing? You should write about what she is up to more often you know.



"Oh, my goodness," says Lavinia. "I wish I could help, but my brother is out of town. Or at least, he has moved out of the mansion and I have no way of getting in touch with him. I don't know where he has gone, sorry." The noble lady rubs her left cheek again and looks sad.

OOC: No, thats just lackwit me, I play both names in different games and I get confused... same thing happens with color, thats why I now always use periwinkle and that way I no longer get confused... but with names, it somewhat feels wrong to use some names for certain characters.

Angati sighed "You really do not know where it might be hidden withint the boat ? or have any suggestion to give on that regard ?.... Well, I guess that will be all right ? please do get in touch with us if you get to know anything about your brother or anything changes with regards to the boat... "

"Hmm, well the thing that you absolutely must find is my father's ring so I can get into the family vault. I don't know where it is hidden, but probably in the captain's quarters, that is the room my father used the most you know."

"As for the money - I suppose that will be where ever Vark is, but finding the ring and getting my boat back is much more important than the money really."

"Yes, I will send Kora to find you and tell you if any thing changes in regards to the boat or my brother."
This message was last edited by the player at 07:44, Tue 09 June 2015.

Celene sees the wisdom of the suggested strategy in scouting the area and the ship. As the focus seems to be on finding the ring, she ponders, "Lavinia, how does the ring look? And as it's used to open a magical vault, I gather the rings themselves are magical? Do they have any powers beyond opening the vault?"

"It is a big heavy signet ring with the family crest in it - an eight pointed star. You know, I don't think it is magical, I think it activates a mechanical lock, but as I have never been into the fmaily vaults myself I don't reallt know. My parents were going to take me down to the vaults in Castle Teraknian when I came of age at 23, but... that will be next month. They never got a chance to show me how it works. I don't think they have any other powers."

Logan sat in stunned silence for some time.  First the two hundred gold, then Lavinia throwing around the figure of one hundred platinum coins.  And she just gave it way.  To Vark!?  The theft didn't bother Logan so much as the...ineptness of the whole thing.  Vark had hardly had to do anything for that windfall.  There was no long con going on there, no elaborate ploy.  He'd just found some gullible noble, new to her wealth, and fleeced her out of a king's ransom.  Not even found her!  She came to him and willingly gave the money.  And now Vark was sitting on enough money to...well, knowing Vark, enough money to drink and gamble it all away.  And he probably owed a cut of it to someone else as well.

Finally, Logan shook his head.  Well, he'd earn money do, and he'd have to work a lot harder than Vark for it.

"Yes, we need to find more about this boat, and see what Vark and his cronies are doing.  Alohan can observe from teh water, and I'm sure I can find some nearby roof to watch everything from.  Maybe I can stop by and talk to Keltar as well.  We seemed to get along reasonably well at the wedding."  Logan paused.  He had his own suspicions about Vanthus, but Lavinia obviously did not share them.  "I know Vark well, and he's not the planning type.  Someone must have put him up to this, or is just using him as muscle.  I can ask around Shadowshore and see if I can find anything more."

Seeing that the discussion was nearing an end, with Alohan going for a scouting swim, with any nonswimmers inspecting the ship from afar, Celene's thoughts drifted elsewhere. Holding a folded flower up, she commented "these are quite extraordinary! What flower is this? And where have you learned to fold them so exquisite?"
This message was last edited by the player at 12:17, Tue 09 June 2015.

"Oh, yes!" smiles Lavinia. "I am so glad that someone noticed! The Jade Ravens didn't seem to even see them. I have been attending the Thenalar Academy for Fine Young Ladies for the last ten years, and one thing that was emphasised again and again was that well folded napkins can make or break a social engagement. They are a real conversation starter you know!"

"I tried to go with an adventuring theme you might have noticed. I was disappointed with how the beholder turned out, but the dragon almost makes up for it - don't you think that one is splendid?"

"As for the flowers, they are a type that can't grow here in Sasserine. They are called lotus flowers - I learnt about them from pictures in the library at school. I just love their shape."

OOC: OK, preliminary scout coming up. See you in thread 1B.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:39, Tue 09 June 2015.

OOC: Oh no you don't... :-)


"A lotus flower? Yes, it's beautiful. But how come you chose a lotus flower? Are they particular in any way, or special to you somehow, compared to other equally beautiful flowers?"



OOC: But otherwise, yes, do carry on to lB :-)
This message was last edited by the player at 19:07, Tue 09 June 2015.

OOC: Dang! I knew I should have locked the thread!

"They are interesting to fold and something people always ask about since most Sasserine natives don't know what they are. That's all."

OOC: Hmm... Suspicious.