The rabbit shook his head at all this. First bri had vanished, now Darcy was back to playing with the cat sisters. He really didn't understand what was going on there. He was still kind of embarrassed that Rai had just grabbed him off the street and pulled him along on this adventure.

Mits grins and thumbs-ups at mention of incidental adventure!

"A mind map.  Awesome!  Mittens was not aware of her sister's chronic ear itch and thinks maybe the healer should..."

Mits is interrupted by a slip and crash sound effect as the dishonest clerk comically trips over the ball bearing and lands on his tush!  ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RWS4G20xwA )

Only his pride bruised, the clerk quickly recollects himself, but a few bits of tell-tale stolen candies spill from his pocket in his haste to stand back up.

Barthen facepalms.  "Um..."

Sildar deadpans.  "Shall we leave this to the shop keep and move on to discussing how we wish to proceed?  As I am, I won't be much help in a fight.  If it helps, though, we can leave the investigation of the mayor to the constabulary once proper law enforcement is installed.  As it stands, we don't have enough evidence to warrant any legal action against him"

Eminently amused by the silly slapstick exposing the candy crook, Mittens tosses a coin at Barthen, collects the spilled candy with magic, and finger-wags at the clerk with a smirk and a wink.  ( https://media.giphy.com/media/WVUWw9ItZS048/giphy.gif )

"As my grandpa likes to say, 'Be good! ...Or don't get caught.'"

She hip-bumps Raichel to try and lighten her mood then smiles to the team and suggests, "So shall we go capture whatever brigands we find at The Sleeping Giant and question them for details about the others?"

*Bri'kus grins to himself and quietly says a thanks to Gaknulak that his trap also revealed the crime of the thief as well*

Once the party heads out of the shop, Bri'kus slips back in among them casually. He hoped his diminutive stature would keep him hid as they travelled down the street

He yips softly in Draconic a bit, shaking his head

Bri'kus thinks engaging the enemy before hitting their home may be bad idea. It could make bandit hideout hostile.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:08, Sun 01 July 2018.

Meiou scratched his head at the antics. He wasnt sure why he was chuckling or what it was.
He just shook his head and after followed his party outside. "Getting gung ho again Mits? We should let Bri'kus go ahead and try to get in with them while we go on to get lodging and rest.

  Well, Ben tried. Not very hard though. Not very sorry, candy thief "It makes sense when you consider part of the job's implications Raichel." After all, Sildar is paying them to thwart the mayor's (townmaster, whatever) alleged cooperation with criminals. Not exactly the sort of job they would be rushing to pay them for.

  "People won't pay as much attention to a sudden bar brawl as they would barging into an official's office, so I guess there is that."

Raichel squirms a little at Mittens mentioning Rai having a chronic ear itch. "That's not why I enjoy it..." she mutters, looking upset.

Raichel folds her arms. "I still don't like the idea of any of us going in alone. But none of our plans have been fully agreed on yet."

She looks at Bri'kus and answers in draconic, "You're right: Until we know who is in league with the brigands, we can't know who to watch for going to the bandit hideout."

Raichel switches back to speaking common, "But I do agree with Meiou about finding some lodging so we can nap and be awake for a night-time job. However, nothing says we have to capture any bandits to get information.... but I really wanna. I've still got some energy to burn and some anger to vent on these jerks."

Raichel's hands become fists as Ben mentions a bar brawl. Then she opens her hands. Then closes them into fists again. Like she is thinking about how great it would be to get a bar brawl started.

She looks at Darcy and Ben. "You two are still the best bet on gathering information without getting in trouble. Unless either or both of you are as easily provoked as me."

In reply to Raichel (msg # 272):

"Yes, finding a place to say would be a priority," Darcy said.  "The Stonehill Inn would be the best place to go, for now.  If we find ourselves being here long term, finding a house would be a good idea.  There's also a good chance of us getting more of the local gossip there."

Sildar follows along.  "I will need to talk with the mayor eventually.  I understand he is also the town's banker, and thus my only means of accessing my funds."

"Mittens never had intentions of staying in one place long enough to justify the purchase of a house.  When Adventure calls, Mittens will not be too tied down by responsibilities to answer!  Onward to the inn!"

She gives a cheerful wave to the blacksmith as the group passes.  He pauses from his work to stare at the motley crew, shakes his head, and resumes his work.

Soon the group arrives at the inn. (Finally uploaded a game map.)

STONEHILL INN
In the center of town stands a large, newly built roadhouse
of fieldstone and rough-hewn timbers. The common room
is filled with locals nursing mugs of ale or cider, all of them
eyeing you with curiosity.

This modest inn has six rooms for rent.
The proprietor is a short, friendly young human male
named Toblen Stonehill.

Mits proudly announces the group.  "Greetings, people of Phandalin!  I am Mittens, and these are my companions - The Heroes of the Triboar Trail - who vanquished the Cragmaw bandits!  Hooray!"

With her magic, she makes a neon "Applause" sign appear above her head.  ( https://i1.wp.com/gifrific.com...=659%2C394&ssl=1 )

The people clap softly, looking more taken aback than impressed.

Bri'kus isn't overly thrilled at the prospect of a fight, but at the same time, he wouldn't mind showing any bandit a thing or two about the consequences of being violent to an undeserving town...

To Raichel regarding going in alone: If pack remain close, Bri'kus cry for help will bring ambush just as fast as call of success. Spoken like a true Kobold.

He continued to try to remain obscured by his travelling companions as they walked through town and greeted the blacksmith.

As the party entered the inn and Mittens began to make another show potentially bringing attention to him once again, the Kobold wondered if she was a blessing or a curse towards his desire to remain shrouded and quickly tried to duck behind anything nearby to not be spotted by patrons.(23 to Hide)

  "I do not think it will be how easily provoked Darcy and I would be that is the problem Raichel.  Either way, we just met Brikus. I would prefer not sending him off all by himself in case he gets hurt."  Then SCENE TRANSITION.

  Ben didn't use prestidigitation to make Mittens's clothes flutter in a dramatic breeze, it's purely a coincidence that happened-Where the hell did Brikus go?  Right, that's it.  Whenever they get the chance Ben is summoning something with blindsight as a familiar.

  "So. Rooms first, food we didn't have to cook ourselves second? That generally goes better than starting with business."
This message was last edited by the player at 11:23, Wed 25 July 2018.

Meiou just backed up away from mittens at this dramatic display.NOPE NOT ASSOCIATED WITH THIS PERSON! He was thinking the kobold had the right idea to disapear. Thinking of that maybe he could find one of the mages that gave him his gun to get one of those cloaks of invisibility he had heard about for situations like this. hearing Ben he snapped out it "Yes , Yes that sounds like a good idea. Maybe some kind of sleep magic on mits if they get this excited again?" he says and whispers the latter half to ben
This message was last edited by the player at 09:37, Fri 27 July 2018.

Raichel would fall over if this were an anime. "Psst, Mitts... I thought we were supposed to not draw attention just yet?"

She heads over to Toblen Stonehill. "Hi there. Got a room or two that could accommodate six people? The fewer rooms, the better; we'd like to stick together."

Raichel keeps her senses sharp, listening for anyone getting up out of a seat or walking anywhere. She doesn't want the bandits to either get the drop on the team, OR to report about the team's existence. If the bandits happen to be at the inn at the moment.

Darcy follows Raichel with a welcoming smile and a silent gait, as she looks around trying to pick up any stray clues in the lobby.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/527906387548415245/

Toblen looks the group over then back at Raichel.

"Ahem.  Welcome.  I'm Toblen, and this is my inn.  I have six rooms available right now, each with a one-person bed.  But I assure you, these rooms are quite comfortable and close to one another.

Sildar nods, "If you don't demand payment up front, I'll take one of those six.  I was robbed by the Cragmaw Bandits, so I'll have to visit a banker first before I have any money."

Toblen nods, "No reason I can see not to give you the benefit of the doubt, sir.  I heard one of your companions mention food?  If you'd like to sit together, we can connect some tables for you.  Elsa?  Please see that our guests are made comfortable."

The barmaid approaches the group with a smile.  "Right this way."

https://nerdnight.files.wordpr....jpg?w=139&h=261

Toblen turns to a nearby boy. ( http://paizo.com/image/content...es/PZO8500-Orlin.jpg )  "Go get Mom, Pip."

The boy takes off running out the back.  "Heroes!  Oh boy!"

Seated at one of the small tables is an old man, ( https://i.pinimg.com/originals...10c777c30148d87a.jpg ) a gray-haired dwarf, ( http://forum.reapermini.com/up...41000-1350871543.jpg ) and a middle-aged woman, ( https://i.pinimg.com/736x/06/b...pg-character-art.jpg )  They mutter amongst themselves, apparently feeling safe to make eye contact with the newcomers.  (( DC 5 to overhear the conversation.  Dwarf: "That's quite the claim she made."  Old man: "Why are the others looking flustered by it?"  Woman: "My guess is that the loud one is embarrassing them with her exaggeration." ))
This message was last edited by the player at 01:21, Sat 28 July 2018.

Mits is grateful for the timely and dramatic breeze!  Her ear wiggles when whispered into, and she responds to Rai with an impish smile and wink to tell her sis that there's a sly reason for the grandstanding.

"Dibs on sharing a room with Rai!"

But her claim gets shot down by the revelation that the rooms only house one each.  Oh well.  Six?  What about Bri'kus?  Oh right.  Rai probably deliberately excluded him from the number to not let slip that there's another member of the group.

"Noms would be good, yes."

She hand-waves to pull a chair out for herself with magic then takes a seat.  "So what sorts of things are going on around here that could sate my appetite for adventure?"

More hand-waves and more chairs pull themselves out for the others.

The rabbit stretched out and took a seat at a table following mittens. well at
least this part was somewhat normal to the rabbit. sitting at a table and someone putting food in front of you. He however speculated it would taste better than he was used to before getting dragged out to adventure by Rai.

  "Sorry Meiou, even if I had Sleep magic it targets the most sleepy option. Which is not going to be Mittens under most circumstances... I mean, it would be wrong" Hitpoints. Also a measure of how awake you are, apparently... Though he might be able inflicting nap time for exactly one combat round depending on save throws.

  Command! A wildly arbitrary spell with some very specific stipulations.

  He takes a seat, and wonders how long it will take for the excitable boy to be disappointed.

At first, Darcie thought he could get a room and let the taxabi with her, but she figured that Mittens would probably want to keep Raichel with her.  She was about to sigh, but ended up chuckling at the two boys being excited.

She then wondered what's going on with the local shrine.  Being a Cleric, it's only natural that she sees if she can be of any help.  But first, of course, securing a room and getting some grub.

*Bri'kus slipped as close as he could to the party and kept a low profile. He didn't quite know what to say or indicate to the group, but he figured it may be best to continue laying low like this in the borrowed cloak*
*sneaking about he tried to listen in on any other whispers about or to spy any food left laying around unattended. He felt a slight rumble in his belly at the thought of a nice juicy turkey leg or fried lizard. A hot bowl of his mother's bone marrow soup would be nice on an evening such as this. He could almost taste the fatty lumps as he licked his lips thinking about it*
*Unfortunately, it seemed his cover under the tables kept him from seeing or hearing much in the large room*
(Per. Hear. 8, Per. Sight 4)

Raichel sits next to Mittens and motions to Meiou to sit next to her before she leans over to whisper in his ear. "Make sure Bri'kus makes it to your room."

She looks over to Mittens. "I didn't realize how hungry I was until just now."

Raichel's ears wiggle and she looks in the direction of the conversing folks. She wants to comment, but decides it is probably best to just take the back seat since Mittens has a plan Raichel doesn't know about.

She looks back at Toblen. "Thanks for the accommodations. Please just.. bring us your special, whatever it is. I'm hungry."

Toblen looks apologetic when Raichel asks for the special.  "Ahem.  We have a serious bandit problem in town, and due to their bullying the farmers, there simply is no lamb left for us to make the special with.  But the Misses' veggie stew is highly recommended too."

At the mention of the bandits, the others fall silent and wear grim faces.  The dwarf decides to speak up, "You'd do well to steer clear of these bandits.  They're ruthless and are holding the entire town hostage.  Outside an army strolling into town, there's little chance an innocent won't get hurt if they're provoked."

Toblen blushes and gives that apologetic look again.  "Maybe you could tell us more about the bandits you did handle?  How tough were they?  Did they hold any hostages?"

(( *Reads the wording of Command.*  "You might issue a command other than ones described here. If you do so, the GM determines how the target behaves."  I never was fond of "GM has to figure out a fair way for this to work on the fly" stuff.  >.>  All of the examples given include a "Lose your turn" effect, so this GM will likely interpret any command word, such as "squawk," as the target wasting their turn on some buffoonery.  But I'm pretty sure saying something like "Betray" was never intended to work as a way to get a boss to smush his ally as a 1st level cleric spell effect.  There's a separate higher level spell specifically for that, right?  And if there were a command word that powerful, why use any other?  At most, "Betray" would likely have them bull-rush their minion while insulting him.  I'm hoping this won't ever come up, but if a player reeeally wants me to hash out on-the-fly spell effects, we can discuss it in PMs. ))

Mittens gives a low whistle to try and sound impressed.  "Sounds serious.  These were goblin bandits led by a bugbear named Klarg.  They had a hostage, but my sis managed to negotiate for his safe release.  But an entire town of hostages?  Sounds like we'll be taking your advise, friend.  Last thing we want is to put any of you good people in danger.  All we need is for nobody to report to the bandits about any newcomers in town, and there needn't be any dangerous confrontations.

"Anything meaty would be great.  Baked chicken, for example."

Her speech seems to be putting the patrons at ease, but Toblen is looking disappointed.

A basket of rolls is placed by the waitress on the table for the group.  "Daran Edermath, the orchard keeper, is a former adventurer.  If anyone would know about how to sate your appetite it would be him."

Mits takes a bite out of a roll, then plays around with it using magic before making it "vanish" in a puff of smoke.  In reality she's doing her best to sneak it to somewhere Bri'kus can retrieve it without being seen.  About then the boy returns to help set the tables while his mom gets to work in the kitchen.

"One order of baked chicken, hon," Toblen calls to her.

"How'd you beat the bandits?" the boy asks eagerly.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:54, Tue 07 Aug 2018.

Meiou was never one to much enjoy the taste of meat,sure
he could eat it but it never sat well with him. Now Veggies or fruits on
the other hand he enjoyed. "Veggie stew sounds lovely actually. A big bowl if possible please."

Meiou attempted to pass a roll under the table ( sleight of hand 4)
but unfortunately these must of been fresh rolls it burned his palm
slightly and he ended up playing hot potato until he lost it onto the floor
next to the table. Well the important thing was he tried right?