In case the spy had any idea about trying to escape capture, Larwick stood 40 ft away from him  and stowed his blade, extending his outstretched dominant hand with a flat palm facing forward; an universal gesture to 'stop', or in this case 'don't try anything'.

Action: Ready Eldritch Blast in case he tries anything; such as refusing capture , attacking, using sleight of hand, using subtle magic, or any other uncooperative act.

At Golun's - far nicer - words about taking the man in to see Smith, Qitris kept her mace and shield handy and checked around for any other possible allies. Her ears visibly twitched as she scanned the area in an attempt to hear even the smallest sounds. "Sounds like you got a handle on things, Golun. Glad you're more of a people person... bear person... yeah."

Roland didn't resist. Upon searching, Golun finds a small notebook and writing charcoal, an unloaded hand crossbow, 10 bolts, a short sword and 16sp. Roland said, "My partner is at the inn in Smith's Gambit. If you tell him I've been caught, he'll surrender peacefully. Look, this is just a job for us. Neither of us is willing to fight if we can get out of it alive. If that means talking to the man, Smith, we'll do it."

Larwick nodded, and spoke without a trace of the previous hostility in his voice "Ah respec' that, ah do. Yer selfs the onlyun ya can trus' , aft'all."

Narbu nods, approvingly. "That's the right choice then, we'll take you to talk to this Smith. What's yer partner's name?"

"Dalton. He's human, about 40. Short, round fella with a little black mustache and spectacles. Mostly bald on top. Doesn't look dangerous, and his looks don't deceive, I promise." Roland seems genuinely worried that someone might hurt his partner.

"Well, I reckon ya will see 'im soon 'nuff. Jus' asoon as we tidyup on this 'ere round o' patrollin, hyup hyup" the tiefling said.

Perhaps the comment was supposed to be comforting, but it was hard to tell coming from the wicked-looking who would be suspicious even if he wasn't dressed and scarred like a mercenary.

Roland cooperates, and you finish the remainder of your patrol and reach the gates of Smith's Gambit without any further incident.

At the gate, the senior guard, a man in his mid-20s, with scruffy blond hair, says, "What've we got, here? First day on the job an' ye've already caught yerself a troublemaker? Sarge is gonna hate you! Take 'im to the barracks, tell Sergeant Fredericks you found the fella while patrolling, and tell him yer names. Ignore the Sarge's bluster, he's harmless."

One of the younger guards in the back snickers, "It ain't that he's got a secret heart o' gold, or nothing. He just won't get off his arse unless he's ordered to!"

The guard next to him smacks him in the back of his head, "you're gonna get us kitchen duty again!"

Larwick presents a small, knowing smile to the group and guards, as if empathizing with their plight.

Internally, he is grimacing at the whole situation. "Ahcours' there'd be a gruffan' lazy bastahd runnin' th' ship" he thinks to himself. His opinion on this man and the institution as a whole has dropped before he's even got his foot in the doorway.

Though to be fair, he's never had a pleasant opinion of any town guard. The tiefling supposes any bloke would feel the same way as him after seeing the other end of the bars a few too many times for comfort.

Narbu responds to the guards, saying, "This man has information fer Mr. Smith, an' he's got a partner in town. Should we take 'im to see Smith first? Or just let 'im know where we took 'im?"

The goliath just isn't sure what protocol they should follow here. On the one hand, they told the man they'd take him to Smith. On the other hand, these guards are presumably running things the way Smith wants them run. Then there's the need to apprehend this Dalton fellow.

Upon reaching Smith’s Gambit, Golun approached the guard with the others. “For now we hand this man over to the guards, then we should go and find his friend.” He looked at Roland. “If this Dalton comes quietly that would be best for both of you. Let’s hope he has as much sense as you.”

He handed over the spy’s gear to the guard, except for the notebook which he kept hold of. He intended to spend some time reviewing the information gathered before fining thiis Dalton fellow and handing them both over to Smith for further interrogation.

Once Roland was being led away he looked at the others. “Right, time to find the other one. I suggest we start with any public spaces, the inn maybe?”

He pulled the notebook out of his pocket and began to leaf through the pages.

With the surrender of the man to the guards, Qitris was already getting antsy to have the second man identified and brought in for a hopefully fun meeting with Smith. "Well, if the other one isn't going to come quietly we have quite the intimidating party. We can maybe go round two on this guy." Not that she was particularly intimidating, but she could hit with the rest of them if the need arose. There was also the whole magic thing, too.

Roland's notes are coded (DC 15 Intelligence check to decipher.) If he told you the truth, Dalton has a room at the inn. For his part, Roland continues to insist that Dalton will come quietly. Sergeant Fredricks, at the barracks, is a sour man, overweight from too little exercise, and complains loudly about how glory hungry mercenaries think they're so much better than the guards. When, after much needling, he finally gets up to take Roland to a cell, he walks with a pronounced limp, as though from an old knee injury.

Golun looked at the notebook. Either it was written by a madman or was some kind of code, he couldn’t be sure at this point. He quietly incanted a brief spell and then studied the book in more detail, trying to identify patterns in the text, something that would give him a clue as to any hidden meaning. Eventually he gave up, growling loudly as he slammed it shut. “Pah! This text is gibberish, I can make no sense of it!”

Cast Guidance to assist with reading the notebook.

07:58, Today: Golun Fearstorm rolled 8 using 1d20+1d4 with rolls of 7,1.  Decipher code using Guidance.

Fail!
This message was last edited by the player at 06:59, Wed 02 June 2021.

Golun puts the notebook away for now, and the group heads for the inn. After inquiring about the man Roland described, you found that he does, indeed have a room at the inn, though at the moment, he's at the Dragon's Den.

You can continue in the Dragon's Den thread if you want this confrontation to be public, otherwise, we'll say you can be discreet enough. If you're still here. My apologies about the delay. I kept thinking I was waiting for you guys!

As they walked towards the Dragon’s Den, Golun spoke quietly to his companions. “Now, I think we should be circumspect in our investigation. No sense in causing a panic.”

The tiefling nodded along with his bearfolk associate, "Ya, I reckon' we keep this 'ere 'ole ordeal on the 'down low', in case it gets a l'il blu'y"

If nobody rose a disagreement on the matter, the mercenary would joyfully go along with the rest of the mission to capture the fraudulent man's partner.

Narbu nods at the others, and another tactic occurs to him. "I'm not the smoothest talker, and this guy might try to run. How's about I stand outside the doors, and grab him if he runs?"

I figure Narbu can peek in the window to check out the guy, then be ready to grapple him if he flees past the group inside.

You find a man fitting Dalton's description, sitting at the bar, drinking, chatting and laughing with a few of the townsfolk. He seems to be at ease, and pays you little mind as you enter the room.

Seeing as how the bearman didn't have much luck with the book, Qitris really wanted to take a stab at it as well. "Hey, lemme see that book. I'll take one of those guides as well." She held out her hand to receive both quite expectantly. No need to beat around the bush when there was work to be done.

"Les' wa'up t'im and see wha' 'appens, eh?" Larwick says with a devilish smile, that was unfairly for him probably just his default expression without even trying to appear up to no good.

Striding in, his cloak covering any exposed bits of weapons, but his hood down to bare his strikingly handsome, but also terrifying and otherworldly features, a fanged smile was on his face as he walked up to the bar and sat down in an empty seat next to Dalton.

'Let's try and play this all sneaky, first' Larwick thinks to himself before flagging the bartender.

When the man came to order his drink, Larwick smiled and picked up a dirty nut from a nearby tray filled with equal parts awful snacks and cigar ash, twirling it in his slightly-clawed hands, "Yeah, can I get a Bloody Roland? Oh, and one this cheery gentleman!" Larwick says, pointing and loudly calling out Dalton, to get the blabbering man's attention away from his own voice and hazy mind.

As soon as the man makes eye contact, Larwick smiles and nonchalantly splits the nut with his offhand before dropping it to the counter. It was done in a way that would catch Dalton's attention, but either go completely unnoticed or seem like a random slip-up to any bystanders.

OOC: The bloody roland is probably not a real drink, but sounds like one. So, we'll see how the bartender reacts (maybe he will ask how it's made, or simply be too embarassed and make a 'bloody mary' hahahaha)

Oh yeah and im probably a little bit too proud about the subtle threats Larwick is displaying here lmao

The bartender says, "Bloody Roland? First time I've heard of that one! It one of those fancy drinks imported from Varna, or something?"

Dalton freezes, sitting his drink down absently while staring at Larwick like a mouse who just bumped into somebody, and when he looked up to apologize, noticed they were a snake. He snaps out of it, and says, confidently, "It's a joke from back home. It's how my friend here says its time to stop fooling around and face my responsibilities. I'll settle my tab here, and we'll be on our way. Have a nice, peaceful day." He places a  Varnese gold piece, on the counter.

Larwick's smile raises so high it seems to crack at the corners, revealing the black insides of his mouth, which are oddly moist, as if the demon is salivating at the humor. Without a word, he places an arm around Dalton's shoulder and walks him back to his friends.

He barely manages to get outside of the restaurant before he doubles over in hysterical laughter, tears beading in the corners of his eyes. He keeps trying to say something, but it takes a solid minute for him to clam down enough to get out the phrase "THIS G- THIS GUY GETS IT!" and another burst of laughter.

He seemed genuinely overjoyed that his threats had been caught onto so quickly. For some reason, he expressed this as crazed laughter.

Wiping his eyes, he decides to hold and give his colleagues a chance to lead the situation. Hell, they'll need it if they hope to escape from his shadow after that masterful play!

Larwick beams quietly with pride at his own (mis?)deeds.

---

OOC: It's happy devil boi hours

Golun handed the book to Qitris, hoping she would have more luck deciphering the content. As Lerwick headed towards the bar he held back, scanning the room to see if others were taking more interest than they should in the strange demon and his antics. He was also checking for other exits, should Dalton try to run.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:14, Sun 18 July 2021.