Among the pelts

Among the pelts with Pieter

"What is Bugmans, you know?" the Kislevite asked his companion.

Klinka stopped and looked around to locate the humans talking about Bugmans.

"It's something you may like, my friend. A rare and strong ale. Very precious. Would you mind if you check this one?" he replied to Fyodor's inquiry.

Fyodors eyebrows shot up at Klinkas comment.

"Good ale? Da!"

Warehouse intrigues...

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Klinka & Fyodor

Tailing back down the street market Klinka and Fyodor find two men speaking with each other. One is clearly a petty trader with a scraggle of a beard, manning a stall selling various pots and pans. The other a tall fellow with a belly to match is just as obviously a customer.

"...Of course I'd try for it meself," the customer is saying, "but Mina would skin me alive so she would."

The trader barks with laughter and only then notices he has other potential customers. "How may I help you gents?" he says even as his gaze falls a little suspiciously on Klinka's impressive collection of scars.

Klinka smiled, trying to look more presentable than usual. "Apologies for interrupting your conversation, lads. I happened to overhear you mentioning Bugman's Special. It is, indeed, a rare and precious drink I would very much like to try. Do you know where could I find some?"

Listening for the pitter-patter of rain

Keeping dry

Back in the abandoned warehouse district...

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Harkrin & Fyodor

The trader and his customer shared a look before the trader turned back to Klinka. "How else do you think gents? A drinking contest with a keg of Bugman's as the prize. Of course you being a dwarf and him being a Kislevite you might have what we call an unfair advantage. Not sure they'd take you as is unless you began with a penalty."

Pieter's eyes narrowed
This message was last edited by the player at 21:32, Thu 25 May 2023.

Fyodor raised an eyebrow. He wasnt used to weaklings that needed a some advantage to engage in a drinking game.

"What penalty?" he asked.

Inside the warehouse

Klinka scratched his beard. "I don't think that would be fair - I haven't tasted anything stronger than your human ale in months now and my companion here... well, he may look big, but his head is really not that strong for a Kislevite. Anyway, when and where is the competition? A whole keg of Bugman's is worth attention."

Mysterious happenings...

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Harkrin & Fyodor

The trader scratched his chin thoughtfully. "'The Quill & Frog' tavern in the Freiburg District. A popular establishment with gamblers if you are looking to place a wager. The contest is tomorrow evening if you want to try your luck. A pfennings worth of warning though friend; they take their contests seriously there."

In the warehouse

In the warehouse
This message was last edited by the player at 08:18, Mon 05 June 2023.

"And we take our drinking, especially when Bugman's is involved, also very serious. If you meet us there, be sure to put your coin on our victory." Klinka replied and already began planning their next evening. A whole keg... that would be really something!

"Well, my Kislevite friend, we know where we'll be spending our next evening. Now lets go back and earn some coin." he added, turning to Fyodor.

Fyodor listened with interest to the dwarves discussing the competition. He nodded as they left and followed Klinka back to the warehouse.

Warehouse...


Everyone

Harkrin and Fyodor arrive back to the warehouse and discover Pieter standing watch over a bored looking elven woman in a dark dress who is leaning against a crate. As they enter she looks up and shoots what might be a rueful smile (as much as the others can tell with elves.)

Above them the two returnees can hear Lukas searching the second floor of the warehouse.

"Gentlemen", groused Pieter as his head moved sharply towards his companions before he recognised them. He sighed, gesturing to the nonchalant woman leaning against a crate, "'Eponia' is the Mayer's insurance that we're not bad sorts, rustling those pellts for ourselves"

"Good evening." the large warrior said in his heavily accented Reikspiel. He wasnt all that surprised to see a baby sitter only that it was an elven woman. He had never met one before.

Avoiding being caught staring at her, he quickly moved to the ladder and ascended it with the supplies.

"Supplies arrived have." he said and stacked them near the pelts.

At the sound of the door opening Lukas panicked thinking it was a double-ruse!  The magic elf bewitched him to think that whilst she was downstairs, thieves were upstairs which then gave the real thieves the opportunity to ambush Pieter through the front door!  He had frantically checked that indeed the pelts were where they were meant to be and drew his axe at the sound of voices.

He breathed a huge sigh of relief at the thick Kislevite accent of Fyodor (which was just as well, because moments later Fyodor's large head and shoulders popped through the opening and that really would have been embarrassingly messy if Lukas was still alert for tricksters and intruders).  He placed his arms to his side as Fyodor hauled up the provisions, before deciding it would be much more polite to not look like he was ready for a fight.

"The elf...She does magic," he whispered, before adding, "I don't trust her."  It was a sentence he regretted because he once heard a rumour that an elf could hear a mouse fart.

Descending the ladder with Fyodor, he gathered his composure somewhat as Pieter introduced Eponia.  "Yes, Eponia was going to give us some kind of proof that she works for the Mayers weren't you."  Lukas may have sounded confident, but he really didn't feel it.  If anything he felt a bit foolish but his conviction that someone tonight was going to rob the place made him very wary indeed.

Klinka's bushy eyebrows furrowed into a deep scowl as he glared at the elf. "She is who?" he grumbled, his low gravelly voice filled with distrust. "How do we know this girl isn't some light-fingered cutpurse trying to trick us into thinking she works for the Mayers? Elves are slippery creatures," he said with a snort.

The dwarf had quickly come to realize that Middenheim proved far more treacherous than he had initially believed. Fighting goblins and brutish beastmen was easy enough with his battleaxe, but elves lurking in shadows of the old warehouses, always plotting and scheming? That was a different matter entirely.

"She stays under our watch until we have had a chance to confirm with them", answered Pieter obliquely, a slight nod indicating his approval of the ex-con's paranoia, "We have no reason to trust her word"

He still held in his hand the bundled and wrapped blade of her people, the one he had taken from the Bandit Queen, and realising this he slung it back over his back