The Flame Hearts becomes the group's name as they sign the deed of The-Medusa! After a few hours of celebratory traveling along with the trading ship, we were on. Ember is piloting the ship--and pulls up skillfully. Busy docks, busy city. Welcome to The Melting Pot Docks, of Al Sha Dir.
Party lets Markus-Longbottom go, see Vikta's-Mischief-For-Sazz-Tam for more information. Tristan and Grestina disembark from the ship. Grannie Annie seeks magic books, Ember and Kenji want to look up armor and such, Gres wants food, Yoszu wants to look about.
Bookstore
Human man 50y Grey Eye, One Blue slightly milky, glasses-wearing, dusty boots on the counter reading a spicy romance novel.
Cinder wants to look at the bestiaries, 6row 4th shelf. If the city was a living entity--the stomach being what you eat--illustrations of wildlife and areas to find them. Exotic and Mundanely Common.
Tristan helps her find a book on beginner magics/arcane dark navy book and copper bands on the hardbound leather book, an upside-down pyramid with a rhombus inside it and “Grimlocks-Arcana-Academia” written in copper ink on top. When Tristan goes to get it he nearly falls.
Pots, Pork, Poltry & The Novices Guide to Surviving the Kitchen, is a book Ember finds and gets for Grestina.
Smithy
Old woman halfling greets them after Kenji has a yelled conversation with the Smithy.
Smithy: What do you want?
Kenji: You!
She fetches the pair inside, and they see this redheaded built human mail. Gavin Grimforge, is somewhat grumpy. What the pair wants is pricey but worth it, a pair of tiny hands grabs the money and runs away. Momo--she is the one who grabbed money and runs away.
Dunal a Half Orc male is chilling in the background waiting on his armor and weapons. Bodywise, he is quite tall meaty 6’8” radiates an intimidating aura, long dark hair, and beard. He always appears pissed--constant resting bitchface.
Gavin says they are the 3rd adventuring group to come in today, and Dunal owes Gavin a favor and is a walking advertisement.
Grannie, Gres, Trist, & Ember enter the Smithy
Ember is getting armor for cats for Coalette-the-cat--and she plucks up another cat to keep Coalette company. White kitten cold shivering baby--naming it Astor-the-cat meaning star.
Dunal looks for jobs, wanting to find work. Mainly looking for protection/guard duties. One sticks out Local rumors--of this nefarious hooded man who has only been seen in taverns, known to be conning people with defective magical items. Running with a band of around 10 men. Anyone who tries to confront for a refund--is beaten. Town guard is busy with other things and isn’t handling it. He is a follower of Lathander god of birth and renewal.
Another is a church is being harassed by people who want to take over the church for their own safehaven and having been threatened. Pacifist church needs non-pacifist help--he picks this one.
Move to take lad home, and get to a guarded bridge which is extremely crowded. Anika comes in clutch and gets everyone into the Al Sha Dir's Sukali District, including bringing Dunal along with her being so earnest and protective of the little lord. This part of town is vibrant and full of flamboyant life.
House looks run down and the window is cracked and spiderwebbed. Portly old man opens the door when it is knocked, he looks quite short, he is about 4‘9”. This common area on the right is staircase to upper floors, wide floor to a dining area, the right also has a family room of sorts. Leads us to an area past the kitchen 5 or so human men and women are prepping lunch and tea. Into the Dining Room via kitchen entrance.
Platinum blonde haired Elfwoman green eyes and wearing slightly aged and fine noble attire. Violet covered the broach. Holding an empty chipped teacup. Mother and son enjoy being together once again.
Martha Branford--Tristan’s mother. Shocked at the company of strangers, in the service of the child. Escorted to the living room after being invited to dinner.
Yosuz & Kenji spot 1 hooded, 2 sneaky leather wearers giving the house a stink eye.
Anika & Dunal see a man catatonically hit a wall face-first into a wall. He doesn’t respond to messages. He seems weird and possibly compelled via ale or otherwise.
Anika approaches the compelled man, he’s at an awkward angle. Strange blank expression in his eyes, he doesn’t seem unwell or hurt, or sick… he doesn't seem drunk. “Oh, ello there nothing’s wrong at all. Although, I must advise you that it is growing later by the hour. And the nights become unwelcome to the streets. I advise you to find somewhere safe for the night.”
He’s standing watch for the ruckus, there were rumors of a band of ne'er do wells causing mischief for others. They didn’t seem the ill-mannered sort--they seemed charming.
Guard was Martha’s, and the team realizes she’s a coooooold hearted woman with “lesser” folk. Even Yoszu is angered by the woman’s behavior. Her behavior seems so very strange, she’s berating the butler. She seems angry and idiotic, and quite livid and high horse-y.
The butler seems worried and scared. She mentioned preparing the thumbscrew. SHE IS ACTING OFF.
When they moved, mother took some of the servants with her--they weren’t always hers. And she’s mad at them because they weren’t hers?
Anika goes after Walter-The-Butler, he says she is stressed and the move was apart of it. He starts to sweat, about the other banford. Anika convinces the man to spill the beans. It is a complicated issue, a while ago when he was a baby, his mother and father were in love. They lived on the other side of town. They worked for the lord at the time, he is not sure why but one day everything crashed--everything went wrong. The mother and child fled, and servants with them. Serving her has been difficult. She punishes them.
There used to be 3 dozen working--and now there’s… ⅔ left...
SHE’S KILLED 12!!!!!!! WTFFFFFFFFF
BRUUUUUUUGH THEY 6FT UNDER
YES AND if we kill her we could take the boy and crew, he would inherit the house, Make it an accident or yeah arrest her. Ask about where the bodies are?
Time to look into the dad! They are her property.
How about some new crew for the ship? Not sure how he would feel about that maybe get her arrested. Don't want him to hate us.
Gress found the cookbook.
Ember, Gress, and Anika stay with the boy and mom, rest of the party goes to investigate the father. The maids and butlers put out food. In the midst of her coming downstairs, shattering glass breaks through the air--a window in the dining room blows open.
One of the butlers goes limp ---ANNNND FUUUUUCK ITS BATTLE TIME BOIS!! Grestina is vaulting over the table, Martha is running low to try and find her child.
Parchment attached to the arrow--pinning the walls. Dunal goes into “wall-mode”. Dunal sees, across the street is a number of shadowed figures. Peering at us and sprinting away.
Mother yells at us to take care of it. Anika runs after as does Yoszu and others. Ember stays behind with Grestina to protect the boy.