GoGo's Strange Journey Part 1: We're going to be friends

[Yours Truly]

(Mood Music)

Alright so Victory Square is especially cold and depressing this time of year, and it's also more of a circle than a square, and the security checks you had to pass to get to the Drunken Trap might have been a bit too handsy for some, but at least they seemed reasonable now, or at least, the promise of a thousand gold can really help a man 'reason' with a lot of things.

 

The meeting was about what you'd expect from a Dwarven run one, as it somehow combined a free flowing dwarven wine bar with a strict adherence to time tables and a somehow perpetually serious tone. Although by this point they were only three bottles in, and the meeting was set to run for another six. Damn Dwarven constitutions, damned alcohol based time measurements.

All of you think that the tall looking Dwarven fella in the steel plated top hat...Bregovich or something was talking about security for the 'package' (whatever that actually was), except he's not talking about anything particularly interesting either, just some shift rotations and what you were supposed to do if someone is physically incapable of fulfilling their shift, nothing interesting or particularly useful really.

Right now those of you bored enough to have read the instructional booklets they gave you are probably wondering what this meeting is even for, the ones too bored to consider reading to be a fun diversion is probably too drunk or sleepy to actually listen to what the dwarf was saying, everyone's hoping that this meeting would just end already so that they could prepare for the fun adventure this wasn't going to be, and the dwarf was just about ready to flip his copy of the instructional booklet to another page when the sound of an explosion rocks the entire mountain a few moments before an odd ringing sound comes from Bregovich's pocket.

 

Who then takes out one of those cheap looking sending stones that looks two decades out of date, holds it up to his ear, and just...stands there for a few agonizing moments before he puts it back in his pocket, lets out a sigh, and says, "Well, the plan's fucked," in a completely deadpan tone.

 

Things you should probably ignore

 

 

Smell of the day: Strong liquors

 Thing that currently exist in the location: Bregovich the Mezzok Meeting man, A long wooden table, a way out through a sturdy stone back door, a doorway leading into the rest of the tavern, a lot of dwarven wine, others.


?????= 1

 

 

[kj1225]

Dagda finally looks up from the book. He had tried really hard to at least act like he was listening but... Even for a paladin this was a bit too much. Seriously, he had to sit through some of the driest clerics explaining religion to him that the order had to offer and this talk of instructions could easily match them for their ability to put someone to sleep. Of course, it didn't help that he was a bit tipsy from his attempts to keep himself awake with wine. Still though, this brought a distraction from the boredom even if it wasn't a very welcome one. With a frown the paladin speaks.

"Fucked? Like, how fucked? Is it just a delay so we've wasted our time, did someone back out... maybe there was a bandit attack...? What are we working with here Bregovich."

[Hal Henderics]

Cicirega simply shrugs at their admission, continuing to polish their musket.

They haven't had a not-fucked plan for their jobs in weeks.

Every once in a while, they twitch from paranoia, dulled by booze.

[Chevaleresse]

Tarja, for her part, had run out of attention span roughly five minutes in, had sampled virtually everything in the bar that Flora would allow her to touch, had strongly considered lighting something on fire at least six different times, and had even managed to take a nap at some point during the explanation. Reading the instructions had proven to be entertaining all of one time, and so, rather unusually for the eladrin, she was quite bored. And she had been entertained by studying the grain of wood on the table at one point. She had heard, though, that drinking lots of wine could be fun, so she was currently reaching for a bottle of wine with what appeared to be a green dragon emblazoned across the front - something that someone slightly more knowledgeable would have probably recognized as a warning sign, given the rather toxic nature of that particular variety of flying lizard. 

[DragonRage]

"Plan is experiencing setback?  This is not news.  Plan always go wrong," Nikolai asserts in his thick, slightly inconsistent accent.  He's been ignoring the wine so far, in favor of stuffing himself with bar food and casting small, metal balls in the fireplace.  "What must we do to make plan go right?"

[Twinwolf]

Tarja's grab was interrupted by a gentle but firm hand pushing her arm back to her side. "Alcohol is fun, but now probably isn't the time to test how well you can hold your liquor, Tarja." Flora said, passing her a less... potentially compromising, drink. The young noblewoman certainly wasn't entertained herself. She'd read the instructions for the third time now. But, she did want to do this job right. Keeping one eye on her companion, she nodded at the paladin's questions. "A bit of explanation would be nice, yeah."

[Yours Truly]

 

Bregovich paced around on the table a little, quickly gathering his things and making sure that his weapons are locked and loaded as he calmly said, "Superiors yell about explosion naer Victory square main distillery, side of mountain has large hole which black clad metal skull monster with green muskets is use to invade. Plan either fucked, or comrade Goran mix pink mushrooms in wine distillery and flood district in chemicals again, not sure." 

 

He stands up from the large pile of weaponry he had apparently been keeping in a fanny pack to stare at the party with an odd look on his face, his prominent nose peeking out a bit. "Superior also give order to guard entrance from monster, but tell us to guard package in case army real, so you come with yeah? No package no job no pay."

 

Smell of the day: Strong liquors

 Thing that currently exist in the location: Bregovich the Mezzok Meeting man, A long wooden table, a way out through a sturdy stone back door, a doorway leading into the rest of the tavern, a lot of dwarven wine, others.


?????= 1

[rustytengo]

Whoever was sitting next to Stella would probably have been getting annoyed by the tapping of her fingers on the table. Normally Stella wouldn't ever do something like that since I would teach a bad habit to her daughter but it was so boring listening to the dwarf go on and on and on about things that are best left in the instruction book. The wine didn't help make it go any faster either. It wasn't the type she liked to drink and after two small glasses, she could drink anymore besides it was  probably a good idea not to get drunk even if it was boring she didn't want to risk losing the job that Thousand gold would be able to pay for tuition and cover other expenses for a while. 

 

When the explosion happened Stella sighed "Finally something happened." she said under her breath in relief at finally being freed from the meeting. "Of course I will be coming, good sir. Just lead the way." She said standing and adjusting her clothing and weapons.

[kj1225]

Dagda sighs before standing up and checking the straps on his weapon and shield. Finding everything passable he nods to the dwarf.

"I'm opposed to violence but I'd have to get involved, pay or no pay."

[Chevaleresse]

Tarja made an entirely exaggerated pouting face at being denied her toxin of choice, and was in the middle of opening her mouth to complain when the explanation continued. Unlike the others, she didn't seem to be at all concerned about the plan apparently going south, though she made a mental note to ask Flora a question later about some of the things said. "So that means we're finally done sitting around, right?" The eladrin practically sprung up from her seat, and Flora might have been shocked that she wasn't physically dragged upward with her - though an insistent tugging soon followed anyway. "Come on, I wanna see the monsters."

[Yours Truly]

Bregovich rather swiftly loaded his loaded weapons back inside of his pack as he said, "It means we move to other seat on castle wall and glare at empty street until field commander allow rest before package delivery." It took a few moments more before he seemed satisfied enough with the amount of weaponry he was carrying to stand up straight with a musket in his hands and turn to stare once more at the party. "We take back door yes? To not disturb terrified patrons who several shots away from full barrel....or their guns," he said just before he pours something foul onto a cloth rag and wraps it around his nose, and rush out to open said door, revealing a moodily lit alleyway with a slightly sulfurous smell to it.

Bregovich took a couple of steps outside first before he took off his rag and gestured towards the much brighter exit with the barrel of his musket, "Don't mind weird smell, chemical in air might not be kind to make people see pixies, might be kind to kill instead...is joke, alleyway back of bar smell like alleyway back of bar, which is good since it means plan was not fucked by accidental distillery explosion, but also very bad since invading army mi-." Bregovich was cut short by the sound of another explosion rocking the walls of the town of Bierlack, and he reflexively flinched and let out a dwarven swear word just before he said, "...we do not want to be caught in open, let us go."

 

Smell of the day: Sulfur

 Thing that currently exist in the location: Bregovich the heavily armed Mezzok Meeting man, some slightly rotted looking wooden crates, alleyway walls that conveniently have no windows or way out except directly into the street.

?????= 1 

[/color]

[Hal Henderics]

Cicirega follows swiftly and silently, grimacing.

[rustytengo]

Stella quickly followed the dwarf outside grimacing at the smell. She didn't understand why people would live in such a smell all the time. She dealt with a few bad smells before but only for a short amount of time she would never stay in them. So she hoped that this job would get finished up as some as possible so she could get out of it.

[kj1225]

Dagda follows after without even paying the smell any mind. You get used to it.

[StormLord]

That dwarf's commentary on their plan and the need to list every little detail over and over had actually managed to put Garry to sleep, not a small feet for someone who has sat through his own master's lectures.

Either way the first blast caused Garry to stir and by the second one he was already collecting his weapons and following the others out the back exit.

[Yours Truly]

(Music)

The dimly litstreets of Victory Square felt cold and uninviting as the seven of you entered it, as the nosy guards were all gone to man the first defensive line, and the crowds of people who did their damnest to keep a lively atmosphere had already scarpered somewhere, or in the particular case of The Pride and Joy's inhabitants, put up barricades. Which wouldn't have been much of a problem if they had stuck to putting up boards and wards over the windows of the grey stone building, but of course they blocked off  the streets and alleys with furniture.
This sight was met with some disapproval by Bregovich, as he muttered something along the lines of "Damn tourist, always with the panic and gun waving when army invade or monster attack, as if goblin or elven horde did not attack every Tomsday," while he calmly and confidently took a couple of steps closer, only to jump back with a shock when some particularly twitchy looking drow rose up from behind the barricade, with one of them even going so far as to shoot a musket at his feet and yell out some nonsense about how, "ANY FURTHER MOVEMENT WILL BE TREATED AS AN ACT OF AGGRESSION AND MET WITH IMMEDIATE BALLISTIC VENTILATION!," a heavily accented statement that was greeted with murmurings and shouts of approval from the obviously freelandian drow.

Bregovich raised both of his hands up as he walked back from the barking madman? Letting his musket hang on a sling as he calmly said, "Alright, alright, I'm going," before he got close enough to the party to quietly say, "We...may want to take detour to avoid the crazy, granted only other route will take us closer to distillery, but it...has same chance of get shot really."

[rustytengo]

"There might be more problems if we take longer Mister Bregovich so let's see if I can get him to let us past. " Stella said before moving towards the drow with her hands up and away from her weapons. "Excuse me good Sir but we were hired by The Erar to guard a certain something and the quickest way through to where we need to go to is through here so we would be grateful if you could let us pass so we don't make The Erar wait." 

[Yours Truly]

Bregovich took a deep breath and let out a slight sigh before he said, "....fine, I guess it not terrible idea to wait to find out if you can convince fellow drow to move," he slowly took on a progressively more sarcastic tone of voice as he continued with, "Maybe even see some of that famous drow kinship in action." He took another couple of steps back and took cover behind an alleywall before Stella stepped up and tried to convince the drow that she only has good intentions!
((Persuasion check: 10)
The drow that shot at Bregovich relaxed somewhat as he saw Stella and heard her words...or maybe he was just reloading his musket, either way he seemed a lot less violent and unstable when he replied with, "When I told the Dwarf to back the fuck up or get shot, that applies to you too sister, so why don't you back the fuck up and tell me a little more about this 'quest' you are on, why the hell would the Erar hire the seven of you? And why is getting past here so important to you anyway?"

[rustytengo]

"Okay okay, no need for that we are no threat to you," Stella said as she stepped back just far enough so she wouldn't have to shout too much at the man. "Well like I said going that way is the fastest way to where we need to go. I wish I could tell you more about what our quest was but I honestly don't know much more than that we were hired by Erar to guard a package of some sort. As to why we were hired I can't say much about the others with me but I've done some protection jobs before so he must have got my name from someone I've helped before." Stella explained to the man well doing her best to keep her voice calm and a bit charming.

[kj1225]

Dagda steps up beside Stella with nod. "And if that's not enough for you, we're probably going to go fight whoever is causing this little incident. Even if we fail, that means that you all are going to have a little bit less to worry about, yeah?"

[Yours Truly]

(Persuasion Check: 25)

The drow at the lead picked up his musket once more and pointed it at the ground after he heard the two of you speak, and he slowly slid back down the barricade as he said, "You know what? Just...stay there and don't move a muscle! I need to talk with the others about this first." He then slipped down completely out of view as slightly audible murmuring could be heard in the distance, leaving the eight of you to stare at the makeshift barricade, and the one crossbow carrying human woman still watching over it.

 

Bregovich coughed and shifted slightly towards Stella's direction, "That went well, did not expect freelandians to listen to others for once."

[Chevaleresse]

Tarja leaned slightly toward Flora, and. . . Well, she didn't seem to be deliberately stage-whispering, but her whisper was less than subtle, to say the least. "Psst. What are the metal tubes for? The ones they keep pointing around at people." She watched the entire proceedings with vaguely bemused interest, not entirely understanding what was going on. "And why don't they want us to go past, anyway?"

[Twinwolf]

"They shoot very fast moving bits of metal at people."  she said, a bit more discreetly. "It's generally quite painful to get hit by one, so avoid that. As for why they don't want us to go past... I think they're just nuts, honestly. Some people are strange like that." 

[Yours Truly]

By this point Bregovich had already pulled out a map as he quietly examined his options, and attempted to chart out a path towards the castle within the square that wouldn't involve breaking past a barricade or circling around the distilleries in the few moments that passed before the drow returned, and shouted out, " Alright alright you lot can pass, apparently preventing someone from breaking the ZAP by breaking past our barricade to reach their place of employment is also in itself a violation of the ZAP, so just take your weird skeleton friend and get the hell out of here as soon as possible alright? He's really creeping us out."

[rustytengo]

Stella started to thank the man "Why thank you goo..." she stopped herself as she registered what was said at the. "Skeleton? What are you talking about? No one is a skeleton." She said as she started to look around for the skeleton?