Round-up Green Mais-Quand

Ana, Tai, and Hikawera were tired, but excited.  They had availed themselves of House Ha'aheo's discount, and spent the prior day getting used to their new pegasus mounts.  Osric and Cathance has helped them, and Quelenna sometimes flew up with her boots.  Tai could not make up his mind whether to call his destrier pegasus "Spencer" or "Thundersparks" so the poor animal ended up with the whole thing as his name.  Hikawera named his courser pegasus "Allegro," and Ana named her pony-sized courser "Pelorus."  Now they wanted to take a mission with their newfound mobility.

They rose to go upstairs and one of the patrons in the front of the tavern waved them over.  The human man seemed kind of shifty, greasy brown hair falling over his relatively pale face.  But, Cathance and Osric went over to his table.

"What do you want?" Cathance asked.  She did not sit down.  Osric did.  The fellow answered, "Things from Hindmarsh are picking up!  But, I am behind on orders.  If you go to the marsh from the east side, you can get more herbs, or magical creatures' skin!"

Quelenna had followed Cathance and Osric over, and was in earshot for the last part.  "Fucking frogs!  No way."  He looked at her, startled by her vehemence.  Cathance crossed her arms.

Osric explained that he should talk to Nohea (he did not say her name, but pointed her out where she was standing), "She will take this info, and check it out," he said, "we might do it anyhow, but want it on the books here."

The human pushed his hair back from his forehead.  "This is s'pose to be clandestine."

"Why?" Cathance demanded crossly, "what about this is clandestine?"

He lowered his voice.  "Don't want Ha'aheo to find out!  We will not make as much money!"

Cathance threw up her hands.  "Okay, you are stupid," she said, and walked away.

In the meantime, the three new pegasus riders had gone to Arnari's office.  She checked them and had started to shuffle through her papers when they sat down.  Hikawera's fat ass had just settled in the chair when Dryali's voice rang out, sardonic as ever, "Good morning, sunshine!"

Arnari facepalmed.  "How did he –" she stopped and regained her composure, as Hikawera moved to a different chair.

Cathance, Osric and Quelenna came in, and Quelenna took the chair Hikawera had sat on.  Hikawera gritted his teeth, but nothing happened.

Hikawera poked Quelenna's chair.  Nothing.  He scowled, trying to figure out how magical tinkering could have such an effect.

Arnari started reciting missions.

• Eggs for House Liona (for gryphons) and House Aldous (for hippogryphs), you probably aren't interested
• It might be wise to check Pirates Dream river for pollution
• Go to Stormhaven, and capture the halfling man who is Jamie's friend.

The resulting conversation was pretty interesting!

Hikawera:  how much do these pay?
Arnari:  Pollution, 100gp/person plus 1 uncommon potion each; the halfling man, 200gp each… No Freelancer's Cut.
Hikawera:  the capture issue is more interesting; maybe we can throw someone else out a window.
Arnari:  Stormhaven is underground, so not so simple to do that.
Quelenna:  he has friends, they are not fun.
Cathance:  how does Ana feel?
Ana:  as long as we avoid my family.
Osric:  are they looking for you?
Ana:  NO.
Tai:  aww.
Ana:  just need not to be too afoul of the law.
Quelenna:  I had an encounter with this guy before, I'm ready to do a rematch.

So, they decided to go to Stormhaven.

With six Freelancers and four flying mounts, they figured they could easily cut their travel time in half and skip the camping.  Looking at the size of the mounts and the riders, they decided Pelorus and Jigsaw could carry the extra gear, and Spencer Thundersparks and Allegro could take doubled-up riders.

"Osric should ride with Tai, to keep the weight balances," Hikawera decided.

Osric was offended, and looked over at the overweight Fire sagani.  "You calling me fat?" he demanded.  Hikawera demurred, "Well, no, but, dwarf…"

Osric decided to wild shape into a chipmunk, not just for weight, but also for adorableness.  But he did not ride with Hikawera.

The group took off, and was able to reach Cliffgate by the evening, and stayed at The Sleepy Dog Inn.  By flying cross country, they reached Haven the next day, and stayed at The Local Flavour.  Both stays were 8sp each for the persons and 5sp each for the flying mounts.  Cathance wondered if any of the others, unused to riding, were sore, but she never found out.

The Freelancers arrived in Stormhaven in the late afternoon, almost evening, of the third day, and there was some hesitancy where to stay.  Ana recommended… "The Golden Thread," nodding quite seriously.

Hikawera:  The Safe Harbour.  [where they'd seen Jamie's friend before]
Ana <sniffing>:  I suppose.
Hikawera:  it's bedsheets and such, that is what matters.
Ana:  that's about all it is.
Quelenna:  Green operates out of The Safe Harbour.
Tai:  convenient!
Ana <reluctantly>:  ...okay.
Tai:  your parents won't expect you, there.
Ana:  true!

They secured rooms and stabling at The Safe Harbour, and then headed to the taproom.  Quelenna described Green to them, "A Mikumwes halfling, blond hair, hazel eyes, well armed…"

They got a table, ordered food and beverages, and looked around.  It was dinner time and the place was lively.  Ana and Quelenna were both too distracted by their separate displeasures at the situation to really notice much.  Cathance and Tai saw some human and Rock sagani patrons, and many gnomes; Ana fit right in, for all she would sniff at that.  Certainly there were no halflings.

Osric, meanwhile, was convinced he saw Green slip out the back door.  He leapt up, exclaiming "I saw him, I saw him!" and ran out the back door, to find himself in an empty alley.

Hikawera also observed no halfling, but wanted to catch up on rumours and such; he started chatting up people, although did not wander too far from their table.  General discussion about halflings, some people answered, but some people noticed Cathance and did not; but when he mentioned Green Mais-Quand, half the people he spoke to clammed up.  Some told him that the halfling man was occasionally seen in the tavern, but wasn't a regular.

Ana was really just not enjoying herself.  She did not finish her meal, and seemed lost in thought, not paying attention to the conversations at all.  She rose and told the others she was going to the restroom, and headed to that part of the tavern.  After a while she returned.

"While I was waiting for the restroom, I overheard people talking; Green will be at The Stone & Arms tavern tomorrow afternoon and evening," she announced, quietly, to the other Freelancers.

Quelenna was suspicious.  "You heard, in the restroom line?" she asked.  "It was a really long line for the restroom," Ana protested, "you hear things!"

The other Freelancers accepted this information with relief, because it had been a long day's travel, and they could retire to their rooms and rest.

The next morning, the Freelancers gathered in Tai's room.  Osric wanted to strategize how to capture Green.  Cathance said with surprising vehemence, "As long as he's beat up lots."

Osric said, "I mean, is he dead, or alive?"  Quelenna said, "I think alive, and turn in to the local Skyguard."

That sparked another discussion, should they tell the Skyguard their plan.  Osric wondered if there was a mole in the Skyguard.  "We should go to the tavern in disguise," Cathance suggested.

Ana had a better idea. "We should notify the Skyguard without telling them exactly where or what," she said.  "Yes, we should notify them," Quelenna said.

Thus began the first adventure of the day:  finding the Skyguard outpost in Stormhaven.  It turned out to be eastward, at the deepest part of the harbour.  The Freelancers were shown in to Elena Catracha, a Wild elf in charge of the outpost.  Upon hearing their purpose, Elena was very forthcoming.

"Skyguard will run interference with the city government," she told the Freelancers, "We really want Green."

Hikawera asked about Green's associates, and Elena misunderstood.  "Don't leave a pile of dead bodies," she advised, "but really, we don't care."

Hikawera tried again.  "Do you have any known associates?" he asked.  Elena said, "We have not seen hide nor hair of Green, no idea of known associates."  She sounded frustrated.

Cathance asked, "When was the last time you heard of him?"  Elena's face was expressive as she said, "Last time Freelancers were in town."

At that, the Freelancers withdrew, and headed to The Stone & Arms.  "What is the plan?" Cathance asked, and Hikawera said he sort of had a plan.

Ana:  mug in alley, or a fake deal then mug them.
Osric: what kind of deal?  Something about Freelancers?
Ana:  sell them something they want, just be vague.
Hikawera:  you do it.
Ana:  no…
Hikawera:  we should have some in the room, some out back, tag his associates.
Cathance:  how do you know associates versus business contacts?
Hikawera:  associates are plants in the room.
<Osric became confused at this.  What plants?>
Hikawera <impatiently>: ok, me & Ana in the room to tag associates.
Cathance:  people should have doors covered.
Hikawera:  can just sit in back

As the discussion wore on, they walked along well-lit tunnels, which were opening up into rather broad walkways with the ceilings 15' high at the sides and arched over the center.  About 80% of the way back around from the outpost, the Freelancers came to an intersection, which was an imperfect ➕, the north-south tunnel offset. The offset resulted in a bit of a common area sort of southeast with some benches and tables, and the Stone & Arms occupied the northwest corner of the intersection.  It appeared to have two floors.

Hikawera and Tai went into the tavern and sat at the bar.  The tavern was doing some business, and had some regulars, but it was not hoppin', since it was not mealtime.  Ana joined them, and said, "If I say anything, just go along with it."  The other two raised their eyebrows.

"Sounds like you have a plan!" Hikawera declared jovially.  Ana replied cagily, "Perhaps."  Hikawera frowned slightly.  "Care to share?"  Ana just smiled.

Cathance, Quelenna, and Osric were to cover the doors from the outside, but it wasn't exactly like they could hide behind the greenery.  Catahnce took them to the square and sat them down at a table.  "Let me teach you dragonchess," she said magnanimously, and pulled out the set from her pack.  Osric and Quelenna were soon engrossed in learning how all the pieces moved.

The Freelancers in the tavern moved from the bar to a small table in the southeast corner, and that is how they stayed situated, until Tai and Cathance saw Green, followed by a human and halfling acting in Conspicuous Bodyguard Style, walk into The Stone & Arms a couple hours after Daystar zenith.

Green settled himself at a medium-sized table on the first floor of the tavern.  Various people seemingly randomly sat at the table, conversing with him, then leaving.  Watching him surreptitiously, Tai, Hikawera, and Ana saw him paying most of these persons; but sometimes, they paid him.  No goods or objects seemed to change hands otherwise.  <Narrator voice:  Ana recognized one of the persons paying Green as someone who works for her family, but did not tell the others.>

Time passed, in which the Freelancers concluded the people who were interacting with Green had come to The Stone & Arms for that purpose.  Ana shifted impatiently.

Ana:  do we approach him, or wait for him to leave?
Hikawera:  do you have a plan for that?
Ana:  we can try to sell info, but dunno how to persuade him to leave with us.
Hikawera:  I can do something about that.
Hikawera message Cathance:  dude, where are you?
Cathance:  come in now, or wait?
Hikawera message Cathance:  excuses, excuses.  Wait and see, but if you hear anything, come on in.
<Cathance relayed that to Osric and Quelenna, then went back to explaining how the dragonchess pieces work together on the board.>
Hikawera:  gonna use suggest.
Ana:  okay, will set you up for that.

Green was by himself at his table, clearly enjoying his beer.  His halfling bodyguard was near the foot of the stairs.  His human bodyguard was at the bar.  Ana rose and approached his table, flanked by Hikawera and Tai.  As Green looked up at her pleasantly, Hikawera sat at the table, and Tai stayed standing, the big Silver dragonborn looming over them all.

Green:  what can I do for youse?
Ana <self-importantly>:  I am Ana Itu of the Turen Itus - well, I used to be - and I have something to sell to you.
Green <smiling>:  always interested in new deals.
Ana <looking around>: need to be more confidential.  Could be dangerous, to talk here.
<Ana elbowed Hikawera, below the line of the table because Ana is short.>
Hikawera casting suggestion:  we have a set of rooms nearby should suffice, quite safe, I assure you!
Green:  oh.  Well, if it's confidential, we should go to a location that's safe for you.  Although, this tavern has never let me down.
Hikawera:  I am sure it hasn't.  But this place does have ears!

They all rose, and Hikawera led the group out the door of the tavern, towards the intersection and the square where Cathance was showing an increasingly frustrated Osric and Quelenna how to play her beloved dragonchess.  The bodyguards, startled, also followed.

"Boss," said the human, "you said to come poke you if you ever left early and didn't tell us first."  Green replied, "Yeah… this is a great idea."

Tai frowned, then remembered he was supposed to be playing bodyguard.  "Is there a problem here?" he asked, trying to be intimidating and succeeding about as much as one would expect for a Silver dragonborn who affected a purple-lined cloak of billowing. He turned around, and saw Green's two bodyguards had drawn their weapons.  Turning back, he prepared himself in case they attacked, and noticed a half-elf on the other side of the intersection, with green hair spiked up like Dryali, had also drawn his weapon.

Osric also had seen the half-elf, and used the opportunity to vent his frustration with the dragonchess.  He flipped the entire table, shouting, "How dare you hustle me?!" his gravelly voice bouncing off the cavern ceilings.  He stormed off northward, and cast hold person on the half-elf, who shrugged it off; then Osric just stood there looking angry.

• Ana cast charm person on the human bodyguard, but he also shrugged it off.  She kept moving forward as if nothing else had changed.
• Cathance, upset about her dragonchess, yelled at Osric, "It's not my fault you are bad at strategy!"  She picked up the board as she yelled; her voice was far more penetrating than Osric's.  She used sorcerous careful spell to cast hypnotic pattern on them all, saving Tai and Hikawera.  Green and his halfling bodyguard were incapacitated, but the human again shrugged it off.
• Quelenna, from her perspective, had noticed another human south of them on the street, and recognized them from getting jumped on her last visit to Stormhaven.  She pulled out her fans, and crit them, saying "Round 2!  We get to play again."  She followed up with flurry of blows, dropping them to the ground, to her intense satisfaction.
• The half-elf with the spiky green hair ran up to Osric and tried to shiv him.  Osric exclaimed, "What the heck?"
• The human bodyguard shook the halfling bodyguard out of the hypnosis from hypnotic pattern.
• The halfling bodyguard stabbed Hikawera, who still kept up the suggestion spell.
• A halfling woman stepped into view to the west of them and fired a light crossbow at Hikawera, who was effectively in front of Tai and wasn't exactly a small target.  Then she hid somewhere.  The bolt hit home, easily piercing his leather armour and his enclosed person.  Blood oozed out, thick & slow.  He still kept up the suggestion spell on Green, but
• Hikawera swore in pain, and cast thunderwave on the bodyguards, injuring them both and pushing the halfling back.  The boom echoed in the tunnels.  He recited a silly limerick about Tai having beefy muscles, and moved behind Tai, who had bardic inspiration from this limerick. 

Tai stepped up to the bodyguards, raging.  Shadowy tendrils of magic manifested, lashing out at the two bodyguards and bolstering Tai.  The halfling dropped, these plus thunderwave had been too much.  Tai axed the human bodyguard, who also dropped.

• Osric summoned a wolf bestial spirit behind the half-elf, which attacked him.  He also summoned a hawk spirit totem, to help perceive enemies.
• Ana moved away from Green, next to Cathance, and sent a chromatic orb at the half-elf on Osric.  It settled on cold when it hit, and the half-elf dropped.
• Cathance looked at all the pieces on the ground and bitched at Osric, "My dragonchess is all over!"
  • Hikawera, bleeding from two wounds, snarked, "Your dragonchess and my blood!"
  • Cathance sucked in her breath, and stomped over to Hikawera, throwing the board herself.  "I can't believe you SAID THAT!" she rebuked Hikawera dramatically, while readying ray of frost for that halfling with the light crossbow.
• "What is UP with this screeching pile of humanity?" Quelenna asked as she walked up to Tai.  "I'm not human!" Cathance screeched at her.  Quelenna saw the halfling down the street, because monk, too far away for her to do anything.
• The halfling showed herself, also too far for ray of frost, and shot at Tai with her light crossbow.  She missed.  She assessed the situation and her down'd compatriots, and took off around the corner.

Hikawera cast cure wounds on himself, then pulled out his rope.  "Tie him up?" he said, indicating Green with his head.

"Let's relieve him of his weapons," Cathance suggested, and Ana did so:  short bow, rapier, daggers in boots and belt.  Thieves tools in the belt pouch.

Tai concentrated, and determined Green's cloak, bracers, and ring were all magic; he relieved Green of these too, as Hikawera and Quelenna tied him up.

Osric, somewhat sheepishly, brought Cathance her dragonchess pieces.  "Thanks!" she told him sincerely, and put it away in her backpack.  "Let's check out these others."  They all had daggers and leather armour; also quite a bit of coin for footpads, 108 gp total.

Osric gathered the coin.  "They stabbed me first," he said defensively.  Cathance was leery about appearances.  "Let's set it aside so we are not accused of murdering them for money."  They walked back over to the tied up Green.

Ana was saying, "Take the thieves' tools, so he will not get out of lockup."  Quelenna asked, "Can I keep the thieves' tools?"  Cathance repeated, "We don't want to be accused…"

Hikawera cast levitate on the tied up Green, who started protesting.  Then they started moving towards the Skyguard outpost.

Hikawera looked at himself, and started bitching about having blood all over his nice clothes.  Cathance snapped her fingers, cleaning him up with prestidigitation.  "That's cheating," Hikawera told her.  She snapped her fingers again, heating up the toes of his right boot with prestidigitation to give him a hot foot.  "Well done!" the Fire sagani said, and she stuck her tongue out at him.

Ana, meanwhile, gagged Green, leaving him only able to make muffled angry noises.  She faded back and walked somewhat apart from the others.  After all, walking through the tunnels of Stormhaven with a floating, gagged, angry halfling man isn't exactly the height of discretion.

Especially not with Cathance who, still wound up from the fight and Osric throwing her dragonchess, was bouncing up and down next to the levitated captive, ranting.  "This is what YOU get for sending those STUPID blue bandannas to BEAT ME UP!!!"  She went off on how Mikumwesauk are not supposed to have other Mikumwesauk beaten, then started over from the beginning.  She occasionally used her boots of striding and springing to jump up eye level with him as she ranted.

The passerby were staring.  Ana walked even further away; it wasn't clear if anyone noted her with the noisy procession.  The other Freelancers were laughing, especially Tai.

Word had spread, so Elena Catracha was ready and waiting for the Freelancers when they arrived at the Skyguard outpost with their captive.  Three burly Skyguard took Green away as Hikawera handed the items they removed from Green to Elena.  "I can identify three magic items for you," he offered.

"Yes, come to my office," she said.  The office was plenty big enough to hold all 6 Freelancers, and Hikawera settled in a corner with the items and his cittern.  Before starting on identify, he said, "Also there were five henchmen; one got away, four we left in the street."

Elena rolled her eyes, and stepped out of her office a little bit, leaving the door open.  They heard her sending a Skyguard squad to "clean up Freelancer Business near The Stone & Arms," then she returned.

They took turns relaying what happened as Hikawera used identify.  The Skyguard captain sighed.  "I guess it's self-defense if they attacked first," she said dubiously, "You can keep the gold and his stuff…"

The stuff turned out to be ring of warmth, cloak of elvenkind, and bracers of archery.  The Freelancers thanked her and took their leave, heading back to The Safe Harbour.

Quelenna said, "I am taking the thieves' tools."  Hikawera said darkly, "I have something I might want you to use that on!"  Quelenna laughed, startled, and replied, "Let me learn, first!"  Hikawera said expansively, "Consider this practice!"

Once back at The Safe Harbour, they considered the items they'd taken from Green.  They decided Ana would make best use of the cloak of elvenkind, and Quelenna took the ring of warmth.  Nobody wanted the bracers of archery.  Maybe Tomtom would take them and add them to the general inventory.

The Freelancers headed out the next day, and flew to Haven.  Once they had rooms at The Local Flavour, Quelenna decided to repack her stuff, for better placement of the thieves' tools.  That was when she found the little wooden frog Dryali had carved, and placed in her backpack some time ago.  She shuffled her card deck, and it went "Ribet."

When they stopped midday the next day to rest and have a bit of lunch, Tai found himself with Ana, a little apart from the others, as they watered the pegasus.

"What was up with that?" he asked, waving vaguely to indicate the events in Stormhaven.  Ana was unreceptive to the question.  "That's normal; what's your problem?"

Tai pressed a bit harder, and the Maker gnome tried to brush it off.  "This is not a big deal," she told him.  "It seems to have to do with your family, though," he said.  Family was a big deal to Tai.

Ana became frosty.  "I don't insult my family."  Tai raised his hands, backing off.  "Oooookaayyy, I guess, I see you," he said, and went back to the others.

They arrived at Freelancers Tavern the evening of the next day, right as Arnari was finishing dinner.  "Glad to see you made it back safely," she told them, her voice melodious.  "Let's get you squared away," and they all went back up to her office.

They told her Green was captured and handed over to Elena Catracha of the Skyguard, which made Arnari happy.  She paid out 200gp for the mission, letting them choose if it was in platinum, gold, or on the Freelancer Badge.  When they told her about the unwanted bracers of archery, she shook her head a little, and told them to talk to Tomtom.

They were walking back down to the tavern when she asked, "How do you enjoy the pegasus?  You came back fairly quickly!"  Tai, Ana, and Hikawera told her they liked it, it was great.

Tomtom paid them 1500gp for the bracers of archery, so that was lucrative too.  But they did not hang out long in the tavern that evening, even with flying mounts it was a long day of travel from Cliffgate.