As Quentin starts looking at the vial of liquid he studies it trying to figure out what he can. He smells the substance and it leaves a strong impression of an odor. After looking at it a bit you you decide it's best not to drink the liquid but rather take a bit of it and start experimenting using small bits of the liquid itself. It will take a few hours but by morning you'll have some idea of what you picked up without endangering yourself.

OOC: If you choose you can drink the liquid. If so make a Vigor roll.

Lirian notices while she is messing with the tomb that she feels a certain amount of energy coming off the front. When trying to pick the lock but tomb seems to chill your fingers to the bone while you are working on it. You can feel the blood drain from them.

Orin looks at the group and says, "Tis late. I am going to turn in to save my strength. Enjoy the food and fire friends."

Jenkins reappeared with a bundle of bedding, which she promptly dumped unceremoniously on the ground and forgot when she realized something was going on.  She pushed and wormed her way through the crowd, wide eyes peering over the table edge. She gave shocks of horror and fright when it grew and grew, but was reassured when Quentin made sure it was secure. She cheered when he began torturing it, giving off squeals of joy and excitement with every little stab and slice, her eyes bright with unholy lust.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:37, Thu 16 Nov 2023.

Aeress watched the whole thing with rapt fascination.  She'd been about to thrust her spear into the monster rat until it was revealed everything was under control.

She shook her head.  "I wounder if that shopkeeper knows anything about this madness.  If they have this why not do something useful like huge plowhorses, cows or chickens?"

When Quentin finds himself unable to come to a conclusion that the liquid is in any way "safe", he declares the need to take more time. This means he'll take the first shift guarding the site, which he declares as well. He asks whom he shall wake up for shift two.

Piper had a bit to eat but retreated back to her Mosii shaped burrow to try to grab a nap before the suddenly expanding rat caused all sorts of commotion.

Once the excitement died down she settled back in, yawning in unison with her cat bed.

"That real big one didn't exactly seem domesticated."  Piper remarked to Aeress.

"Besides, they seemed extra culty based on what the cultist said, so that usually doesn't influence people to act rationally and want to be productive members of society from what I've been told."

Feeling her fingers being somehow affected by the book Lirian stopped her efforts on it. “damn, There must be some magic here…” she thought, leaving for latter study.



“Seeing how aggressive the rat was becoming as it grew, I sure wouldn’t test on a horse or cow…” she answered to Aeress. “Frankly, I would not like to fight a cow grown this way and so aggressive…

And remember, one of the cultists told us they have lots of monsters, so I’m now scared they could have tested it already…

By the way, it’s not the first time you mention the shopkeeper. What do you mean with it? How did you get taken? You don’t seem someone easy to beat…”

OOC: could we assume everyone tells the others about the previous adventure threads and so everyone may act in the future on its information (see that his will left us only ignoring how Piper was taken)?

After chatting and relaxing a little, Lirian went to sleep, taking the book with her. If there were watch shifts, she will agree whatever she’s given
This message was last edited by the player at 12:59, Thu 16 Nov 2023.

OOC: Anyone who got caught can share the info so that includes Kai. But yes, if Piper wants to share more about the shop she certainly can.

"The tale is simple but strange.  I learned a shop might have an... item of interest.  I went to see about it.  He acted strangely, but his shop was trapped with some device that emitted a strange gas.  After breathing it, we lost consciousness.  He was a half-elf I believe, I'm sure I'd recognize him if I saw him again."

She shrugged.

"I'll go try to arrest him tomorrow, but I doubt he'll be there, which is why I'm not so eager to go now.  I'm more disturbed by how he knew to lure me to his shop."

"The one in the dungeon spoke of being marked."  Piper mentioned with a yawn.

"Don't know exactly what they're looking for, but if they are out looking, they might be putting in the effort to lure anyone they don't think they can just smack over the head and drag away."

"Poke him again. Slice his other tendon. You're not doing a very good job as a torturer" Jenkins said accusingly to the big dragon-man with the bottles. "Can I have a go?"

"What shop? Hunter was going to the cart-man's shop" she said off handedly. "Cardigan? Cart of grain? Caligular? Ooh, Caligula good torturer. Can I play?"

"Gold... no, Silver.  Silver's.  Silver's Maps and Sundries or something like that."  Aeress recalled.

OOC: If everyone is okay we are going to skip to morning.
IC: By morning after a long rest and some time slept not thinking about the last day of your life you keep coming back to something that doesn't make any sense. The Jester. How does this infernal play into the plot, certainly he is mentioned but didn't show up in the previous fight with no signs of him other than his people. Is he part of it? Or simply a pawn.

Quentin awakens and figures out the liquid after a few hours dealing with all the issues. He determines that the liquid itself is most likely the cure to whatever is infecting the city. After careful probing and finding out as much information as he can, he determines that likely without more full samples of the serum that was injected into the rat, he won't be able to do anything to save the people. But he can save one or he can save it.

That morning Orin comes downstairs worse for wear and begins cleaning the tavern trying to make sure he can open the doors on time. He looks deathly but insures you that breakfast will be served shortly. You realize that during this time, he has asked you for penny for the rooms and board.

In fact, Quentin did not think of that Jester at all. Maybe someone else did, but Quentin had his hands full of things to think about. For one, the contents of this ******* vial did not make sanse together with the note found with it. Each made some sense on their own, but taken both together they just made sure they don't. He kept thinking of how he's to resolve the discrepancy and then an answer came in. Quentin had no problems with this answer.

"Hey, Orin! Be my guest now, have a drink!" The vial Quentin is offering Orin looks much like the same vial he had set to analyze in the evening and Orin can well recognize that much. "What?" Quentin asks responding to an expected surprise. "I guarantee this won't make you worse in any conventional way and you don't have much left to lose, have you? Make sure to tell us how it goes in detail. I bet my stay's worth you will live."

Orin looks at Quentin with a raised eye brow. "This smells foul but like you said nothing to lose at this point."

Orin drinks down the liquid without another thought. He gives the vial back to Quentin but shrugs his shoulders as expecting that he was suppose to feel something.

"My body still aches. Give me some time. Maybe this potion of yours takes time. Back to breakfast."

Quentin nods. "And tell me if you start to see new things about people, like of any of us here. Not sure you will, but if you do, please tell me."

Then Quentin addresses the rest of the team, such as it is. "So, guard, kingsguard or mapmaker? I say kingsguard."

Lirian appeared after a good resting night. She heard Quentin’s conversation with Orin, then she greeted everyone.

“Or Library…” she answered to Quentin. “I understand you didn’t have time to finish wat you looked for yesterday, and I’d like to ask Elysia about this book I found among the dead mage possessions. It sure has some magic, as it was able to freeze my fingers when I tried to open it, and I’m curious what it can be…”

Then, keeping with Quentin’s policy of “nothing to lose” she looked at the book. “I guess you won’t be kind enough to open, right? Not even if I kindly ask you, please?” she answered to it, not expecting anything to happen, but the most she could lose was some seconds asking, and magic things sometimes were very strange…

"The library... well, that was when I thought we have the time and can keep a low profile. Might do it again, but I say we better inform higher-ups and see if they are of some use. Should not take too much time. We are not in for an audience, a secretary will do. I'd do it alone, but splitting up is unsafe, so there's that."

As for the book... Quentin wasn't quite sure what to do about it, but was generally convinced it should not be just opened. "If the thing's trapped, it might tear itself apart sort of thing and we lose it. That would be worse than losing some expendable person... I mean, we sure can find one among the poorer diseased men if we offer gold to their kin, but that also would be a detour. This one here..." Quentin points at the host "...is off-limits as test subject." Quentin has absolutely no inclinations to open strange book himself. He trows a glance at the goblin, but does not say anything. Maybe because of abovementioned risks to the book. "The librarian probably knows of normal protections and the ways to identify the details. I, myself, don't do any magic." He taps on the table, thinking. "The library does make sense, but we risk sitting there all day and we must get the things moving. Then the map shop sort of thing, and..." He looks straight at Orin "Hey, you've been hearing us talking all over and you sure have connections here... would you somehow move things? Like, gather some men or some infos or something... like, we want one sewer map, but you've heard of map shop..."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:33, Mon 20 Nov 2023.

As the group continues their conversation a few of the guards doing their morning rounds walk in the door with a few other patrons. They sit at a tab closest to the fire to grab warmth. Orin you see make a nod at them when they come in like the usual. He is in the back slaving away dealing with breakfast.

Piper had slept quite peacefully, at some point in the night having relocating with her furry feline pillow to the still warm stones in front of the fireplace.

As patrons began filtering in she hopped down and had a big stretch before flopping back down again sleepily.

"Why not both, or all of it?"  She asked.  "It shouldn't take all day in any one place, so it's mostly a matter of where to go first, yeah?"

Hunter had stirred himself awake late in the evening, and kept watch over the midnight hours until much of the night had gone. Those first downstairs in the morning found him huddled in some blankets atop the table by the door.

He forced himself up, clothing rumpled and creased, and got the table out the way to open the passageway.

Helping himself to a mug of hot brew, he came and joined the others at the table.
"So. I understand the map maker captured you all? We need to go back there. The book is interesting and seems very important. That needs to go to the library, but we don't need to stay there, we can just drop it off with Alyssa. I need to see my cousin and sort out some personal matters. We need to talk to the Guard, or better, the Kingsguard. Actually,  what we need is someone senior, perhaps the Kingsguard Captain or the Chatelaine to report to and get information and perhaps resources from.

So... priorities? Book because that's fast and on the way. KingsGuard. That's got to be the main focus. If that's fast then fine, if we are kept waiting half the day for an audience then I will bow out and see Sheldon. Meet up in the afternoon to investigate Silver's." He looked around to giage how this plan was received.

“I guess none of you found anything similar to a key on the cages room, do you?” Lirian asked, more rhetorically than really hoping for any answer. “None of us thought about searching the body of the dead mage, but for what you’ve told they left nothing as that to any of you, so if he had it most probably they would have taken it from him…”

Then she listened to Piper and Hunter.

“Well, we also assumed our missions yesterday would be short, maybe excepting the visit to the Library…” she commented to Hunter’s words. “I’d like to pass some time there to search for some better magic to use if we have more problems, as I have little to be offensive. Elysisa scroll was quite helpful, after all, and I’d like to learn something like this, though I don’t expect to be able to handle the Slumber Symphony by myself yet… And I guess she could give us some recommendation card or a likewise passage to see the Captain, or at least an officer, of the Kingsguard, as I don’t believe they would receive any stranger that asks them to…

I'd advice you against going alone to see your cousin...” she said to Hunter. “No need to remember you whan happened last time you went alone, though this time you'll be on guard...”

You notice that Kai is no longer with the group. When one of you search his room you find a note scribbled.

I am sorry that I must take my leave. My faith requires me to hunt mages that require punishment. May we meet again in future adventures.

-Kai

Lirian thanked Orin for the note, and frowned when she saw its content.

“Here it goes the keeping safety in numbers…” she commented. “He shown us his value in combat, but it seems he has other duties. We can only wish luck to him”

Aeress offered up her take to the others.  "I greatly suspect either the shop has been abandoned or the agents who captured us are oblivious, so I think any trip there will be relatively quick.  Honestly I suspect they captured us and got out and abandoned the place.   It's what I would do.  If the library is a better lead but a more time consuming one I would suggest there second just to rule out the map seller as a possibility. "

"So,"  Piper began, still lounging, as she ticked the list off on her fingers.

"First this map shop to see if it was a real place and potentially still in use by the cult, though that would be deeply foolish for them and lucky for us, so likely there won't be much to see, but if there is we can always circle back later.

Then the library.  To see about this book and perhaps an introduction to someone in some actual legal authority who might be interested in this whole mess.

Then, assuming we have an introduction or another way of gaining someone's ear without them thinking we're part of the problem, we go see said legal authority.  With or without Hunter depending on the effort involved in that particular endeavor.

We may then end up back at the shop if there's potentially something to see requiring more time."

Piper then looked to the others.  "Anything left out?"