Shared Contact of a Friend of a Cover ID of a Luck Child Whose Former Employee is a Lost Relation of the Person of Interest

Gathering / Conference

Myska's Menagerie bring their stresses to Orwin Oreson, meet a new companion, and seek out a contact that may know where Scizzord is.

(Rajdeep Maichu, Maximilian Farwood, Orwin Oreson/Sicuro Altomari, Crush Tengral, and Scissord. If you were wondering.)

After touching down in Bactran, the companions set to work spending their first day looking for signs of Scizzord in the city. Crush's efforts of walking the streets asking if anyone had seen another tortle went as well as you would expect in a city of wonders. Astrid's time was more productive if costly. She spend her day in the Lady's Charity dawdling away coins talking with anyone she could to rake up some gossip. It took to the end of her purse but she did manage to find an old timer with something of interest. A weird looking tortle with an elephant nose and a flat, rotting back had made a scene a week or a tenday ago when he couldn't get an audience with the previous owner on account of him being dead. Astrid spread a bit more gossip of may Altomari having not really died but bought his way elsewhere before pulling out of the conversation.
  The trio then made their way to the Spor Solanu to meet with Orwin Oreson. A secretary pointed them to a second floor private chamber. The dwarf had plenty latches to undo before the companions entered into the chamber to be once again be shut up by latch, lock and furniture. The conversation that followed was the tip of a larger iceberg.
  Scizzord's presence in the city was confirmed again and Oreson wanted this taken care of. He was aware of the questions and wanted it silenced. Knowing that Scizzords next contact would be at the bottom of the city, he gave the party the name of a mutual black market acquaintance to try to find the tortle: Rajdeep Maichu . During this conversation, the worried man received a Sending from an unknown source which he haphazardly answered after ushering the Menagerie to go down there now, he must be present. His eventual answer as a frantic promise that “everything would be find, it's being handled.”
  Chupta made a play. He said they would deal with the problem, wanting his companions to catch up to him as he backed into a corner to teleport away but instead simply turned invisible. The companions excused themselves trusting in Chupta. When alone, Orewin battened down the hatches yet again before slumping into a chair. Only once he had done so he didn't realize why he was worried. Everything worked out for him. The adventurers being here was a good thing.
  Chupta had pulled his Gem of Seeing out during all of this. While there was no one else invisible in the room or lasting scry sensors, he did witness a divination aura try to enter under the door before being dispelled from existence in the room. Moments later a sharp rapping on the door and insistent voice led Orwin to produce a small statue from a pocket to summon his griffon. He had it crouch behind the couch before eventually let a fair gnome into the room in a huff. Before Orwin could do anything with the door, the gnome incanted out and rolled the marble floors and lower frame around the door to seal it.
  A heated conversation followed with the gnome frantic about the reappearance of Scizzord. The gnome grilled the dwarf about possible problems, conflicting interests, and Scizzord's moodiness. The history between the two in context let it be known that the Menagerie are not the only people who were aware of the Altomari/Oreson connection. In response, Orewin promised that he had some people handling it. When trust was brought up, Orwin guaranteed that they probably had it covered with varying percentages given to how effective they would be with a small chance for ultimate mishap that would probably just be everyone killing each other. With the gnomes uneasiness at the situation, Orwin suggested he put the gnome in contact with the party as a specialist of some kind for shadowed introductions. The gnome could keep an eye on the situation and have first hand knowledge how it was being handled. This solution would come to past far sooner than expected as Chupta stepped from the shadows.
  The smuggler tried to play up the act of teleporting back in for a final question and apologizing for the intrusion. Orwin immediately saw through the impossible lie. The same ward that kept divination magic out also prevented teleporting in. Uneasy introductions were made as the dwarven fraud introduced his wife to his girlfriend in a bumbled crossing of paths.
  After the the tense moment of introduction between a bumbling Chupta, spectre conjuring Millie, and an irritated Orwin Oreson, game of furniture juggling occurred as Chupta magically called back his companions through his tome. Complete introductions were made and the beginning of conversations began about the Scizzord situation. It would come to be known by everyone that the gnome worked in the realm of historical artifact rediscovery in loose proximity to Scizzord. Nothing close, just business relations when occasional jobs required multiple surveyors. After the tortle disappeared and could no longer respond to Sending incantations, the gnome began taking over the tortle's business opportunities. Millie knew Scizzord to be a malicious and underhanded individual that did not take sleights well. Given the situation for both the gnome and Orwin Oreson, it would be best if Millie joined Myska's menagerie for feeling out and dealing the wild card.
  The gnome met the trio outside to discuss routes forward in private. The gnome met up with a robbed and masked attendant of his that acted as a hireling to maintain the small archeologist's cart of supplies. Heading over to the Bahuk Plaza, the newly acquainted for entered into the Green Oasis to talk things out over tea (the hireling stayed outside). Histories with Scizzord were discussed and plans were posited. The immediate option was to follow up with the suggest lower level contact of Rajdeep Maichu within the Glass Amulet tobacco lounge. While simple, there was the chance that Scizzord could also be tipped off if the party started asking around about him. Another option was Millie magically Sending a message to the old colleague to set up a meeting. Locations were discussed with a heavy focus on wanting to get him out of the city to set an ambush in the plains outside the city. There were fluxes back and forth between immediately going for the kill and actually talking with the man. In the end it was decided to first check in with Rajdeep Maichu to see what information could be obtained first.
  Heading down to the depths of the of the cliff bottom and then deep within, the troop found their way into the presence of the underworld dwarf of contacts. Once he was free to move on to the troop, polite banter turned to aggressive insistence. Maichu denied having any contact with such a tortle though Astrid picked up a thin veneer of poker face. She forced the conversation forward attempting to bully the man with commanding words of power to influence his immediate actions but he held firm. Sweat dotted his temples as he attempted to maintain composure while continuing to deny any aid he may serve here. The professionality of the situation was called into question for Chupta and Millie as Maichu excused himself to leave.
  As the dwarf went off to talk with someone else, Chupta sent his bat Jafi to cling onto his back to follow along. Jafi's previous use in the manner was with cloaks over armor, giants hide and the like. In the case of the thinner clothing of Maichu, the dwarf took notice as claws gripped onto his back and he bloody flipped out. Gasping and turning, panicking and splaying out against the wall, he did a full Shatner in panick. Chupta managed to snap Jafi from existence before the impact. Maichu then floundered about, patting over his body as if checking for wounds before barely pulling himself together. He rushed over to the fireplace mantel and adjust a metronome's pendulum to it's lowest physical setting (in practice the highest speed it would go).
  Once composed, the dwarf began pleasantries with the pair of patrons at the fire with Crush hearing routine mundane conversations through his stealthing Christu. Something just happened there. Unsure what, but something was going on with Maichu but no core information to continue off of. Recognizing that Maichu may have just sent a signal, the party did not wait. Millie excused himself to the hallway to make a quick call. Reaching out to Scizzord with a sending, the gnome attempted to set up a meeting for a job offer south of the city at sunset. A warbling reply elicited surprise at the contact but denied any possible new jobs. Scizzord could use aid with a job of his own though and bade Millie to meet him at the Davendall Residence , a poor community in the slums of the second layer.
  So. Contact had been made. It was not in a party controlled environment but a meeting was set. More than a meeting, the meeting was between old world colleagues to discuss business. The party packed up there things and made the hike up and over to pauper estate. Millie would be taking front and center with Astrid attending him as his bodyguard. Both Crush and Chupta would be in the ring ready to spring out should anything happen.