08. Trg

Following the skirmish at Lake Fatherseye, the adventures escorted Odar, Bran the Tabaxi and his charge, Dimitri the remaining way to Trg. The rest of the trip was quiet and somber. Gilles rummaged in his bags to look for his lunch when he spotted something. From his bag he drew a stoppered vial - it was white and opaque, with silver filaments encircling it - he wondered how on Merra did it get in there?
On the other side of the wagon, Surina was inquisitive about an item she had luckily found at the ruined building at Fatherseye. Inside an old and ripped satin cloth, was a magnifying glass, the frame of the lens in the shape of Helm's eye. Surina uttered a prayer, seeking for her god to provide the gift of Mend, which made the satin cloth as if new. It was a dark red, with a black stitching of a closed gauntlet. This was the symbol of the Soulguard, yet in reverse colours. Surina wondered at this implication but found no answer. As the port side town came into view on the horizon, they could smell the place - a mix of strong spices with a hint of fish.
Arriving closer, it could be seen that the town's defenses were only starting to be constructed, At the entry of TYrg, they were met by a number of town watch and Captain Yvich. Odar explained the purpose of the visit and all paid the town entry tax. The captain also explained the lawful requirement not to carry heavy armour nor weapons other than daggers and short swords within the town.
Bran and the boy sought directions to the local temple to seek shelter and duly left. Odar bid the adventurers to follow him and his wagon continued to track across the cobblestone road. This part of the town was relatively new and judging by the appearance of the locals, they didn't seem hampered by a lack of clothing options or lack of food that most commoners were used to.

The group arrived at a large home, its white walls clean, supported by quality timber frame and a pleasant green slate roof. Here they were greeted by the tortle by the name of Ralf Tenemu, the dwarf's friend and merchant contact.
The tortle invited them in, whilst a servant tended to the horse and loaded wagon, stabling it within the home's courtyard. The dining table inside of Ralf's home was laden with a wholesome feast. Odar and Ralf caught up with one another whilst the adventurers took the opportunity to fil their bellies in excess.
One part of the discussion veered to the Poor King's Cause, which Odar explained that large parts of Dezaria were once part of a dwarven kingdom, but was essentially destroyed during the The Solution of Integration. The last king of the dwarfs sits in the throne at Hyemsfrey and Odar was interested in joining their cause and be recognised. His tortle friend advised him against it, for what would his father, Thorri say?
At the end of the feast, Ralf invited them all to join him later that evening at the Siren's Call - an establishment near the docks and the adventurers agreed.

The Fury and Flames of the Soulguard

With a few spare hours, the adventurers tended to their own interests. Gilles had heard about Bergand's Curiosities,, a local store that sold all sorts of books and curios. The store was closed and but store keep suggested in an obscure way to meet later that evening.
Meanwhile, Surina visited the nearby temple and spoke to its priest primary, Bishop Nazdrav, an old gnarled Dragonborn. The bishop invited the paladin and offered a place to stay if needed. Surina requested that the bishop take care of the recently arrived Tabaxi and the boy, Dimitri, which Nazdrav promised he would do what he could do. During the discussion, Surina found out that the bishop used to be part of the Soulguard and admitted that during his life in the organisation he had seen and done things done that perhaps were not right by Helm, for zeal could sometimes blind even the faithful.
Also during the discussion, the bishop told Surina that the Witch Huntress and the contingent of Soulguard had passed through town and not without incident. The Soulguard took the opportunity to act on some information regarding a heretic known as Plain Martin. A local ended up being burnt on a pyre by his home, apparently reported for aiding and abetting the heretic, but did not find their intended target.
Later, Gilles would also visit the bishop and reveal some of this information as well. The man found interest upon hearing of the heretic, wondering what he could glean from this person. Bishop Nazdrav said that maybe more information could be found out about the man burnt at the pyre at Tahlie's, a drinking place in the old part of Trg.
All the while, Bal'Aur, Eberond and their tag along, the goblin Brutalithops, enjoyed a few drinks at The Pubb, a straightforward tavern overlooking the Well. Once they were rejoined by Gilles and Surina and spoke about the their investigations, the adventurers set off towards Tahlie's.

A Few Merry Drinks

In the old part of Trg, the roads were still compacted mud, the buildings in varied stages of wear, constructed with no uniform design. They soon found the entrance to Tahlie's, which was located in the basement of a building. They declined down the stars, and found that the ceiling was extremely low, with Surina, BalÁur having to nearly crouch their way through the crowd. There was a goliath behind the bar, his size in total contradiction to the tavern, yet somehow he easily made his way around to take orders and serve drinks. the adventurers surmised that this was the owner of the tavern, Tahlie, for which the tavern was name after.
The adventurers took a spare table and ordered drinks from a serving lady. Eberond noticed someone at the bar he knew from his recent life of crime. The master thief known as Akko was at the bar, the gnome mulling over a drink. Eberond pulled his hood over his head, fearing discovery. the others noticed this and tried to get some explanation. Brutalithops was already getting into the drink and continued to push Eberond to explain himself, whilst Surina and Bal'Aur had an inkling that the gnome and sat next to the surprised Akko. Their investigation didn't go far and Akko excused himself. Upon turning around he spotted Eberond and hurried outside. The half-elf decided to follow the gnome, but just at that moment Brutalithops' tipsiness caused Eberond to trip over. By the time he recovered and got outside, there was no sign of Akko.

By the time he returned inside, the rest of the adventurers were speaking to a group of halflings, trying to find more information about the heretic Plain Martin and the man that was burnt at the pyre the other day. Brutalithops found one of them particularly pretty and attempted to swoon her. His double vision granted by the many ales, actually had him talking to one of the other halflings, which if one squinted their eyes and then stared at their nose, might have found such a person physically attractive, regardless, Brutalithops attempts to swoon this lady, who had introduced herself as Gnillish, was going very well.
As for the rest, the pretty halfling introduced herself as Pippa Sowgarden. The few scars on her face actually suited her, giving her a visage of youthful determination. She explained that she and her comrades were mercenaries from out of town so didn't know anything about any Plain Martin. They were however on the look out for mercenary work.
The adventurers then turned to a group of beardless dwarves who complained about the working conditions at the local Salt Mine. They explained that a bat infestation was making work impossible and that the dwarves were on strike as their boss, a Master Novak, was doing nothing about it. if the adventurers were interested in dealing with such a situation, they said to seek their boss at the Sea Lord, a reputable establishment in the newer part of Trg.
Upon further enquiry regarding Plain Martin, one of the dwarves said that they had met the man who was burnt at the stakes the other day, whose name was Smithik. They had drunk on some occasions and the man seemed normal and genuine, and was hard to believe that the man was now dead, especially in such a gruesome manner. The dwarf knew the man lived somewhere on the outskirts of town, but not exactly sure where.

Extracurricular Activities

As the sun dipped beneath the horizon, the adventurers decided to reconvene shortly and meet at the Siren's Call.
Eberond took this opportunity to visit the town jeweler, known as Joff. The man was happy to purchase the adventurer's collection of Azurite stones for a reasonable price. Eberond then also showed the jeweler the ring that he had stolen in Junstol. Without any question, Joff immediately offered a handsome price of 100 gold pieces. A ring was a ring and a hundred gold pieces was just that, thought Eberond, never to realise that the ring actually held magic powers.
It was during this time that Brutalithops would have a small adventure of his own, taking an enamored Gnillish to "borrow" Odar's house, lose control of it, nearly end in the water by the docks and culminating in a short but sweet romp on the beach. A man who was lost in thoughts and taking a stroll that evening by chance saw this final sequence of Brutalithops and Gnillish's passion, and even from a far, he described it later to his wife as something akin to a moldy green loaf of bread getting assaulted by a sweaty baby boar, but that the sounds were something he would be haunted by for the rest of his life.

Gilles returned to the Bergand's closed store, and the man let him inside.
The store, if it could be called that was a mess, books and parchments strewn haphazardly, small statues and carvings resting precariously, odd curios placed with no rhyme or reason. Bergand was a human male in his middling years, with a nervous yet honest smile.
He explained to Gilles that his store had been closed, on order of the town Mer, for his shop drew the attention of Soulguard times before, and with the recent events of a man being burnt at his home, At this point, Gilles was not too interested in this, he wanted first to know if the shopkeep knew anything about the strange item he had found in his pouch earlier that day. Bergand looked at the white vial and then perused a few different books - how he knew how to find them in this mess was beyond Gilles' guesses, but the man returned and suggested that the item could be a container for magic, yet how it worked was a mystery to him.
Gilles then asked if the shop keep knew anything about the Wizard Hermit, to which Bergand nodded. He agreed that some of the fairy tales made mention of a Wizard Hermit who found his home on Rez Isle several hundreds of years ago, if not even longer.
Bergand explained that during his collecting and travels he had come across an item that curiously matched a part of the Wizard Hermit's fairy tale, but and would provide this on the condition Gilles held him get the store open once more. If Gilles could change the Mer's decision, he would in return gift this bauble and indicate which part of the fairy tale it corresponded to.
Gilles agreed, but added the condition that he needed a book copied and bound, with no questions. A curious Bergand said he could indeed organise this.

Let the Performance Begin

The adventurers arrived at the entrance of the Siren's Call and met with Odar and Ralf, though Brutalithops was still missing. The establishment was located in the docks part of the town, and the it very much looked apart from the rest. It was a tall building, with dark red stone cut with absolute care. A dominating half orc stood by the entrance, and she checked each eager customer as they entered. Ralf led the way and regardless of is position, checked him and the rest of the adventurers. Bal'Aur gave the half-orc woman a cheeky grin, but she didn't seem interested.
The interior was darkly lit for atmosphere, with timber flashes and details of navy blue. The ceiling was tall, with a mezzanine balcony upstairs adding more seating to look over at the stage. The stage itself was well crafted, though most of its detail was obscured by the lush crimson stage curtains.
The faint smell of lavender and vanilla could be noticed, removing any trace of the incense and fish that dominated the town. The table were mostly small and the chairs all point towards the stage. One of the serving ladies approached Ralf and after checking with the adventurers, were taken upstairs. It was evident that those who paid a higher entrance fee were provided this part of the Siren's Call, and the tortle indicated that the town's Mer now sat at one of the booths. He said that the town nick named her "Mama", as she was quite involved in the betterment of the town and its inhabitants.

From Mama's booth, left a stunning figure, which drew the attention of all bar Surina. The points on her ears and specific facial features immediately revealed she was akin to an elf, but she was a shade of onyx, unlike anything the adventurers had seen, contrasted with pale white hair and brows. Her eyes seemed both youthful and wise and quickly appraised each of her customers, with a split second longer looking at the half-elf Eberond.
She approached and greeted them, introducing herself as Lady Ezma Darkwood, the owner and lead performer of the Siren's Call. The adventurers nodded back and Lazy Ezma indicated to the serving girl to ensure that the customers were taken care of, and promptly left.

The adventurers continued with their drinks and discussion, planning the rest of the evening. Some of them would investigate the Smithik's home where he was burned to death, and the others would give Master Novak a visit at the Sea Lord.
Following a short while, the crowd went quiet as the lights dimmed further, except for a peculiar lantern that directed light to the stage only. Lazy Ezma stepped on to the stage and began her performance.

Date Sune 5th, 5249
Location
Trg, Eastern shores of the Republic of Dezaria