Sittin’ on the Dock of the …. Cove?

Gadgets & Gizmos Aplenty

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Looking around the tavern, all are in a celebratory drunken stupor brought on from the end of another adventure.  Johanna has succumbed to Kvothe’s incessant begs and humors him by sharing a drink and a dance. Chula, the rogue is sitting at table taking account of the spoils that she managed to pilfer from the unsuspecting.  The Paladins, Sir Ser and Urivel, are locked in heated debate over who cause is more noble.  While Niemen, the Hospitality halfling is busying himself clean and tending to the patrons.  The large Dragonborn, VOLTX, is deep in his spell books and the last scroll we found, trying to gain new knowledge.  Lyra perches awkwardly on a table in the corner of the manor’s tavern in some sort of deep mediation.  Handson is dancing some weird ancestral dance that looks very dwarf-like and looks to be very strange due to his is a large man.  Everyone just moves out of his way.   A short familiar purple man enters the manor followed by a taller man who is transcribing everything the short man is saying.  Kvothe is the first to recognize him.  It’s Barnabas a local magistrate and his assistant. Kvothe and Niemen welcome him in and offer him a drink. Barnabas notices, but is not shocked by, the huge hole that seems to have been punched through the manor by the gods themselves. He simply eyes it and walks around it and sidles up to the bar for a drink.  Barnabas knows were to come for free drinks and good company.   “I am here to inquire about a crime” said Barnabas.  “Two nobles were killed nearby, and on the lady’s body there was found a nimble-write, and the nimble-write held a hand-drawn map to part of the city, which appears to be part of the docks.  An X was marked on one of the buildings. I know your bunch loves a good adventure, and I need someone to discretely look into it.“  Urivel takes a look at the map as he is an experience cartographer and recognizes that is not drawn by the Cartographer Guild, but is very detailed in nature, and must be important.  Bones asks, “Is this an official writ of privateering”.  Handson retorts “If so, then I want a official badge”.  VOLT shakes his head wondering to himself where Handson would pin said badge as Handson is a devote nudist.   Barnabas continues “The building on the make is owned by a lady named Grinder Garloth”. Kvothe questions the safety of the docks, and with the absence of a badge or anything of authority ask for the magistrate to provide the team with whistles. Barnabas loans Kvothe his personal whistle.   Niemen the frugal requests to know how much this quest will pay. Barnabas simply responds that he is “part of the system”, so no pay should be expected.  Barnabas asks on final time, “So…. Are you interested?”   The adventures take a side huddle to discuss and agree to go forth on this minor quest, as at the very least, it is a favor that Barnabas will owe us later. Barnabas thanks the adventures and promises to check back in when we return, and promptly fills his cup to the rim and leaves with his assistant in tow.   Before the adventurers strike out, Bones checks with his network to learn more about Grindor Garloth.  What he discovers is that the is known as the “Mad Treasure Hunter” who lives in a shack at the docks near “Myst Shore”. Grindor makes a living scavenging from sunken ships in the harbor. So that is where the adventurers head to first.   The Dockward   The dock wards are continual state of renewal through decay.  The old is replaced by something newer, but nothing is every nice, just more functional and usable.  Once we arrived, Handson wandering off, but no one seems to notice where.  Urivel suggested we check the nimble stick for nimble presence, so Volt check it, but with no results.  Bones always leaning for the simplest approach simply approaches the building marked with an X on the map, and notices 4 humans and 1 dwarf trying to break in. The dwarf appears to be the one in charge.   Urivel concluding that these men are in the wrong and trying to break in, rushes in and grapples with one of the thugs.  Johanna using her thorn whip strikes at the dwarf captain. Neemin assists Johanna by attacking the dwarf, but complete misses, all the while taunting the little man. It appears that Urivel has almost teleported into another attack *BAMF*. A thunder strikes laying waste to two of the thugs. After which he comically exclaims “Ah-ha”.   Out of nowhere, Chula yells “SNEAK ATTACK” and casts chromatic orbs but fails severely shorts as no one is phased.   Kvothe inspires Johanna, while mocking the remaining bandits. Sire Ser ask for the group to part ways so he can see the action.  While the group humors him, they grumble about his rude ask. Sir Ser exclaims, “I WILL END THIS NOW”, while swings his light hammer, which is guided by god himself. His blow falls true and slays the “Major Dwarf”. However, the attention is now all on Sir Ser.  The remaining thugs focus their attacks on Sir Ser, but he deflects them all.   All the while, Lyra was focusing on gaining the “higher ground”, a perch on a nearby shanty.   Suddenly burst out of the water comes a large mer-creature.  He immediately bits Volt and then stabs Volt with his harpoon. Volt screams out in agony, “He bit me!”.  Lyra quickly takes aims and fires at the creature.  Lyra’s arrow strikes the creature.    Annoyed with the results of this encountered, Johanna transforms into the brown bear and attacked the remaining captain and thugs; hurting them both badly. While he was being attacked, one of the thugs yells out, “Worst f***’n job ever, I should have taken the job with the city”   Bones rushes over to Volt to address his wounds. Volt in his weakened state cast chromic orb against the Merrow and kills it.  Kvothe mourns the loss of the Merrow, as Volt turns his attention to take out the remaining captain. Nieman sneaks up on the last thugs and takes aim with his crossbow and landed his shot. Neemin winces and exclaims in a Chris Farley voice, “Oh, that’s going to leave a mark!”   The thug who is now wounded and humiliated begins to run away.  Urivel casts “Reduce” on him shrinking the thugs, while taunting him about his size.   “Sneak Attack” screams Chula as she comes barreling out of nowhere and grapples with the miniature thug.  As Chula ties him up, the thug is a little weirded out by Chula’s whispering of sweet nothings in his ears. Kvothe approaches the thug and charms him, to see what he may know.  As he approaches, Kvothe recognizes the thug as someone related to the Zanathar Guild. As Kvothe chats with the charmed man, Volt and Kvothe pat him down for any weapons.   The shack’s door opens and Grimalda steps out and eyes the thugs who is tied up. Kvothe turns his attention to Grimalda and tries to charm her and ends up splitting his attention too much and loses his hold on either. The man dives in the water to escape this weird encounter.  Spying movement, Johanna, who is currently sporting the shape of a furry brown bear, belly flops into the cold water of the cove, in hot pursuit of the thug.    Neemin screams, “Look out for the bear”.  The thug who is swimming to escape, looks back only to be terrified of the approaching bear.    Urivel turns toward the escaping thugs and yells, “Freeze” which sends a burst of cold toward the coves and stuns and freezes man and give Johanna a cold chill.   Grinda is grateful for the protection. Chula asks, “Why were they trying to break in?”, to which she replied “It was something I found…” Urivel asks what the item is is that has caused all of this fuss.  Grinda describes the object as the “Stone of Golore”, which she was hired to protect until it was claimed, and that she has stashed it with her familiar, Rat, in the City of the Dead in her family mausoleum.   Kvothe is transfixed on Grinda’s sub and asked if he can take it for a spin in the harbor. Grinda graciously agrees as long as she gets half of what we find. The team took advantage of the unique opportunity to explore a different terrain, and they found “gadgets and gizmos a plenty….”     Rogue, Chula – Kim Bard, Kvothe – Kevin Halfling, Niemen – Alex Dragonborn, Volt- Carlos Paladin, Urivel – Logan Paladin, Sir Ser – Juan Dwarf Mage, Bones – Bryan Elf ranger, Lyra - Stefano