Tillam's Thoughts 3

[This post, the previous one and the next soon to follow contains over 2 months worth of play reports summed up. For more details on our adventures follow the live tweets for mmaranda, or check out the compilations made from those tweets here]

I woke up early. And went to see if Alexi had made it to the drop point we were interested in. It was a brothel, how exciting. I later learned this was the brothel Alexi grew up in and still calls home. More to the point Alexi wasn’t anywhere, but drunk and waiting, was Banacek. I was able to defuse him, not that he needed that much defusing. It seems he kidnapped or unkidnapped or rekidnapped the girl. That made him happy but loosing the box was a bit of a sore spot. He agreed to pay me half of what was owed, on top of that he’d take off the other half if I do a new job. He left me with details about where to meet the team I’d be working with. I wasn’t thrilled with the proposition, but if the house came calling on my debt I couldn’t pay it off so I had to do it. Yet another mess dad left for me.

Regardless I’d had a meeting to attend with Kiin, Hrothgar, Caleb, and Nero assuming the later bothered showing up. Upon arriving it was apparent Kiin had been busy. He met with some people last night including a representative of Yan Liao working as a middle man for House Taiapetra, the same people that put me and onto the path that got me here. They wanted to have a chat with Ingrid because they know she sold information to House Dandolo, as Dandolo is a house that deals in information I think Taiapetra is upset they almost got scooped. I was also able to guess that I could get a good deal this way. Kiin wants me on his team and Taiaptra through Banacek was going to remove my debt. While getting paid twice would be unthinkably grand getting a higher than average premium for my skills. The crew was the same as last night. Alexi, me, Hrothgar, Nero, Kiin, Hu, and Caleb.

Speaking of Hu, it seems he did very well for himself a the game last night. gaining a title as a minor baron of Vrolens  and partial ownership of the Stabientia Blues.

Now we had to get down to business. We needed details about where Ingrid might have gone to ground. Hrothgar and I checked in with a fence of mine, Skjelmund, to see if he had heard of anything recently or if he might have known any of the old hidey-holes. He wasn’t able to provide us much. But Alexi and Nero discovered the gang might have come from the theater district. While Caleb believed they were from somewhere else. After regrouping we decided to split into three teams. Alexi and I would snoop around the theater district. Caleb, Hu, and Kiin would go check their sources, and Hrothgar and Nero would return to the Wyvern’s Sting to see if any stragglers came by or survivors returned.

Alexi and I took a private gondola to the theater district. Ovidio, our gondolier, was able to give us a good idea of the theater district; he also thought it was charming that Alexi should his son out to the theater. We noticed we had picked up a tail and decided to loose it. The easiest method was to duck into a show. We happened into a one man Bruthalese how in High Salumar and the resulting scholarly discourse. Fortunately I was able to understand it and could navigate the groups leading us safely to the back entrance. In case of the tail having followed us in I also helped start a debate that came to blows.

Ducking out the back we realized how close we were to the bordello side of the district. Given the natures of the house/people we were looking for, it seemed a reasonable place to continue looking for leads. We checked out two brothels with little luck, and while going to a third and final spot fort the evening ran into a pack of Varonian Marines. I was able to out talk them before things got terribly violent and sent them off to wreak havoc on little Shan-Li town. Our last spot of the night was fruitful. Using my stature and good nature as a distraction, Alexi got a name the name Tulio. Apparently he’s a small operator around here, that has been hiring a lot of girls and flashing coin around like he had just pulled off a big job. Amber, a slight young Salumar girl, was most talkative to me. I was able to ply her well and learn where Tulio’s place was, the nature of the back door the girls and wine had been brought through and a layout of the area. 2+ floors, 12+ guys and there were groups. Varonian and Skraeling there. It also seemed Tulio wasn’t in charge of the Skraeling and took orders from them.

With that info we went to regroup at the Swinging Claymore. I decided to grab some sleep and went to a room we had rented out.  Before crashing I got the report of what the others did. Hrothgar and Nero went back to the Wyvern’s sting. There were was a Varonian gang looking for Scraeling. They evaded them and took up position in a nearby inn to watch for other stragglers, unfortunately they were tailed and a group of Varonians attacked them. They took out thier attackers and beat a hasty retreat. Caleb and company had a similar incident. Unfortunately Mr. Hu, took the brunt of the attack. However, they grabbed one of their assailants. and brought him back here. Kiin is going to interrogate him and wanted Alexi’s help.  

That was when we heard a commotion accompanied by what sounded like squeaking rats. Just then Alexi burst in an letting us know of trouble. Rushing down stairs we find a standoff between Kiin and a gang. He seemed to have shot a girl in the head, and was psoturing to scare thje group off. With us rushing downstairs the Shan Li gang beat feet dragging the girl with them. After that we planned our assault. We had to move quickly. With a few more details provided by Kiin captive we were ready to move.

We came to the decision to go in through the back using Hrothgar’s race and gang knowledge to get us in. That worked until Hrothgar was ushered off and our cover was blown. I’m not really sure of the details after that. A Skraeling rushed me with an axe. I was able to get inside his guard which resulted in the blade missing me. But a kick to the head was good enough to knock me out.

When I regained consciousness I learned that when the rest of the group began looking for Hrothgar and Ingrid, they found the place abandoned. There was an escape route used and the token resistance gave anyone else around enough time to escape. We were able to take one captive a weaselly rat faced punk, unable to provide us with much information. The safehouse also had a dragon roosting in the roof some treasure was able to be pulled out but once Momma dragon returned we left the safe house. The only other thing of note was a safe. I found a poison needle trap on the safe and deactivated it. However, I didn’t have time to unlock it and had to bring it home with me. With some potential powerful enemies it seemed best if we split up and went to our respective homes. We agreed to meet again in the morning and regroup on how to find Ingrid.

After sleeping, I woke up early and woke Ping up as well. I introduced him to the safe and taught him how it could be cracked. He was interested and will hopefully be a quick study. Inside was little of interest other than a map of the city of Varo with 9 locations picked out and some Scraeling script. My guess this shows all the safe houses. I also found a necklace made of dragon teeth. Locking them both up I decided to rejoin the team.

With that Tillam and the crew were alerted that Tendyra was insight.

Contacts in the City of Varo

Oodja the DM pulled a card from Shadow run and has decided to use something similar to their contacts mechanic. A PC can have between 2 and 12 contact points. A contact has a level and a loyalty. The higher the level the more access they have to resources and knowledge. The higher the loyalty the more often the contact can be used and the more of their resources they are willing to devote to you. A contact maximum level and loyalty can be 4 each rank required one point. A PC can choose to accept a flat 7 or roll 2d6. 


Embracing the randomness and rolls found in AD&D I decided to roll I got a 10. Thinking about Tillam, I considered generating 5 1/1 contacts. But I like to think that Tillam is the kind of person everyone likes so I decided to generate a 3/3 contact somebody that Tillam trusts and trusts Tillam and is well connected. I then decide to generate 2 other 1/1 contacts. I now present my contacts and their details some things are intentionally left open and available for the Oodja to fill in and use.

1) Fenzani Orentes 3/3

Fenznai is the owner and occasional chef of Oentes'. For the most part he will only cook for his friends. And Fenzani is a great chef. He's the creator of Kobold Slathered in Nutella. Orentes' is a pub with rooms to rent. It sits just outside of Stabentia, but the area's kept clean and safe by Fenzani. He wants clientèle to feel safe. While he may want people to feel safe if anyone was thinking of being a deadbeat he's got a great payment plan. If you don't pay then you go fishing. Depending on his mood and how many fishermen he's got you either end up working the hauling, from his boat "Legitimate Girl" or you get put inside the lobster pots.

Fenzani didn't always have this life of legitimacy. For years Orentes' was the public facing side of his business and the "Working Girl", as she used to be called, was used to smuggle cargo in from larger vessels. They would drop the contraband off into his lobster pots or connected to his buoys and he'd pick up. But he's been out of the game for years. He left when he got fed up after finding his wife, and I forget if it was his 2nd or 4th or 6th wife, having her locks picked by his former security man. He had them both put out then he got out. 

Fenzani for all his mischievous activities has done very well for himself in many aspects but his greatest failure has been with wives. He hasn't tad one in some time. But, when he did; the odd numbered ones weren't that interesting the even numbered wives all have stories that drive him to drink. Each has a tale and a nickname "Picked Locks" has already been described, there was also "Angel" face like one but a tendency to drink and to knife anyone dumb enough to think of "taking advantage" which made her a great girl until she shivved a rivals conciliator after peace talks turned to festivities, and there was also "Harpy" depending on how much Fenzani's been drinking "Harpy" either screeched enough to crack glass or was actually a harpy either way "she fell off a boat onto her own private island". The odd numbers just died unceremoniously, the first in childbirth, the 3rd on a ferry in winter while visiting her sister & newborn, and the 5th to plague.

As is clear he's been around. Still has some muscle to do work for him and he keeps things secure around his place. He's doing his best to go legit, well as legit as any crime boss will go.

2) Skjelmund 1/1

Skjelmund once was a viking. A great raider, was he. He had a tendency to put anything flammable to the torch, but he also had an eye for valuables. This served him well until one day a Skald told a tale that showed he made out better viking than the chieftain running it. He lost his right eye and most of his left hand. Now he resides in Varo fat and wealthy of the sales of his viking antiquities. He's a fence but nobody's ever hauled him up on charges, and those who know he's a fence wouldn't admit proven it and some claim for the right cut he'll provide his associates with weapons and munitions not normally available inside the walls of Varo.

3) Fullmen Sattelles 1/1

Fullmen Sattelles an adopted member of One of the Great Merchant Houses. He's an educated and swift individual he keeps the books and always tries to get ahead. However, since he's really only good at keeping the books it has limited his upwards mobility. He's an awkward man always looking at you like he's tallying your current value against the time he's spent on you. If the tally gets imbalanced to his; determinant he'll cut you off. But since he keeps the books, he could be useful and I suspect more people owe him favors for burying an expenditure here and there than he admits. But he also knows and catalogs each time it happens and has a price associated with each.