Café de Nuit

after running to the office....


Benn , Cirdan, and Dorgio arrive. All three of you are breathing hard from exertion, moreso Cirdan and Dorgio, who were wearing armor.

The front door hangs open, swinging on its hinges in the wind.

Inside, you find the office has been ransacked! The place is a complete mess. Splinters of broken furniture lie all over the place. Loose paper litters the floor. Any small valuables you've left out have been stolen.
Dorgio's crayfish remains safely in its jar, at least.

" So what is Arkandaler food my good man ? If it includes slow cooked pork ribbs and sauce(BBQ) . Bring me a rack of them for my hunger and some ale to wash it down with . " After saying this he heads to a table that is next to a wall . He sits with his back to the wall, but in a position to observe people coming in and out of the place . Also to keep an eye out of the corner of his eye as if watching for his food coming out the kitchen door . But in actuality to make sure no one is using it except for the staff . Sitting down thinking : I have much information to digest as well as the up coming food.

Bennedict, his stomach sinking somewhere towards his shoes, steps over to the desk, fumbling in his pocket for the drawer keys and knowing already that the items are gone. His face is ashen.

Adam wrote:Bennedict, his stomach sinking somewhere towards his shoes, steps over to the desk, fumbling in his pocket for the drawer keys and knowing already that the items are gone. His face is ashen.

A closer look at the desk reveals the keys won't be needed: the desk drawers have been hacked open, probably with a hatchet, judging from the loom of things. All three items are missing.

Alain at Odall's-

Odall laughs and nods-

''Ribs? Of course!''

Odall [it turns out that you've been dealing with the proprieter himself] puts in the order. Soon enough, you're dining on moist ribs, with whatever sides you'd like from the menu [cornbread, greens, fried pastries,etc]. Arkandaler food is good! It's a bit spicier than common Richemuloise fare, but not too hot. To cool your palate and ''grease your gizzard'' [as Odall puts it] you've got a variety of options: small beer, moonshine, buttermilk, cider, coffee, tea, and a concoction known as a ''mint julep.''

Odall is liable to small talk, and will happily sit awhile with you and discuss whatever you'd like- at least until things get busy and he must leave your table to attend to his other guests.

[You may ask three questions, and Odall will answer them for you if he can. He'll talk without a bribe, but sweetening the deal probably wouldn't hurt at all. ]

Alain thinking finally says: " Some cornbread, and some pastries for desert would be great . Also some cider to wash it all down . " During the meal Alain asks Odall the nasty/bad people to avoid, and why ? Where do they hang out so I can avoid those places . Anything weird happening in sewers ? Sliding him a gold for food and two extra sps for info .

Dorgio's hand instinctively goes to hsi spear when he sees the wreckage. The knuclkes on his weapon hand go white, then he lets out a stream of Luktar. "Te. Szemétláda. Menj a pics ba! Kend a hajadba, húgyagyú!" He kicks a splintered box, sending it clattering against a wall.

He then searches the rooms, looking for any trace of the thugs. He breathes a sigh of relief when he sees Szoritas unharmed, but Evie's music box is nowhere to be found. And when finished searching, stalks back into the common room.

The full gravity of the situation hits him when he see's Benn's expression. Dorgio knees over the smashed desk, lays down his spear,and with jittery hands, lights another cigarillo. The heavy, oily smoke, barely lighter than air, curls past his furrowed brow.

"Van Diecks or Renault?" he asks at last. "That look on the cutthroat's face, maybe it was not just fear of another cutthroat."

Lord Skybolt wrote:Alain thinking finally says: " Some cornbread, and some pastries for desert would be great . Also some cider to wash it all down . " During the meal Alain asks Odall the nasty/bad people to avoid, and why ? Where do they hang out so I can avoid those places . Anything weird happening in sewers ? Sliding him a gold for food and two extra sps for info.

After about an hour of hanging about, conversing in a friendly manner with Odall. He learns the following:

Gaston Van Diecks is a brutal guy- a real piece of work. He once shoved a man's face into a vat of lye, because the man had failed to repay a loan. Van Diecks hates gypsies, although no one knows why. He won't allow gypsies to work for him, and he refuses to deal directly with them. Van Diecks splits his time between the Lorelei [a brothel he owns] and a houseboat that used to belong to his old boss [now deceased] , Clement Malreux.

Clothard the Cleaver is a rival of Van Diecks' for control of the River Quarter's criminal enterprises. He fights with a meat cleaver, thus the nickname. Clothard's gang is smaller, and hangs out at a local dive called the Basilisk's Lair. He hates Van Diecks because of a long ago fight over a woman that cost him his right ear.


Word has it that that Van Diecks has been sending goons down into the sewers. No one knows why, but some people speculate he's looking for a cache of treasure his old boss hid down there.

The Office...

There's just a hint of savory food smell hanging about the room. Looking around , Dorgio or Benn may notice a half-eaten ham and cheese sandwich laying on the floor under some loose papers.

Alain moseys on back to the office . He looks around and notices no one out the ordinary . So he knocks on the door before entering . Preparing in his mind the info he's going to be briefing the rest of party on .

On entering Alain notices the smell food . "Who's been eating in here ? I thought you guys were going out to eat ."

Brock Marsh Runoff wrote:Dorgio's hand instinctively goes to hsi spear when he sees the wreckage. The knuclkes on his weapon hand go white, then he lets out a stream of Luktar. "Te. Szemétláda. Menj a pics ba! Kend a hajadba, húgyagyú!" He kicks a splintered box, sending it clattering against a wall.

He then searches the rooms, looking for any trace of the thugs. He breathes a sigh of relief when he sees Szoritas unharmed, but Evie's music box is nowhere to be found. And when finished searching, stalks back into the common room.

The full gravity of the situation hits him when he see's Benn's expression. Dorgio knees over the smashed desk, lays down his spear,and with jittery hands, lights another cigarillo. The heavy, oily smoke, barely lighter than air, curls past his furrowed brow.

"Van Diecks or Renault?" he asks at last. "That look on the cutthroat's face, maybe it was not just fear of another cutthroat."

The sound of the cleric's voice shakes Bennedict out of his self-recrimination and horror. For a moment, he considers asking the cleric for one of his cigarillos, but changes his mind immediately.

"I'm not convinced the two are unrelated. We know there was some connection between the creature and Malreux prior to both of their deaths." He looks back down at the broken desk, before slamming what's left of the drawers closed. "Curse me for a simple-minded Falcovnian fool. Why didn't I bring them with me? I should have known they wouldn't be safe." His voice rambles off into a stream of Lamordian curses, the foulest the archivist can think of in his agitated state. "That settles it. One way or another we find this Van Deicks and we deal with him, as soon as possible."

With that, he storms back towards his room, looking for his footlocker to check if his breastplate and crossbow were taken.

Benn's gear is still there- only the three artifacts and small valuables/money were taken.

Looking around Alain responding to Benn tirade: " So what did they take exactly ? Besides the artifact's I take it . "

Cirdan, who had luckily gone to the city fully armed and carried all non-mundane items (i. e. no bedroll, etc. but all his weapons, symbols, money, and so on, perhaps even the little flask of Soilent Green) grimly pulls out his helmet from under the broad monkish robe, and puts it on.

"Actions like this require a consequence."

The elf's voice sounds raspy under the vizor, as he draws his sword.