Café de Nuit

While buying certain items from local fences and thieves, Gertie picks up a rumor about a rich group of foreigners staying in town, travelers carrying a lot of gold and jewels.
The address?
Her inn.
And the vague descriptions given seem to match her party.

Beginning with doorknobs and shutters rattling a little at odd hours of night, the burglary attempts grow in frequency and boldness. One thief leaves a bent wire lock pick stuck in the lockplate of Alfonse's door.
The next night, a man opens Fild's window one evening and crawls inside only to leap back out into the street, fleeing at the sight of a half-naked gnome leaping from bed with a drawn sword.

Beggars and ragged boys tail the travelers in the markets and streets, running away if confronted and walking away if looked at too long.

Twice, coming back to his room from buisiness outside the inn, Alfonse finds slits in his clothing suggestive of failed attempts to cut his purse or pockets.


All this larcenous attention does not prevent the party from concluding its initial business with moneychangers, appraisers, armorers, and so on.
But it does slow things down.
At least a couple of party members must remain in the inn to guard the two coffers at all times.

Rumors, gnome chatter, and job offers

• A monster swims in the estuary and river mouth, stealing whole netfuls of fish and capsizing small craft. One local fishermen who swore he wasn’t afraid of the creature went out yesterday morning with his son-- neither he nor the boy came home.
• Murder on Chimbley Head! Someone has poisoned a gnomish puppeteer renowned for his comedic performances, and the whisperers say "the Critics cancelled his show." The murdered puppeteer’s clan offers a jeweled necklace as reward for the capture or slaying, with proof of guilt, of the murderer/s.
• The Burgoddins seek fighting-men, scouts, beast-tamers, and herbalists to serve in an expedition to the warm forests south of the border fences. Rations and travel expenses covered, good pay, and opportunities to win treasure. No cowards or shirkers.

"Oh, for the love of..." Alfonse says, poking fingers through the holes in his robes. "This is just getting stupid, now. Is there any way I can get this to stop? Maybe if I bought some clothing to blend in with the locals..."

Tavern with little people cliente
"I am telling you," Fild said, "the four hellhounds the kennel master had were tall as the table of the big people there. Probably weighting as four sacks of flour or more. And then BZoooosh! The mage Alfonse throws some dust says a few words and they went down like ... sacks of flour. Except of one, that I engaged in lethal combat. They have dressed that hound in thick armor. Metal plates over chain around its neck!"
Fild was saying again a "slightly" exaggerated version of how they attacked "the house of an evil noble" to a small group of gnomish patrons. He's not sure if they listened the changing-with-each-telling story because of the free drinks or if they enjoyed his story telling. He didn't care. He wasn't drunk exactly, he had a light, pleasant buzz. One that made him gloss over details like the actual size of the dogs, their number or the fact that they had leather armor.

"Don't forget the fire," Alfonse says, bemused, "Remember, they breathed fire?"

"Fire? I mentioned they are hellhounds, it goes without saying they were breathing fire. And had noxious fumes coming out of their wounds. I am certain that I fell unconscious because of those fumes as the huge beast died. I am sure the poison Ant- the evil villain used was made from the blood of those monsters. It says a lot about his political savvy that he managed to keep those in a city without bringing the whole guard on him. "

THE OTTER'S HOLT

a tavern in the poor section of Karse-port,
popular with boatmen, demihumans, and poor folk of the town


A couple of men join the little circle of gnomes.
They have the look of workers or peasants: sun-tanned faces, rough clothes, no obvious weapons besides the long knives hanging at their rope belts.

The newcomers listen as Fild talks. The older one nods now and then, and his younger companion fidgets.

Otter's Holt
Fild, in his somewhat drunk state notices the newcomers eventually. "Welcome!" He says happily. "Want a beer?" without waiting for answer he turns to the innkeeper "Can we get my friends a beer?" Turning back to the humans he asks "Do you need something friends? My name is Fild. With us today is Signore Alfonse."

alhoon wrote:Otter's Holt
Fild, in his somewhat drunk state notices the newcomers eventually. "Welcome!" He says happily. "Want a beer?" without waiting for answer he turns to the innkeeper "Can we get my friends a beer?" Turning back to the humans he asks "Do you need something friends? My name is Fild. With us today is Signore Alfonse."

The master of the house sends a barmaid back to the taproom with a pitcher.

The two men thank Fild.

''I'm Kotha and he's my brother, Sombro'' says the older-looking of the two. ''We're crabbers. We're thinking the same thing's been eating up all the fish is eating up our traps. Something is gobbling them. If your crew can handle hellhounds, maybe you can handle whatever monster's in the estuary? And if you've got other plans..."
Kotha shrugs.
''We're not thinking to stick around here with no crabs in our traps. No crabs means no coins. We need money. Are you hiring men?"

Fild looks at them for a moment. "We have a friend that's very interested in fishing. But I am not making the choice alone. Perhaps you should ask Alfonse. While I am not sure it's prudent to have you fighting what's eating the fish, perhaps you could help as guides since you know the waters." Turning to the wizard, Fild says "I have no problem helping these men."

Otter's Holt

Gertie passes through the doors. Looking around, she spies Fild and Alfonse and heads their way. The days fishing on the river had been terrible, again!

Reaching their table, she salutes them "Hi Fild, Hi Alfonse! Mind if I join you gents?"

Alfonse gestures to a seat and waves to Gertie before turning back to the man.

"Do they have any idea of what's doing it? Any guesses?"

Adam wrote:Alfonse gestures to a seat and waves to Gertie before turning back to the man.

"Do they have any idea of what's doing it? Any guesses?"

Kotha says,
''Well, whatever it is, nobody's seen it out of the water, far as I know. I'm thinking it must be able to breathe water like a fish, or hold its breath like a turtle. "

Sombro, the younger brother, nods. " I heard two fishermen saying the monster's stolen full nets being hauled up. At least, something snagged the nets, broke the lines, and hardly anything came up to the surface, like loose fish or frayed ropes. Poling around with gaffs, they couldn't get their nets back. Maybe it swallowed the nets whole? Those guys both said they saw a big, dark shape moving under the water, longer than their boats. But there was too much silt--they couldn't tell what it was. Same story both times, both men. "

Kotha scratches his neck.
"Could be they just caught a big log, or a wrecked boat. I lost a trap once, that way. Got tangled in a sunken wreck. Snapper nearly bit off half my thumb when I went under to get it back."

He holds up his right hand and shows a scar around the tip of his thumb.

"But like my brother says, a snagged net in shallows should have been there to grab with gaffs, and a spilled net should have put a lot of fish back in the water. "

Alfonse looks dubious. "I don't know that we're the right people for the job. We don't have much in the way of weaponry or equipment for battling below the waters."

Adam wrote:Alfonse looks dubious. "I don't know that we're the right people for the job. We don't have much in the way of weaponry or equipment for battling below the waters."

One of the four gnomes who'd been listening to Fild's account of battling the hounds leans forward so far he almost pitches off his stool.
''Oh? Equipment..."

He turns to the gnome beside him and says in a high whisper--in Gnomic,

The second sitting gnome rocks back on his stool, wiggling his outstretched feet for balance. The other two gnomes seated in the row of four break in with questions of their own, talking over one another in a tangle of (Gnomic) words.

The rocking gnome glances at Fild and winks.