Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus

[WlfSamurai]

Melody, drawn by coin, the wisened half-elf barman nods at the stairs. “Think I saw her head up to her usual spot upstairs.” He palms the coin. “Need anything else, lass?”

Feyris, you head upstairs. Up here, Lit lanterns hang from the rafters in this windowless room. Rugs cover the wooden floor and help dampen the noise from drunken patrons gathered around two large tables, eating and playing games of Baidu r's Bones (a dice game). Among then, you spot a middle-age, dark-skinned woman with raven-black hair. She throws her dice and wins the pot. Cheers fill the room and she takes in congratulations around her. As she does, you see the scar that runs from her right brow down across her nose.

 

[alabast]

Dark skin, black hair, dice, and scar. Scanning the room before settling their gaze on who Feyris assumed is probably this Tabitha. Eyeing the dice with distaste (they were never one for gambling), he considered returning downstairs for their new companions. However, they were afraid they'd lose sight of her if they left for too long, and decided against it. Feyris sighed in resignation before approaching the table and faced the black-haired woman. "Room for one more?" The metal gauntlet upon their left hand creaked as the metal plates scratched against each other as glimmers of gold pieces shone through, reflecting off the lantern lights.

 

[Ilikepie]

Shadow considers the badge to be kind of ugly but accepts it anyways. She manages to resist the urge to poke the metal person during the walk to the tavern but it was fairly difficult at times since she is a little bored. She is actually a little surprised that none of her new allies have actually asked for her name during the entire walk to the tavern since she didn't introduce herself earlier when they spoke to the captain.

She doesn't see any signs of gambling in this main room but isn't sure if the gambling is happening in a private room or upstairs. She decides to follow the elf woman who she remembers said her name was Melody when the elf decides to bribe the bartender for the information of where to find this Tarina. After hearing that the woman is upstairs she begins heading there hoping that gets a chance do some gambling to give day a bit of excitment.

 

[Felis]

Evendur is impressed with Saoirse's navigation, and upon arriving at the tavern, gives her an appreciative smile. She must have been living in Baldur's Gate for quite a while to know these shortcuts.

Inside, Evendur takes a look around. Tarina doesn't seem to be anywhere in the main room. Didn't Zodge say she's usually found playing dice? Evendur doesn't see any dice tables in the main room either. Feyris takes the lead in heading upstairs while Melody goes straight up to the bartender, the Tabaxi, who Evendur realizes he still doesn't know the name of, trailing behind her. He lingers for a moment, then, seeing the Tabaxi walk to the stairs, decides to catch up to her and join her.

As they make their way up, he says, "Can I ask your name? It's easier to work together if you have something to call each other, I find."

 

[DreamingBlackbird]

Saoirse gives a small smile in response to...Ivan and Melanie? Evan and Mallory? Soldier guy and elf writer woman? Gah...She wondered if remembering names was vital this time, rather than just her comrades' faces. Speaking of faces...Saoirse scanned around the room for the woman the Captain had described, but found no match of dark skin, hair, and scars. Perhaps this spy was upstairs? At least three of her comrades were already there or heading up there, after all. Judging by the half-elf barman's gesture towards the stairs, Mel-something could be heading there too.

"Whelp, the more the merrier," she shrugs, muttering to no one in particular as she finally leaves her position by the doorway and follows the majority of her comrades upstairs, lining just behind Soldier Guy and the tabaxi. Her eyes dart around the tavern as she walks.

Perception check: 19 + 1 = 20

 

[ValkyrieRose]

"No, that will be all, thank you." She said with a smile, putting down a tip before walking upstairs, following his directions to move up, locating the person with an eye for detail. With a stretch. It shouldn't be too hard to find this woman now.

 

[WlfSamurai]

Feyris, Tarina smiles wide at the sight of your gold.

“Sure,” she says. She turns to the bearded scoundrel on her left. “Rauk, move. We have a guest player.” Rauk spits and vacates the stool. Tarina smiles again and nods at the empty spot. “Please, sit, friend.”


For those going upstairs:
You see Feyris speaking to a woman who fits the Captain’s description of Tarina at a crowded table. It’s clear there is gambling happening at the table with a dice game.


If you instead want to seek out shadiness happening in the tavern, roll perception, DC 15.

• If you succeed, pick one and you notice it
  • You see a cloaked man in a corner hand a bag of gold to a halfling, and hear him tell her, “I don’t care how, just kill him.”
  • You see an acolyte of Savras tucked in a private alcove. She’s drunk and making out with a young woman who is quietly stealing her coin purse from her pocket.
  • You see young man watching people from under his hood and quietly casting spells.
• If you fail, pick one of the options above. You notice it and they see that you do. Be prepared.
  

alabast , DreamingBlackbird , Ilikepie , ValkyrieRose , Felix , Felis

 

[Felix]

Dummy was very excited to rid the city of the evil cultist. He remained downstairs, proudly wearing his new badge, as he figured too many people upstairs would not get them more information. It was better to split up and divide the work sometimes. As he looked around he several shady people, but one man in particular caught his eye. He wasn't really interacting with anyone and concealed himself with a hood. Dummy could see his mouth however, which was muttering words constantly. It was already odd on its own, but Dummy suspected that they were some kind of enchantments. He wondered what the man could be using his magic for. There was an easy way to figure this out, talk to the man, then he wouldn't be able to continue his spell casting. People looked up as they saw the metal monstrosity walk through the bar, but the hooded guy did not see him yet. With his strong arm he slapped the man on his shoulders.

"Hey there brother, mighty fine day isn't it?"

 

[DreamingBlackbird]

If the taproom downstairs was a busy place, then the upper floor was even more so. There was a particularly crowded area that, upon Saoirse's closer inspection, was the venue of a dice game. Upon even closer inspection, she could see that the aasimar--Ferry or something?-- was already with said crowd, being beckoned over by a certain scarred woman. Could it be Tarina? She certainly fit all of the criteria, down to the dice. Lovely. Now that they've found her, the next step was to extract information from her--something she hoped Ferry was going to handle well. From her position, Saoirse shoots the aasimar two thumbs-up as a sign of support, before diverting her eyes someplace else. Taverns were big hubs of information, perhaps there was something she could glean--

I don't care how, just kill him.

The words catch Saoirse's attention, and the jingling of coins that followed made it easier to track the source. Somewhere in the corner, a cloaked man was handing a halfling a bag of gold. Hrm, curious. Hearing the word "kill" was often a good sign that one should run away, but Saoirse had already seen enough to pique an interest. Thus, bringing her hood up to cover most of her face, Saoirse turns to a wall and shifts into a bearded, middle aged man. Keeping the hood up, this man finds an empty table and sits, watching the cloaked man and the halfling from a distance.

(Whee natural 1!)
(+3 equal 4 for insight but still)

 

[alabast]

Giving a polite nod of acknowledgment, they sat down at the stool before resting their coin clutched hand upon the table, intent on showing genuine interest without having the coins stolen. "Thank you. So... this game. Please, if you don't mind, explain the rules to me." They weren't particularly affiliated with the pieces in their hands anyway, if not for the fact that they were a fair share of their last. If this job goes through, however, that won't be a concern anymore anyhow.

 

[Ilikepie]

"My name is Shadow Star or Shadow of a Star but often times I use false names when I feel like the situation calls for them". She quickly notices one of her allies beginning to play dice with the woman they were told to speak with and gets slightly annoyed because she wanted to be the one to play. "Lucky". She moves away from the stairs and begins glancing around the room for something else interesting as the dice game is being set up. She spots a female thief having some fun with an unexpecting female drunk. Shadow herself has done this trick before mostly out of curiosity to see how women compare at kissing. She makes a couple of hand gestures in thieves cant towards the thief signing that she isn't going to say anything about what the thief is doing.

 

[Felis]

Evendur nods to Shadow Star, then as they reach the top of the stairs, raises an eyebrow when he sees Feyris at the dice table, next to someone he guesses would be Tarina. From what he's seen so far, Feyris doesn't the type to support or engage in gambling to him, but maybe Tarina insisted. Or Feyris even likes dice games despite appearances. Evendur has met enough such unlikely players in back in Elturel that it wouldn't surprise him too much.

He takes a few steps towards the dice table and stands up on his toes to try and see what game they are playing, but doesn't recognize this variant. Bummer. Still, Evendur supposes the stakes on this table are higher than he'd be comfortable with, anyway. Rather than go and see if he can learn it by watching in the probably short time the group will be here, he decides to let Feyris talk to Tarina for now. Instead, he lets his gaze wander around the room. Tarina is a spy, technically, so it might be good to be stay alert. Who knows whom else this tavern may attract, and losing his money when he's decided not to gamble with it isn't exactly what he wants.

When Evendur has almost decided the place may only seem shady to him because it's not Elturel and he still feels displaced, he swears he can hear someone say "I don't care how, just kill him." Eyes darting in the direction of the noise, Evendur sees a cloaked man in the corner handing a halfling a heavy-looking pouch. Money? Most likely that scene is completely unrelated to the cultists, and he should let it slide and focus on their current task, but he can't just ignore hearing someone order a murder, can he? It may not be his job to meddle, but...

Evendur only realizes he's outright staring when the cloaked man turns around and meets his eyes.

(2+3 is still only 5)

 

[WlfSamurai]

Dummy, the man doesn’t look up from under his hood. Instead, he sits very still. Long moments pass, then finally, he says, “Mighty fine, indeed. Care to join me...friend. It’s been too long.” He nearly bites the last three words off as he speaks them.

What do you do?


Saoirse and Evendur, both the cloaked man and halfling notice you both eyeing them. The halfling whispers something to the man. He pulls his cloak tighter, gets up, and leaves, being very careful to cut a path that keeps everyone else in the room between you and him. The halfling gets up from his seat and starts making his way toward you both.

What do you both do?


Feyris and Melody, Tarina gestures wide and laughs. “Of course, of course.” She sets about describing ‘Baldur’s Bones’ to you, Feyris (see below). Melody, you walk up as Tarina is explaining. When she’s finished, she adds, “Ante is five gold. Everyone, ante up.” Tarina tosses her five gold into a large growler and passes it around. It makes its way to the other four players, then comes to you last, Feyris.

What do you both do?

Spoiler: Rules for Baldur’s Bones

Shadow, the talented thief keeps the kissing going and retires in kind through cant. “Better not,” is the message back. “Need something?”

What do you do?

 

[ValkyrieRose]

On her way up, Melody noticed something- a spellcaster in the middle of casting. It didn't take her long to identify the type of magic: divination. A curious spell to use here in a tavern. To deal with fate, he could be hoping to try his luck with gambling or something similar. As her gaze was noticed, she simply gave a knowing smile, and moved upstairs.

She observes the game keenly,along sure to learn the rules and watch for signs of magic, just in case.

 

[DreamingBlackbird]

It didn't take long for the man--decidedly named Cassel--to realize that watching the interaction from a distance wasn't such a good idea. Not when people kept walking around, obscuring his line of sight and making him glean nothing from the observation. What Cassel does notice, though, is that he's been caught. The cloaked man and the halfling were eyeing him and someone else--looking around, Cassel sees Evan...der. The soldier guy, positioned at a near distance.

When Cassel looks back, the cloaked man is already making his exit and the halfling is fast approaching them. The halfling is approaching. Cassel's heartbeat speeds up to a rapid tempo, suddenly regretting everything he's done in the last five minutes. Instinctively, he stands up from his seat and rushes over to Evander, hood still covering most of his face. "Hey, it's me, Saoirse," he says, voice changing to that of the tiefling's. "You probably know this already but a halfling's fast approaching us and I don't think he's here to say hello."

But what if he is? The thought lingers temporarily in Cassel's mind. He was starting to have a cold sweat and fear was showing even as he smiled his most diplomatic smile at the halfling. Notgoodnotgoodnotgood. Instinctively, he casts Shield around himself.

 

[Felis]

That's... not so great, Evendur decides. He isn't too afraid of the halfling per se, but if it comes down to it, taverns are never a good place to start a fight in his experience (aside from more or less agreed-upon brawling, perhaps). You either have to worry about collateral damage, or quickly find yourself outnumbered when you realize the bystanders are actually your opponent's friends.

Keeping his eyes fixed on the halfling - there is no point now in pretending he wasn't staring - Evendur almost jumps when he hears Saoirse's voice next to him. short sideways glance at her shows Evendur only a fairly nondescript figure with her hood up - strange that she even stood out to the halfling, actually. Probably it's his fault for staring and standing close to her.

"Yes, I've noticed," he says. "Let's pretend he is for now. Maybe stay behind me a little, though, just in case." If the cloaked man hadn't been so careful in keeping his distance as he took his leave, Evendur would have been ready to believe he misunderstood the situation, but that behavior just screamed guilty of something. The best he and Saoirse can do for the moment, however, is to try not to cause a scene and get even more people caught up in it.

 

[alabast]

Nodding in acknowledgment to one of their companions -the one named Melody, they believe- they watched carefully as the pot came around. Well, it seems there are no other choices. Feyris did not trust these companies of Tarina to not be suspicious if they simply pulled her aside.

Grimacing, they dropped the five gold pieces in their fist into the growler. "I do not carry any dices, unfortunately. Could I possibly borrow a dice?" If they were weighted, Feyris would then know as well...

 

[Ilikepie]

Shadow considers for a moment what this thief could possibly offer her, but decides now is not a good time for that. She responds back in cant "Not now, but maybe later. Have fun." Shadow makes a mental note to herself to try to remember what this thief looks like in case they meet again since she might need information from this woman later or for just a make out session if Shadow is feeling bored. She walks away and gets herself into a position where she can get a good view at the dice game so she can watch for any signs of cheating including the methods she uses at cheating.

 

[WlfSamurai]

Feyris, Tarina nods.

"Ephen," Tarina says to the white-haired halfling across the table from her. He eyes her for a long moment. Then, Tarina nods her head toward you, Feyris, as if to say 'give them dice'.

Ephen sighs, then digs around in his satchel on his belt.

Melody, you think you catch some movement out of the corner of your eye from a dark-skinned woman at the table. Roll intelligence (arcana).

Shadow, you have position to see Ephen's hands under the table. Roll intelligence (investigation).



Cassel and Evendur, the halfling strides up real close. This close, you can see he's missing the right nostril of his nose. His ice-blue eyes dart between the two of you. At first you can't place his smell, but then you realize the smell of old blood wafts from his leather jerkin.

"Hello, friends," the halfling says, emphasising the last word. "I was wondering if we could have a chat outside. Friend to friend to friend. What do you say?"

 

[WlfSamurai]

Feyris, Ephen pulls out a set of dice and hands them to you.

“Ready?” says Tarina.

Shadow, you see Ephen’s hands are quick as a fox.
But, you catch the movements well enough to piece together what he did.
He pulled out two sets of dice under the table.
Then, he palmed one and held out the other to Feyris.

Melody, you catch the dark-skinned woman’s subtle movements out of the corner of your eye.
It’s well enough that you can tell she just cast unseen servant.

 

[alabast]

Eyeing this Ephen suspiciously and not finding anything in particular, they took the handed dices before giving a nod of thanks. Despite their memories being mostly occupied by those of the abbeys, battlefields, and the giants' fortress, they doubted the other had any good intentions (and honestly, any of the others at the table). The captain had warned them of Tarina's friends, after all. "Thank you, and yes, I am ready." Feyris supposed they'll simply have to trust their fellow Flaming Fist recruits to keep an eye on things in case it gets out of hand...

 

[DreamingBlackbird]

Cassel doesn't hesitate to let Soldier Guy take the lead, inching backwards and behind him but enough to still see and talk with the approaching halfling. Should he shift into Daire? It certainly seemed tempting, given that Daire was the most sociable identity, but then again Cassel was currently embodying most of Cas' self-preservation. Perhaps that was more import--

Oh bloody hell...

Cassel had to stifle a gag once the halfling leans up close, the smell of old blood wafting off of him that, for a second, Cassel inches up some more behind Soldier Guy. "H-hey! Hello friend," he says with a smile, cheeks slightly trembling. The halfling's following invite only makes Cassel's heart beat faster. Wasn't this how people took out other people? In narrow alleyways and in the absence of crowds? Baldur's Gate was chock-full of never-do-goods, wasn't it?

"Oh, o-outside, you say? Well uh, that wouldn't be necessary now wouldn't it? We could um, we could definitely have a chat here! Taverns are meant for that kind of s-stuff aren't they?" Cassel was definitely rambling at this point, in his Cassel voice, eyes locked with the halfling's. He wanted to see if there truly was any nefarious intent behind the halfling's invitation, though most of his instincts were saying yes.

(Insight: 5+3 = 8 wheeeee)

 

[Felis]

Alright, now what? Evendur finds his suspicions backed up by the smell of old blood, and the halfling's suggestion fits the picture, too. Saoirse speaks up in an unfamiliar male voice, far deeper than her own - but it has to be her still, hasn't it, speaking from right behind Evendur. How does she do that? Magic? In any case, even though Saoirse sounds scared, she does have a point.

It's not a stretch to assume the halfling wants them outside so there will be fewer witnesses for whatever he's planning. The question is, however, what are they really up against? Is the halfling so confident he can take them by surprise and stab them in the first back alley they turn into? Or will they meet more "friends" of his?

"That's right. No offense, friend, but what business do we have that you can't talk about in here?" Evendur agrees with Saoirse, copying the halfling's emphasis. "If it's privacy you're worried about - everyone is busy watching the dice game." He gestures towards the table.

(Insight: 4+1=5)

 

[ValkyrieRose]

Melody observes the nearby settings, taking watch over the game as it is played. A spark of magic catches her senses, and she looks out of the corner of her eye to see a woman casting unseen Servant. Another potentially harmless spell, but as it is unseen, it could cause quite a bit of mischief, such as altering dice rolls. She would make sure to keep a closer eye on the game.

 

[WlfSamurai]

Cassel and Evendur, the halfling stares at you a long while. He’s clearly deciding something. You’re both having difficulty reading him or his intentions.

Decided, he grits his teeth. “Listen, you didn’t see anything or hear anything, right? Because if you did, I would need to collect my many friends and kill you. Do we understand, each other?”



Dummy, what do you say to joining the man you confronted at his table?



Feyris, Tarina nods again.

“Okay, roll your dice.” Everyone rolls, including Tarina. When you roll, Feyris, all three of your dice come up as sixes.

Melody and Shadow, you see the same.

Ephen decides to roll another die three times and busts at 22.

The dark-skinned woman decides to roll another die. Before she does, she subvocalizes something and then rolls. She must be using her spell for help on her roll.

alabast , DreamingBlackbird , Ilikepie , ValkyrieRose , Felix , Felis