Chapter 2: A Search For Clues

As they stood outside the Town Hall a blind beggar accosted them. Raffi offered the derelict a few gold for information causing Arrik and Verlis to wince.
At the mention of gold the beggar smiled, this was not a pretty sight. A few yellowing twigs of ivory were all he had for teeth and his gums were blackened with disease.
"Gold. Long time fince Peter faw gold. You muft be wantin them a lot, no?"
Not waiting for an answer he continued, shuffling a little closer to the halfling as he did.
"They fay they waf who killed the ferryman, old Greywort. He didn't do notin wrong. Fought a bit in the tavern, shmelt bad, but he waf half-orc tho they thay. They were after Argaf' treafure the rumour goef. Found it too."
The derelict reached down into the mass of rags and scratched himself for a while, smiling his cavernous smile as he did so.
"Peter thirfty now. Need thome ale to wet hif throat." He continued scratching.

Verlis tossed a copper to the beggar and demanded more information about 'Argaf'.
"Argaf! Not Argaf!" Peter said impatiently. "He if the biggeft moft dangerouf sthmuggler in the land. He if feared by all who thail the theaf. He had a King'th ranthom in hif cave."
Peter snatched the coin from Raffi and secreted it somewhere about his person.
"That'th much better. No one knowf where they be now. Perhapf you thoud try the Harbour Mathterf office on the quay. He might know thomthin'. Or perhapth the innkeeper at the inn they were thtaying at?"
Peter paused until Verlis started to threaten him.
"The Dog and Rathor, the Dog and Rathor" he spluttered scrambling for the copper piece amongst the cobbles.

They decided to visit the taverns first and summoned the ferryman, Dunnoch at the riverside. The ferryman spoke of Greywort the half-orc ferryman who had been killed recently.
"Well me and Greywort we've been sharing the duties for years. Took a while for people to take to him but when they found how quick he could get them 'cross the river they changed their tune. Can't believe he's dead, they pulled his body from the harbour, few hours ago. Sword wounds all over him, not a pretty sight, then he never was really."
Angiliant described the people they were seaking and the ferryman thought for a moment or two before replying.
"Can't say I've seen them, though Greywort was working the river yesterday and this morning, I was at me mother's she hasn't been well recently. Perhaps he had been taken them across the river and they robbed him. They're a dangerous bunch."
About fifteen minutes of hard rowing later the boat grounded on the southern shore of the river. The ferry man took the other coins from Arrik after helping you all from the boat.
"Now if you are looking for a good inn I can recommend the Dog and Razor, second street on the left. You can't miss it, tell Rose, Dunoch sent you, I get a free mug of ale for each group I send to them you see."

The Dog & Razor

The Dog & Razor was busy and when Arrik & Verlis started asking questions of one of the barmaids a group of sailors next door make reference to Andrinor and Angiliant's elven heritage. The innkeeper was none to happy either assuming the party were looking for 'woking girls' of another sort. When he had calmed down he was able to tell them that Rose, the barmaid, had taken a shine to one of the adventurors. They had paid in advance for their rooms but vanished leaving some of their stuff behind. One of them, an elven woman, had something wrong with her, mummy rot he thought it might have been.
Verlis notices that two sailors at a nearby table had left without finishing thier meals or thier ales and decides, with Arrik to folow them while Raffi, Andrinor and Angiliant visited the temple of Koryis where the innkeeper suggested that the elf had been cured.

Temple Tantrums

Raffi and the two elves returned to the river where Dunnoch takes them back across the river and directs them towards the temple of Koryis it's golden dome and silver hand glinting in the sunlight. Inside the temple was just as opulent with gilded wood pillars and marble floors. The mosaic on the inside of the dome was breathtaking in its detail as well as it's rich colours.
"Can I help you?" a young woman in the robes o a novice had approached almost soundlessly. "Brother Arkel is not here at present. He has been called to 'The Crystal Fountain', one of the ladies there is in need, again. Is there anything I can offer you or would you rather wait for Brother Arkel. He should not be long. Or you could see Brother Korin, he is in the crypt but I can fetch him if you wish"
The novice starts to give them some information but then thinks that they are friends of the pirate, Argas and clams up. An older, male cleric approached, with a stormy expresion on his face and demanded that they leave, he seamed to sense a 'shadow of evil' about them. He was prepared to say that he had heard that the people they had asked about had killed Argas while some said that they had been killed by Baron Jubfek's men as they had sided with Argas. He felt that Brother Dohrum was a good soul and that the former was more likely.

Urged to leave the temple they decided to try thier luck on the dockside and so they crossed the river once more, soon meeting up with Arrik and Andrinor.

Dockside Dangers

Shortly after they left the inn a falling roof-tile caused Verlis to look up sharply and he glimpsed a figure scampering across the rooftops. He kept half an eye on the roof-line as he and Arrik moved swiftly down the alley on the trail of the two sailors that left the inn ahead of them.
Arriving at the dockside Verlis and Arrik halt at the sight of a dark skinned giant unloading cargo from a barge onto carts. They managed to draw their eyes away in time to spot the sailors ducking into a rough looking tavern further along the harbour-side.
Arrik and Verlis asked for information from the giant after briefly thinking that this was one of the bandits they sought but a sqaut man, who appeared to be the giant's master tried to send them away. Before they left the giant mentioned that he had seen a big man near the harbour master's offices. A swift bribe gained more information from the fat man. He suggested that some said that the people they were after were in league with Argas while others said that they had killed him.

The Giant lumbered off with the cart which narrowly missed Raffi and the others as they hurried along the keyside towards Arrik and Verlis.
After a brief exchange of information they headed along the quay towards a rough tavern whose sign named it as the 'Curlew'. They ducked into the dark and smokey interior where they are threatened by a well dressed pair with crossbows. It seems that they objected to some of the questions that Arrik and the others had been asking. Raffi blurted out their mission in a hurry. She warns them that Baron Jubfek cannot be trusted. It turns out that Argas was the leader of the Thieves Guild in Avonmouth and a bitter battle for supremacy was taking place. Freelancers, she said, would not be welcome for a while until things had settled down. She mentions that their marks had left on 'The Flower Of The West' the day before.

Harbour-side Hassles

They next visited the Harbour-master who was less than willing to give them any information. A sizeable bribe from Verlis loosens his tongue and he 'accidentally' leaves the harbour ledger open as he 'pops out for a moment'. From this they glean that the Flower of the West was heading for Safeharbour with wine, weapons and 'personal effects'. They also discover that 'The Black Page', captained by Stephan Vai is the fastest ship in the harbour. Arrik remembering that this ship was mentioned in passing by Baron Jubfek as one that he owned.
They board the ship and are escorted to meat the captain, a muscular yet sinuous bald man with small brown eyes and a large nose.
(next...)

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