Corlaan / Desujal

[nubz]

Quick re-cap. you know the part about stealing the so-called jewel, changing, blah blah blah (you told me, i hope you still know). Years after the fact, there is a very large bounty on your head from the magician who stole it from you. You've come across his revenge once before, in the form of an apprentice sent to track you down and slay you. Ended with an eight foot diameter hole in your wall where the front door had been (you killed the fool and they found stealth is required to kill a thief). So, a thief to catch a thief. Whoever the mage was, he was able to recruit the help of the Blackjacks, the most feared sect of organized crime in the lands. (maybe wrongfully so, but they're the most popular, and rumours being what they are). Your most trusted contact in the underworld, Ryan the Halfling, is missing, put his life on the line to protect you, and had the misfortune of not knowing how badly they wanted you. Sharky the pawnshop scumbag - who will be buried somewhere off the shore shortly after nightfall - sold what information he had on you. Not much after what happened last time; A name, and Ryan's name. (god i hate good charlotte, who the hells been downloading crap music onto my computer GAHHHH ANGRY)

anyways, youre searching for clues to his, well, his life. Sneaky little bugger, you don't know anything about him other than the places he'd tell you to meet him. thats the underworld for ya, cant turn someone in if you dont know anything about them. Anyways, you find yourself at a brothel where he once scheduled a rooftop meeting in the dark hours of the night. Searching the exterior of the building at about two hours after sunrise, here's what you see.

*rolling*
The windows are sporadic, and only found on the third floor, along the south side and rear (west) of the building. Narrow little things, practically archer slits. the buildings on all sides are merely two story little things, no way onto the roof that way. In fact, unless the rope magically drops for you (which it wont, because ryan was the one that dropped it for you), the only way in is the front door. by the looks of the pretty lady at the front desk, you can think of at least one good excuse to pay a visit. heck, not like its peak hours or anything.

Des wanders in, keeping his hood low and speaks to the madam.

"I am looking for an associate of mine, and would be willing to pay much for any information."

Des pulls his coin purse out from a inside chest pocket and jingles it.

"Perhaps you know of him? His name is Ryan."

[nubz]

She eyes the coinpurse hungrily. "Well, tough for me to say. never catch their names."

*rolling*

Minor success. I'll give you a little to work with. From your experience, the lady at the front desk isnt the same as the one in the bed. namely, she's got a cuter face than the ones in the back rooms.

"Perhaps one of your esteemed workers would know the name of Ryan?"

He watches carefully, for any sign of trickery or her calling some thugs or something.

[nubz]

(tomorrow guys, spent today readin it)

[nubz]

She eyes you over, calmly stating, "Five gold. Third floor are all the little ladies. Knife stays here, no weapons. Nothing will happen to it, we run a legitimate business here, no need for theft. Damage deposit is on your head, so if anything happens to the merchandise it will happen to you too. Repeatedly."

You have 8 gold and 3 silvers in your coinpurse right now, and about the same back at your house. You can afford it, even though it is horrendously high priced. Like, about five times what most people pay.

Des looks the lady in the eye and says "What Knife?"

He pulls out 5 gold from the purse and puts it on the counter.

[nubz]

Her eyes turn red, and you feel her voice inside your mind.

::Do not play with me, fool. The blade stays here. I'm not some dumb bitch for your entertainment::

You feel your hand reaching for Stiehl, though in your mind you know you don't want to put it on the counter. Your hands are shaking as the blade is slid across the counter, but you maintain your grip on the hilt as she puts her own hand on yours. She glares at you, and you feel a wave of nausea tearing through you. Still, you do not let go. She draws her fingernail across the back of your hand, a trail of blood marking its trek. The pain is almost unbearable, but you cannot take your eyes away. Your knuckles turn white as she gouges into the back of your wrist, and you scream in pain. Finally, she winds up and slaps you across the face, knocking you off your feet. As you lay sprawling on the floor, a heavy foot lands square on your chest. "He's okay, Ed. I just owed him one." Glaring, the burly man helps you to your feet. You almost panic as you see his jacket, but his grey hair gives away the fact that he's been retired from the Guild. No mistake, he could crush a man half his age and twice his size, but its already clear he doesn't know who you are.

She's twirling the blade in her hand, admiring it. When she sees the look you shoot her, you see a hint of - was it fear? - cross her face, before she slips it into a drawer under the counter. "Third floor" she repeats, with a slight edge to her voice.

I wasn't going to let you win that one, but its amazing how many tries it took hehe. 136 experience points.

You wind your way up the stairs, reaching the floor you were assigned. Subtle grey walls are outlined by a gentle, romantic green glow. Some doors are open, though the ones that are closed (surprisingly many) echo with the sounds of the activities going on. A smirk crosses your face as you hear the whimpering moan of "oh daddy, please, don't stop" sift through the first door you pass. you know what kind of twisted folk are on this floor.

[nubz]

OOC: that brings you to 281 experience, level two comes at 250 by my scale. (quarter of regular scale, speed shit along) skills went up, your base attack bonus is now +1 (from 0), you gained the rogue ability Evasion (no damage on a successful reflex save instead of half), and your hitpoints increased. lucky bugger you got 6/6 on your hitpoint roll. 20 hitpoints now, you're on par with a level one ork. changed your character sheet if you care to look, nothing spectacular though.

Enraged that he had to give up his knife, he flashes a look at her that makes all sorts of promises should the knife not be there when he comes back down.

On the way up, he examines his hand making sure nothing is really wrong with it aside from the blood. Shaking his head, he grits his teeth as he works out his temper and is realtively cool again when he arrives at the 3rd floor.

There he makes inquiries about Ryan, making sure to keep a discreet eye on his coin purse with this many halflings around.

Also, he sees if he can memorize the face of some of thier customers for robbing later, that is if he doesn't stick them with his knife first.