DM Lunchtime comes to an end at the Pearl Handled Pipe. The party decides to venture out in search of a dilapidated villa in the northwest part of town. A single random rumor, true, partially true or completely false, had put into their plans. The rumor was that people stay away from it for all kinds of different reasons.
Having paid their fare for the find luncheon, the group finds itself walking outside again into the bright afternoon sun. They step into the courtyard outside and look about. It was being tended to by a small team of workers who were, at this time sweeping the street. Not far away was a member of the Shield, the town guard, patrolling. Other people were walking in and out of the courtyard, some might be other guests of the Pipe, others were likely just townsfolk crossing through the small plaza.
OOC: I've updated Roll20 so the map and put a token on it for the party. It's just for reference, for those who like to see things visually. You'll find yourselves in the top right corner of the map near location (5) which is the Pearl Handled Pipe. I'm assuming that Jaliera will use the Whisper scout technique. What are the rest of you doing? I'm handling this as a general skill challenge. You all have unique abilities you might want to use. And of course, role play it out.
He will talk to the people on the street as they go towards the NW of the city. A villa that people avoid, ought to be relatively easy to find, people will remember it.
Seeing the street sweepers, he comments, "If anybody would know, those with the brooms would, or else we just find a section that hasn't been swept for awhile."
OOC: The assumption is that those who are talking to people in the street, regardless of whether it's the sweepers or guards or kids kicking a ball around are going to be doing that for the (approximately) two hours you are looking around the city. Noted. Shall I assume that you are all doing that (I was anyway). Is anyone using a class ability or feature?
He will gladly guide Jaliera walking slower than usual over to the men with the brooms. While walking up he would try to determine who the work supervisor is, but if he can't then he will just approach the group and ask, "Hey! I know this will sound rather weird, but someone told us there is a run-down looking villa somewhere around here. We're not looking to cause trouble, just curious..." Davroar will not say more, and would rather wait to see what sort of reaction he gets with his question.
As they set out, Davroar tries approaching the nearby workers. After a few moments it becomes clear that although they would love to help out, they can offer no pointers. They don't seem put off, one of them looks at the other and then back to Davroar and says, "Try that part of town," pointing to the north.
With little success here, the party's quest to find the villa from Sindar's rumor leads them into the northern end of the city. As they moved deeper into the area they realize soon that finding a run-down building in that part of town would not be a problem. This is the seediest and dirtiest part of Yartar, a city which had a very low standard for morals. There is no shortage of people to talk to as they pass dozens upon dozens of them. Some were working, selling illicit goods and some, their bodies. The people here are poor, smelly and dirty. They seemed to be part of the fabric of this part of town which was run-down, filled with a stench that wafted from sewer grates and one had to watch one's step to not place a foot in something vile. The stroll here was quite unpleasant.
Kriv, Sindar, Zhu and Arus try to converse with the other people. Most of the,are surprised to be approached - almost skittish. Some of you surmise that these are cautious folk, worried, with good reason, about becoming the next victim. They are alert, their eyes scanning one and other, their ears perked and listening for danger, their heads on a swivel. Yet they answer your questions graciously. When ask about a strange villa, some shrug and say no. Others give answer that you can tell were made up. In many cases your insight tells you that they are just lying and pointing somewhere to simply end the conversation.
The buildings you pass almost all qualify and fit the description. They are old and some look like they once housed aristocrats. They featured fancy carved doorways,now rotting away, bas reliefs carved into the stonework but now chipped and damaged, courtyards where lush gardens might have grown which are now filled with trash and debris. The dark alleys between buildings look like places where crimes are committed and forgotten.
Bern and Davoar help Jaliera navigate the streets slowly while Whisper soars above. While she might stand out otherwise, here, in this part of town, Jaliera looked like just another unfortunate blind woman.
OOC: An assortment of rolls needed, just one each, as I interpreted your actions: Jaliera, please provide me with a perception roll done with advantage DC 12, and then an insight roll, DC 18. Davroar, Sindar, Kriv, Bern & Zhu can choose from one of Persuasion, Investigation or Insight. DC 18. This is a group skill check.
DM It's more than an hour into the stroll through the district when Jaliera, through the owl's eyes, sees Sindar talking to an old vagabond. The man nods and then points up the street and nods again. They talk for a moment or two more before as Sindar waves his hand to say goodbye to him and returns to where Jaliera, Davroar and Bern are. Sindar calls waves at the others to join him. Apparently he learned something.
The old man walks away and then disappears from view.
He returns to the group. "I have a good hint. A bit further north," he points subtly so that the group can see he is pointing in the direction the old man was. "There is a villa that fits the description and as an added bonus, there have been odd magical goings on. I suggest we head that way, but proceed with caution."
"The descriptions were typically vague. Most people don't understand magic. Mostly odd sounds, phantom lights, things that would suggest a wizard trying to keep people away from an area, at least to me."
"But the directions seem to give us something that is worth following up", he said. "If there is a wizard ... or some other ... problem, we will deal with it when we get there."
"That is why I said =if=", he said with a shrug. "But if you want to ignore a decent lead in our 'task', that is fine. You can go have a drink or three in one of the bars while we do our job."
Her eyes are still closed as she talks, so is is probably describing what she sees through Whisper's eyes.
"There is a well nearby which should act as a good landmark. The house is occupied as it has a chimney billowing smoke. Seems to be in a quite area as it is a dead end. There are people wandering about but they do seem to avoid the house. Can't see inside as the windows are all shuttered. Ah. Found one that isn't at the front of the house. Need to get closer though."
ooc: To be clear. Jaliera can see this only from the distance. She needs to get closer so that Whisper can look through a window.
As for Bern's question, what is the 'right' house? What are you looking for? It does match the description, pretty precisely, that Sindar was provided and where to find it.
[[ sez you <chuckle> The house was described as 'dilapidated' and 'abandoned' ... not as an active household <shrug> Without more specific info, Bern stands by his 'assessment' and question <weg> ]]
OOC: It seems like every building in this neighborhood is dilapidated and the exact phrasing was -'people stay away from it for all kinds of different reasons.' which is not the same as 'abandoned'.
"So you have looked at =every= house on the north side of the city", he quipped. Then sighed.
"Sorry. Just a bit 'wound up'", he said with an apologetic smile. "So lets go check the house. But we might want to think about how to approach it since it is occupied. What are are we going to say to them?"
"Once we get closer, I may be able to see more. Then we can decide what we want to do. We did say that we were only going to scout out the location this afternoon."
Based on Jaliera's word, the party approaches the location of this target to get close enough (100 feet) that Whisper can look into a window. Once there, she sends Whisper on a flyby mission to look inside.
OOC: You can tell me where the party goes, relative to the location from the attached map. I provided a 100' scale and pointed to the building. The one, window that isn't shuttered is on the "well" side.
He wished he could have had a better situation. It was tactically impossible to more 'around' the building to check front and back. All he could do was work with what he had. Since the others seemed more focused on the house, he decided to keep his attention focused on the square.
He watched the area and the house. He was mostly getting a feel of how people moved and avoided the area. Though the description matched, he couldn't be sure without some other obvious sign.
He was not sure that it was worth abandoning this part of their job after just one set back. "Are there no other houses that are worth checking out", he asked.
He shrugged "this one matched exactly the information I had. I offered what we found." For him, they had answered the question. He wouldn't abandon the group, they had supported his ideas.
"If Jaliera says it is not to be investigated, that is good enough for me." She says. "After all, we were not tasked with checking it out. We were just curious. So, on to the docks?"
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