Session Notes for 2005-05-13

It looks like some guards are coming to check us out. We head back toward the fountain. Mad dog leads us to a tavern on the south edge of the pond. The sign over the inn has a shapely fox with two tails. Sen and Mad dog's dog wait outside, lurking in an alley.

There a bar inside. A pair of drunks are tended by a bartender and waitress. A beaded curtain covers a doorway into the next room, from which loud music eminates.

The bartender ignores me. I push the issue, he doesn't seem terribly happy. Anna drops a gold piece on the counter, the mollifies the bartender. Wow, where'd Anna get so much money? Anna tells a nosy drunk that I'm her boyfriend.

The nosy drunk heads into the other room, past the beads. Jack follows.

(OOC: There is a stripper working to three musicians. Jack listens to their thoughts; the nosy drunk is getting several other men riled up. Jack joins them and suggests they'll need weapons. One guy heads out to grab some. Jack follows him a moment later. The guy heads around the back of the bar and down a back street.)

(OOC: Jack tails the man back to an apartment complex. Inside are a small group of men. The man Jack tailed tries to rally them. Jack sees an opportunity to get some weapons. Jack attacks them and kills them with his magical bolts. One almost escapes, Jack kills him, but the body ends up in the street, stirring up the neighborhood.)

Meanwhile, the men from the back room head to the bar. They're trying to be subtle and surround me, but they're way too drunk to pull one over on me. This probably isn't the time and place, so I slam the rest of my drink and head out. Anna follows and the drunks follow her. We slip into the alley.

We regroup. Jack suggests that we head for the sewers. Maybe a good idea to hide for a bit. We know there is an entrance under the bridge to west. However, there are a bunch of guards waiting there. Several wait at the bridge while the rest head south into the area Jack was just in. We end up heading counterclockwise around the pool. There is discussion about looking for the hedgehog.

5 The strip club incident.

Just beyond the east bridge are two gangs in ratty leather weilding daggers. They look hostile to each other, a fight might be brewing.

There is another sewer entrance under the nothern east bridge. It heads back to the southwest. We decide to head down there to avoid the guards and the gang war. Anna unlocks the gate and we head in. It doesn't smell too bad, it's just drainage, not sewage. We head in. Mad dog casts a spell on the stub of a torch and it glows. We head deeper in. The drain slopes up and the water drains.

The passage ends in a door. Strange drainage system. Is someone hiding something? The muddy hedgehog is waiting in front of the door. The hedgehog taps the door with one of its paws. We approach and the hedgehog waits. Looking at it, it's so totally covered with mud that I can't see any fur. It's eyes are gem-like.

The door has a metal shutter over a little window. Anna examines the door, but it doesn't look like we can open it from this side. The hedgehog taps on the door again. We get the hint and Jack knocks. The shutter slides slightly open and someone inside asks for a password. The hedgehog taps itself. Jack offers "Naubuel". The door is unbarred and opened.

Inside there is the sound of stringed instruments. It's a large chamber with square columns. The room is well lit with oil lamps mounted on the columns. Nearby a gypsy woman does a belly dance to the song played by a small band. The room has perhaps 60 people watching. Many sit on cushions on the floor. Half are dressed colorfully and having fun. The other half are darkly dressed and carry weapons. Some look menacing, others are enjoying the show. A bar is in the far corner. The thin older man who opened the door welcomes us.

Several people look askingly at Sen; the older man makes a sign and they seem satisfied.

(OOC: Jack scans the room. Some people are conducting drug deals. Others are plotting thefts.)

Sen is approached by someone who seems to know him. The guy asks if Sen is satisfied and ask if Sen needs more. More of what?

1 Being dumb.

Someone who seems to know Anna. He approaches her after some confused body language. He brings her a drink and asks what happened at the museum. Apparently he was there as well. He leads Anna off andthey talk.

(OOC: Anna speaks with the man. She mentions that she really needs to get into the Flaming Bell soon. When he determines that she neither wants to fence something nor purchase something, he says he can probably help. Some gold would grease the wheels, as might a little private time. The head out a guarded door to the southeast.

The door opens under the west bridge. He waves to someone who poles a boat over. Anna roughly explains the situation. In the processes, she learns his name, Grotto. He agrees to help her for 40% and "a lot of gratitude."

The boat takes them toward the Flaming Bell. There is a landing and underground chamber near the Bell. They pass through some basement rooms. They pass a waitress; she seems to know Grotto. While a bit surprised to see him, the waitress lets Grotto pass. Grotto leads Anna upstairs to the main room. He asks her to identify "the mark."

The common room is filled with well dressed people. Some are armed. A roaring fire fills a stone walled pit in the center, a tarnished brass hood contains the smoke. Stairs lead up to a balconey overlooking the room. The most noteworthy client is a woman is metal armor lurking under the stairs.)

Mad dog pokes around the northern passage. He opens one door and finds a mid-sized room. It's covered with ants, and inch or two deep. He quickly closes the door. Further down the passage ends in a narrow window looking out over the pool.

(OOC: Anna approaches the fire. No one seems to notice her. The tiles start shaking. She pulls one out at random and it disappears in a puff of smoke. Suddenly her memory is restored. Anna scouts the rest of the inn, then heads back.)

Anna returns after a long delay. When she returns, our memories return. I'm Dueg Kinslayer, an exiled half-orc. I've got a mighty blade waiting in my room! Oh, and a slave girl I've basically broken. Hope she hasn't starved to death; that would be a nuisance. But mostly I crave my blade and my money.