Oh, We Got Trouble

October 1, 2015

Cress is still up, working in his lab, when he hears something.  A large mass hitting against something.  The vibrations like rumbling thunder but closer.  He stops with his lab work and looks around but nothing is happening in his small lab.  Then the noise happens again, this time accompanied by a thump and a crash!  Cress tells Rock to go wake the others and he starts checking around the building.  Rock torments Grohlyn a bit in waking him up but the rest are woken up nicely.  Meanwhile, three otyugs have broken through into the main area!  The group works and kills them all but not before a fair amount of damage is done to the establishment.  Cress goes out, buys Make Whole, memorizes it and then fixes up the place in a few short hours, compared to the days or week it was going to take.  

Since they are up, the group talks about what they are going to do about Devargo and his offer.  Trinia points out that Devargo might start doing stuff they don't like, such as burglary, protection, maybe even extortion or murder.  Do they want to be associated with that?  Cress and her don't.  On good days, Niko, Lazarus, and Sveinn don't.  Grohlyn is still indifferent until it costs him something.  However, they all realize they don't want to start this or they don't know when it will stop.  

They meet with Devargo to turn him down.  He mocks them a bit, especially when they claim all of East Shore, but agrees to stay on his dock.  However, he can't control who comes to his dock and is fine taking any business that comes his way.  The group reluctantly agrees and leave.  

The Queen's Physicians are still around, checking people.  The group thinks they are doing something but can't figure out what.  Then they notice Vendra Loaggri.  She has set up a fake tonic to sell as a cure.  Grohlyn, mad that he didn't get his cut and so calls her out.  The rest come out to see.  Niko manages to steal one, even with the goons nearby, and Cress identifies it as sugar, perfume, and river water.  Grohlyn incites the crowd against her and the crowd runs her off with stones, her and her goons bleeding all the way home.  Satisfied, the group goes back inside.  

Cress is down in his lab and it takes a while to realize that the noise from above stopped.  He knows he loses track of time down there so he comes up to check.  He's sure, as he hears first bell, that cooking should be happening as well as some clean up for the early crowd.  The whores are asleep in their rooms, according to Rock, but Zac, Liz, Kris, and Kam are gone, along with half their larder and most of their liquor!  The barrels of ale aren't gone but enough of it to make a dent.  

Following the footsteps, realizing it to be an inside job, the group goes to the safehouse.  They set up a safe area for other former guild members to crash and get on their feet, maybe a bit of extra coin.  When they get there, Gil, who had come to them for help, as well as the rest are there, talking to Devargo.  

"We told you to stay on the docks!" bellows Grohlyn.

"It's still a free city and I was invited here by this group to talk.  And that's all we were doing."  He jumps up on a half wall, puts his feet up on the wall, and leans back, obviously getting settled.  

"What the fuck, Gil?"  Lazarus isn't happy.  "We took you in, fed you, and helped you out.  You abandon us and take from us?"  

"I don't just want to live, I want things the way they were," he hisses.  "You and your group don't have what it takes to run the guild.  A bit of cards, some performances, and whores ain't gonna feed and pay two hundred mouths.  Devargo here has a plan."  Grohlyn sneers and looks toward Devargo, who holds up his hands in surrender, still leaning against the wall.  

"You're all a bunch of morons!" yells Grohlyn.  "Now give us back our shit and get out of our safe house!"  

"Your safehouse?" asks Zak, incredulous.  "What the fuck did you do for this, Grohlyn?  You didn't bring anything here, help anyone here, and don't even know the names of anyone here."

"You ungrateful cur," growls Grohlyn.  "We took you in and helped you avoid what happened to the rest of the guild.  You and your friends.  This is the thanks we get?  Stealing from us?  Leaving in the middle of the night?  I ought to cut you down."  

"You are unbelievable," pipes up Liz.  "You don't give a shit about us.  We took food and drink, yeah.  That's what we do.  And you are wearing ten times, Cayden's filthy cup, a hundred times in value what we took.  Probably still have more than enough in pocket change to replace what we took and not notice it."  

'Yeah, so?  It's mine and that's it."  

"Yeah, that's it," retorts Liz.  "I was surprised and elated when you stirred up the crowd against that snakeskin seller.  I thought maybe, just maybe, you made a choice.  But you would have let her die just because she didn't clear it with you."  

"We own this place.  No one does shit we don't approve.  You all are stupid fucks.  Do you think he can save or protect you" yells, Grohlyn, stabbing his finger at Devargo.  "He'll run away and leave you high and dry.  We was protecting you.  He sure as hell can't and won't do that"  

Grohlyn thought it sounded good and would at least scare a few of them but he was taken aback when a few of them laughed, even.  

"Let's get out of here."  People pick up food and their stuff but leave the booze alone as they walk out.  Devargo turns and jumps off the wall.  "You know where I'm at, if you want to talk again."  Then he leaves with the rest of them.  

The group is still unsure of what happened.  Grohlyn goes and gets the booze, as do a few of the others, and they head back to Grindhouse.  When they get there, they talk to Trinia about what happened.  

"What do we do now?"  

"I might be able to help with that," says a new, husky female voice.  They turn and see Mel standing near the entrance.  "Sorry I haven't been over to visit but things got busy, real quick."  

"How did you get away," asks Cress, suspicious.  He's remembering the rumors he heard that Guildmaster Boule had backing from a powerful house in town.  

"Got lucky," Mel replies.  "I was out on a job when the guild house itself was attacked.  I didn't get back until it was occupied by the Maidens and I got out of there.  Been watching what's going on.  I'm here because I think I might have something that will be profitable.  Or interesting."  

"What's that?"  

"I have a contact who says he has proof that the queen has been involved in all of this."

"I knew it!"  No one is quite sure who yelled that first.  

"Anyway, I'm not sure what the angle is, but if you are interested, I can hook you up."  

GM Notes

• Slow starting session but it picked up.  Like they do.  
• Intimidate works well until it doesn't.  Or it's tough to stop what you start having used intimidate.   
• I waited too long to do this write up and now some details, including some important ones, slipped on me.  Hopefully the players remember!  
• Because of waiting too long, I wrote up a story with a bit of liberties that I think summarized what I needed but probably went too far.  I scaled it back and hopefully still hit the needed points.  

BACK