Docking​

The crew of Ser Osis of the River rows the final distance into the port of Oldtown, overwhelmed by its size. A huge tower on a slick black rocky island is upriver. Many caravels and cogs are docked flying banners of unknown houses.

The size of the city is staggering for Westeros, and that’s only what can be seen so far. Oldtown is much larger than Yronwood, being more reminiscent of Valyria or Volantis in some ways – without the dragons, of course.

As they begin to dock, the dock master walks up to help the crew.

                DOCK MASTER: I shaw what ye did out thar. Many thanksh shersh… and madam. If I had my way, I’d call ya the Guardians of The Redwyne, that bein’ the Redwyne Straits and all… Sho, what can I do for ye fine folk?

                SHADOW:            We’d like to dock for at least the day.

                DOCK MASTER: Alright, well we’ll look after yer ship for 5 gold a day. We keep tight shecurity ’round the docksh, sho it’sh well worth the cosht.

                QHORTHO:          Is that the price for The Guardians of the Redwyne?

                DOCK MASTER: It ish the priche fer all.

                SHADOW:            Alright, we’ll pay when you when we come pick it up. We don’t know how long we’ll be exactly.

                DOCK MASTER: Ok, that shounds good. If yer jusht passhin through, and don’t need yer ship, it looksh to be in deshent shape, it didn’t take any damage out thur that I shaw – I could broker a deal for ya for, shay, 10 pershent of the shale priche. I’ll get ya the besht deal I can from the merchantsh here.

                QHORTHO:          We’re not looking to sell our ship.

                DOCK MASTER: I could play up the fact that thish wush the ship that shaved ush thish very day. That provenansh ish not likely to lasht for many daysh, ish my guesh.

                SHADOW:            Put out some feelers and we’ll get back to you in a day.

                DOCK MASTER: Alright, will do. If you’re staying in town for a spell, you’ll find many tavernsh and innsh and jusht about anything elshe you’ll need jusht by walkin’ de streetsh, of course I do know the streetsh rather well; might that have shum value for you? (he rubs his fingers together indicating a tip would be in order)

Burton shakes his head slightly, reaches in his pocketses and flips the man a silver piece.

                DOCK MASTER: Ah, thank you sher. Ok, sho go up thish main cobble road here, thish ish the Roseroad, until you reach Weshon’sh Shmithy, hang a right thur, walk about 50 payshesh or sho, and you’ll shee Burnin’ Britchesh right thur on yer right. Ashk for Dyntalia. Tell her Rynsheed shent ya. She’ll treat ya right.

If yer lookin fer a plashe to shpend the night, there are a number of innsh and tavernsh throughout town. My favorite tavern ish near Burning Britchesh, called the Shwaggering Shpider.

If yer looking for shomethin a little more upshcale, perhapsh closher to the Shitadel would be to your fanshy. The Foksh’sh Den and Phoeniksh Pyre ish up that way on an island in the Honeywine here. You should try Phoeniksh’sh hard shider, it’sh quite nishe, if ya have the shtomach fer it.

                SHADOW:            Thanks Rynseed. What can you tell us about a good place for weapons and armor?

                RYNSEED:            Well, there’s Weshon’s Shmithy, but there a number of othersh I can tell you about.

Qarzdaq, not caring about this line of questioning, interrupts.

                QARZDAQ:          What about the Red Temple?

                RYNSEED:            Ah, sho you’re the devout type. The Red Temple ish​ jusht around the corner to the right, but we have other plashesh of worship: the Shailor’s Shept is right here behind me (he motions over his shoulder at a modest 7-sided structure), the Rhoynar temple ish around the corner to the left, the Shtarry Shept is up closer to the Shitadel, and there are many othersh shpread throughout the city. There are there are plashes of worship for all typesh here.

                QHORTHO:          Where might the blacksmith be?

                RYNSEED:            They’re all closher to the shtablesh near the edge of town a few milesh up the Rosheroad. You’ll take the Rosheroad all the way up and you’ll shee the blackshmiths and shtablesh there – ya can’t mish em. If you follow that out of town, you’ll get all the way to Highgarden and beyond. The Rosheroad ish one of the longest continuous roads in all of Westeros.

                QARZDAQ:          Could you tell us where the Citadel Library is?

                RYNSEED:            The Shitadel ish that campush of buildingsh over there. (He points to a towering building some distance away)

They thank Rynseed and depart the area for the Library to meet Tyrone.

​To the Library

The tallest structure in the city, Hightower, dominates the landscape; a massive stepped lighthouse which extends some 800 feet into the sky topped by a huge beacon which can be seen for many miles out to sea.

Continuing along the Roseroad, they are struck by the stunning beauty of the city. Many rivers and canals crisscross its cobbled streets and breathtaking stone mansions soon become commonplace. The lack of squalor is also noted by the group – typically that would at least be visible in the dock area, but who knows what lies beyond these maze-like alleys, markets, and streets. The streets are policed by the uniquely uniformed City Watch of Oldtown – perhaps the quality of the city is proof of their caliber… perhaps not…

Across the Honeywine River to the left are large guildhalls along the shoreline. Soon they can see a collection of buildings along the Honeywine collectively known as The Citadel — the home of the order of maesters who serve as councilors, doctors, scientists, and raven masters within Westeros.

Along the way to the Citadel, they pass the enormous and fabled Starry Sept, the seat of the Faith of the Seven, ruled by the High Septon, constructed of dark marble. Among those outside the Sept are some men with 7-pointed stars carved into their foreheads, but they seem to be a minority.

The road leads them closer to the domes and towers of the Citadel that rise on both sides of the river. The structures are connected by stone bridges crowded with halls and houses.

They continue walking the road until they arrive at the gates of the Citadel, flanked by a pair of towering green marble sphinxes with the bodies of lions, the wings of eagles, and the tails of serpents. One has a man’s face, the other, a woman’s.

Continuing into the Citadel campus, they see Scribe’s Hearth, a series of open stalls where acolytes are trading in books and maps. Others are servicing customers by reading and writing letters.

The road forks to the Northeast and Southwest: to the Northeasterly road leads to an Isle swarming with ravens; the Southwesterly road runs along the river bank and leads to more buildings – one of which is the tall Library.

They take the road to the southwest, passing an isolated dock that looks to have been built for the sole purpose of ferrying people back and forth from a small island in the river where a bleak single story building exists. Small frogs hop around in the shallow waters near shore.

Up ahead are the Seneschal’s Court, a Septry, and the Citadel Library.

The Septry is where many of the faithful live; the Seneshal’s Court is where the governor of the Citadel conducts business.

FUN FACT:          The Seneschal is chosen from among the archmaesters by lot, with a new one chosen each year. The Seneschal is tasked with the governance of the Citadel. Most archmaesters consider it a thankless task that takes them away from their true calling.

Outside the Seneschal’s Court, a number of men that wearing the garb of acolytes and novices rest in stocks, perhaps serving some sort of punishment.

At last, the Library’s main entrance appears before them. They enter a massive structure of at least 10 stories of shelves around the walls, all filled with books chained to their bookcases.

Maesters and those still in training are sitting and reading at tables at the bookshelves and nearby chairs everywhere you look. It is very quiet, except for some light whirring and buzzing. A gigantic chandelier hangs about 30′ from the ceiling, though it does not provide candlelight – rather there are mirrors strategically placed around the walls that direct light from the windows towards the center of this chandelier.

As they make their way through the entry to a counter attended by at several robed men, they see artifacts of various sizes on display: several small and medium-sized artifacts related to Navigation and Stargazing are in glass display cases while larger artifacts, some composed of hundreds of whirring gears, are on floor stands.

They look around for Tyrone and don’t see him – but he could be anywhere inside this place.

One of the men behind the counter greets them hesitantly. They ask him about Tyrone and are told that not only does he not know a man by the name of Tyrone, but that the Library is not meant for common-folk.

Qhortho emphatically adds that they are on important business and that the Rhoynar Wizard Tyrone told them to meet him here.

After providing more detail, the librarian remembers a man that fits their description and directs them to Archmaester Lyndorn, who happens to be in the Library at this very time. The librarian is careful to note explicitly that non-maesters are not permitted to handle the books in any way.

As they walk over to the archmaester, Shadowsilver mentions that “…for a town about seeking knowledge, they sure do not want to let anyone know what’s going on…”

Archmaester Lyndorn is an older man, hunched over and almost frail-looking, but his movements seem more deft than physical appearance would make one expect.

                BURTON:             Archmaester Lyndorn, we are the Unlikely Assembly, Busters of Ghosts, Gang of Solutionists, Guardians of the Redwyne. We were summoned here by Tyrone and were told that you may know where he is.

                LYNDORN:           Ah… You are the group Tyrone spoke about. He mentioned that some friends would be meeting him here. Unfortunately, Tyrone left a few days ago for Highgarden. He said it was extremely urgent that he leave and said that you should meet him there as soon as you are able. He did not say anything else.

The group looks at each other in dismay.

                LYNDORN:           I will give you permission to browse our Library, but please be careful with the knowledge, both in its physical and ethereal forms.

                THOL:                    Do you know what Tyrone was researching?

                LYNDORN:           He was seeking further knowledge about the Amulet of Lightbringer… (his voice lowers to hushed tones) … and the threat that might be facing all of us.

                THOL:                    Can you tell us more about this threat?

                LYNDORN:           I only know that he was very nervous about someone he believes is looking for the Amulet right now and that this represents a grave threat.

                QARZDAQ:          Do you know which books he was reading?

                LYNDORN:           He wound up focusing on a short series of books on the subject of magic. We don’t keep many of those here, but the ones he was reading were all written by a maester by the name of Paxtan, currently assigned to Highgarden.

                THOL:                    What else did he say about this threat?

                LYNDON:             We deal in knowledge, we deal in facts. We do not deal in these higher magical things that are out there. Though there are practitioners of these arts, they do not even know from where these “powers” originate. Not truly.

                SHADOW:            Do you know where I might find some books about poison? I figure this could be one method of weakening this grave foe Tyrone was speaking of.

                LYNDON:             Though I do not feel comfortable providing this knowledge freely, I do see your rationale and given you are a friend of Tyrone, I feel compelled to give it to you in this case.

The group asks about a topic of interest to each of them and Archmaester Lyndorn directs them to the shelves where they may find the knowledge they seek.

Before they go to their respective shelves, Shadowsilver mentions that she happened upon a maester chain, which Archmaester Lyndorn welcomes back. Shadowsilver produces a chain of Tin, Yellow Gold, and Iron and asserts that it’s probably worth 500gp to the Citadel.

Archmaester Lyndorn, clearly displeased with the route this conversation has just taken, suggests a compromise of two options: “I will give you 100gp OR you can leave with the chain, I will alert authorities, and you will not be welcome back to the Citadel.”

Shadowsilver’s thoughts edge towards how she might kill this old man and get away with the chain. Perhaps the time spent with these relative do-gooders have made her go soft — perhaps it’s the wisdom gained from her adventures thus far. Whatever the reason, she foresees the consequences of what that short-sightedness might bring.

Qhortho accepts the offer of 100gp before Shadowsilver has a moment to weigh in officially.

Shadowsilver asks that the rest of the group should pay her 400gp to make up the difference.

Qhortho states that the chain belongs to the group because they all helped in taking the monster maester down. Shadowsilver emphatically disagrees and reminds everyone that she’s been lugging this chain around for months.

She tells the Archmaester of how they drove off the Ironborn as they attacked the shore of Oldtown.

Archmaester Lyndorn says that any sort of reimbursement or reward should be sought from the Lord, not from The Citadel. He adds that the attacks from the Ironborn are commonplace.

Shadowsilver agrees to take the 100gp, expecting to speak with the Lord of Hightower for any additional payment, lamenting that she’ll probably never again get her hands on a maester chain.

Tholannan asks Archmaester Lyndorn about where to find knowledge on the arts concerning Dark Magic, but the Archmaester refuses to give him direction on that topic. Tholannan attempts to persuade him by telling him that he understands the reservations but that he believes the dark arts are just another side of the same coin, shared by his own practice within the Life domain. Further, he expresses the idea that he would be more effective in mitigating threats from those who wield such powers, if the Archmaester would allow him to learn.

Burton adds to this conversation his own experience with Tholannan, specifically that Tholannan puts Life above all else and strives to save Life even if it is his foes’.

Archmaester Lyndorn stands by his original ruling on this topic, but determines some amount of compromise is in order.

                LYNDORN:           What is it that you are trying to learn specifically?

                THOL:                    I wish to know more about the nature of this power. There is clearly an element of it that is evil, but there appears to be functional and practical uses of it as well.

                LYNDORN:           And you’re speaking of the powers sourced from the core element of Water, is that correct?

                THOL:                    Yes, the power to give life and the power to destroy it.

                LYNDORN:           I think you may find some of what you are looking for in the philosophies of the Rhoynar and those of the Ironborn. They both worship the same force, but they do so in different ways. I think you will find what you are looking for, without having to turn directly to the Dark Arts.

                THOL:                    I hope that you will reconsider, but in the meantime, I will follow your advice.

Lyndorn directs Tholannan to the bookshelves related to those two peoples.

Shadowsilver reads books on Herbalism, hoping to find specific plants that could be used for poisons.

Qarzdaq seeks the books written by Maester Paxtan to learn more about the Amulet of Lightbringer.

Qhortho seeks knowledge on the Dothraki and the Grass Sea of Essos.

Burton seeks knowledge about the Thieving Arts and, separately, Grumkins.

​New Learnings

Separately, they each learn the following (note that these are internal learnings unless they are discussed aloud):

Tholannan:

The Rhoynar books relate to the culture, history, and philosophy of the Rhoynar: how Life is sourced from Water, and how magically controlling Water helped defend their lands in Essos from the Valyrian dragons time and time again over the centuries.

The Ironborn books are not written from the perspective of the Ironborn; instead, they are all written from the outside looking in. Stories sourced from the entire west coast of Westeros, which has been continually invaded by Ironborn reavers of the Iron Islands. Among those stories are tidbits of information about their belief in the Drowned God, who appears to be the Death side of Water.

Shadowsilver:

There are many creatures that exist throughout all of Westeros that are poisonous and can be harvested for their poisons. There are creatures of ice, plants who actively attack and bite, and fungi that use gas spores. During the read, Shadowsilver takes note of the poison glands and organs within each of the creatures she reads about. She is unable to find information about undetectable poisons or the crafting of poisons from these creatures.

Qarzdaq:

The Amulet of Lightbringer is one of the world’s ancient artifacts, created by the Red Temple. It is only wielded by those at the highest ranks within the Temple’s enclave.

He reads a tale, which has been told and retold over thousands of years, where a man combined the Amulet of Lightbringer and the Tear of Life, believed to be direct feeds from the sources of Fire and Water magic, respectively. The man became extremely powerful, requiring an army to stop him from destroying the world.

There are only passing mentions of other ancient artifacts; the Tear of Life is only named due to this story.

He surmises from the books that Maester Paxtan is a man of diligence and respect, though there are gaps of knowledge throughout. It is clear why Tyrone wanted to reach out to him – in fact, it is probably something Qarzdaq’s troupe would want to explore regardless of Tyrone’s presence.

Qhortho:

The Stallion that Mounts the World is a prophecy told for thousands of years and the author takes the stance of this prophecy being utter nonsense. It is like many beliefs that permit the current generation to latch onto a sense of special empowerment and entitlement that the world has been waiting for. It has its place, for it keeps the current generation hopeful and pushing for the strength of their khalasar, but it has little founding in truth. The author depicts the Dothraki as nomadic people that serve little purpose but to rape and pillage small towns. He paints them as a purely destructive force with no redeeming qualities, save their bravery in combat.

Burton:

From the large book of fairy tales:

Based on the fairy tales, humans believe Grumkins are associated with granting wishes, either by crafting magical objects which make wishes come true, or by directly giving people a number of wishes, of which the third wish is the last and must be used carefully. Grumkins are implied to be of short stature or otherwise of very small size and may also steal and replace children. Along with their size, they are described as various shades of green and are “always lurking about”.

Given their abundance of mentions in fairy tales, adults seem to no longer believe in Grumkins and consider them imaginary beings, comparable to legendary animals and supernatural entities or the monsters which children’s nurses warn them against.

From the various stealth and thievery books:

The Thieving Arts are a series of techniques that Burton already knows quite well, but in the process, he learns there is a thieving underground – a cult of sorts – who portray themselves as magicians but are just masters of sleight of hand. Some appear to cast spells, but their illusions are not works of a higher power or of otherworldly abilities. Some actually do cast minor spells, but they are relatively benign and are typically coupled with a mastery of thieving skills to enhance the perceived effect.

There are some mentions of mineral composites that Burton had not previously known, but these findings do not increase any ability to a great degree.

The Library continues to darken as daylight fades. The group reconvenes outside the Library to discuss what they’ve learned.

Qarzdaq begins by discussing everything he’s learned.  

                QARZDAQ:          It’s pretty clear that I have to go to the Red Temple with the Amulet.

                SHADOW:            It sounds like it’s only been carried by the highest ranks in the Temple, so you may want to watch yourself.

The group all agrees.

                QARZDAQ:          I am compelled to disclose this information to those of greater stature within the Temple.

Shadowsilver suggests he leave the Amulet with the group while he visits the Temple. Is this an honest gesture? Or is this a manifestation of the Amulet’s power beginning to take hold over those who seek power?

Qarzdaq disagrees and confesses that if they ask for it, he would feel compelled to hand it over; it is an artifact of the Temple after all. However, his intent is to keep the Amulet.

The discussion continues with everyone warning Qarzdaq of the potential dangers with implicitly trust in those with the Red Temple. His only response is that they are all servants of R’hllor.

Shadowsilver mentions that she was looking up information of the plants and wildlife across Westeros to discover which ones might be worth harvesting for poison.

Tholannan talks about his discovery that the Ironborn and the Rhoynar, though there are stark differences, have threads of commonality in how they look at Water as a great power in the universe.

Finding some children’s books written in crayon about the Dothraki, or at least that’s how the rest of the group imagines it, Qhortho speaks of a series of small books with am arakh on each cover. Qhortho conveys a sense of disappointment with what he learned and the way the author described his people. Over the course of describing what he’s learned, his tone of disappointment grows to disdain, then anger, culminating in outrage that this so-called expert of the Dothraki could ever know his people – that he could ever get close enough to understand them and still live!

                QHORTHO:          I AM the Stallion that Mounts the World!

Burton calms him down after a few minutes. He then mentions some of the interesting things he learned about diguising, but does not speak of anything Grumkin-related.

They depart the Library for Phoenix Pyre, the tavern/inn they were told about by Rynseed when they docked.Phoenix Pyre

After a short walk, they cross an old plank bridge that connects the island to the rest of Oldtown. On their way to the 3-story structure, they cross a large grass lawn scattered with apple trees where many patrons are eating and drinking. Looking to the south, down river, the beacon atop Hightower lights the sky.

After walking in and being greeted, they are told that the cost and quality of the rooms increase with each floor. The bottom floor is sold out, the middle floor has two rooms left at 8sp per night, and the top floor has plenty of vacancy at 2gp per night. However, the top floor is all-inclusive at the bar and half-price at the Fox’s Den next door.

Qhortho jumps at the chance for the lowest-cost possible and contemplates sleeping in the stables.

Burton purchases a top room floor, always desiring the finest he can get.

Qarzdaq says that he’s exhausted and wants a top floor as well.

Shadowsilver takes the last middle floor room and Tholannan books a room on the top floor.

Qarzdaq, Burton, and Qhortho purchase the Hard Phoenix Cider, the others purchase some standard ales, and they go back out on the lawn. After about 20 paces they overhear a conversation among three men: One gruff man in his 60’s, one older man with gray hair in his 80’s, one dapper man in his 50’s.

                The GRUFF man: Oh not the Bulwers and Bors argument again…. C’mon guys.

                The OLD man, speaking to the DAPPER man: Just whose side are you on anyway?

                The DAPPER man: I’m just sayin’…

                GRUFF:                                 You guys remember that chap who was in here? That youngster – it must’ve been, what… 20 years ago? He got all loud and rowdy about the Bulwers lineage being a fraud?

                OLD:                      Oh yeah… wow… that takes me back… What was that guy’s name again? He kept saying it over and over again… Wer… Wer… Werschel was it?

                DAPPER:              Oh right! It was Wendell! Didn’t he get beat to hell for that?

                GRUFF:                 Yeah, that’s right – he was a bit off the woo that night… probably the cider… he was just trying to start a fight that night. He kept saying, ‘the Bulwers are too frail to be descendants of Bors the Breaker! Any punk out here want some of Lord Wendel’s fisticuffs?’

                OLD:                      Right it was LORD Wendel! What an idiot. Why does it matter who was descendants of whom?

Just then, a large muscular man with a red face, slurring his words, comes stumbling over to them with a sloshing mug.

                RED FACE:           What’d you just say??

                GRUFF:                 Easy friend, we were just reminiscing…”

                RED FACE:           I’ll bust yer face for that kinda talk!

The muscular red-faced man pulls back his fist, ready to throw a punch at the gruff man.

The group decides to stand by and watch. Qarzdaq makes a motion to Burton suggesting that he should use his Mage Hand to trip the aggressor.

Burton, thinking it would be funny, but for no other reason, does so and the man crashes on his stupid face.

The three men jump back and start laughing at his clumsiness.

The red-faced man, now furious, gets back to his feet to start the fight again.

They all decide to just watch this unfold.

                DAPPER:                              Hold up there guy, we were just talking about an old incident – we have no dog in this fight. This has nothing to do with what we believe.

                RED FACE:           I don’t care!

The large man decks the dapper man in the face, causing him to fall backward. Qhortho start laughing at the scene unfolding before them.

The gruff man jumps on the assailant’s back, who then responds by spinning around to throw him off. He does so successfully and the gruff man gets thrown directly into Qhortho then drops onto the ground. Qhortho laughs even harder as the aged man lies there. No one provides aid to this innocent victim.

The attacker shakes his head, looks around in bewilderment, “god damn it…” then walks off in a random direction.

Qhortho lifts the man up one-handed and gets him on his feet.

                GRUFF:                 What the fuck do you guys want?

                QHORTHO:          You need to improve your fighting abilities friend!

Clearly pissed off and probably a little embarrassed, “get the fuck outta my face…”

Qhortho tells him “OK!” then shoves him strongly. He falls over some nearby patrons on the lawn. Qhortho continues to laugh at him.

All this commotion attracts the City Watch. A number of them walk over to the Assembly, one of them steps up, “So what’s going on here?”

                SHADOW:            Some drunk guy over there is causing trouble all around.

Qarzdaq helps by pointing him out. Burton adds that the guy tried to pick a fight with the older fellas right over here.

One City Watchman talks to the oldest man, one goes to speak with the dapper one who was punched, a third approaches the gruff man Qhortho pushed, two more City Watchmen are speaking with the people he fell over, and one remains speaking with the Assembly.

The guard speaking with the Assembly asks them to recount the situation. Qhortho says that he was struck first and he just pushed the man away from him. After some back-and-forth with Qhortho maintaining that he was the victim here, the guard walks off to reconcile the stories collected by his colleagues.

They appear to wrap everything up and take the actual instigator into custody. This appears to be a rather common occurrence and they are staffed to deal with this pretty well. Everyone goes back to their business of eating and getting drunk.

Phoenix Hard Cider

Now that things have settled down, they can finally enjoy their beverages. Qhortho drinks the Hard Cider and it burns all the way down. It is extremely strong, but he maintains his composure.

Burton and Qarzdaq take swigs of their drinks and become powerless to its effects.

They both begin to taunt the guards – loudly questioning why they needed to talk to these soldiers and peons.

Qhortho starts asking the closest guard about where sport fighting might be found. The City Watchman tells him that all fighting is not condoned by the city and that any fights he might find are illegal. Qhortho asks about where such fights might exist, hypothetically.

Tholannan steps in and tells the guard that he will keep watch over this crew of misfits and that there is no need to worry.

The guard questions whether this is possible, knowing the power of the Cider on many people – especially those new to its effects. The guard attempts to take Qarzdaq and Burton into custody just until they sober up enough to not be a nuisance.

Shadowsilver, notably quiet during this exchange, says she’s not going anywhere, which is fine by the guards at this point.

Tholannan seeing this situation devolving rather quickly, Blesses the entire group.

Qarzdaq and Burton immediately resist. Qarzdaq stands there ready to fight, pulling away from them with every attempt to grab him. Burton attempts to run, but a guard snags him and tucks him under his arm, Burton’s legs kicking in the air the way a dog attempts to paddle when being held above water.

Burton makes it sound like he’s a lion roaring at the guards… or so he thinks. It comes out as a mild meow.

One guard finally grapples Qarzdaq, but he Blinks out of existence.

The next few minutes unfold in absolute chaos and confusion. Shadowsilver senses this and decides to leave the group to avoid any consequences. Tholannan looks at the scene as entertainment, given that none of it is falling back on him, so he just sits back, sipping his beer, watching the events unfold.

Burton uses his Mage Hand to retrieve his tiny tarts and feather then yells out to the guard carrying him, “Hey, what do you call a Dothraki riding a squid?!”

“I don’t fucking care!”

“Khal Amari!”

He falls over in a fit of laughter, releasing Burton, who then runs off amidst the apple trees.

The guards try to apprehend Qhortho, but he is totally unmovable, so he starts laughing at them.

Qarzdaq reappears and casts Mirror Image, creating three duplicates of himself, then blinking out of existence again.

Burton peeks out around a tree and sees a young man carrying 4 mugs to his friends. Burton uses his Mage Hand to pull the man’s pants down causing him to trip and spill beer all over other patrons. The mood worsens as Burton creates the illusion of cackling laughter around the area.

Many of the patrons are getting up to leave now, clearly freaked out. As one of them gets up, Burton makes it sound like he lets out a loud fart.

The City Watchmen and Qhortho agree that if he helps stop his friends from causing any more ruckus, they will forget any of this happened.

Qarzdaq appears behind the guard and Messages him with cackling laughter.

The guard yells out “What in the bloody fuck is that?!”

All the patrons within yelling distance look over at his terrified face.

Qhortho looks around for Burton, decides that’s going to be a lot of trouble and goes after Qarzdaq. He tries to grab one of the 4 Qarzdaqs and his arms go right through. He tries again and, again, his arms go right through. Qhortho is now visibly and audibly annoyed as the last 2 Qarzdaqs disappear.

Qarzdaq, now finding it more fun to torment Qhortho, Blinks back into existence behind Qhortho. He takes a moment to Message the same guard, “I’m right behind you!” The guard quickly turns around, his sanity clearly slipping.

Qhortho looks around and finds him – he attempts to grapple him with prejudice and this time he snags him! “Settle down friend until these guards go away.” The second Qarzdaq disappears. The grapple does not impact the ability to get to materials or use somatic gestures, but will happen at disadvantage if applicable.

Meanwhile, Burton finds a mark and uses his Mage Hand to tip up the bottom of his mug when he goes to take a drink, causing the beverage to pour all over the woman’s shirt. This causes the men in the area to get a little rowdy – and thus, the first wet shirt contest is born.

Burton’s next mark is a couple of maesters in training. He uses his Mage Hand to grab one of their asses. The target looks around for who could have done that. Not having found the culprit, he eyes his friend suspiciously.

All this time, Shadowsilver has taken advantage of the chaos to exercise her pickpocketing skills, getting away with 14gp 8sp from the first target.

Her next target catches her, she slaps him leaving a bright red handprint on his face. She tells him to move on and he decides that’s for the best.

She sees that things are settling down and heads back towards the group.

The guard that was laughing finally gets back up and begins searching for Burton. He is joined by two other guards.

They decide to split up for the search. One of them starts to get too close for Burton’s comfort, so he waits for the guard to be walking behind a young couple. Burton uses his Mage Hand to squeeze the woman’s ass and slide a finger between her ass cheeks. She screams and spins around, seeing the guard. Her companion gets visibly upset by this and approaches the guard.

The man demands an explanation from the guard; he gives none, but tells the man that he is searching for a fugitive and he’d better move along – and he does… because he’s not going to get in a fight with a member of the Oldtown City Watch – that would be crazy!

Finally, the belligerence wears off. Burton feels like he’s just awaken from a dream. He decides to stay in hiding and lay low, now that he has his wits about him.

Shadowsilver reunites with the group and moments later one of the City Watchmen approaches the group, “we couldn’t find your little friend, but we’re going to keep looking for a little longer. (He turns to Qhortho) Thank you for taking care of your friend here. (He turns to Qarzdaq) It looks like you’ve recovered? Be careful with the Hard Cider; Phoenix Pyre makes a pretty stiff drink, which is why we have so much of the City Watch stationed here.”

“Like I said, we’re going to continue looking for your friend for a little longer but after that, we are going to call it quits. To warrants will be issued for his arrest, nothing more will come of this. If you run into him before we do, just keep him in line and we won’t ever find him, and that’s fine by us. Have a good night lady and gentlemen.”

Qarzdaq decides to call it a night and heads up to his room.

A Night Out on the Town

                THOL:                    Thanks for stepping in there to handle the situation. Should we go back with Qarzdaq or get another drink?

                QHORTHO:          I’d like to go for a walk around town. I want to find a street fight.

                SHADOW:            I’ll go along to check out what we see, but if you get into any fights, you’d better be prepared to finish it on your own.

                QHORTHO:          I don’t want some street goer, I want a real challenge!

                THOL:                    Perhaps some money can be made on this venture… Let’s go take a walk.

They figure the best place to start looking is down by the docks. Typically, the presence of squalor is the best indicator of less-than-legal activities, but since Oldtown doesn’t have it to the same degree, it’s tough to know where to look. Nevertheless, they continue their evening stroll.

About an hour later, still walking the streets, the trio happens upon a busier part of town and they detour off their “mission” to check it out. They travel down one of the main offshoots from the Roseroad that is bustling though all the shops on the street are closed. The shops they pass are:

• Wine shop, Brown Parcels Company
• Candy shop, The Sweet Teat
• Alchemist, Kevan’s Chems​​
• Cheese specialty shop and general foods, Bedder’s Cheddars​
• ​Trade Goods, Trader Jye’s​
• Tool shop, Hand and Barrel​
• Game store, Raging Pwner
• Music shop, The Whimsical Bard​
• ​Practical Jokes and Novelties, Juggling Muggle​​
• ​Pet shop, Wyrmlings and Wyrmlings​
• Gem shop, Boland’s Bling​​

All of the shops are in a long line on each side of the street, and although there are some alleyways here and there between sets of shops, they do not appear to have rear entrances.
​

It appears that as the street developed over time, the shops had been nestled very closely together to take advantage of the high traffic value of the real estate. The shops don’t look like they are overly secured; most have a large picture window and a strong wooden door secured by a lock. The gem shop looks to have the sturdiest lock, but Shadowsilver notes that none of them would pose any real barrier for her to enter.

They finally reach what seems to be the epicenter of after-hours activity. Street merchants have their wares displayed on ragged blankets and street performers show off their various arts for tips. Shadowsilver notices that one of the jugglers is using thieves’ cant – broadcasting “through this alley to the Thieves’ Market”.The Thieves’ Market

Shadowsilver says they should go check out this alley, pointing towards a desolate and uninviting 5-foot wide passage between two of the closed shops.

Tholannan asks what she sees down there and Shadowsilver conveys what she saw and adds that if they are looking for a fight, this might be a good place to find out where to go. Tholannan and Qhortho agree but begin to question this as they make their way through the twists and turns of the narrowing alleyway. They all tighten their coin purses ensuring all of their personal effects are safe and secure.

Tholannan expresses concern for what might happen in the following moments and Shadowsilver agrees that they need to keep their wits about them. Tholannan Blesses the group and they continue. The alleyway narrows to 3 feet, making it most difficult for Qhortho.

They soon arrive at a wooden, iron-clad door with 6 locks vertically aligned with the door handle. In the middle of the door, at eye level for Shadowsilver, is an outline of a small cutout roughly 8 inches wide by 1 foot tall.

The cutout opens, revealing a woman’s face with pretty features. She smiles at Shadowsilver, steps backward to show her hand, then uses Theives’ Cant to say “what do you want?”

Shadowsilver responds using the unspoken language, “we’re here for the thieves’ market”.

Tholannan and Qhortho can’t see any of this happening; they only hear the quiet door noises without any vocal interaction.

The woman behind the door continues the conversation, “Pass something to me worth at least 50gp per person. You will have it returned upon leaving. It is a bond of sorts.”

Shadowsilver shakes her head in disbelief – especially that any items would be returned. After all this is a thieves’ market… She whispers back to her friends about the request. They express similar discomfort – Qhortho’s includes the physical as well; being pressed between two dingy walls does not bode well for his psyche.

Shadowsilver responds to the woman that she wants to peek inside because she knows nothing of this market and that if her items do not get returned, there will be hell to pay.

The woman responds that this is the mark of a true thief. She steps backward farther to allow Shadowsilver to peer inside the dimly-lit tavern-like room. The inside appears to be constructed of unfinished masonry, containing multiple wooden tables and chairs with patrons sitting and speaking in inaudible tones. There is a mid-sized bar manned by a short, stout, beardless man.

Shadowsilver turns her head to speak to her friends.

                SHADOW:            It doesn’t look like there is fighting to be had in here, but I am willing to go forward just to see it, since this is my main interest. If you don’t want to come with me, I understand.

                QHORTHO:          Ask where we can find a fight where betting can be had.

Shadowsilver turns back to the door and relays the request to the woman in thieves’ cant.

She tells Shadowsilver that the warehouse district closer to the docks would be the place to look for semi-organized events like that. This message is relayed and Qhortho and Tholannan decide to leave for the warehouses.

After they are out of sight, Shadowsilver attempts to persuade the gatekeeper that woman-to-woman, she doesn’t really need to give over an item worth 50gp, does she?

The gatekeeper agrees to let the admission bond slide. She closes the small door and the clink of a sturdy latch is heard. A moment later, the locks are sequentially unlocked with clicks of greater and greater authority.

As the door is being unlocked, Shadowsilver rechecks all of her personal belongings, making sure that nothing is easily accessible – except her weapons of course.

Finally a slide chain is unhooked and the door opens.

Shadowsilver walks into the tavern. There are fewer than 10 people in the entire place. Everyone, except one, is in a group of 2-4 people, talking in hushed tones. No one is drinking. The one man by himself is dressed as an Oldtown City Watchman wearing a black wool overcoat on top of his uniform. Stringy dark hair shows from a small top hat, a vertical scar on his right cheek. He is playing a game you recognize as solitude, but with a strange deck of cards that look to be hand drawn.

Something seems a little off with his uniform – perhaps he is not truly of the City Watch.

A small canal in the tavern leads out to a portcullis that looks like a sewer grate. A wooden dock, appropriate for a rowboat, protrudes into the canal. A small masonry walkway is on the other side of the canal, with no apparent way to get there other than using a boat.

The gatekeeper, switches to vocal communication:

Since I do not recognize you, I will go over our rules of civility. Within our walls, there will be no violence and no theft, we meet such charges swiftly and directly. If you have items you wish to part with, you may donate them to the bartender here for drink vouchers – we are adamant that we do not buy or trade in stolen goods, but items donated to the establishment are met with… gratitude. We donate to others outside this establishment in kind. There is a man in here most times who collects these vouchers for some reason. I’ve heard that he’s even bought and sold them from people with gold, but we do not condone it. However, we believe in a free market and will not specifically disallow it.

Shadowsilver asks about poisoner’s kits and is pointed towards a man with bug eyes and short stringy dark hair poking out from a yellow bandana. He is standing behind a small wooden frame storefront against the drab stone masonry with various items on display.

She walks over and mention’s poisoner’s kit they negotiate a price and she tries to throw in some of her counterfeit coins. He notices right away and points it out without accusation. She is absolutely flabbergasted that she even HAS such coins! They inspect them together and she pays him with real gold. He takes no offense, “it’s happened more than once.”

She walks over to the “City Watchman” with the vertical scar and asks if she can join him for a minute. He continues to look at his cards, slowly flipping over card after card. He responds with an even-toned, “sure,” barely glancing up at her.

                SHADOW:            You look like a man of quite some skill. That guard uniform you’ve got is quite convincing indeed.

He continues to flip over each card slowly, but deliberately.

                WATCHMAN:     Yeah… It does its job.

                SHADOW:            I’m new to town and looking for valuable items that might be of interest.

                WATCHMAN:     Well… I have drink vouchers. I can sell you some if you’re looking to get a drink and don’t have any items to donate. I have single drink vouchers for 5cp, 10-drink vouchers for 5sp, 100-drink vouchers for 5gp, and 1000-drink vouchers for 50gp. I like to have them, so I also will buy ones if you have any for sale.

                SHADOW:            Ok.

She gets up and goes to the bartender.

A short, stout, beardless man with a jagged scar across his forehead greets her, “Can I interest you in a beverage?”

                SHADOW:            Not right now, but are there any items that are in high demand for you these days?

                BARTENDER:      We tend to like to donate precious stones, jewelry, art…

                SHADOW:            Art, huh? Is there a thriving art scene in Oldtown?

                BARTENDER:      There is. Did G tell you how this works?

                SHADOW:            I do understand, I was just wondering which types of items would get me the most drinks vouchers.

                BARTENDER:      And just to be clear, this isn’t a trade for vouchers. You donate to the bar, we donate drinks to you.

Shadowsilver looks across the bar to see what types of drinks they have and only sees a bright yellow beverage in a pitcher.

                SHADOW:            So what types of items do you accept for donations?

                BARTENDER:      The items I mentioned and anything else that may be difficult to sell… poisons, perhaps…

Shadowsilver’s mind immediately goes back to that damn maester chain… missed opportunity.

                SHADOW:            What if I were interested in buying poisons? Is there a place in town to get them?

                BARTENDER:      Yes. Since you’ve been admitted here, sharing this sort of information is perfectly acceptable. Go to Kevan’s Chems. He’s a strange fellow, but ask him about that. I have heard that is THE place to go.

                SHADOW:            I appreciate your time.

She then goes to leave. The greeter notices and unlocks the door. Shadowsilver leaves the establishment for the warehouse district.

​Aidin’ & Abettin’

Tholannan and Qhortho leave the alleyway and head down towards the warehouse district. No one is outside any of the warehouses, but as they approach, there appears to be some commotion and possibly cheering inside one of the buildings guarded by two members of the City Watch.

The two guards just nod at them as they walk inside to a boxing match. Qhortho gets very excited. After making their way through the crowd a bit, they can see a table set up to place bets on the fight.

One of the current boxers lands a solid right hook his opponent’s jam, spinning him around to land flat on his chest. The crowd erupts with roughly half the people ripping up scraps of paper, presumably their bet vouchers.

The next two fighters enter the ring in their respective corners while much of the crowd lines up at the betting table.

A second table appears to be where fighters can sign-up. Qhortho strides up to the table.

                QHORTHO:          I am Kalakka Qhortho, son of Khal Zhavorso, the great Dragon Khal of the Grass Sea! I would like to enter your competition!

                ORGANIZER:      You have come to the right place Dothraki. The entry fee is 50gp.

                QHORTHO:          What do I get if I win?

                ORGANIZER:      You will get 80% of the total entry fees.

Qhortho leans in.

                QHORTHO:          Is this the same deal you give to everyone or are you hiking the price on me because I am obviously a foreigner?

                ORGANIZER:      Alright 25gp – that’s the real price…

Qhortho agrees to pay. The organizer checks the gold to be sure it’s real – after all, he is a foreigner – and informs him to get ready because he’ll be in the next fight.

Tholannan asks about the odds and the bookie tells him that it depends on how the betting goes. Right now it’s even money.

He then goes through the crowds to spur up some rumors to turn the odds against Qhortho. Qhortho knows this is the plan and so he tries not to show off his strength while he warms up.

As he circulates through the crowd, Tholannan says things like:

• I heard this Dothraki… He has a soft spot for little kittens… What kind of a man is that?!
• See that guy over there? (pointing at Qhortho) I saw him walking with a limp… I’m not so sure about him.
• That Dothraki there puked after having only one of those light ales at the bar.

Tholannan approaches Qhortho’s opponent while he’s warming up. The fighter looks physically bigger than Qhortho and well-trained. Tholannan tells him that it looks like he fights well, wishes him luck, and walks back to Qhortho.

                THOL:                    So you ready for this?

                QHORTHO:          I’m thirsty for it!

Tholannan casts Aid on both of them to increase their current and max hit points for the next 8 hours. He then readies himself to Bless Qhortho just as he enters the ring.

Tholannan goes back out into the crowd and spreads more rumors:

• I heard this guy wears pink underwear.
• One time I saw him make love to a horse.

As he’s making these comments and people are looking across the crowded room at Qhortho and laughing, Qhortho looks over at Tholannan and the others and gives a grinning thumbs up.

The previous fight is ending now and Tholannan and Qhortho up their bets a bit more as he prepares to enter the ring. Tholannan Blesses Qhortho as planned and the two fighters enter the ring, preparing for battle.

His opponent flexes, showing off his muscles on top of muscles. The crowd cheers.

The referee gets in the middle of the ring, introduces the opponents and calls out, “FIGHT!”

Qhortho’s eyes go fully black, he flexes and releases the screaming whinny of The Stallion.

The crowd boos loudly as Qhortho lands his first punch. Many of them rip up their betting vouchers early and toss them on the ground.

They make several trades, punch after punch. Qhortho then does a light left jab, which his opponent dodges, then follows up with a hard right uppercut; the fighter’s jaw effectually moving into the uppercut as part of his dodge. The impact is enough to lift him well off his feet, launching him away from Qhortho, and landing on his back with a loud thud – the sound reverberating throughout the warehouse. Qhortho whinnies with excitement.

As the crowd boos loudly, Tholannan and Qhortho quickly collect their winnings and get out of there as soon as possible.

Shadowsilver is arriving just as they are walking out of the warehouse.

                SHADOW:            So what’s up?

                THOL:                    We gotta get out of here.

                QHORTHO:          I may have angered the locals.

                SHADOW:            Understood.Burton’s Turn

On their way back to Phoenix Pyre, the three of them trade stories of what they’d experienced that evening. However, the evening isn’t quite through with Shadowsilver or Burton…

Burton is crossing the lawn at Phoenix Pyre just as the three of them are walking up to the inn. They bring Burton up to speed.

Burton expresses interest in checking out the Thieves’ Market – the others go back to their rooms. Shadowsilver sneaks back out to pass some time by pickpocketing random marks on the street.

Burton goes to the part of town Shadowsilver described, looking for the street performer to provide the direction to the specific alleyway.

Burton sees the direction Shadowsilver spoke of and slinks off down the alley. He makes his way to the door and the smaller door opens. At first he doesn’t see anything. He takes a few steps back to be able to see inside the opening a little better, and sees a pretty face in the opening. Once she makes eye contact, she smiles. She then takes a step back and, in thieves’ cant, asks what he wants.

Burton responds in kind, “I’d like to check out the Thieves’ Market.”

                GREETER:             Pass something to me worth at least 50gp. You will have it returned upon leaving. Think of it as a bond.

                BURTON:             50gp? That’s a bit pricey for an entry fee.

                GREETER:             You’ll have it returned when you leave.

                BURTON:             That puts me a bit at ease, but I’m still a little wary. Can I just give you 10gp?

                GREETER:             It is not money, but an item with that value.

                BURTON:             How about this?

He produces a blue quartz gem.

                GREETER:             Ok, that’ll do.

She closes the small door, which is followed by the sound of a sturdy latch being engaged. The locks are then unlocked, with satisfyingly authoritative clunks. A slide chain is then heard and the main door opens.

Burton receives the same vocally-delivered speech about the civility rules that Shadowsilver heard earlier.

Recognizing the voucher dealer based on Shadowsilver’s description, Burton approaches his table.

                BURTON:             Hmmm… Interesting game here my friend. What manner of game is this?

He flips over his next card.

                WATCHMAN:     Solitude.

He flips the next card in the deck.

                BURTON:             Ah. I see. Do you always play Solitude in crowded rooms?

                WATCHMAN:     This doesn’t look crowded.

                BURTON:             It does a little bit. I see groups of people everywhere.

                WATCHMAN:     Fair enough. I suppose that, yes I do.

                BURTON:             Well, enough idle chit chat. That’s an interesting uniform. I am also into the art of disguise and making myself look as different people sometimes. Why do you wear this uniform? What do you do?

                WATCHMAN:     I mostly stick around here, but it does have its uses out around town.

                BURTON:             What sorts of benefits do you get from it?

                WATCHMAN:     The ability to hide in plain sight. The name is Jarvas, Jarvas Flowers.

                BURTON:             Pleased to meet you Jarvas. I am Burton, just Burton. This is the Thieves’ Guild, is there any learning of the Art of Thievery here?

                JARVAS:               This is not an academy or a guild. It’s more a place to communicate with others of similar interests. If you have any questions about items you wish to donate, you should speak with the bartender.

                BURTON:             Could you tell me of any interesting stores around town?

                JARVAS:               There are a few that come to mind… if you’re looking for potions or need anything apothecary-wise, Kevan’s Chems is the place to go. The Juggling Muggle is a novelty shop that has some interesting items.

                BURTON:             Thank you for your time sir, I’ll let you get back to your Solitude.

Burton turns to walk away and stealthily attempts to get within earshot of another table. They notice him right away and quiet their discussion. He decides it’s time to leave. He retrieves his gem from the greeter and departs through the entryway.

Burton heads back out to the main street and peruses the closed shops — or better put, cases the joints.

He takes a special interest in Boland’s Bling. He peeks inside through the display window and sees a number of large gems of a quality he’s rarely seen before.  The more expensive gems each have their own display case under lock and key.

Taking note of the Oldtown City Watch patrolling the street, he discreetly searches for a chimney or any other way inside besides the front door and finds none. He figures it’s time to get some sleep and heads back to the inn.

​Midnight Stroll

It gets to be around midnight, when Shadowsilver wants to hit the streets for some good ole fashioned B&E. Instead of going alone, she decides, in what seems to be a last minute call, to knock on Burton’s door.

                BURTON:             Ah, good evening my lady.

                SHADOW:            Hey Burton, I think it’s time we do some burgling. I think we might be able to use each other this night.

                BURTON:             Ah, alright, sounds like a fine idea!

                SHADOW:            The guards seem to be more effective than most places we’ve been, so I think distractions may be in order. I say we go out, get as much as we can, and split everything 50/50.

                BURTON:             Sounds like a plan!

They leave the inn and head back down towards the main street shops. They figure if the risk is going to be high for stealing from anyplace in this town, they may as well go for the highest reward.

Their plan is to heist Boland’s Bling then Kevan’s Chems.

As they are walking, they discuss how to handle the merchandise. Burton says that he’s going to keep his, but he suggests the Thieves’ Market if she would like to sell hers.

As they scout the street, they see a few officers patrolling the street and a few more stationed at regular intervals. They decide distractions may be in order to prevent being noticed as they enter and exit the gem shop.

When they get close to the shop, Burton sneaks up close to the closest-stationed guard and casts a Minor Illusion to make it sound like someone is being robbed in an alleyway. The guard takes off running toward the direction that the sound seemed to come from. Meanwhile, Shadowsilver is picking the lock and gets inside. Burton sneaks across the street and enters behind her. Shadowsilver waits for Burton to sneak in and locks the door behind him.

They get behind the counter as quickly and quietly as they can. Once they are safely out of view from potential passersby, Burton uses his Mage Hand to pick one of the singular display cases with a large gemstone inside.

After checking the rest of the display cases for traps, they scramble to get as many items as they can within two minutes. They snag:

• 1 Large transparent blue-white diamond
• 1 Large black sapphire
• 20 blue sapphires
• 10 star rubies
• 20 jades
• 20 amethysts
• 25 pearls

Knowing that the likelihood of being caught increases with the amount of time they spend, they prepare to leave the store. They look outside and see a man walking up to the door. They run behind the counter to wait until the coast is clear.

Burton tells Shadowsilver to crouch down then casts a Minor Illusion to make the two of them appear as a shipping crate and they are hiding inside the illusion – he does this because Minor Illusion cannot mimic a background or any moving object. It MUST be a singular object, must be within 30 feet of the caster, and it lasts for 1 minute.

The door to the shop unlocks and opens. The man enters the shop, raises his arm, palm facing the ceiling, and a ball of soft light appears floating above his hand.

He looks around the shop while standing in place, blocking the door. He sees all empty display cases that previously contained gems.

Burton ditches the crate illusion and makes a sound of people escaping and running appear behind the man, which should not have been possible because the shop is 30 feet from front to back. At best, it would have been right on the man. Chalk it up to it being late and there being some disorientation. The man turns his head instinctively towards the door.

Shadowsilver take the opportunity to stand and shoot a poisoned arrow at the man while he looks away. It strikes true, dealing massive damage and she ducks back down. Burton whispers that they should do their best not to kill him. She doesn’t seem to care one way or the other.

Burton attempts to make him Laugh Hideously, which fails. The man vanishes.

Shadowsilver hops over the counter, dashes towards the door, and jumps to the top of the door, slamming through it and tumbling onto the street finishing the tumble on her feet. She then uses her Cunning Action to Dash so she can climb on top of the building she came out of.

A more detailed description of how this works:

Shadowsilver has a Speed of 30. She used her primary Action to Dash to run a total of 30 feet to make it TO the door and another 30 feet to make it through the door and onto the street. The door is hindering terrain so that takes 10 feet of Speed to make it through and she did it in the air with force, so the tumbling takes her 20 feet into the middle of the street in the same direction as she launched from the ground – directly out the door. She uses her Cunning Action to Dash again, providing ANOTHER 30 feet of movement. She moves 20 feet back to the building then scales the wall which is 10 feet tall, to get just above the door on the top of the building.

The street guards see her tumble out of the door – they yell “STOP!”

Shadowsilver yells back, “That person is trying to kill me!” They don’t buy it. They run after her, using their whistles to signal to other guards that they are in pursuit.

Burton uses a Minor Illusion to make his armor look like a rabid dog. However, this only looks like a picture of a dog – one that does not move and is entirely 2D and is attached to his regular-shaped body. Minor Illusion does not have the capability to make him appear as a real dog, since it must be a static OBJECT. He makes dog-like sounds and runs towards the bottom of the door, hoping to slide under the invisible man’s legs. He hits some sort of invisible barrier. He quickly regroups, runs back towards the counter, revealing his illusion for what it is making it go faint to those in the room.

Burton feels a slice from thin air as he runs away from the barrier, spilling blood.

Burton finishes his Dash by circling back to jump through the large picture window, taking some minor scrapes from the glass. He is crouching at the moment, looking like a picture of a dog that just got thrown through the window. He thinks about remaining motionless so the guards don’t see him for what he really is, but knows the invisible assailant is the graver threat!

A more detailed description of these chain of events:

Burton has a Speed of 25. He used his primary Action to cast Minor Illusion then used his Cunning Action to Dash to run a total of 50 feet to travel the 30 feet TO the door, hit the invisible barrier, run back 5 feet (provoking an attack of opportunity, which was a dagger strike), run towards the window another 5 feet, then use 10 feet to make it through the window and onto the street, just outside the window. The window itself is difficult terrain so it take 10 feet to move through the 5-foot block containing the window.

A cold blast of air smacks Burton in the back almost taking him down for good.

Shadowsilver whispers down to Burton, “Catch!” then tosses a healing potion (as an Action) down to Burton. This goes unnoticed by the guards, hidden by the shadows. She then Dashes (as a Cunning Action) along the roof of the shops, headed towards the inn (60 feet).

Guards are coming out in full force with torches lit. The ones that saw her crash out the door are running as quickly as they can following Shadowsilver, though the ones coming down the street ahead of her do not appear to notice her bounding across the rooftops. They are closing on both of them, now only 75 feet away.

Burton downs the potion (as an Action) and Dashes (as a Cunning Action) down the street (50 feet), Burton only 10 feet behind Shadowsilver.

A fireball erupts, engulfing the two suspects. Their dexterity saves the day as they both avoid the full impact. Shadowsilver’s dragon-scale armor helps out further by shielding some of the fire from her body.

Shadowsilver quickly deliberates whether Burton’s life is worth the 500gp value of her deep red sparkling healing potion. In an act she may regret later, she tosses him the expensive potion then Dashes another 60 feet diagonally to get away from the street where Burton is running.

Burton snags the potion out of the air and immediately quaffs it.  He then Dashes another 50 feet, now 20 feet behind Shadowsilver, the guards only 65 feet behind Burton.

Unbeknownst to Shadowsilver and Burton, the magic-wielder flies high into the air keeping eyes on the two of them from above.

The guards get within 5 feet of Burton.

Shadowsilver continues running, along the rooftops, avoiding all eyes.

Burton, thinking he’s caught, stops and turns around. The guards run past him. Confused, he watches them and takes the opportunity to slink into the shadows of the nearby building. He uses Disguise Self to make himself appear as a guard, grabs a torch from his bag, and runs up the street after the other two guards. He will pretend to be a part of the search party if they were to see him.

Getting close to the edge of the shopping district rooftops, Shadowsilver slows down, looks behind her and sees no one following her. Seeing the threat as successfully avoided, she assesses her options. Ten guards are between her and the bridge leading to the inn. Another ten guards are on the street she ran from and five guards are on the next street over, which also adjoins the block of buildings she’s on now. She decides that perhaps now is the right time to head back to the Thieves’ Market to sell her wares. That way, if she is caught, she won’t have any of the stolen merchandise on her. Remaining on the rooftops, she stealthily heads back the way she came, looking for the first opportunity to get back to run across and scale the buildings one block over away from the Boland’s Bling.

Burton is finally noticed by the guards, who appear to be caught by surprise that he was right behind them. Given that he looks the part, they treat him no differently than any other City Watchman. After tactfully making his way through the groups of guards, he douses his torch and stashes it away as he calmly walks to Phoenix Pyre. He walks around to a darkened area where he feels safe then removes his disguise. He then enters the inn and goes straight to Tholannan’s room.

I’m Not Dead Yet!

Tholannan, a little groggy, answers the door.

                BURTON:             (in a half-drunken, half-invigorated voice) Hey man, rough night out… could you heal me up a little bit?

                THOL:                    Yeah of course! What the hell happened?

                BURTON:             Oh it’s a long story… we’ll tell you tomorrow… For now I’d just like to get healed and get to bed.

Tholannan casts Cure Wounds.

                BURTON:             Ah… Perfect. That’s what I needed! Thanks man!

                THOL:                    Take it easy; you look like shit.

Burton leaves in the direction to his room.

Tholannan looks outside and sees a bunch of people with torches along the street, but doesn’t really make too much of it.

​Fencing

Burton walks outside and heads towards the Thieves’ Guild.

Shadowsilver makes his way to the Thieves’ Guild and finds the entrance. Following the same procedures, she enters without having to pay the entry bond.

She goes straight to the bar and asks how many drinks she might get if she were to donate her fine gems.

He examines them all carefully and offers her 46,400 vouchers. She negotiates for a higher price. He offers 47,000. She says that if he offers 50,000, they have a deal. He says the best he can do is 48,000. She agrees.

She then approaches the “City Watchman” sitting alone at one of the tables. After some short small talk, she expresses an interest in selling her vouchers. They exchange names for the first time – his is Jarvas Flowers.

Jarvas swings open the right side of his overcoat revealing stacks upon stacks of vouchers in numerous pockets in the coat’s lining. She sells all of her vouchers and asks if it can all be done in platinum pieces; he obliges.

                SHADOW:            Thank you Jarvas. If you ever need anything, you can count on me.

                JARVAS:               To you too.

Shadowsilver turns around, and sees the greeter at the door interacting with a new entry.

Burton, now at the Thieves’ Guild entrance, persuades the greeter to hold his blue quartz stone as his entry bond and she agrees, and unlocks the door. As soon as he walks in, his and Shadowsilver’s eyes meet.

They walk over to each other.

                SHADOW:            I hope those potions proved valuable to you.

                BURTON:             It did. It did my lady. You will be compensated.

                SHADOW:            That last one was worth 500gp, just so you know.

Putting up no fight…

                BURTON:             I know, I know they are. I have a feeling I’m about to get a good amount of gold.

                SHADOW:            I’m interested to see what that diamond is worth.

They both approach the bar — Burton asks to donate some gems.

Shadowsilver uses thieves’ cant under the bar counter to tell Burton that they gave her 48,000 drink vouchers.

                BARTENDER:      These are quite nice. These donations would be much appreciated. I’d be willing to donate 46,500 drink vouchers if you’re willing to donate these gems to the bar.

                BURTON:             I was told this might be worth 52,000 drinks. (he says with a smirk)

                BARTENDER:      (also smirking now) I don’t know who might have told you that, but I imagine it would be someone who recently made a donation. I’ll be totally up front with you. I donated 47,000 vouchers and I’ll give you the same offer.

                SHADOW:            Wasn’t me…

                BURTON:             I don’t think you did 47,000. You are correct in who told me that, but she told me that it was 48,000.

                BARTENDER:      The best I’ll do is 48,500.

They agree and the “exchange” is made.

                BARTENDER:      Would you like to have a drink?

                BURTON:             Sure, and he hands over 1 voucher.

The bartender smirks and sidesteps to the pitcher of bright yellow liquid. He pours it into a glass and says “Cheers!”

Burton eyes the glass then turns to Shadowsilver, “Hey Shadow… just watch out for me if something comes to pass after I drink this.”

Remembering back to the Phoenix Hard Cider, she tells him she’d rather he sell his vouchers before drinking that beverage so she can get the reimbursement for the healing potion. He agrees and sells his 48,499 vouchers to Jarvas, in the largest denominations possible.

                SHADOW:            Do you want to go ahead and pay me that 500gp now? Because I saved your life. To high profit. I’m just sayin’.

                BURTON:             I’ve told you multiple times, yes, I know.

                SHADOW:            I just wanted to reiterate…

Burton hands over 50pp to Shadowsilver and swiftly downs his drink.

Shadowsilver wonders if the effects might make him more attracted to adults for a change.

Burton is able to swallow it down. It is quite foul… The texture is chalky and horrible. Its blandness is its only saving grace.

They go back to the bartender top ask about the beverage.

Pitsy, the bartender, tells him that Buddy’s Bright has so little alcohol content that it is impossible to become intoxicated. Patrons have a saying about it: Won’t get you drunk, always lets you down.

He continues, “among friends, it has become a rite of passage, but it is rarely drunk for any other purpose than a shared short miserable moment before drinking something better. Be careful of who you order one for – especially for those you do not know … and if you ever do, be sure to order one for yourself or it will likely be taken as a strong insult.”

Burton turns to Shadowsilver.

                BURTON:             My lady… please let me buy you a drink.

She declines.

                PITSY:                    So I imagine you have some wealth at this point. If you’re looking for more interesting wares than what Gimpa’ sells over there (he lazily points towards the man at the storefront along the wall), I can direct you to a friend of mine. It’s just across that small bridge there (now lazily pointing towards the canal).

They look over there and see nothing except the water. As they look back towards the bartender, something catches their eye and they turn back to the water. A small wooden bridge is there now as if it had been there all along. They turn back towards the bartender.

                PITSY:                    There are some interesting goods there.

The two patrons decide it’s worth checking out. They look across the bridge and see nothing except the drab wall and the walkway along the entire length. They start to cross the small bridge anyway, and as they reach the short apex after a few steps, a small wooden 3’x3′ disheveled shack appears before them. The door looks like it’s barely on its hinges.

Burton knocks and hears no reply. He tries to open the door and it is locked. Given how late in the night it is, the shop is probably closed at the moment.

                BURTON:             Well I bet this place doesn’t have an alarm!

                SHADOW:            Yeah, we could be right in and out!

They decide it’s time to head back to the inn. Burton uses his makeup kit to make Shadowsilver look like an old lady and he makes himself look like a child.

                SHADOW:            (Sarcastically) Exactly what you’d see at 1am. (Not so sarcastically) Perhaps if you made me look like a maester, it would look normal.

Burton retrieves his gem and the leave the Thieves’ Market. They do pass some of the City Watch, but they are only told to be careful. They make it back to the inn without any further incident. They go to their respective rooms and do their own before-sleep rituals of setting alarms.

​A New Day​

Qarzdaq awakes refreshed and goes downstairs for breakfast. As he’s enjoying his nicely cooked meal of fresh eggs and biscuits, on this beautiful day, excited about visiting the first Red Temple he’s seen in almost a year, six members of the Old Town City Watch enter the tavern led by a man in a red wool overcoat.

They walk up to the innkeeper, whisper some short words, and then three of them walk up the stairs. The other three stand watch near the main entrance.

Qarzdaq quickly sends a Message to Shadowsilver, “Guards on the way. Is there anything I should know about?”

This awakens Shadowsilver – she immediately gets her bearings and responds, “I don’t think there’s anything to worry about.”

—

Qarzdaq then sends the same Message to Tholannan.

Tholannan awakes and responds, “We may have a problem, but I don’t know why GUARDS would be looking for us. I’m coming down.”

He gets dressed and looks out his door carefully. Not seeing anyone, he leaves his room, locks the door, and descends the stairs as stealthily as he can. He sees Qarzdaq downstairs and takes a seat at his table.

—

Qarzdaq sends the same message to Burton.

Burton awakes in a slight panic and responds, “Why are they here? I don’t know… I don’t know what happened!” He quickly gets dressed, dons his stilts, disguises himself as a commoner, and leaves his room.

—

The guards arrive at Shadowsilver’s door, “OLD TOWN CITY WATCH. OPEN UP.”

She bangs on the shared wall between her and Qhortho’s room to alert him that something is amiss.

Qhortho wakes up and puts his ear against his door to eavesdrop on whatever is about to happen.

Shadowsilver opens the door to greet three guards, “What can I do for you?”

                WATCHMAN:     Where were you last night just after midnight?

                SHADOW:            I was here sleeping.

                WATCHMAN:     Anyone who can corroborate that story? We have someone that disagrees with that.

                SHADOW:            There was some weird mess that happened out on the lawn last night. I left that and went straight to bed.

A man wearing a red wool overcoat steps into view between the City Watchman and Shadowsilver, a little closer to her than she’d like. He eyes her up and down and says, “Yeah. This is her. This is the one that broke into the shop.”

                SHADOW:            I don’t know what you’re talking about.

                WATCHMAN:     Yeah? Well, we’re going to search…

They push past the man with the overcoat and crowd her backward, not overly violently, but definitely with authority. One of the guards may have gotten a little handsy with her while searching her person, but who’s to say for sure. Though this isn’t entirely unfamiliar to her, Shadowsilver makes a mental note of the guard’s distinctive messy black hair, dark eyes, and smooth facial features.

                SHADOW:            (Making light of the situation) At least you could buy me a meal first.

They don’t find anything except lots of platinum and gold. The man in the coat states that he thinks he knows what’s happened here. He then tells her that her arrow did quite a bit of damage to his shoulder – this isn’t just going away.

SHADOW:            You should speak to my friend…

                OVERCOAT:        (interrupting) We’re about to.

                SHADOW:            My friend that is a priest of R’hllor. I don’t know what you think, but I can tell you that we are not your enemy. And sure, I do have a lot of gold, but my party and I have done a lot to help many people in the many places we’ve visited, and we’ve been paid for our aid. It’s all been well-deserved; all of us have a lot of gold.

                OVERCOAT:        That’s fair, but I was there last night. You shot me with an arrow. I took to the skies above you, which is why I did not continue my retaliation against you. So I know it was you.

                SHADOW:            It’s hard for me to believe anyone who believes in the imaginary realm of magic.

He then instructs the guards to seize her.

Shadowsilver looks right into his eyes, “do you really want these people to be killed because of your problems? We can deal with this ourselves.”

He stares right back into her emerald eyes, “if you think you’re getting out of this by way of violence, you are dead wrong.”

She continues to glare at him, while two of the guards move around to the sides of her. One holds her wrists together behind her back, the other holds her elbow.

                SHADOW:            I don’t know what you’re thinking, but you’re not getting what you want. I’ll go along with you for now.

They lead her down the hallway to the stairs. As they’re walking, she asks the man in the overcoat whether she knows Andrea Redmess. He responds that he’s never heard of her. He stops at the second floor landing and the three guards bring Shadowsilver into the main dining area and sit her down at one of the empty tables.

Qarzdaq stands up and approaches the guards.

                QARZDAQ:          What seems to be the problem here?

                WATCHMAN:     None of your business. Go sit down and enjoy your meal.

                QARZDAQ:          I’m just a lowly priest here to administer and preach the good word to my friend here. Would you oblige the holy man with answers to his questions? Surely.

                WATCHMAN:     She is suspected of a crime, seen by an extremely credible eye witness…

                SHADOW:            It’s total bullshit.

                WATCHMAN:     She shot the man with a silver poisoned arrow. And don’t call me Shirley.

                QARZDAQ:          I’d love to talk to the accuser.

                WATCHMAN:     He will be down shortly.

Qarzdaq offers to buy him a drink. He flatly refuses.

                QARZDAQ:          Are you sure? The Cider here is fantastic!

                WATCHMAN:     Take a seat, priest and don’t obstruct our business here.

                QARZDAQ:          I’ll take a seat because I enjoy sitting… not because you told me to.

                WATCHMAN:     Do not get in the way of justice. We have no problem taking you into custody as well.

                QARZDAQ:          There is only one justice – that of R’hllor.

                WATCHMAN:     Not in this city.

                QARZDAQ:          No, pretty much everywhere.

---

The other three guards near the entrance head up the stairs and meet up with the man in the overcoat. They head up to the third floor. As they approach Burton’s door they pass a commoner with a strange gait but pay him no mind.

The guards arrive at Burton’s room and slam on the door, “OLD TOWN CITY WATCH. OPEN UP.”

Burton uses Minor Illusion to answer them, “What?!”

“CITY WATCH. OPEN THE DOOR.”

A half-sleeping “arrgghh – fine fine, let me get decent.” They wait outside the door for 30 seconds and then break the door in.

By this time, Burton is down the stairs. He whispers to Tholannan and Qarzdaq “it’s Burton… catch up with you later…” as he passes by their table and walks out the door.

Qarzdaq Messages Burton, “still nothing you want to tell me?”

Burton responds, “they were banging on my door and they have Shadow. Not sticking around to find out what they want.”

Qarzdaq Messages him again, “meet us at the Red Temple in a few hours.”

Burton responds, “I can only take this form for another hour. I think I have to get out of town but will be there then.”

Burton leaves the inn, and follows the Rose Road out of town.

---

The man in the overcoat comes rushing down the stairs followed by three watchmen.

                OVERCOAT:        He’s gone!

He walks over to Shadowsilver.

                OVERCOAT:        Where’s your accomplice? The little one.

                SHADOW:            I don’t know who you’re talking about.

Qarzdaq Messages Shadowsilver, “Don’t do anything to these guards. If you go to jail, we’ll break you out.”

Shadowsilver responds, “Since I know you’ll break me out, I’ll play it cool.”

                OVERCOAT:        STOP WITH THE GAMES! I know that you know that I know you did this.

                SHADOW:            I have my friends right here and you can see there’s no little ones among them.

                OVERCOAT:        He was with you last night. He tried to make himself look like a dog painting, ran into me when I was invisible, then he crashed through the window and I froze him then caught him on fire.

                SHADOW:            I don’t even know where to start with what you just said…

There is more back and forth.

                OVERCOAT:        The person you stole from is a very wealthy and powerful man.

                SHADOW:            Ok, but I didn’t steal from anybody.

Qarzdaq approaches the man in the overcoat.

                QARZDAQ:          My friend here – maybe sometimes she’s a little unsavory. Clearly you suspect her of something. No evidence that she’s done it, other than your eyewitness testimony, which I am not discounting, but that’s all you’ve got. I’m here as an impartial mediator, alright? What can we do to just make this go away?

                OVERCOAT:        Return the gems.

                QARZDAQ:          Well there’s no proof that she ever stole any gems so returning them isn’t possible. Let’s get more to the point. What can we offer you, with our enormous level of skill and abilities, to make this go away.

                OVERCOAT:        Accept that there is guilt, and I will give you another way to repay the debt, that will not involve a direct payment of gold or gems.

                SHADOW:            If you think I’m admitting guilt for something that cannot be proven, then you’re kidding yourself. Apparently you think your word is better than mine and I fail to see why that is so.

                OVERCOAT:        It is better than yours. Whether you see it or not is irrelevant.

                QARZDAQ:          What if we were to pay the price, whatever that may be, and not accept the guilt? And what actions do you propose?

                 SHADOW:           So you think you’re better than the common person. That says a lot about you.

                OVERCOAT:        It does. It does. I have the unique advantage of it being totally true.

The Watchmen squirm slightly, not liking where this is going. They clearly have some experience with where this will lead.

                 THOL:                   What sort of actions might you actually want us to do that would be able to wipe away such a great crime?

He looks at Tholannan, then turns back to Qarzdaq.

                OVERCOAT:        Don’t leave town. I will send for you later today.

                SHADOW:            We do have a ship if that helps anything.

                OVERCOAT:        You have a ship? Well, you trade me the ship and we’ll make this go away.

                SHADOW:            That’s laughable. Why would you need a ship if you can fly?

                OVERCOAT:        I’ve had enough of this insolence.

Shadowsilver continues to deny she did anything and apparently would like this to go to a judge. If this goes to the court, the Lord will administer punishment – most likely the loss of a hand; she may be able to claim highborn status from abroad and choose trial by combat, in which case, she would likely be battling the man in the overcoat. This path is not likely to end well for Shadowsilver and should probably be avoided.

                OVERCOAT:        You have some things to discuss. I will be back. Do not leave town.

Just before he leaves, they learn that the red overcoat is not a symbol of any faith. They ask about his use of fire and water magics. He responds that they are not willed by a god, but his own mastery of energies. Tholannan is interested and would like to talk more about this. He says that it is possible, but they need to see where all of this ends up.

He leaves Phoenix Pyre with all six guards.

They shout all sorts of questions at him – he leaves without answering any of them.

Shadowsilver says, “fuck that guy. He’s just pissed because I almost killed him.”

The group decides they want to go to Wesson’s Smithy to shop for weapons and will be leaving shortly.