CHAPTER ELEVEN:  IN the MEANTIME

Back at the tavern, much had been going on while the majority of the adventurers had been out and about, searching for a way to clear Ravenwind’s name.  Che’s herbs for his precious tequila supply were still missing, and something obviously needed to be done about that.  Quietus was, if not the man best suited for the job, at least the only one they had to do it.  Likewise, Che was still away, investigating 

Quietus
"Thank you, Mr. Tho. I will go out and see if I can't find lady Ranna. Perhaps I'll see if Ultima will let me "borrow" his friend, Bob the Kobold, as well. So long as the person in question is competent (and nice), I don't care who it is. While I'm out, I'll try to think of a way to make the casino profitable. I'll check out supplies and potential employees as well.

I hope you have a good evening, Mr. Tho."

Quietus exited the tavern, excited to get the casino up and running.

Che
After Quietus left, Tho ordered the orcs to begin building an extension to the tavern. "Ah, yes, Che will be happy with all the new things happening at his tavern. Best to do it while things are slow here."

Quietus
Quietus stops at a carpenter's shop. 

"Pardon me, sir, are you currently accepting new work?"

Carpenter: "Of course, what do you need?"

"Well, I'm just checking prices for now, but I'm looking into some tables, with..." Quietus gave him the specifications for the tables and receives a bid.

"I'll get back to you later," Quietus added, "By the way, you haven't seen a red-headed woman, named Ranna, about yea tall," he gestured, "or perhaps a kobold...about so tall, named Bob," he gestured again. "No? Okay, well if you do, let 'em know that Quietus is looking to offer them some work, and if they'd like, to meet me at The Rusty Sword. Thanks..."

Quietus leaves the shop and continues on his vitally important mission.

Ravenwind
A short, slender red-haired woman eased her way into the tavern, slipping between the patrons deftly and with a dancer's grace. One look at her face revealed a close resemblance to a certain servant of Torm, but where Ravenwind had a certain innocence about her, her sister had a sharp, defensive, wary aura. "I was told that someone by the name of Quietus was looking for me," she said to Tho.

"Well, now, lassie, Quietus isna here right now, but me name's Tho, brother of Thi. Might be able to help ye."

"Tho and Thi? Of the famous dwarven adventuring brothers The, Thi, Tho, and Thum?" Ranna asked. Tho was uncertain as to whether she were being sarcastic, since her expression did not change in the slightest.

Quietus
Quietus continued on his mission to find a light-fingered friend, and low, low prices. As he passed the old library, he saw a strange sight. A lamb was walking down the middle of the crowded street. After several minutes, it stopped and lay down in the middle of the road. Pedestrians continued to pass, completely ignoring it.

Quietus began to feel a little bit strange. He looked around, having the feeling that he is being watched. His paranoia yielded no results, as no one paid the slightest bit of attention to him. Suddenly nervous, he turned and hurries back to The Rusty Sword. 

Back at the tavern, he saw a familiar looking woman talking to Tho. Not wishing to be rude, he sat at a nearby table and waited for them to finish their conversation. For reasons he can't explain, he felt that something was not right with the world.

Mendoza
Mendoza wakes up in the room he was given after the wedding. "Wow, that was some party," he thought, "and some strange dreams I had." He couldn't remember any specifics, just a genie, a thieving Kobold, apparently turning into a half-orc and lots and lots of tequila. Yes, he hadn't had a dream that strange for a long time. 

He quickly got ready, hoping he hadn't missed Ravenwind, Quietus and everyone else - they'd said they were going off on some adventure. However he was relieved to see that Quietus was still at the bar, although Che had done one hell of a clean up job in such a short time.

"So, when are you ready to go?" asked Mendoza. "What do you mean?" replied Quietus.

"Well, you said you were going off on some adventure." said Mendoza, getting the feeling that something was slightly off. 

Giving him a slightly skeptical look, Quietus answered "Yes, but that was two weeks ago." 

Feeling incredibly stupid, and suddenly very hungry Mendoza walked sheepishly over to order a lot of food. Next time he'd really have to order a wake up call. 

Quietus
"Say, Mendoza, I think Raeython and friends all went down to the temple. You know, the one that Ravenwind belongs to. Something about a murder and whatnot. You could probably catch up to them there if you wanted to...although you'll probably want to finish some of your food, first. By the way, sorry about...you know . .  . “ and he put his finger down his throat in illustration.

Ravenwind
Ranna noticed Quietus, who now seemed to be wearing his milk rather debonairly. "You Quietus?" she asked, "I was told you were looking for me."

Quietus wiped at his milk ineffectually. "Um, er, yeah!" he replied brightly. "I'm looking for a thief. . ."

"Well, I'm not a pickpocket," she snapped. "Nor am I a grubby killer for hire. People pay me to retrieve items for them, and I'm damned good at it. So, what are you wanting to pay me to do?"

Quietus was smart enough to censor his first reply to that. Watching the way she fingered her dagger, he censored the second as well. And the third.

Quietus
Realizing that “nice” was probably out of the question, but “competent” still seemed to be in the cards, Quietus proceeded to lay out his plan.

"Well, first of all, I'd never hire a grubby killer...only a friendly, clean one. Secondly, I don't want to pay you to do something, although I am willing to do so... I need to know how you feel about, um, 'acquiring' an item from a temple... without their permission... I don't think it's the one that your sister attends."

Ranna indicated with a contemptuous snort that she could care less who she stole from.

He continued, "The only drawback to this mission, from your perspective, is that I need to travel with you. I hope that won't be too big of a problem. The trick I need to perform will only work if I am the one who actually takes the item in question.

“As to payment, I'm afraid you'll need to ask Tho. I'm currently, uh, tapped out, and can't afford to pay you. If you'd be willing to work on contingency, I'm sure we'd appreciate it..."

He takes a (manly) swig of his milk and looks over at Tho to see how much he'd be willing to pay to recover the herbs.

Ravenwind
"What exactly is this item? Are we talking an ancient idol, a sacred relic, forged gospels, what?"

"Er, herbs that the local authorities decided that friend Che shouldn't be putting in his tequila."

Ranna arched an eyebrow. "So, Che's been peddling garden weeds again?"

Quietus choked on his milk.

Serenely she continued, "Fine. What temple? I'm going to need to study the layout, the guards' patterns, and the magical defenses. If you have to come along, again, fine, but stay behind me and in the name of Mask, don't touch anything unless I tell you it's safe."

She stood and glided back over to Tho, whereupon some heated haggling began to take place. Quietus was left to reflect upon the differences life's experiences could make in two people.

Quietus
Quietus is somewhat embarrassed, as he realizes that he has no idea which temple it is. He decides to try and play it cool, so that Ranna won't think he's an idiot.

He notices that Tho and Ranna have agreed upon a price, so he pipes up:

"So, Tho, in what part of town is the temple located. I'm fairly new here, and don't know the layout too well."

Quietus thinks to himself "Now, if he says the temple district, I'm going to have to strangle him..."

Che
"Aye," Tho responds," as you remember from the wedding it was the dwarven priest that was here, and who disapproved of Che's use of the herbs. Moradin be the god that was worshipped that day, and Marur be the priest that presided. Where his temple be that I do not know. Che was the one who invited him, and my brother isn't here."

Quietus seemed a little disgusted with the lack of information. 

Emerith interrupted,"Excuse me, Uncle Tho, but it was I who sent the invitation for my father. These were the directions that my father gave me to contact Marur. You're welcome to them, for I have no more need for them."

Quietus
"Thank you, Emerith. So, Ranna, are you ready to go to work?"

She nodded her assent.

"Oh, yes, Tho, a young woman named Charity may be showing up about a job at the casino. Would
you be willing to interview her and see if she seems trustworthy. I've never been a very good judge of character, unfortunately...although I can tell if someone has a two-pair or a three-of-a-kind. Go figure. Thanks, Tho."

Ranna and Quietus exited the tavern and followed the directions towards the temple. Ranna mumbling something about "amateurs," while Quietus attempted to strike up a conversation about horse racing.

Che
Tho remained in the tavern eagerly awaiting a young woman with the name of Charity. He did his best to primp his beard, and attempted to cover his grey with charcoal.

Quietus
A young half-orc woman enters the tavern and asks to speak with Quietus. Recalling Quietus's earlier words about the people he needs, Tho immediately decides that either Quietus has an eye for half-orcs that is somewhat strange in a human, or this girl was not meant for one of the dicing tables.

"Right this way, young lady."

He began sizing up her qualifications.

Charity said, "Quietus told me a bit about the casino. I told him that I had a way of flipping the stick that could make the house a winner about 55% of the time. At least when it was our turn to throw. I also know several other traditional orcish gambling games."

Tho continued to size her up. . .  unaware that his application of charcoal to his hair was now covering his face. In behind the dwarf, was Slash and the other orcs drooling over Charity as they observed from the kitchen entrance.

"Well, this is all good for an orc clientele, which from what I see, you would have no problems attracting. But my brother Che would probably want variety in the gaming, something to appeal to other races. Do you have much experience with kobolds and halflings in the field of casino management? Oh, and where are my manners, can I get you anything to drink?"

Quietus
"Something sweet would be nice, if you please. I usually try not to drink when I'm working. As to your other question, I do know several kobold games, although," she whispers, "their games are kind of stupid. I also can play most of the human games. I'm afraid I've never learned any of the halfling games. Do you know what they're called? Maybe they are just a variant on games I do know."

Charity seemed to defy the typical stereotypes for a half-orc, as she seemed quite intelligent. Tho was still trying to determine a good method of figuring out her integrity. 

Meanwhile, it became clear (to the watching orcs) that she was unsure how to let Tho know that the charcoal was spreading.

Che
"Huh? What was that?," an astonished Tho asked. "Pardon, me, what are you talking about?" replied Charity.

"Oh, nothing. I just thought someone bumped me. Anyway, if an dwarf, an ogre, and a human are playing at a gambling game, and the ogre started to lose badly. What would you do to continue the merriment of the day, and not have it fall into an unfortunate brawl?" questioned Tho.

Before Charity replied, she had to contain a giggle for her interviewer kept staring at her with pearl white eyes amidst a sea of black.

Quietus
"That's a trick question, isn't it? It depends on a couple of things. I guess we're assuming the ogre has a bad temper. Maybe not the most outrageous assumption. If we're playing a 'luck' game, I simply have someone else come and take my place. A lot of times, this will make people believe their luck is going to change, despite the obvious immutable nature of probability. Most likely, things will balance out for the ogre in the long run. If it is a game of skill, and the ogre is lacking, I would call a short break. Assessing the skills of those remaining in the tavern, I would (gently) attempt to steer the ogre over to gamers more of his caliber. I would also redouble my efforts to make sure than no one is cheating..."

Elsewhere in town, Quietus and Ranna arrived at the temple of Moradin.

"Uh, Ranna. Do you think the fact that it is a dwarven temple will make our task more difficult?"

Ranna looked at him as if  he were a moron.

Quietus quickly covered, "That's what I thought. Do you want me to do anything, or should I just stay out of the way while you do your surveillance?"

Ranna replied, "Yeah, I have a task for you. Could you get me something to eat... and some water."

Ranna began scoping out the temple.

Ravenwind
"What's our first move?" Quietus asked, tagging at Ranna's heels. That made for quite picture, the tall, gangly man nipping at the rather short, slender woman's ankles. One of his strides made for two of hers, and yet they kept getting tangled up in each other's boots.

Quietus found himself on the receiving end of a sharp shove--backwards, about three feet. "First, we'll wait until about the second or third watch bell," Ranna replied crisply. "Then, in over the wall. My sources tell me there's a tunnel that should be accessible through the storm grate not far from the main chapel's entrance."

"Aren't you worried about traps?"

She paused, looking as uncertain as he'd ever seen her. "Not as such," she replied carefully. "Dwarven traps tend not to be subtle. But they do tend to be uncomfortably lethal once tripped."

They waited unobtrusively in a nearby inn until late that night, then slipped out into the shadows. Ranna firmly stuck Quietus in a nearby doorway and pulled out a small crossbow, armed with a grappling hook quarrel with a length of rope attached, and shot it up at the face of the wall.

A quick shimmy, and she perched atop the wall, and beckoned him forward. Quietus took the rope, and patiently waited.

"Climb, you ninny!" came her frustrated whisper. "I don't have gorilla arms, so I'm not pulling you up!"

Quietus
Quietus sighed to himself, "It's not as if I weigh a lot. Oh well."

He called out quietly, "I'm not sure if I can make it. Maybe you should scout ahead while I make the attempt."

He began pulling himself up the rope. Luckily, he was able to use the wall to assist his climb. Not surprisingly, his speed was nowhere near Ranna's. Slowly, but steadily, he made his way up.

Ranna, growing impatient, decided to see if she can find the grate. Fortunately, her source seemed to be accurate, for she easily located the tunnel entrance. She decided to wait for Quietus's help (such as it is) to move the grate.

Upon reaching the top, Quietus deftly pulled the rope up after him. He coiled it briefly and placed it in Che's bag of holding, briefly hoping that Che isn't missing it.

He dashed over to Ranna's position and they began hefting the grate out of the way.

Quietus moaned, "Oh man, I think I'm going to get a hernia."

"What are you whining about?"

"Uhhh, nothing."

He fumbled in the bag briefly and withdrew a lantern and the coil of rope. 

"After you," he said politely, angling the light so that it shoots out in front of him.

Giving him a withering glance, Ranna hooked the rope in place and lowered herself into the tunnel.

Back at the tavern. . . 

Che
Emerith brings two drinks over to the table of The and Charity. The halforc woman takes a sip, "Mmmmmm, this is quite tasty, what is it?"

"’Tis wasp honey tea with a small nip of tequila to rid the poison from the stinger."

"Anyway, Charity," continued Tho, "How did ye get the name of Charity? I hope it isn't a name of reputation running the casinos."

Quietus
"Actually, Charity is just a nickname. My birth name is some horrible orcish word that most people cannot pronounce. I traveled with a circus, and we all had 'joke' nicknames. You know, the bald sword-swallower was called 'Harry', the mute empath was 'fast-talk'. I managed the group's finances and was known to be somewhat intractable when it came to wages and absences from performances and such. I like to think I've softened a bit since then...but probably not! 

Che
Tho thought to himself. Joke nicknames, and she said the drink was excellent. Was she really meaning that the drink was horrible? "Well, my dear, my brother does take care of all the finances within the tavern and is honest and fair to most. But I do feel that you could be a fine addition along with Quietus within these walls." The dwarf then began to slump down slightly, and closed his eyes. Emerith walked to his side and gently laid his head upon the table.

"Don't mind my Uncle, Charity. He is old and tends to nap at the most inopportune times. He will be fine in a bit. But I am very cautious of new people under the fold of my father. Do tell me, Charity, three things that you wished not to tell to Tho."

The orcs in the kitchen were taken aback by Emerith's bluntness but not surprised. She has always had her father's interests at heart and was only forcing the interview to a rightful conclusion.

Quietus
"Well, that is a tricky one, since I have no major regrets. The most damaging facts I could reveal are:

                       I killed my mother.
                       I murdered my father.
                       I desecrated an idol of Gruumsh...I poked out his eye.

I think those would be the three most damaging things I could reveal..." 

Che
Emerith is impressed with the honesty of Charity. "Ah, truth be a liberating experience." Charity looked blankly back awaiting some other questions.

Emerith hesitated momentarily. "Hmmm, I think that you would be a good addition if you can answer this final question. The motto of The Rusty Sword is know far and wide. What is the motto that we all workers must adhere to? These are probably the wisest words that have come from my father and are the reason for his success in business."

Quietus
Charity took so long to respond, that Emerith began to think she must have narcolepsy. Finally, she responded,  "Hmmm. I'm not certain if I can recall the exact phrase. I believe it is 'All gratuities accepted,’ although in some of the seedier goblin districts, it is known as 'Na woadkep loftres nulizzae,’ which, as you know, translates roughly as 'No gratuity refused.'"

Che
Emerith's face fills with a broad smile, "Yes, no gratuity refused, or, all gratuities accepted. Either way, welcome to the Rusty Sword. But shouldn't Quietus be getting back soon? I know my father will be back shortly, and it would be wiser for Quietus to brief Che of his plans than you. No offense or anything, but my father likes to do business with the men."

"Oh yes, I have some things that I must attend to also. I'm sure Quietus and I will greet your father with all of the new-found proposals. But let me ask one thing, what of Tho here?" a concerned Charity asked.

"Oh, my uncle will probably be venturing back to his home, unless papa asks him to stay for a while. That is something that we will let unfold. Oh, and by the way, here is a key for a room upstairs for your belongings. The rooms are neat and quite secure. You won't have to worry about those pesky orcs bothering you, ah, unless you want them to." exclaimed Emerith.

Quietus
Charity thanks Emerith and ventured upstairs to check out her new room. She eagerly awaited the return of Quietus so that she could begin her new job.
                       -----------------

As Edward and the gang strolled back to The Rusty Sword, he questioned Che, "Do you know somebody by the name of Ultima? I have a message for him. By the way, about that bartender job. On the one hand, it's definitely the best offer I've had in quite some time. On the other hand... oh yeah, I guess I only have one hand now. If you'll have me (and will pay me!), I'd love to go to work for you."

Che
Finally back at the Rusty Sword, Che enters and notices Tho stills asleep with his head on the table. "Well, Eddie, me's always pays well fer good work. That be me brother Tho. He's checkin' fer cracks in the table at the moment. Those are me eight remainin' daughters that a do the wenchin' around 'ere. And a that be me five orcs that tend to the kitchen and various tasks. Have a look around and introduce yerself. Me's thinks that me should wake Tho and get an update on what a me missed. And by the way ultima should a be around somewhere."

Quietus 
Ranna reached the floor and motions for Quietus to follow her. With a last worried glance, Quietus grabbed onto the rope and climbed down.

"So, where to now?"

"Shhhh. I'm trying to concentrate. I need to get a mental picture of where we are."

"Sounds good. I'll just..."

"Shhhhhh."

Quietus shut up and reaches into the bag of holding. He withdrew a bottle of milk and a small loaf of bread. Happily, he munched away, while Ranna concentrated on the task at hand.

Again, back at the tavern, Ultima has arrived ahead of the rest of the adventurers.

pure_ultima

"I am here Master Che what was it you wished to speak with me about?"

Che
“Aye, Ultima, but it isn't me who wishes a word with you, although I always a enjoy yer conversation, but me new bartender Eddie, was wishin' to give you a message. He a should be around introducin' 'imself to me other staff somewhere."

Che wondered to himself after his discussion with Tho and liked the idea of the casino in the tavern. He just would like a few words with Quietus before he goes ahead with everything.

Quietus
Ultima walked over and finds Edward (it's not too hard since he's the only one-armed man in the tavern). 

"What is it you wished to say to me?"

"Are you Ultima?"

"Yes."

Edward speaks in a strained voice, "I am going to send wave after wave of undead to weaken you. When you are enfeebled and ready to fall, I will be there to crush your soul. Give your will to me and you will be spared."

Ultima fumbled, flabbergasted, "What? Who are you? What do you know?"

Edward finished speaking and looked around, confused. "Do I know you? I need to talk to Che about something... I can't remember what. Excuse me..."

B_FH
B_FH saw an unnerved look on Ultima's face. "Something wrong?" B_FH asked. 

"Nothing," Ultima responded, "just something about our new bartender.”

"Oh," B_FH replied, "I'm sure you've seen people with one arm before. He lost his when Rayethon chopped it off; Eddie was under a charm spell when it happened. Probably someone in the crowd trying to help our opposition to win." B_FH took another drink of his tequila and walks off to the nearest new face in the bar.
Meanwhile, in the temple district, Quietus and Ranna are getting to the bottom of things—the hard way.

Ravenwind
The bottom of the storm drain looked like a dungeon's oubliette, the more so when the grate crashed down over their heads. The bottom was completely covered in ice, at least two feet thick, covering their next point of entry. "It's hopeless," Quietus groaned.

He got a hand clapped over his mouth for that. "If you don't keep you mouth closed from here on in, you could get us both killed," came the almost-silent response. Ranna released him, and knelt, whispering a tumble of arcane words under her breath. A small ball of glowing light rose out of her hand, and she began to melt the ice with it.

Quietus stared at her in confusion. As if she could feel his eyes on her back, she twisted around and said, "One of my sisters is a mage, you know."

Once she'd melted a narrow tunnel for them, and unlocked and disarmed the grate behind it, they were in. The tunnel they found themselves in was exceptionally short and cramped, even by dwarven standards. Quietus was almost forced to crawl in places, and even Ranna walked in a perpetual hunch. The occasional rat scurried away from their footfalls, chittering in the blackness.

Finally, the tunnel emptied out into what looked like a storage chamber. Quietus sniffed. "Beer!" he whispered with an unseen grin.

"Nay, laddie, mead!" a gruff voice replied, and a torch was lit. Quietus looked about wildly. Seven dwarves in priestly garments and armor surrounded him, but there was no sign of Ranna anywhere.

Quietus
Smelling the beer, Quietus was pleased. "This must mean we're near the herbs," he thinks.

Suddenly confronted by seven dwarves, Quietus first thought was "Snow White!" and then, "maybe I should obscure my appearance."

Before the dwarves could get a good look at him, he ducked back into the tunnel and concentrated for a
moment. When he stepped back into the tunnel, he was two feet taller, 150 pounds heavier, and covered with hair. Lacking both the desire and the ability to defeat seven dwarven priests, Quietus decided to talk his way out of danger.

"Hello," he boomed, "Grok help you?"

"I think we should be asking the questions here, laddie," stated one of the dwarves. "You do know that we will have to imprison you for trespassing in our holy temple."

"Grok no understand tresspass. What you mean?"

"Okay, Grok, we're going to cut you some slack. Leave now, and we won't press charges."

"Grok thank you. Me leave now."

Quietus turns and reentered the tunnel, glad that the dwarves seem unaware how narrow the passage is. When he was out of sight of the dwarves, he utilized his invisibility trick, returned to his normal form, and snuck back through the chamber of dwarves. He wasn’t sure where Ranna was, but if she stayed in the temple, she'd need his help for the final trick. 

Out in the hall, he hurried to find a hiding space. Now that he is on his own, he figured that his chances have diminished by about 95%.

"Oh well, I've been in worse situations than this... probably."

Che
Che met Charity after being briefed by Tho and Emerith about the interview with her. Their positive recommendation of the half orc woman was cheerful news to the dwarf. "Aye, a pleasure to meets ye Charity. Looks a like me plans o' fer a casino are fruitfully coming about. Always a good idea to 'ave good peoples surroundin' oneself."

"Oh, the pleasure is mine." answered Charity. "I have settled myself upstairs in one of the rooms, thanks to your kind daughter Emerith, but I haven't been introduced formally to everyone. Would you be so kind, fine sir?" 

Che blushed momentarily, and gathers Charity's extended arm himself. "Ah, ye be havin' fine manners there lass, somethin' that brings in fine gratuities in the tavern. Come me's shall give names to the faces ye see about ye." The two of them parade amongst the patrons and staff in the tavern, walking arm in arm.

"This a be Eddie. Our a new bartender. Me's a picked him up, literally in Baldur's Gate, where he be spillin' 'alf the town's milk on the floor. Me's thinks that tequila is a somethin' that he'll excel at a pourin' in the glasses."

"That a-be pure ultima and Buffeh (B_FH) over there. Two a fine adventurers that a love the action. O'er in the far table are Ravenwind and Raeython. They've a 'ust returned from clearin' the paladin's honorable name. Vicious time there on that a-one. Figaro be standin' by the wall itchin' fer some adventurin' action."

"These are me daughters. Of course a ye met Emerith the oldest. That a be Rachel the youngest. The others mixed in the middle are Cheran, Cassandra, Lucy, Sarah, Agatha, and Terese. Me other daughter, Muriel, 'ust a got hitched to Hack the Orc. Which a brings me to the orcs. There be five left at the Rusty Sword. This is Slash, Gash, Heev, and Hoe." 

Slash stepped forward, "You be a fine looking orc whenc.....woman, hee hee." 

Charity was a bit taken aback by the sinister laugh of young Slash, but calmly replied, "Well, aren't you the most gentlemanly orc here?" Slash's face changed to one filled with confusion, and he ran back to the kitchen feeling that his opening line needing some fine-tuning.

"Aye, that be a good one, fine Charity. Some o' times me orcs, get a wee bit rambunctious and a-do 'ave to be tethered a back."

"Oh, yes Che, I know. I dealt with many a kind in my few days on the road. Slash means well, but, being an orc, things come out different. Well thank you for the introductions. I do look forward to discussing more about the casino with you and Quietus once he returns."

"Me's feels the same. ‘Til then, rest and enjoy yerself and remember.............?"

"Yes Che , all gratuities accepted."

Raeython
Raeython sat at the table with Ravenwind, and downs a few 'strong dwarven ales' in rapid succession. The time is almost upon them to end the threat of the rod once and for all. Tomorrow will be the ending of the tenday, and time to destroy the rod.

Ravenwind
Ravenwind poured herself a tequila, and frowned at the flavor. Something about it seemed a little off, somehow, and she wondered why. Shrugging, she paid for the next round for the adventurous regulars.

Che
Che and Slash looked intently at the plans for the new casino expansion. They stood looking at the east wall of the bar. "Aye, me thinks that a window should a be moved, and the fireplace should a be rebuilt."

"Yes Che, maybe one fireplace for the bar and one for the casino."

Che then began to frown as he noticed that their plans were being read upside down. Righting the paper, they ventured to the west wall.

"Excuse me Figaro, yer be standin' where me new door to a casino shall be."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Che.  Ah, I see the east wall is empty," responded Figaro.

Quietus
Having been introduced to all at the Rusty Sword, Charity begins feeling right at home.

"Che. Since I'm not going to be of much use around here for a little while, I was wondering if you might like me to recruit some more workers for the casino? I'll try to follow your specifications (and Quietus's) as well as I can. I'm eager to get things started, and I can't figure out why Quietus isn't back yet..."

Che
"Aye that a be fine by me, sweet Charity," commented Che as he stood as tall as he could and attempted to look very busy. "But yers know that me'e will be 'aving the final say on the hirin' since the wages a do come from me coffers. But go ahead and a follow yer instincts, and if me orcs can assist, feel a free to call on them."

Figaro
*Strolls up to the bar.* Hummm Having a casino here should bring in a fair amount of traffic.

Quietus
"Did any of ye believe that Grok thing?"

“NO!" 
"NO!" 
"No,"
"Nope!
"Me either."
"Why'd ye let 'em leave?"

"I couldna detect any magic on him. I figured it safest to let him be."

"Do ye think he left?"

“There's no way he could have snuck past us here. However, here's what we do..."

The dwarf laid out his plan. Six of the dwarves went to work blocking up the old door. The seventh retreated to speak with his superior.

Ravenwind
Quietus was shocked right down to his boots when the door opened behind him in the passageway again, and a quiet female voice told him, "C'mon, hurry up! We haven't much time. Dwarves are fearfully resistant to posions and such."

Quietus stepped back into the room, and saw six unconscious dwarves strewn on the floor, and Ranna tapping her foot impatiently. "What--how?" he managed.

She pointed at the beams of the rafters over their heads. "Have you ever noticed that dwarves never look up very far?" she whispered impishly. "If they looked up any further than absolutely necessary, they'd fall into some hole and hurt themselves. This lot," she jerked a thumb at the sleeping dwarves, "will be out for a while longer, but we'd best get moving."

Following their noses, the pair roamed among the barrels for a while, until they happened upon another door, this one locked. Ranna dropped to a crouch to examine it, while Quietus stood a nervous watch over her back.

Quietus
Ranna and Quietus navigated the temple quickly and efficiently. Soon, they arrived at the location where Ranna's source indicated the herbs would be. 

Ranna dropped down and examined the locked chest. She hurriedly but carefully checked it for traps. After a few moments she decided that it is clear and began picking the lock. The lock was relatively simple for one of her skill, and she moved to open the chest.

Quietus tapped her on the back, "Hold on. I have to do the actual, uh, stealing."

Ranna stepped back to watch the door, while Quietus knelt down and opens the chest. A noxious cloud spurted out and covered him. Surprised, he coughed and fell backwards.

Ranna turned around. "You fool, what did you..." She let a few off-color expressions leave her mouth. The dwarves had hired an elf to set the trap. Due to the necessity of haste, she had been concentrating on traps of dwarven design.

After a few moments, the cloud clears. "Are you going to be okay?" she asked.

 [cough] "Well, aside from the poison that is, most likely, going to kill me, I'll be okay."

Ranna shuffled through her bag and then sighed. She had not brought any antidotes for this type of poison.

Quietus coughed, and said, "Don't worry. I've got a plan." [cough, cough] "Let me just grab the herbs and perform my trick."

He rifled through the trunk, grabbed the herbs, and stuck them in Che's bag of holding. He then concentrated for a moment.

"Is that it? That's the trick?"

Quietus replied, "Yep. Now, take the bag and get out of here. Leave me" [cough] "the rope. Don't worry about me. Hopefully the priests will find me before I die and heal me. Then, I have some tricks that I can use to escape...if they don't summarily execute me. Now get out of here. Oh, and if I survive, I'd appreciate your not mentioning the whole Grok thing..."

Ranna contemplated staying for a moment, but realized that there is nothing she can do for him. The dwarves would not be stupid enough to leave an antidote handy, and she has no idea what the herbs are all about. She turned and darted silently out of the room.

Quietus waited until she left and then collapsed against the wall, writhing in pain. He realized that he needed to do one more thing. He concentrated, and once again his height and weight increased. He then decided that it is just about time to pass out from the pain.

Ravenwind
Ranna, surprisingly, did not leave. She was being paid to do a job, and it would be unethical for her to leave it unfinished. A potion quickly drunk rendered her invisible, and she leaped for the ceiling once more, catching a rafter with her fingertips and lightly pulling herself up.

Crouching there, silent, she watched as the dwarven priests, who had awakened from their slumber, barrelled into the room in which Quietus lay. There were many cries of dwarven outrage when they discovered the loss of the herbs. Ranna made a mental note to ask Che or Tho why the dwarves wanted the herbs, other than to control their distribution. Perhaps there was some profit to be made here.

The dwarves trundled back out again, carrying a much larger Quietus; in fact, it looked as if he'd turned himself back into Grok again. Ranna followed, leaping down behind the priests soundlessly, and padding on quiet feet behind them until they reached the meditation cells, where they forced an antidote down the unconscious man's throat, and rifled through his belongings before tossing him in a cell with only one guard to await his return to consciousness.

Invisibly, Ranna smiled. They had not come upon the herbs on Quietus, and had left him almost conveniently located and lightly guarded. They were looking for the accomplice--her. She'd lead them a merry dance before the night was through.

Aivanther
Stepping into the tavern after a long bit of travelling, Aivanther steps up to the bar and says, "Hola! Que tal? Una taquila por favor" realizing what he's saying Aivanther says, "Oops, I mean hi, what's up? A taquila please. Sorry, been speaking to much spanish."

Palladium Muse
*POP*

Palladium Muse thuds on top of the bar from a hole that opened up at a 45 degree angle from the ceiling beams. She is covered head to toe in what appears to be seaweed and is soaking wet. Rivulets of water stream off of her, down the bar, onto the floor.

Pushing herself up to a sitting position, she spits out what looks like a small sea shell, shoving bedraggled, sodden hair out of her eyes.

With a yelp, she begins frantically twitching on the bar, finally reaching into her armor and hauling out a goodly sized tuna. Tossing it aside in disgust, she slides off the bar to her feet.

"Tequila," she croaks. "NO SALT."

Ravenwind
Ravenwind stared at the bedraggled Muse. She opened her mouth; shut it, opened it again, and finally said, "You know, I'm not even going to ask."

She picked up the tuna and tossed it through the kitchen door.

"Are we ready to destroy the Rod now?" she asked, a bit plaintively.

Che
Che pushed a fresh bottle of tequila in front of Palladium. He purposefully forgets to give her a glass. "A wee bit wet under the collar about somethin' there Palladium? And I see yers brought yer own catch fer me orcs to prepare fer ye." The dwarf motions to Slash to retrieve the tuna and prepare it in the kitchen.

Palladium Muse
PM sticks her tongue out at Che. "That was horrible." But she takes the bottle of tequila gratefully and joins Ravenwind.

"Thank you for not asking. I tell you what. You guys have had it easy the last week or so, nothing to do but lounge around The Rusty Sword, exchanging old war stories. I envy you your leisure time."

Cracking the bottle open, she takes a healthy swallow, sighs blissfully as the shudder runs through her. "Aaaah. Much better." Gesturing, a sudden billow of steam rolls off of her, smelling of sea salt and fish. "And that's even better," she says, completely dry. "Yes, let's destroy the rod, and with all due expediency."

Raeython
Raeython is tempted to ask PM if she wants to go for a swim, but judging from the look on her face he figures that would be a bad idea. 

Palladium Muse
Glares at Raeython like she knows what he's thinking, and takes another swig from the bottle.

"Oh! Almost forgot!"

Standing, she approaches the bar, drawing a bag out of her pocket. Handing it to Che, she says, "Wedding present, sorry it's late, I got called away."

Che
"Oh, like gratuities, belated wedding gifts are never refused." Che gently accepts the small pouch and peers inside. Within he finds a multicoloured ring. Strange in origin, from all Che's knowledge of jewelry. And the size of the ring would be too large to fit on the finger of even an ogre. As Che continues to analyze he notices that as the ring approaches his finger it warps to the exact size of his finger.

"Well a-looky at that. A ring that would a fit anyone." As Che removes the ring away from his finger it restores itself to its grander size. "If me may ask, Palladium, for whom would this a ring be fer.....the bride or the groom?"

Palladium Muse
Smiling, Muse says, "It's for whomever is in charge of chores. It's a ring of Unseen Servant. Unlimited charges. I figure it'll be useful for whomever is stuck with the dishes."

Che
Gash, the youngest orc in the tavern overheard the conversation between Palladium and Che. A small muffled whimper emitted from the orc, who constantly cast his glance to the pile of dishes he was cleaning in the kitchen. Che peered at the puppy-like eyes of the orc in annoyance, and then looked at Palladium.

The Muse agreed, "Oh, let the little guy try it out."

"Aye, this be just a test. And a Gash, by no means will yers be gettin' attached to this ring."

The orc awkwardly accepted the ring and placed it on his right index finger. Gash returned to the kitchen, and gathered a handful of dishes to place into the sink to wash. As soon as the dishes were placed he noticed that they were cleaned. Not a speck of dirt was upon the wares, and they were dry too. The next handful produced the same clean results. 

Che watched the young orc's amazing kitchen accomplishments. "Hmmmmmmm...me's wonder if me could gets a deal on a dozen o' those rings from Palladium."

Palladium Muse
 "Sorry, the guy I bought it from said it was the only one. Most mages have apprentices to handle daily chores, so don't have items like this." Handing over a few gold pieces, to cover the tequila and the gratuity, she takes the bottle again and makes her way back to Ravenwind and Raeython and whomever else's table and retakes her seat.

"Right, now, the destruction of the rod? Any ideas where to start?"

ArchMage Alexander
A brilliant flash blinds everyone in the room and suddenly a...chair?...is standing in the room.

A few minutes later Alexander storms into the room glaring at the chair, his cat familiar saying, "I told you there was a difference, you CAN NOT translate a scroll from Spanish to English THEN expect it to work the same way." Ignoring the cat, Alex examines the chair and says, "It's a nice chair, but still not good enough to waste a teleport spell on. Oh well I'll have to make another copy and rename it 'Chair conjuration'." Sighing Alex fetches a wine and looks around, nodds at Aiv, and says, "So what's up all"?

Palladium Muse
Looks appreciatively at the chair.

"Spanish, hm? I need to learn that spell. There have been many a time I needed a chair in a pinch...Anyway, we're supposed to destroy a rod. Want to help?"

Che
Che struts over to Alexander. "Aye, welcome back, Archmage. We's a all 'ave missed yer presence durin' yer absence. Oh, an' me sees that yer kitty be here also. Let me gets a bowl o' milk fer it."

Figaro
*Strolls over with a fairly large goblet of wine.* Humm, whacking the rod with a sword--if it’s enchanted, might technically work. I even saw it done once. And as a bonus I heard that they were able to successfully resurrect the guy that managed to do it. 

Ravenwind
"No more resurrections, please," she replied with a convulsive shudder.

Raeython shook his head emphatically. "The druids with whom we left it are coming into the nascence of their power," he explained. "They should be able to destroy it, but those of us who originally quested for the rod will need to be there; our presence my alter the consequences favorably."

"It's never that easy, though," Muse grouched. "In a hundred tales of destroying artifacts, from a hundred worlds, I've never heard of it the solution being as simple as turning it over to the proper authorities." She sighed, and swigged at her tequila. She paused, frowning at the bottle. "Is it just me, or does this taste off?" she asked.

Elsewhere, Ranna grew tired of waiting for Quietus to rouse, and stepped behind the apparently sleepy guard. She didn't make the mistake of trying to take his keys. Intead, she took out a small rod, and imposed a tiny sphere of silence on the lock, thanking the gods for her sister Mazea as she did. Then she efficiently picked the lock, did not open the door, and patted the dwarven guard on the rump. "Catch as catch can!" she challenged.

She only caught a glimpse of the utter outrage on the dwarf's broad face as she sprinted off down the tunnel. He'd only caught a glimpse of her form in outline, no doubt, but it was enough.

Quietus came to, and realized that the bells in his head were actually alarm bells in the temple. Groggily, he stood up, and saw a note shoved through the lock in the door. It peremptorily stated, "Well, the lock's been picked. Open the door and get out while I'm distracting them. You owe me for this."

Shaking his head, he gingerly opened the door, concentrated a moment, and resumed his usual proportions. Walking back down through the tunnels, his sense of direction failed him several times, and he had to hide under a pile of sacks once as a troupe of angry dwarves charged past one storage room, shouting at each other to "find that tetched lassie!"

Finally, though, he did find his way to the grate through which they'd entered, and wriggled his way out.

Back at the Rusty Sword, he found Che and Tho and a large number of adventurers waiting for him. "Er, did your sister make it back here?" he asked Ravenwind.

The paladin narrowed her eyes at him. "Have you been encouraging her in her behavior?" she snapped.

"Oh, no, I mean, I, uh, well, no, well, um--excuse me, Che is looking for me," he managed, and ducked away, feeling her eyes burning into the back of his skull.

Che was in the kitchen, seated alongside a certain red-haired woman. "About time you got here," Ranna said, snorting. "Should I have left you a map?"

Aivanther
"Let's get on destroying this thing, I didn't go all the way to the Abyss and back for Che to use it as center piece for his table. I'd lead the way but I have no idea where the said druids live."