Act 2: Upheaval II - Revelations and search

Steve waves the stall merchant off. "Oh, it's okay, I'm just browsing while I wait for a friend."

Mihai starts getting increasingly wary about the whole affair (a little irritated at always being the one on the receiving end). He scans the crowd for anyone suspicious.

Awareness 26

Used to this type of response, the merchant smiles and tells Steve to call him if he needs anything. The black mage returns his attention to the tavern and sees a young man enter the building.
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Konrad hears the ceiling creak; someone is walking upstairs.
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Mihai waits a few more minutes until a man enters the tavern and approaches Amber. This one is twenty years old at most who sports his stubble and disheveled hair with confidence, giving him a roguish king of charm. He flashes a sly smile at Amber, but she's not having any of it. She voices her displeasure to him for making her wait and it takes a minute before the young man manages to calm her down. He then offers her a drink to redeem himself, and after some persuasion, Amber relents and agrees to sit down at a table with him.

He pays for the tankards and tips the waiter one silver.

Meanwhile, Mihai scans the whole room and spots a group of very well-armed people at a table; three men and one woman. A look at their weapons is enough to tell that they've all been woven. These four people are speaking in a language other than Wytrawly, but Mihai can't tell which one from where he's sitting. They don't look interested in him however; in fact, they seem to be having a good time drinking and eating.

Mihai keeps an eye on Amber, the other on the armed group at the table.

Steve smiles at the merchant and says, "Will do." He goes back to scanning for trouble.

Awareness 12

Konrad decides that, face it, he won't be able to hide from the squatter in the building. He draws his sword, tunes his senses to the current of the ether, and lights a torch.

The torch he holds with telekinesis. What he holds behind his back, with telekinesis, is a smokebomb. He reserves his free hand for spellcasting.

He gently places some caltrops at the foot of the stairs, opens the back door, and heads up toward the second floor.

ooc:

Amber winces when she drinks her first sip of beer, and when she explains it's her first time drinking, the young man laughs a little. They talk for a few more minutes, the drug dealer unaware that he's being watched.

The situation at the other table hasn't changed.

Mihai then notices two young attractive women at the other end of the bar. When he glances at them, they smile and excitedly whisper to each other.
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Steve's eyes fall upon a book he's very familiar with; 69 positions of power, the book he used for a prank on Zelk, causing the War of 69 during which many students would trick each others into reading it for homework. It's the first edition of the book, all in colors, priced at 1 gold and 3 silvers.
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Just as Konrad reaches the last step of the stairway, a man nervously shouts at him from one of the bedrooms. "I was here first! You go find your own place!"

He can't possibly see Konrad's torch from this angle.

Mihai tries to mask his irritation at Amber being given alcohol, and keeps his vigil.

"Settle down, my fellow opportunist," Konrad calls up. I have no intention of claiming your spot."

Steve tries to stay on task but the thought of not buying that sweet first edition for Zelk keeps eating at him. Surely it would be okay to buy it really quick, right? He picks up the book and steps up to the counter. "Excuse me, sir? I'll take this first edition please."

He haggles to get a better price because of course he does.

Diplomacy 20

A minute later, a barmaid walks up to Mihai and brings him a new tankard.

"A gift from the blonde," she says with a gesture directed at the end of the bar.

The woman in question smiles at him before she starts talking to her friend again. Amber is still talking with the drug dealer, and something he says makes her laugh.
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The man is taken aback by Konrad's response.

"Wh–what do you want then?" he asks, anxious.

Konrad still can't see him from the top of the stairs.
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The merchant is delighted to hear that Steve wishes to buy a book, and he even seems to enjoy haggling with him. After a minute of back and forth, he agrees to part with the book for 1 gold and 7 coppers.

"Deal! Do you do gift wrapping?" He counts out the money and pays the man.

"Of course!" The merchant proceeds to wrap the book in a paper bag.

Mihai awkwardly nods in appreciation, but doesn't smile. Also doesn't sip (Body language is sorry, not interested. Trying to let her down easy).

Goes back to scanning the room.

"Sweet! My fiancee is going to love this. We use to prank each other with this book back at school."

The blonde is saddened by Mihai's rejection, but she smiles at him one last time before she turns her attention back to her friend. A new scan of the room reveals nothing new; the four well-armed patrons are still laughing and drinking, Zaborski keeps lamenting the ill-fated future of his establishment and Amber is now fully smiling. A few minutes later, the young man and the teenager stand up and leave the tavern.
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"What, really?" the merchant chuckles. "You two must be real lovebirds then. I can tell just by looking at you!"
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Konrad hears the man take a few steps forward. Konrad couldn't see inside the room even if the door was open since it's perpendicular to him.

"Seriously? How– how much then?"

Mihai can't help but feel a bit bad about shooting down a lady who bought him a drink, but he quickly regains his purpose, giving Amber and Drug Boy a slight head start before getting up to tail them.

The black mage smiles at the complement. "Oh? What gave it away?"

Mihai follows his sister and her "date" outside. Walking in the street among other people, they look like any other couple; in fact, the young man is bold enough to put his arm around Amber's waist, which she doesn't seem to mind. They walk in the general direction of the abandoned building.

OOC:

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"Only people madly in love talk this way about their other half," the merchant says with a grin. "She must be quite the woman. She's a woman, right?"

OOC:

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"Five gold?" the squatter repeats with incredulity. "Shit, I don't even want to know what you want with this place."

He keeps walking until he manages to stick his head out of the doorway to look at the red mage; he's an old man with a balding head and blemishes on his face. One glance at the levitating torch and Konrad's readied weapon is enough to frighten him. He immediately goes back into the room and closes the door.

Konrad can hear him scramble away.

Konrad grabs the torch, and calls through the door. "Ah, right! The sword, my apologies." He sheathes the weapon. "I apologize for the scare, I didn't know what to expect when I came in. The offer still stands..."

He floats the caltrops he placed at the foot of the stairs back to him, and onto his person.

Diplomacy 15

Mihai keeps following them, suppressing the urge to hurt the young man.

Stealth 18

Awareness 26

"Only the prettiest girl ever! Brown hair, eyes the color of ice in winter, a smile to make your heart melt, a glare to shrink a flower. And she packs a mean right hook too!" He gets a bit lost in the thought of her, not really paying attention to his surroundings.

Awareness 10

Silence settles in the other room. The man then takes a few cautious steps towards the door.

"Really?" he inquires with a shaking voice. "Then show me that gold you promised! Yeah, slip it under the door and maybe I'll believe you!"
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Mihai uses the skills he developed as an enforcer to tail the drug dealer back to the abandoned building, but from the corner of his eyes he notices Steve having an impassioned discussion with a merchant at one of the stalls. He realizes that if he were to approach Steve and grab his attention, he might lose sight of Amber and her date.
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"She sounds like a hell of a woman," the stall owner says with a hint of jealousy in his eyes. "Let me tell you this kiddo; if in ten or twenty years you're not sure that marrying her was the correct decision, just try to count how many other people are ready to put up with your bullshit like she does. If she's still at the top of your list, she's a keeper. Speaking from experience here."