ACCH 16: Of Blood and Saltwater. Part 5

Back at the bottom theater, everyone in the room goes still as the dock guard rushes in, armed with clubs and sabers.

Felix, you will notice this old woman grabbing you disappears.

When you say disappears, like can't see her or like evaporates?

You cannot see or feel her.

Okay.

Or smell her, for that matter.

Okay.

But she does whisper as she goes, I'll see you soon, dearie.

You touched me again, I cut off your hand.

This woman that walked in with dark card, she walks slowly through the room.

She gestures with a hand at the rotter with the burning cloak.

The fire goes out.

What seems to be going on in here?

I hide.

Roll a stealth check.

19.

19.

Um, you, uh, do you like dip under a table or?

Yeah, uh, I did behind the bar.

Behind the bar?

Great.

Um, you see the barkeep speaks up.

Um, uh, I'm so sorry, lady.

Uh, these strangers came in here and started causing trouble at my bar.

I just rang to, uh, Jolie and Claude.

We were not causing trouble.

This man attacked my friend.

Seemed to be hopped up on something, but we had it out between each other.

It was self-defense.

You certainly don't look like fisher folk.

What are you doing here?

I'm new.

In town.

New?

Mm-hmm.

Anything new in town comes through the port.

Right.

Your face isn't very familiar to me.

I must have slipped by you.

Um, her face hardens at this.

She steps closer to you.

Nothing slips by me.

No disrespect, ma'am.

What is your name?

Elaine.

And you? My name is Jolie.

She kind of takes her focus off of the two of you and she keeps walking around the room.

As you all know, something very precious to the Ladorians was taken today.

The Ladorians do not suffer thieves.

I'm looking for someone by the name of Little

Louie.

Does anyone know where I can find him? Athabar goes silent.

50 gold for anyone with information that leads to little Louie's arrest.

Question.

Yes.

If I mention...

Like, I feel...

So, I've been around the docks quite a bit.

I mean, you know, Marcel's shop and the one that I, you know, was stationed at for a long time is really close.

I feel like I've had, like, some dealings with the Ladorians and...

I feel like I do have a relatively good grasp on when to shut up and when not to.

But I'm wondering if I were to tell them that we were also looking for little Louie and maybe we could talk somewhere.

Do I think that they would be...

That would be a problem? Would that be worse than, say,

staying quiet? Why don't you give me a history check and an insight check? Okay.

Let's start with history.

Eight.

Eight.

So yeah, dealing with the sailors and the Ladorian crew is one thing.

You recognize this woman as one of the wives, not someone that you would have come in contact with.

This is Roxanna Grimrosa Ladorian.

Also known as the Drowned Rose.

Jesus.

Nice.

That is a sick name.

Sorry, that's good.

Can I borrow that name for myself? The wife?

The wife in question? The drowned wife? You could inquire.

It's the drowned rose, not the drowned wife.

Hey, are you? No, I'm not.

By the way.

You could inquire.

So that's what you kind of know.

You know that if the wives themselves are getting into this problem, it's very serious.

The wives run a lot of the affairs of the Ladorians, from the casino, to what comes in and out of the ports, to the warehouses.

They all kind of divide up their tasks in that way.

What was your insight?

Insight was a

19.

19.

Well, Julia, you're kind of in a tough spot.

You have a job to do here, and part of that was negotiating with the Ladorians, and here they are before you.

But you do know that they are currently out for blood, so attention could be dangerous.

But you are here in your capacity as a fixer representing a client, so there is a certain amount of... understanding that goes with that you know that the Ladorians don't typically work with fixers they handle their own affairs that's why they have a dock guard um so it's sort of a mixed bag right you could stay silent but you do know that your investigation is going to put you directly in front of probably this person at some point or another okay

I think that knowing that um Jolie was not expecting to come across somebody so high up so fast um But considering, yeah, considering that they're getting involved, which means they're going to come up again eventually.

I think, like, in that silence, Jolie is going to...

Jolie looks at Roxanna.

And what title would you go by?

You would probably call her...

Lady.

She is technically a lady.

Okay.

You'd call her lady.

Hey,

lady.

Yeah, Jolie will say, Lady Roxanna, we work for, we work for Madame de Arconis.

She stops at this and turns to you.

We're looking for the same person.

Perhaps we could discuss this elsewhere?

Can we get an insight check?

Another 19.

Sort of like a wave crashing, you see fury rise in her, and then you see it sort of tamper down, and she approaches you slowly.

On whose authority is Dearchanis investigating my dogs?

We are not investigating the docks.

Then who hired you? For it was not us, the wronged party.

We came here to talk to...

We came...

Um...

I think Julie does stammer actually like that.

And she will stand her ground and say, we didn't know where this investigation was going to lead us.

Now that we are here, I think it is... wise, I think it is wise to discuss things with the people that may actually be able to get things done.

The last thing that we want is to enroach on territory, and the last thing that we want is to insult anyone in the houses with our mere presence.

But sometimes, sometimes we have to ask questions.

Who exactly

have you been asking

your questions

to?

That guy, and I'm...

Well, that guy, those two.

That guy, and truth be told, that's about as far as we've gotten.

Roll deception if you're leaving out Marcel.

I'm going to try to leave Marcel out as if I can.

Roll deception.

That's a four.

You avoid the answer.

Darkguard sees them.

These men surge forward.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

So we are being arrested right now, is that? Correct.

There's a hole behind this bar, right? There's a hole.

There's a hole in front of the bar, behind the bar.

The hole is in front of the bar.

It is a hatch.

It's not like a gaping hole.

Great.

It is a hatch that leads to a lower floor.

I do not move.

Oh, God.

Oh, my God.

I'm going to hope that you're going to get out of here,

Claude.

Is there anything in there, like a corner I can hide around, like a little alcove real quick so I can turn back into Claude and run away?

Here's the thing.

She was kind of talking to both of

you.

Well, right.

Yeah.

So you would have to run from the guard, find a way to change and then disappear yourself.

Is that something that you're trying to do? I

mean, I do have step of the wind.

You do.

You do.

But you are running from the guard.

Keep that in mind.

Right.

Um, well, I mean, she's disguised right now, so hopefully that'll help.

But like, I'm, I...

It will help Claude, but in, in the narrative you have just woven, the two of you represent Arakamas.

Oh, fuck.

But I said I was new in town.

So why am I with Daer Connors? You know what I mean?

Yeah.

I mean, I said we.

I said we.

I wasn't specific about it.

Claude was like,

fuck.

Why would you say? We were building a narrative.

So yes, you can try to do that.

They will pursue you.

Me and the drowned wife guy.

That guy

died.

It was a workplace argument.

They will try to pursue you, but you can attempt to flee.

You know what? No, I'm going to get taken.

I'll find another time.

Yeah, Julie is just going to...

There's no need.

We'll leave.

We're out.

No one leaves the docks tonight until I get the information I want.

I don't like it when people steal from

me.

And you two, you don't fit.

take them.

They sort of roughly will grab you all and start taking you out of the bottom feeder.

I'm not...

I'm not going

to

resist.

They pull you up and out.

Felix, you see your friends.

I don't

see anything.

I am in the bar.

I am so hidden in the bar.

Felix is a bottle.

I cannot see fucking shit.

I can see this man's shins in front of me.

As the door shuts, Felix, you hear from the three in the back, one of them let out a long sigh, and you hear like a choked sob.

We'll pause you there.

Back at the bottom theater, everyone in the room goes still as the dock guard rushes in, armed with clubs and sabers.

Felix, you will notice this old woman grabbing you disappears.

When you say disappears, like can't see her or like evaporates?

You cannot see or feel her.

Okay.

Or smell her, for that matter.

Okay.

But she does whisper as she goes, I'll see you soon, dearie.

You touched me again, I cut off your hand.

This woman that walked in with dark card, she walks slowly through the room.

She gestures with a hand at the rotter with the burning cloak.

The fire goes out.

What seems to be going on in here?

I hide.

Roll a stealth check.

19.

19.

Um, you, uh, do you like dip under a table or?

Yeah, uh, I did behind the bar.

Behind the bar?

Great.

Um, you see the barkeep speaks up.

Um, uh, I'm so sorry, lady.

Uh, these strangers came in here and started causing trouble at my bar.

I just rang to, uh, Jolie and Claude.

We were not causing trouble.

This man attacked my friend.

Seemed to be hopped up on something, but we had it out between each other.

It was self-defense.

You certainly don't look like fisher folk.

What are you doing here?

I'm new.

In town.

New?

Mm-hmm.

Anything new in town comes through the port.

Right.

Your face isn't very familiar to me.

I must have slipped by you.

Um, her face hardens at this.

She steps closer to you.

Nothing slips by me.

No disrespect, ma'am.

What is your name?

Elaine.

And you? My name is Jolie.

She kind of takes her focus off of the two of you and she keeps walking around the room.

As you all know, something very precious to the Ladorians was taken today.

The Ladorians do not suffer thieves.

I'm looking for someone by the name of Little

Louie.

Does anyone know where I can find him? Athabar goes silent.

50 gold for anyone with information that leads to little Louie's arrest.

Question.

Yes.

If I mention...

Like, I feel...

So, I've been around the docks quite a bit.

I mean, you know, Marcel's shop and the one that I, you know, was stationed at for a long time is really close.

I feel like I've had, like, some dealings with the Ladorians and...

I feel like I do have a relatively good grasp on when to shut up and when not to.

But I'm wondering if I were to tell them that we were also looking for little Louie and maybe we could talk somewhere.

Do I think that they would be...

That would be a problem? Would that be worse than, say,

staying quiet? Why don't you give me a history check and an insight check? Okay.

Let's start with history.

Eight.

Eight.

So yeah, dealing with the sailors and the Ladorian crew is one thing.

You recognize this woman as one of the wives, not someone that you would have come in contact with.

This is Roxanna Grimrosa Ladorian.

Also known as the Drowned Rose.

Jesus.

Nice.

That is a sick name.

Sorry, that's good.

Can I borrow that name for myself? The wife?

The wife in question? The drowned wife? You could inquire.

It's the drowned rose, not the drowned wife.

Hey, are you? No, I'm not.

By the way.

You could inquire.

So that's what you kind of know.

You know that if the wives themselves are getting into this problem, it's very serious.

The wives run a lot of the affairs of the Ladorians, from the casino, to what comes in and out of the ports, to the warehouses.

They all kind of divide up their tasks in that way.

What was your insight?

Insight was a

19.

19.

Well, Julia, you're kind of in a tough spot.

You have a job to do here, and part of that was negotiating with the Ladorians, and here they are before you.

But you do know that they are currently out for blood, so attention could be dangerous.

But you are here in your capacity as a fixer representing a client, so there is a certain amount of... understanding that goes with that you know that the Ladorians don't typically work with fixers they handle their own affairs that's why they have a dock guard um so it's sort of a mixed bag right you could stay silent but you do know that your investigation is going to put you directly in front of probably this person at some point or another okay

I think that knowing that um Jolie was not expecting to come across somebody so high up so fast um But considering, yeah, considering that they're getting involved, which means they're going to come up again eventually.

I think, like, in that silence, Jolie is going to...

Jolie looks at Roxanna.

And what title would you go by?

You would probably call her...

Lady.

She is technically a lady.

Okay.

You'd call her lady.

Hey,

lady.

Yeah, Jolie will say, Lady Roxanna, we work for, we work for Madame de Arconis.

She stops at this and turns to you.

We're looking for the same person.

Perhaps we could discuss this elsewhere?

Can we get an insight check?

Another 19.

Sort of like a wave crashing, you see fury rise in her, and then you see it sort of tamper down, and she approaches you slowly.

On whose authority is Dearchanis investigating my dogs?

We are not investigating the docks.

Then who hired you? For it was not us, the wronged party.

We came here to talk to...

We came...

Um...

I think Julie does stammer actually like that.

And she will stand her ground and say, we didn't know where this investigation was going to lead us.

Now that we are here, I think it is... wise, I think it is wise to discuss things with the people that may actually be able to get things done.

The last thing that we want is to enroach on territory, and the last thing that we want is to insult anyone in the houses with our mere presence.

But sometimes, sometimes we have to ask questions.

Who exactly

have you been asking

your questions

to?

That guy, and I'm...

Well, that guy, those two.

That guy, and truth be told, that's about as far as we've gotten.

Roll deception if you're leaving out Marcel.

I'm going to try to leave Marcel out as if I can.

Roll deception.

That's a four.

You avoid the answer.

Darkguard sees them.