01: Checking in at the Copper Penny

[Hypo Luxa]

Damn! Dragen proclaims looking down at the feline Someone finally figured it out. He pockets the coin except for a couple silver and much the same as Morin did holds up two fingers and says to Kaelie I got the first round.

[Uvuriel]

Kaelie rolls her eyes and laughs defeatedly.

"Thanks, Dragen."

[Gingerbread Guy]

As the mercenaries kick back and celebrate their success, Gravin makes his way through the winding streets of Sunset City. The humans sure are industrial creatures, building cities of such enormous proportions. Given the sheer number of dwellings packed together, Gravin estimates that there may be more people living in Sunset City than there are wood dwarves in all of Rymm!

Trekking further up the great hill, Gravin finds Ashbound College - a compound made up of four large buildings surrounded by neat rows of trees - near the crest, where only the wealthiest and most important people live. The Council halls should be somewhere near by, as should the offices of the tax collectors, money lenders and other bureaucracies.

The only person up so late at the night is a bespectacled man who introduces himself as Professor Meller. He seems young enough to be a student, but he is dressed in fine clothes and wears a red signet ring - very much like the one Gravin has brought to show him - which indicates his tenure.

"A mercenary, you say? Come in, come in.." Meller says, inviting the dwarf into a tidy office. Strange things hang on the walls: wooden and metal masks, decorative scepters, faded scrolls and other objects that are harder to identify at first glace. The man appears to have been doing some work at a small desk, but seems pleasantly surprised to be interrupted. "What is it that I can do for you?"

[Argis]

After a quick glance around the room, Gravin addresses the man. "I was hired by the Guild of the Crimson Road to track down a fellow who had been impersonating an Ashbound College professor. Perhaps you heard it? A man, claiming to be a professor, tricked a family into sending their daughter off with him. She was later found dead. Witnesses say he had a ring from the college. Me and some other mercenaries tracked him down, and tried to arrest him. He put up a hell of a fight, so we had to kill him. I took this as proof. Gravin fishes out the ring from one of his pockets. "Can I get a signed letter from you saying that this is an ring from the Ashbound College, and that it was not stolen or borrowed from here?"

[Gingerbread Guy]

Professor Meller's face blanches throughout Gravin's story, however brief. "Oh my.. that is.. grim. But, ah, good work, I suppose!" The man smiles somewhat awkwardly; not everyone is comfortable around mercenaries. "Well, let's take a look at it then, shall we?"

The professor lights a second lamp at his desk for better lighting and begins to examine the ring. It doesn't take him long to come to a conclusion. "Well, it's a fake, I can tell you that," he decides, taking off his own ring to demonstrate his findings. "You see, real professor's rings have the school's motto - stippat yu stunath vrom; that means 'all things come in time' in the Ancient tongue - engraved on the inside of the band, like mine does; the one you brought to me doesn't. Moreover, the real rings are made of electrum, whille this one has a band made of.. well, something else. Tin, perhaps. The seal on top appears to be real, but it has been fastened onto a different ring. Getting those tiny little engravings inside the rings is actually rather difficult, so it isn't a stretch of the imagination to suggest the culprit didn't bother." The professor smiles cheerfully. "Still, they went through a lot of trouble to find a broken ring to repair. Goodness, I hope they didn't resort to tomb raiding."

The young man shakes his head, clearing it of such thoughts. He reaches for a fresh sheet of paper and quill, and opens the ink well on his desk. "At any rate, I will gladly pen you a letter to this effect. I hope it is enough to convince your guildmaster that your.. ah.. task is complete. Interestingly enough," he continues as he writes, "I am actually looking for a few brave souls such as yourself to help me with something. I've already spoken to the local guildmaster about it, but I haven't heard from anyone in weeks. I suppose people are reluctant to enter the dampwood."

When the letter is finishied, Professor Meller blots it, rolls it up, and seals it using green wax and his own signet ring. "Straight from the offices of Ashbound College," he declares, handing the scroll over.

[Argis]

Gravin takes the letter and carefully folds it and presses it into a large pocket of his shirt. "The Dampwood is an ugly place. What is this task though? Maybe my mates and I could be able to help."

[Gingerbread Guy]

Professor Meller smiles happily. "Yes, I hear it is an ugly place. You're brave to be asking - or very polite. Well, you see, I have some research that I would like to conduct there, but as I hear it is a dangerous place, I would like to hire an escort. I have made arrangements with your guildmaster, but I'm still waiting to hear from a team willing to take the job."

[Argis]

"Well, I'll speak about it to my mates. They just might be up for it. Can't be much worse than what we just finished." With that Gravin shakes hands with the professor and departs. After getting back to the streets, he attempts to find his way to Guild house to run the idea by his friends, and have a cup of ale.

[Gingerbread Guy]

When Gravin finds his way back down the hill to the Guilds District, he finds that his three companions have already started the drinking. A large bear of a man stands behind the counter pouring drinks - Gravin recognizes him as Otto, the guildmaster, by reputation. Word in the capital has it that the Sunset City chapterhouse has a blind man for a guildmaster, and while the big man seems to know his way around the bar and common room, he does it all without looking.

Morin, Kaelie and Dragen appear to be known in these parts and are chatting and joking with other mercenaries - strangers, the lot of them.

[Genghis]

Morin waves for the dwarf to come over to him as he leaves Olivia briefly to head over to Otto, "This guy saved our skins out there; I think he'd make good company in our ranks."

[Uvuriel]

"Gravin!" Kaelie calls out cheerfully when she spots the dwarf. "Come, friend, have an ale! Drink to good times and captured bounties!!"

[Argis]

"That sounds good to me." He approaches the bar, and introduces himself to Otto, not bothering to put his hand out for a hand shake. "Gravin Runeleaf. These three have convinced me too stay around for a little bit. You think I could get an ale? It's been a long journey."

[Hypo Luxa]

Dragen says jovially Hey Gravin, glad to see you could join us for a drink! I'm with Morin on this. Gravin is a downright fine fellow!

[Gingerbread Guy]

"Well, thanks for looking after these kids," Otto says respectfully to Gravin. "They ain't weak, but they seem like the type to get themselves in over their heads." The guildmaster wanders off to look over Professor Meller's letter and count up the bounty reward money, leaving Gravin plenty of time to socialize with the new team - this time, without a hellbranded firing eldritch daggers at them! What luxury.

[Genghis]

Morin returns his attention to Olivia, "So how much did you miss me...This much," he stretches out his arms, "or THIS much?" he nearly arcs his back with the effort.