Go to the inn and see if we can get a job there playing music. Afterwards, explore the mines to look for places to stash our loot.
+1 Try the Crossroads Inn first because we know the owner.
Although your rational mind is aware of the fact that you'd only been standing near that dumb post for a few minutes, it
feels like an eternity! ...Or four days, at least. You shake off the insidious torpor of idleness and spring into action, making your way to the Crossroads Inn: a fine and reputable establishment some distance away from any actual crossroads. Given the time of day (mid-morning), it's no surprise that the building is completely depopulated. You call out for Dorian Fletcher, the proprietor of the inn, who eventually emerges from the basement with a barrel in tow.
Dorian is not a small man: tall, fat, and bald, with a cheerful smile and flushed cheeks. He sets the barrel down behind the bar with a loud clunk and a heavy breath, wipes away the sweat beading on his brow, and smiles in greeting.
"Ravaatra! You're here at an unusual hour. Your pa would throw a fit if he knew you were drinking this early." He laughs at his own joke before taking a swig from a flask. He sees your raised eyebrow and holds up a defensive hand.
"I brew my own drink. Different rules. I'm basically one a' them monks down south.""...Right. I actually just stopped by to ask something. Do you mind if I play here tonight?""Do I ever say no to music? You're in luck, ain't had a player here for a couple days." He begins heaving the barrel into its position on the rack.
"Crowd's ripe for a song or two."Check that one off your list. You consider your next move...
I say we should inquiry about the routines of the Baron's mage. Maybe asks some guards, or something. With that in mind, we may be able to know more about him, and probably begin a conversation or something.
+1
Wouldn't it look suspicious if we do this? What reason would we have for knowing the mage's routine? When his tome of magic knowledge goes missing, wouldn't the guards be able to tell it was us by how we were asking about him?
It would be risky to draw attention to yourself before the heist. Asking around would be the quickest way to learn what his habits are, but observing and doing reconnaissance would be safer. If you were to ask, who would you ask, though? Guards would know everything, but they're... well, guards. They guard things, including the wizard's tomes. Other staff members - maids, servants, laborers - would be a
little safer to probe for information, but they might not know everything. They might give you away, too.
If you were to do reconnaissance, it would take more time. Maybe a lot more time, depending on how convoluted Cotrom's habits are. You would also have to figure out how to observe him without getting caught, which is a whole 'nother challenge in and of itself.
How about we buy something from him instead, or better yet, do him a favor of some kind? Creepy, antisocial wizards do need things done every now and then, and we seem like just the person for it, being both sorcerously talented in all likelihood as well as discreet. Maybe he needs a corpse from a graveyard, or some kind of other crap wizards need, you know? And then he might give us stuff for giving it to him! Maybe even magical stuff, eventually.
Does he sell things? Does he need favors? You're honestly not sure. When you were little, kids would tell stories about how the creepy wizard would do anything from steal away kids to give away magic potions. You could ask around about what he does outside his official capacity as the baron's adviser (independent research or trading, for example) and determine how valid of a plan it is, but you'd have to figure out who to ask first.
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Topic: The Price of Freedom (Read 13118 times)