Group 1: Ehto, Rory, HibikiThe priest's eyestalk raises slightly in confusion. "Mallowi is a Shroke male. Look for someone wearing armor of a similar color to my robes, and a mask. If he's not wearing those... Well, devotees of Hesh are rather rare in these parts. He should stand out easily enough." As Utzi and the others leave, Llullably says, "Blessings of Hesh upon your search," before heading in another direction to find the missing Luminari.
There's a few moments where Hrikit's own glare intensifies. Then she relaxes her posture and gives the group a mocking laugh. "Oh, I'd love to see you try that in front of the Lieutenant! Now are you going to make yourselves useful, or do I have to kick the lot of you out?"
Treena relaxes when the Baron does, though she's much less mirthful, walking up and jabbing her finger at Rory's chest. "Are you trying to get us all arrested?" She takes a moment to calm herself before continuing. "Look, I don't like what's being done in Grout Bog any more than you, but I'm just here to do a job or two for the Barons, and, more importantly, meet up with some associates of mine. There's trouble in the Deep Bog, and I need to find the source. Trying to start trouble of our own isn't helping that. At all."
"I know we're headed to the same place, but..." She frowns at Rory. "I think my chances are better off on my own." With nothing more to say, she heads through the gates, deeper into Grout Bog.
Treena is now indifferent to Rory - Behaved rather belligerently. She may still help other members of the party, however.Sal tensed up as the standoff with the Baron happened, and relaxed as Hrikit backed off.
"You know what? Maybe we could all do with a drink. Might also be good to hear what's up before we make our choice..." She sighs when Hibiki suggests that Sal pay.
"Should've seen that coming. Okay, but just for the one round, all right? Would rather not drink away my coin before we actually get a job done, right?" [] Beat up Hrikit: She still has it coming.
= You won't use weapons for this, so you won't have to worry about serious injury or death.
- Beating up a Spark Baron is probably not going to do your reputation with them any good. Or Hrikit herself, for that matter.[] Head into Grout Bog proper: With the guard demanding you enter now, you don't really have much choice.
[] Head to the Last Stand: Drinks and gossip sound like they could both be useful.
[] Head to the Regional Headquarters: Hrikit said this was the place to go to help deal with the problem Grout Bog was facing.
[] Just wander the area: The other group's already doing something similar. May as well do the same, right?
Group 2: Utzi, Friedhold and Nessa, TsubasaThe group of four haven't been on the road too long until they hear the sounds of a heated argument. A young lady wearing some kind of apron and a... purple-skinned, horned man in some kind of uniform are shouting at one another. Behind the horned man, a number of people dressed in the same uniform stand back, not wanting to get involved. The corpse of a large beast stands before the two, covered in scratches and wounds from blades.
"You want what?"
"Shills! I provided a service, didn't I?"
"Grout Bog is in crisis, you endanger the entire group, and now you're demanding money? You're hardly better than a Baron yourself!"
One of the uniformed people in the crowd spots the group, raising an eyebrow at their odd attire. "Grifters? Could you help..." He points at Shel, then makes a shooing motion.
Shel spots this and makes her own appeal. "Hey, you're grifters like me, right? Come on, back me up here!" The more perceptive party members might notice that the young lady's weapon - a dagger - flops about on her belt like it isn't secured properly...
[] Ask the young lady:
[] Who she is: She's dressed differently from the other people you've seen in this place so far, so it's probably a fair question.
[] What she's doing in Grout Bog: If Grout Bog is such a dangerous place, what brings her here?
[] What happened: You see a dead beast and a bunch of angry people. Any number of things could have happened that resulted in that situation.
[] Ask the uniformed man:
[] Who he is: You haven't seen anyone wearing the same uniform as he is until just now.
[] What he is: Probably a rude question, but you also haven't seen anyone with purple skin and horns on their head, at least until now.
[] What he's doing in Grout Bog: Why does he stay here, with such dangerous beasts as the one they just killed?
[] What happened: He seems to believe the young lady is at fault for the beast's presence. Why is that?
[] Convince the uniformed man to lay off the young woman: You doubt she is affiliated with the Barons in any way, shape or form.
+ If you do manage to get him to leave her alone, the woman will likely be grateful. - You haven't even asked either of them what happened yet. - He probably won't be very receptive to being told he's in the wrong.[] Convince the uniformed man to pay the young woman for her work: If he has the shills, he can make the problem go away easily.
+ If you manage to get him to pay her, the woman will likely be grateful. - You haven't even asked either of them what happened yet.
- He probably won't be very receptive to being told he should give this woman any amount of money.[] Threaten the uniformed man into laying off the young woman: Harassing a young woman because she helped them isn't very smart. You could offer to demonstrate why...
+ If you do manage to get him to leave her alone, the woman will likely be grateful. - He'll probably take exception to any threats of violence.
- The uniformed man's hands drift towards his weapon - a crude-looking axe. Ready to lash out. Alone, he's not much of a threat, but if the other people with him join in...[] Threaten the uniformed man into paying the young woman: He can save himself a lot of pain and suffering if he just hands over the cash.
+ If you manage to get him to pay her, the woman will likely be grateful. - He'll probably be furious that you're helping her take his money.
- The uniformed man's hands drift towards his weapon - a crude-looking axe. Ready to lash out. Alone, he's not much of a threat, but if the other people with him join in...[] Convince the young woman to back down: Her 'customers' are clearly dissatisfied with her 'service'.
+ If you manage to get her to back down, the uniformed man will likely be grateful. - She probably won't be very receptive to being told she's in the wrong.[] Threaten the young woman into backing down: She should be grateful they haven't started laying into her already.
+ If you manage to get her to back down, the uniformed man will likely be grateful.
+ Between the party and the uniformed man, you outnumber the young woman by a great amount. - She'll probably be furious that you're threatening her away from her business.[] Beat up the young woman: Best to just be rid of her.
+ If you manage to fend her off, the uniformed man will likely be grateful.
+ Her stance isn't that of a trained warrior - or any kind of warrior at all.
+ Between the party and the uniformed man, you outnumber the young woman by a great amount. - Fights can get messy and chaotic. While your lives aren't at risk, the others aren't so lucky...[] Attack the uniformed man and his colleagues: Perhaps its best if you simply... made them go away?
+ If you manage to fend them off, the young woman will likely be grateful. - The uniformed man and several of his colleagues sport battle scars. They seem to be experienced fighters.
- Fights can get messy and chaotic. While your lives aren't at risk, the others aren't so lucky...[] Something else: A different question to ask, or a different way to resolve the situation?
Malo, the uniformed man
Shel, the young lady
Everyone will start the next boss with full HP. If they get in a fight, this may decrease.
The party grouping so far is:
Group 1: Sal, Ehto, Hibiki, Rory, lingering at the Grout Bog gate.
Group 2: Tsubasa, Utzi, Friedhold and Nessa, somewhere in Grout Bog, where a young lady and a uniformed man are arguing.
The party has 75 Shills, the currency of Havaria. These are currently carried by Sal, though if other party members find Shills on their own, they will be counted separately from the rest of the party's.
Hrikit, Llullably, and Treena like the party - Helped protect them when swarmed at the gate. They may help the party if they happen to be in the same place as them.
Hrikit dislikes Rory - accused the Barons of slavery. She still likes the rest of the party, but if Rory is doing something, she might not help, or may even interfere.
Treena is indifferent to Rory - Behaved rather belligerently. They may still help the other party members, but not him.
Llullably has asked the party for help tracking down a missing Luminari by the name of Mallowi. If the party finds any info on him, they should go visit her abode among the worker's shanties.