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10/10/2002 - date gamed
(372yp)
We spend the night planning our daytime heist of Haij The Stout's wine shop.
We believe he may have a dog. And our plan is to have Sjer enter the store, and when no one else is there Sjer will put Haij to sleep and allow Afalar into the back. Then Haij will awaken and Sjer will keep his attention while Afalar exits. Zali will run interference at the door if someone else wants to get in. Afalar will probably have a dog and even a helper in the back to deal with.
Our plan is hatched, so to speak. We set out in search of glory.
It is the morning of the 12th. There is a heavy fog and the smell of impending rain is in the air. The sounds of the river trade is loud in the morning.
We pass a member of the Fist on the way to the market. The man's wake is filled with mutterings and gossip, but no one approaches him directly. We enter the market through the main gates past the beggars and the tradesmen.
Sjer enters the store to find the old man's back turned to him, two quick spells puts Haij to sleep and Afalar and Sjer go into the store. In the back a snarling dog greets us as expected. Afalar closes with the beast and gets bitten for his troubles. Sjer adds a little mystical protection to Afalar's defence. This seems to do the trick as the dog's teeth avoid Afalar's flesh after that.
Afalar swings twice at the dog and misses. Sjer manages to stick one dart in the dog, but the vicious brute doesn't seem to notice. With the combat sounds escalating and Sjer wondering just how long the Stout's snoring will last, Zali'haro bursts unexpectedly into the backroom and hacks into the beast, splitting it's skull in twain and splattering himself and Afalar with gore.
"Quit fooling around!", Zali spits and then heads back to the street.
Afalar drags the dog and the bloody carpet down some stairs that appear there. Fortunately Afalar finishes with the noisy cleanup just as Haij begins to awaken.
Sjer rushes over to begin assisting Haij up.
"What is wrong good sir, are you all right?" After some disorientation he revives and we begin negotiations and the finding of various bottles.
In the back, Afalar can hear the conversation out front and begins checking the obvious cases. A little skill and stealth determine that the goal of our outing lies elswhere. The dark descending stairwell is beckoning.
Out front Zali'haro, disquised as himself and smelling of dog brain is busy dissuading an old dottering wino from going about his business. There is enough of a commotion that we hear it inside.
Haij goes out
Oraji seems delighted with his change in company and he forces a drink of whiskey on Sjer. After a bit of conversation and eye wiping, the drunken Oraji buys Sjer a bottle of wine. He prompts Haij about a special order which Haij plays down. Oraji totters off and we head back in to continue negotiations. So far Sjer has picked up three bottles. One of the ones from L'talas's list and two others which are a year younger than one listed.
Meanwhile, Afalar has lit a torch and descended to the cellar. Afalar begins his search. There are some open cabinets and some that are locked with good locks. There is one lock that is superb and Afalar tries that one first. After careful examination it appears that there is no way to force the lock with a crowbar, only a sledgehammer, the key, or an exceptional thief will open this lock.
As Afalar's lockpick begins a careful probing inside he feels something familiar.
"I'll be damned," he says. "It's a Wi'lan special!" Two deft movements and the lock pops open. Looking exceeding pleased with himself, Afalar opens the cabinet and examines the prize.
Inside are 5 cases, 2 of which do not have any dust. Inside the cases are the bottles we are looking for. There are a total of 17 bottles in two cases.
Inside the shop Haij is telling Sjer about Oraji.
"That old man is wealthy, doesn't work, and yet enjoys alchohol all day long. He must have a magic liver."
Sjer concludes the transactions with Haij, paying 50 drops for four bottles of wine, with only the three bottles left from the list left to buy for 3 additional rods. Sjer overpaid for the cheaper bottles thinking to make up the difference of the other bottles but was surprised by the high price Haij began bargaining at. No money was saved on this transaction, yet it will do.
After a visible goodbye and a near miss with a prancing niece, Haij is once more put to sleep.
We enjoy a hot meal and begin machinations to cheat our employer out of a bottle of wine. We decide on the course of wisdom and make a full report to L'talas. He is most upset with the loss of the 4 rods, but most pleased with the 17 bottles of Pract'la wines. Ah well, it seems he prefers his bad news before his good. A lesson Sjer will not forget.
L'talas tells us that he has some more info that makes the pursuit of the Braid more worthwhile. However, he tells us that our identity is worth preserving. We should try to follow up on the Cierra family. He plainly states that there will be no money forthcoming to us after so brief a stay.
We then attempt to plan our actions for the next few days. What to do about money, what to do about the Braid, what to do in general.
Afalar takes a few days to recover.
Zali'haro decides to go join the guild and pass the tests, so Sjer goes with him.
Inside the guild hall we meet the man Fanar. To join the guild empowers the man holding the membership to bear arms and act as a bodyguard to any who pay the price.
Zali quickly gets the drop on his opponent and delivers a quick swing into his opponent's side. The man tries to get back into the fight but seems overwhelmed by Zali's style. Zali'haro delivers another quick blow which causes the man to stagger and miss his next blow. However, the man finally gets his feet back under him and blocks Zali's next blow and delivers one of his own.
There is a first time fee of 1 rod to enter the guild and each year thereafter will be an additional 1/2 rod.
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