How to Make an Enemy for Life - October 15, 2021

 - Later that evening back at the Beard and Barrel, the two orcs who were there at lunch are both still there at the same table nursing ales.

- The party situates themselves at a table where they can watch the orcs.

- After a while, Jimmy comes in and sits down with the orcs and they start having a discussion

- Osiris wanders over to a window to see if she sees anyone loitering outside who she might recognize from the Black Dog misadventure.

- She doesn't recognize anyone so she comes back to the group

- They decide that the first goal is to just steal Jimmy's money so he can't buy any more Orcish weapons

- Plan A is for Rusty to wander over and just say to Jimmy "Fancy meeting you here." and Theophania will use Mage Hand to steal his belt pouches

- Plan B is for Osiris and Lyrielle to pretend to start a fight and Theophania will steal his belt pouches with Mage Hand

- Plan C is an illusory fire to distract Jimmy and Theophania will steal his two belt pouches with Mage Hand 

- Plan A commences and Rusty immediately tells two lies and Jimmy is a bit disbelieving

- Plan A works very well and Theophania gets both of Jimmy's belt pouches 

- The first belt pouch is full of gold and the second is full of some kind of powder

- They pay for the drinks really quickly and head out to watch the tavern instead 

- Rusty decides to open the back door so Lyrielle can hear better and Raiàn follows too, but he breaks the deadbolt out of the door and makes a loud noise in the process

- Rusty then decides to leave quickly bringing the deadbolt with him, but Lyrielle hides in the area and watches the now open door

- Not long after Rusty left, Lyrielle sees a couple of guys come out the back door, sees the broken lock, and start canvasing the back area

- Rusty comes to ask Tiff if she can fix the lock, but she tells him that Mending takes one full minute, which if she get caught, she's dead

- So he starts to go back so Lyrielle isn't alone when he sees the guys in the back area so he turns around to head back to Osiris and Theophania, BUT

- Jimmy comes out of the bar, sees Osiris and Theophania and stomps over to her demanding to know where Rusty has gone because he (Rusty) stole his (Jimmy's) money

- Theophania laughs that Jimmy thinks Rusty could have gotten his money without being seen because he's so BIG

- Osiris then sends Jimmy in the wrong direction that she know Rusty actually went

- He stomps around the building in the wrong direction back to the back

- Rusty then books it a block or so away and listens for the sounds of battle just in case

- Lyrielle witnesses Jimmy and the two orcs argue over Jimmy's lack of payment and everyone stomps off their respective directions, the orcs towards the docks and Jimmy back into the tavern

- After a while everyone meets back up, and they go to the Callie's boarding house

- Osiris keeps an eye out to make sure they aren't followed, and she believes that they aren't

- Once hidden in Raiàn's room, they count the 1,000 GP from the first pouch and the second pouch is full of "blasting powder"

- Theophania is very upset that they still don't know what Jimmy and his people are planning to do with all these weapons

- They start to plan the kidnapping of Jimmy to use Zone of Truth on him to tell them what the hell is going on.

- Much discussion is had about whether they should actually do that before they even get very far.

- The decision is that everyone will stay at the boarding house to guard with Rusty in case Jimmy and his cohorts show up to try to rough him up in the night

- Confrontation with Jimmy to end this? Kidnap him? Approach him on the street? No idea what to do next.

- A long rest is had in shifts.

- 600 XP ea for 4,380 XP total ea.

Meatcake on Bread, Anyone? #FranchisingOptions - October 1, 2021

 - Guest: Andrew Winstead

- The group spends the morning discussing how they want to stake out the tavern.

- They decide to get lunch at the Beard and Barrel as reconnaissance mission 

- They walk over there and the place looks pretty seedy.

- Everyone but Osiris walk in, and there is one guy sitting in the corner who looks drunk and half passed out.

- Osiris walks around back to check out what might be there, but all the ones she can read have the correct brewery's label on them.

- She taps a couple of them, and they sound empty.

-  A door at the back opens and a big dude comes out to ask what's she's doing. She tells a story about looking for the front door having gotten turned around and he points her in the right direction, so she heads inside.

- A random person hears voices and comes out and asks if they want to try the new food he's experimenting with that he is calling "meat-cake on bread"

- Raiàn orders that for everyone plus requests another course of some kind, so after some negotiation she agrees to a starter of sliced apples soaked in rum followed by the meat cake on bread with a pitcher of ale for everyone.

- The apples are decent though the rum is cheap (this is a beer brewery not a rum distillery, so it's pretty cheap rum).

- The cook brings out some buns that he's sliced in half and put some cooked meat patties one.

- Raiàn sniffs the food then says it smells nice, but she thinks some grilled onions would go great with this new dish he's invented. 

- Then Theophania suggests that maybe lettuce and tomato would be nice too since that's nice on sandwiches

- He agrees so readily that he runs out the front door to go to the market to get produce.

- Everyone at their table shares a look and Lyrielle slips into the kitchen to have a look around.

- There's another door at the back that leads into the brewery, but since Osiris told them that a big dude came out the back of the brewery and the cook doesn't fit that description she only peaks through the door then slips back to the group

- Meanwhile, Rusty asks the drunk if the cook is always like this, and the answer is pretty much yes.

- Osiris goes over to him and casts Lesser Restoration on him and learns his name is Mitch and he woke up here because he was here overnight because his wife was upset with him 

- She also learns that the cook's name is Tallian 

- Tallian comes running back in with his arms fill of produce and runs through to the kitchen

- He brings out some grilled onions and some greens and a sliced tomato

- Theophania then asks if he any sauces like mustard

- He gives her a look, and she explains that you grind up mustard seeds and mix it with a bit of oil and spices

- He runs back into the kitchen and comes out with a little bowl a little while later.

- Then Raiàn asks if he could mix some oil and vinegar for dipping and he runs off again.

- Then Theophania makes up her sandwich and cuts a slice and calls him back out again and gives him a taste, and he is enthusiastic

- She also gives a small sliver of her hamburger to Mitch and he also praises the new food

- Raiàn then convinces Tallian to give them a tour of the brewery

- Two guys (one burly and one less burly) stops them half-way through the tour and tries to kick them out of their tour

- There is a kerfuffle as the group try to keep themselves poking around

- During the kerfuffle, Lyrielle spots a pair of Butterbeer Brewery barrels in a corner

- Thessalie immediately starts making a fuss about getting the barrels back to her second cousin's husband (Rusty brought it up and now they are thought to be spies, but Rusty called it her Uncle)

- They are told to come back when the owner (Gerald) will be in this evening (8 o'clock-ish)

- The burly guy's name is Dave

- After they are chucked back into the tavern, two full-blooded orcs walk in. Their clothing implies they are sailors.

- Tiff greets them in Orcish and tells them that her Great-Aunt Thessalie ran a few diplomatic missions to the Caliphate and healed Chief Ragnarsoc (Rasgarnoc?) of a broken wrist(?) 

- The group sits back down at their table and nurse their pitcher of ale and they wait

- After a half hour of sitting and waiting and watching for someone to interact with the orc and nothing happening they settle up their tab and head out for the afternoon to return later.

- As they pass the docks, Osiris scopes out a boat with Dwarven runes and sees beings she believe to be more orcs, so she elbows Lyrielle and they slow down and start heading that direction Raiàn follows them

- Lyrielle reads the name of the ship to Osiris as "The Fire Blade"

- Raiàn comes up with a plan to ask for a type of ale that the orcs make that you can't find in the city

- So they go up to the ship and she asks if they have an of that booze, they look her up and down and say that they haven't seen her kind before, but she has good taste

- They are invited onto the ship and the one guy goes down into the hold and comes up with a part-full bottle of booze and they share a glass

- They ask where she's from and she tells them she's from the other side of the Hopeless Highlands from the desert 

- They have a bit more conversation and Raiàn buys the rest of the bottle off of him for 1 GP, then shares another drink with him, then she turns to go and sways heavily and obviously, so Osiris rushes over to them 

- She then asks the orc who addresses her in common after she apologizes for rushing onto their ship what they're here for - the answer is to trade goods much like all the other ships and he tells them that they have some swords

- Meanwhile, at Groundswallow Carpentry Theophania introduces Rusty to Jess and Jillian, and he orders a chair to fit him and gets measured for it. Tiff says that Jillian is really good at painting things if he wants something on the chair, and they decide on some mountains

- Jess quotes Rusty the price of 35 GP for the chair, but then he gives him the family discount since he works for Callie and is such good friends with Tiff and gets his custom chair (size XXL) with mountains painted on for 17 GP

- 540 XP ea for a total of 3,780 XP ea.