Inntrigue
Inntrigue is a Platinum storyline from 2017. Background information related to events will be given below so everyone can be on the same page.
Important NPCs
Current
- Leiana - Daughter of Sabrien
- Sabrien - Current owner of the Raging Thrak Inn
- Hakir - The half thrak, aka the thrakman; Current antagonist
- Izaar - Moot Hall guy
- Jesop - Mayor of Wehnimer's Landing
Former
- Ilithorne
- Prysicilla
SPEW
Summary
The Society for Protection of Elanthian Wildlife, or SPEW, was a group of youths from Wehnimer's Landing who took up the cause of protecting many of the rare animals that were being hunted for their pelts or otherwise, such as the purple-spotted urgh.
Trouble at the Raging Thrak
Summary
Official Posts
Show Me the Money! on 06/29/2017
The cook simply grunted and spat in the stew pot he was stirring in response to the tirade going on behind him. Every once in a while, he would look up with bleary eyes to chuckle or shake his head in commiseration with the employees as they raged.
"I don't CARE what his situation is. He owes us! WHEN are we getting paid?!" shouts one of the men, raising a fist in the air as punctuation to his question.
"Calm down, Jordy, I'm sure whatever it is will resolve itself. He's not ever given us cause to be worried before, has he?" responded another, clearly the reasonable one in the bunch. He was met with sounds of disgust and no more than a few even seemed to listen.
"I tell you what, my old man isn't going to care about what 'he done before now' - we need our pay! I got children to feed and taxes to pay." said yet another.
"If this doesn't resolve itself soon, there'll be trouble. Look at this place, it's falling apart! He's broke, I tell you, broke!" yelled out one of the others in the group.
"Enough! I'm tryin' tah cook! Git! Go do yer grumblin' elsewhere!" shouted the cook, having had his fill of the griping of his fellow employees. He turned back to his pot, muttering beneath his breath as he resumed his culinary arts. The crowd of angered employees grudgingly dispersed, but could be heard continuing their heated conversations as they left the kitchen.
OOC: Something's happening in the Landing tonight! Oh, and avoid the stew at the Thrak Inn.
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A Long Night on 07/13/2017
Running a tired hand through his hair after dropping his customary hat to the desk, Izaar settles into his chair with a deep sigh. His haggard expression is only enhanced by the lack of sleep, large circles and sunken eyes evidence to the stress of his job of late. After the capture and failed interrogation of the criminal Hakir, he had spent several hours canvasing the local businesses in an effort to find anyone who may be familiar with the scaly half-thrak man and came back with nothing useful.
<“Yes, I remember that fellow. Quite unusual, that one, with the snout and his skin all scaly. But we get all kinds of unusual folks in this town, so I never paid him much mind to be honest. He came in, bought his food and supplies, then left like most customers do.” said the grocer.>
<“Sure, Hakir visits regularly to the craps tables and he’s a hell of a dicer!” spoke one regular patron of Beldrin’s Gaming Hall. “Never saw anything that made me think he might be a criminal, mister. Seemed friendly to me!”>
<“Yeah, I’ve seen ‘im. So what of it? You officials are always worrying about stuff that ain’t got nothin’ to do with nothin’. He’s just a guy – what more do you want me to say?” was the response from a few folks approached in Shanty Town near the docks.>
For all intents and purposes, Hakir was just another local – nothing out of the ordinary and nothing in the way of proof to say otherwise. Izaar sat up and scratched idly at his stubble-covered jaw, eyeing the now cold food on his desk and the luke warm mug of ale. Shrugging, he reached for the ale and took a long drink, then wiped his mouth and picked up the papers he’d revealed by moving the mug. As he shook them open and viewed it for what must be the tenth time, he let out a grunt of irritation. “This isn’t a contract.” He grumbled, tossing it down on the desk once more and setting the mug back down on it, heedless of the rings it created on the paper as the ale sloshed slightly. “It’s an I.O.U and nothing more. I can’t work with this!” he exclaimed, his frustration renewed as he closed his eyes and let his head loll back a moment. Sleep sounded very good at this point. Perhaps he would go home and get some rest, he thought.
The door busted open and commotion erupted as voices could be heard, yelling in alarm and filling the spaces between the sounds of footsteps rushing towards his office. “Sir!” panted two guards, their weapons drawn and their faces flushed with exertion, “He’s gone!” Izaar sat up abruptly and stood, a scowl on his face. “Who is gone? What happened? Why are you HERE instead of bringing whoever it is BACK?!” he barked at the two men with obvious irritation. “Hakir, sir, that scaly Thrak man, sir. We went to do rounds for the evening and he’s not in his cell. We have several men looking for him but wanted to let you know immediately.” one responded, while the other nodded, both men looking at him for direction. “Well now I know so go join the others and FIND him!” he snapped and grabbed his cap to pull firmly onto his head as he headed out of the door. “I’ll be expecting results TODAY gentlemen!” he yelled after their fleeing backs as he stomped down to the cell block and the empty cell, door still flung wide open.
No sign of forceful break in or out. No chipped metal from the door. No loosening of the metal bars. Nothing of evidence to show anything untoward. Izaar’s mind was working furiously, his gaze on everything of importance and then back again for anything that seemed insignificant. He wanted to find evidence, he had to – because if not, then he had to consider the alternative and he didn’t want to do that today. Not today – he was tired and wanted to be at home with his wife. But there was nothing. Not even a tiny scrap of something.
“Okay, boys.” He sighed, turning to face the two remaining guards waiting nearby to assist. “Please head to my office, there’s nothing more we can do here.” The guards looked to each other and then back to the cell, brows furrowed and faces pale. They nodded to Izaar and turned to follow him as he walked to his office with tired steps. Once inside, he closed the door and indicated they should take a seat. As he walked around to his chair and settled in once more, he placed his hands on his desk and gave each guard a frank look before saying, “Let’s talk about who might have let our prisoner go free. We can start by you accounting for your whereabouts for the last several hours tonight.” He began and then leaned back in his chair to listen with a frown marring his brow. He glanced down and saw a letter waiting for him regarding an investigation of the underground tunnels by a local named Qoshkalia. He picked it up, idly looking it over for a moment before setting it to the side for later. It was going to be a long night.
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Cipher Trouble
Summary
Official Posts
A Change of Scenery on 08/14/2017
Yanking her long red curls tightly into a ponytail, she secured it with a band of leather and tied it firmly in place. As she slipped out of her customary gown and into the nearby pants and blouse, she looked at herself in the mirror and sighed. She felt foolish. She had no experience in these types of matters, but she didn’t feel she had a choice.
A month had gone by, and despite the wages situation being cleared up with the staff and her father’s efforts to create a stronger relationship with the community, nothing had changed. People still whispered in hushed tones to each other as she or her father walked by. They smiled when she came by to check on their service and talked cordially enough with her, but when she turned to leave she could feel the change in the air – like ice crystals forming when a snow blows through. She’d had enough.
She reached for her cloak, yanking the hood up over her head and snatched her satchel from the hook on the back of the door. As she exited the city gates, she strode purposefully and with a watchful gaze, making her way toward the Trollfang forest. She had to hurry if she’d be back by nightfall.
OOC: Chapter 2 has begun - be on the lookout for NPC activity in and around the Landing throughout the week and into the weekend!
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A Walk in the Park on 08/23/2017
Upon leaving the furrier’s, Izaar walked down the streets of his city and pondered the addition of yet another concern to the events of late. He nodded and smiled to citizens passing by, tipping his hat and being friendly as was his habit, however, his attention was elsewhere. The rooftops of the city’s many buildings were his true center of focus and his gaze fell upon them as he passed each one. Once he found himself in shanty town, he took to the park and sat among the families there, once again nodding and making pleasantries, but all the while considering the rooftops. Though he saw nothing out of place, he certainly felt it. It was deep in his gut and he often trusted that sensation, much more than any rambling citizen who came spouting stories and accusations. This made him chuckle a moment as he recalled the conversation he’d had with one Lord Whick and his companions Talryssa and Tanderick, if you could call it a conversation.
After rushing in to the Hall in the middle of the night seeking his audience, they’d been set with an appointment and Izaar was curious about their concerns. He’d hoped it would be useful information and perhaps give him some insight into the strange happenings with Hakir’s escape. He was aware of course of the infiltration of his guard. It infuriated him and he felt personally affronted that it had happened. He wasn’t immune to the fact that there is a criminal element in the Landing – it is a Frontier town so it attracts all types of folk, both well-meaning and otherwise. And he’d had ill-fitted guards in his employ before, in fact the aptly named “Sleepy” had stuck in Izaar’s craw for years now. But the Mayor wouldn’t hear of letting him go as he is considered a ‘fixture’ in the town and ‘good for morale’. Mostly Izaar felt it was because Sleepy had drank with about every shop owner and businessman in town on multiple occasions so he had formed some sort of comradery as a result. The fact that he now had not one, but two, incidents of corruption apparent in his guard had caused him no small amount of anger and worry. He’d been quietly investigating for weeks and without any true results. Whomever it was, they were very careful at covering their tracks and he was beginning to feel that perhaps this was a lost cause. But then Lord Whick and his companions had shown up and dropped a gift into his lap.
It was too bad that they were inept and terribly disorganized, he thought as he smiled and patted a child on his head while nodding to his prattling mother. One would think that they would have come in with some semblance of proof or at least an organized thought. Unfortunately, they had provided him such a jumble of vague statements that he had been left with the task of picking it apart and finding tidbits here and there to assist his comprehension. He often wondered what causes a person to feel it is wise to run into an official’s office and demand recourse against a would be criminal or other person of ill-intent without any proof or detailed description of what had happened. But it happened, and more often that he could count. That day had been no different.
He had listened to their claims and afterwards, understood quite a few things about Lord Whick and his companions. 1) Lord Whick was untrustworthy and would say and do whatever he thought needed to achieve his goals, including lying to an official of the city. His failure to include key parts of the interaction he had with the so-called Ciphers where their prisoner had died and information was revealed was the first indication of this. Additionally, Lord Whick is courting miss Leiana from the Thrak Inn and yet there he stood with another woman informing Izaar that miss Leiana was someone he should have a ‘talk’ with and not protesting an inch when the woman, Talryssa, accused miss Leiana of being involved in these Ciphers somehow. Though the accusation is of interest and he will most definitely look into it, the fact that Lord Whick allowed it and even corroborated it in some form was interesting to Izaar, given what he knew of Whick and Leiana. 2) Lord Whick and his companions are not on the same page and that is most likely due to deceit. The woman Talryssa had told Izaar that they had killed the prisoner whom they believe to be a member of these Ciphers and discussed some paperwork they had found – she did this all freely and without hesitation which means that she must have felt it was no secret. Lord Whick on the other hand had not disclosed that the prisoner was killed – in fact, he’d told Izaar she had escaped with her fellows as he was attending to the wounded. He had not mentioned the paperwork in any way, either, and seemed slightly irritated when Talryssa brought all of this information up. To his credit he did try to cover his tracks, but it was not very well done and Izaar, having been used to this type of thing, caught onto it immediately. The man Tanderick didn’t seem to be aware of any of the happenings, yet there he was in their midst having the same meeting. Though, he did confirm Izaar’s suspicions surrounding the rooftop activity. For that, he was grateful.
All that aside, what irritated Izaar the most about the meeting was the accusation about Dakris. Dakris has been a fixture in this city for as long as Izaar can remember. He and his family have owned the furrier’s shop for many years and though he was aware that Dakris is a bit rough around the edges he had never had cause to look at him in a negative light. When Lord Whick accused Dakris of being involved with this criminal element they called the Ciphers, Izaar was astounded! That isn’t to say he wouldn’t consider the Lord’s pleas and so he waited to hear more. Nothing more was forthcoming unfortunately. Lord Whick only had to say that he was suspicious and had seen Dakris speaking to someone whom he was convinced was part of the Ciphers, though it should be noted that he could not explain how he knows that the person was part of the Ciphers – no identifying marks or clothing, just a hunch. The seal for his fate, so to speak, was when Lord Whick told Izaar that Dakris threatened him when he was confronted. Upon asking for clarification, because he just couldn’t imagine that being the case – Dakris is too smart for that, Lord Whick fumbled through some explanation that amounted to him saying that Dakris stated the law in this city were imbeciles. First, that’s not a threat. Izaar chuckled a moment at that. Second, Dakris may not care for the law in the city all the time, but he’s not ignorant of its need or the intelligence shown by not intentionally poking that bear. Needless to say, he did go to see Dakris as it was tax time and there was a legitimate reason. Nothing out of the ordinary showed in his books and as Izaar was looking around the place, he saw nothing unusual. If all he had to go on was a meeting with someone and the account of Lord Whick, untrustworthy as that one was, he was not going to accuse the man. It was just bad business.
Standing up, Izaar said his goodbyes to the citizens in the park and made his way back to the center of town as the sun began to set. Shadows began to set in the edges of buildings and throughout the trees as it grew darker and Izaar’s gaze was drawn once more to the rooftops of the buildings. It all added up to something, he knew, and he would not be letting it go. The mention by Lord Whick and his companions that this might somehow be related to animals and more specifically, the Society for the Protection of Elanthian Wildlife, had caused him some unease. As he entered Town Center, he glanced to the northwest and smiled, making his way to the Thrak Inn. He’d have a bite to eat at the Inn, he thought, and while there he’d have a conversation with miss Leiana as well.
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The Morning Paper on 09/06/2017
Izaar looked over his paperwork as he sat at his desk, a furrowed brow and a scowl upon his expression. He was certainly tired of being told that adventurers had barged into Moot Hall in the middle of the night demanding an audience with him, but he was worried enough about the recent developments that he was beginning to be more grateful for those demands that annoyed. He had no trust for Lord Whick, but it may be a necessary evil in order to get to the bottom of this crime ring he felt certain was developing within the Landing.
Sighing, he called for his assistant who rushed into the room and waited for instructions. "Please send correspondence to Lord Whick that I will make an effort to be around to meet with him this evening. I will make my way to the Thrak Inn to discuss things with him around ten in the evening." After a moment's pause, he said "And send that same information to Miss Leiana please. I don't want to invade her Inn with adventurers without prior notification." As the assistant nodded and wandered off to accomplish her task, he muttered to himself, "I guess it's going to be a coffee day."
OOC: Events will kick off around 10pm tonight in the Thrak Inn. Hope to see you there!
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A velnalin, a panther, and a trio of exotic birds walk into a barn... on 09/08/2017
The stable hand scowled with anger as he considered the condition of the young animals brought to him by the stable master late the night before. His eyes watered slightly with frustration as he tossed the battered cages outside of the shelter and began filling water troughs for the new residents. He knew they wouldn't be there long as the city official had told his master that they were to be relocated to safety in the coming days after contact with Solhaven had been made.
He sniffed as the faint acrid scent of the explosion from the previous night still filtered in on the morning breeze from the bay. He'd been wakened by that explosion, which rocked the city with the sound and heat coming off of the barge that was taken down off the Locksmehr River. Rumors abounded as to how that occurred - some people said that local adventurers were responsible and had burned all those animals left on the ship in their haste to stop the smugglers aboard. Others said that the smugglers set it on fire themselves to avoid being captured and force the adventurers off so that the criminals could escape. What was definitive was that the destruction left a large amount of debris to clean up and a great deal of unanswered questions. He hoped that the city would complete an investigation soon and find those responsible for such abuse to the local creatures that called the surrounding wilds home. It was awful what they had endured and he couldn't imagine the type of person that could have done this.
The sound of conversation floated to him from nearby and he peered around the corner briefly to see the stable master speaking to the city official, Izaar. He could not hear everything but did make out that the transport of the rescued animals should begin tomorrow and he sighed with relief. Just before turning back to his duties, a shift in the shadows caught his eye at the top of the stable. A lone figure, cloaked in dark clothing and a deep hood squatted patiently in observation of the two men as they talked. The figure glanced up and their eyes met before the stable hand could jerk away. A brief smile flickered across the figure's face as they stood and he stood there stupefied and watched helplessly as the figure gave a slight nod in farewell and scurried across the rooftop to disappear onto another.
OOC: Chapter 2 has concluded and we would like to thank all those that have participated! We hope you enjoyed it as we explored the newest chapter in our story of Inntrigue! Special thanks to GMs Aulis and Skhorne, who were very helpful with invasions, NPC activity, and messaging to assist me! Also special thanks to GM Flannihan for the quick QC jobs on our smuggling holds, Locksmehr River and Barge areas! **NPCs will continue to be around off and on so please feel free to interact and be on the lookout for them!
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A Consortium of Mystery
Summary
11/11 - 11/18
The Grocer decided to reopen shop, much like Dakris, after being threatened and having his shop ransacked. An ebon card was found on the counter, which is apparently the calling card of the perpetrators.