Dinner at the Leaky Mug
Subject Dinner at the Leaky Mug
Even though he is still feeling a bit out of sorts Salix, now being called Sam, insists on joining the other down in the common room for dinner. The four take off their armor and put the larger weapons in the trunks with the armor. They each keep a knife, except for Salix who takes his sling and the pouch of bullets with him. Ally puts his Ioun stone in a pouch inside his robes and tells Sysyphys to stay in the room but to keep hidden. He would bring the snake back something to eat if it did not catch anything in the room while they were gone.
When they get to the common room they are able to find a table for 6 that is empty. Taking up seats around the table Mund signals to a serving girl and she heads over to take their order. She cowers a bit as she tells them what is on the menu "We have roast venison, vegetable stew, fresh bread, cheese and several types of beer and ales. Harder drink can be gotten at the bar." The four place orders and several minutes later the girl is back with their food. The food is plentiful, if not tasty. They have all had worse but the kitchens of Gorn lay a good table and this is not even close.
As they eat in silence they listen to the conversation of the crowd around them. At this time of night the crowd is fairly restrained, especially by Mund's standards. There is only the occasional drunken outburst or squeal of a serving girl getting her ass pinched. Ran makes note of the layout of this main room and building, noting where the doors are and the windows as well as the stairs. It seems that the gambling, drugging and whoring are done upstairs and the drinking and eating are done downstairs. Several times the party is approached to see if they are interested in buying some sort of drug or a girl or a boy for the night. Polite no's are given, even when free samples are offered.
Salix and Ran have the hardest time of the four. Salix has never spent much time with crowds and Ranthir has spent many years with the elves. While the elves can be festive, they are nothing like this. Their parties are musical and full of life. This crowd seems rude, loud and obnoxious. After a couple of hours Ally sees Salix's discomfort. "Sam, lets get you back to the room and get you some rest. I need my sleep as well. Ranthir, do you want to stay here with Mund and keep an eye out for the others or are you going to call it a night?"
OODM: These four can roll play this if they want.
From: Derek
Subject Dinner at the Leaky Mug
Allistair continues. "You might even check out some of the other taverns in this area if you have time. They won't necessarily come to this tavern, and a half-orc , an elf, a halfling and a dwarf together should be pretty easy to spot. Also I need some time to examine these day-passes."
OOC: Do we have any pearls left that we used to ID all the stuff we got from the caravan? Also, is recreational drug use pretty common in this world, or is it something unique to Bodentown?
From: Mark
Subject Dinner at the Leaky Mug
It's not unique to Bodentown, but it is not common in many of the good countries, especially the LG ones. Even to Mund and Ally, who came from the Wildlands, it seems a bit more out in the open then at home.
From: Jason
Subject Dinner at the Leaky Mug
Ragnar doesn't really have anything to add here, so I'm just checking in. He's looking forward to resting for the night; its been an exhausting day, first with him using nearly every blessing he had prepared, followed by a forced march. In fact if no one else wants anything from him, he'll probably start getting ready for bed immediately.
From: Randy
Subject Dinner at the Leaky Mug
Ranthir regrets removing his armor more and more as the evening progresses. This looked like a quite rowdy group and the possibility of things turning ugly seemed quite real.
"I think that we can worry about finding the others tomorrow. What do you think Mund? Anything you want to do before we head back to the room?"
From: Porter
Subject Dinner at the Leaky Mug
"Yeah, I want to find out what I can."
Mund looks around the room and picks out a group laughing and drinking. He comes over to them and with a good-natured grin, tries to join in on the fun.
When appropriate, Mund will try to ingratiate himself with the group buy buying them all a round of drinks. He might even get into a drinking contest with somebody. Over time, he will try to gather information, trying to find out about economic situation in the town, if things have changed recently, and who runs Bartertown/Bodentown.
From: Jason
Subject What passes for passes
Kal casts detect magic on the pass and then goes quiet for a moment.
"It's definitely enchanted, I can't be sure, but I think it has multiple enchantments. The most powerful is of the school of divination. That's generally used for spells that locate objects, read minds, and the like. That's all I can tell."
"I don't know if we're better off keeping these passes or making fake ones. If the enchantment is used to verify the passes are legit, we have to keep them. However, if the passes are used in someway to find out information about us, it would be very dangerous to keep them."
From: Derek
Subject Dinner at the Leaky Mug
As Mund get up, Allistair asks the others, "Ran, do you want to go up with Sam and get some rest? I'd like to stay with Mund for a little while and talk to some of the others here. If Mund drinks as much as I think he is, he may not remember anything. I can actually hold my liquor better than he can, though it seems unlikely."
What passes for passes, at the Boar's Head inn
Subject What passes for passes
Mark, did we get the same types of "passes" as the others? I know that we will not know that they are magical, but I just want to know if we got them.
From: Mark
Subject What passes for passes
You 4 got passes. The characters have no idea if they are the same type until they meet up with the other 4.
From: Kevin
Subject At the Boar's Head inn
"We need a room for 4 for a couple nights. What d'ya have?"
From: Kal
Subject What passes for passes
Is there anything about the passes that would make Kal think to cast detect magic?
I'm not saying he's investigating them, I don't think it'd occur to him naturally. Only if there was something particular about them. (Arcane Knowledge maybe?)
From: Mark
Subject What passes for passes
Not really. Surin might have an idea as to why they might be enchanted.
From: Ashley
Subject What passes for passes
Would that be an Appraise check, then?
From: Kevin
Subject At the Boar's Head inn
OOC: Mark, any role playing with the inn keeper? Harp asked what they had available?
I am heading out to lunch here shortly.
From: Mark
Subjet: At the Boar's Head inn
I will try and get some this afternoon. Lots of crap at the office today.
People wanting custom printed stuff in the next couple of weeks. We are booked through the end of the year and they are not happy.
From: Mark
Subject At the Boar's Head inn
"How much you got to spend? A basic room for 4 would run 4 gold a day. Food, drink, drugs and companionship extra. For 10 a day you get all the food and women you want. Drink and drugs are still extra."
From: Kevin
Subject At the Boar's Head inn
"How about 6 gold for the room and the food? We may come back and talk to you about the women after we finish our business. We'll pay for 2 days upfront."
From: Mark
Subject At the Boar's Head inn
"Done." He takes the money, 12 gold, and signals for a young girl. This girl has an odd look about her. It takes Harp a few seconds to realize what it is. She is a 1/2 orc, just like him. He would put her age at around 12 but she is already just under 6 foot. Not ugly by Harp's standards but her orcish parentage is obvious. She eyes Harp with open lust. "You're a big one aren't you?' She says. She grabs his arm and pulls him, with the others following down a long hallway. Out into a courtyard and to a building in the back. In another door and up a flight of stairs. Turning right, she pulls open the first door on the right and shows them their room.
She hops up on the bed and leans back suggestively. "If you need anything" she wiggles her eyebrows," just let me know. I am called Thanga."
From: Porter
Subject At the Boar's Head inn
*waggles eyebrows*
From: Karl
Subject At the Boar's Head inn
Would that be "Miss Thanga?"
From: Mark
Subject At the Boar's Head inn
Too bad Mund is on the other side of the city.
From: Porter
Subject At the Boar's Head inn
*pouts*
But who knows? Maybe that's Mund's daughter.
From: Mark
Subject At the Boar's Head inn
Naw she is better looking than that. ;) And if she and Harp get involved would that make Mund Harp's father in law?
From: Porter
Subject At the Boar's Head inn
She takes after her mother, the sweet thing.
From: Kevin
Subject At the Boar's Head inn
Harp grins at the girl and says in his best Orcish "Thank you, Thanga, but we're fine for now. We want to get cleaned up after our travels. Maybe later we can talk??"
He tips her a silver piece and pats her rump on the way out.
From: Mark
Subject At the Boar's Head inn
Thanga looks disappointed but keeps the silver piece. She closes the door behind her.
The 4 look around the room. It is fairly spacious, with four bed placed around the room and a central table. There are two windows with bars on them on the wall opposite the door. The room is lit with 6 wall torches that look similar to Munds everburning torch. However these have dark bags attached so that the light can be put out.
Surin makes a quick inspection of the room and reports in. "The good news. We are at the end of the hallway so we only have one neighbor" he points to the communal wall. "The bad news is that the walls are typical Inn walls and not all that sturdy. The other bad news: the damn furniture is too big." As he says this he moves towards the table in the middle of the room and with a running leap jumps up on the human sized chair.
From: Kevin
Subject At the Boar's Head inn
Harp laughs at Surin's comment, goes over to one of the beds and lays down, his feet dangling over the edge a few inches. "I don't know what your'e complaining about, at least your feet don't hang out."
"Let's get unpacked and cleaned up a bit, but don't leave anything important in the room. Then we can head down to get some food and get a feel for this place."
OOC: Mark, I assume there is a communal bathing area on the floor somewhere?
From: Kevin
Subject At the Boar's Head inn
OOC: Mark, for now, Harp is going to try to go by the name of Hack, and will try to remind the others of that as they head to the common room.
From: Mark
Subject At the Boar's Head inn
No one saw a bathing area any where so far. There is only a small bowl with a piece of silvered glass as a mirror on the wall next to the door. Underneath is a large, empty pitcher. There are 4 bedpans, one next to each bed.
From: Ashley
Subject At the Boar's Head inn
OK, the retcon this.
"Surin, why don't you go take a quick look around the inn here. Try to get a basic layout so if we need to leave quickly, we have a good idea of where we can go."
From: Ashley
Subject What passes for passes
Before everyone splits off from the room, Surin gets Kal's attention and pulls out his city pass. "I noticed when I was looking at this earlier that the design is pretty straightforward--nothing too complicated or ornate. I figure any kid with a paintbrush could probably forge it with a little practice. I was thinking, if this really is something we should have when we go around the city, there might be something magical to set it apart from a false one. D'you think you could tell if it was?"
In the absence of Allistair, Kal's the first one Surin thinks of to do something like this, but he wants to get it straightened out before anyone leaves the inn.
What to do at the Leaky Mug, the others get a room
Subject Surin is found
Harp looks around - where did Surin go?? Was he hiding again, in plain daylight?? Showoff.
From: Mark
Subject Turn
Sorry I did not get anything out last night. I will tonight.
From: Kevin
Subject Surin is found
Don't do anything until we find Surin. I know we left him around here somewhere???
Surin??? Surin??? Where are you??
There you are you sneaky little halfling. Come on out from behind that sign.
Halflings... they are just like 12 year olds.
From: Mund
Subject What to do at the Leaky Mug
Mund looks around at the room. Not bad. Pretty expensive, but Mund should be able to get the money back if they succeed in beating the stuffing out of whatever's causing the problems out here.
"At lease some of us need to go down and blow some money on riotious living, or people will start to wonder about us. It might also be a good time to get some lernin' about this place. Alley -- I know you's a-wantin' to check some stuff out. How about the rest of y'all? I've never too good at getting others to talk willingly. Any of y'all good at that?"
"Salix -- how are you feeling? Are you up to strenght, or should you rest a while here?"
From: Porter
Subject Sense motive
I thought that Sense Motive was one of those skills that you didn't have to declare, like listen or spot. Am I mistaken?
From: Karl
Subject What to do at the Leaky Mug
Salix hates everything about this mission. He can't trust the forest, and he has to hide who he is in town. He isn't particularly fond of the *good* towns, but it's even worse here. Still, he didn't come on this mission to hide in a room in an inn. "I'm right with you Mund. And call me Sam, please. Salix is a pretty druidic sounding name and someone's bound to make the connection."
From: Porter
Subject Time
OOC: what time is it? Is it too late to check out the mercenary guild?
From: Mark
Subject Time
It is just past dinner time, so it is unlikely to be open.
From: Mark
Subject Sense motive
From my reading of the skill I would say not.
Here is the SRD
Check: A successful check lets you avoid being bluffed (see the Bluff skill). You can also use this skill to determine when "something is up" (that is, something odd is going on) or to assess someone's trustworthiness.
Task Sense Motive DC
Hunch 20
Sense enchantment 25 or 15
Discern secret message Varies
Hunch: This use of the skill involves making a gut assessment of the social situation. You can get the feeling from another's behavior that something is wrong, such as when you're talking to an impostor. Alternatively, you can get the feeling that someone is trustworthy.
Sense Enchantment: You can tell that someone's behavior is being influenced by an enchantment effect (by definition, a mind-affecting effect), even if that person isn't aware of it. The usual DC is 25, but if the target is dominated (see dominate person), the DC is only 15 because of the limited range of the target's activities.
Discern Secret Message: You may use Sense Motive to detect that a hidden message is being transmitted via the Bluff skill. In this case, your Sense Motive check is opposed by the Bluff check of the character transmitting the message. For each piece of information relating to the message that you are missing, you take a --2 penalty on your Sense Motive check. If you succeed by 4 or less, you know that something hidden is being communicated, but you can't learn anything specific about its content. If you beat the DC by 5 or more, you intercept and understand the message. If you fail by 4 or less, you don't detect any hidden communication. If you fail by 5 or more, you infer some false information.
Action: Trying to gain information with Sense Motive generally takes at least 1 minute, and you could spend a whole evening trying to get a sense of the people around you.
Try Again: No, though you may make a Sense Motive check for each Bluff check made against you.
Special: A ranger gains a bonus on Sense Motive checks when using this skill against a favored enemy.
If you have the Negotiator feat, you get a +2 bonus on Sense Motive checks.
Synergy: If you have 5 or more ranks in Sense Motive, you get a +2 bonus on Diplomacy checks.
If you check under action it says you need ot usually take a whole minute or longer.
There might be times I would make it automatic, but this was not one of them.
From: Mark
Subject The others get a room
Harp and the others with him head towards the gate guards. It is obvious that there is a line of people being inspected before entry, although many of what seem to be locals pass through with out bother. Deciding to error on the side of caution Harp has the four get into the line to check in with the guards. When their turn comes up a reasonably efficient guard approaches them asking "Your names and purpose in Bodentown?" Harp gives the preplanned response about looking for a confederate who had made off with some treasure. "Any suggestions how the fastest way to find him?" Harp asks. The guard laughs "In Bodentown, if some one wants to get lost they usually can. If you've got the money my best suggestion would be to pay a temple money to find out where your friend is and then pay the Nighthawks to kill him for you. If your broke, as you say you are, hire on with the mercenary guild. You might make enough in a few years to afford the temple and the Hawks."
Harp thanks the man and they each pay the 1 gold for the 5 day pass. The sun is just setting in the west and dark is coming on fast. "I don't think" Ragnar says "that we should risk looking for the others in the dark, in a city we know nothing about. How about we find an inn for the night and try and meet up with the others tomorrow?" Surin nods his agreement with this plan and as much as Harp would like to rejoin the others, he sees the wisdom of Ragnar's suggestion. Even Kal agrees "Hey, if this place is as rough as every one says, daylight is our friend, at least until we know more about it."
That being settled the four move deeper into the city, looking for a place to stay. Surin sees obvious signs of an active guild, and reminds himself that it would be bad mojo to do any extra activities without finding the local day master or night master and getting approval. However, that does not keep him from stopping a few young pick pockets who try to help lessen Harp's load. A few quick taps on the back of their heads with the butt of his dagger and the common street thieves know to leave them alone.
After a half hour of looking the four finally find a place. It seems to be in a fairly nice part of town, off of Merchant Street. The inn, The Boars Head Inn, stands 3 stories high and has a good crowd coming in and out of the front doors. The companions make their way into the common room and the smells of cooking meat and fresh beer fills their noses. Asking one of the customers if they knew who was in charge, they are directed to a tall, thin man with a bald head who is standing behind the bar. As they approach he looks them up and down and looks at them a bit disdainfully. "Yes, how may we at the Boars Head help you tonight?"
OODM: If you want to role play this go ahead.
Gears of War
I wasn't too interested in this game when I first heard about it. The trailers were all browns and greys; the notion of a "chainsaw bayonet" struck me as sophomoric, as did the ability to curb stomp downed opponents. The story didn't seem very interesting. It didn't really appeal to me, and I said as much on a couple of forums I frequent.
*munch, munch*
I'm actually enjoying eating my words, because Gears of War is so good that I can hardly bear to put it down. In hindsight, I'm not even sure why the browns and greys in the trailers turned me off, given my professed love for Resident Evil 4. Epic cited that very game as a strong stylistic and atmospheric influence, and it shows. If I had to categorize Gears, or describe it succinctly, I'd call it a third-person tactical action shooter with survival horror elements that draws on a number of classic science fiction tropes.
It's also by far the best-looking game I've ever seen. When I got my 360, I was wowed by the visuals in Oblivion and Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter, but Gears makes both games look positively dated.
(Click the screenshot for a fullsize version. The shot is in-game.)
As I alluded to above, the story is a fairly standard affair, but it blends its myriad influences well rather than coming across as a tired rip-off of any one of them. The dialogue is rife with over-the-top machismo, which is reflected clearly in the main characters' stylized burliness, but as the game progresses it becomes abundandly clear that most of them are tired, beaten down, or scared out of their minds, and the macho acts are just a cover. This makes an interesting contrast with the game's environments: the buildings, which were once beautiful, are almost uniformly broken ruins. Between the disparate influences and excellent use of art style to create atmosphere, Gears has proven much more subtle than I initially gave it credit for.
Having said all of that, the gameplay is what really makes Gears stand out from the crowd. Like the other aspects of the game, it oozes polish; the controls, weapons, and terrain were clearly lovingly tested and balanced. All of it combines to create an experience that just begs to be played co-op, whether split-screen or via Xbox Live, and true to its billing, Gears features seamless drop-in co-op in campaign mode. It can be played single-player, but it was clearly designed with two players in mind. There is a very strong emphasis on the use of cover, and while playing with a friend you'll find yourself executing flanking maneuvers, laying down suppressing fire, and making tactical retreats. All of these stratagems work exactly as you would expect them to, particularly if you're playing on Hardcore mode rather than Casual. The latter is more forgiving, making it suitable for single-player; on Hardcore, the enemies can take more hits, but they also pop up from cover less often and for less time, and are much more apt to try to flank you even as you're trying to flank them.
This is a vast improvement over games like GRAW, where the closest enemies come to shooting from behind cover is lying prone. I complained about limited tactical options in GRAW, but while the combat in Gears happens in much closer quarters, the ability to duck behind pretty much anything and then dodge from one piece of cover to the next makes it a much more tactical affair.
Gears is not without its flaws. Versus mode multiplayer has a few bugs that pop up intermittently, such as some allied players being unable to hear one another in voice chat during the game*; the A button may be mapped to one function too many, which sometimes results in sticking to cover while trying to run. However, none are anything more than minor irritants, and it's a testament to the immersiveness of the game and intuitiveness of its gameplay that it by and large makes you forget them.
This is the best game I've played all year, and I think it's going to sell some Xbox 360s.
Title: Gears of War (Epic), 2006
One-line verdict: Game of the Year material.
Review Platform: Xbox 360
*2007-02-02 Addendum: The voice chat bug was fixed by a patch released in January 2007, along with a couple of balance issues. There are also two new multiplayer maps available free.
At the Leaky Mug cont., and Surin disappears
Subject At the Leaky Mug cont
Depending on how much time they have left in the day, Allistair would like to ask around and find out if there is any mage community here. Discreetly, if possible. There's probably not a whole lot that Allistair could do to hide his profession, but he won't go out of his way to advertise it either. Probably not large enough to be a mage guild or such in Bodentown, but he would like to find out who the prominent magic-users in town are. Also he'd like to ask around about the government of Bodentown, who the mayor/lord that runs the place is and what kind of a person they are. After gathering information, Allistair needs to rest and memorize spells.
From: Kevin
Subject The others head in
OOC: Mark as I re-read this, I may not have made myself clear. Harp will expect to pay something for a pass, but not 5 gp each. He will haggle, claiming that they have little funds left given what was taken from them by the person they are searching for (if the conversatin even gets that far).
From: Mark
Subject Turn
Ok. I will write something up tonight.
From:Ashley
Subject The others head in
tee hee..."Leaky Mug". Awesome.
Before anyone says anything Surin does a quick check of the room, making sure there wouldn't be any awkward situations if the party said anything too private. If he's satisfied that the walls aren't over thin or there isn't a peephole somewhere, he'll finally speak. "We could talk to a few people around the inn and see if they knows of anyone who would be interested in our wares, that way we can go wandering around town with a solid cover story and alibi. Does this sound like a decent plan?"
From: Kevin
Subject The others head in
OOC: Ashley, Surin has not made it to town yet. He is with Ragnar, Harp and Kal heading in the gate on the other side of town.
Salix, Mund, Allistair and Ran are at the Leaky Mug. I am sure that we will find an equally nice establishment in which to spend our time in Bodentown.
Wasn't there a little ditty in the animated version of the Hobbit "Down, down to Bodentown"? (I know it was goblin town, but it sounded close).
From: Ashley
Subject Surin disappears
aw crap. *hides*
The Fountain
The trailers had me expecting a more straightforward science fiction premise, but considering that writer-director Darren Aronofsky's previous films included Pi and Requiem for a Dream, perhaps I should have known better. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about The Fountain. On the one hand, the artistry of it was quite obvious to me. If nothing else, the visual style was really interesting. The leads--Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz--were also very good. (I didn't used to like Jackman much but this movie and The Prestige have done a lot to change my mind.) I also liked the story, which I think was largely Aronofsky's reflection on mortality. Still, I don't know if I loved it. It was a little pretentious and I haven't yet made up my mind on whether I think it succeeded on being as profound as it intended to be. I also can't figure out whether or not I think it was depressing. I'm interested in discussing it, though, so if you're at all into artsy, somewhat gloomy movies check it out for yourself and drop me a line (or start a thread in the forum) and let me know what your impressions were.
Viewed: 11/23/2006 | Released: 11/21/2006 | Score: B
A Good Year
My one-word summary: boring. Not because it was a "chick flick"--I like all kinds of movies as long as they are done well. Besides, Juliette agreed with me. There just wasn't anything compelling about this movie--not the story, the acting, the setting. Nothing. The whole thing just seemed forced and mediocre. Like so many other movies of this genre, the plot centers around a career-driven asshole who has to realize that money and success aren't as important as love and family and what have you. We've all seen this story before but that's fine because we don't come to movies like this for originality. The problem with this iteration is that the protagonist's transformation really wasn't believable. The mechanism for change involved him rediscovering childhood memories, but it almost seems like the guy would have had to have had some sort of amnesia-inducing head trauma to forget the stuff he forgot--and, of course, that wasn't the case. It's too bad, too, because I've generally had a very high regard for both Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott. Hopefully their next projects will be more worthwhile.
Viewed: 11/18/2006 | Released: 11/9/2006 | Score: D
Flags of Our Fathers
I'm still not sure why I'm quite so fascinated by World War II but, be that as it may, I'm the sort of guy that will like just about any movie in that setting. Still, this one was only so-so. It didn't do much for me that other movies or shows hadn't already done better. What I did like about it wasn't so much the story as the framing--the book that the film is based on is the product of a man's attempt to learn about his father's life. That's a subject that's been resonating with me lately and on that level the movie worked really well for me. It's not really the focus of the film, though, so I'd say that unless you're a diehard Eastwood fan or war buff you can probably safely skip this one.
Viewed: 11/11/2006 | Released: 10/19/2006 | Score: B
Stranger Than Fiction
Most everyone who I've heard talking about this movie has been talking about how surprised they were by Will Ferrell. Honestly, he did do a good job. Not only did he manage to rein in his shrill, needy tendencies but he actually managed to imbue his performance with a sort of quiet, noble dignity. Still, he wasn't really what made the movie. Neither were Emma Thompson or Dustin Hoffman, though they were, unsurprisingly, excellent. No, the shocking thing is that what I really loved about this movie was the voiceovers. Normally I'm not a big fan of voiceovers, but Stranger Than Fiction is one movie that used them perfectly. Of course, it wouldn't have worked had the writing not been up to snuff but, fortunately, the monologues had this wonderful lyrical quality to them that I kept wanting to hear more of.
Viewed: 11/10/2006 | Released: 11/9/2006 | Score: B
The others move in Cont.
Subject The others head in
Mark, I am going to write something up, but it will be later this afternoon.
From: Kevin
Subject The others head in
Harp watches as they move around the town. He didn't know this town, but he had vague memories of when he was a child - before his mother had left him with the Order. Brutality and strength - that was what ruled here. Most people were so worried about just surviving that they did not worry about much else. Well, he was strong, and he could act as brutal as needed to get the job done.
As they walk, he says to the others " All right then, its agreed. We are are looking for someone who stole some well earned treasure from us. We'll use the name Lane as our missing "partner if pressed" but I want to avoid getting into too much detail. Also, a couple of other things. I'm going to go by the name of Hack while we are in town. It's a common name among my type so it shouldn't draw any undo attention. Also, please forgive anything I say when we are in town. We may have to put on an act that we are only travelling together out of need, not desire."
OOC: Mark, when they reach the gate, Harp will start off just saying that they are travelling through, stopping for a couple days to buy some basic supplies. If pushed, he will give a basic story that they are looking for someone, know to Harp/Hack as Lane, an adventurer who had hired them to join him on a little outing who had then dissappeared with their loot. They had heard a rumor he was in Bodentown and they were just checkin it out. He will not pay 5 gp for a pass, claiming they have little money left since Lane took almost all of it.