Well, here we are. Rather than slipping right out, I had to roll it - man this thing is heavy. There were big bags full of gold in the back - actually I think somebody in there saw me, but saw that I was taking this practically worthless cask of ale instead of the bags of gold so I guess they didn’t care. The bar is probably a front.
Because I’m rather small and the cask is heavier than I thought, I don’t think I can sneak this all the way across camp… I need a new plan.
I noticed that Amma’s bar is downhill from where I took the cask from. I stashed the cask in the bushes for a bit while I scouted everything out - where people are walking, curves in the road, bumps and potholes, etc. - and plotted a course.
I set the cask rolling at a precise angle. With my knowledge of geometry, I was able to predict exactly where it would roll, what it would bounce off of, etc. - just like billiards. I used the glass surface of my pocket transit to distract people (with reflections of nearby torches) who otherwise would have noticed the rolling cask (everyone’s pretty much drunk and wouldn’t have cared anyway, tbh).
Now, to convince Amma. Well, whose side is she on?
Well, there we have it. But, I’ve already said too much.
@Donald_Petersen I like the look of your mining cap - I could use one of those. I’ve got some free drinks and I can handle, like, half of a pint - interested?
A dwarf waddles into the Gilded Gosling and takes a seat right at the bar. He looks down at his bag, a simple satchel with a gold plate attached to the leather flap with “L.D. Bowen”, and takes out a slip of paper…
L.D. Bowen, Freelance Engineer
The Interior Designer for your Next Mountain Home or Tunnel
(2) GM’s Choice
(4) Articulate Chiseler: Bowen can pick and chisel through bedrock and limestone to make any subterranean interchange look like royalty if royalty meant baroque indentations and curved stalagmites. Comes equipped with small chisel, pickaxe, sheets of blueprints, and a sketch pad.
(2) Paranoid Wrangler: There’s a grappling hook, but the rope’s loose from age and failed attempts reach the other side of the chasm to measure out a purposed bridge. Or was it one of those monsters Still works for short distances.
(2) Intern Gunslinger: Working in the subterranean depths isn’t just gold and prospects. Bowen makes a habit of carrying a pistol made completely of globe-shaped pellets. His aim’s alright, but combat needs some desperate work.
…and slides it towards Amma who eyes it while hissing. He looks at the notice for additional kegs and wonders if that hook can take another swing.
Bowen glances past the notice towards the shelves lined with bottles in that shade of dark amber. Larger sounded nice, or at least better than the mineral whiskey from underneath that last crag. But that shelf, though. The carpentry…
A loud thud sets Bowen’s gaze back to Amma, spinning the card through her fingers. She sucks her teeth and slams it down on the bar. Bowen looks at it to find the word, “Hobo” scribbled straight across it. She was right too. The last, the only, association he signed up for was 10,000 miles away–possibly a year. Turning back wasn’t just out of the question, but a sentence to smooth out plaster doors for those hard-to-reach mines. Ones that involved steam-cleaning hydras.
Bowen broke out in a cold sweat at the thought and pointed at the notice. Amma shrugged.
A cold breeze brushed across Bowen’s face as he crouched through the encampment. He peeked out. That was the place, Wynne and Lyoose, where those bouncers stood there in velvet rags. He sneaks down the side and finds an opening in the tent that crooked its way up. Bowen could see a couple kegs next to a couple moose chatting about some hemlines or something. Bowen tugged at his grappling hook, trembling at the thought of getting sewing needles all over him.
With only a toss, Bowen manages to latch around the nearest keg while the moose remained unfazed. Perhaps it helped that it was the closest to the flap. Shame about the silk mesh though.
He turns around towards the roads which started to smell of sweat and hangover. Nothing new. He tries to pull the keg, but it feels like lead and made of it. Bowen thinks it would be a shame to pierce through the mahogany on this barrel, but it’s either that or the acupuncture.
Clink! The pickaxe makes barely a dent on the side. Another swing and only a small gash turns up that Bowen could only squint to see. Instead, he heard hooves clopping towards the slip and makes a run for it. He would need a swig after all this…
Challenge: Share findings with the King’s Cave Surveyors convincingly (Difficult 4, 6, 8)
Bugs. Gross. Thanks for taking care of those @gwwar & @Donald_Petersen - tbh I prefer not to get my hands too dirty. While you two were taking care of that I slipped past and surveyed the cave, which has some interesting features.
It’s not a normal/natural limestone cavern, which is good since I don’t know that much about those.
Hey Surveyors - check this out. Here’s a map of the cave sections I explored, but more importantly, check out this interesting structure that may explain how part of the cave formed… I’ve consulted my books and I think this could lead to further important discoveries. Here, let me draw you a diagram… darn it, where did I put my glasses…
Surveyor 1 (whispering): “What the heck is she talking about? Do you understand any of this?”
Surveyor 2 (whispering): “Nod and smile, mate.”
Plan: either convince surveyors my mapping work is good by explaining way beyond what they asked for, or simply embarrass them into accepting since they won’t want to admit they don’t understand.
Cliche: Structural Geologist (4), against difficulty 8
Surveyor 1: ahem… excuse me miss? The, uh, thrusted anticline. Right. I think we got the idea. Yes, very interesting. Yes, it will be very useful. We’ll be sure to get in touch if we can use your services again.
