Everybody paranoid about a sharp dressed sailor

Well, that could have gone better. Could have gone worse too, I suppose. All in all, it was a hell of a Freeday night (that's the Flanaess's version of Friday).

A lot happened (as usual). I want to get to the meat of it, but I guess I should start where I left off.

------------------

I suggested we drag our sailor friend down to the sewers to question him. Saul politely reminded me that Elredd has no sewer. Well, I guess Elredd is a sewer, so it makes up for it.

Marc is always thinking ahead, and he planned for this sort of thing. "Gather around," he said. We did, and Marc cast his spell. Abruptly, he disappeared. I looked around, and found Saul, Audry, and Anna were gone too. Our sailor friend was gone as well. For a split second I panicked, and then I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Everyone got a hold of someone?" It was Marc's voice.

I fished my hand around until I accidentally smacked someone in the face. "Hey," Anna said. "What are you, blind?"

"Ha ha," I said. I found her shoulder and then announced I was ready. Saul said he had the sailor over his shoulder, and off we went with Marc leading the way.

Walking around invisible is not as easy as you think. It's even harder when you're trying to stay in a group with a bunch of other invisible people. If you look at your feet you'll trip (it's weird not being able to see yourself). Now add to that trying to walk through a throng of people without getting noticed...and you have to do it before the spell expires.

We waited for an opening in the throng. "Now," Marc said, and we went through the crowd. Surprisingly, we didn't knock anyone over on our four block jog back to the inn. Getting inside the inn was another matter. It was still early and not many people were in the common room (Elredd isn't known for it's morning people). I did manage to knock over a barmaid. Drinks went all over the floor.

"Excuse me," I said. The startled barmaid looked terrified. I guess I would be too if a disembodied voice knocked me over. A pair of silver coins materialized and landed next to the barmaid. "For the drinks," Saul said. We proceeded upstairs.

The spell winked out just outside our room. Everyone materialized around me instantly. Fortunately, no one was nearby to see our miraculous appearance. Audry unlocked the door quickly and we went inside, just as our guest started to awaken.

The sailor yawned and stretched. He opened his eyes and looked at us. He stood up, and that's when it hit me.

"Who was supposed to tie him up?" Anna asked.

"What's going on," the man said. "How dare you--"

"How dare you," Audry said. "You pretend to be a sailor, but look at you. Last I heard sailors didn't get paid well enough to dress as well as you."

"I saved up for it," the man said. "I can buy whatever clothes I wish."

"Those clothes cost a lot," Saul said. "They cost you your accent as well."

Good point. He hasn't said argh anything of the sort. His grasp of common was actual pretty good.

"He sounds western to me," Marc said. "Bissel, perhaps?"

"Bissel?" Anna said. "I thought refugees from occupied Bissel fled to Veluna. You're a long way from home."

"What'd they pay you pal," I said. "How much they pay you to tell them about us?"

"How do you know about that?" he asked.

That had to be a record for the shortest interrogation. "We just do," I said. "Now spill it."

That boy sung like a bird. Apparently, there is a man at the Broken Rudder Inn who will pay gold for information regarding the whereabouts of five adventurers of our description.

"So it's true," Marc said. "They know of us."

"That's why they sent the operative on the boat," Audry said.

"Hold a moment," Saul said. "That man died at sea. How could they know what we looked like."

"Man at sea?" our new friend said. "What...." The poor fool didn't know when to keep his mouth shut.

"I said spill it," I said. I reached back as if to hit him. He cringed.

"No, don't hurt me, please." He straightened up when I lowered my hand. "I needed the gold."

"Needed new clothes," Anna said. "The important stuff, you know."

"How do they know what we look like," Saul said.

The man sighed, resigned to the fact he had been caught. "There is a man in Safeton who works for the Slavelords."

That figures.

"Who?" Marc asked.

"I do not know," he said. "I know he works in the government, that's all."

"What do they know about us?" I asked.

"Only that you are looking for the ones who were kidnapped in Safeton," the man said. "That rich lady, and some of her servants and guests."

"What else," Marc said. "I suggest you answer truthfully. Our friend here is a paladin." Marc gestured at Audry. "If you lie to her, she will know."

"I am not lying," he said. "I have no loyalty to the Slavelords."

"You only sell out others to them for gold," Audry said.

"I don't know you either," he said. "What do I care?"

"You care enough to walk out of here in one piece, I'll bet," Anna said. "Now talk before I make the boys rough you up. What else do they know?"

"They didn't say," the man said. "See here, I didn't ask who you were. They only told me you were adventurers and that they wanted to know when you arrived in town."

"We have to get word to someone," I said. "We have to tell someone there's a spy in Safeton."

"How?" Anna asked. "We can't trust anyone here. We don't have time to go back."

"Even if we could get a message back, all we have is his word," Audry said. "If we told Safeton they had a spy and did not provide information as to his or her identity, it would be cause havoc."

Saul nodded. "Good point. So we go to the Broken Rudder."

"They know we're in town," I said. "They're probably looking for us right now."

"So we spit before they find us," Anna said.

I stopped for a second, trying to parse what she had said. "Split. The word is split. And yeah, we should do that before they find us."

"What about him?" Anna said.

We looked at our friend. I didn't know what to do with him. He was just a poor sap who needed cash and turned in a bunch of strangers for coin. Of course, he did knowingly report us to the Slavelords. And knowing the Slavelords, he probably knows what they're capable of.

"I know," I said. I turned my back on our sailor-spy-guy. I wanted him to hear me but not see my face. "The kidnap victims are important, but the Slavelords aren't going to hurt them. Dame Gold is too valuable." I winked at them. "We have to hurry back to Safeton." I winked again. "Perhaps some magical means of transportation?"

"Yes," Marc said. "I have just the thing. It's dangerous, but then we're desperate."

"Right," Anna said. She looked at our friend. "And him?"

I turned and faced him. I tapped the hilt of my sword. "Can't have him warning anyone."

---------------------------

It was beautiful. Audry played the part well. I pretended that I wanted him dead and Audry wanted to stop me. We argued back and forth and then we all agreed to leave him tied up on the floor. We lost some rope, but it was worth it.

We left through the back way, and just in time. Some soldiers dressed in mismatched armor entered the inn. They looked like mercenaries, which meant they might be working for the Slavelords and they'd find our buddy in a few more minutes. We took off down an alley and disappeared into the crowds in the market place. We made our way to the docks once more and checked around. We found the inn before nightfall.

"Think our friend bought the story?" I asked.

"Probably," Saul said. "He didn't seem that smart."

"Agreed," Audry said. "However, we should assume they are expecting us." Audry looked at Marc. "By the way, you do know that Paladins do not automatically know when someone is lying."

"If they did," Anna said, "I would have figured it out long ago."

-----------------

We're getting ready to board the ship. Yeah, we're done here in Elredd and we're heading to Highport. I'll explain later.