Tavern Rumors of Peltarch
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*"There's no such thing. Not in this lake, you're talking madness. Dragonturtles indeed! Whatever next?"
"... and they say he rose up from the waves after hurling an honest to goodness lightning bolt, like some storm-god, and slaying it dead right there in the water!.."
"Welp. Cormac's gone crazy again. Poor bastard thinks he's the god of thunder-and-sea now. If he's not mad, the sad git needs to grow the fark up!"
"...shhh, keep it down -- there's a bowl in the hold of the Opportunity, its worth they say could buy a man a nice house to retire in. You didn't hear it from me!""No no, no. It was the First Mate who cast a fireball right down its throat. Fishguts all over the deck, I heard."
"The Elf, Juniper is the only reason that boats still afloat. I was told yesterday, from a 'reliable' source, that she guided that ship through that great storm out on the lake, 'and' brought those unworthy dogs home."
"Valisha? Drunk? Never! She's sober as a judge, all of the time. The woman's a credit to her dirty foreigner homeland city".*
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At another tavern, at another time, Elliott is slumped over a table, nursing what seems to be an alcoholic milkshake?
“Nono… that’s… I don’t? I’ve never seen a gondola in Peltarch…? N-No! Why would I want to be a Milk Mogul??? …Cost effective advancement? Really, you think??
Besides, Cormac said it might be a reclaimed Black Sails ship, is that why that guy was talking to the Queen? The Black Sails wanted their ships back, and the crown is trying to get rid of them instead of deal with it? Are we just collateral of some elaborate slight??
….Oh, I couldn’t tell you. You really think Thalaman wants Cormac to wear a wolf costume to his party…? Is that why he gave it to him? Captain Wolf, the… entertainment persona?? Oh dear…”
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Reyhenna, listening to the rumours in the docks, is quite taken with some of them.
"Two feets make swift fleets, I've definitely heard that one. Four hooved nags make the sails sag, I think that's something Captain Hresh tells every marine recruit," she nodded agreeably, before adding some choice tales of her own.
"I have been told by the Gondolio himself that the new vessel is a prototype that runs on what he called 'Warmilk', which is any kind of milk that is won in battle. I predict in a years time Admiral Randolph will be the terror of cows across the lake and beyond as he plies the shores to satisfy his battle armada's unquenchable thirst for Warmilk...", she punctuates her remarks by gulping down a pint of milk she so happens to be drinking at the time.
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An interesting sight for all the dockworkers or visitors to the district as a new ship pulls in. Perhaps the most striking thing about it is the mainsail, which has been stitched to show a likeness of King Thalaman's bust and face. The King appears to be holding up a delicious meat sandwich in one hand and has an expression of delight on his royal face.
It doesn't take too much longer for the rumors to start trickling through the streets and reaching the ears of tavern patrons and market browsers.
*"A wolf's head? He's wearing a wolf's head?! Captain 'Sir' Cormac Randolph you say?"
"...but no horses are allowed on deck. Oh I don't know why for sure, but I reckon it's bad luck as the sayin' goes... two feets make swift fleets, but four hooved nags make the sails sag..."
"I heard Kasimir call him 'The Wolf of The Sea', isn't that romantic Jenny! JENNY!! 'The Wolf of The Sea~ sigh"
"They made the brute Captain, you know what that means - blood and piracy! spits into the dirt It'll be war 'fore ye know it. He'll go an' attack some ship - mark ma words!"
"...the swabby 'and' the Quartermaster?!""The First Mate is dreamy, his red hair - his suspenders, I hear he's an actual Gondsman priest."
"I heard he wants to gut the boat and build a new shrine to Gond; a temple that floats. Those Gondarians are truly marvelous!"
"...another bloody fishing boat? These Lantanese foreigners showing up - trying to take arrr jarrrbs?! Over my dead body!"
"...I heard the King gave the boat to him. Why isn't 'he' Captain? Did that ruffian steal the young chaps boat? Good grief! Someone inform the Guard - nay - the Herald - NAY - THE KING!!!"*
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"That Cormac's cursed again they say, dear."
"Hardly newsworthy, darling. Seems every other week there's something wrong with that fellow."
"Mmmmyes -- lycanthropy, they're saying."
"Lycanthropy, darling? Surely not."
"MMmmyes, dear. Turned his hair all white, too..."
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"Is it just me, or is there more and more smoke coming out of the craft hall every day now?"
"Well, I think there's been a lot more use since those Gondar showed up. Lambo and Elephant? Probably making kooky things."
"Oh yeah, the one with the scar said he'd fix those kids' shoes, but I heard he ended up putting springs on them! Now those kids are jumping everywhere!! Beatrice said she saw Veronica bouncing on her roof!"
"Hey, back on point, I don't think you're wrong. Billy at the docks says the place is louder than usual, and super hot!! That if you stand too close to the doors or windows, you'll be sweaty in an instant!"
"Well, whatever, I don't want to go near it. Whatever band of misfits is gathered in there lately, It's not my problem. Hey, another round, please!"
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Of all the mad things that have been rumored to go on around the city this past while, there seems to have been an actual rootin' tootin' gunfight in the Mule during the wee hours of the night. It's likely nothing but gang violence, and surely nobody well known could've been involved if it went down in that dive... surely...
Perhaps unrelated, though in the same breath, Prince Kasimir and some of the remaining Knights of The Holy Witch might've been spotted rushing back to the palace around the same time.
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After a very public and heated argument between Cormac and Varya, which drew a crowd in the Commerce District, many people who pass through the taverns talk, jeer and argue over this and that. It's clear there is fallout from their public airing of dirty laundry, and as more people seem to argue about it, the line between what was actually said or implied, and what those who have picked a side proclaim was said, is starting to grow blurry.
"I heard that Cormac said the paladin has demon potatoes on her farm."
"I heard that bastard Cormac works with shadows that were popping up all over the place."
"They said his girlfriend was a demon... maybe that's why he's so angry all the time."
"Working with the enemy, disgusting, why aren't they in jail?"
"What if he was behind that big ol' thing that was eating people?"
"But she's a paladin... who do we trust if not paladins?"
"If they were involved... who else was?!"One can only hope the storm of rumormongering, muttering and arguing about who was right about what will pass. But for now, the talk of the town was that very... very heated argument.
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In contrast to the children's games, the real Isolde looked considerably more grim as the time to depart finally arrived. She dodged both smalltalk and debates at the Commons, hastily filling her supply bags and walking off with Nate alongside her, her face seeming etched in stone. The party, word has it, gathered at the Witch and Seer for their final preparations. They were last seen heading south, to the Rawlins and the Abyss beyond.
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@wildling said in Tavern Rumors of Peltarch:
he kid with the black markings on his eyes and lips then speaks up - It could be worse. You could be Jonni.
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It's a sunny, lovely afternoon in Peltarch, when by the park, a group of kids of ages anywhere between six and twelve gather. One of them, a determined little girl, sticks the drawing of a disfigured face upon the tree in the middle, and then joins her friends. In resolute voice, she speaks
- Alright gang! There she is, the queen of the Abyss! We have to save the world!
Another kid, a little boy with gruffy manners, eyes and lips painted in black, steps up with a stick over his shoulder - Pff I am DEATH! A demon queen is nothing to me!
A third kid speaks up - I am the princess of Peltarch! I am the LAW of the world and what I say goes!
Fourth kid then joins - N-no! I.. I am the law! I am Lady Varya Tiller, champion of the people!
The third kid looks at the one that just spoke up and makes a gesture with her hands - BOOM! Decapitated! I am the LAW now!
The kid that claimed to be Lady Varya Tiller then throws a tantrum and begins whining - No! I could decapitate you if I wanted!
The third kid goes again - Shut up! People without head can't talk!
Then the first kid, the girl that pinned the "monster face" on the tree speaks up - Guys! We have to work together! For peace! For happiness! We will only defeat evil with love!
A fifth kid, another girl, then speaks - Hey Silvye, why do you always get to be Isolde? I wanna be Isolde...
Then Silvye looks back - Well... next time okay? You can be Sebrienne!
The fifth kid looks down disappointed - Oh... okay I'll be Sebrienne... I am... the master of wind!
The last, sixth kid, speaks up - No! I am the master of the wind, Aoth the Windseeker!
The fifth kid sulks even more - Okay...
The kid with the black markings on his eyes and lips then speaks up - It could be worse. You could be Jonni.
The fifth kid then looks a little relieved, as the first kid, self-appointed as Isolde speaks up once again
-Join me, my Golden Geese! The time has come! TONIGHT WE SAVE THE WORLD!
All the kids cheer and join their little cheerleader as they seem to put all differences aside to have a lovely evening of gaming and fighting evil together
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*As knights and men at arms trickle out of the city on their long march south, it is said that (if the rumors are true) freshly knighted (Sir) Cormac Randolph has been spotted in his blackened chain battle armor, loading his swift horse with the furnishings of some coming battle. How many last times can a man leave a place? Perhaps we'll all find out soon enough.
With a ragged scarlet cloak pulled about his shoulders he too sets off at the tail end of what some have started calling the 'crusade'.*
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Horrified rumours circulate about a masked undead knight who slew five guardsmen and raised them in undeath, in the midst of a fight with the party of adventurers present. Despite the eventual destruction of the dread knight, it seems it's not his first appearance - nor, perhaps, the last.
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Most people have heard the recent gossip on everyone's lips about how Cormac Randolph sings to frogs. However, iterations of another less common rumour have also circulated over the last week in local bars and taverns about an extraordinary feat of skill so impressive it could be considered an art form:
"Some weird tart did a sleight of hand trick with some tattooed giant man where she pulls out a mouse leg from his stomach be reaching down his throat, that's what my sibling said they saw!"
..."I heard the husband actually has a condition where he often doesn't chew his food enough and then someone has to manually remove it for his safety."
..."First the fist, then the wrist, then went the elbow. There was an excessive amount of drool that followed and I can't believe he held his breath that long! Craziest part is, she ate what ever she pulled out!"
..."Someone said the whole performance was endorsed by this guy named Emmett, who convinced some drug addicts to 'earn' their next fix- ..such cruelty..."
..."Is it true that the kid wouldn't stop crying about his toad being eaten, so his mother had to yank it out of some bully's mouth? Like, hoooww did she not get bitten by that punk?!"
...
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*"...burst into ribbons, and were swallowed up by the sky. Like... like apple-peels".
"...broke chunks off the tower and the walls, the bricks and stones just got sucked up into the air like they weighted nothing..."
"...it's an attack on the city! I swear I saw a Defender's flesh get flayed right off his back and just like that - every scrap vanished into the clouds..."A mysterious red star winks in the night sky, and boy - is it hungry.*
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The plague that for many months steadily escalated in the Residential district has been cured, just as the Peltarch Guard's quarantine on the district was beginning to buckle. The cure came shortly after a shady auction took place in the Regal Maid Inn, purporting to be selling just such a miracle. Whether it was bought in a brothel or delivered from the gods, the city breathes a sigh of welcome relief as its debilitating internal troubles come to an end, and leaders can give their fullest attention to external threats once more. Rumours abound of a royal reception which will take place in the coming weeks honouring those at the forefront of containing and curing the plague.
((I will aim to hold the reward ceremony in game sometime this week when enough participants are online; those who don't make it don't worry I will follow up with you individually!))
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Rumours and chatters abound lately among the Mermaid Inn's patrons in regards to a newcomer in town. A young, handsome, and regal-mannered noble from Waterdeep, specifically a Marquis and a Paladin of Torm, according to (semi) reliable sources.
The shiny armor-clad knight has supposedly rented the most luxurious and expensive suite of the Mermaid Inn, and has become a common view among the regular clients, albeit merely while going to and from his room.
In fact, no one seems to have witnessed him sitting and drinking at the tables in company of others. However, his brief appearances rarely, if ever, pass unnoticed.Comments and conversations about this chivalrous paladin vary greatly.
The maids and waitresses working at the place can often be seen blushing and swooning as he passes by with a confident stride, and whispering about his good looks as he walks out of hearing distance.
Not few among the male customers, however, appear to harbour a dislike for the noble, commonly describing him as a "conceited, pompous snob".
Some of the less refined (and more booze-soaked) among them can even be heard mentioning a "broom up his arse" while cackling boisterously, although few seem to have actually spoken openly in his presence, as his constantly stern expression and commanding figure perhaps render several of them uneasy.Ultimately, however, all of them agree on one sentiment: they all wonder why such an important and wealthy person has traveled so far from home up to Peltarch, and to the Mermaid Inn of all places.
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After a prolonged respite from all out attacks by the demons harrying and abducting noted citizens and adventurers of Peltarch, the southern gates played unwilling scene to intense combat. Screeching Vrocks, joined by dretches, dark winged demons and even a dread fiery winged Balor descended on the gates, fiercely contested by guardsmen, guildsmen, defenders and adventurers jointly.
Amidst patches of darkness and the vile fumes of countless dretches, the fight was chaotic and desperate, yet one thing stands out to any onlookers that day: princess Elizabeth Fisher, as usual in the thick of it with her greatsword swinging, was all but lost to the clutches of the Balor - until, after a voice cried out from the sky, the hulking beast was suddenly obliterated.
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In recent weeks, yet another warrior from Kara-Tur has been seen in Peltarch. Shimazu Ichiro, known as "Ichi" to most, has cut a rather more genial figure than many others from the far east. Indeed, he's seemingly relished the chance to regale people with stories of his exploits, though many of those stories beggar belief. What's caught many people's attention, however, is his charitable work - after every adventure where he earns a profit, no matter how minor, he donates a not insignificant portion of the earnings to various orphanages, soup kitchens, or plague relief organizations across the city.
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There are rumours about disturbing events in Peltarch. During a strangely quiet evening, a patron of the Lucky Ferret assures that a beautiful elf lady of green hair was wandering the Docks District when several giant flies descended upon her using the night as a cover.
Although the lithe elf resisted to the best of her ability, at some point she seemed to give up, and the horrid creatures picked her up to carry her away into the dark sky and above the city walls, southwards.
The witness was found to have drunk one too many ales, however. A single guard was alerted, and he couldn't find evidence of any of this, so it may as well been all fabricated.
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- [DM Serendipity]
