Mattiverse Next - Session 23

Tracking Down Brenbarrow

• The boys take a nice bath while they hash out next steps.
• There's some rogue tradecraft stuff they could get up to to find the "Community Organizer" Brenbarrow, but the obvious place to check out first is the Church of the Open Road, so that's where they go.
• Father Parth is very evasive about any mention of the dwarf, but not in a way that makes it seem like he's edgy about it or anything.
• He does recommend a nice place to eat.
• The boys make some solid donations to the church (51 electrum in total) while they're there to "catch up", and decide to take a late lunch.
• The food is amazing. They spend hours having one of the best sit-down meals they've ever had.
• Nobody mysteriously shows up. But when they ask for the check, the server winks and tells them it's on the house, while handing over a slip of paper. On it is written GOLDSTONE PARK.
• They head that way, and lo', the Dwarf is there!
  • He's reading some fiction book
• They have a nice conversation about local color. He sidesteps Brenbarrow, but mentions that there's a lot of great locations to visit off the beaten tourist path.
• In particular, Magius Lake is magnificent, especially at night.
• They talk shit some more, and the boys leave him to his reading to kill some time at a bar.
  • They explicitly decide not to kill this time with the Ag Hicks, who are on the way, fearing the potential consequences.
• The park is gorgeous. Four and Beldon strip down and start swimming, purportedly to look for clues but mostly just because it's a great place for it. Bobwhite ropes Banner into looking at a massive dais covered in old, old text he can't decipher.

One area, surrounding a large stone sunk in the earth, seems a little better maintained than the rest of the park.
Investigating, you can see why. A large stone, maybe eight feet long, is sunk in the earth and provides a large place to sit that is free of mud and muck.
GM: Bobwhite notices that on this stone, very faded from time and the elements, are traces of ancient magical runes.
Bobwhite: [SKILL] Arcana [PROF x2]: d20+8 = 14
Four: Not missing the swamp, to be honest
Bobwhite: Smells kinda nice actually
GM: The runes are definitely magical, or formerly magical. They seem to be part of an ancient, premodern magic.
User has gone AFK. (Mattie)
Bobwhite: Anyone wanna help me out with this?
Bobwhite: [SKILL] Investigation [PROF] [ADV] [DROPPED 5]: g20+5 = 19
Working together, you come no closer to understanding the purpose or type of magic the runes once invoked, but you do learn more material information.
User is back. (Mattie)
Beldon: we decided you went swimming
Beldon: especially when you learned the alternative was reading the rock
Though the stone is worn from time and elements, the edges show cleavage that indicate this was once part of a larger sculpture, or structure, or whatever.
The edges indicate that it was split violently an suddenly.

• They fart around in this way for a while before they are interrupted by a Voice

A Voice: Lovely evening for a swim, isn't it?
(Four): dude, who is calling? no one does that anymore, need to txt
Banner: Pretty nice. Much cleaner than the big swamp pools
Bobwhite turns his attention to the area while putting away his notes
Beldon: yeah, surprised there weren't more townspeople out here, stone looks like it sees a lot of use
A Voice: I see you've found Stone Copse. I love this part of the park.
Beldon: end of summer is the best time for pond swimming, as any sensible person knows
A Voice steps out of the woods. He is tall -- almost six feet.
Beldon: you brought a cantaloupe?
Beldon: lets hit that
he wears a black cloak with a hood, currently pulled up. He is not obviously armed.
Beldon: what?
A Voice: Remote, great for those who love solitude. Very peaceful, especially compared to the how hectic it is inside those walls.
A Voice: It's nice to meet you boys. You can call be Brenbarrow.
A Voice bows formally.
Beldon: well remote for a city boy
Beldon stretches
Four: Umm, hello!
Beldon: oh man, nice to finally put a cloak to the name
[TURN] Brenbarrow
Brenbarrow laughs.
Brenbarrow: Fair enough. You almost showed me everything, I guess I can show you a little.
Brenbarrow drops his hood.
A HALF ELF!!!!!
Beldon: I could still show it all
Four tries not to stare.
Beldon winks
Beldon: oh shit now I have to show off
Beldon pulls out his penis in surprise
Bobwhite: Keep your pants on Beldon we're doing business here
Four shoves Beldon back towards the water.
He is a middle aged half-elf, of rugged and experienced appearance. He has a salt and pepper beard and shoulder length grey-brown hair.
Brenbarrow waves away Beldon's suggestion.
Beldon falls in the water
Brenbarrow comes over and sits on the stone, crossing his legs.
Brenbarrow: His hands run over the stone with a warm familiarity.
Beldon sputters and drips
Beldon: those clothes did need a wash
Four watches uneasy.
Banner: We met a dwarf who mentioned you as a community organizer we should meet
Brenbarrow: Oh, indeed? That recommendation is a solid one. You must be pretty reliable. You know how dwarves are.
Beldon: we're international talents, widely recognized for certain skills
Bobwhite: Like being just stupid *enough*
Brenbarrow: And humble, too.
Four glances nervously towards Beldon.
Beldon: i mean sometimes best not to be recognized so much
Brenbarrow: Oh, I agree with that very much, Beldon Rindherder.
Beldon: yeah you got natural star power too
Beldon: ?
Brenbarrow: I find profile brings more problems than opportunity.
Beldon: these boys are always jealous but i'm always telling 'em its a curse
Four: Eh, our kinda halflings don't really have profiles that tall folk worry about much
Brenbarrow nods.
Bobwhite: [SKILL] Insight: d20+1 = 21
Banner: [SKILL] Insight: d20+1 = 7
Four: [SKILL] Insight: d20+1 = 11
Beldon: [SKILL] Insight: d20+1 = 7
Brenbarrow: I've never thought of that. I guess free right of passage and being three feet tall means its easy to escape notice.
(Bobwhite here notes [ed: via insight] that Brenbarrow has almost certainly thought of that)
Four: Sometimes works in our favor-- others it can be hard to get stuff done when, say, orcs are rampaging
Brenbarrow cocks an eyebrow.
Brenbarrow: Are there likely to be rampaging orcs?
Four: Always, in my experience
Beldon laughs
Brenbarrow: On a long enough timeline, I guess they always come.
Bobwhite: You seem like the type with really valuable time
Banner: And sometimes we take a job from someone only to learn other people want us to leave that job alone. makes finding good honest work difficult
Beldon: yeah I was thinking maybe we'd finally get to talk about work instead of talking about talking about work or not talking about talking about work
Beldon: back home people with work are always looking for me but you show up in a new town and you gotta do so much legwork
Brenbarrow listens attentively but silently.
Bobwhite: I figure we can cut to the chase. We wanna break into that big fuckall vault inside the Cathedral. A guy like you almost certainly wants something in there, too.
Beldon laughs
Bobwhite: [SKILL] Insight: d20+1 = 8
Brenbarrow: [DIS] [DROPPED 9]: r20 = 2
(Brenbarrow is very surprised to hear this, and can't quite hide it)
Beldon: you told me not to blurt it out so I was thinking you'd say something clever
Brenbarrow: A strange mix of discretion and kick down the front door.
Four coughs nervously.
Brenbarrow: You must consider yourselves adventurers.
Bobwhite: We do the work to get to the place we can talk openly, so let's talk openly
Beldon: well we're unsettled
Brenbarrow: Well, let me say that I don't work for the church, so I don't really care much about their particulars.
Beldon: yeah we just want one little thing out of old edi's unsorted collection and we're willing to do some dirty work if it leads us to connections that'll help us get it
Brenbarrow: Oh, the Old Man's collection, hum?
Brenbarrow: I actually knew him, you know? Quite a card.
Four raises his eyebrow.
Beldon: we hear the best things about him
Beldon: you know halflings got a lot of insight if they ever hang around long enough to be listened to
Beldon: I'm always telling these boys how wise we are
Brenbarrow: A real "Queen of Obelisks"
Four wonders why we're talking about card games.
Four (mumbling-to-himself): cantor, right
Brenbarrow: He was a good heart, and there is no New Wydmoor without him, so locals gave him a pass for his eccentricities and shortcomings.
Brenbarrow: He always meant well.
Brenbarrow: His loss was certainly felt. The end of an Era, especially with the Dutchess on last legs.
Four: Sounds like a good guy--rare I hear that after someone's long passed
Bobwhite: Not least from a longshanks
Beldon [Common]: yeah? oh, the city is on the cusp of losing two long-time leaders?
Four has no idea what was just said.
Brenbarrow: A halfling interested in local politics? How novel.
Brenbarrow smiles.
Brenbarrow: Well, Meade is the granddaughter of the Dutchess who lead the reforging of this city.
Beldon: well unstable towns have certain types of work available
Brenbarrow: She was raised to rule. When she passes, though? It's a lot of transition in a short time.
Brenbarrow: that's always a throw of the dice.
Brenbarrow: Especially with the Old Families always looking for a leg up.
Brenbarrow: But, anyway, I don't mean to bore you with local stuff I know your kind is uninterested in.
Banner: Yeah, we heard a bit about the upcoming mead kids from the stonehouser
Brenbarrow: Indeed, two of them. Son and Daughter.
Bobwhite: It's the excuse he gave for talking evasively. Sounds like it'll be a big deal
Brenbarrow: Everyone in the city certainly has an opinion, though it's gauche to talk about. How can you not?
(Four): so did we have something we wanted to try to trade with this guy to get help? wanna be sure it's worth it to drop our secrets
Beldon: so yeah bobby just laid it out, we want something down there, and seems easiest to get it before it's inventoried
Brenbarrow thinks thoughtfully.
Beldon: and we're willing to work for info that'll help us get it
Brenbarrow: I mean, I suppose it's enough to say I'm a well connected man about town even if I'm not a recognized "leader."
Brenbarrow: I won't lie, what you are asking is of course shocking and scandalous.
Four shifts nervously.
Brenbarrow: but I find it's ever worthwhile to judge anything until I hear it out completely.
Beldon: or maybe pay for it but we've been burning through gold as quick as we've been burning through miles
Bobwhite: Well that's why we're way out here in the wilderness
Beldon: i mean we went to all this trouble to meet you seems a shame to waste time with courtship
Brenbarrow: You're not wrong. Time is all we have.
Bobwhite: The way we got referred to you at least gives us the idea that you're not going to fuck the Halfling population here over. Aside from that we don't really have a bone in pushing that needle any particular direction. Your business there is your business
Brenbarrow: I have many halfling friends.
Bobwhite: We're mostly interested in how it intersects with our business
(Four): first guy we trust with Real Truth and it's some super-shady black-cloaked half-elf meeting us on a lake in the middle of the night
Brenbarrow: I can appreciate that outlook. It might take some time, thought, and preparation, but depending on what we're talking about exists within the realm of the possible.
Bobwhite: We're dangerous and reasonably discrete where it matters. That has to be something you can use
Beldon: yeah seemed like you guys are running a tight ship up in Yalmrinth and that's the kinda shit we specialize in so we thought we might could help each other out
Brenbarrow: that sounds like you'll be out of town quick after that, you'd be a fool to stick around after
Bobwhite: Hopefully you have some evidence of that fact
Beldon: yup
Bobwhite: Astutely observed
Beldon: which gives a certain valuable sort of profile
Brenbarrow: So, you want... an item from a vault. Just the one, right? We're not going to loot Edi's attic?
Beldon: I can guarantee will be gone way faster than you expect we move fucking fast
Beldon: yeah super reasonable, one little stick
Bobwhite: Won't need a whole cart no
Brenbarrow: One wand. Easy enough. Any wand will do?
Banner: Family heirloom of sorts. Something that should be in the hands of halflings again
Beldon: i mean I wont speak for bobby he's got sticky fingers but he's small so that limits what he can carry
Brenbarrow gives out a thoughtful hmmmmm.
Beldon: oh yeah its a very specific one, important to our family
Brenbarrow: Well, I appreciate the value of family, and heirlooms should stay with family.
Beldon: really just the location of the vault would probably be enough
Brenbarrow: If that's all you want. Well, everything I hear is that you are nice, if rowdy, boys. But, competent, too.
Beldon: you may have heard some clowns got sloppy in the cathedral and left a door unlocked?
Beldon glares at bobwhite
Beldon: we're very reasonable people once you get to know us
Bobwhite: Probably Bethanaley
Brenbarrow: Oh? Well, I could have you the entire layout of that place -- vault included -- in a day. If you think a church vault where the entire Episcopacy stores its magical goodies is something you can tackle alone.
Brenbarrow: Well, I admire your confidence.
Bobwhite: He's still getting used to the heist mindset
Beldon: ah its nice to be talking business so bluntly!
Beldon: i'd propose a toast but we drank everything when we got here
Brenbarrow: That's alright, I don't drink.
Brenbarrow: I appreciate the sentiment.
Beldon: here's to sentiment!
Brenbarrow: Its important I stay clear headed. Wydmoor is a lot more treacherous than you might think in the righty circles.
Brenbarrow: Well, give me a few days to think on it. I might have an ask of my own. It's not that nothing immediately jumps to mind.
Beldon: well most of the people that underestimated us our dead so I don't make a habit of it, but i wouldnt be surprised if we needed help
Brenbarrow: In fact -- quite the opposite. there is a surplus of problems with a shortage of talent, but It might take me some time where to best find use of yours.
Brenbarrow: But, let me for tonight say that helping with this task is certainly something I can help you with.
Beldon: great news
Brenbarrow: Nothing I ask in return will be unreasonable, or scandalous beyond your own tolerance.
Beldon: we're itching to work and we might take some bullshit job if we run out of ways to entertain ourselves so keep in touch
Brenbarrow: It's good to keep busy. We don't work for each other, I'm not yours to command. Best not spread my name around carelessly, though.
Beldon: not a problem
Four (trying-to-say-something-cool): Nor ours, of course
Beldon: all we ever talk about is the red door, you ever heard of the Gubbites?
Brenbarrow: The monster cult?
Beldon: yup that's the one
Brenbarrow: I have a passing awareness. It's far beyond Wydmoor dutchy, so not much of my concern.
Banner: It's open for all
Beldon: bobwhite and i impressed them with our excellent drinking skills
Brenbarrow: Well, it's been lovely meeting you. It's always nice to make new friends, especially in such uncertain times.
Beldon: thanks for the advice on swimming holes
Brenbarrow: Indeed. This is a beautiful place, but hard to get to, so it's underappreciated and underused. It's my favorite place in the city. (rubs the stone familiarly) I also like the history of the place.
Brenbarrow throws you a small bag of coins.
Beldon: you and your dwarf friend are big fans of history
Brenbarrow: In the marketplace, there is a man named Holt. a Red Iron dealer.
Brenbarrow: In a few days, go to him. Purchase something of red iron. Anything, really, just make sure that included in your payment are those coins.
Beldon: put them someplace special bobwhite it would be a shame to spend them all at the racetrack again
After Brenbarrow leaves, you pour the coins out on the ground.
There are ten platinum coins.
On five of them, you notice a very subtle defacement.
The defacement is of a strange, offset V, with one leg of the V going across the diameter of the center, and the second going down at a 45 degree angle.

• Session Ends