018. Papers and Interesting Training Methodologies

General Summary

The night went by quite uneventfull. The only disturbance came from someone singing a serenade under the window next to the party's, which quickly turned out to be the wrong window. The next day, the party was given garlic bread and sausages when entering the common room. Macca Ni almost ate a piece of paper which was hidden in one of the loafs and threw it away. Gram Crackers saw him throw it, and retrieved it from underneath a table where another patron was eating his meal. She then proceeded to the barkeep and gave her the paper, with the mention that she should have her suppliers watch out more. The barkeep read the paper and gave it back, saying that Gram should probably read it.

The marked one is pleased.
Come to the indicated spot this evening at 10 sharp.
— The Organizer —
— Letter found in a piece of garlic bread,
a small map of the Jafone Sewers is drawn on it

After reading the message, Gram Crackers disposed of the paper by burning it above a candle. Outside the inn a boy was announcing breaking news: The Padmor Diamond had been stolen. Gram went to buy a paper. The article said that the thieves had been highly competent and that the guards had no leads as of yet, but that the Red Dot Gang was suspect. Two smaller articles detailed a local rumor about a ferret in a nobles throusers, and increasing activity of Opal Empire scouts in the Western regions of Talamir. Later in the day, Gram would go on to buy a frame for the paper, to hang in her wagon. After breakfast, the party went to the Local Apple Yard to discuss the plan of this evening.

The Plan

The party was not eager to give the diamond to the Red Dot Gang, at least not if it wasn't truly necessary. A plan was formed to acquire glue which could be used to glue the diamond in the Antimagic Display Case. This with the intention of preventing the Red Dot Gang from easily using the diamond, in case they had any world-ending plots that required it. Furthermore the diamond would be hidden before the meeting. If it was truly necessary to show the diamond to the Gang, it would be retrieved as necessary. Gram went to get General Glue and a tiny amount of Sovereign Glue. Gimdalf checked in on the progress of his armor, while Macca Ni filled the guard captain in on their progress and their meeting that night. He asked the captain to have a few guards loiter in the vicinity of the meeting place under a plausible pretense, in case things would go pear-shaped. Macca Ni then proceeded to hide the diamond and it's protective case, in a sack in the water next to one of the bridge's pillars. A flatboat captain saw him hide it, but Macca Ni saw him seeing it.

Training the Recruits

With the diamond propperly hidden and backup arranged, the party set off to the indicated meeting place. Knowing that all the sewer grates had been locked to keep the gang from using them, they went to the sewer input in the harbor, so they could stay out of sight while picking the lock. Macca Ni took the lock, along with it's chain. Following what Gram Crackers remembered from the map, they quickly found the closest sewer grate to the meeting spot. Macca Ni unlocked it with ease, and the party now had a quick escape route should things go awry. At the indicated place, the party found a door in the sewer wall. Knocking summoned an unnamused looking man. The party had a bit of trouble getting in, with the man being adamant that they needed purple identification. Gimdalf showed him the painting he was carrying folded in his backpack and asked if that would also suffice. The Organizer was summoned, who quickly let the party inside. In The Organizers Den the party was introduced to five recent recruits of the Red Dot Gang, who would be their class. Gram Crackers had thought up an overall lesson plan, and Macca Ni and Gimdalf quickly set out to test their thiefing prowess. Macca Ni put the chains and padlocks around two pairs, and told them to get out while under fire with Fire Bolt. A quick test of swindling and insight followed, where each recruit had to sell a shiny stone to each of the party members in turn. The two who then did not fall into a clear category of Sparkles (con-artists), Sneaks (pick-pockets, burglars) or Smash-and-grab (robbers and steamers), had to do a final test. Gimdalf summoned Jacob de Uil (both times with a different powerset), and asked them to judge their chances of winning against the spirit. They then had to actually fight him, with mixed success. After the lessons were over, the Organizer payed them for their trouble and mentioned the payment would go up over time as the party proved themselves thrustworthy. Gimdalf then proceeded to sell the painting to the Organizer, who proceeded to tell them they had found the rare Sallazar's Finale, for which he was prepared to given them quite a bit of money. Gimdalf gave him the painting, and the party was 150 gp richer.