Spy Training

Synopsis
Arriving at The Manticores Tail as directed and meeting Di'Jani Shadowscale outside, Team Phoenix is given its first assignment in this new class. We are to enter the inn and learn as much as possible about any and all occupants inside, without letting them find out that we are students of Vigil Academy. Di'Jani gives the group two hours and then walks away sucking on a dagger.

The group decides it is probably best if they stagger their entrances into the Inn so that they do not look like they came together. After removing the school team badges they begin the assignment.

Xand
Xand enters the Inn first and takes a look around. She sees a bartender behind the bar, a middle aged man sitting at the bar, a Gnome at a table in the Sout-East corner of the room who seems to be deep in his cups, a young serving girl, an old woman sitting at a table on the North side of the bar, a harpist is in the North-West corner of the room playing, and a Tiefling man sitting at a table in the South-West of the room with a sword propped against one of the chairs. She approaches the bar and orders some food and tea before taking a seat in the general middle area of the common room to wait on her order, giving her a good position to simply listen and observe. She does position herself to be looking more in the direction of the Tiefling. Over the course of the time the other team members enter the bar and xand continues to observe and listen. Some watching of the man at the bar gives the impression he seems to have an infatuation with Gwyneth. Noticing that the Bard harpist in the corner is somewhat irritated at not having received any tips recently, She decides to tip the woman. This brightens the harpists mood and prompts her to start playing some Genasi folk songs for Xand. As the two hour limit comes to a close, Xand starts to tidy up her own dishes, but the serving girl whom we have found out by this time is named Gwyneth Burgess, rushes over to get the dishes instead. Xand then leaves the Inn.

Dain
Before entering the Inn Dain tries to get into the barn building of the complex, but is not able to unlock the doors. He was hoping to maybe search some other customers saddles to find out information about them. After looking in the windows and not seeing any horses he just heads into the Inn proper. Entering the common room Dain approaches the bar and sits down. As the bartender approaches Dain introduces himself and asks for the bartenders name and is told the name is Cornelius Stout. Stating that he is potentially interested in a room he asks some questions to start gaining some intel. Rooms are 25G/night, the bards name is Pansy and is considered the best harpist in the district, and though there are currently customers in the common room, no rooms are currently taken. After ordering a meal Dain comments that business seems slow. Cornelius comments that it may possibly be due to the recent murders and disappearances. Comments made about the subject make it seem that Cornelius does not have much confidence in the local authorities. After receiving his food from Gwyneth, Dain comments on the good food and good service. The service comment was given with a pointed looked at Gwyneth intended to get some sort of reaction from the man at the bar whom we find out is named Barney Hightower. The comment doesn't go as planned though since Dain was overheard by Cornelius who takes offense to the comment. It turns out that Gwyneth is his niece. Dain keeps his mouth shut and concentrates on eating his food. After finishing his meal Dain asks to see the rooms. Before being led on a tour by Gwyneth, Cornelius tells him "Don't try nothin!". Dain notices that much like the rest of the Inn, the rooms are kept very clean and tidy. Before the two hour limit is up, Dain pulls Cornelius aside in private and apologizes for the misunderstanding with Gwyneth and explains what his actual intentions were. Though he is confused, Cornelius accepts and appreciates the apology and Dain leaves the Inn.

Dalius
Dalius starts off by casting detects magic and notices some magic essence in the Inn. Before entering into the common room, He makes his way to the South doors of the South-West portion of the building and tries to use magic to unlock the locked door there but is unable to get in. Deciding on another idea, he takes out his healer and scholars kit, walks into the Inn and acting as though he is exhausted after a long work day, he flops down at a table. Looking around Dalius notices that the magic he sensed is coming from the Tiefling. Making his way to the Tiefling, Dalius introduces himself and asks the man whos name is Asher Green if he could get an oppinion on something, all the while trying to catch a glimpse at the book Asher had been writing in but is unable to see. Opening up his spell book to Which Bolt Dalius asks the man what he thinks of that particular spell. Asher comments that is is an advance spell and thinks Dalius is a student, but Dalius says he is self-taught. Seating himself Dalius continues to talk while trying to get a glance at the mans belongings. Gwyneth approaches asking about refills and commenting on how Asher had been staring at his map all morning. She seems to maybe be romantically interested in Asher but he doesnt seem to give any indication how he feels or even if he notices. Steering the conversation more towards the map Dalius discovers it is a map of the surrounding neighborhood and that Asher has been hired by a third party to look into the murders and disappearances that have been happening. Looking at the map Dalius notices 6 red X's and 5 blue circles. As the time limit comes to a close, Dalius excuses himself and leaves the Inn.

Fate
Fate takes some initiative and confidently walks into the Inn, directly up to the bar. After ordering a large pot of tea and 2 mugs, he walks over to the old woman and asks her if she would join him for some tea. She agrees with a smile and he sits with her. Fate asks the woman if she is here often and she responds that she is here every morning. She orders the same thing every day, Gin, eggs, and flapjacks. After giving a cover story of exploring the portions of the city that he has not yet seen, she compliments him on spending time with an old woman. He asks to hear about her life. With a smile she begins to tell him that she used to be an adventurer and that she graduated from Vigil Academy. She states that she graduated with honors and became a teacher of Surveilence, Counter Intel, & General Sneaking. With a sly smirk she asks how Di'Jani is doing. Fate gets a worried look on his face and tries to play it off but she sees through it. The old woman comforts him and tells him not to worry as she will not rat him out. While continuing to try and play it off, Fate asks why.... hypothetically of course.... a bronze Dragonborn would suck on a dagger. The woman who we find out is named Ms. Crow answers that it is probably to coat the dagger in venom since the Dragonborn is an assassin. Becoming surprised with this information he blurts out "Wait..... My teachers have lives outside of school?!" As the woman gets up to leave for the day Fate tries to impress her with an "illusion" but all it really is is the finger trick parents show their children that makes it look like the removed their thumb. As she leaves she says "It was a pleasure to meet you Mr. Silver." This surprises Fate since he never gave his last name. Shifting his attention to Pansy he compliments her music as very mathematically complex and tips her. Once the two hours is up he leaves the Inn.

Wendy
Wendy starts the assignment by hiding and morphing into a generic looking older woman and changes into a second pair of clothes. Making her way to the NE building in the complex she discovers it is a kitchen building occupied by a Half-Orc cook who we find out later is named Joren. When asked what she is doing there, Wendy lies and says she was sent to help with cleaning. Joren doesn't believe her and chases her out with a broom. After being chased out, she hides behind a tree and morphs herself to look like Joren and heads into the Inn. When Cornelius asks what he is doing in the main building, Wendy as Joren responds that he is here for his mid-day beer. After receiving a dubious look and being told to get back to work Wendy yells, "Fuck you! I pooped in the soup! I quit!" and runs out. Almost immediately afterwards the real Joren enters bringing food from the kitchen, confusing all the other occupants. Once Wendy is back outside she morphs back into herself and breaks into the barn to take a look around. After being satisfied that there was nothing of interest she heads back into the common room as herself. Seeing Gwyneth patting the older drunken Gnome on the shoulder and giving him some water, she steps up and asks him if everything is ok. The Gnome looks up and cries out, "Do i look OK! I used to be somebody! I used to have it all! The greatest toy shop in town, and now it's gone! Gone in a puff of smoke!" Wendy finds out that his toy shop burnt down in the middle of the night but that he was able to make it out with his wife, kids, and 18 grandchildren. He thinks it was an accident but isn't completely convinced, though if not an accident he does not know who would have done it. The man now has a substantial amount of debt. Asking his name Wendy finds out he is named Klink Rattlecap. As she continues to talk to him she asks for information on the other people in the Inn. He tells her the names of the people that he knows and that Gwyneth Burgess is the niece of Cornelius Stout the bartender. He also states that the man sitting at the end of the bar is named Barney Hightower and that he has a crush on Gwyneth though both she and her uncle don not seem to have noticed. Wendy offers to kill Barney but the Gnome declines. Wendy tells the Gnome she is going to look into the fire and asks for the name of his old shop. The name of the shop was "Mr Klinks Wondrous Contraptions". Wendy then makes her way out of the Inn.

Aftermath
Upon exiting the Inn Team Phoenix find Di'Jani across the street in the middle of a conversation over his earpiece. The group overhears her saying, "How did it happen? I thought he was supposed to be good at this sort of thing!...... I'll be back early, let me just finish up here.", at which point he turns to the teens. Asking them to repeat the information they have learned, he looks concerned when Dalius mentions the murders and disappearances, and seems taken aback when Fate mentions Ms. Crow. She tells them that with Ms. Crow in there that she wont fault us for "getting made" and then looks somewhat hurt when Fate says that Di'Jani seems to be a disappointment to her old mentor. When the group asks about what they have overheard of her conversation over the earpiece, Di'Jani tells them that Zekyrr has suffered some sort of accident and that the teens have been authorized to receive an extended weekend away from the Academy, and that they are not expected back at school until after the weekend.

Upon being left to themselves, Xand makes her way to the library across the street, Dalius takes a walk around the neighborhood checking out shops while making a small map of a 2 block area, Fate decides that music is just math and spends some time on his first musical composition, meanwhile Wendy and Dain make their way to the location of the burnt down toy shop to take a look. Upon looking around they find that it seems to have started by mundane means and not magic, and that the point of origin was against the wall slightly to the side of the fireplace. While they are looking around, an older Gnome woman with a baby on her hip approaches and comments on looters usually waiting longer. Introducing themselves and explaining what they are doing, the pair find out that this is Petunia Rattlecap, the wife of Klink Rattlecap, and their infant son "Snake". Wendy and Dain interview her and ask if Klink had any enemies and are told that he didn't. Even if he had, disputes are taken care of by the council. Dain comments on the "prime location" and keeps that in the back of his mind as a possible motive, though things do look like it may very well just be an accident.

Meanwhile back at The Manticores Tail, Fate has finished his composition and has offered to buy Pansy a drink while he tries to convince her to play it. After a few insinuating glances at her tip jar, Fate takes the hint and pays more. With a smile Pansy takes the sheet music and gets on stage to start playing the music. It turns out to be pretty good.

Player Characters

 * Dain Sarkas
 * Fate Silver
 * Dalius
 * Wendy
 * Xand

New

 * Cornelius Stout
 * Gwyneth Burgess
 * Pansy
 * Klink Rattlecap
 * Asher Green
 * Joren
 * Ms. Crow
 * Barney Hightower

Returning

 * Di'Jani Shadowscale