The Danger Gang Begins To Infiltrate Calpe

The Danger Gang sleeps in the church outside Chrysopolis, hoping to rest before launching their big plan to infiltrate the thieves guild in Calpe. Martialis summons a few rats and casts animal friendship on the biggest one. He convinces them that he is a friend of Norwit's. He then hits the sack, leaving old Xenon to keep an eye on the sleeping spell casters. Their rest is interrupted however, by a loud banging on the church doors. Lugurix is screaming about something chasing him. Xenon opens the door and rouses the rest of the party. Martialis is worried that it might be another one of his false flag operation, but before he can question him a Phase Spider phases into the church. The gang unleashes a flurry of spells and stabbing. Giant Ants are summoned. Stabbings are doled out. Lugurix explains that he was taking Martialis's advice to head out and become a better adventurer, and the best way to do this is to tackle a dungeon. A local farmer told him he heard about one at the bottom of a well, so he conscripted said farmer to help him infiltrate said dungeon. The farmer leads him to an old well which leads to a room with a warded door. Unfortunately, he didn't notice the wards and bust down the door. The Phase Spider attacked them and ate up the farmer. Lugurix took that opportunity to book, but the spider was hot on his tail. He runs back to Chrysopolis where he, luckily, finds the Gang sleeping in the church.

Everyone eyes Lugurix suspiciously. "Come on, take us to this dungeon." He begrudgingly agrees. They borrow some horses from the stable and ride out past Nicomedea towards the Sangerias river. Lugurix points out the well, which has a sign reading "Danger! Do Not Open! Danger Inside!"

Showing a sign like this to the Danger Gang is like dangling meat in front of a hungry tiger.

Xenon leads the way down the well, the others close behind. At the bottom they find a small room with a door; the door covered in wards. The door is lying on the floor, having been knocked off it's hinges. A quick listen reveals only the sound of rushing wind. They head in to the other room to find something really odd. It appears to be a misty door to outer space. Arben the know-it-all explains that this is probably a portal to another plane, probably the Astral Plane, and they definitely should not go in there because things get crazy in other planes. They discuss how they could try to get some one or something in there to investigate; a summoned animal or something. Lugurix finally volunteers, saying he needs a little more adventure, or at least XP. Everyone is very dubious about this and they decide to have Gershom cast Augery to figure out if this is kosher. However, before he can cast, Xenon just shoves Lugurix into the portal. He bounces off. They try throwing a rock at it; this too bounces off. They all scratch their heads. "Alright," Arben continues. "Maybe it's not so much a portal as a window. Or maybe a one way portal from the other side." That prospect seems especially disturbing. They futz with it a little bit more; Xenon tries to walk through in case it was a question of intent, but no dice. Can mushes his face up against it, but sees nothing but infinite space. Finally, they decide that Martialis should Stone Shape over and they should put this on the back burner. Before they Marty seals it up, Arben drafts a quick Note To The Astral Plane. Before they leave, they do a quick scan of the two room dungeon. They find carved on one of the walls "Ariobarzenas". Arben knows several figures by this name, including an Armenian king, a Persian who fought Alexander, and any number of kings of Pontus.

Lugurix says he's gonna head out in search of adventure. Martialis cautions him to be more cautious in the future. They head back to Chrysopolis to tell Eorl about the crazy thing they found. He's waiting outside the city walls. "What the shit? What happened to the plan, man?" Eorl asks.

They explain that they found this crazy ass thing that is probably a window to another plane. Eorl seems surprisingly disinterested. He explains that he has to leave town for a little while, go underground for having the Bogatyrs take out Ishopra. He'll be in touch, though. Arben asks if he can have something personal of his to lend credence to their plan. Eorl thinks it over, then decides to let him borrow his Fire Sword. "Don't lose this," he says. He then rolls out the barrel with the dead Doppelganger stored inside. Arben stuffs the sword inside and seals it back up. Eorl bugs Oeonoe for a Divination, which ends up warning them to look out for people with a mark, and a mountain ghost, and a needle, and a half girl. Eorl loans them some money, then disappears into the shadows.

Arben and Can don their John and Man disguises and roll the barrel down to the docks. They pick up a few textiles to help with their cover stories. Martialis transforms into a snake, then hides inside Can's pants (inevitable). They board a boat bound for Calpe. Meanwhile, Xenon and Gershom put on their best digs and hop in a cart headed that same way.

When the boat arrives at Calpe, Can and Arben make their way over to the dice parlor. "Uh, Kismet!" says Can, excitedly. They open the door. Arben makes a bee-line for the bar. "I'm looking for the big cheese," he says. When they tell him that he's out of town, he acts all exasperated. They tell him he should talk to Narcis, the number two in town. If they want him, they can find him at Big Yohannes's Dry Goods Store. They head over to the dry goods store, but the clerk tells him this guy is no where to be found. They start making a scene, and the guard stationed there asks them to leave. They head back to the Kismet Club and yell about Narcis not being at the store, and then go back to the store, where somebody finally gets Narcis. They demand to know where the big cheese is, and he takes them to the stabled courtyard behind the store.

Arben and Can continue to demand to see Norwit. Narcis explains to them that Norwit really is gone. They've had enough, they say, and they kick open the barrel, allowing the dead Doppelganger to spill out. "Do you know what this is? I'll tell you what this is. This is Eorl of Chrysopolis. Why didn't anyone tell me he was actually a grey mush monster man?" screams Arben. In the confusion, Martialis slithers out of Can's pants.

"That's not Eorl. Eorl is not a faceless, grey humanoid," Narcis insists.

"Than how did I get this...flame sword?" yells Arben, producing the Flame Sword and lighting it up.

"Keep it down, keep it down. Are you John and Man?", he asks.

Meanwhile, Xenon and Gerhsom ride into town. They swing by an inn and get a room, and then go check out the pub. Gershom grabs a table and plays the part of the silent partner while Xenon butters up the barkeep. He explains that they are merchants interested in paying premium prices for goods that might be difficult to sell locally due to certain legal complications. There will be no questions asked. The barkeep catches their drift and asks them if they have "the mark". He says they don't, but they want to avoid stepping on any toes. The barkeep reffers them to another inn where they should speak to Protextus. Gershom tips him generously and then heads over to the other bar. At the other bar they meet the loutish Protextus, who says that it is certainly possible, but they'll to talk to Narcis. He'll arrange a meeting with him that afternoon at around two o'clock.

Meanwhile, back at the stables, Marty has cast Invisibility to Animals to hide from horses, then casts Charm Person on Narcis. He changes into a rat then starts trying to get Narcis's attention. Narcis tells Arben and Can to head down the secret door into the guildhall; he'll join them shortly. Once they are out of sight, Narcis transforms into a rat and starts to find out what Martialis wants. Marty (reffering to himself as "Barty") explains that there's a weasel about, and that Narcis should watch out, cause, you know, weasels eat rats. Narcis thanks him for the tip, then reverts to human form to join his guests.

Narcis leads Arben and Can through the halls of the guild to a big conference room. There, they join and beautiful elven woman and a passed out drunk monk. "Who the fuck are these people? Where is Norwit?" Arben fumes.

"This is Margareta and this drunk guy is Patricius; he gives spiritual guidance to The Three Mira Sisters," explains Narcis.

Arben continues to demand the money. They offer him the twenty gold they have in petty cash. They refuse. Narcis asks them why it took them so long and they explain that no one told them about Captain Halcyon, Naum, The Three Out Of Five Adventurers, The Bogatyrs, or, worst of all, the illustrious Danger Gang. They ask him if he would be interested in assassinating Basil II, he says not until he gets paid for his last job. Finally, Arben decides to influence their reactions, and for once, succeeds. They invite him to stay in town until Norwit gets back. They advise the two not to steal anything since they don't have the mark and it could get them into trouble. Arben and Can thank them for their hospitality, and if anyone needs to contact them they'll be staying at such and such an inn. As Narcis leads them out, he introduces them to Llyuanis the gnome and Artaky the dwarf. As they head out, Arben makes mental notes of the layout.

Meanwhile, above ground, Martialis Charms the stable boy (inevitable), who is named Esador. Esador gives him a whole bunch of lowdown on the Thieves Guild of Calpe.

Meanwhile, Xenon is trying to find out more about the guards in Calpe. They have an exclusive bar where they drink for free, and their leader is named Demetrius. At around one-thirty two people enter the bar and introduce themselves as Eric and Mary. "You have a meeting with Narcis?" they ask. Our boys say they do, but were expecting to meet him at Big Johannes's, not to have someone meet them here. The two strangers ask them to come with them.

They lead Xenon and Gershom through a long series of back alleyways and side streets. Xenon and Gershom grow increasingly suspicious. Finally they lead them to a small building which stinks of herbs. They then begin to question Xenon and Gershom, asking them if they have "the mark", why do they want to do business with Narcis, etc. etc. Eventually, it is revealed that these two are not Eric and Mary, but in fact Theodulf and Ruth, two thieves that worked Calpe before Norwit showed up, and would like to get things back to how they were. They don't like the idea of paying out a percentage to some dude who muscled in on their turf. They explain that the herbs stench they're smelling is Ratsbane, and it should be safe to talk. Gershom reveals that they are not merchants but have, in fact, been sent to take care of the "rat problem" in Calpe. Ruth says that there are rumored to be a pair of assassins in town, and if they can get in touch with the assassins, maybe their services could be used against Norwit. Xenon and Gershom agree and promise to try to track them down. They agree to keep in touch, but have to leave for their meeting with Narcis.

Meanwhile, Arben leaves Can at the inn and goes to track down some jewelry for part of his bold plan. He haggles twenty gold off the price then returns to find Marty waiting for him. They discuss their next move, then give Marty a note to pass along to the other guys. Marty changes into a starling and flies off.

Meanwhile, Xenon and Gershom head over to Big Johannes's for their meeting. After a little questioning from Narcis and some vague replies from Gershom, it is agreed that they can buy illicit goods from the thieves in town, as long as they don't do any actual stealing. Narcis once again insists that he doesn't know where Norwit is or when he's coming back.

When they leave the meeting they find a little starling gesturing at them. It appears to have something in it's feet. They look around to make sure the coast is clear, then grab the note and read it. While they decline Arben's plan to have Arben publicly beat the shit out of Xenon to make sure no one thinks they're together, they let them know that they made contact with two possible friendlies.

Meanwhile, across town, Arben leaves Can at home to wait for word from their cohorts while he goes out to try and weasel some more information out of that Margareta woman. He heads down to the Kismet Club, but it turns out she just left. Arben spends a few hours playing dice, and eventually she comes back in the company of the three Mira sisters. She introduces tham and Arben asks if he can interest her in a game of Destiny; the loser buys the winner dinner. She agrees, and Arben loses (intentionally?). He asks her if she knows a place around here that doesn't have any rats; as there seems to be quite the epidemic and he wants to go some place classy. She recommends a place.

They sit and chat. He learns a little more information from her about the thieves guild. He gives her the necklace he bought, explaining he didn't steal it, but saw it and immediately thought of her and bought it for her. He tries to find out if there is anything he can do to help her out, and she says that she would appreciate it if he could find out what Artaky's deal is and what it is that Mario has in his bag. Arben agrees. They talk about Norwit's policy of fostering the local economy, and she expresses that it seems a little silly to her. Arben implies that if someone else were in charge, the thieves of Calpe could just take whatever they want. She doesn't quite take the bait, so Arben bids her a good night,

He heads back to the inn and fills in Can and Marty on the hot date. Marty goes back to his room and Can and Arben hit the sack. Just as Arben is about to fall asleep, Can whispers, "Hey John, you awake?"

"Y-yeah. Yeah." Arben responds, sleepily.

"Do you think ghosts really exist?"

"Yeah, we fought one."

"Oh, yeah. Good night."

"Night buddy."