Café de Nuit

IN THE GAOL-HOUSE NOW...


The Watchmen deliver the party to Povero's main dungeon, a grim brick fort near the Municipal District.

Inside the jail, guards take away and lock up the party's armor, along with any locksmith's tools and similiar items they find.
The Watch turns over the weapons it had taken from the party.
But nobody takes their money, at least not yet.

The jailers, a surly lot armed with saps, take the party deeper into the jailhouse.
The main interior space forms a hollow square. Walkways and cells line four sides, with gaps leading to sidehalls and guardrooms.
A big square pit takes up the middle of the central floor, roofed over with a segmented, ventilated cover of wood and iron.
Pale faces stare up from this pit, and dirty hands reach up through the bars. Voices groan. Anyone standing near it smells piss, sweat, and sour wine.

A jailer explains the situation. Silver penny gets a cell. Five follaros gets a night in the common pit with the comfort of a bread loaf and blanket. No money? Into the pit with what clothes and food you have on you right now.

Fild hangs back, standing behind his taller fellow prisoners, and draws his purse. He reaches down and tugs the top of one of his boots loose.
But when he goes to stash the cash in his boot, he looses his balance, trips, and spills coins across the floor.

The jailers all have a good laugh at the sight.
They do not take his money, but neither do they help him recover it from the floor.

GAOL:


Gertie obtains a cell, but Tom and Fild go into THE PIT, along with the dog, Gem.

MEANWHILE, AT THE FRISKY FRIAR

DAMIEN enjoys a morning game of cards with a saucy tart and a laconic cattle-drover.

His friends seem to be quite late returning from last night's adventure, but so far all his asking around while socializing with the staff and guests has yet to turn up information on their whereabouts...

IN THE PIT


The guards lower Tom, Fild, and Gem into the PIT with ropes (the dog descends in a loop, the others just hold the rope).

It's a ten foot drop.
Down in the dank, poorly lit dungeon pit, the new prisoners see their roommates; a ragtag collection of men and women,and a few children. The air stinks, but the grills overhead provide some ventilation, so there's no danger of suffocation.

Some of the prisoners have climbed onto the backs of their fellows and reached up through the grates, sticking up their hands and begging for more food, a drink of water.
Gem sniffs the air, barks at people who get too close, and takes up a guard position beside his master.

The new prisoners haven't been in THE PIT longer than a few minutes before a tall, fat man lumbers over. He squints at Tom and the gnome.
"Hey, new fish. Welcome. I'm Barth. You need something, you ask me. I make trades."
Barth opens his ragged coat, displaying a collection of cheap trinkets, crusts of stale bread, and other small items, all secured with string.
He looks down at Fild.
"But first, pay the rent. I'll take your shirt, runt."

Fild looks up, acting dizzied and disoriented. He mutters something in Gnomish and points the wall behind him. He insists actually. And then he suddenly leaps towards the fat man aiming to crush his head on his solar plexus.

alhoon wrote:Fild looks up, acting dizzied and disoriented. He mutters something in Gnomish and points the wall behind him. He insists actually. And then he suddenly leaps towards the fat man aiming to crush his head on his solar plexus.

Barth grabs the gnome even as Fild's head connects with his chest.
The fat brute sucks wind, staggering back and dropping the gnome.

People clear space in a hurry, and circle round to watch the brawl.

Gem barks, leaps, and howls. Tom has his hands full for a moment, keeping the dog from joining the action.

Alfonse comes down to the common room, feigning to stretch and yawn despite having spent the last hour memorizing spells in his room.

"Is there coffee?" he asks hopefully to the people behind the bar before moving over to the table. He looks to Damien. "Soooo....no sign of them, eh? That's probably not good."

Adam wrote:Alfonse comes down to the common room, feigning to stretch and yawn despite having spent the last hour memorizing spells in his room.

"Is there coffee?" he asks hopefully to the people behind the bar before moving over to the table. He looks to Damien. "Soooo....no sign of them, eh?"

COMMON ROOM OF THE FRISKY FRIAR

Behind the counter, Branca fixes Alfonse some coffee.


Damien looks up from his cards.
"No, no sign of them."
He kicks out a chair for Alfonse.
"Why don't you join the game? Penelope-"
he smiles, nodding at the saucy tart seated across from him, "--can deal you in next hand. And after we finish up here, if they still haven't turned up, I say we check the Watch house. I learned a bit about all that yesterday, while you guys were sightseeing or whatever. I just don't want to leave here too soon and miss them coming back if they were only out late...doing stuff."

Alfonse brightens at the invitation.

"Sure, sounds good," he says, "What are we playing? Maybe I'll order some breakfast while we're at it."

He feels guilty for a second, thinking of his friends' potential trouble, but then shakes his head. I'm sure they're fine.

OOC: Cut to a shot of Fild getting punched by a fat dude.

COMMON ROOM, FRISKY FRIAR

Adam wrote:Alfonse brightens at the invitation.

"Sure, sounds good," he says, "What are we playing? Maybe I'll order some breakfast while we're at it."

He feels guilty for a second, thinking of his friends' potential trouble, but then shakes his head. I'm sure they're fine.

OOC: Cut to a shot of Fild getting punched by a fat dude.

Damien says,
"It's called Score-and-One. Pretty simple play."

Gertie - Cell

Looking around, she notes it is clean enough, for a priosn cell. There's a piss pot, a tin/metal cup attached to a chain on the wall. Not very large at five feet by feet.

Not wanting her time spent in the "joint" to be lost, she goes over to the left side of her cell and starts pounding on the wall. After a few minutes of nothing she tries

right side. It takes about a minute before she hears something inside that cell. Satisfied, she moves over to the grill on her cell door. "Hello?" she calls out in Thieves Cant.

steveflam wrote:Gertie - Cell

Looking around, she notes it is clean enough, for a priosn cell. There's a piss pot, a tin/metal cup attached to a chain on the wall. Not very large at five feet by feet.

Not wanting her time spent in the "joint" to be lost, she goes over to the left side of her cell and starts pounding on the wall. After a few minutes of nothing she tries

right side. It takes about a minute before she hears something inside that cell. Satisfied, she moves over to the grill on her cell door. "Hello?" she calls out in Thieves Cant.

A voice answers her from the right--sounds like someone speaking through his own cell door.
''Hey, hey, girlie. I'm Mook. Who're you?"

"I'm Gertie. New in town. You know the drill. Are you part of the guild here?"

steveflam wrote:"I'm Gertie. New in town. You know the drill. Are you part of the guild here?"

''You mean the Honorable Brotherhood? Yeah, I'm in. Not high up, but I'm in. You get pinched for unlicensed moving business, girlie? House cleaning or bag toting? Something else?"

"Something like that. We are a few. I'm up here cause my brother thinks he needs to protect me all the time. You can get us an intro to the Brotherhood?"

steveflam wrote:"Something like that. We are a few. I'm up here cause my brother thinks he needs to protect me all the time. You can get us an intro to the Brotherhood?"

''Sure, girlie--I mean, Gertie. I can get you in. Only I got a problem. Spent my last penny on this cell. Didn't want to sleep in the Pit with the riff-raff. Lice, you see, and fleas. That don't agree with me. But the guy holding money for me got into trouble too, and now I'm stuck here until I can pay my fines. I could call on my brothers for help, but I'd rather not owe the upright men the favor when I can make myself look good by bringing them new talent. So if you can just pay my fine, I'll be sprung and then I can make all the right introductions for you and your brother, too."



(DM Note, conversation includes more slang, but has been rendered in plain English/common tongue here)