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Veska grimaces to herself. "Wouldn't gotta worry 'bout that anyway. Kobolds never talk to the guards, ever. They're the ones that keep us down here."

"Yeah, well...," Veska fidgets a bit, scratching her neck invisibly, "we all got our reasons fer doin' this job. Things're gonna change fer my pack, once we're done."

"Now let's quit jawin' and get workin'. I'll find us a Crawler to stab."

Survival to hunt down a Crawler (Natural Explorer): 1D20+6 = [6]+6 = 12
Survival to hunt down a Crawler (Natural Explorer) w/ Advantage: 1D20+6 = [14]+6 = 20
(Not sure if Kytiel can help with this, but I rolled an extra time for ADV in case he can)

((He'd help if he could.))

Vatro will split off from Jax moments before they arrive at the inn. He'll go around it just to get a sense of a good sudden exit route before heading in and order some mead and ask if they got any rooms available. As he does this he will watch who Jax started talking to and if he goes anywhere in the inn.

Veska and Kytiel

After a quick discussion, Veska decides she hasn't killed enough Crawlers today. So she starts looking for more to stab.

And despite having never seen a Crawler before, Kytiel does know a thing or two about tracking. In fact, Veska's about to follow some tracks out of the chamber when Kytiel points out some that is, in hindsight, kind of obvious - bloody drag marks, leading down into that central pit....

Jax

"I am a man of my word, master Lucas! I am also a man of culture and I suspect you are quite the expert in this town! I look forward to picking your brains as we explore the town! Do you have anything you wish to collect or return to your room before we depart?"

"My my, eager to see the sights are we? Very well! Just give me a few minutes to put my book away."

Leaving Jax at the booth, Lucas moves towards the stairs at the back of the room.

Vatro

Vatro does a quick loop of the building, looking for entry points. The sides are crammed up against the neighbouring buildings, but the back seems interesting. There are some very climbable wooden beams leading up to some windows. Sadly they're all closed, but maybe not locked?

Heading inside, he arrives just in time to see the man Jax was talking to head for the back stairs.

Jax follows, as if it is the most usual thing in the world to do.

"I have never stayed in this inn! Do you mind if I follow and see what the rooms are like?"

The question is entirely rhetorical.

Veska and Kytiel

Peering into the pit, Veska sees that it descends about 40-50ft before opening up. After that is a drop of another 20ft or so, and then....water? Though from this distance it's hard to tell how deep it goes.

Jax

"I have never stayed in this inn! Do you mind if I follow and see what the rooms are like?"

Lucas seems a little surprised by Darius inviting himself along, but doesn't object.

"Well...certainly! I have to admit, I've been enjoying the comforts on offer greatly. Oh, I'm sure it's nothing compared to what you're used to, but my room back home is a little...sparse."

Lucas' room turns out to be the third on the right, at the top of the stairs. Unlocking the door, he steps inside and places the book on a small desk near a comfortable-looking bed.

Veska rubs her chin thoughtfully, then stands, looking for a good place to secure a rope to. Tying her remaining 40 foot length of rope to her new 50 foot length, hopefully that should be enough to make it down to the bottom of the pit.

Afterward, she'll go ahead and climb down.

Uragh leans over some conveniently placed railing, considering matters... He'd have to severely undercut price in order to do a regular purchase, and given the situation, he knows they're more likely to charge more. He could try and sneak on board then just steal some, but, well... Not much place to hide, and not like they're stupid enough to just leave the ship unguarded.

Still... There's always a way.

He stifles a small grin as he heads towards the local tavern- For now, just casually looking about...

"I can't see much past where it opens up, is it more important to get a good look at what's down there or to avoid alerting anything down there to our presence?."

Kytiel gestures to the pouch containing his light enchanted bearing.

"Nah, keep that thing outta sight. I'm goin' down to look anyway." She peers over the edge of the pit again. "Looks like a channel o' sorts. Best be careful. Saw a Crawler yesterday that hid itself in the water."

While Lucas is sorting his things out, Jax will palm a small piece of charcoal and make a subtle thief's mark on the doorframe, in case Vatro comes looking. He'll also make a point of wandering over to the window, and opening it widely (if possible) to see the view over the city. He'll close it over as he re-enters the room, but he'll make sure that the latch isn't correctly fastened in case someone wants to toss the place while they're out.

((Let me know if you need other rolls, but here's a SoH for now:
Sleight of Hand: 1D20+6 = [18]+6 = 24
))

Veska and Kytiel

Unfurling her rope down the pit, Veska crawls down to check it out.

As she enters the chamber, the first thing that strikes her is how...natural it looks. Most of the sewer tunnels and chambers above were either made from brick, or chiselled directly into the rock. But the cavern she was in now seemed to have been carved out naturally, forming some kind of underground lagoon. Stalactites even hang from the ceiling, occasionally dripping into the calm water below.

The cavern is shaped in a rough oval, about 60ft wide and 100ft long. There seem to be more tunnels at both ends, but from this angle they're shrouded in shadow.

((Roll Perception))

Uragh

After a little thinking, Uragh saunters towards the local pub.

Squatting on the edge of the docks, The Dragon's Grotto is...a bit of a dump. To be fair, it's better than most of the buildings in the area - the roof doesn't leak, the ale is bearable, and it only smells faintly of mouldy seaweed. Which makes it the go-to spot for sailors fresh from the sea, looking to spend the coin earned from weeks or months on the water.

Stepping inside, Uragh gets a nod of recognition from the barkeep/owner - a heavyset Dragonborn, known as Silverfang. His shining scales are starting to fade a bit with age, but anyone who thought that meant he could be picked on would quickly find out otherwise. Of the few who made that mistake, none did so twice.

The Grotto was neutral territory. Everyone with an ounce of sense knew better than to start anything in here.

Currently, it was about half-full. A few sailors seem to be caught up in a drinking game or contest over in one corner (or maybe that was just normal for them), while the rest of the patrons are scattered around, mostly minding their own business.
Jax

Lucas seems completely oblivious to your subtle actions. And when you cross to look out the window, he chuckles.

"I'm afraid the view isn't much. Unless you like brickwork. But, if you're interested, I found a church spire in the Upper Quarter yesterday which is open to the public. For a small price, naturally. I've heard the view from up there is quite stunning."

Vatro

While Jax is upstairs with the target, you enquire about rooms. The halfling at the bar nods and pulls out a ledger - they have two currently free, for 6sp a night. Both upstairs.

Perception in natural cavern under sewer (Natural Explorer): 2D20.LOW(1)+6 = [16, 2]+6 = 8
Stealth in natural cavern under sewer: 1D20+7 = [15]+7 = 22

Veska can't see a darn thing (though maybe she can hear something?). The good news is that it's unlikely anything down here knows she's here, either!

Now where did that Crawler corpse go...?

Kytiel will move over the edge and down as well.

"Hmmm... yes. You should mention to your employer that you were not adequately housed. Still, that church sounds wonderful! Well, shall we depart?"

He's looking for people "out of town"- People he suspects being pirates, or potentially to come from the dawn strider... Also, making sure to double check he doesn't see the ratty face of his former crew's first mate. You never know. Given that things are not obvious, though, he can probably go for the old adventurers standby and offer the innkeeper a gold piece to see if he knows..?

Veska and Kytiel

Veska hangs in perfect silence, peering into the darkness. But the gloom is too thick for even her eyes to pierce. Her ears are another matter, however - in the quiet of the cavern, she picks out the faint sound of running water coming from one end of the cave. And when she looks more closely below her, she realises the water is flowing slowly towards the sound.

Meanwhile, Kytiel continues to laugh in the face of gravity, strolling down the wall to see what's up. Or down.

Uragh

While the drunken group of sailors don't seem like locals, they don't really look too piratey either. Too baby-faced and...happy.

So, Uragh sidles up to the bar instead. Silverfang grunts when you pass him a gold, slipping it into his overalls.

"Aye. There's been a few newcomers passing through. That lot over there are from one o' the trading companies. West Esterfold, I think."

"But if yer interested in...other work, I heard Cap'n Jormun is looking for some able hands. He came into port the other night. Think he had some business with Johnny Strings, over at the Bleeding Harp?"

Jax

"Hmmm... yes. You should mention to your employer that you were not adequately housed. Still, that church sounds wonderful! Well, shall we depart?"

"Oh, it's quite enough for me. I'm a simple historian, after all."

"So, where would you like to start?"

Veska quietly lowers herself down into the water, confident her Gloves of Swimming and Climbing will give her the edge she needs should something go awry.

She'll try to swim to the edge of the cavern, seeing if there's a shore somewhere down here. Maybe whatever took the Crawler corpse away brought it to shore before dragging it to who-knows-where? In any case, she'll try to track that corpse down, and if that fails she'll follow the sound of the flowing water to wherever it goes.

...oh crap... His persuasion is +11 if that offsets anything

CHA check: 1D20+4 = [1]+4 = 5


((Can't find it easily right now but I think I posted Jax's interests earlier.))

Kytiel will continue downward as well, trying to keep tabs on the elusive 'halfling'.

Vatro will pay for the room and if he's needed to sign it, it will be with the ordinary name of Rob Erikson. He'll also scan the list for names that are familiar (like the historians name, which I assume Jax mentioned).

He'll finish his mead in a leasurily pace to give Jax some time to get him away in case he should have a magical alarm set up. Then go up and check his own room for stuff easy to sell off (plenty of room in the back of holding)

"Other work is what I'm looking for, yea..." Uragh nodded, not even lying with that statement- At least, not technically. With that, though, it seems his business is elsewhere, so he gives a friendly little wave as he turns back- Trying to remember what he can about Johnny Strings and the Bleeding harp... Maybe Jormum, too, but that's less likely.

INT: 1D20 = [19] = 19


Which, naturally, is quite a bit given he practically lives here!

Veska and Kytiel

Slipping the rest of the way down her rope, Veska submerges in the pool. It's not actually that deep - probably 4-5ft at most - but for someone of her height that might as well be 100ft. Still, she's a good enough swimmer that it doesn't really matter. Especially when the water is this calm.

Unfortunately, the nearest edge is just sheer rock. No shore over here. So she decides to check out this running water sound instead; and as she swims closer, feels the current increase. Ahead there's a small rocky ledge about half a foot below the surface, over which water seems to flow into a 15ft wide tunnel.

((Roll Perception and Stealth))
Uragh

Leaving the Dragon's Grotto. That certainly gave him a lot to think about.

Uragh hasn't ever been there himself, but it's an open secret that the Bleeding Harp is either owned by or connected to the Borgoni family. The same could be said for Johnny Strings - you have seen him around, and "weasel" would be a very apt description for the beady-eyed man. If he was up to something, it would be pretty safe to say the Borgoni's were involved too, somehow.

You aren't quite as knowledgable about Jormun, sadly. Chances are he's still trying to make a name for himself as a captain...or he's good enough that he was able to stop his name from spreading around to the wrong people.
Jax

Jax leads Lucas away from his tavern, hopefully giving his companion time to do his job.

Though perhaps it would be more accurate to say Lucas leads him. Now that's he's in his element, the historian seems to be energised, his force of personality overwhelming even Jax. Dragging you through the city, you're bombarded with fact after fact - many of them completely dull and useless. And even after an hour of this, it still seems like Lucas has barely just begun!

((Roll a History check for me))

Vatro

Paying the 6sp, Vatro leaves the halfling with a fake name. He also tries to lean over and surreptitiously scan the lodging ledger. But the angle makes it very awkward...

((Roll Investigation and Perception))

Upstairs, his room is quite warm and cosy, with a comfortable bed, well-built writing desk, and various other pieces of furniture. There isn't much in the way of easily tradeable stuff to steal though...unless you want to start taking the bed-covers and pillows?