After a brief stroll down the tree-lined street, the group found themselves in front of a tavern with, as promised, a gaudy, gold painted lantern above the entrance that was impossible to miss. The facade did not quite live up to the promise of the lustrous paint, but it did spruce up the rest of the street with an air of conditional respectability. The owners had even set up a few tables in the street out in front to take advantage of the warm weather, but these were empty save one occupant.
As they approached the entrance this lone figure, a short half-orc woman with greying hair, stood up and looked them over. When her eyes landed on Eya, she turned her head to Elara and addressed the ranger with a gravelly rumble.
"She with you?" Perplexed, Elara looked to the cleric and then back to the hostess.
"Y...yes?" She said, more question than statement. The woman just grunted and looked over to the cleric again. Eya waved from the rear of the group.
"Tell Grant I said 'hi', Big Magda!" She said brightly. The half-orc squinted at her, raised two fingers to her own eyes, and pointed them back at Eya. When she turned to lead them inside, Eya scowled back and stuck her tongue out. A moment later she realized her new acquaintances were looking at her, so she tried to subtly run her tongue along her teeth and pretended to dislodge a bit of food.
The inside of the Golden Lantern was brighter than one might expect if they were familiar with roadside establishments. Smaller versions of the pub's namesake lantern adorned the walls at regular intervals to keep it evenly lit. The tabletops in the center of the room looked relatively clean and polished, as did the bar to the right of the entrance. A half dozen semiprivate booths lined the left side and a hearth in the far wall warmed a few comfortable chairs in front of it. Observing the group's wide-eyed appreciation, Eya spoke up from the back.
"Grant, well, 'Grantham' is the owner, you guys would like him. He takes a lot of pride in this place. He talks about trying to class up the Copper Bowl all the time. I think he thinks it'll get the city to care about this area more." They nodded along with their impromptu tour guide until Magda seated them at a round table with six chairs close to the center of the room. Elara and Theron were the first to plant themselves and each let out an involuntary groan now that they could take the load off of their feet. Kael sat next and watched in amusement as Liriel and the cleric both reached for the chair with its back to the hearth.
"Umm...there's six seats." Eya offered. Liriel glared at her silently. "It's just that I usually..." she gestured with her free hand while the rogue continued to stare her down. "...usually pull out a chair for guests." She trailed off nervously. Liriel leaned in and narrowed her eyes.
"I've got it, thanks." With a curt tug she pulled it out. Eya swallowed and nodded, then selected the next seat over and sat down between Liriel and Theron.
Their server, a young human girl with twin-braided brown hair approached their table. "What can I-" Theron spoke up immediately and boisterously.
"Beer! Ale, stout, mead, whatever's good! Or cold, even if it's not good!" The girl turned around at once with wide eyes and made for the bar. Elara reached over and batted the back of his head. "Ach! I'm wasting away here, I'll leave her a hefty tip ya demon!"
Kael chuckled to himself at their antics and leaned forward in his seat with his elbows on the table. Clasping his hands in front of him, he fixed Eya with a penetrating and perceptive gaze. "So, we owe you, I think. We'll make good on it but how about we start with a name?" She looked around the table and shrank back a hair under their combined scrutiny.
"Oh, it was no problem. Like I said, they've been a nuisance for a while now. I'm glad you were here to handle them actually. It's usually a lot worse if the town guard has to muster up before they can respond." She pulled her satchel off over her head and set it next to her chair. "I'm Alia." She cleared her throat. "Alia Mira." To her left, Theron cocked his head curiously.
"Tha's an odd name." He commented quietly and furrowed his brow in thought.
"Well Alia, I'm Elara." The ranger took over the meeting. She leaned in and peered closely at their new acquaintance. "I saw you come out of that temple, but you don't look, fight, or act like any Sarenrae cleric I've ever met. Wrong robes too, so...who are you really?" Eya swallowed nervously, the woman's honey-colored eyes seemed to bore straight through her. Despite the intensity of the moment though, she couldn't help but wonder how the ranger kept the thick, brown braid of hair draped over her shoulder so neat. She realized they were waiting for an answer and shook herself out of it.
"Well," she began, "I mean...Sarenrae isn't very popular these days. How many have you really met?" Her voice rose toward the end of the question, she hoped in a charmingly innocent way.
"Enough of them." Elara deadpanned. "So let's keep this chat friendly, okay? You've obviously got a little skill under your belt and you're either brave or stupid enough to jump in with total strangers. We might be able to work together, earn you a little coin even. But first...who are you?" Theron perked up and smiled.
"She's a liar!" He declared. Eya whipped around to face him and Liriel glowered at the back of her head. The cleric began stumbling for words, but couldn't find traction to even begin an explanation before Kael interrupted.
"That's a little harsh, Theron. How about we get some food into you before you start slinging around accusations like that." Theron shook his head and waved his hands to the group.
"It wasn't me, it was her." He hooked his thumb in her direction. "She told us she's a liar." From behind her, Liriel shook her head like she was trying to clear her ears.
"When did that happen? Did I pass out from sobriety?" Theron got more animated and a satisfied, toothy grin broke through his bushy brown beard. He stood up out of his chair and planted his hands on the table.
"Just now! 'Alia Mira' is an anagram for 'I am a liar'! Ha! I knew it was a funny soundin' name." He looked around the group and was met by a collection of shocked faces. The most shocked of all though was Eya. Her eyes were wide as saucers and her jaw hung open.
"H- H- How- How did you-" She stammered uselessly before giving up and squeaking out rueful "ah farts." Her timid voice was cut off when the server returned with their drinks. The young woman impressively brought all five mugs in one trip and deposited them on the table in front of the dwarf.
"Excellent timing! So," he embraced the mugs, "what is everyone else having?"
Elara looked at the waiting barmaid and yanked a mug from Theron's grasp. "We're...going to need a minute." When she walked away, Liriel's brain caught up to the conversation and she turned Eya back to face her.
"Wait, wait, wait. Hang on. You picked out an alias whose first name is literally in the word 'alias'?" Already shocked and overwhelmed, Eya stared blankly at the table. Her breathing became shallow and reedy and the color started to drain from her face. After a moment of panic, her voice squeaked out again and she swallowed hard to clear her throat.
"...I never thought of it like that." The uncomfortable silence was broken by Liriel burying her face in her hands and laughing loudly into them.
"So clever that you came right back around to stupid. Unbelievable." She continued to laugh into her hands until Eya put her own hands up to the group.
"Okay! Okay..." Her voice dropped to a whisper and they all leaned in to hear her. "My name is Eya." She looked around to each member of this oddball party before peeking up to see if any of the sparse patrons or employees were listening. "I really am a cleric of the Everlight, I promise. But around here I'm 'Alia', okay? Please? I mostly work as a healer here in the Copper Bowl but sometimes I contract out. I also mix up the occasional potion too." They all relaxed, each catching the eyes of the others and coming to a silent consensus. Theron remained huddled close and followed up with a conspiratorial whisper.
"Eya...what?" The cleric sighed, reached forward and took hold of one of the large mugs of ale. Raising it to her lips, she drained at least half of the draught before setting it down to impressed glances from her four table mates. She sighed heavily again and shook her head.
"Just Eya." The wizard accepted this at face value and then drank from his own mug, as if intent on defending his honor against her unspoken challenge. Kael turned to Elara and the pair began an earnest and hushed conversation. Liriel took hold of a mug of her own, and Theron introduced himself to the new girl.
"Well, just Eya," he whispered her name, "ya can call me Theron. Theron Ashmantle, of the Uthodurn Ashmantles of course." He proudly grinned at her. Perturbed by being outed so quickly and then accepted equally as fast, Eya blinked at him.
"Oh...I'm s- sorry. I don't know who they are. I've never talked to one. Should I know who they are?" He shrugged and laughed at her.
"Hell if I know, they don' talk to me neither!" He tapped his mug to hers with splash of foam. She giggled at the joke and he felt a twinge of pride that he had finally managed to pry open a crack in her defensive wall.
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"I wouldn't have guessed you were from Uthodurn, isn't it way up north in Wildemount? What's it like, I've never been off of Issylra!" She quickly became more animated under the influence of half a pint of ale and his natural charm.
"Oh aye, most people dinnae believe I'm from up north, but I am. Swarthiest dwarf in all of Uthodurn, my maw used to tell me." He winked and drank again. She nodded enthusiastically with absolutely no idea what that meant. "Ach, where are my manners? Alia, allow me to introduce you to the finest collection of miscreants and delinquents you'll find on this plane or the any other. My friends, the CKG." He swept an arm around the table while Eya drank from her mug. She set it down quickly and wiped a foam mustache off her lip.
"What's that stan-" She was cut off when he pointed his open hand at the white-haired warrior and kept talking.
"Kael Illyrian, or 'Shiny' as I like to call him. Stand-up fella if there ever was one. Handy with that blessed silver sword and tough as a rock giant's arse. Plus, he'll make sure yer donkey gets ya back to yer lodge when yer passed out from celebratin' to the fullest. I can testify to tha' personally." This drew another laugh from the cleric and she gestured to the warrior.
"Why 'Shiny'?"
Theron scoffed and gestured as well. "Cannae ya see the sparklin' hair? The git's a walking' advertisement fer clean livin' and all tha' bunk! His paw's an angel or some such." At that, Kael finally turned from his conversation and nodded at her. Looking closely now, she did see an almost imperceptible iridescent shimmer in his white hair and noticed a faint luminosity behind his yellow eyes.
"My 'paw' isn't an angel, he's an ate-up jerk with a superiority complex. We don't know how far back all this comes from." He gestured at his hair and narrowed his eyes at Theron. "And I don't sparkle." He turned and resumed his conversation with Elara. Theron made a face to Eya and waggled his hand. Moving the gesture again, he pointed at the ranger.
"He sparkles a little. Anyway, Elara Hartwell, a.k.a. 'Stickers'. Some say she can hear an owlbear fart in the woods from a mile away." Now Elara rolled her eyes and sighed.
"No one says that." She deadpanned, again.
"Some people say it." He reassured Eya. The ranger flicked a sticker burr off her cloak toward him. The little seed bounced off his forehead and landed in his beer. Cursing to himself, he started fishing it out. Even though she had returned her attention to Kael, Elara's expressive eyes remained alert and watchful. They darted quickly between her conversation and assessing Eya at regular intervals.
Finally successful at retrieving the offending burr, Theron shook his fingers dry and drank again. He then gestured behind Eya.
"And this fetching specimen is Liriel Galanthil. Daggers here knows someone in every town and quite possibly everyone in some towns. Sharp as a tack and half as cuddly." He raised his mug to her and she sneered back.
"Fuck you."
"Also a bit of a potty mouth." He added. Eya, feeling the effects of her initial, ambitious bolus of beer, whipped her head back and forth trying to follow the pair's verbal sparring.
"Oh! I saw her with those knives, that's why she's 'Daggers'?" Theron drank again and shook his head. He pointed behind her as he drained it and when she turned to look at the half-elf she caught the full effect of her disgruntled glare at the dwarf's bold humor. She was quite figuratively staring daggers at him. Eya watched the rogue's attention briefly slide over her, gauging her and taking her measure before moving on once again to the exits, the patrons, and even the staff of the tavern. Theron set down his empty mug and reached for the last one, but Kael snatched it before he could touch it. Undeterred, Theron looked back and waved toward the barmaid.
"We're gonna need another round, lass. And some bowls of whatever's good before this one guts me." He pointed at Liriel and turned to her with a wink. "I got ya covered, Daggers. No gettin' hangry when we're trying to make a good impression." Eya drained her own mug to keep pace with the dwarf.
"What about you?" She asked. His face conveyed the question before he asked it and she pointed to each of the others in turn. "Shiny, Stickers, Daggers. What about you?"
Theron chuckled and wiped the foam of his mustache with his sleeve. "Like I said, I'm Theron. Ya don' make up yer own nickname, tha's bad luck, and these three dinnae have the imagination of a wet ogre shite between them." She laughed again and coyly covered her mouth, drawing a sympathetic chuckle out of him as well. The pair of them leaned toward one another and snickered together.
Eya felt a blooming warmth in her belly that didn't come from the alcohol alone for once. She liked him already. She liked them all, she admitted to herself, even if some of them were a bit prickly. The fact that her attempt at deception didn't seem to faze them buoyed her confidence and she felt the long-forgotten tension in her shoulders start to ease.
They were soon served with a refilled round of drinks and bowls of thick stew. While the group dug into their first hot meal in a while, Eya eagerly consumed hers as well. Being a port city, most of the affordable food in Marisfall was sea-based. So when her first bite included a marinated hunk of lamb, she rolled her eyes and a quiet moan slipped out.
"You need some privacy with that bowl?" The ranger's voice interrupted her enjoyment and her eyes shot open again. Elara and Kael were looking directly at her, very amused. She quickly swallowed the morsel and wiped her mouth.
"Sorry," she said sheepishly, "I don't indulge here too often. Sometimes I forget how good their cooking is." The ranger and warrior exchanged a quick glance and Elara appeared to make a decision for the group.
"So, Alia." She began, but took another bite filled with a thick potato and carrots. Eya waited patiently while she swallowed it and washed it down. "We're here on a job, might have an opening if you're interested?"
The cleric nodded eagerly with a mouthful of stew and mumbled a response. She caught herself, finished it, and tried again. "What kind of job?"
"The feel-good kind, right up your alley." The ranger leaned in closer. "One of the upper crust in Shorecomb hired us to track down a kid. The son of one his maids was taken right out of his estate. He thinks it was one of his business partners trying to stir up a scandal and we've tracked him here." Liriel snorted into her bowl.
"More like he wants us to find one of his bastards before word gets out. Can't use official resources if you don't want people finding out you're diddling the help." Kael set his mug down with a thump.
"Regardless...it's not the kid's fault, Liriel." He said pointedly, then turned to face Eya. "Look, we've been knocked around a bit on this job. The kid didn't exactly find his own way here. I don't know if you've heard but there's a new organization establishing themselves in the coastal towns on this stretch of the Ozmit. A nasty bunch, call themselves the 'Saltwrights'?" Eya waggled her head and slurped up a droplet of stew from her lip, rapt by the story. Kael continued. "Well, among other pursuits they're slavers. Plus, like I said, they're not known for playing nice and we've taken a few lumps already." He took a long drink and wiped his mouth with a napkin before resuming the pitch.
"So, here's the deal. You held your own with the goblins, that's good credit with us. The Saltwrights are bad news though, and this is your home turf. You keep us alive, keep the kid alive, and bring along some of those handy potions. I'm thinking ten percent plus we'll buy any medicine we use, but at cost." Liriel dropped her spoon in her bowl and stared at the warrior.
"My guy, we need to talk. Privately." Kael waved her off though and looked directly at Eya.
Leaning over her own bowl, the cleric just nodded. "Sounds good, that's pretty standard." She stared directly at him, hoping he didn't realize it was standard for her to haggle up to that point and she hated haggling. Elara snorted.
"You didn't even ask what the job was worth, you sure you're up for this?" Eya's brow knitted together and she paused with a loaded spoonful in front of her face.
"Hey, you want your healer or not?" She asked, rhetorically. "But yeah...what's it worth?"
"550 gold." Kael answered. The cleric shrugged and guffawed to herself.
"Seems a little low for a kidnapping." She ate the large mouthful and began chewing with a self-satisfied smirk. "You sure you're up for this?" She mumbled around the stew.
"That's your cut, Alia. Plus expenses." He answered. Eya's eyes went wide and she choked on the food in her mouth. She pushed back from the table and tried to clear her windpipe while Theron helpfully patted her back. Liriel interjected again, catching Eya's bulging eye.
"Excuse us a second, I need a word with my associate." Without waiting for their new acquaintance to leave or even stop choking however, she turned back to Kael. "Did you take a rock to the dome too? Ten percent for some wholesome little healer from the skids to keep us alive against a gang of cutthroat sociopaths? How about we shop around for someone who won't get us and themselves gruesomely murdered? I'd like my insides to stay inside, thanks." She then turned back to Eya, who had finally stopped coughing and was clearing her reddened eyes. "No offense."
"None...taken?" She wiped her mouth and coughed one more time. "But I've lived around Marisfall for over two years now, I know what this place can be like." She tried to sit up a little taller to bolster her point. Liriel just rolled her eyes.
"Look Cherry, these two-copper gangs are worse than the big time outfits. It's like they say about young vipers being more dangerous than adults, yeah? They're nastier because they don't have the experience to know better. You take this job and you're going to see some things that'll make you wish you never left your...temple...or whatever." Eya grew indignant, pursed her lips, and threw her shoulders back. It was a matter of principle now.
"I'm in. I'll show you who's a wholesome little healer from the skids." Liriel gestured with her spoon incredulously.
"You. Literally you. You're the only healer at this table and we met you here, in the skids. It's you." She looked around at her compatriots, all hiding varying degrees of amusement at the newcomer. "Am I having a stroke or something?"
"It was a metaphor!" Eya insisted and crossed her arms.
Kael extended a hand across the table while suppressing a chuckle. "We can draw up a contract later if you like, but for now we'll take you at your word." Their new healer stood up and eagerly shook on it. Sitting back down, she picked up her new mug and took in another deep draught. Kael began to fill her in.
"Our quarry is a ten year old boy by the name of Jory. Jory Marrow. The description we got was average height and on the skinny side. Messy brown hair and a pretty noticeable gap in his front teeth. I don't suppose we'll get lucky and you've seen someone like that around?" Eya shook her head and set down her mug.
"No, sorry. I mean I probably have, but that's a pretty generic description." She shrugged and scraped the remnants of her stew around the bowl with her spoon.
"He'd be the one surrounded by a bunch of ugly, slaving bastards." Liriel added. "Probably some dark iron jewelry too." Eya rolled her eyes and made a face into her bowl. She chose to ignore the provocation.
"So," she turned to Theron again, "what does CKG stand for?"
Without looking up from her own meal, Liriel preempted his response, talking through a mouthful of food.
"Catching Kids Guild."
Eya's eyes widened in surprise for just a second before she narrowed them at the rogue. The sarcasm was not lost on her.
"You don't need to make it weird..."