And so the story begins... (okay, I'll edit it in a few days or so when it actually starts)

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Time: 10:23
Location: Ixen'Taoul
Weather: Clear skies, mid-day, 79° F


Khordek Blackmoore and his wife Natasha are in their home in the Southern section of Ixen'Taoul. Breakfast has been finished, when there is a knock at the door.

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Khordek Blackmoore

The half-orc tenses slightly at the sudden knock on the door and in silence raises an eyebrow towards Natasha miming an exaggerated confusion to show that he wasn't expecting anyone. Sliding his char back from the table he leans down to the pack resting against the wall which has his bandolier draped loosely over the top, he slides one of the daggers out of it and palms it in his left hand. The report of his hard sole'd boots on the wooden floor sound as he approaches the door, and keeping the dagger hidden behind it, opens a few inches to see who could have come calling.

Time: 10:24
Location: Ixen'Taoul
Weather: Clear skies, mid-day, 79° F


An older human man in the guard's uniform of the city can be seen through the crack in the door.

"Greetings Khordek, my commanding officer, Major Ironsong has a message for you, may I come in?" he asks.

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Khordek Blackmoore

Eying the man, Khordek recognizes the garb of the city guard and opens the door a bit further. With a quick glance to the streets beyond he opens the wooden door the rest of the way with a nod and a slight grunt. "Please..." he says, motioning into the house with his free right hand as he slips the dagger in his left palm between his belt and trousers. As the man enters, the half-orc gives a polite half bow and directs him towards a place to be seated.

"Natasha, we have have company..."

Time: 10:25
Location: Ixen'Taoul
Weather: Clear skies, mid-day, 79° F


"Thank you," says the guard as he crosses the threshold. He gives your moderate home an appraising look. "You have a... lovely home. The Major has requested your assistance on a matter he has little time for. There has been a wave of drugs that have taken Merchant's Row by storm. They are crystallized emotions, created by moderate mages, and their origins have been traced over to Pab'Oestenstad to a mafia ring. You are required to find the source of the drugs, and if necessary eliminate it. The Major is prepared to pay you in either the form of gold or favors of the city. What shall I tell him your response is?"

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Khordek Blackmoore

With a nod of acknowledgement to the half-compliment he listens to the situation as described by their guest and, mulling over the guard's words, Khordek glances towards Natasha to gauge her reaction before speaking up. "Merchant's Row..." with his right hand the half-orc runs a finger or two along his chin as he thinks. "A wretched hive of scum and villainy... I've never had much patience for the underhanded deals and political games behind working every last bit of coin they can from every passerby I've I want to gut a man I'll do with a blade, he'll be awake, he'll be facing me, and he'll be likewise armed." Chuckling slightly he lowers his hand from his chin he hooks the thumb behind his belt and shifts his weight slightly. "I'll take your commander up on this investigation of his, but tell me, am I expected to track down the source of the substances here in Ixen'Taoul ? Or is it expected to follow the trail all the way back to Pab'Oestenstad...?"

Time: 10:27
Location: Ixen'Taoul
Weather: Clear skies, mid-day, 79° F


"Should you believe that the drugs would resurface after their removal here, it is requested that you also remove their source. Once the issue of Merchant's Row is resolved, you may find The Major at the West Gate Barracks to discuss any further details." says the guard. "The City of Ixen'Taoul appreciates your efforts, good day." And with that, the guard turns and leaves, closing the door behind himself.

"We have a job then, I take it?" asks Natasha, a broad grin creeping over her features as she watches the guard go.

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Time: 10:36
Location: Ixen'Taoul
Weather: Clear skies, mid-day, 79° F


You two go about getting your gear ready. Natasha grabs fairly little, the majority of her gear is actually hidden under her normal clothing, including her leather armor. Her charcoal gray, clothing appears to be a bit dirty, but her purpose is to go as unnoticed as possible. "I assume that the easiest way is to go buy some of these ourselves." she says.

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Khordek Blackmoore

"That's more or less what I was thinking..." Khordek replies as he gathers up his things and begins packing supplies into his large pack. "...but I highly doubt we have the time to build rapport at the street level and work way up the chain, so a degree of...aggressiveness...may need to come in to play." The half-orc grunts slightly as he shoves a few of the tools in his bag around in an attempt to fit everything into place. He places a few of the items he'll not be needing into storage; his cloth tent and spare arrows...and while he considers removing a few other items decides to keep them to help sell the story he'll likely be using on Merchant's Row. Approaching the armor stand in the corner he grabs his worn breastplate armor, donning the padding first, he slides the armor into place and begins tightening the straps. Next come his bandolier and belt pouches, and then his cloak is placed over the entire ensemble and clasped into place. Much the same as Natasha, his gear shows a well-worn quality to it and the cloth and leather, though strong, sports dirt and grime where it can without risking integrity of the material.

With a nod to his companion he picks up his pack and slings it onto his shoulders and makes for the door.

Time: 12:41
Location: Ixen'Taoul
Weather: Clear skies, mid-day, 79° F


It takes a couple hours of walking to get to Merchant's Row, but you emerge near the center of it where the majority of the agoras are. Natasha looks around and nudges Khordek and silently motions towards the far side where there seemed to be three men gathered together. One of them looked to be fairly well off, but the other two looked to be much more poor and handing over a small bag.

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Khordek Blackmoore

"Now what do you suppose that could be..." Khordek hisses under his breath to Natasha he tries not to show that he's watching the trio of men and pretends to be adjusting the weight of his pack. "What do you think? Follow the parcel...or follow the men?" The half-orc glances back across the way at the men and watches to see how their interaction is going. "Could always try to bowl him over and lift the package...or get him alone and rough him up a little...but we dont yet have proof of what the package could be, it could be literally anything."

Time: 12:42
Location: Ixen'Taoul
Weather: Clear skies, mid-day, 80° F


"Or we could split them, one of us take the potential dealer, and the other takes the buyers," suggests Natasha.

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Khordek Blackmoore

"A sound enough plan for me..." Khordek says as he finishes fidgeting with his pack and nods to Natasha."I'll follow the two gutter rats, and you see what can be done with moneybags over there?"

Time: 12:43
Location: Ixen'Taoul
Weather: Clear skies, mid-day, 80° F


"Done, don't die," says Natasha. She slips back into the alleys away from you, probably to approach from a different angle and to separate herself from you. It's a common tactic you two have used in the past while gathering information, and it was fairly expected.

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Khordek Blackmoore

"I try not to." Khordek grunts with a nod to Natasha and then makes his way through the people on Merchant's Row, aiming to keep an eye on the two poorer men as they finish up their deal. He will follow the pair and see if they head to any location of interest, be that a house, bar, etc.

Time: 12:58
Location: Ixen'Taoul
Weather: Clear skies, mid-day, 80° F


It's not hard for Khordek to follow the two men, they don't seem to be the most careful of people, and as long as you stay a decent pace behind them, they never catch on to you. A little over ten minutes later they reach a door in a small alley and slip into it, letting the door close behind them. You are now in an alleyway about 1,000 ft of where you started, and about 200 ft from the closest exit to Merchant's Row.

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Khordek Blackmoore

Khordek checks the alley to see if there are any other doorways or perhaps windows that perhaps hold neighbors or someone that would know who the men were. He doubted however that anyone in this part of town would be to forth coming with information. He casually, but carefully, approaches the door that the men had entered and listens to see if anything of merit is audible. He makes sure none of the gear from his pack is making any noise as he presses his ear to the door and concentrates on shutting out any noise from the busy street a few hundred feet away.



If he doesn't hear anything through the door, the half-orc will return to Merchant's Row and look for a shop or stall that seems like it is at least semi-permanent to ask questions regarding who lives down the alley.

Time: 12:58
Location: Ixen'Taoul
Weather: Clear skies, mid-day, 80° F


There are several other door in the same wall on the street. The only "windows" are actually air vents near the top of the five story building. In this city, that's their ventilation system. The cool air falls down the vents keeping each floor relatively cool, while all of the warm air and steam flows upwards back out of the vent. The openings are many, but each one is small since thieves use the rooftops (a.k.a. - Thieve's Highway) to get around the city quickly and unnoticed.

From the doorway, you can't seem to hear anything in particular. You'll notice this isn't because it's soundproofed (there isn't the lack of sound), but because there isn't anything interesting to hear. No footsteps, no talking, no other sounds. Seems the men must have moved farther into the building.

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