The group had a chance to visit Stivil.
There are some towns in my world that will be important and I put the extra effort into them, and Stivil is one of them. I hope they get a chance to come back soon.
Write up follows:
The group crashed, falling asleep by 6:30 in the morning and not awakening until about 4 in the afternoon on Deathmonth the 11th. And as Darius was concerned about – it was Marketday in Stivil – the same day as Arena Day.
The Coliseum takes up the center of Stivil, with roughly ¼ of its outer northeast seating long ago destroyed during the Dwarven/Randari conflict, but still capable of giving a place to 15,000 howling fans. We were in the Unshackled Wolf, a nice establishment in Eastview. Talking to Thon and Eoghan, we got the lay of the land so to speak (Lords District to the North, “Top” at the Northeast, Eastview (upperclass) to the east, the Trades (industrial and guild area) to the southeast and south, Leeward (lowerclass section) to the south and southwest, Westhome (middle class) to the west, and Merchant’s Blocks to the north west (commercial)).
We discussed our options and plans for today. We wanted to go the Merchant’s Block and get some better cold weather gear and maybe some snowshoes. Then to the Trades to get a lay of the Falser candy maker place. We were told that most places were open till 7 and the Arena games go all day from 10 to 6. As for the Falsers? There was the local Falser Confectionary Factory – on Sweet Street in the Trades – and EVERYONE in town knows about it and them.
While our conversation with the patrons and serving women were going on, there was a young man in his early 20’s playing the harp and playing it…poorly. To stop him from playing people would buy him drinks and send them over to him. So we did the same, and he came over to thank us. Named Tholling, he was 22 and married, father of 2, was a senior stable hand who always thought he was destined for more, when an elven rider about 8 months ago let him know that he had nice strong graceful fingers – he should play the harp.
So he bought…leased…a small Celtic harp and has been trying to make ends meet doing so.
And Darius told him he was an unskilled hack and should quit.
What?
Serious, you have no skill, and no one is going to tell you this, but strange elven women tossing out comments to the stable hand is not a basis on changing your job and life. He then handed him a handful of coins and told him to go home and take care of his kids and try to get his job back because really dude, you just suck.
Tholling left, dejected, and the group looked at Darius who shrugged, saying he was helping the man out.
We left the Wolf and made our way along Empire Way until we got to Main Street and the Merchant’s Block which was situated near the remains of an interior wall that used to cordon off areas of Stivil before the Great War.
From here we wandered around until we stopped at a clothier and leatherworkers called Grandma’s, run by an elderly dwarven woman. She helped us outfit our clothes and get many of them fur lined or the like and the prices were fair. From there we made our way to an outfitter who provided us with snowshoes which we purchased as well along with some spare catgut to effect repairs.
It was after 6 so we went across town to the Trades and then down two smaller streets till we go to Sweet Street. The Falser Confection Factory took up the middle of the block of 6 larger buildings, the factory being almost 100’ wide and 60’ deep, 3 stories tall with two distinct chimneys at opposite sides of the building. There was an open field around the building fenced in with a copious lighting in the front and some teeter totters and slides on the south/left side for families and kids to play on.
We did not want Shim to go on, the gnome becoming more pensive as time has gone on. Only a few of us went in, the rest of us walked the area in order to get a feel for the layout of the place.
4 guards in the front, dressed in finery and fancy clothes, but big half-orc looking people. Inside the main hall was 30 x 50, and had sample and sales tables on the left and right, the checkout counter in the back of the hall manned by the Falser brothers also dressed in colorful candy looking garb. Everyone else here who was working was either an Orc, Half Orc, or Half Ogre – and there were 12 of them. There was a double door on the right hand side of the room and a curtained area on the left that Eoghan was convinced was blocking a door.
The place was busy, 50, 60, even 70 people wandering about sampling and buying hard candies. We did our best to fit in and bought an assortment as time went on, eventually getting to the Falsers where we paid and thanked the gnomes for the treats – then we left to find our friends outside.
As for them they walked the property without making it look they were walking the property. The back of the factory area was a mess of beaten snow as if paths were made, leading from a single door to the fields behind the Factory grounds, through a break in the interior Stivil walls and then lost in the streets of Leeward. There was no other doors in or out. There were NO windows either. Anywhere except the third floor and they were narrow 2’ tall, 4’ wide windows painted black and from their position were most likely at the TOP of the floor – not at all easy to get out of.
In fact the only other bit of interest was a 4’ wide, 6” tall grating set in the foundation of the property on the north/right side near the rain runoff gutter that was pitched the wrong way and was running into the grate and down into the basement of the factory. What?!
We shared the candy, ate some, and decided that we needed to get more information. It was after 7 and the place was still open but they were winding down operations. So we went in a second time, this time with Shim who made his own purchases and then being the last customers, went to the Falser brothers to talk.
Malted and Uke, were deferential to Shim, and their demeanor was one of respect for their fellow gnome. They talked of the Nightwoods and the spiriting of gnomes out of the Theocrat’s rule. Gnomes were brought eventually here were they worked for a bit (15 years) and then would have a marketable skill and the freedom to go where they wanted. The ended well and we left with more questions than answers and to Shim, a different outlook on the Falser Brothers.
We noted they shut the sliding factory doors in front of the Factory and then locked and pinned it from within – meaning we were not going to get in that way. How do they leave? When do they leave? Thon advised us that we should leave the Trades, go back to Leeward, and he felt he could guide us back to the large Wall separating the Trades from Leeward that had fallen to disrepair and had gaps in it.
So we took the walk and within 10 minutes made out way to the dark alleys and then clear garbage choked areas in the snow. From here we could faintly see the building and the back door was open, almost 8 figures were outside and smoking and talking. Some 5 to 10 minutes later the last one walked out and a large half-ogre along with a gnome stood there, the half-ogre held aloft a double bitted battle axe, looked around panning slowly, then nodded to the gnome and they shut the door. The others outside walked through the alley and then were lost in Leeward.
We had Thon sneak back to the Factory after some time and assured us the door was closed and locked and then checked out the grate. He let us know that he could faintly hear high pitched voices crying and some sounds of flesh striking flesh – but the grate only opened to a room barely 10 x 5 with a rivulet cut in the bottom of the wall where the water ran through.
Ok…We needed some information from the inside. The Falsers most likely lived here, there were other gnomes here working…indentured? What’s with all the half-orcs and the like? Aren’t the Falsers destabilizing the Durcent Province and effacing the sale of Scratch to the locals? We suspected the double door led to the factory while the single door behind the curtain led to the Falser’s private rooms.
As for the people that left, they most likely hit a local bar and Eoghan and Thon led the group to Shadowfall off Empire’s Way – and the closest drinking establishment for those coming through this way. Once here we looked around and Eogahn spotted Hrelf the half-ogre who had sold him some candy inside the Factory. Since he already had some conversation with him, the rest of the group held back while Eoghan went and had some conversation with the Half-ogre and his drinking companions.
It went…went.
Hrelf was with his friend Relf the Half-orc who still worked there, Rhelf the half-orc who was fired after 2 days of working there, and Luden, a friend who made a killing at betting at the arena today and was keeping everyone in their cups.
There was quite a long conversation but the Half-ogre inside is a bit intense, named Fryld and he uses the axe to help him “feel” if anyone is hiding nearby – visible or not. The Falsers have 40, 80, 200 (the number fluctuated) gnomes working there making candy including their kids and they were pretty cowed. There was an incident with poison where Relf was yelled out to “Don’t Touch My Poison” when he was helping move some apple candy at some point.
But Eoghan kept asking questions and finally Hrelf said that he’d set up a tour or meeting with the Falser Brothers tomorrow for Eoghan since Eoghan seemed real interested in the factory and he would let the gnomes know about all the questions being asked. Erghh.. yeah.
We hoped he would just be too plastered to remember too much and by quarter to 11, we got out of there and made our way back to the Unshackled Wolf. Safely in our room we divided the situation into two parts – we needed to get the Falser Brothers OUT of the factory and would need a conversation/.diversion to do so – and for that, Shim was very happy to lead that line of inquiry.
And we would need to sneak some people in invisibly to get through the curtained area and into the Falser Brother’s private area to find the log books for Lord Gregor Ostlerson. Thon was already a keen man with a set of picks so it was going to be him, Darius, and Barb – and we estimated a half hour, maybe 45 minutes tops to get in, look around, grab what we needed, and sneak out in such a way that we don’t attract the attention of the sales floor as well as got out before the Falser Brother’s meeting with Shim, Eoghan, Brading, and Thalin ended. So at 11:30 we were going to turn in and Shim would approach the Falser’s tomorrow to set up a meeting and hopefully, the game would be afoot.
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