[RPG] Innkeeper's Quest (GURPS Dungeon Fantasy)

[FumblingLinguist]

A stranger in a cloak descends upon the city of Zimar'an. It is just after sunset. The evening star shines brightly in the sky, and the other stars are beginning to join it, though the moon has not yet risen.

The stranger is you. You are a stranger because you have just arrived in Zimar'an for the first time after a grueling, nine-day journey from your home town of Pangang. (People told you it would only take three days. They lied.)

You've come to Zimar'an because Zimar'an is the second-greatest city in the world, second only to the great Ka. And Ka is said to be a strange place, with a strange language. Where the humblest taverns are made of solid stone. Where the people drink water from magic wells, without even mixing the water with wine first. Where the men wear makeup! No, you can't imagine living in such a strange place. That's why, when you left home on your 21st birthday to seek your fortune, you knew your final destination would be Zimar'an.

And you are wearing a cloak because cloaks are wonderfully practical garments. A drunken patron at your parents' inn once expounded to you at great length on the merits of cloaks, claiming among other things that you can hide from an ogre by wrapping a cloak around your head, because ogres are such "dummy wummies" they assume that if you can't see them, they can't see you. You rather doubt even ogres are that stupid, but you have to agree a cloak is a quite useful thing, good for keeping warm at night if nothing else.

You are...

[ ] A young man named Marūr
[ ] A young woman named Marūra

(This decision will not have a single across-the-board mechanical effect, but may have various small effects from time to time.)

You have an annotated map of the city. You don't really understand the significance of much of the information on it, but it does offer a few clear options in terms of first order of business:

[ ] Enter through the south gate. It's the direction you're coming from, and you want to get inside before nightfall.
[ ] Check out "goblin town". Looks like you'd have to pass by it anyway on your way to the south gate, so why not?
[ ] Explore the area outside the city a bit, then enter through the east gate. Surely you've got time, right?
[ ] By Heaven, you've never seen walls like this before! You're going to do a half-circuit around the city, just staring at the walls, before entering through the north gate.

Spoiler: QM Note

I've GM'd traditional TTRPGs before, but this is my first time attempting to do a form quest. I decided to start with two "easy" polls so that if I am missing something very basic, someone can point it out to me before we get too far into it. No GURPS knowledge will be required to participate, though I hope we'll get at least one or two GURPS aficionados in the mix. Character sheet to come.

 

[Kylia Quilor]

[X] A young woman named Marūra

[X] Enter through the south gate. It's the direction you're coming from, and you want to get inside before nightfall.

Let's see where things are going.

 

[Xilph]

[X] A young woman named Marūra
[X] Enter through the south gate. It's the direction you're coming from, and you want to get inside before nightfall.

 

[FumblingLinguist]

You trudge towards the south gate, lugging your enormous backpack. Your parents made sure you'd be well-supplied for your journey, giving you (among other things) camping supplies; two healing potions they'd never had reason to use with the local cleric just down the road and never been able to sell for what they thought the potions were worth; and a weird gnomish arrow-launching contraption for protection (though you feel pretty confident in your ability to defend yourself with nothing more than a broomstick or copper frying pan if it came to that). They also gave you 150 silver pieces, though you had to spend three of that for additional rations and suchlike when the journey took longer than expected. No matter—your parents may not have come from one of the seven great clans of Zimar'an, but you learned a lot about business watching them run their inn, and you expect to soon turn most of your silver into gold.

Spoiler: Character Sheet

Marūra (250 Points)

ST 12 [20]; DX 13 [60]; IQ 13 [60]; HT 12 [20].
Damage 1d-1/1d+2; BL 45 lbs.; HP 12 [0]; Will 13 [0]; Per 14 [5]; FP 12 [0].
Basic Speed 6.00 [-5]; Basic Move 6 [0].

Social Background

CF: Kaian Empire [0].
Languages: Harumānic (Native) [0].

Advantages

Alcohol Tolerance [1]; Attractive [4]; Charisma 3 [15]; Honest Face [1]; Improvised Weapons (Kitchenware) [1]; Lifting ST 3 [9]; Luck (Game Time, +0%) [15]; No Hangover [1]; Pack Rat [1]; Penetrating Voice [1]; Wealthy [20]; Wild Talent 1 (Game Time, +0%) [20].

Disadvantages

Chummy [-5]; Curious (12) [-5]; Impulsiveness (12) [-10]; Greed (12) [-15]; Overconfidence (12) [-5]; Sense of Duty (Adventuring Companions) [-5].

Quirks: Deeply invested in "making it" in Zimar'an (not some other town or city) [-1]; Imaginative [-1]; Incompetence (Sex Appeal) [-1]; Responsive [-1]; Will take on hirelings just to have someone to talk to [-1].

Skills

Axe/Mace (A) DX+1 [4]-14; Brawling (E) DX+1 [2]-14; Carousing (E) HT+1 [2]-13; Climbing (A) DX-1 [1]-12; Crossbow (E) DX+1 [2]-14; Diplomacy (H) IQ [4]-13; Fast-Draw (Knife) (E) DX+1 [2]-14; Fast-Talk (A) IQ [2]-13; First Aid (E) IQ [1]-13; Gesture (E) IQ [1]-13; Hiking (A) HT-1 [1]-11; Intimidation (A) Will [2]-13; Knife (E) DX+1 [2]-14; Leadership (A) IQ+3 [2]-16; Merchant (A) IQ [2]-13; Professional Skill (Bartender) (A) IQ [2]-13; Savoir-Faire (High Society) (E) IQ [1]-13; Scrounging (E) Per [1]-14; Search (A) Per [2]-14; Stealth (A) DX-1 [1]-12; Staff (A) DX+2 [8]-15; Streetwise (A) IQ [2]-13; Wrestling (A) DX+1 [4]-14.

Equipment

$5,000, 139.08 lbs. (Heavy encumbrance)

Backpack, Frame [Torso] $100, 10 lbs.
Balance and Weights [Backpack] $35, 3 lbs.
Bottle ×2 [Backpack] $6, 2 lbs.
Burning Glass [Backpack] $40, 0.25 lbs.
Caltrops ×6 [Backpack] $30, 1.5 lbs.
Candle, Tallow. [Backpack] $0.50, 1 lb.
Cheap Large Knife [Torso] Damage 1d cut, 1d-1 imp. $16, 1 lb.
Cheap Quarterstaff [Torso] Damage 1d+4 cr. $4, 4 lbs.
Cheap Small Mace [Torso] Damage 1d+4 cr. $14, 3 lbs.
Cloak [Torso] $20, 2 lbs.
Clothing [Torso] $0, 2 lbs.
Cord, 3/16" (10 yards) [Backpack] $1, 0.5 lb.
Crowbar [Backpack] $20, 3 lbs.
File [Backpack] $40, 1 lb.
First Aid Kit [Backpack] $50, 2 lbs.
Foul Pepper [Backpack] $50, 1 lb.
Garlic [Backpack] $5, 0.25 lbs.
Group Basics [Backpack] $50, 20 lbs.
Holy Symbol [Backpack] $50, 1 lb.
Iron Spike [Backpack] $1, 1 lb.
Lamp [Backpack] $20, 2 lbs.
Lockpicks [Backpack] $50, 0.1 lbs.
Mallet [Backpack] $15, 3 lbs.
Major Healing Potion ×2 [Backpack] $700, 0.5 lbs.
Map of Zimar'an, Annotated, Papyrus [Scroll Case] $90, 0.09 lbs.
Monster Drool [Backpack] $20, 0.5 lbs.
Oil, Pint ×4 [Bottles] $8, 4 lbs.
Personal Basics [Backpack] $5, 1 lb.
Pole, 6' ×2 [Torso] $10, 6 lbs.
Pouch [Torso] $10, 0.2 lbs.
Rations [Backpack] $2, 0.5 lbs.
Rope, 3/4" (10 yards) [Backpack] $25, 5 lbs.
Sack ×2 [Backpack] $60, 6 lbs.
Sandals [Feet] $25, 0.5 lbs.
Scorpion, 13.5" [Torso] Damage 1d+3 imp. $150, 6 lbs.
Scorpion Bolts, 13.5" ×12 [Quiver] $24, 0.75 lbs.
Scroll Case [Backpack] $75, 1 lb.
Shoulder Quiver [Torso] $10, 0.5 lb.
Silver Piece ×147 [Pouch] $2940, 2.94 lbs.
Sundial Miniature [Backpack] $40, 1 lb.
Tent, 4-Man [Backpack] $150, 30 lbs.
Wax Tablet [Backpack] $10, 2 lbs.
Whetstone [Backpack] $5, 1 lb.
Wine, Grape, Gallon ×½ [Wineskin] $4.50, 4 lbs.
Wineskin [Torso] $10, 0.25 lbs.
Wolfsbane [Backpack] $5, 0.25 lbs.
Wooden Stake [Backpack] $4, 0.5 lbs.

As you approach the gate, a goblin woman passes you in the other direction carrying two large buckets of something foul-smelling. There's a guard standing watch in a bronze helmet, red cloak, and white tunic, holding a staff. "Peace, sister," he says, "where are you coming from?"

"Pangang."

"Pangang? That's a real place?"

"Of course it's a real place, it's a town over in southern Harumān."

"Ah, over south. You didn't have any trouble with the goblin bandits out in the hills, did you?"

[ ] "There's goblin bandits in the hills? That's terrible!" Though you have no intention of returning home before you have something to show for your journey to Zimar'an, when you do you'll be on the lookout for these goblins.
[ ] "What are you talking about? There's no goblin bandits in the hills." You're pretty sure you would've heard of them if there were.
[ ] "Uh... no?" You're skeptical, but don't want to argue with a city guard.
[ ] WRITE IN

Once inside the gate, will you...

[ ] Just try to find lodging in the first inn you see.
[ ] Head for the waterfront—you figure there will be better options there, or at least more options.
[ ] WRITE

 

[Kylia Quilor]

[X] "Uh... no?" You're skeptical, but don't want to argue with a city guard.
[X] Head for the waterfront—you figure there will be better options there, or at least more options.

 

[Marlin]

[X] A young man named Marūr
[X] By Heaven, you've never seen walls like this before! You're going to do a half-circuit around the city, just staring at the walls, before entering through the north gate.

 

[FumblingLinguist]

META: Since I'm new to this, what's the best way to signal when voting a topic is closed? How long should I be waiting for people to vote? What's the best way distinguish different types of posts from each other—e.g. meta ones like this one vs. story updates? Is there something I should be doing to distinguish story updates with poll vs. story updates without poll? I would've hoped the forum had a guide somewhere but I don't see one.

 

[Celer]

[X] "Uh... no?" You're skeptical, but don't want to argue with a city guard.
[X] Head for the waterfront—you figure there will be better options there, or at least more options.

META: Since I'm new to this, what's the best way to signal when voting a topic is closed? How long should I be waiting for people to vote? What's the best way distinguish different types of posts from each other—e.g. meta ones like this one vs. story updates? Is there something I should be doing to distinguish story updates with poll vs. story updates without poll? I would've hoped the forum had a guide somewhere but I don't see one.

Click to shrink...

People vary widely in wait-times, but my general guess is that the more people involved in the quest and the more complicated the decision, the longer you should have a delay before a vote. I think meta updates vs story updates are generally done by how they're indexed, which I think works well (so the threadmarks is pure story, and the rest is index). I don't generally see sharp distinctions in posts for polled vs unpolled updates, which I don't mind.

 

[FumblingLinguist]

People vary widely in wait-times, but my general guess is that the more people involved in the quest and the more complicated the decision, the longer you should have a delay before a vote. I think meta updates vs story updates are generally done by how they're indexed, which I think works well (so the threadmarks is pure story, and the rest is index). I don't generally see sharp distinctions in posts for polled vs unpolled updates, which I don't mind.

Click to shrink...

Thanks. For practical I-have-a-day-job reasons, it looks likely that I'll mostly be updating on weekends.

 

[FumblingLinguist]

"That's good," the guard says with a smile. "Word is not everyone's been so fortunate." Then he says "peace" and you continue on.

Once inside the gates you can no longer see the golden glow of the sun from below the horizon, and the sky continues to darken as you make your way through the winding streets of Zimar'an. You do see one otherwise nondescript building with a large sign that says "INN", but you decide to ignore it for now—you want to see what your other options are. Eventually, you reach the waterfront. The harbor is protected by a breakwater, with the city walls extending along it.

As you suspected, you seem to have a lot of options here. A fair number of sailors seem to be making their way to an establishment whose sign shows a picture of a woman with a spindle. You can hear a great deal of talking and shouting coming from inside, but few other clues as to what the inside might be like. Another establishment's sign shows a picture of a double-bitted axe. A sign outside the door in three different scripts says, Harumānic, "No fighting. No gambling. No making your fellow patron's night harder." The messages in the other scripts are of similar length, though you have no idea what they say—you think one is dwarven, the other you have no idea. There's music coming from inside, though you'd guess this one is less busy. And those are just two of the options.

On the road, this is about when you'd be making camp, though you wouldn't quite be going to sleep. How will you take advantage of what the waterfront has to offer?:

[ ] Go back to the building with the sign that says "INN".
[ ] Check out the establishment with the spinner woman on the sign
[ ] Check out the establishment with the double-bitted axe on the sign
[ ] You have some specific things you're looking for for the night... (WRITE IN details)
- [ ] ...but you're not going to waste too much time looking for it
- [ ] ...and you're willing to take the time to search the waterfront thoroughly for it
- [ ] ...and you'll use your daily use of Luck on any roll for the search if necessary (can be combined with one of the first two options).

 

[FumblingLinguist]

Note: I hope to write a longer post later today. I encourage people to take the above vote as partly a chance to express how invested they are in picking a place to stay for the night.

 

[Celer]

[X] Go back to the building with the sign that says "INN".

 

[FumblingLinguist]

After seeing the waterfront, you decide maybe it doesn't have what you were looking for after all. You return to the inn you saw earlier, where a silver gets you a room for the night and a Kaian pentacle as change. The inn is a roughly rectangular building, built around a central courtyard where food is served, but the courtyard is emptying out at the kitchen is closed, so you're left eating the last of the jerky and hardtack in your pack. Tomorrow, your real adventure will start.

You've been planning on seeking out hired help as part of getting established in Zimar'an. Now that you've actually arrived, you need to decide what kinds of hirelings in particular to look for. You'll also need to decide what kind of pay to advertise—you have a rough idea of the typical going rate for different kinds of work, but you can try to get by offering less, or offer more in an attempt to maximize the chances of finding what you want.

Choose one or more of the following. For each selection, specify the pay you'll offer, and (optionally) any specific requirements beyond the basic job title (possible specific requirements are too numerous to list, so are necessarily "write ins"):

[ ] Basic hirelings (typical pay: 10 silver/week)
- [ ] Guard
- [ ] Laborer
- [ ] Native Guide (can specify terrain specialty at no penalty—"sea" probably makes the most sense given that Zimar'an is a port city)
- [ ] Servant (can specify cook, entertainer, manservant, potion-taster, or weapon caddy at no penalty)
- [ ] Torch-Bearer
[ ] Skilled hirelings (typical pay: 20 silver/week)
- [ ] Agent
- [ ] Apprentice (by default, a wizard's apprentice, but you can roll at a penalty to try to recruit a demonologist, elementalist, or necromancer's apprentice)
- [ ] Archer
- [ ] Brute
- [ ] Cutpurse
- [ ] Initiate (by default, an initiate of one of the accepted Kaian gods such as Karshim, queen of the gods, or Pimthun, goddess of the sea; but you can roll at a penalty to try to recruit an initiate dedicated to druidism, shamanism, or the evil god Kishumzur)
- [ ] Killer
- [ ] Sage
- [ ] Skirmisher
- [ ] Squire
[ ] Expert hirelings (typical pay: 40 silver/week):
- [ ] Artificer
- [ ] Barbarian
- [ ] Bard
- [ ] Cleric (by default, a cleric of one of the accepted Kaian gods like Karshim or Pimthun, see above, but you can roll at a penalty to try to recruit a cleric of Kishumzur)
- [ ] Holy Warrior (same god options as cleric)
- [ ] Knight
- [ ] Martial Artist
- [ ] Scholar
- [ ] Scout
- [ ] Swashbuckler
- [ ] Thief
- [ ] Wizard
- [ ] Other (all of which will impose a penalty on the search roll: Demonologist, Druid, Elementalist, Necromancer, Psi, Shaman, etc.)

Spoiler: GM Note

This particular breakdown of possible professions is based on the character temples found in the GURPS Dungeon Fantasy series. There are obvious similarities to Dungeons & Dragons' character class system, though the correspondence is not exact. Familiarity with GURPS shouldn't be necessary to make a choice here, though players who are familiar with the game are welcome to try to write-in proposals to seek out hirelings with very specific abilities from the game, and try to sell other players on said proposals.

Other things to do:

[ ] Try to get caught up on the latest rumors in the city
[ ] Advertise your services as a freelance adventurer
[ ] Go somewhere
- [ ] The Pantheon of Zimar'an: it's one of the more obvious points of interest on your map, apparently located more or less in the dead center of the city
- [ ] The Royal Palace: your map shows it on the eastern side of the city
- [ ] The Old Temple: your map shows it on the northern side of the city
- [ ] Goblin town, also known as "that cluster of ramshackle buildings you passed on your way in to the city"
- [ ] The waterfront:
- - [ ] That place with the spinner woman on the sign
- - [ ] That place with the double-bitted axe on the sign
[ ] Go looking for something else (WRITE IN)

 

[Celer]

OK, our largest known problem is goblin bandits in the hills, so that's what I'm thinking we want to prepare for in hiring. But I also don't think we want to hire anyone yet: much wiser to work for others for a few months while we get our feet wet, meet some people, and have a better sense of what needs doing and who is hiring for it.

But obviously we need someone to talk to, so let's grab a servant for now, ideally someone who can tell us more about the place. We'll sign on to any gigs we get as a pair, at hopefully a relatively small loss.

[X] Basic hirelings (typical pay: 10 silver/week)
- [X] Guard

[X] Go look for someone who's part of an established party and looking to hire new people.

 

[Marlin]

[X] Basic hirelings (typical pay: 10 silver/week)
- [X] Guard

[X] Go look for someone who's part of an established party and looking to hire new people.

 

[ozymandias]

[X] Skilled hirelings
- [X] Sage at 20
[X] Go somewhere
- [ X ] The Pantheon of Zimar'an:

 

[FumblingLinguist]

Spoiler: Voting Results

We got two votes for "guard, 10 silver/week" so I'm running with that, though on topics other than hirelings I decided to incorporate multiple people's suggestions.

The following morning, the you find that the pentacle you got in change the previous night gets you a hot morning meal. A bit expensive, but at least it was served with decent olive oil—thankfully this isn't one of those places that claims to have the finest oil in Harumān and then serves something suitable only for burning in lamps.

While eating in the courtyard, you strike up a conversation with two men in drab traveller's garb. "I'm Razim, of Clan Balṣar", one of them says, "and this is my man Qadir. I've come to the city to petition the Censors to enforce my late uncle's will. Some of my relatives aren't too happy about the will's terms, you see. And you?"

"I'm Marūra, and I've come to the city to seek my fortune," you say. "Say, do you know of any adventuring parties that are hiring?"

"You mean like a raider-hunting ship?"

"Maybe," you say. You've got no experience sailing, but you figure you're strong enough to make a good rower, and maybe a group of sailors could benefit from your business sense. "But it doesn't need to be a raider-hunting ship. And I'm not sure I'd want to be on a big ship. I wouldn't want to have to split the loot too many ways."

"You're not thinking about doing something like that guy, whatshisname, that guy who led that group into the Hills of the Dead, thinking they'd find loot left over from Karishsakmin's Wars. I don't think I've heard of anyone trying anything like that since, when was it, just after the harvest year before last? Yeah I don't think I've heard of anything like that since that group disappeared."

That's interesting—you're a little fuzzy on the history, but you know Karishsakmin was Empress Regnant of Ka some generations back, and was famed as a war leader. You thank Razim and go to talk to the inn's proprietor about striking a deal for longer-term accommodations. He says he's willing to do room and board for eight and a half silver pieces a week, but you're pretty sure there are places that would give you a better deal than that, and say so. The proprietor replies that while he can't get go any lower, if you're going to be in the city for some time and are looking for something less expensive, you might try Thalira's Women's Boarding House. He's even nice enough to point it out on your map. Thalira's is near the center of the city, which is lucky for you since you'd been wanting to see the Pantheon.

You head to Thalira's first. In the courtyard there, you encounter a human woman and a dwarf arguing about something. The dwarf, with a leather vest and an axe hanging from a belt, barely comes up to chest hight on you, but has shoulders twice as broad as yours and even broader hips. Between the hips and the fact that you're in the courtyard of a women's boarding house, you're pretty sure she's a woman, in spite of the thin mustache and scattered chin hairs. You manage to pick up that the human woman—who is, in fact, Thalira—is trying to get the dwarven woman to leave her axe behind as a bond while she comes up with more money to pay for a room. This gives you an idea.

"You know how to use that axe in a fight?" you ask the dwarf.

"Yes! Of course! All dwarves are good with an axe."

"So I'm new in the city, I'm by myself, and I'm thinking I could use someone to watch my back..." You turn to Thalira to work out the price of a shared room and board for two. She initially seems hesitant, but after you pull out a handful of silver to prove you can, in fact, pay in advance, she agrees to fifteen silver a week. Good enough.

"If you'll be my bodyguard, I'll pay your way here and give you two and a half silver pieces a week on top of that. Deal?"

"It's a deal! Oh, and I'm Lathir."

"Marūra."

"Good to meet you Marūra. And before you ask—the Emperor in Ka says all dwarves are legally male, but Thalira says if I have tits I can stay here. Well, tits and silver, and thanks to you I have silver. Ha!"

---

The Pantheon of Zimar'an is a massive, four-level step pyramid with staircases on all sides providing access to the upper levels. The outer walls are richly decorated with murals of the Kaian gods and goddesses. As you approach one of the doors of the temple, you overhear a man in a white cloak with purple trim talking to another man who you think is a temple functionary of some sort, something about wanting to thank someone for helping his nephew.

You decide...

[ ] ...to approach the man in the purple-trim cloak and try to find out his story.
[ ] ...to enter the Pantheon through a different door, so as to not bother this important-looking man (WRITE-IN any details of what you want to accomplish here, etc.)
[ ] ...that while you're glad to have seen the Pantheon in all its impressiveness, you don't really have any business here. So...
- [ ] You go back to the waterfront, and see who's hiring there
- [ ] WRITE-IN (just about any option from the previous post could apply here, I'm not going to re-list them all).

 

[Celer]

Alright, we have a hireling! And she's presumably competent with her axe: go us.

[X] ...to approach the man in the purple-trim cloak and try to find out his story.

 

[ozymandias]

[X] ...to approach the man in the purple-trim cloak and try to find out his story.

 

[FumblingLinguist]

"Do you know who that man in the cloak with the purple trim is?" you ask Lathir.

"That's Ranis Kas Mirzahar, he's the censor for Clan Mirzahar. Hey, what are you doing?"

You don't break your stride as you confidently approach the censor. From a distance, you could see he was a few finger widths shorter than the other man, but up close he seems quite small, not at all how you imagined such an important man looking in person. He doesn't look that old either—no older than your parents, you'd guess.

"Peace, father. May the gods bless your brother's son. I hope he is well."

As he turns to face you you see he has a sword in a sheath hanging from his belt. It has a bronze hilt, wrapped in leather and decorated with dark-colored beads. Between that high-quality hilt and the length—a bit longer than your forearm, you'd judge—it's unmistakably a sword. A commoner seen wearing something like that inside the city walls would be in trouble, and wouldn't be able to get away with claiming it was just a carving knife.

"Peace, daughter. It was my brother-in-law's son, actually. And... physically he's well, though I fear his recent adventure made him no wiser. But who are you?"

"Marūra mirth Marūr. I'm from Pangang."

Your eyes flick towards Lathir, hoping she knows how to talk to nobility too. "I'm Lathir. I'm from here. I'm her bodyguard." Close enough.

"What happened to your brother-in-law's son?" you continue.

"Why do you ask, daughter?"

"I'm new to the city and, I—so I don't know a lot, a lot about Zimar'an I mean, but my parents are very smart about business, and they made sure I learned to be smart about business, so I'm here to go into business, and—"

You're not sure what to say next, but Ranis saves you by smiling and turning to the man he'd been talking to and saying "we'll talk later". Then to you, "follow me."

You're too terrified to ask why or do anything but follow. Lathir follows a bit behind. The three of you walk into the ground story of the temple. It's a huge space, with a ceiling supported by numerous columns of varying widths. The smallest columns appear to be more than six feet thick, and all are as colorfully decorated as the building's exterior. Curtains on portable frames mark divisions in the space you don't fully understand. And it's full of people, temple staff and petitioners from around the city. Some sit quietly, but many are moving around, talking, making noise.

"My brother in law's son is named Ganīm," Ranis tells you quietly. "A young man from Clan Qanīr accused Ganīm of saying Zadūr Kas Qanīr was an illiterate drunk who was leaving the membership records of Clan Qanīr to be maintained by slaves, and demanded satisfaction from Ganīm."
You're not sure who this Zadūr is. When you look at Lathir, she just shrugs—a gesture Ranis seems not to notice.

"They were not able to negotiate a peace, so they met for a duel. Somehow, the two young men managed to stab each other simultaneously. Thank the gods, Mikhal Kas Tirum, yes that Mikhal Kas Tirum, was nearby and heard the youths' friends calling for a healer. Mikhal cast some healing spells and brought them both here. The priest who examined him told Ganīm he was lucky he didn't need a much more difficult spell, but, and this is true, Ganīm declared he had won the duel because his opponent had collapsed, but he remained on his feet, if just barely."

"Wait, so is it true? What your nephew said about Zadūr?"

"What he was accused of saying, you mean," replies Ranis, still speaking softly. "Zadūr is well-liked by the other censors, for the most part. A nobleman must be strong and courageous, yes, but also learned and wise. Having an uneducated fool for a censor would be a dire problem, not just for his clan but all of Zimar'an. Such a thing could not be countenanced."

You're pretty sure that was a long-winded way of saying, "yes". "How does the king feel about this?"

"The king is in Ka at the moment. You don't know, do you? The whole world has faced many difficulties since the Dragon War, and it has been our part to have our king taken away from our city for long seasons to advise the Emperor. Yes, he speaks regularly with his servants via communication spells, but in many things we can only do what is right in our eyes. Such is the fate the gods have decreed for us."

Lathir is nodding vigorously in your direction, but you're not sure what that's meant to communicate. You'd known about the Dragon War. It happened quite a few years ago, when you were just a kid. Dragons from the east had attacked Ka. And you knew King 'Ishar Khabīri was a powerful wizard, so maybe it makes sense the Emperor would want him in Ka. Still, you hadn't counted on him being anywhere but his palace when you arrived in Zimar'an.

"That brings me to what I wanted to tell you. Zimar'an needs clever young people. Have you heard of a text called 'Among the Various Parts Animals Have'? I have a copy of the text but my copy is missing most of the original's illustrations. I'd be willing to pay 15 silver pieces for a copy with all the original illustrations. If you're 'very smart about business', as you say, you should be able to find one for less than that and pocket the difference—and then I might have other work for you. What do you say?"

That was a lot to take in. You're thinking... (check all that apply):

- [ ] The notion of Zadūr being an illiterate drunk actually does seem very unlikely. So why won't Ranis deny it outright? What's he playing at?
- [ ] A Zimar'anese aristocrat being totally incompetent at his job, and making slaves do the work for him, sounds typical. Ganīm spoke the truth, even if Ranis thinks saying so outright was unwise.
- [ ] Regardless of what Zadūr is really like, Ranis clearly wants to audition you as someone who could help him bring down a political rival—and you bet he could pay you well for it.
- [ ] If Zadūr is fond of drink, he'll appreciate the skills of a good bartender. You smell a business opportunity here.
- [ ] Maybe Ranis shouldn't look down on his nephew. Running around having duels sounds a lot more fun than trying to hunt down rare books.
- [ ] Ugh, aristocrats. You want little to do with any of them.
- [ ] Ugh, aristocrats. If you could figure out a way to scam them out of all their silver, it would serve them right.
- [ ] You have no idea what to think of any of this.
- [ ] WRITE-IN.

Regardless, your next course of action is...
- [ ] Agree to find the book for Ranis, and begin searching for it.
- [ ] Try to persuade Ranis to support an expedition to the Hills of the Dead instead.
- [ ] Decline Ranis' offer, and see if you can arrange a meeting with Ganīm.
- [ ] Decline Ranis' offer, and see if you can arrange a meeting with Zadūr.
- [ ] WRITE-IN.

 

[Celer]

- [X] A Zimar'anese aristocrat being totally incompetent at his job, and making slaves do the work for him, sounds typical. Ganīm spoke the truth, even if Ranis thinks saying so outright was unwise.
- [X] If Zadūr is fond of drink, he'll appreciate the skills of a good bartender. You smell a business opportunity here.

Regardless, your next course of action is...
- [X] Agree to find the book for Ranis, and begin searching for it.

He's asked us to demonstrate competence: we can do that. Succeeding at a small task is a good way to get a larger one.

 

[ozymandias]

- [ X ] The notion of Zadūr being an illiterate drunk actually does seem very unlikely. So why won't Ranis deny it outright? What's he playing at?
- [ X ] Ugh, aristocrats. If you could figure out a way to scam them out of all their silver, it would serve them right.
- [ X ] You have no idea what to think of any of this.

- [ X ] Decline Ranis' offer, and see if you can arrange a meeting with Ganīm.