Episode 204 - Help Wanted

## Synopsis

The students arrived at the outskirts of Dry Falls, waiting in line for the ferry to the town proper. In the cart with them was an extremely old man who had been taking almost non-stop the entire journey. Integrity thought it might be best to avoid her family, as they would ask a lot of questions. Mira asked Serinepth if she wanted to disguise herself seeing as she was now wanted for treason. As they boarded the ferry to cross the lake, they saw a poster of Serinepth, wanted for high treason. Mira discreetly took the poster down and crumpled it up. Serinepth said she’d had an idea for that and pulled out the fox mask she had worn for the gala, that magically made it so that no one recognised her.

The ferry arrived at the docks of Dry Falls and the students got off, trying to decide where to go next. On the other side of the town, in a dusty house, sat a brilliant pink tiefling, with a slightly darker pink coloured hair. He had crooked horns, long black boots, ragged trousers, and robes covered in pictures of their face. They were scratching at various surfaces with their knife and rolling a weighted dice, while they waited for a knock at the door. A voice called out, asking Bou if he was inside. He cracked open the door, seeing a pale human man, and behind him a small cloaked figure. He invited them inside, where the human explained it took him a bit longer than expected to find their guest, pointing to the cloaked figure who pulled back their hood to reveal a very old halfling with grey hair and a large moustache. The human said the halfling’s name was Enoch Rosefield, and he had information that could help Bou. Enoch took a seat, and the human left the room.

Enoch asked, *“So my friend, Rustin, told me you’re looking for a man named Quent?”*

Bou replied, *“I am, I’m looking for a person by that name, Quent Perciminpale? Kind of a bit of a silly name in my opinion.”*

The halfling glared at them. *“Quent was my good old friend—“*

*“Oh were they, I’m so sorry I think that name is wonderful. Can you tell me all about your friend there, I’d love to just… have a heart to heart conversation.”*

*“Hm, Quent and I were good friends when we were young men, he had a bit of a bad streak in him, loved to drink and waste his money more than I did… Was I to gambling, big dice player—“*

*“Oh I can relate to that!”*

Enoch stopped and looked at Bou who hastily added, *“And by that I mean I like to play a lot of games you know?”*

He shook his head and continued. *“Of course, of course… Fucking youngsters… when I met Quent, I was eighteen years young, I assumed he was the same age as me, he looked the same age as me. But as the years went on I got older, and Quent stayed that same age. I know he owed a lot of money to a lot of different people, got himself into… bad positions.”*

*“And did he ever confide in you exactly what was going on? Clearly if you two were so close he would have shared everything with you, right?”*

*“We’re getting to there, let me tell my story. He came and went from town, sometimes he’d be here for a year or two, sometimes he’d be gone for a year or two. I never really asked where he was going to, where he was coming from. I spent time with him while he was here in town, and I remember once back in… twenty-seven it must have been, he was young then I was getting there… He came back in and looked really roughed up, he had a bad run in with someone on the road, as if he’s been robbed. He was beside himself, he was terrified, wouldn’t leave his house. Normally he’d go out and have a great time, especially in the summer, it was his favourite season. But that summer he just stayed locked in his old home.”*

*“Must have been quite the traumatic experience to have that happen, never to leave his house.”*

*“Never to leave his house. Later that summer, maybe half way through it, there was a bad fire. It burnt through the bones next to his, not terribly, they were rebuilt, but Quent’s house… He insisted on never leaving, completely incinerated. This is the part that, it wasn’t just normal flames boy. It was blue fire, cold to the touch.”*

*“Hm, I see, I see. And there was no trace of how the fire started at all? Not the fact that it was unnatural in some way?”*

*“There must have been some curse brining down on him, must have been something he owed. That’s what I think, that’s what everyone else thought. Some people thought it was loan sharks coming down, just burned his house down, I don’t think it was anything to do with that. I think it was something more supernatural.”*

*“Must have owed quite the debt to have that happen.”*

*“So I think, next day when they couldn’t find his body in there, said it had all burned up, next day I went to poke around a little bit, and I found this.”* He pulled a small, wrapped up object from his pocket and put it on the table.

Enoch explained that he didn't know exactly what the object was, but he felt it was part of whatever killed Quent. Bou took and opened the cloth, revealing a dark blue shard of metal. It was very heavy, with a rough surface, but no obvious markings. He asked if Enoch would mind him keeping it for a few days and when refused, offered to gamble both the shard and a special key he owned in trade. Enoch agreed to the deal, and Bou explained the game. They would each roll a die and whoever rolled the highest, would win. He brought out a die and handed it over, Enoch rolled it and got a four. Bou picked up the die, activating a secret feature only he knew, and rolled a six. Enoch glared at the die, sighed, and pushed over the shard. He picked up his cloak and walked out the door.

The students were walking around Dry Falls. Integrity stopped them when they wandered near various stalls, telling them that while they were in the town, they needed to try the delicacy known as All Ears. While they ate, Mira cast *Locate Creature* to speed up their search for Bou, finding them in the northern district of the town. They followed Mira's magical compass towards their destination, walking through various alleyways until a figure appeared from the other direction. Upon seeing the students, they started backing up and saying they would go a different way, that they didn't want to be mugged. Integrity immediately recognised the voice as that of her older brother, Rustin, and asked why they would be mugging him. He squinted at the group and took a few steps closer to Integrity. Serinepth moved in front of her to stop him from seeing her face. He backed off, put some gold nearby, and ran in the other direction. Integrity grabbed the gold, and they continued on their way to Bou.

They arrived at his door just as Enoch was leaving. The halfling quickly slammed the door in their faces and told them to go away because no one was in. Bou ran around the room looking for a hiding spot. Mira called out, trying to convince them they just wanted to talk to Bou, they knew him from a friend of a friend. Enoch opened the door, let them in, then hurried away. Mira, still tracking Bou through *Locate Creature*, asked them to come out from the broom cupboard, asking for their help. Bou sighed, then burst out from the cupboard and welcomed the students. He pushed through them and quickly locked the door before turning around and asking who they were. Mira told him that they needed to get into the Plane of Lem and they knew he could help them. Bou took a seat and asked why they needed to go there, Mira explained that a good friend of theirs had died and they wanted to get him back. When given the name *"Winsler Wallaby"*, Bou said they didn't recall hearing it before. Mira asked if he knew of a place called the Betting House of the Gods, Duplicity, to which he responded that he might know something about that. He told them that he was also looking for someone in Lem, and upon realising how serious the students were about this, he agreed to help them if they helped him first. He told them that Rustin had brought Enoch to him, and that his family ran a shoe shop in town, Integrity was quick to say she knew nothing about this. He said he was looking for some new shoes, and asked them to help scam the shop. Integrity asked if he was sure, and how many shoes he wanted. Bou said they were sure, and that they wanted six pairs. Integrity tried to persuade them to ask for less, saying the people who ran the shop had kids, and that they needed to go to school. Mira and Serinepth supported her, and Bou relented to ask for three pairs.

With the deal settled, Bou asked them to leave as they wouldn't be staying with him. Mira and Serinepth asked if Integrity was okay with this, and tried to figure out a way to secretly buy the shoes properly. They also decided that while in town, Serinepth should be called Marge the Barge. As the night carried on, the students found rooms in the Stone Dragon Inn and settled down for the night. While her friends were sleeping, Integrity snuck out to find her brother. She eventually found him in a tavern called the Stinky Pig, chatting with some dwarfs. She tapped him on the shoulder then quickly went over to a more secluded booth in the corner of the room. Rustin's eyes found her, and he quickly went over to her and sat down. After some awkward greetings, Rustin asked what she was doing away from school. She told him that she was trying to find someone for a secret mission, to which he grew concerned and asked what was going on. Integrity told her brother that she would be travelling to hell. He sat back, then asked if she intended to come back, and why she was in Dry Falls in the first place. She assured him she would be back and that they were in town looking for Bou. He seemed hesitant and warned her it wasn't a great idea to be friends with them. She carried on, telling him that they were stealing boots from the store tomorrow, and that she wanted him to pretend to fight them when they did so to make it more realistic. He agreed, saying he could get their parents out and that he wouldn't involve the guards. Integrity thanked him, saying that she missed beating him up. She asked if Rustin had any advice for dealing with Bou, and he warned her not to make deals with him, that he had been asking people around town for the location of a gambling fiend. He got up, and went back to his friends. Integrity snuck out of the tavern and back to her room for the night.