Episode 291 - First Days on the Job

Having gotten their work assignments, our heroes now actually have to go to them and perform adequately enough to not get fired or murdered. Things are very strict in this prison city so naturally our jobs are not that great. But, there are some great secrets and even greater joys to be found for those that look for them. Plus, everyone gets to eat some nice beans, which is great for the soul.

## **Story**

### Long Story

The members of The Tower of Grey have been sorted into their work assignments. They each have their own seperate adventures:

#### **Rowan Grey** || *The Fields...*

The weather on the outside is not quite as horrific as it was when they first arrived. The sun is shining dimly, and there is a kind of grey overlay to everything. Rowan and the other prisoners are handed hoes, taken out to a large field of sickly, ill-growing navy beans, and made to harvest them all. Rowan notices a fenced off area growing really nice crops, that they can't get to. She also sees a hill off to the side, with a large, healthy oak tree growing on it. Laying out underneath, is a woman. Rowan can't make out any features, but there's a hint in her mind that it might be one Josail Longshadow. Rowan is made to get to work. Meanwhile, another guard arrives, carrying a jar of liquid. He calls Rowan over, and commands her to take the glass of lemonade up to the reclining woman, who's name is Verona. As Rowan approaches the woman, she is stopped by another inmate, large and mean. She asks if there is ice in the drink (because Verona likes ice), and lets her through upon learning that it does, indeed, have ice. Verona derides the woman, Reggie, prompting her to relax, and introduces herself to Rowan. Verona is cool; She is bald and well-defined, and has effortless torn sleeves. She tells Rowan that she makes it her "thing" to know what's going on. She gives Rowan a pack of Smokes as thanks for bringing over the 'nade (that's how cool people say it).

#### **Toby Treacletart** || *The Kitchens...*

The kitchens are a lot nicer than one might expect. Things are neat and tidy, and Toby finds that everything is a lot lower to the ground than I personally feared. He sees a Gnome woman with red hair chopping beans, who greets Toby (as "Brad"). The woman, Ruby, tells him not to steal anything, or else Rusty will chop off his fingers. She also introduces the rest of the kitchen workers: Ginger, Cherry, Scarlett, Strawberry, Rose, Flame (?), Rusty. All of these kitchen workers are gnomes with red hair, like Toby. Another gnome enters, who Ruby calls "Snatch"! Toby recognizes him, and Snatch recognizes Toby, calling him out by name. Snatch Treacletart, for the unaware, is Toby's older brother, who has been missing. Here he is now! Crazy! He says that he thought Toby died in the Demon Apocalypse. Apparently, Toby was studying in the basement of the White Spire and missed it. Snatch was caught stealing food to feed their family, and sent to Grull. Toby tells him that he is now part of the crew that caused the Demon Apocalypse, which is actually a good thing, because they also helped end it! The two brothers catch up on each other's lives, and Toby mentions that he and co. are working on an escape plan. Snatch is in charge of filling the sausage casings, so Toby asks for two of them. Snatch denies this, because Ruby is an arithmamancer, which means she's good at math, and can tell when something goes missing. Ruby comes over and tasks Toby with moping up the blood underneath the chopping board. He does this for a while, while talking with Snatch, then notices that Ruby is making the beans poorly. Apparently, she is supposed to do this, because the prisoners shouldn't be happy, so they have gross beans. Toby asks to try to make them better, and she allows it, but says not to go overboard, but he does.

#### **Lahni Caplain** || *The Library...*

Lahni and Bercy Hamhands are led to the library by a guard, the two inmates chatting and learning about each other along the way. The library has low ceilings, and there is a dampness to it, which isn't great for books. In fact, some of them are quite moldy. Down the hall, an area is closed off with thick metal bars blocking the way. This must be the Restricted Section. Inside are, surprise surprise, more books, but these are nicer, and not falling apart. There seems to be no way in, and the bars go from the floor to cieling. An elderly guard sits at a desk in the library, with him, a large black raven shrieking "Corn! Corn! *Corn!*" Lahni introduces herself, and learns that the librarians name is Jeor. He tells her that their duty is to move all of the books from one corner of the room to the other. The state of the books is immaterial to the rulers of Grull. A prison *must* have a library, but nobody ever comes in to look at them. Lahni asks about the Restricted Section, prompting Jeor to warn her they "don't talk about those books." He has never read them himself, in fact, never been in the Restricted Section personally, though he knows how. The raven continues to shreik *"Corn!"*, prompting Lahni to try to feed some to the beast. Unfortunately, she doesn't have any, just some leftover beans from dinner, and the raven's not having any of it. Corn is grown here in Grull, but only the highest tier guards get to have any of it. He tells her that things are pretty slow in the library because you are only granted access to it by being on good behavior for five years, and most people don't last that long in Grull. Lahni gets to work, moving quickly, but not too quickly, so as to not reveal her speed. She can't find the book she was tasked to steal, *Oric's Compendium of Alchemical Tinctures and Solves*.

#### **Skud Derringer** || *The Laundry...*

Jimmy Skaags and Skud are brought into the Laundry, which, unfortunately, is really stinky. Skud notices a row of 10 carts, all numbered, and thinks about his note that he got from The Baus. He is meant to put it, sneakily, into Cart #7. Skud asks Jimmy why he has been made to do this, and Jimmy tells him that he doesn't question The Baus. Jimmy is very happy with his status on top, and tells Skud that, here in the laundry, they can just kick back and let the others do the hard work. Skud, seeing no guards really paying much attention, makes his way to the carts to drop off his letter, but at that moment, Stymer Dunkan makes his ugly face seen. He bursts in, pushing a dwarf with a cart of bloody rags, and announces to the others that, "That's what happens when you're caught with contraband!" He then uses his billy club to knock the dwarf into the cart of rags, and kicks the cart into a vat of boiling liquid. The dwarf's screams can be heard as he falls in. Man, that guys a dick. Dunkan then turns to look at the rest of the inmates, his eyes finding Skud, and approaches him. He acts very hostiley toward Skud, eventually prompting the young adventurer to call out one of the other inmates, claiming that he has some contraband. Dunkan pretends to fall for it for a second, before telling him "You know what the only thing I hate worse than a dirty contraband-haver is? A fuckin' rat." He hits Skud with the club, dealing 8 damage. He then tells the other guy, the one Skud pointed out, that he will see him in his bunk that night, and leaves. Skud goes to the cart and puts the letter in, having never read it. The door opens once again, and in strolls The Baus. He thanks Skud for his time, takes the note from the cart, and leaves. Jimmy also congratulates him, telling Skud that he would have had to drown him in one of the vats if he looked at the note, which is what happened to his last roommate.

#### **The Tower of Grey** || *Later that night...*

Everyone meets up later that night for what seems to be second dinner, and they catch each other up on their various goings-on. Toby introduces everyone to his long lost brother, Snatch. Lahni tells Toby the library is wet. Rowan tells about the cute woman who may or may not have been flirting with her (Snatch has heard of Verona). Skud got a black eye! Everyone sits down to eat, and surprisingly, the beans taste pretty good...

### Short

Each of the party members are split up, and have their own separate adventures in their own jobs. Rowan goes out to the fields, where she meets Verona, a bald half-elf who has it easy, reclining and drinking friggin lemonade. Verona gives Rowan a Smoke. Toby is sent to the kitchens, where he meets his missing brother, Snatch! Snatch is in charge of the sausage casing, luckily, but if he's caught stealing one, he'll be killed. Lahni is assigned the library, with Bercy Hamhands. She finds the restricted section, but the librarian who works there won't tell them how to get in. His raven keeps screaming *"Corn!"*, though, so maybe if she feeds it corn, something good will happen. Skud heads over to the Laundry, where he finds the cart in question. He puts the letter in, but not before getting a helpful warning, in the form of Stymar Dunkan clubbing him in the head. Then The Baus arrives, thanks Skud, and takes the letter, revealing that the letter was just a test, and meant nothing. Later that night, everyone meets up and exchanges information with each other.

## **Trivia**

* This episode, and the last one, Bachmann had to roll-off against Nika. Last time, he rolled a Natural 20, which shouldn't mean that he got to choose, but he does, and he chose Jennifer
* "The Boss" is actually spelled "The Baus"
* Toby never knew the Demon Apocalypse happened, because he was too busy studying in the basement of the White Spire
* Snatch has been here for between 10-17 years
* Bercy can't read
* Jeor is based on Jeor Mormont, leader of the Night's Watch from Game of Thrones, and who also owned a black raven who screamed "Corn!" all the time
* Skud gains inspiration for not reading the note (I'm pretty sure he already had it)
* Jennifer reads the reviews for this episode, I believe for the first time!

## **In This Episode...**

### **Cast and Player Characters**

* Michael DiMauro - *Dungeon Master*
* Tim Lanning - Toby Treacletart
* Jennifer Cheek - Rowan Grey
* Mike Bachmann - Skud Derringer
* Nika Howard - Lahnik "Lahni" Caplain

### **Non-Player Characters**

* Guards of Grull
* Verona
* Reggie
* Ruby
* Rusty
* Snatch Treacletart
* Bercy Hamhands
* Jeor
* Jimmy Skaags
* Stymer Dunkan

### **Locations**

* The Shadowfell
	+ Grull

### **Quest Log Updates**

* [Active] - Find Pelor
	+ [On Hold] - Find Adira Harper
	+ [Active] - Find and question Josail Longshadow
		- * [Active] - Escape from prison!
				+ [Active][Toby] - Steal a sausage casing from the kitchens
				+ ~~[Complete][Skud] - Plant The Baus' mysterious note in Cart #7~~
				+ [Active][Lahni] - Steal the book *Oric's Compendium of Alchemical Tinctures and Solves* from the Library
					- [NEW][Active][Lahni] - Get some Corn to feed to the Raven
* [On Hold] - Find Lannie Caplain
	+ [On Hold] - Investigate Galanthis
* [Optional] - Find a way to pay back the Ferrim Pecunia bank of Pelor's Hope
* [Active][Jaeludra] - Investigate the Great Colosseum in Caer
* [Active][Jaeludra] - Investigate the Oracle's strange prophecies

### **Quotes**

**"It's probably a little on the nose, but... I do like a ham sandwhich"** ~ *Bercy Hamhands*

**"I give him my most sincere shoulder shrug."** ~ *Skud Derringer*

**"That's the Number One thing a library *shouldn't* be! It shouldn't be wet!"** ~ *An exasperated Toby*

## **Rolls**

* **Recap**
	+ Jennifer - 7
	+ Tim - 5
	+ Nika - 15 - roll-off - 4
	+ **Bachmann - 15 - roll-off - 15**

* **Rowan** rolls *Perception* out in the fields - 22
	+ She notices the good tree with the woman

* **Toby** rolls to *Mop* - 6
	+ He's not good

* **Toby** rolls *Perception* on Ruby to see how good her bean-making is - 20
	+ She's not making the best beans possible

* **Toby** then rolls *Persuasion* - 15
	+ Tries to convince her to make them better