The ending of the previous day was a nice soft pace to the end of the day. When the heroes try to extract gold and promises of reward. Beckett says not to push him, but that a new and better representative than Gideon while be presented tomorrow along with maybe a few rewards if the meeting with the halflings from Kith goes well. And that the heroes should let Beckett do all the talking. Seeing it’s the best they’ll get for now, the heroes accept, Beckett departs until the morrow, and the entire party goes to their beds.
During breakfast the next day at the Sunken Norwegian Tavern, the entire party is accosted by a bureaucratic, stuffy, pencil-pusher gnome and her name is Anselm Rodric. She is from the city government’s department of city planning and is on the hunt for the plumber’s guild who must register, pay a fee, and other legal busywork. The party tells her to attribute the guild to Beckett Sunfounder and look to Beckett for the guild’s founding fee of 20 gold.
Before Anselm rushes off, the party does secure a temporary license of operation for the plumber’s guild. The party pays the registration fee and nominates PawPaw the opossum as their lawyer and uses his pawprint signature to undersign the legal documents. In order to establish a more permanent guild, a registration fee of 20 gold, a permanent headquarters, and a secretary or available staff must be found. Armed with such temporary legal writ, the newly minted plumber’s guild founds a key advertising slogan “We’re number one in the number two business” and vows to make collectible paraphernalia such as playing cards labeled “A Straight Flush Beats a Full House”.
Also, during the morning, Gracchus goes outside to find the gnome head he stuck in the wall was taken by neighborhood kids to play headball with. Gracchus sees the head down the street and goes to buy it back from the kids, which he does after a close call with nearly having to fight them. Unfortunately, the head is fairly rancid after being stuck to the wall by an arrow for all night long. The head also has a hole where the arrow was and then where the arrow was later torn out. Gracchus wraps the head in material and puts it in his pack for some later, terrible purpose.
Later, while waiting on the halfling party, Beckett Sunfounder and the party arrange a private side-venture where Beckett invests in the plumber’s guild “so long as it doesn’t interfere with any assignments that I have for you indentured servants”. Beckett invests 20 gold to pay for the guild registration fee in return for a 10% stake of the plumber’s guild. Further, Beckett promises the use of a building where the previous residents where… not so cleanly vacated from the premises. But the heroes are fully responsible for the guild operation themselves, including building maintenance and any staff upkeep costs.
Soon the halfling party arrives. There are three halflings: the elder Mother Rittah, as well as Pined Esk and Bail Esk who are the parents of Ruby Esk, the rescued halfling child that the heroes have been taking care of.
Mother Rittah blames the heroes for unearthing the temple and tearing the roof off to leave it open to the sky. “Nothing is better because you made everything worse!” When Beckett tries to blame the heroes and to claim all the glory for himself, elder Mother Rittah spits venom and indignation in her words. Mother Rittah extracts a promise from Beckett that nothing is over with and that actual help, not these fools, will be required.
Pined Esk and Bail Esk recognize the danger that the temple poses, yet are much more thankful for the return of their child Ruby Esk. These two grateful halfling parents express gratitude to the hero’s sense of priorities and they promise food and lodging such as they have if the heroes ever visit the north side of Kith town again. The Esks are not rich, but they do have two magical heirlooms that they would give to the heroes. The first is a Scarf of Strangling that strangles any living creature, but only strangles unto the time of death, that the scarf is placed around the neck of. The Scarf of Strangling has a safe word to deactivate it, but none know it now and the assistance of a wizard in discovering it will be needed. The second is a Potion of Eternal Reliance that allows any creature to fight even unto the moment of death, far beyond any point that an unaided creature would even be conscious. But the Potion of Eternal Reliance is only effective for the last person to have drank from it.
The halfling party wraps up its business and heads on home. Beckett glares at the heroes a bit more and then relents and appoints the new caretaker of the heroes to show them to their new place of “reclaimed” residence. Their new caretaker is a short goblin in a dark suit who is named “Goblin Wick”, son of Goblin Wick, son of Goblin Wick, and so on. Goblin Wick has a proud name and comes from a proud heritage of candlemakers.
Goblin Wick shows them to their new residence which is even further on the south side of the Outer City, and on the western side of one of the great avenues that divide the city likes spokes on a wheel. The house is two stories tall above ground and with a few stairs to reach the first floor’s front door. Ground level windows can be seen peering into the basement. The house is thin in the front but quite deep, like most houses nearby to fit more houses on a shorter stretch of street. The first floor is empty except for a barren fireplace and shows the foundations are stone, but the higher levels are wooden. The stairs to the second floor reveal six empty rooms and a very sparse washroom with a hole into a pipe which might charitably be called a privy. The basement is also stone, but the former dividing walls in the basement are mere rubble so it’s a big open space down there, with a manhole cover that leads into the sewers. The house is in fairly good condition, minimal blood stain spatters, but completely unfurnished.
On the roof is a lean-to encampment that conceals a cloaked shape. When questioned, this cloaked figure identified itself as Frogface the Enlightened, whereupon Mike threw it off the roof and threw its stuff off too. Agnes rushed down to the street and helped this member of the Folk of Leng collect her belongings. Belor heals Frogface’s hurt leg and cordial talks resume. The heroes determine they need a secretary to answer the guild’s visitors while they do hero stuff, so they set up chairs and start interviewing Frogface on the street. Frogface the Enlightened answers most questions with “I am Frogface the Enlightened” and subtly reveals she is a lady of the night. The heroes hire her as a secretary and lookout, with promises of wages and of allowing continued residence on their rooftop.
Agnes goes to the washroom and melts in water a part of the spoon that the Wizard Probabilitor gave them in order to summon his attention. Nothing happens beyond the water turning purple.
The local neighborhood is a bit rough and on the edge of two gang’s borders, which may have been what Beckett was hinting at when he said the house was forcibly vacated of residents. To start prepping for gang wars and for the expansion of the plumber’s guild, Gracchus goes to the local post office and sends a letter to his island homeland which lays off the far-away western coast of this continent. This letter asks for three legions of half-orcs. Gracchus buys insurance from the Elven mailman, whereupon his payment will be returned if the letter is lost or not delivered by the postal service. This is Gracchus’s first E-Mail (Elf Mail).
A few of the other heroes go furniture shopping with Goblin Wick at the Tomracine Kithkin’s Homegrown Furniture Emporium. Arkady Kithkin is the Firbolg family member on duty at the moment. Mike buys himself a large chest for storage. The others pool some money and buy a formal desk and chair to serve as the front office of the guild.
Caladan Town Area
Plumber's Guild Level 1
Plumber's Guild Level 2
Plumber's Guild Basement
Plumber's Guild Roof
