Following the conclusion of Soren (Eris) and Lydia’s private chat, the two noblewomen reconvened with the group. Lydia presented a list of demands to be delivered to the Gentleman if she was going to be pawn in the plot to usurp the seat of Starosta. She then agreed to meet the party back at the Soup Kitchen again in two days time to cut the ribbon and begin her campaign in earnest. FCG returned to the Evening Nip to deliver the good news to the Gentleman, after of course, heading to grab their wolf pups from the stables.
Anticipating Lydia’s demands for continued financial aid for her city projects, the Gentleman quickly agreed, a small price to pay for unbridled criminal freedom. With the Gentleman in a good mood, Triple J and Endrin also negotiated the refurbishment of the abandoned stables so that they may use it as a hideout of their own. Elated with their string of successes and great progress over the past few days, FCG decided it was high time for a night of revelry.
Triple J headed straight for Barnes, the hideout’s barkeep, to follow-up on the proposed beer tower idea from a few nights prior. Barnes presented them with his odd tower of mugs which Triple J and Conan began to drink from heavily. This sparked a drinking contest among the fellow patrons under the Gentleman’s employ. Endrin, Conan, Triple J, and three others all participated. Triple J emerged the victor despite valiant efforts from Endrin and Conan. Impressed with Triple J’s oral capacity, the young half-elf competitor, Kara, whisked Triple J up to her room to continue the evening’s fun.
Endrin and Conan hit the mugs hard and often. In a moment of drunken inspiration, Endrin decided it was high time he practice a new spell of his. With the whisk of a feather, he granted Conan the ability to fly. The inebriated warrior took to the rafters much like a heavily armored bird and soared about, all the way until the spell’s abrupt end. Anticipating the inferior intellect of his companion, Endrin managed to catch the fighter with another spell just before he came crashing to the ground. Endrin wasn’t done with his fun yet, however, and took flight himself. He bumped, stumbled, and weaved his way through the rafters above hoping to play a prank on the Gentleman himself. Much to his dismay, he found himself making direct eye contact with the amused crime lord as he prepared his trick, and decided to back off.
A few more rounds of ale sent Endrin floating off to bed for the night just as Triple J returned from another successful escapade. Soren retired shortly after. Triple J captivated the entire bar with his medieval rendition of “Shots”. While Triple J sent Triple M, his wolf pup, around for tips, Conan caught Thed, a halfling thug, attempting to steal the purse. Unable to stand for the disrespect of his friend, Conan engaged the wee-man in a most honorable bar fight, promptly kicking his ass as a crowd gathered. Triple J kept the raucous evening going by enticing any and all challengers to come try their might against Conan. From amidst the crowd, Kutha, one of the Gentleman’s ogre bodyguards, emerged. The two brutes slugged it out until Conan eventually grappled the ogre, forcing her submission.
Content with their night of debauchery, the pair of adventurers eventually retired as well, forcefully entering the bedroom, struggling against Endrin’s immovable door. They awoke in good spirits, despite the over consumption of spirits, and headed to the Valley Archive of the Cobalt Soul for a fun filled morning of research regarding various personal interests. Following that, they made their way to the King’s Hall to see what information they could dig up on the festival of New Dawn. The Master of Ceremonies, Ellen Fedar, was out when they arrived, but they bribed the receptionist to let them have a look around her office anyway. Within, they discovered many crates full of decorations as well as Ellen’s journal detailing many of the festival’s arrangements and events. From it, they learned of the victory pit and its monsters, booze arrangements, entertainment, speeches, and many more of the festivals events.
As they were preparing to leave, Conan heard voices from down the hallway and spotted Ellen and her guards returning. The party did their best to act natural, and Triple J was able to convince Ellen that they were simply there for an appointment. Through said “appointment” they were able to procure a vendor’s stall for their soup kitchen on the day of the festival. Without further incident, FCG slipped out and headed back to the soup kitchen.
Seeing that much food had already been prepared for tomorrow’s opening, FCG felt the need to inform the public of the event and perhaps slander Wyatt’s name in the process. Thanks to Triple J’s silver tongue, FCG was able to convince a large number of town criers to spread word about the soup kitchen in addition to Wyatt Fedar’s third nipple. With their business concluded for the day, the party retired to their now furnished hideout at the stables.
The next morning, their utilization of the town criers seemingly paid off as they had to force their way through a crowd of people outside the soup kitchen. Inside they met a rather nervous Lydia Truscan who was greatly surprised by the success of the event. FCG instilled her with confidence and sent her out to deliver her first moving speech to the public before inviting everyone inside to eat. The opening of the soup kitchen was a huge success, and with the festival of New Dawn still on the horizon, FCG enjoyed a moment of solace at a job well done.
