We head downstairs in the early morning to find that Lieutenant Fisomi is already back and having breakfast. Leaving Spesof Beegstick to talk, I briefly say good morning before heading outside to find Tittlin. I don’t see him at first, but as the tower lights swing around he clearly starts flickering in and out of invisibility. I point and Message him, rousing him from his meditation and letting him know it’s time for breakfast.
I head back in and sit at a table for breakfast. As I’m handed the menu, I’m surprised to see smoked Grell. I hadn’t noticed it before, so I decide to try it, wonder if if it is actually what it claims to be. As I wait for it to arrive, I can hear Spesof asking about the Goldenhorn Clan. The grell finally arrives, and it does look to be as advertised. I hesitate for a moment, wondering if I’m going to regret my order. Thankfully, it appears the cooks are significantly better than I was giving them credit for.
Spesof’s conversation continues, skipping over the disputes as the lieutenant dismisses them and going instead to asking about the Coalfoot Clan and the Vulgar Vulture. as the lieutenant finishes warning us about the place, Tittlin comes back from one of the booths with a gold coin and, shockingly enough, he’s looking to return it to it’s owner. He hands it to Vatugrett, who notes that it was probably her husband who dropped it. Tittlin then heads back out without breakfast or telling us where he went.
After finishing our food we head out to see cousin Hothor and find Tittlin waiting for us midway there. He fills us in on the secret dealings he heard last night from the Cat and Fiddle’s booth. A noble, a merchant and a dwarf were discussing the Coalfoots, gold, the Vulgar Vulture and a Tomori. Given that I had arrived too recently in town for them to be discussing me, it would likely be Hothor that they were talking about. Thanks to the returned coin and some legwork, Tittlin had also managed to narrow down two of the three participants. Dwarf husband, Baron Bosic.
- Might be suspicious, could just be supplies for Hothor’s work
- Head to Hothor’s
- Knock
- Not open yet
- Social visit
- Clamour and clanging before dwarf swings open
- Big hug, haven’t seen you in forever
- Introductions
- Dining room & beer
- Good ale, imported?
- Local, many dwarves
- Dragonslayer
- Embarasment, Handomli bragging about momen to everyone
- Tittlin want’s some credit (there’s three of us)
- Pa’s also proud
- Tit: Just wait until we commit treason. That’s a joke
- Spesof distracts
- Just like Magruli, ore doesn’t fall far from the vein
- Hothor has letter’s from home
- Silver Sword clan is looking for marriage, send overly well endowed picture.
- Not sure how silver sword clan would fit with academia
- Another option (forgot who)
- Tit and Spesof confused at how considering I flubbed my pickup line
- More to attractiveness than just romancing. Polished, polite, competent, accomplished.
- Handomli may push it up.
- Joke about teaching class and having bride burst in and walk down the aisle
- Something similar happened to another member of the clan
- Passing through to hunt a creature up North for the dragons
- Happy about good drink and such, confused as to why there’s fighting
- Warn about staying away from either clan, could end up in middle of a turf war
- Explain about evening at the Cat and Fiddle
- Hothor frowns, gives a good bottle of wine to help balance scales with the Coalfoot clan
- Explains that this started with an “accidental” drowning
- Lieutenant likely supressed the drowning investigation
- Count none the wiser as to clan behaviour
- Could just ask the deceased whodunnit
- Unless you’ve got a way to speak to the dead that won’t do anyone any good
- What profession do you think I have here?
- Dragonslayer!
- Two months ago, private funeral, no good way to find out surreptitiously
- Could go and offer services up front, but don’t want to ask questions we don’t know the answer to if it could blow up in our face
- Gift a star sapphire
- Debate what to do next about the dispute
- As the new folks in town, would be very easy to get on peoples bad side, hard to do anything without consequence as everyone knows everyone
- Decide it’s best for Tittlin to investigate the docks as he’ll hopefully be of lesser interest
- Head to Vulgar Vulture
- Sparse, wooden place smelling of old beer and cedar
- Following directions of barkeep, head over to Tharhus’s table
- Wait a moment for acknowledgement, introduce self and sit down
- Barkeep around immediately for order
- Present wine and give apology
- Accepted
- Food arrives (Brown Bear Meatballs for Spesof)
- Ask if there’s anything can do to help resolve the tensions
- Quiet
- Says to go speak to the count about what happened in the sale of the Rob Mont mine
- Doesn’t say much more after that
- Finish up, politely leave
- Regroup
- Explain to Tit about accepted apology and mine deal
- Tit explains about dwarf-height sword indent in pier
- Guard found body
- If get a guard sword, could prove it
- Decided to avoid patronizing the dwarven bars to avoid getting back into it
- Discus again the deal Tit heard. Don’t know enough to do anything about it.
- Mine deal, there should be paperwork
- Check that out before showing the count and potentially letting him get ahead of us
- Spesof, as a half-orc, will probably attract the least attention
- Try to give him some advice before sending him over with telepathic bond
- Heads in and finds the record, looks all correct, signature looks fine
- After comparing with other records, note that the one deal is underbid by two orders of magnitude
- After that, previous pattern of alternating deals disappears and everyone but the goldenhorns abandons Baron Bazaak as notarist
- Debate if we should check the coroners report
- Too much risk for too little reward
- No longer looking like something easily solvable, more like something that’s going to blow up in our face
- How’s this going to get us the invite?
The morning brought new revelations about the tensions plaguing Brandstrad, and I found myself in the uncomfortable position of being caught between two feuding dwarven clans through no fault of my own.
We started our day at the Cat and Fiddle, where Lieutenant Fisomi Goldenhorn was having breakfast. Through conversation with him and the Goldenhorn bartender, I learned more about the clan dynamics in town. The Goldenhorns are the largest clan - new money merchants and goldsmiths who worship Vergadain and aren’t above using underhanded tactics. Their main rivals are the Coalfoot clan, experienced miners who worship Dumathoin and keep to themselves, making them seem suspicious to outsiders.
The bartender mentioned that things had been “peachy” until recent months when something started stirring up trouble. More troubling was Tittlin’s discovery from the previous evening - he’d overheard a secretive conversation in one of the private booths involving mentions of the Coalfoot clan, gold, the Vulgar Vulture tavern, and the Tamori name. The bartender confirmed her husband had been in that booth, identifying him as one of the participants in whatever deal was being discussed.
After breakfast, I decided to visit my cousin Hothor Tamori, who runs the local gems and jewelry business. The reunion was warm - he was clearly proud of my growing reputation as a dragon hunter, even producing marriage proposals from various dwarven clans, including an embarrassingly embellished portrait from the Silver Sword clan. But beneath the familial joy, Hothor revealed the dark undercurrents threatening to tear the town apart.
The conflict, he explained, stemmed from a suspicious death two months ago. A member of the Coalfoot clan had washed up on the shore, officially ruled a drowning accident by Lieutenant Fisomi Goldenhorn. However, the Coalfoot clan suspected foul play, particularly given that the incident occurred in winter when no one would be swimming voluntarily. The fact that the investigating officer was a Goldenhorn only deepened their suspicions of a cover-up.
Hothor warned me to stay away from both clans, as the situation was rapidly escalating toward a full turf war. He also revealed that Count Yugantsev Yakovich was completely unaware of the clan politics at play, making him ineffective at resolving the growing crisis.
Determined to understand the full scope of the problem, we decided to investigate further. I visited the Vulgar Vulture - the Coalfoot clan’s establishment - to make peace offerings and gather information. The tavern was everything the Cat and Fiddle wasn’t: dim, rundown, smelling of old beer and cedar, with no windows and suspicious patrons. I presented a bottle of fine wine as an apology for inadvertently choosing sides by staying at a Goldenhorn establishment.
The Coalfoot patriarch, Tharhus, was a dwarf of few words but eventually provided a crucial lead. He directed me to investigate the sale of the Robmont mine, suggesting this was connected to the current troubles. Meanwhile, Tittlin investigated the docks where the body was found, discovering suspicious sword marks on the pier - marks made by someone significantly shorter than human height, most likely a dwarf.
Following Tharhus’s lead, Spesof visited the county clerk’s office to examine mining contracts. What he discovered was damning: the Robmont mine had been sold to the Coalfoot clan for a suspiciously low bid - two orders of magnitude below what such a valuable property should command. All the bids were notarized by Baron Bozzec Coinhand, a noted friend of the Goldenhorn family, suggesting possible collusion in what appeared to be a rigged auction process.
The pattern that emerged was deeply troubling. The Goldenhorn clan, with their connections to the town’s bureaucracy and guard, appeared to be manipulating mining rights and possibly eliminating anyone who threatened their schemes. The Coalfoot clan, realizing they were being systematically cheated, had grown increasingly hostile, leading to the current crisis.
As scholars often say, the most dangerous knowledge is that which reveals corruption in high places. We now understood the true cause of the mining troubles - not simple worker disputes, but a complex web of clan rivalry, economic manipulation, and possible murder. The question was whether we could use this information to solve Count Yakovich’s problems without becoming targets ourselves.
Our mission to secure his plus-one invitation had become significantly more complicated. Rather than simply charming a lonely noble, we now needed to either help resolve a potential clan war or find a way to extract ourselves from an increasingly dangerous situation. The Count’s obvious frustration with his inability to understand the troubles suddenly made perfect sense - how could he solve problems rooted in clan politics he knew nothing about?
The irony wasn’t lost on me that my academic pursuit of dragon restoration had led me into the middle of a very different kind of dangerous situation. Sometimes the most treacherous monsters are the ones that look like people.