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-----"You could say that..." Kazel says. She rubs at the white streak and seems a little distracted for a moment. "I'm Kazel," she says looking back at the others. "I'm from the West Side of town."
-----Sethanales smiles at Picks and stops his strumming, " Oh yeah, I do take requests, 1 piece of silver to play a tune, 5 pieces to stop playing." He then plays a very discordant and loud phrase, just to let the dwarf know that he was stopping on his terms, not the dwarf's.
-----Seth puts his harp away and makes a bow worthy of the imperial court and introduces himself. "Greetings, Oh Noble Dwarf, it is I, Sethanales." Seth smiles and switches to a more casual tone.
-----" No, I am not a Bard, but I am not bad on the Harp, and I like to play. I like it better when people give me money to play as well. Even better when everyone gets drunk and they forget where they left their purse. As the pirate said 'I'm in the pillaging business' and I heard that you’re the man to see about doing 'specialized' work in this town."
-----Seth looks at the girl's scar when Picks mentions it.
-----Gimplefwick looks at the dwarf, "That'd be the Dread Pirate Gimplefwick. Not just Gimplefwick." Turning to Seth, he quips, "A bard, eh? Do you know 'What do you do with a drunken sailor'? It goes like this," Gimplefwick begins to sing loudly and completely off key,
-----"What do you do with a drunken sailor,
-----what do you do with a drunken sailor,
-----what do you do with a drunken sailor,
-----early in the morning?"
-----"The other version is 'What do you do with the Captain's daughter?', but it might not be appropriate right now," Gimplefwick states, eyeing the female half elf. "Say, that be quite a scar ye have there, little missy.
-----Ye should be more careful playing with sharp objects. Many is the time I used to say to me crew, 'Crew, ye should be careful playin wit sharp objects.' A good lesson to learn thought I. It puts me in mind of a time when the crew and I were sailin' home after a choice bit o' plundering and pillaging. Well, to make a long story short, we came across this impassable obstacle in the sea. To the one side was a gigantic whirlpool and to the other was a huge multi-headed snake beast wallowing there in the ocean, devouring sailors by the score. The only way home was straight betwixt the two of 'em. Well, the captain turned to me and said, 'Gimplefwick, I'm ascared. Whatever shall I do? Please help me.' So I says to him in reply, 'Odysseus, don't you worry none. I've sailed through right worse than this.' So I shoved him outta my way and took over the helm and sailed right between the two of monstrous beasts." Gimplefwick looks about, then smiles and nods to himself happily and starts humming 'What do you do with a drunken sailor.'
-----Kazel notices everyone staring at her and gets a slightly annoyed look on her face, but can't help breaking into a grin as Gimplefwick rambles on.
-----"I put the sharp object back where it belonged," she says looking sideways at Picks. "It was a happy ending."
-----"Suppose we best be movin’ on," Picks says after watching Gimplefwick with raised eyebrows, "We been imposin’ on Master Higgins long enuff." He glances quickly at the baker who still stands on his counter. As the dwarf begins to lead the trio out the front door, the baker angrily scolds, "Hey, not that way! Use the back door."
-----Picks slightly jumps and mumbles, "Oh . . . oh yeah." He grins sheepishly at the baker as he starts for a door near where he was sitting. As Picks opens the door, the baker issues a warning, "And don’t be usin’ my shop as a meetin’ place anymore or I’ll be showin’ ya what sneaky stuff really is!" Picks, Kazel, Seth, and Gimplefwick exit through the door before the enraged halfling can scoop up more dough.
-----"You know, I understand just how you feel," Kazel says to the irate baker sympathetically as they leave. "Oh... and I've changed my mind on the bread..." She then hurries out the exit with the others.
-----Behind the shop, they find themselves in a small-enclosed area. To their right, a wooden fence surrounds the back lot of the inn next door. To their left, they see a small space between the baker’s shop and the shop adjacent to it. Through the space, the small alley leads to a main street by the very busy and noisy market stands.
-----Ahead of them, standing to one side, is a very small, quaint outhouse. Picks looks at it for a few seconds and then mutters, "Me thinks I be waitin’."
-----Picks then turns and says, "Follow me and give a listen." He then begins to lead them through the small space between the shops to the noisy street. He turns before they exit the small alley. "Ah’m takin’ it yore all here ‘cuse ya wanna be made wif the mob. Up ahead, the games a’foot and plenty it is today. Ya play yore marks and play ‘em well. If ya gets nabbed, yore the lone wolf. When each of ya layed to eight o’ the crowns, ya visits the flower shop over by the Open Hearth. Ya ask for a blue orchid and keep a’ askin’ ‘cuse somebody’ll know what’s a’cookin’. Ya can be lone or together, it makes no nevermind to me. Any questions ‘fore I turns ya loose?"
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