Group Projects

Relevant rules as per the Core:

If a PC wants to pursue a project that would take them a substantial amount of time but that they can work on during a long rest, they should first discuss it with the GM.
This could involve deciphering an ancient text, crafting a new weapon, or something similar. Projects usually involve a Progress Countdown.
Each time a PC takes the Work on a Project downtime move during a long rest, the GM asks them to make an action roll to gauge their progress.

Current Projects:

Egil - Become a member of the Varangian Guards (with Vholanthus)
Track: 5 6
Wenceslas - Find the Elfhame (with Vholanthus)
Track: 12 11
Daisy - Discover more about the death of her father.
Track: 4 3

Vertange Location: The Rusted Cartwheel

The Rusted Cartwheel plays host to the merchants that arrive in Vertange and do not want to get mixed up in the political games of the Garden. It is not a place of great luxury, but it affords a certain level of anonimity to its guests. Rooms are box-like structures that allow the minimum of privacy and oft contain a bed - wardrobe - pot as only contents, with a lockable... plank as a door.

There is a communal bathing house not far from the Cartwheel (known as the Sink), which is best visited before dawn as the water is refreshed in the early hours.
For all its faults, the Cartwheel has a common room that can host 20 to 40 guests, depending on how squeezed in folks want to be, has a regular minstrel that calls there to provide entertainment in exchange for room and board, and the staff genuinely seem to enjoy their work (apart from Sove, who grumbles a lot). The staff wears a practical half-lower leg length toga, in a dusky grey.
The Cartwheel is open for business from two hours past sun up until late at night, with the crew working all shifts as and when needed. All crew live in the Cartwheel and have access to a small area where guests are not allowed, which includes a walled garden for relaxation.
Prices are mild, but the food is so good that many come by for a snack or a meal when their coin allows. (Sove does a mean barley risotto with creamy mushrooms and a delightful sciusceddu).

Innkeep:
Savere Pullus
Half dwarf, half catfolk, edging on 80.
Strong yellow eyes when the light hits right, beard hides his fur, the innkeep and owner of the Rusted Cartwheel has seen many things. Born after the fall of Byrric but aware enough of what rebuilding is like, Savere has a reputation for being kind and just to all that do not abuse his trust.
Bar staff:
Mera
Human woman, 40ish
Long brown hair in a bun. Usually waits the tables or holds the bar. Hates cooking, but loves to chat with new faces and learn what they're about. She has some connections around town and most merchants have a coin for rumours she may have heard.
Cassian 
Human male, somewhere twenties
Twinkle in eyes, gentle beard, well trimmed, usually bar or serving. Very open to all races. Hair is dirty blonde, done up with a red ribbon to make him stand out. He used to be close to a noble girl, but lost her affections when she became a Lady.
Ungu 
Mute birdfolk girl
Communicates in a series of clicks and whistles. Her comb, betraying a chicken-heritage, she wears as a mohawk, having adorned it with beads and rings. She's in charge of the cleaning and will also cook if Sove is not there. She's still gaining experience and as a teen, hasn't much of that to start with.
Sove 
Young dour goblin teen-turning-adolescent
In charge of the food and sometimes the cleaning. Sove was in training to become the sous-chef for a member of the Sombri, but due to a vendetta gone wrong, he now has to work his way up the ladder here, with the hopes of being noticed by nobles dying down more every day. Unlike the others, he doesn't embellish his looks, but he takes great pride in providing the best dishes in the area, making them stand out instead.

Bouncer:
Tobrokus

Tobrokus (or Toby as some regulars call him) is a sturdy dwarf, tough as nails. He is about a century old, but unsure of that. For a dwarf, that places him in adulthood, but before the decays of time wear away what was built before. He used to be an army sergeant and common life has never agreed with him. He has done a couple of tours in Perlis and is the main reason Jim of the House of Three Beams has come to stay in this area. Should Toby be out ill or injured, Severian Tesodi, an old army friend (60, human), will step in to help out. Being recognized as a Tesodi affords him the luxury of not being bothered by many that would cause trouble.

Group 2: Vertange "One-shot" - Jim 4

Party: Claudia De La Quinne, The Captain, Wenceslas, Vholanthus Sumquaes, Daisy Dandeigh Deveraux

As our friends reunite, they explain to Vholanthus what happened while he was having dinner. He, on his part, tells of the letter delivered to Court, exonerating Jim from the charge of being a smuggler.

As evening is quickly fading into full night, they enter the Rusted Cartwheel, an inn at the outer wall of Vertange, where Jim is said to be staying.
After a quick check by the dwarven bouncer Tobrokus (Toby for his friends), the party puts their feet under a table and order some food, asking the innkeeper to fetch Jim as they quickly end their hunger.

Jim, happy to hear the good news, remains wary and gladly accepts the party's offer to put their feet up in this ... wonderful ... establishment. 
As the night ticks by and the sounds of snores fill the place, the various members of the group sit together, hoping to dull the edge of their anxiety by quiet conversation.
Vholanthus and Wenceslas attempt to divine if an Elfhame is nearby, but the currents of air on the roof seem ineffective, nor do the innate druidic connection to nature or the incessant hammering as someone is repairing their armour prove to be of much use. 
Unrelatedly, the Captain and Wenceslas find each other a little later and talk about Emile the enchanted sword. The Captain feeling mildly disturbed after having been informed by Wenceslas that that the former wielder now has become the source of power for this weapon, and uneasily strives to ignore the whispers that urge him to use the blade.

Daisy, her mind racing from the day's events, tries to use the residual adrenaline to think back on the death of her father. Considering she now has someone who can shapechange as a friend, it feels increasingly likely the big beast that slew her father was someone who could also do that. When she asks Vholanthus for clarifications, he explains the issue to her in a way that further tangles up her thoughts. 
Claudia spends the night running over the scenarios in her head, convinced that there is more to the issue than the picture she is seeing now. It is too clean and too... simple. She reaches out her mind to Scorchwyn for guidance, but finds her God silent. Slowly as the morning begins to dawn, the gentle flame of purpose fills her again and she finds herself backed by the divine power of her deity.

The day starts off fresh though, as the party sits down for breakfast, a massive fracas breaks out and the group finds itself engulfed in a brawl with another group of assassins. 
The inn's staff eventually emerges to clean away the remains of many dead assassins and is bestowed by the party with the effects of those that perished under the brutal retaliation that this intrusion on breakfast warranted. 
The group finds a scroll sealed with the mark of Emperor Argentonze, belonging to the hand of none other than Rusko, the Varangian who harassed them before.

Jim's court appointment, now that all these troubles have been dealt with, goes swimmingly. 
Before long, the talk of the town is the engagement of a noble from Perlis and the Debutante of the Season... 

Group 2: Vertange "One-shot" - Jim 3

Party: Claudia De La Quinne, The Captain, Wenceslas, Vholanthus Sumquaes, Daisy Dandeigh Deveraux

We find the party on a Gondola, ferried to the abode of Francois Du Treve, a nobleman who has shown a lot of interest in Lady Adele Duree. With Francesco the Gondelieri standing watch and rendering songs in the worst possible way to entertain his passengers, they discuss how to best tackle the issue.
They go for an all-out assault on his mental sanity by being either foreign, common or halfling. This distraction of presence allows for Daisy to obtain a contract between one 'Taelhel' of the 'League of the Night' and Francois for the 'removal of unwanted elements in the city'. Partly due to the convincing speeches of the group, partly to get rid of the strange odor they brought with them, Francois chooses to note down a recanting of his accusations towards Jim.
As Vholanthus is of the Fleurs Nobles and not a stain upon the interior air of the mansion like the halfling, Francois invites him for a lavish dinner, which the elf accepts while holding the decriminating document.
The others make their graceful escape and head to the Cartwheel, fearing the life of Jim might be in danger through other means. 

They fear rightly, as even the excellent time they make to the Area Vulgaris seems to have allowed forces to move against their interests. Luckily enough, those forces underestimate just how skilled the Captain is at manslaughter, as well as the arcane powers of Wenceslas causing natural disturbances to eliminate unbalance in the streets. 
At the end of the struggle, Wenceslas notes that his magic locked the powers of an opposing mage into the blade the man was wielding. He gifts this weapon to the Captain. It now bears the name 'Emiel' after its former wielder turned inhabitant.

Vholanthus manages to extricate himself from the dinner in due time and uses the services of Francesco to make a hasty visit to the Court of the Lady of the Scales, where he delivers the document needed to safeguard Jim from harm to the slightly gristle-stained hands of Gautier the halfling clerk, who states he is simply enchanted by the tall elf's upright demeanor.
Vholanthus makes the fastest trip in recent memory to the Area Vulgaris upon hearing the invite for a shared evening with the clerk, hoping to quickly reunite with his friends. 

Group 1: Vertange "One-shot": Louix 2

 Party: Fir, Egil, Detho, Rachel and Vholanthus Sumquaes.

The group meets up with Rachel, who had stayed back at the Temple of the Order of the Scorched Oath.
A magnificent place in its own right, with a high domed ceiling and various portal-shaped rings on the outer wall, this place of worship is illuminated by a massive bonfire, ever fueled by acolytes of the God Scorchwyn.
Within the sturdy outer wall, in front of the altar where the chief priest would make his devotions, Rachel is studying the crystal vases that are used to donate the blessings of the Scorched Oath to those in need of light and warmth.

The group rejoices at being reunited with their friend and introduce Louix to another member of his 'guard'. They then proceed to meet Gerard, a devoted knight of the order, and the Abbot.
Measuring their worth, the Abbot allows the group to spend the night in the safety of the Temple's storage room. 
As the Temple is devoid of windows and entertainment, paired watches are set to avoid nightly ambushes.
Fir and Detho decide to spend some time tightening the bonds of their friendship by exchanging stories, while Egil and Vholanthis attempt (and fail) to come up with a way to allow Egil access into the ranks of the Varangian Guard of the Emperor.
The night passes uneventfully and come morning, the weary warriors suspect an ambush might be likely. 
They send out Gerard with a ruse, in full plate, to check if all is well before setting out themselves.
Sadly enough, this backfires as the noise of a fully armoured brute tromping through the streets set all the watchers on edge.
The moment the party is outside of the Temple and heads into the backstreets, arrows rain down and battle is joined. Proving height is not strictly an advantage when one possesses the powers of flaming wings, a combat capable monkey attached to said wings and a magically charged goblin, the ambushers are dispatched and the group moves on, Louix safely in their midst.
They bump into a drunken noble on their way, whom Vholanthus recognises as Robert Sumquaes, a fact he handily files away together with the coin on the man's person.
The group then heads, well in time, to the Court of the Lady of the Scales where the defense of their friend/ally/patron Louix is to take place.

As they do, they still ask Louix for more information on what he is to reveal that is so important it has led to their lives being endangered so oft. Louix eventually reveals that he has concrete evidence that Beiro Benotti, son of the lord Evaris Benotti, was not the cause of pregnancy for the lady Arretta Du Calle, as Beiro was at that time visiting the Empress herself on a personal request of that esteemed person. He, on behalf of lord Fabian L'Equichant, intercedes now and brings his testimony to avoid the marriage between the houses Benotti and Du Calle. Satisfied with this, the group escorts Louix to the Hall of Hearing, where the court will take its seat. 

When the Primo Giudice Iulius Sumquaes asks for the group to leave the courtroom, Vholanthus interjects with a bit of useful information on a family member and the combined pleading of the others, allowing the group to be present as curtains fall over the windows and assassins follow shortly after.
Again melee is joined and again it is the blades of Fir that slice down the foes, while wolfjaw and goblin fire combine with the might of Freicove's traditional bladesmanship and the hardy shield of Detho to lay low those lack the wits to run from the might of these warriors. 

Pleased that his testimony not only was heard, but that his life was saved a multitude of times, Louix rewards the party grandly, though their attention seems to be more focused on a note in the pocket of one of their aggressors.
It offers the sum of 650 gold to the party (whose names are convincingly signed at the bottom of the note) for the murder of Lord Marshall Durant Du Calle.
Iulius Sumquaes has gotten a good view of the groups talents and also offers his thanks and discretion.