Eyes of the Lich Queen IC

[MoleMage]

"Shard is right about it smelling fishy. Though given the situation we've found ourselves in, we're probably going to be smelling fish for a while. Ancient treasures of potentially dangerous power do not make for peaceful or straightforward activity, after all."

Daiya settles in with her blindfold down while they wait, paying attention for any potential observers following the group.

[TheFallenOne]

"Eh, so far we have only one competing party. A strong one, granted, but if the tale should spread things could get chaotic. I just hope Ryger didn't take too much interest in what we told him." He glanced up and down the street after they exited the building. "Shouldn't just stand around half an our, looks suspicious. Why don't we just go to the baker and have a short meal while we wait."

[MoleMage]

At the word "baker", Daiya moves in such a way that apparently indicates amused surprise. "Don't you mean the butcher, Grimmgang? Bread alone makes for a poor meal after all, and there's plenty of opportunity for those on the road."

[Postmodernist]

"The dwarf is right, we should move. As for where we go eat, I think our options will be largely limited to sea food. Keep your eyes," Xaxhan glances momentarily at Daiya as she fiddles with her blindfold, "erhm, uh, peeled for any sign of danger. I've got an uncomfortable feeling about this."

[Sallera]

A little activity is visible to anyone paying special attention to the meeting place; once in a while, someone will be briefly visible as they walk through the alleys, or casually turn off the main street some distance from Berthella's. The light is beginning to expire once the requested time elapses, and the growing winds carry fresher air from past the harbour.

At the appointed hour, you find the cellar door locked; no one else seems to be around, but a knock or a call brings the sound of a bolt being drawn back, and the heavy wood lifts to reveal a rugged-looking man, perhaps in his late thirties, sporting a recent black eye, a beard too short to be deliberate and too long to be accidental, and a gleeful grin. "Ah, and here we have the 'fancy man who's too proud to buy fish' and his friends, I take it. You can call me Doc Grimm. I hear you've got words for the captain; come on downstairs and let's hear them."

A short flight of cobbled steps leads to the low-ceilinged cellar, cramped enough that only Daiya and Grimmgang can stand upright. Dim candlelight reveals the Sea Wyverns themselves, although they might not live up to the expectations of some. Crowded around some planks placed over a pair of barrels to form a makeshift table, the group numbers eighteen that you can count, but individually, they would seem to leave something to be desired. Several young men and women of varying degrees of apparent fierceness and little, save their enthusiasm, that would impress a seasoned veteran make up the main body. Some older members, perhaps the original crew, are weathered and tired-looking, but on edge all the same, alert and clearly dangerous. Finally, sitting on the cellar stairs, there is a rotund man with greying hair and an unkempt beard dyed blood red; although he doesn't appear to be shown a great deal of deference, something in the way the room is arrayed tells you this is the captain himself.

No one seems eager to speak; although none of them hold weapons, all of them wear one, and more than one hand is held cautiously - or threateningly - near a hilt. Doc Grimm fades to one side, still wearing his madcap grin, and all eyes focus on you, apparently quite willing to keep the silence until one of you chooses to break it.

[Postmodernist]

Xaxhan glances about the room, hiding the profound discomfort of being outnumbered and intimidated in close quarters as best he can. Seeing the candlelight glint eerily off of Shard's ruby facets, he cleared his throat and began.

"Thanks very much for the audience, friends. We're pleased that our inquiry will fall upon so many eager ears." He made a point of making eye contact with as many people in the room as possible, while primarily directing his comments toward the apparent captain and Doc Grimm. "It's quite simple, really. We're looking for a gnome named Thraxis, and we heard that you might know him. We heard he was possibly a former associate of yours, but he's proven to be devilishly difficult to find. It seems he traveled with someone who had been to a remote and treacherous location, and we'd like to know if he could help us, as we're headed there." The Seren shrugged and smiled, his hands remaining as far from the handle of his blade as he could keep them. The less threatening he appeared, the better.

[TheFallenOne]

"Nice place", Grimmgang scoffed once they reached the cellar, though most of his attention was on the assembled Sea Wyverns, assessing chances and suitable tactics should it come to blows. They had a sizable numerical advantage, but the odds in the first engagement with the Emerald Claw were similar, plus the cramped quarters would make it difficult to bring their numbers to bear. A methodical glance at posture and physique told him most of them posed little threat, with a few more formidable folk thrown into the mix.
Apart from his short comment he kept his silence, happy enough to let Xaxhan do the talking for now. For a moment he scratched at his right cheek, feeling oddly naked with the shortened beard, then he crossed his arms in front of his chest. The first overeager attacker he could dispose with a gauntleted punch to the pelvis, drawing attention away from his weapon, then dodge sideways and bring the axe out in a spinning strike before the thick melee closes all around them. He'd have to grip the haft two inches higher than usual, shorter reach, but better in close quarters...
He quickly shook his head left to right, focusing on the present again. Already he had killed two of them in his mind, but perhaps reality could commence without bloodshed.

[TekHed]

"Greetings Dog-Rim; I am the Shard. Your face has been injured. May I heal it for you?" the Gemstone Ingenue queried of the boisterous bouncer.

As it descended into the cellar, it increased it's light ever so slightly so that blue and red ripples danced with the flickering candlelight.

[Sallera]

"Sorry, mate, but we're not quite that intimate yet," the alleged doctor replies to Shard's query, drawing a chuckle or two from below.

Xaxhan's request seems to draw little reaction, all of the Wyverns apparently doing their best to remain intimidating. Twenty seconds pass once he has finished with nary a whisper, but finally the rotund redbeard flashes a gap-toothed grin and chuckles heartily. His voice is raspy and none too hurried as he finally speaks. "Ha, looking for dear Thraxis, are you all? And not a flinch while staring down my crew, here. You, my friends, are just what I've been looking for. Clear some space at the table, and let's have a better look at our new mates." A few of the Wyverns move to comply, and a good deal of the tension leaks out of the younger group, although the veterans remain alert.

The captain rises ponderously and climbs down the stairs to face you across the makeshift table. "You stands before Damog Hellscurvy, the pirate lord of Port Verge - and I've got an offer you ought to like just fine. Our mutual friend, as it turns out, was taken along with some other folk by those blasted Cloudreavers, six months ago now. Those slaving scum sold them to the dwarves that run the Dreadhold - seems there's some mine or another underneath the prison tower, and they doesn't want to do their own dirty work."

"Now, o'course, this operation is all hush-hush, but one o' Thraxis's friends on that boat is a lad named Jukkeam, son to an old friend o' mine. Me friend naturally sets to looking for him, and one way or two ways, he's gone and worked out a few details of what's what down there, and he wants me to get his boy back. It just so happens I've worked out how to do it, but I could use the help of a few fine fightin' folk such as yourselves. You interested?"

[TheFallenOne]

The unexpected mention of Dreadhold easily cracked Grimmgang's composure, his eyes widening. "They say there ain't no coming back from that place, and with House Kundarak in charge I'm inclined to believe it. Your plan better be a good one. And even if it is, you ask us to move against a dragonmarked house - the one of my people no less. Even if we succeed, the fallout for all of us and my clan back in the Mror Holds could be devastating. Perhaps it's better to let the sod rot and figure out the things we need from him ourselves."
His eyes quickly darted left and right, gauging the reactions to his noncompliance. He felt the urge to scratch his beard again, but suppressed it. "Anyway, what we need from Thraxis is physical - couple pages from a journal - and I doubt he still has them on his person after he was thrown in prison. Any chance one of you has or is familiar with what I'm talking about and willing to turn it over for other services?"
He paused, a smirk crossing his lips as he hoped to have made the right assessment of the local politics. There were too many groups in too small a place to get along. This man claimed lordship over Port Verge, and if he got along with Kolberkon he wouldn't need to hide in this cheap hole. "How would you fancy throwing the Emerald Claw out of your port?"

[TekHed]

Shard nodded to the grinning man. "As you wish."

Walking up behind Grimmgang, Shard looked down at the dwarf.

"Grimmgang, is this 'Bread-hold' the baker you had wanted to visit earlier? You soft-bodies sure do eat a lot."

[Postmodernist]

Xaxhan's eyebrow quirked upward as Grimmgang mentioned the Claw. The dwarf has a surprising nose for schemes and a strong sense of politics. Even better, if the Cloudreavers were involved, we could further help Ryger's cause by striking at several of his enemies at once. Still, he's missing the point; we need to break into Dreadhold to save this Jukkeam. He doesn't particularly care why we're after Thraxis. Xaxhan nodded, and smiled, taking Thunderbreaker's cue. "That's right. Kolberkon, the Claw, the Cloudreavers, Ryger. A whole lot of people stand to shift in their position and relative strength if a fight were to break out amongst them. Rule by the Sea Wyverns has a ring to it, almost better than Sea Dragons, in my opinion." The bard pauses a moment, hoping his words take effect. He glances at his companions, and then at Damog with curiosity.

"Out of curiosity," he licked his lips slightly, surprisingly eager with the anticipation of another chance at spreading his notoriety with another preposterous adventure, "what's your plan to break into Dreadhold? It's been nearly a week since we undertook a near suicidal adventure. We're overdue for another, I think." Xaxhan smiles broadly, and flashes a telling glance at Grimmgang. Everyone looking on could see that the Seren was forming a plan.

[MoleMage]

"Has it really been so long?" Daiya mused seemingly to nobody.

While the team is discussing the options for their next suicide mission, Daiya turns her more esoteric senses to the crew around her, feeling for any magical auras or obvious liars in the room, as well as listening for approaching individuals outside.

[Sallera]

"Oh, no coming back, indeed - from Dreadhold itself," Grinning knowingly, Damog holds up a fat finger. "Wards, guards, spells, and more than I knows about. But banks has accountants, and accountants get nosy when resources goes missing unexplained. If there was a certain mine that wasn't official, like, wouldn't you expect a limit on security there?"

"He never left any of his books here, but while I don't know if it's what you're looking for, Thraxis had some new tattoos on his back last time he came back - a lot of complicated writing, looked like. I asked him what the point of it was, and he called it 'insurance,'" one of the younger women replies to Grimmgang. Apparently aware of how odd that sounded, she quickly adds, "He is a bit... off."

"Ha, I like the way you think," Damog continues once Grimmgang and Xaxhan finish their proposal. "Well, well, if you has additions to the plan, I'm listening. But since you ask about the original, I happen to know there's a Cloudreaver ship in port, and they's taking supplies to the Dreadhold next. And I knows what signals they use to get into the hidden docks. So all we has to do is sneak up while the crew's ashore, deal with who's left, take ourselves a new ship, and set sail for the prison isle. We load you ashore with the other supplies, and you goes and brings back Jukkeam and Thraxis. Me friend's kindly provided a map to where they's held."

Daiya:

Spoiler

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No obvious lies from anyone. There are a few magical trinkets scattered among the various Wyverns, but no active spells.

[TheFallenOne]

"Ah, so that mine is not part of the prison proper, and thus hasn't the same level of protection... This might actally be doable." Grimmgang mulled it over for some seconds, biting his lower lip. Those tattoos sound promising, but Damog doesn't know how badly they need the journal pages, that their very lifes depend on it. "Though it sounds like we are to do all the heavy lifting, and you get a whole lot out of it. A shiny new ship, your friends back, weakening your enemies... Sweeten the deal a bit. And tell us what you know of the Emerald Claw's presence here. Base. Numbers. Deployment. Leaders. You want them gone, and so do we. Perhaps something can be arranged."

[Postmodernist]

Xaxhan suppressed a smile as he heard Grimmgang speak. True to the stereotypes of his people, the dwarf certainly knew how to drive a bargain. "I have to agree with my friend here. We're the ones putting our lives on the line. 'Who's left' could be quite a detachment, and I'd like to know more specifics on where Jukkeam and Thraxis are held and who might be guarding them. May I take a glance at this map?" Xaxhan's interest was keen. This work might be both profitable and provide more allies.

Seemingly apropos of nothing, the bard asked,"Do you know where we could find a tailor, or perhaps an armorer? I'm suddenly overwhelmed by the need to find a green cloak, a half-helm, and green talon insignia or two. A new costume might be just the thing for new environs." He glances at his companions with a smirk, hoping they catch his meaning.

[Sallera]

"Ah, if it be sweets you're after... me friend's promised much and more if we gets his boy back. Your share be two thousands and a half."

"Truth be told, I haven't seen the Claw around much, lately. Near as I could tell, their leader was a merchant's kid, fancy boy by the name of Arielon, but there's been no sign of him lately. Afore he showed up, old stick by the name of Lyndis, the one who got in cosy with Kolberkon in the first place. And she's either a seer or the most paranoid bastard in town, since as soon as Arielon and his boys left, every single Claw my men knew about went underground with her." Doc Grimm licks his lips, clapping his hands together. "Waiting to see which way the wind blows, I reckon. Might be they wait too long, they won't like its new direction."

Damog lays a sheet of parchment on the table - apparently the promised map, although it is little more than a scrawl with noted directions. "It don't look like much, but it's accurate. That I can promise you. Now as to what else is to be found down there, that we don't know, but if you moves quick and quiet - not like me, ha! - then there be not so much to worry about, I's thinking."

"There's a tailor up the main street, closer to Kolberkon's place. Probably the only one in town who's any good."

Doc Grimm grins even wider, seemingly catching on to the idea. "Half-helms I can provide. I'm sure we've got some in the spare stash."

[TheFallenOne]

At Xaxhan's suggestion Grimmgang first gaped open-mouthed at the bard, then began to chuckle and finally broke into fullthroated laughter. "Oh, what a marvelous idea! False flag operation? Never would have thought of that, there are rules against that in war. But they don't apply here."

It took him a moment to place the name Arielon, but in the end the description 'fancy boy' made the association easy enough. "I see." He kept his next few thoughts to himself, considering what information he could part with or not. "Any idea how many are left then? Or perhaps how many there were before this Arielon took off?

How long until that ship departs then?"

[Sallera]

"Twenty, thirty?" Doc Grimm shrugs. "Minus whoever left with Arielon, but still at least ten. They're cautious at the best of times, so I can't keep a solid read on their numbers."

"The Cloudreavers sets sail the day after tomorrow, so next night's our golden chance. Not that we'd mind setting out tonight, but it sounds like you has some costumery to do."

[TheFallenOne]

"Sounds like we have a deal then. But how do we reach the ship without being seen? Even with most ashore, they'd be foolish to have no lookout. Unless the night is cloudy even human eyes could spot our approach. And nevermind a kobold, dwarf or orc."

[TekHed]

"I can approach as we did before, from under the water, if one of you might assist me in making the assent."

[Sallera]

"Aye, to reach the ship unspied would need you turning invisible, ha. Haste and uncaring surrounds will be our friends, there. No one will care to investigate a Cloudreaver ruckus until it be far too late. They has no friends anywhere, only ones who tolerates them."

[Postmodernist]

"I could render some of us invisible for a while, but that would significantly diminish my ability to support us magically. It'd be best if we ambush them tonight, but our friend here," Xaxhan nodded to Shard, "is far too conspicuous to adequately sneak about. We can't damage the ship, either. I could try to charm one of them, but that's rather risky. Does anyone know of a subtler approach? Or should we just rush them as best we can? Could someone scout ahead and swiftly eliminate any lookouts?" Here, Xaxhan deferred to Grimmgang, as it was the dwarf's area of relative expertise.

[TheFallenOne]

"I assume we have to reach it with a rowboat because of the shallow waters? If so an unnoticed approach even with Invisibility isn't a sure thing", Grimmgang said. "A swimmer or two can do it and clear out the sentry, but if it fails they're alone against the entire crew. A mist before sunrise would make things easier, but I don't know the wheather in this place."

Spoiler

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or maybe I can make a good guess Survival - (1d20+9)[17]

[TekHed]

"Xaxhan, Daiya. You have at times been able to slow us in a descent. Could you also levitate one of us? If I could approach from under the sea, and be lifted on board, it would address the problem of my conspicuousness."

[MoleMage]

"Sorry, Shard. It's a fair bit more tricky to make someone float up than it is to make them fall more slowly. Old priest who taught me magic didn't know how to do anything close to that. As for mist, I think I can pull something like that off...but it would be a small area and any amount of wind would probably just clear it away in a hurry. If we're fortunate enough for a natural fog I think I can make it even better though."

Daiya grins as she works through the spells that she can do in her mind.

"For example I think I can make a fog to slow them down, and we could pick them off as each came out of it."

[Postmodernist]

Xaxhan waved his hand in irritation. "Enough, enough. I'll just make everyone invisible. It'll sap my abilities for a while, but it'll be the most effective means of ambush, I'm sure. Besides, I doubt no amount of magic could bear Shard aloft. Nothing can bear him, most of the time." The silvery-locked spellsinger quirked his eyebrow dramatically. "Now, where is this tailor?"

[TheFallenOne]

At Xaxhan's pun Grimmgang put his hand in front of his mouth to hide his smile. Curiously enough, with the shortened beard an obserant eye could now notice he has deep dimples on his cheek when grinning, a facial feature so far unwitnessed both for presence of beard and lack of smiles. "That sounds like a plan. Let's hit it."

[Sallera]

The meeting is soon adjourned, and a gathering place set for the following evening. The tailor takes the request for claw-emblazoned tabards in stride; it seems it is something he has produced before, and although he charges several coins extra for the rush job, he appears to find nothing odd with the request. Three tabards are finished by the following evening, for which he asks seven gold coins.

The night is calm and the moon waxing full as you meet Doc Grimm near the docks; while the waterfront is patrolled, hardened sailors are mostly expected to look after themselves, and the watch is light. "That's your target there, the Laughing Lady," he says, pointing to a craft anchored near the middle of the bay. "I had a look around earlier today; if you make like you're going for the second ship to the right there, you can cover most of the distance before you pull your vanishing act. Come around it from the far side; there are some stray ropes you can use to climb up."

Slowly, if not entirely quietly, you make your way across the water, and as you flicker out of view one by one, there seems to be no reaction from the Cloudreaver ship; the two or three figures in view don't appear to be paying you any especial attention. Altering your course, you approach the far side and find a few trailing lines as reported. Although the wet rope doesn't look like it would make a particularly difficult climb, doing so quietly, especially bringing the boat in closely enough to grab ahold, will likely be more difficult.

Spoiler

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I'll post the map once someone's aboard and has a better view; I'll let you pick the style of your approach first. The rope is a DC12 Climb check to ascend; getting the boat in range without bumping against the side of the ship requires a Profession: Sailor check. It's roughly twenty feet from the water to the middle deck; twenty-five to the fore- or aftcastle. (Also, keep in mind the need to talk for any further planning, since none of you can see each other at the moment.)

[TheFallenOne]

Grimmgang checked his equipment, making sure everything's in place before they all vanished from view. He went for the buckler this time; it offered less protection than the round shield, but kept his hands free for climbing aboard. "Even unseen we won't remain unnoticed for long so I guess we start hitting things soon as we're all up. I'll take the right." When the reached the ship, he grabbed one of the ropes and swiftly scampered up, lightly rolling onto the deck and reaching for his axe as he scanned the ship.