The Crimson Echo IC

[PiccadillyPi]

'Ah, thank you, Mr. Rittle. Wonderful show!'

When he finished applauding, Silas assisted Trinia before mounting his own horse. It was a bit tricky with his armor, but nonetheless doable.

[Inspectre]

Stelio Kontos & Steveodore

The rest of the day passes by rather uneventfully, with Jack and his comrades continuing to eat and drink over the next several hours although tapering off on the alcohol considerably as nightfall grew closer. Once the sun was firmly below the horizon, Jack stood up and made his way over to the bar, exchanging a few quiet words and some coin with the barkeep before returning.

“Alright lads, time to make a mess. Gustav, you go procure our cart while the rest of us get the red carpet ready for ya. Night shift should be fully changed over by the time we get there. Let’s go.”

From there Jack leads your small group out of the Sticky Mermaid, followed by Old Korvosa into Midpoint. Gustav splits off from the rest of your group shortly after crossing over the bridge, presumably to collect the cart you would be using to transport the grain . . . although the way Jack said “procure” suggests the cart was going to be borrowed in the same manner as the grain you would be “procuring” from Jeggare’s stockpile.

Jeggare’s granary turned out to be a non-descript warehouse just back from the docks, tucked in amongst several other nearly identical warehouses. While there was a pair of figures walking about the block at regular intervals, Jack’s expectation of fairly lax security seemed to be quite correct. With an almost unsettling amount of ease, Jack’s heist went off with clockwork precision as you slipped in amongst the warehouses after the patrol went around the corner, found the side door to Jeggare’s building unlocked, and slipped inside without incident.

Once inside the granary’s dark interior, one of Jack’s men produces a pair of covered lanterns, once of which he lights and keeps for himself while he hands the second one off to Aliani/Miz once it is also lighted. As if aware of the granary’s floor plan, Jack leads the two of you around several large pits set into the warehouse floor – holding silos for loose grain, shown by the reflected faint lantern light as filled to the brim – to a heavy door at the top of a short flight of stairs that seems to lead into the rest of the warehouse.

“Let us know if you hear anything that sounds like somebody’s about to come through that door. Should be locked so it’ll take them a minute to open it whoever they are, giving you plenty of time to whistle a warning. We’ll bag up as much of this grain as we can, and then get the loading bay doors open for Gustav.”

Jack then goes back through the darkened warehouse floor to rejoin his men, and you can hear the faint sounds echoing through the warehouse of them dragging down already filled bags of grain from the shelves and scooping out grain from the silos to fill more. This goes on in relative silence for a couple minutes, but eventually Jack’s men can’t help themselves and start whispering to each other in good spirits, their voices echoing off the stone floor and walls to reach your ears.

“Hey boss, pity we don’t have any more of that stuff we used to taint the last stockpile of grain Jeggare was planning on profiting from. Seems like a waste to left most of this stuff behind!”

“Well, if Roger and his friends hadn’t been stupid enough to get picked up by the guard or whatever trying to get us more, we’d have been able to load up two carts before we leave!”

“Eh, don’t worry boys. We might not be able to set up the Whore Queen for this one, but I’ve brought enough oil along that we should be able to burn most of what we can’t carry. Let Jeggare try to make a profit off the ashes!”

Spoiler: Stevodore Only

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Your nose was picking up a mouth-watering amount of good-quality fresh grain here. More than enough to take a bath in before eating your own body weight and being able to do it again and again for several weeks. It was a pretty heady aroma, and to your surprise there seemed to be a minimal undercurrent of rat feces in here – despite his **** security Jeggare must have paid reasonably well to keep the place sealed and clean of vermin. Which is rather odd, given that your sensitive nose is picking up a very faint but unmistakable odor of the sewers in here.

There has to be some opening that leads down into the sewers from here, no matter how small or concealed, but if it was simply a crack in the wall why wasn’t this place a rat heaven? That suggests some sort of secret door, which seems fitting for a warehouse like this – either Jeggare was using the place to also smuggle things to and fro under the cover of grain shipments, or whoever had owned this warehouse before him had. The warehouses all along the docks were full of such secret smuggler’s tunnels down into sewers.

And yet . . . this one is one that you were not aware of. Which fair enough, nobody knew every single route Topside, and yet if someone knew about a secret route up into the middle of a poorly-guarded granary, well, everybody would know about it sooner rather than later. Such secrets were poorly kept down below, either due to altruistic comradery or simple self-interest resulting in a hundred eyes on anybody who suddenly came into a bit too good fortune. So who had made this route, and what were they hiding with it?

Darvin & PiccadillyPi

Riding horses through the often times narrow and sometimes downright claustrophobic streets of Old Korvosa is not possible at any great speed, but once back in Midpoint the more orderly streets widen out and allow for faster horse traffic. It is also potentially a more noticeable manner of travel, but that again evens out once you are back in Midpoint and there are a few other horses scattered about.

Trinia seems nervous at first getting onto her steed, and her inexperience with riding makes it clear why. However, once it becomes clear that the summoned animal will absolutely obey her instructions with none of the orneriness of a real animal, she seems to relax and even enjoy the trip. As you get closer to the castle, she actually urges her mount up into a forward gallop with a giggle, racing the two of you to the base of the Grand Mastaba (the black flat-topped pyramid) on which the castle is built. Trinia’s mood seems to wither a bit in the actual shadow of the castle, but after a moment of quiet worry she urges her horse forward again to follow you up to the castle gates proper.

Several of the guards at the gates are familiar to you, and they clearly recognize you as well as they open the gates without comment. A few curious glances are shot Trinia’s way but the guards are deathly silent as you pass into the courtyard beyond. And the reason for their silence is immediately apparent as standing around inside the courtyard is just shy of a dozen Hellknights. They seem to be at parade rest at the moment and are not standing guard nor seem to be here for you. All the same, Trinia visibly blanches at the sight of them and surely would have whirled her horse about and attempting to ride back out through the rapidly closing gate behind you if it were not for the two of you.

A female Hellknight in ornate plate mail separates from the group and saunters over to greet you, one hand clasping her helmet under her arm and the other carrying her glinting halberd slung over her shoulder. Her long platinum blond hair is left loose to blow about in the breeze, and as one brief gust lifts the curtain of hair away from the left side of her face you can glimpse a long scar running down across the eye from her brow to her jawline.

“Well, well, well, Queen Ileosa certainly has a busy schedule today. Not only is she meeting with the Order of the Nail, but it seems she will also be entertaining guests from . . . a wide variety of Korvosa’s citizenry.”

The Hellknight says by way of greeting, favoring each member of the group in turn with a cold smile. Trinia quietly works her horse back completely behind the two of you, which certainly does not go unnoticed by the Hellknight but is not remarked upon as the Hellknight gives a sweeping bow after lowering the halberd from her shoulder.

“But where are my manners - allow me to introduce myself. Maidrayne Vox, Mistress of Blades and Second-in-Command of the Order of the Nail. And who might the three of you be?”

Spoiler: Maidrayne Vox

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[Darvin]

"A pleasure to meet you, Ms Vox," Dalen smiles as he dismounts and offers his hand graciously, "I am Dalen Rittle, a purveyor of arcane services, and am here to make a delivery for her majesty," he gestures to the small box he is carrying with the sleeves neatly tucked inside, "and, with any luck, her majesty will have further work for me. I'm always looking for reliable clients who value the competent and timely magical services that I provide,"

Spoiler: OOC

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I'm not sure which one could result in a more awkward situation: Dalen proposing his services to Maidrayne Vox, or Silas proposing his "services" to Maidrayne Vox?

Diplomacy check if needed: (1d20+18)[31]

[Stelio Kontos]

Aliani stood, along with Miz, there in the empty part of the warehouse turning the lantern light toward the corner. Even the dim light from the reflections of the lantern off the walls would be enough for him to see by, and he was mostly sure Miz didn't need much either.

"Hey" he whispered in the darkness, laying a hand on her shoulder. "Just in case... same as at the ambassador's. Will help if there's a fight."

"Great Mother Milani, please watch over her, and give her your strength, the strength of the forest, enduring, that she may stand against mighty winds and the blows of our enemies." As he spoke the final words, she would feel her skin thickening, hardening, developing almost a tree-like outer layer, though none of her flexibility was lost. Same as at the ambassador's as he'd promised.

Spoiler: OOC

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Casting Barkskin on Miz right at the outset, because 10 minutes/level duration so why not, we should be out of here in half an hour... right?

"I've got something else, that will help dull the pain if it comes to that door opening, but you and I will have to stick close for it to work. I'll save it for now."

And then he leaned against the wall, and waited... and listened. And turned bright red in the face, even in the dim light. And let out an angry gasp, that only Miz would have heard. "Damn it!" he let out. "I... watch the door. I'll be right back." He stormed a few feet down the passageway, and tried to get their attention in a voice that tried to combine quiet, stealthy whispering with the loudest berating scream anyone had ever uttered.

"HEY! No poison. No fires. Are you ****ING DAFT? Food is food, and without it people are going to starve, you idiots! Think ahead! You're hurting Jeggare, sure, but you're hurting the people we're trying to help more! The Everbloom has said: when one steals a sword from one's enemy, one has a weapon to use in future battles. When one breaks their sword, he is left with nothing.

"You burn it down, nobody eats. You leave it today, I'll come back with ya, we can steal some more tomorrow. And every night until they figure it out. THEN you can burn it down, if you want."

Spoiler: OOC

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Diplomacy, I suppose? (1d20+8)[23]
As a stretch, if there's any particular holy passage that might be appropriate, maybe Knowledge (religion) might also convince them if they're true believers: (1d20+8)[14]

[Steveodore]

Miz thanked Aliani after being encrusted with layers of bark once more. She moved her arms about almost expecting herself to creak with each motion. She held off on indulging in her own prepared brews just yet, with any luck they could be out of here without the need for it.

Even without her sensitive ears, she doubted it would be hard not to overhear Jack's dull goons talking. They sure were casual talking about prior crimes, as for herself, she didn't think she'd ever share the scope of her own illicit career, mild though it might appear next to the likes of Gaedren Lamm. She couldn't really complain as they dropped an interesting revelation about the grain scandal that plagued the royal family the previous year..

It wasn't a surprise when Aliani split off to reprimand the lot, she concentrated on the job for now but kept one ear out in case the actor got in over his head with his vicious friends..

..The smell of the sewers was intriguing but tempting as it was to hunt for secrets in the warehouse she was disinclined to leave her post until Aliani could cover for her in turn.

[PiccadillyPi]

Silas' whiskers twitched at the sight of the hellknights. He looked forward to the day he might see them leave the city for good, but for now they had to play respectful. As Trinia fell behind, and the to-be-named Maidrayne Vox came toward them, Silas put on his prettiest smile. As introductions began, he dismounted to bow to whatever degree he could find appropriate for the Mistress of Blades.

'To meet a woman of your calibre is truly an honour. I am Silas Rata'da.

For the briefest of moments he considered Vox a potential client, but he feared any attempt at espionage would quickly result in his death.

'I am here with my ward, Rosa Tribain, to accompany Mr. Rittle. The streets are quite dangerous these days, as I am sure you are aware.'

The dandy did not wish for Trinia or himself to retain her attention, so he did his best to redirect the focus of the conversation to her.

'Certainly the Order of the Nail has been pursuing instigators of the riots and those lingering ne'er-do-wells. Is that why you are here today?'

Spoiler: OOC

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Rosa Tribain is an anagram. :)

Anyway, yeah, Silas isn't touching Vox with a ten-foot pole. Not without some additional experience.

Deception if you need it:

Spoiler: DECEPTION ROLL

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(1d20+8)[22]

[Inspectre]

Darvin & PiccadillyPi

“Hrm – I would have thought that Her Majesty would deal with the Acadamae directly. They usually handle any magic that the Order itself cannot provide.”

Vox explains, eyeing each member of the group curiously in turn, although there doesn’t seem to be any rebuke in her tone, just a mere statement of fact. Indeed, her next statement is even reconciliatory, even if she follows up that one with another challenge.

“Perhaps the Order will need to consider other sources if the Queen herself does business elsewhere. But do you simply make arcane trinkets, Mr. Rittle, or can you also provide enchanted arms and armor?”

Vox turns her attention to Silas after he introduces himself and Trinia, and poses his question. She immediately returns to ignoring him as she eyes Trinia up and down, who shrinks back a little further under the full weight of her gaze.

“Actually, Her Majesty contacted us with an urgent contract that she wishes the Order to undertake immediately. The Lictor himself is meeting with her now to discuss the details.”

Lictor Severs “Boneclaw” DeVries, commandant of the Order of the Nail and accomplished spellblade. His nickname stems from the rumor that his right hand was withered away to nothing but bones by a necromancer that he was hunting, at which point DeVries re-animated his own skeletal hand and used it to punch the necromancer’s lights out. There are a number of similar stories that make the rounds through the taverns, including the one that for his initiation ceremony into the ranks of Hellknights from the trainee Armigers, he beat the devil he was to fight to death with his bare hands, striking so hard and fast that even its resistant-to-mundane damage body tore and broke.

Her curiosity seemingly satisfied, Vox turns away and rejoins the rest of the Hellknights while they wait for their leader to return. Your own arrival was expected it seems, as Sabrina appears only a minute later, her lips pursed into a sour expression. She spares the assembled Hellknights a brief dismissive glance, and then hurries over to you.

“It would seem that Her Majesty wishes you to be present for the conclusion of her meeting with Lictor DeVries. Please follow me immediately – one of the guards can look after your horses.”

“I doubt that will be necessary, will it Mr. Rittle?”

Vox comments from her corner with a smirk, evidentially able to recognize a summoned mount when she sees it. Sabrina pays her no further mind as she hurries back into the castle with you and Trinia in tow, heading up to the throne room. Sabrina’s hand strays up to the hilt of her sword as you near the throne room, and the Lictor’s voice can be heard booming from within.

“THESE TERMS ARE COMPLETELY UNSUITABLE. THE FLAMES OF REBELLION COULD FLARE UP AGAIN AT ANY TIME. THE ORDER MUST MAINTAIN A PRESENCE WITHIN THE CITY TO PREVENT THAT.”

The three of you enter into the throne room as Ileosa gives her response, her voice calm but filled with just as much frost as the Lictor’s. Inside the throne room Ileosa is perched on the Crimson Throne in full regal dress, while standing at attention before the throne is a tall fully armored figure who has kept their helmet on even here before the queen – Lictor DeVries.

“And yet those are the terms for this contract. Are you refusing a contract from the queen of Korvosa?”

“YOU ARE NOT YET OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZED AS THIS CITY’S SOVEREIGN. NONETHELESS, THE ORDER OF THE NAIL WILL NOT REFUSE THIS MISSION. I MERELY WISH TO IMPRESS UPON HER MAJESTY THAT THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES FOR OUR ABSENCE. FURTHERMORE, A COMPLETE REMOVAL OF ALL KNIGHTS AND ARMIGERS FROM THE CITY TO FULFILL THIS . . . CONTRACT WILL NOT BE POSSIBLE. A KNIGHT OF THE ORDER, SIR XERXES, HAS GONE MISSING SINCE THE RIOTS. A CONTINGENT OF OUR FORCES MUST REMAIN BEHIND TO SEARCH FOR HIM. THIS IS NON-NEGOTIABLE.”

Ileosa frowns as she shoots a glance your way, but after a moment’s pause gives a dismissive nod to the Hellknight commander.

“Very well. Just ensure that it is only a small contingent, and I expect them to work closely with the city guard until this Sir Xerxes can be located. You may go now, Lictor DeVries. I have other matters that I must now attend to.”

The Lictor turns to regard you briefly with the expressionless face plate of his helm, and then turns back to salute Ileosa, one hand clenched against his chest.

“AS YOU WISH.”

The commander of the Order of the Nail then strides past the four of you, not even glancing in your direction as he moves past you to exit the throne room. Up on the throne, Ileosa watches him go warily, and then slumps back into the throne with a soft sigh. She sits there a moment with her eyes closed, and then takes a deep breath and opens them again, motioning you and Sabrina forward with a satisfied smile.

“I wanted you to see that with your own eyes. As of tomorrow, except for this small contingent that DeVries has demanded, there will be no more Hellknights within Korvosa. Instead they will all be busy for the next six months patrolling the countryside, delivering correspondence to the outlying villages, and collecting taxes. Whether I am still queen or not at that time remains to be seen, but at least I managed this . . . at least I managed this . . . “

Ileosa trails off, drifting into her own thoughts again for several long moments before she seems to mentally shake herself again, and refocuses her attention on you and Trinia.

“Mr. Rittle. Mr. Rata’da. I assume that this is Miss Trinia Sabor.”

“G-Greetings, your Majesty. I was told that you wanted me to finish the painting that Eodred commissioned?”

Trinia replied after she was addressed, stepping forward to do her best curtesy to the queen – and nearly stumbling onto her face, she was shaking so hard. Ileosa doesn’t acknowledge the young painter at the moment, keeping her attention focused completely on the two of you, a look of concern flitting across her face.

“Where are Aliani and Cindrillon? Did something happen to them on the way here!?”

Spoiler: Lictor Severs “Boneclaw” DeVries

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Stelio Kontos & Steveodore

At Aliani’s initial objections, Jack answers back, just as intensely but much less quietly.

“That’s *exactly* the point, kid! Most of the people in Korvosa are too fat on the scraps to even look around and see the bars to their cage. But maybe if they stop being so comfortable, and have to go hungry for a little bit, the scales will fall away from their eyes a bit. Besides, what makes you think that anyone on the bottom is going to see any of this grain anyway? By the time Jeggare makes his killing selling it off at bloated prices, and the merchants all take their cut, nobody but the well-to-do will be able to afford it anyway. And **** those people!”

Despite the fire of his speech, much of Jack’s anger immediately evaporates as Aliani changes tack from scolding to quoting religious texts. The worker-turned-revolutionary seems to have no counter for the Everbloom’s words, and even looks away from Aliani, unable to meet his eyes as he mutters half-hearted “you just don’t get it yet, kid” arguments. Jack’s associates are much less moved by Aliani’s arguments, and continue filling sacks of grain and preparing to leave without comment.

“Where is Gustav, anyway? He should be here by now . . .”

Jack murmurs, clearly attempting to change the subject but the revolutionary clearly senses something as he moves away from Aliani and calls out to his men.

“Hey! Stop loading those sacks and look lively. Something’s wrong – Gustav should have been here by now. Anders, go stick your beak outside and tell me if you see him coming.”

No sooner has Jack’s lackey opened the door but there is the soft sound of a crossbow being fired, Anders staggers back away from the door with a surprised grunt as a bolt sprouts from his stomach, and the outside around the warehouse is suddenly lit up like the middle of the day by a number of brilliant lanterns.

“Alright you thieving rats! You’ve got one minute to come out with your hands up before we come in there and exterminate the lot of you!”

A voice calls from outside, and Jack’s curses grow an octave louder as two of his men pull Anders back out of line of sight of the doorway.

“That’s him! That’s the bastard I was telling you about, kid! Look alive lads! Looks like tonight is the night we die, but at least we can take a few of them with us first!”

[Darvin]

"The Acadamae is a fine choice for magical services, but you are at the mercy of their schedule. My niche in this city's market is offering a quick turnaround to those who require it - at no additional charge. I also offer spellcasting services at significantly more reasonable rates," Dalen smiles at the mentions of trinkets and weapons, "Weapons and armor are a specialty unto themselves, but rest assured there is an accessory that can augment any conceivable need. I could provide amulets that turn your skin into a second layer of armor, gauntlets to magnify your swordsmanship, cloaks that can repel spells as easily as steel repels blades. Most of my clientele looking for protective accessories are merely interested in self-defense against street thugs and the like, but for those with both the need and resources I could create much more powerful works indeed," Dalen leaves the matter at that.

When Vox mentions the horses, Dalen gives her a smile and a wink, "quite right; it's almost a shame that they won't obey the orders of anyone other than their intended rider, as it would be quite entertaining to dismiss the spell right from underneath a would-be thief," he turns to follow Sabrina, holding the package containing the sleeves close by. He patiently and silently awaits audience with the queen as she finishes with the Lictor. Upon the queen's concern, he immediately speaks with reassurance.

"Aliani had a deeply personal matter to attend to last night; he's an emotional man at the best of times, and I think it wise he elected to recover before attending court. Not all injuries are of flesh and blood, and the affairs of his late mother cut close to his heart. Cindrillon unfortunately had other work that has her indisposed at the moment, though I'm afraid she wasn't specific as to its nature. Rest assured, they are well even if they could not attend this morning,"

After a moment's pause he moves the box he's carrying under his arms and opens it, revealing the sleeves of many garments. In their natural state with their illusion inactive they appear as a tasteful red to match the crimson throne, "as promised, a set of sleeves for her majesty,"

[Stelio Kontos]

The look on Aliani's face flashed red for a moment; pure fear, with a little bit of shock thrown in. Only Miz would have seen it, what with the others looking out at their would-be killers. Just like that, just as quickly, it disappeared, replaced by an unlikely stoicism.

"Nobody dies, Jack. Not this place not today. Get him out of the way and shut those doors. Out the back door maybe?"

"Blessed mother, we who are in need ask for your strength, your power, your glory, for all those who offer themselves in sacrifice against those who would seek to oppress the weak and the helpless, even if they do not truly believe. Give us the mind to find our own hidden strength, that we may overcome our oppressors, in Your name."

With that, Aliani moved closer to the door, and the wounded Anders, motioning Miz forward. That back door would have to hold itself...

Spoiler: OOC

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I don't believe I've used that Bless yet, so now I am. This seems like a good place. It's not clear exactly how big this place is; I may need to move before blessing to catch everyone?

[PiccadillyPi]

As the Queen and the Lictor finished their meeting, Silas whispered over to Dalen.

'Wasn't there a gent with Lamm the other night by the name of Xerxes? I think it was Xerxes - hard to mistake it for another. I mean, how many little humans with a name like that could be running around? You don't think...'

He interrupted himself, sucking in his words as the Lictor strode past. His eyes were wide enough to see the whites, showing off a guilty alertness of one found gossiping. Queen Illiosa welcomed them at that moment. While he wished to continue that question, it was probably enough to leave it at that. He would ask Miz about the name later in hopes that it would quicken the Nails full departure. In the meantime, there was Dalen impressing the Queen with his handywork.

'It is wonderful work indeed, your Majesty! Perhaps a demonstration could be held once our business here is concluded? Or during, I suppose.'

Silas had been staying close to Trinia since entering the throne room. He did his best to comfort her silently through her many-layered nervousness. Eventually, however, he spoke quietly to calm her. Not enough to go unheard by everyone in the room, but his voice was steady enough that she might latch on.

'Trinia, you are safe now. You are safe.'

[Steveodore]

Miz gulped down her mutigen after hearing the disturbance. She was moving even before the mutigen finished it's work with her steps becoming ungainly at times in her incomplete form.

Reaching the others (hopefully) Miz shared what she suspected from her inquisitive nose.

"Might be another way out if you're none keen on dyin'..

I've caught a whiff of the sewer about this place, might be a Smuggler hole."

Spoiler

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taking mutegen and selecting swimspeed for it.

[Inspectre]

Darvin & PiccadillyPi

Vox quirks an eyebrow as Dalen launches into a full-on sales pitch, but allows him to finish before delivering a one-two parting shot with a smirk.

“You would not be the first man whose services I’ve purchased to make grand promises about my satisfaction afterwards, only to come up rather short in reality. But that hasn’t stopped me from trying thus far, so perhaps one day you will get your desired opportunity. As for horse thieves, well . . . the Order has its own ways of discouraging such theft.”

Still smirking at Dalen as the three of you follow Sabrina into the castle, Vox gives a casual farewell wave that is part cheery good-bye, part patronizing dismissal.

**************************

In the throne room, Queen Ileosa seems mollified, or perhaps simply relieved, at Dalen’s explanation of Aliani’s and Miz’s whereabouts. What remains of her concern is banished completely by Dalen’s presentation of the bracers, and although it is Sabrina who delivers them Ileosa manages a slight but genuine smile as she accepts the bracers from her bodyguard and turns them over in her hands, examining them in detail.

“I am pleased that you were able to complete these so quickly as promised, Mr. Rittle! Truly you are an accomplished mage and craftsman. I am sure that Elliana will also be thrilled and ask to borrow them the next time she is out of the castle on business.”

Silas’s request that Ileosa perhaps try out the bracers here and now draws her attention back to the tiefling – and Trinia who he was standing beside and trying (and failing) to appear calm and absolutely not ready to run out of the throne room at the first loud noise. Ileosa seems to pick up on some of this anxiety finally, and frowns slightly before forcing a friendly smile back on her face and extending the pair of bracers out towards Trinia.

“Yes, a demonstration right now would be most helpful, I think. Miss Sabor?”

Trinia jumps at her name being spoken aloud, and simply stares at Ileosa’s outstretched hand as if she were brandishing a viper.

“Y-yes!? Your Majesty!?”

“Would you like to try these out? They are quite a bit of fun – you simply need to put them on and then imagine what you would like to wear. Anything you can imagine wearing - the bracers will take care of the details.”

Ileosa explains, shooting a quick glance at Dalen to confirm her description, although simple, is correct. She then returns her attention to Trinia, and seeing that she has not moved, forces the smile a little wider.

“You are a very talented painter, Miss Sabor. I would love to one day see a finished version of your work that Eodred commissioned from you. I understand that you have endured many troubles because of that commission, but please be at ease now. I harbor no ill will towards you, and give you my word as Korvosa’s Queen that you will be safe here.”

Trinia still didn’t completely relax, but the tension in her shoulders seemed to unknot a bit as she curtseys again.

“T-thank you, Your Majesty.”

As Ileosa offers the bracers out again, Trinia tentatively steps forward to the base of the dias, only to be blocked from ascending the stairs by Sabrina, who moves from her flanking postion by the throne to stand on the stairs between Ileosa and Trinia. For a moment that nearly startles Trinia into flight again, and Ileosa quietly sighs at her bodyguard before handing over the bracers, who then hands them to Trinia. With a nervous glance at both Dalen and Silas, Trinia tentatively slides the bracers onto her arms after stepping back from the dais. She gnaws on her lower lip for a moment, and then closes her eyes and twirls around, immediately becoming clothed in the illusion of a dress that is simultaneously more elaborate than the dress Ileosa is currently wearing as well as garishly colored a bright sunset orange that matches the color of the tunic Silas saw her in the day they first met. Despite the clashing styles, Ileosa still claps her hands in delight, real or feigned, as she eyes the illusionary dress.

“Magnificent!”

The unexpected compliment finally manages to draw a small self-conscious smile from the painter, but a smile nonetheless as she turns backward and forward to model the complete dress for everyone present. The tension in her shoulders loosens another step, as Ileosa catches Silas’s eyes, and having evidentially heard his earlier words to the painter, she quietly mouths to him.

"I promise. Safe."


Stelio Kontos & Steveodore

“I’m sure they’ve got people waiting for us out front too, the bastards, so it’s a fight either way.”

Jack growls at Aliani’s question, motioning to his still-standing men and the grain silo.

“Get that fire ready. Maybe they’ll be a little slower chasing us out the front if they have to go through a burning building to do it!”

In testament to Jack’s assessment of the situation, as Miz downs her mutagen and starts moving away from the door leading further into the building she hears the faint clatter of armored boots against stone from the hallway beyond the door – a group of guards getting into position to cut off that avenue of escape as well.

Despite the dire situation, Jack and his men seem to be encouraged by Aliani’s prayer nonetheless, and even Miz feels her spirts raise a note as the blessing magic takes effect. Jack and his men seem ready and eager to fight for their lives, well, except perhaps Anders who is still just clinging onto consciousness from his spot on the floor, so it takes a moment for Miz’s declaration for a third way out to register.

“Wait, what!? Smuggler hole? No one told me about a godsdamned smuggler’s hole in here! Where’s it at!? All of you, help her search for it! I’ll bar the door!”

Jack grumbles, barking orders as he grabs several just-filled sacks of grain and starts piling them up in front of the door along with a few nearby wooden crates to erect a hasty barricade across the door while the haughty voice calls out from the now blindingly-lit outside “30 seconds left, rats! I am still willing to entertain the thought of handing you over to the city guard for punishment if you wish to live! You might think a life in Longacre is not a life worth living, but it is still more than you shall receive otherwise!”

Miz manages to locate the exact spot where the smell is coming from just before the voice starts chanting out a countdown from ten, and with half a dozen pairs of eyes to assist her it takes less than the count of five to locate the almost imperceptible crack in the wall and the concealed latch that holds it in place. The seemingly solid stone slides away to reveal a small crawlspace tunnel, bigger than that used by a rat of the four-legged variety but smaller than the human variety would make – perhaps goblins had made this? But Korvosa didn’t have a very large goblin population unlike some other Cheliax-founded cities . . . so halflings?

It didn’t seem like the time to question a potential way to escape, as anywhere would be better than this room shortly, and Jack motioned for his men to start squeezing their way into the narrow tunnel, pushing several sacks of grain along in front of them as they went into the darkness. He brought up the rear, carrying the groaning but still-alive Anders, who he pushed inside the tunnel in front of him at Aliani before backing out of the tunnel as there was a loud crash from the doorway to the outside.

“Somebody’s got to lead these *******s away – we’ll meet back up at the Mermaid boys! Hey kid . . . may the Everbloom always guide your path.”

Then the stone slab is rolled back across the tunnel, although Jack’s voice can still be heard ringing out as he moves away from the resealed panel.

“Hey! *******s! Over here! You might have been hoping to catch rats tonight, but I’m afraid you’ve spent all this effort on just one! Let’s see if you can even manage that much!”

Thankfully, the journey through the cramped darkness does not last long, as about ten feet later the tunnel ends in a shaft that clearly leads down to the Sewers from the smell wafting up from it. There is not a ladder as such to allow ascent/descent, but crude hand-holds have been carved into the rock, once again clearly sized to that of children or smallfolk. Unlike with the tunnel, however, here the narrow confines of the shaft actually work to the group’s benefit as it is possible to brace hands and feet against opposite sides of the shaft and slowly crab-walk down to a proper, human-sized sewers tunnel another ten feet below. Even better, this section of sewers is lit by clumps of bioluminescent fungus that paint the immediate area in an eerie, but serviceable to the human eye, dull blue glow.

As the others carefully make their way down and toss the sacks of grain down to safety, Miz stands guard as she looks around at this unfamiliar patch of the sewers, still not recalling any such section in this area. But what is even more alarming is not her inability to line up this place with her admittedly fragmented mental map of Korvosa’s sewers, but what is visible on the walls of this patch of sewer, painted underneath the fungus. Indeed, the bioluminescent fungus even seems to be framing several of the cave painting-esque crude drawings scrawled on the wall here in a brownish paint that is either dried blood or feces. It is a scene of Korvosa’s cityscape, but a hellish rendition of it, consumed by flames. And rising up from the middle of it all is a black tower, an eyeball grossly out of proportion to the gigantic tower hanging above – no, impaled on its topmost spire, leaking trails of blood that ooze off the tower and rain down into the conflagration below. Scrawled next to this depiction of Hell are lines of menacing symbols, words written in some dark language that no one except maybe Dalen would be able to read, although there are two phrases written in Common that make it clear these symbols are indeed words in some other language – “City shall burn, City shall rot” & “The Bleeding Eye sees All”.

[PiccadillyPi]

'That is... a lovely dress you've imagined yourself, darling! Quite the craft, eh Dalen?'

Relieved to see the Queen's intentions, Silas relaxed. His heart fell to a normal pace again. He realized that he had been gambling Trinia's life in putting her in front of Illeosa, and until that moment he hadn't trusted her enough to say perfectly that Trinia or he would leave alive.

Without much for him to do but wait, Silas twisted his tail here and there in anticipation of their moving to either the tower above. He couldn't insist, nor did he want to, as the young woman in a gaudy auburn dress was still enamoured by the finely crafted magical sleeves. He quietly enjoyed the reprieve from life outside the castle walls - a small moment of joy. Somewhere near the end of their fun, the tiefling's stomach grumbled a reminder that he had forgotten to eat that morning.

[Darvin]

With Sabrina in earshot, Dalen does not offer a retort of any kind to Vox, instead giving a friendly wave goodbye with a cheerful smile.

******

Dalen gives nods of approval and a smile of satisfaction at the sight of his work being showcased. He wondered in the back of his mind whether Trinia realized she was being used to check for curses, similar to how a food taster checks for poison. Even the most trusted cook can have his supplies tampered with, after all. Of course, it wasn't like he hadn't checked the final product himself to ensure it was free of defects. The sleeves were, to use the queen's own words, safe.

After allowing a moment of silence to pass, he speaks, "I'm thrilled that you like them, your majesty. My workshop is always at your disposal,"

[Stelio Kontos]

Aliani was too stunned to do much more than follow the crowd, assuming Jack would be coming with them. It wasn't until a few moments later, trapped with that damned taunting refrain on the wall, that he was shocked back to his senses. He gestured to the wall, as a magician might point to the curtain behind which absolutely nothing stood, as he released a quick burst of healing energy.

"Gentlemen, remember this: there are a great many foes in this city, and if we are to stand together, we must put aside any differences. There is a great evil, more evil than House Jeggare, and it comes for us. We can defeat it, we can keep our city, but only together. This number of us wasn't enough tonight? Increase our numbers. Find friends. Find neighbors. Find those with whom you have had strife, and find a common ground. If we're to defeat them, be it this Bleeding Eye or the rich bastards hoarding the grain, we're going to do it by marching through this city together. All of us."

"Now get me a hole up to the surface, dammit; I'm going to try to help Jack, if it's not too late."

Spoiler: OOC

Show

I'll blow a channel energy (or two, if he seems like he needs it) to heal the one guy, and coincidentally any others who might have random cuts and bruises.

Then, if it made any sense at all, up to the surface, drop the disguise, and wander into a pile of corrupt jackasses as the buffoonish playwright who might be able to provide enough of a distraction to help the poor fella get away. But I rather suspect he won't.

[Steveodore]

Miz glanced about at the familiar and foreboding graffiti suffocating the secret way. Maybe this wasn't the safest path, but between this and braving quarrels to see what other surprises House Jeggare had in store, she preferred the comfort of dim smuggler holes and the sewers.

"Keep your eyes peeled and your ears open, as the man says, there's more then tin hats ta watch out for here."

She hefted more then her share of the loot before searching around for a way to assist Aliani in his hare brained notion, even though Miz didn't exactly mind the idea that Jack might die out there.

"Take care not ta let them spot you up there.. I don't recognize this area, so until we get somewhere familiar, I'm not keen on running around blind cuz you brought a parade of nob guards down here!"

Spoiler

Show

searching around for a nearby way up for Aliani, otherwise keeping an eyeye out for trouble because carrying lots of food down here can sometimes be a bad idea.

Not rolling instead taking a 10 if I can to sniff around for baddies.

[Inspectre]

Darvin & PiccadillyPi

Ileosa nods at Dalen's implied offer of additional commissions, although she does not vocalize any new work orders at this time. She watches Trinia continue to play with the bracers for a few moments, who is now attempting to reform her dress with ever more elaborate additions - frilled sleeves, a yellow sash, etc. The queen nods again in satisfaction at the display of magic if not Trinia's fashion choices, and motions to Sabrina who moves forward to hand Dalen a small jingling sack. It would be rather crass to count the payment for his services right now, but judging from the weight Dalen is confident that he was paid fair market value for them (given the cost is still half for Dalen I assume, that means a profit of 50 GP for him I believe - he's bringing that war chest of his back up!)

The queen and her bodyguard then share another knowing look, and Sabrina sighs as Ileosa loudly clears her throat.

"Miss Sabor, while I would like to discuss your work in detail later, at the moment I have a . . . personal matter that I would like to discuss with these gentlemen. Sabrina, would you mind showing her to her room?"

Sabrina stands there for a moment, clearly gritting her teeth, but nonetheless nods and motions for Trinia to follow. The young painter gives one last glance at the two of you for reassurance, and then follows after the heavily armed and armored bodyguard - before rushing back to give Dalen a surprise hug from behind and Silas a grateful pecking kiss on the cheek before running back to follow Sabrina out the doors. Once the two of them are gone, Ileosa steeples her fingers and leans forward.

"Now that I have had some time to consider recent revelations regarding my husband's death."

Here Ileosa pauses, wincing at the memory of Andaisin's devastating news at your prior luncheon, before molding her face back into a grim mask, apropos for her following request.

"I have decided that this Gaedren Lamm fellow who seems to have played a role in Eodred's death needs to be brought to justice. I understand that you are working towards just that, but I would like to personally play a role in your efforts to apprehend him. Of course, as Queen Ileosa of Korvosa I cannot physically accompany you in your hunt about the city, but nevertheless in some small part I wish to be there when you finally close in on him. Therefore, when you are going to move against Gaedren Lamm, I would like my handmaiden Elliana to accompany you. I have already discussed the matter with Sabrina, and despite her objections after what happened the last time, I am insisting that she be allowed to accompany you. It seems all of you have proven yourselves to her as well, as Elliana herself is excited about the possibility of working with you again. I hope that this request of mine will not be too much of a burden on you?"

Despite the light tone and smile on her face, the chill in Ileosa's voice suggests that this was not a matter actually open for debate. Certainly, the queen seems the matter to be closed as she leans back in the throne.

"Good. I will do my best to ensure that Elliana is available to you with only minimal delay. You merely need to come to the castle and announce to the guards that you all are departing on a hunting trip. I will inform the guards that they are to inform me and Sabrina immediately should you mention those words, and I will send Elliana down to you as quickly as she can be ready.”

Ileosa is quiet for several long moments, staring at the double doors that Trinia and Sabrina just left through.

"One last thing - Mr. Rittle, at our earlier luncheon you mentioned that there may be a potential connection between Gaedren Lamm and Miss Sabor. Have you been able to investigate that and confirm or deny this potential connection? Or should I broach this subject carefully with Miss Sabor myself?"

Ileosa listens attentively to anything else either of you have to say on Gaedren Lamm, Trinia Sabor, and her plan to have Elliana accompany you when you move against the crime boss, and then smiles and dismisses you with a nod.

"I believe that concludes our business for this evening. I eagerly await news of your upcoming hunting trip. Good night . . . and thank you for believing in me."

As the two of you see yourselves out of the throne room, you meet Sabrina coming back down from wherever else in the castle Trinia’s new living quarters are located, and the queen’s bodyguard escorts you back down to the courtyard. As you make your way down there, the normally taciturn bodyguard speaks up, her concern written across her face.

“I suppose Her Majesty mentioned to you her plan for . . . her handmaiden to accompany you in hunting down this criminal out of an ill-conceived desire to see Eodred’s death avenged. She may or may not have also mentioned my own objections to this course of action, to no avail it seems. I suppose I have no choice but to accept this plan, but . . . I have seen what lengths animals like Gaedren Lamm will go to when they feel that they are concerned. I don’t believe that Ileosa nor Elliana are prepared to witness that, but since I have no control over this situation I am asking you. For her own sake, don’t take Elliana out when you move against Lamm himself – take her to go mess up one of his operations, or better yet some boring and safe investigation trip that seems like it will lead to Lamm but doesn’t. She doesn’t need to see the absolute worst Korvosa has to offer, regardless of what Queen Ileosa thinks will help assuage her guilt over Eodred’s death.”

If the bodyguard has anything else more to say, she has run out of time as you reach the courtyard, and Sabrina’s mask of iron falls back over her face. She nods a dismissal to each of you, and then turns on her heel and leaves as the guards out in the courtyard move to swing the gates open for you. Of the detachment of Hellknights there is no sign, and hopefully other than this small unit to hunt down their missing Hellknight that will be the last you or Korvosa sees of them for a while.


Stelio Kontos & Steveodore

Spoiler: Steveodore Only

Show

You open your sense of smell up a little more, carefully gauging your surroundings. Those crude paintings on the walls there – yeah, that’s definitely dried blood those were painted in. The bio-luminescent fungus has an earthly smell to it, undercut with an odd citrus-like scent, and the unusual combination stirs up a memory from your alchemy work. Blue whinnis – a fungus that when dried and properly prepared could be used to create a potent injury knockout drug. You had always seen the dried components before now – apparently in the wild the blue whinnis was bio-lumiscent while alive. You aren’t sure what parts of the fungus were used to make the knockout drug, and using the wrong part could potentially be a fatal mistake.

(OOC: You’re welcome to give me one of a Knowledge Nature, Survival, or Craft Alchemy check if you wish to try and harvest some Blue Whinnis for knockout poison making later. Don’t recall if Poison Use was one of the alchemist traits that you traded out for beastmorph/vivisectionist though, so you may not want to play around with poisons!)

No one needs encouragement to let Miz lead the way through this disturbing bolt hole beneath Korvosa’s streets. Between the loss of their leader, their own injuries, and the unfamiliar environs all of Jack’s men are happy to look to the two of you for guidance. Aliani provides that in spades, healing both physical and spiritual wounds as everyone gets their bearings. Anders gets back on his feet, and shoulders Aliani’s sack of grain as well as his own with a nod of thanks while Miz figures out where to go from here. That is not particularly difficult – other than back up the way you came the tunnel only goes one way off into the distance, growing more dimly illuminated as the patches of biolumiscent fungus grow scarcer. A little way further down the tunnel, however, the route does split in two, with a set of stone stairs leading downwards into the darkness.

It doesn’t take Miz very long to realize that this set of stairs is a route down into the Vaults, the mysterious tunnels that exist even below the Sewers. No one but desperate adventurers went down into those tunnels, even if expanding down into the relatively empty black stone tunnels below the sewers seemed like a logical move. It just simply wasn’t done, and anyone who had tried to move in down there tended to disappear and was never seen again. Of course, not everyone who went down there disappeared, and sometimes adventurers would come back with strange magical artifacts and stories to tell of gigantic ogre spiders, undead, and worse things that they encountered down there. No one ever came back with a dead Derro though, despite all those rumors about them swarming beneath the city, waiting for their time to rise up against the surface world or whatever.

So, between the danger and the fact that the stairs were leading you further away from your objective of going back up to the surface, that wasn’t really an option. Which meant continuing on past the stairway and into the complete darkness as the last patches of fungus end shortly beyond. It wasn’t long after that before Miz started coming across the traps.

They were crude but brutal things, scraps of metal or wood attached to tripwires of string woven out of what appeared to be some sort of fur or hair. Most of them seem designed to swing out or be slingshotted into legs when the tripwires were disturbed, and likewise most of them were coated with some sort of dried paste, which Miz identifies as Blue Whinnis Extract, a potent knockout injury poison. Oddly enough, all of the traps seem to be pointed in the direction that you are traveling, not where you are coming from – and since you are approaching the traps from the wrong direction – from behind – Miz does not have any real difficulty seeing or disabling them one-by-one ahead of the group.

Eventually you reach a seeming dead-end, although again since you are approaching from the wrong direction, it does not take Miz very long to figure out there is a secret door blocking you from advancing any further. From there it’s just a hunt for the switch which Miz is able to locate after a couple minutes with the frantic aid of several of Jack’s men. The switch allows the fake panel to be shoved aside, opening out into a proper sewer tunnel. Although Miz is still not overly familiar with this section of Korvosa’s underground, she has a better idea now of where it links it with more familiar tunnels. Your luck continues to hold as no beasts accost you enroute to the nearest access point back up onto the city streets, which is a maintenance plug. As usual with these, the plug is locked into place but that just means another couple minutes of delay while Miz picks the locks and everyone else keeps a nervous lookout.

Finally, you emerge back up onto the streets, and Jack’s men breathe a weary sigh of relief before hefting their sacks of grain and hustling off down the street. Before leaving, they let you both know that if Jack didn’t make it out, they do have a plan of succession for the cell, and someone would contact Aliani and/or Haeluna in a few days. Determined to make sure that there was nothing else that could be done for Jack, however, Aliani insists on going back to the warehouse and at least observing for a bit.

You don’t manage to get more than within a block of the warehouse, however, as members of House Jeggare’s “small private guard” are bustling about the place, and clearly trying not to look too conspicuous while a man in a particular ostentatious uniform is speaking with several members of the city guard. No doubt explaining how they totally weren’t conducting an illegal sting operation to catch and kill disgruntled citizenry, and would you please accept this bribe and get lost now? Aliani doesn’t see any sign of Jack, nor did it seem likely that he would given the presence of the city guard, but just as he is able to give up and go home he feels a breath on the back of his neck a moment before Jack’s voice whispers into his ear “Hey Kid. Looking for me?” The elf immediately raises a hand up before Aliani can let out a shout of surprise, and explains his escape by holding up an empty glass vial.

“Potion of Invisibility. Never leave home without it. Comes in real handy when you’re trying to lead a bunch of jackasses on a wild chase and then have to get away yourself. Of course one of these days Jeggare will hire on a wizard who knows what they’re doing, but that costs money so we’re probably safe for a while yet.”

The rebel captain grins at Aliani, and then inclines his head in the direction of Old Korvosa.

“So kid, fancy another round at the Mermaid? Maybe we can even get ya something palatable this time, since you’re looking still alive yourself. Guess that secret tunnel wasn’t just a dead end – I’m guessing all of my men are waiting to see if I show up back at the Mermaid?”

It seems that although tonight’s efforts had been teetering on a knife’s edge, everyone but the unlucky couple of Jack’s men bringing the cart up to the warehouse got away safely thanks to your efforts. An unexpected happy ending, and even Jack seemed a little humbled after walking you all into an ambush. It was hard to say what tomorrow would bring, but perhaps things were finally starting to look up for the people of Korvosa. Or perhaps the worst was simply yet to come.

Everyone

While you spend the rest of the night in your own domiciles (with the exception of Miz who continues to move into Aliani’s guest room), the next morning you meet back up at Dalen’s shop as that seems to have become your central base of operations. As you are related the past day’s events to each other, there is a polite knock at the door, and Greg opens it to reveal Rhev – recognizable by Aliani and Dalen from the previous life(?), and known by Dalen & Silas as the detective Kroft had assigned to hunt down Gaedren Lamm - standing there.

“Good morning to you all. I was wondering if perhaps you’d like to help me shut down Lamm’s drug operation. He’s been moving it around the city, but I think I’ve managed to track down the building where it’s currently housed, thanks to the ledger that you provided Field Marshall Kroft. I thought I would offer you the chance to participate in the raid as a thank you for that. I can give you a few minutes of deliberation amongst yourselves if you require, but after that I will need to move on. I want to hit this building today, and if you are not available I will need to look elsewhere for mercenary assistance. Field Marshall Kroft wants this handled by contractors outside the city guard’s payroll, out of concern that Lamm’s mole will warn him ahead of any official raid by the city guard proper. Certainly if you have anyone else you trust that would be capable of assisting us, they would be welcome in this endeavor – without access to the city guardsmen I am a little short-handed for a raid of this size and complexity.”

[Darvin]

Dalen nods and maintains a straight face as Ileosa mention's Lamm's role in Eodred's death. A scapegoat was needed, after all, and Ileosa had made a fine selection if he did say so himself. He continued to listen politely, but nearly faltered when Ileosa mentioned that Elliana would be accompanying them. He fully agreed with Sabrina on the matter, but equally understood that if Sabrina had already been overruled then he most certainly did not have the clout to say no.

His mind raced for possible outs. Convincing the queen that Elliana would be a liability to operation might work, but there was no credible argument that would sway her to that conclusion - not without a potentially dangerous admission on his own part, at any rate. It also might be possible to capture Lamm without involving Elliana and feign it as an unplanned opportunity they couldn't allow to slip past... but Aliani was a terrible liar and such a fabrication wouldn't hold up to scrutiny anyways. The only way that would work is if Lamm legitimately presented them with an opportunity too good to pass up prior to involving Elliana, something he felt was unlikely.

"As you wish, your majesty," Dalen says after a moment's pause. When asked about Trinia's involvement with Lamm, Dalen gives a half-shrug, "I suspect the only person who can clarify that matter to your satisfaction is Lamm himself. Rest assured, I intend to bring him back alive,"

As they leave the room and are confronted by Sabrina, Dalen nods, "I completely agree with your concerns. I was under the impression that the queen wanted Elliana to be present for the take-down, but if you feel that she will be satisfied with a lesser involvement then I'm inclined towards that. I still can't make any guarantees, as even on reconnaissance there is every possibility that Lamm could present an opportunity that Elliana would not allow us to pass up, but I assure you that however this transpires I will hold her safety as my utmost priority,"

With the palace shut behind them and prying eyes potentially far enough way to give some measure of privacy, he turns to Silas, "well, this complicates matters. Let's hope Aliani has had an uncharacteristically quick emotional turnaround time, as we need to accelerate our plans to meet a royal schedule," he then smiles and taps his new pouch of coin, "and I've got some ideas on how to catch that little fly,"

Spoiler: OOC

Show

As time allows, Dalen would like to learn the Web spell as well as scribe a scroll of it. 40 gp in scribing costs, plus whatever fee for spellbook rental (usually 20 gp), plus 75 gp to scribe the scroll. So 135 gp total, subject to GM discretion on spellbook rental costs and availability.

[Stelio Kontos]

Aliani found himself doing all he could to lie to everyone involved that it was surely going to be fine, that Jack would find a way out, that the trip through the tunnels would be no problem. And then somehow, thanks to Miz, they were through, and out. And somehow, as it turned out, Jack was fine as well, being greeted by a startled laugh and then a firm hug. Aliani declined the offer of a second trip to the Mermaid -- he'd done quite enough of THAT for one night -- but handed Jack a couple gold coins to buy the lads a round. Where, do you suppose, you could get a potion of invisibility this late at night?

The next day dawned, and everything was as okay as it could be until he arrived at Dalen's house to find that they'd handed Miss Sabor over. At that, he was apoplectic -- and, for the first time, positively speechless. Finally he emerged with a single question, that was more of a protest than a genuine inquiry: "You do realize that you put her within arm's reach of the ambassador, who probably is the one who did it or at least ordered it, and will be desperately looking for a scapegoat... right? When she was perfectly safe right where she was?"

His mood suitably befouled, again, he stewed until the visitor arrived, eyeing the man -- not as drunk as he remembered, to be sure -- with suspicion. His cause, at least, was just enough, and he was frankly in the mood to take out his frustrations. Wordlessly, he shrugged his assent.

[PiccadillyPi]

Silas bemoaned the notion of leaving Trinia unattended again, but the queen appeared genuine in her acquiescence to protect the painter. It was far from his life twenty years ago, yet the motions caused such a terrible memory to resurface. If he weren't hardened to that particular moment in his life, he might've crumpled from the implosion of his heart. It, however, did not prevent him from spending time in his head. Thankfully the cure for such things was a true friend's kiss. A quick peck on the cheek was enough to return life to the glazed eyes of the cat with no hat.

'Ah, sweetness! Off with you! Any longer and I might eat you up!'

The dandy watched as Trinia toddled off - or so he imagined she was toddling. When her figure disappeared alongside Sabrina beyond the double doors, Silas poured all of his attention into Queen Ileosa's pondering. Given the subject matter, her expression was certainly appropriate. He listened well to her request as his ears pricked at every mention of Gaedren Lamm.

'Elliana? But your Majesty! . . .'

Silas clasped his hands together half-way between an attempted pleading and a method of stress relief. Obviously he could only accept the request as it came with the queen's insistence. Were they of equal standing, the whoring hero might've put his foot down on the matter. He was uncertain of the risk of any operations with regards to Lamm. Elliana was competent, but she was also a dear friend of the queen. The extended caution needed put him on edge. However, he'd have to deal with that point of anxiety later. Their meeting had concluded, and there was not an inch for him to dissuade her Majesty.

'We shall fulfill your request to the best of our ability. Blessing upon my Queen.'

Not a moment later, the pair were assailed by Sabrina. Silas waited for Dalen to speak. The wizard always knew just what to say as if by magic.

'Not that we haven't had our fair share, but Elliana might bring with her a... cornucopia of risk. I do wish our Queen hadn't asked that of us, but Dalen is perfectly thoughtful. We will do our best to empty the horn as it were.'

Seeing no knights of the nail upon their departure, Silas sighed in relief. He would never come to enjoy the presence of such armored forces. The tiefling let out a hearty laugh at Dalen's words. It was only the slightest bit telling of his nervousness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the gang regrouped back at Dalen's place, Silas spent a bit of time to reconcile with and reassure Aliani.

'I think we did well! Dalen and his silver tongue; me and my unending charm!'

That was of course said with a wink.

'Cheli-bitch shouldn't be a problem given our previous discussions with her Majesty. Besides! Trinia was disguised when we arrived! She'll be fine!'

Upon the arrival of Detective Rhev, Silas looked to his companions with raised brow.

'Are we to be . . . on the hunt?'

[Inspectre]

Rhev nods, rather than smiles, at Aliani for his terse confirmation that the group will help him shut down Lamm's drug operation.
He gives a second nod to Silas.

"Indeed, my fellow. We are indeed on the hunt, and while I don't expect us to be so lucky as to catch Gaedren Lamm himself, shutting down his main Shiver lab should get him feeling the noose closing around his neck. The lab itself seems to be currently operating out of a small back alley black market shop near the Acadamae. Apparently these shops are quite favored by various Acadamae students, looking for ways to get an edge in studying hours or to simply relax after a grueling week of classes, of which Shiver is merely one option among many. Still, Acadamae students are not their only customers, and so I imagine even we will be able to get in the front door by posing as prospective buyers. From there, we'll have to gain access into the lab itself, which undoubtedly will be heavily guarded by Lamm's men. If you have any alternate suggestions on how to get in, or other people we can take on for help with this, I am all ears."

(OOC: I know Dalen went and got a copy of Web inscribed into his book, after there any other preparations that you as a group would like to make before moving on to the actual drug raid? Any allies you want to call in for help, Elliana, Fishguts Jim, or Aliani's Milani friends?)

[Steveodore]

Spoiler: ooc for poison

Show

Fortunately for Beastmorph archetype, poison resistance and immunity are lost, not poison use. So I just have to keep from nicking my hands and licking the walls.

Doing craft alchemy check for it (1d20+9)[17]

Despite the urgency of the situation, Miz took a few moments to delicately scrape some of the potent fungus from the walls. It was a rare chance to stumble on a quality poison without having to pay out nose.

While not at ease in this situation, Miz gradually stopped over considering danger lurking in every crack beneath every crack and shallow puddle. Her experience with oozes was still pretty fresh but the crude death traps were almost comforting as it might mean enemies with a discernable anatomy she could rend.

The familiar blood graffiti from earlier and the positioning of the poisoned traps were both bothering Miz. While this wasn't the time to go spelunking, she suspected a trip to the vaults was in her future. Thankfully they made their way out to the reassuring comfort of the city sewers without a single derro or bugbear sighting.

Later back in the city, Miz passed on the drinks as well. She wasn't keen to get too chummy with the rebel elf just yet.

----------

Miz was concerned about the painter as well, though she was dwelling on her recent investigation into the poison used with the cards. She had been sitting on this speculation for a day and while had trouble seeing this miss Sabor as an assassin. If this Sabor was the poisoner though, it might be dangerous to have her be so close the queen.

Rather then opening up a dialog, Miz privately approached Dalen about sending a message to Sabrina to have the paints from the king's room tested for poison along with details about what ingredients she had discovered on the cards.

-------------

Miz is receptive to the request for aidding the raid on Gaedren's operation, even if it is with the bloody city guard.

[Stelio Kontos]

Aliani pondered for a moment, or at least seemed to ponder, on the task at hand. It sounded, well, perfectly ill-suited for his talents, such as they were. Meanwhile... sure, Rhev was disagreeable, though perhaps not so disagreeable as the dreams. Sure, he smelled bad, or at least was supposed to. But surely, if they meant anything, he was someone to be worked with.

"The sewers."

He let that sit for a minute, as it was a poor answer as to the question of who to invite, before offering an explanation. All the while he was half-staring at the detective with a lingering attempt at recognition.

"What I mean is, there's probably a way in through the sewers. That might be easier than just bluffing our way in, or trying to fight our way in. If there's a way up from the sewers, that is, but there usually is isn't there? And on the way, since this is what you're investigating, we... just the other day, we came across another place, one they were probably using before that. Might be worth checking it out with fresh eyes. There's a nasty bunch of ooze, or jelly, or something like that, that kept us from really digging in to the place, but maybe with all of us, that would go better and we could kill it somehow? There's some... well, graffiti I guess you could call it, of sorts... that I think you should all see, on the way."

He cocked his head at the detective. "This is a strange question sorry... did your parents run a bookstore by chance? You look familiar. When I was little, and we had some spare change, mom would take me to the bookstore, look through the damaged goods for things we could buy -- fairy tales with a few pages missing, water stains, that sort of thing. Anyway, you look familiar."

[PiccadillyPi]

Silas paused at the request.

'I am certain whatever method we choose would require either magic or proper stealth as I doubt I could idly waltz in. If you'll allow us a brief discussion amongst ourselves, Detective? We'll be naught but a minute.'

[Darvin]

Dalen stops a moment to think on the problem, being jostled out of this contemplation by Aliani mentioning the sewer, "given what we know about Lamm's operations it's quite plausible they use the sewer entrance to smuggle components and products in and out of the facility. It could very well be locked down tighter than the front entrance, but would also serve as their escape route of choice. We will need to block any potential escape through that route. I have magic that can snare anyone trying to use it for a half-hour. Long enough for us to get in position and undertake a raid,"

Dalen turns back to Rhev, "if you could provide a momentary distraction, I may be able to charm one of the workers there. From there we can get into position to incapacitate as many as possible with the element of surprise. I will coordinate my spell preparation along the lines of any tactics you may have in mind," he scans the room.

Spoiler: OOC

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Dalen's tentative spell list for today:
2nd level:
Web, Hideous Laughter, Invisibility, Glitterdust
1st level:
Charm Person, Sleep, Mount, Mage Armor, Disguise Self
Cantrip:
Detect Magic, Prestidigitation, Message, Mage Hand

We may want Enlarge Person for combat purposes or Silent Image for utility purposes. I'm open to suggestions from other party members - or Rhev - on what spells could be useful here.

[Inspectre]

Rhev agrees with Dalen's plan, and so a few minutes later you all once again find yourselves down in Korvosa's sewers.
It was probably just as well that the queen's handmaiden Elliana was not with you, as she undoubtedly would have found this preparatory trip to Lamm's latest shudder lab from below the streets miserable.

As you get closer to the general vicinity of the lab, the condition of the sewers noticeably improves - the stonework is thicker here and better maintained. A side effect of the nearby Acadamae no doubt, as Miz is aware that the sewers immediately beneath the Acadamae are sealed off completely by stone and magical wards. While the magical school benefits in general from the increased security, these particularly defenses are likely a result of the Breaching Festival.

Each year the magical school holds a festival known as the Breaching Festival, and there is a standing challenge to the city and any visiting adventurers to attempt to break into a specific building within the Acadamae grounds. Success grants the reward of the Breaching Festival's prize stash, which has grown into an impressive sum over the past several decades as no one has managed to succeed since the last attempt involved tunneling up into the target building from the sewers. After that, steps were taken to prevent a repeat attempt and ever since that portion of the sewers was lost to general access, with all sorts of wild rumors of what awaited the unlucky soul too stupid to let the outermost ring of walled-up tunnels stop them.

Aliani and Miz are both a bit troubled to see more patches of that bio-luminescent fungus lighting the way ahead, clustered around a bend in the tunnel that turns off to the group's right. Immediately at the corner of that bend, the stone wall has been hacked and dug away to create an alcove. Within the alcove, the additional dim light of a single lit candle flickers, allowing the group to make out two cloaked figures seated on piles of refuse across a barrel from each other. Atop the barrel sits the candle, as well as a set of playing cards and a small collection of coins, silver and copper mostly, piled up in front of each creature with a third pile in the middle. The fact that the pile of coins in front of one creature is nearly twice the size of the other's suggest a disparity in card skill. Beyond the two figures at the back of the alcove, a door has been haphazardly set into a door frame that had been hewed out of the stonework, and then filled back in with debris enough to support the door's weight. Here and there shafts of pale light shoot out from the lit room beyond the door, although from this distance it is impossible to see anything through these small unintentional windows.

"Keep moving or get shanked."

One of the figures growls at the group's approach, but otherwise does not pay any of you any mind.

Spoiler: Miz

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The scent drifting faintly off of the two figures is unmistakable, given how often your life has depended on it in the past - they're both wererats.
But given the quality of their clothing, these two are not Girrigz's people, or part of any other minor clan that you've dealt with in the past.
No, these are Topsiders wererats, and the only ones of those you had heard about were part of some gang of punks that called themselves the Rat's Teat Gang.
Looks like Lamm had found himself a higher quality of rent-a-thug than Brendan's Blackguards.

(OOC: Because the wererats are aware of you, there is no surprise round on either side. As always, if this is a fight, you guys all get to go first, however. If you'd rather take their advice and keep on walking without casting any spells at them, that's also an option. If you want to figure out a plan on whether or not you want to try to take these guys, you can keep on walking down the tunnel past the bend, get out of sight, talk about it, and come back. Whatever you'd like to do!)

BATTLE MAP!

[Darvin]

Dalen remains silent behind his allies, simply giving an affirmative nod if any look at him. He grasps his wand behind his back with his left hand and keeps his other hand at the ready to prevent these two from warning the lab.

Spoiler: OOC

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Prior to entering the sewers Dalen would have cast Mage Armor. 3 hour duration should be more than sufficient for all our activities today.

Dalen readies an action to cast Web to block the way into the lab if the wererats retreat in that direction. He will not use his spells if they run in another direction.

[Stelio Kontos]

Aliani affected a ghetto accent as he ranted at Miz and Silas standing in front of him. "Damn it, guys. You drag me down here into this slop, tell me there's some real good **** down here, we can score some shiver... big waste of time, I say. Two coppers says one of these bums stabs the other one in the back fer his purse 'fore we turn the corner. Let's stop standing around here then and get the drugs, ey? Right behind ya."

He half-turned away, keeping one eye on the two thugs, interested to see which of them might go for the door and which might come forward... the one that would retrieve help was his real concern.

Spoiler: OOC

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Ready a handy murderous command for the first one that looks like he's going to go for the door or sound an alarm. With, naturally, a command to attack the other one.

[PiccadillyPi]

Silas brought on a more menacing voice to match Aliani's intentions. A bit foreign, a bit untrained, and a little bit gritty. He'd never spoken to a Rakshasa, so he rather hoped this would suffice.

'Two copper? I say they do it for a dozen silver! What say the street rats? Stab each other for riches, ah? Sound like a fair price?'

At this point, the secret Tiefling nonchalantly drew his sword and waggled in a sideways point at them.

'One of you get the silver? The other get the steel? I pay, yes?'

As he continued to speak to them, he attempted to step closer. His other hand revealed a few silver coins retrieved from his purse. He would of course drop these to properly defend himself when attacked since their demands for him to halt went unheeded.

Spoiler: OOC

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He'll ready an action to kick one of them in the sack if things get violent. Whichever is closest and/or acts first.

[Steveodore]

Miz searched over the two wererats with her eyes, before attempting a winning smile.

"Shop's topside yeah? We're just lookin' for Shiver. Buyin' topside is gettin' harder with the city so stirred up. Can't we just do business here? Doesn't look like you'll be makin' coin back any time soon anyway.."

While talking, Miz ambled to the side of the two wererats peering down at the table the two were seated at.

Spoiler

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Before coming here Miz made sure to have her Mutigen reprepared. For this part Miz is attempting what inspectre mentioned ooc about attempting to move toward a flanking position, presumably againt the west wall there.