Krizta goes up to Laria and offers to help set the place to rights, hoping to get some time to talk to her about joining the rebellion away from anyone who might turn her in.
Sounded like they busted a lot of things up. How can I help? She smiles.
Dawnilea shrugs, remembering some of the darker parts of her training, "Strip him of valuables, let them that find him think he was robbed. Better them looking for a cutpurse than rebels."
She adds with a chuckle, "Plus, seems right he pays for his friend's room."
Bardigan nods, "I like the way you think, Dawnilea." He then kneels down beside the dead man and pats him down, relieving him of weapons and coin. He does the same to the unconscious thug before hefting him up onto his back with a grunt.
He lugs him to the nearest inn, asking of the innkeeper with a broad grin, "Happen to have a bed my friend here could use to sleep off some bad decisions?"
After dumping him unceremoniously in a simple bed, Bardigan returns to the proprietor and turns over the needed coin.
Stepping back out to the street with Ganner and Dawnilea, he smiles warmly at the pair. "I think I've had enough excitement for one day. What say you to returning to the coffeehouse now? I could use the quiet."
Ganner nods, keeping his eyes on his surroundings. "I agree. Today turned out a lot more interesting than I expected."
Laria waves off Krizta's offer, "Don't worry about it. You just enjoy our wares." She turns to the room as a whole, calling out, "I'm sorry for the disruption. To thank you for your patience, you can each have a cup and a tart on the house." This sets a pleased murmur through the few remaining patrons, as the workers get busy taking the orders for free food.
Zoltan gets the notion that the other patrons that remained were all just as bothered as the owner and employees by the Dottari's disruption.
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In going through the two men's belongings, the small band of Silver Ravens find that they were actually carrying a decent amount of potentially useful items. This is all as well as the twenty-five gold they each had on hand.
The walk back to the Longroads Coffeehouse is short and uneventful, except for a brief moment where they got the hairy eyeball from a trio of Dottari as they neared the building. As they entered, the place was under an odd pall of silence, and Laria looked like she let out sigh of relief to see you all. She hops down away from the counter, and headed right over to the group of you. "Glad you're back, we have some things to talk about, come wi.." A loud crash of stone on stone sounds from somewhere under the Coffeehouse. Laria's eyes go wide and she rushes toward the storeroom door.
Krizta follows, intent on helping.
Tasha breathes out a sigh of relief as the Dottari leave, hanging her quiver back onto the seat. As she takes her cup of coffee, she breathes in the smell, before taking a sip. I drink any more of this, I'll either spend the rest of the night running, or in the bathroom. Or, somehow, both. She takes a sip. But, it's the best kind of coffee - free.
As the loud crashing is heard from below, Tasha leaps from the table with lightning speed, further pushed by caffeine. Her hand leaps into the scabbard on her left, where an old rapier lies, before letting go, running toward the counter. "Is everything alright?!"
Bardigan, unaware the coffeehouse had been ransacked by dottari while they were out, follows Laria to the door to the storeroom. Then, hearing commotion behind him, he turns to see some of the evening's patrons following along behind. Not knowing any of them, the handsome noble pats his hands in the air, "Whoa- ok. It's nice so many of you are willing to help, but don't stop enjoying your drinks and pastries on our account." He smiles warmly, genuinely encouraged to see so many bystanders willing to lend their aid after he'd had a dagger thrown at his back so recently, but he could tell Laria was on edge and just letting anybody stroll into the fledgling hideout of the Silver Ravens seemed unwise.
Laria doesn't even stop to consider the others following her. She rushes into the storeroom, and down the hatch into the cold storage.
Unless she is physically restrained, Krizta continues to follow Laria, wanting to help.
"Whoa- ok. It's nice so many of you are willing to help, but don't stop enjoying your drinks and pastries on our account."
Eyeing the noble as she reaches the bartop, Tasha flashes a smile. "Oh, I enjoyed a few already. Besides,", she leans closer, conspiratively, then starting to speak in a loud stage whisper. "I have purely selfish reasons. If I help the owner, I'll score a discount. Think of the long-term savings!", she gives an overexaggerated wink.
As Laria rushes down the stairs, Tasha throws Bardigan a glance, then urges him to go forwards. "Whatever it is, it sounded heavy. Should we give her a hand? I promise to keep my hands and eyes to myself."
Bardigan chuckles and scratches the back of his head nervously, casting a glance over his shoulder toward the entrance to the cellar. He then catches his aunt's gaze, as she stands in the far corner of the coffeehouse, and at her nod he relents. "Alright, I guess. Thanks for the help." He steps aside and lets Tasha and Krizta by, trusting his aunt's judgement and following along behind the pair.
Dawnilea blinks, then follows, rushing in behind, Well, seems this day just keeps getting better... She then shrugs at Bardigan as he lets the others pass, "Worst case, we can deal with then down below, out of sight."
As Laria rushes unconcerned by who follows, Bardigan and Dawnilea take up rear positions in case the followers prove to become a 'problem' they will have to deal with. Moving down into the hidden Wasp's nest, there can be heard odd wails and cries coming from the large storeroom at the back. Heading there straightaway, the reason becomes readily apparent. Three of the Fushi sisters stand around a pile of rubble along the wall, Korva, Jay, and Treep. They works to move chunks of broken rock, while weeping and crying out in anguish. Sticking out from the rubble, a black feathered arm, with a taloned claw lies still and unmoving.
Krizta takes in the scene quickly and then jumps in to help move rocks. She doesn't know if there is much hope for the creature under the rock, but that isn't the point. Sometimes in grief you have to DO something, and grieving herself, for her city and her family, she understands that.
Leaping towards the rubble, Tasha hurls her bag over the corner, starting to throw loose bricks and mortar away. "How many people are down here?", she asks loudly one of the unmet women, as her ink-stained hand start throwing rocks back towards the rest of the room. S*$&, s&@~, s!*%..., she starts thinking, her clothes become more and more covered with plaster.
Coming into view of the scene, Bardigan gasps in alarm and rushes forward, all concern of folks discovering the truth about the place evaporating in light of what obviously transpired. "Maggie!" He begins hauling away at the stone, winding up beside Tasha but not even registering her question. "Maggie! Hold on! Does anyone have any magics? Even a simple orison to make sure she doesn't bleed out?!" His words are earnest and hurried, shouted for anyone in the Nest to hear though he doesn't tear his eyes from the rubble as he labors to move it aside.
Ganner follows Bardigan and the others down and immediately lends his aid in moving stones and rubble!
Krizta, still moving rocks, says No healing magic, I'm afraid.
From up above, Zoltan can only hear so much, as the group as a whole moves further and further from the opening to the coffeehouse above. The sound carried back reverberates off the walls just enough to make details fairly unclear. There is suddenly the sound of excited voices, and the clatter of stone.
---------------
Springing into action, the group works quickly to uncover the prostrate form of the tengu woman. It doesn't take too much effort to reveal enough of her broken and twisted body to know that it is not a recoverable injury. Maggie is lost to them forever. Seeing her in that state sets the other three to emotional sobbing, as Korva does her best to try and console them despite her own grief.
No, no, no, noooo!, thinks Tasha as she more and more erratically starts throwing rubble around. Don't be dead, we... we helped... As the body of the unknown tengu is revealed, she bites her bloodied hand, shock visible in her eyes. "I'm... I'm sorry for your friend.", she mutters after a short pause, before moving in and shouldering her bag. Letting out a quiet sigh, she looks at the tall human she just greeted upstairs with a solemn face. "Who i... was she?", she asks.
Krizta waits to see what Laria will say. Now doesn't seem like the right time to volunteer for the rebellion.
Laria is both bothered and confused by the events, looking at the wall, and uncertain what to think about the patrons that just followed them down. Her question, though mostly curious, has a tinge of suspicion tucked behind her tone. "How does this wall crumble down like that? This place has held sturdy for some time. If it had happened just a few short minutes earlier, it would have surely alerted the Dottari that were searching the place off an 'anonymous tip'." She sounds worried and frustrated by the whole chain of events.
That's an excellent question. Do you have a leak in your organization? I myself have heard rumors that this is where to come to join the Silver Ravens. That's why I came. In one way, it is good for people to know that someone is standing up, and for people <she indicates everyone in the room with a sweep of her arm> to know where to come. However, if someone is ... sabotaging walls and killing your people, they need to be stopped. How can I help?
Bardigan still kneels in the rubble, the broken form of Maggie in his arms, and softly answers Tasha, "She was... a friend. A trusted friend." He softly brushes some rubble from the tengu's still face as he looks to the woman who asked the question. His tone yet soft with sorrow, he adds, "She and her sisters came a long way to escape persecution only to be met with Barzillai's so-called proclamations. We've been helping each other for weeks and now... this." He hangs his head, shaking it slowly.
He sighs, steadying himself, then rises up from the ruined wall with Maggie in his arms. He sways for a moment on the uneven ground, but holds his balance and bears her over to a nearby table. At a nod and thrust of his chin, the other Fushi sisters quickly clear a spot and Bardigan lays Maggie down gently.
Turning to Korva, Jay, and Treep, he offers each a long hug, whispering gentle but earnest condolences to each in turn. He misses Laria's concerns as well as all of Krizta's questions and assertions during this, but as he steps away from Korva, he offers a handshake both to Krizta and to Tasha. "Thank you, both, for helping."
Giving a sombre nod, Tasha takes the handshake. Looking at the dead body, she sniffs once. "Uh..., of course..." Looks like you're short-staffed now? Very thoughtful, Tasha. We came here to sign up for the rebellion? Ugh. Putting a hand to her mouth, she seconds the notion of the elven woman. "I came here for the same reason. It seems, however, that Thrune supporters also have heard where they need to come." She looks at the rubble, remembering the Dottari upstairs.
Remember. Cause. You can't just waggle your feathers any more., her inner voice suggests. "Like I said, I'm here to help however I can.", she gestures towards her bow and her parchment-filled bag. "But if you say no, I'll keep my silence about this place. Was never here."
Zoltan can see a limp body carried over to, and laid down upon the table in the center of the large room, but from his distance he is unable to tell the exact condition it is in. Forgoing his secrecy, he moves out of hiding and comes closer to try and help the body. It's only when he gets closer does he realize that there's nothing his healing can do, as she is already with Pharasma in the Boneyard.
Dawnilea remains silent, her face tightening as she closes her eyes and looks away. At Bardigan's words, she adds, very softly, "They fled looking for a better life, and this." With clear effort, she forces herself forward to the other Fushi sisters, "I am so terribly sorry... When I learn how this happened... who leaked this... I promise that those involved will not die quickly."
She turns on her heel, facing the newcomers, her voice tighter than her features, "So, then, tell us what we need to know. Where did you hear this? From who? Who is whispering out there where the Dottari can hear?"
Tasha nods at the red-haired woman, then raises her hands in the air. "Well...", she starts saying, a small smile crawling on her face. "First of all, I was at the protest, but when it escalated into a full-blown riot, I dragged someone who got hit in the head away.", she shrugs. "Then, one of my, uh, contacts mentioned something about the Bellflower Network laying low for the time being." Her hands start moving around in jittery manner. "Since then, I've mostly been spreading some of my rags around.", she pulls out a copy of her latest Kintargo Crier. "Then someone I'm not naming saw me nail one to a bounty board, and suggested I should try the coffee in here.", she turns to Laria. "Which, while I am rather manic about coffee - seemed like an odd way to advertise."
"What I'm saying it, at least for me, took good time digging and asking. I'm afraid I can't help you with whoever's collaborating."
Krizta smiles at Tasha. I, too, read the Crier. It's indeed an honor.
Tasha looks around, clearly flattered by the comments. "I don't think I've been in a room with more than one person who's read it. And that person's usually me, I have to confess. But thank you, nonetheless.", she dryly remarks. "At least you have a secret of mine as well, in case you're afraid I might blackmail you.", she turns to Dawnilea. "There's bound to be someone in government to eventually get the fact that the Crier isn't actually pro-Thrune."
Krizta laughs. I work for the government, so maybe that would be me.
Indeed. People don't always realize it, but even when governments switch over to being headed by tyrants, much of the regular infrastructure stays in place. They never seem to have enough well-trained cronies to replace us all.
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Tasha smiles at Krizta. "Wait, are you telling me that the government isn't one massive monolithical structure, and there are actual, real people in it?", she quips sarcastically. "Not a thing a seditious propagandist like myself wants to hear." She taps her foot on the ground - one can easily see that Tasha is either nervous, or terribly energetic. "If you got a moment at some point, I might ask you some questions about your views on how everyday stuff changed after Bailinus was kicked out." She looks up at the tall elven woman. "No names, obviously."
Dawnilea shakes her head, her nostrils flaring slightly, just barely managing not to snarl,
"Nope. Not naming names is an issue. We've got a security problem and need to fixit. Now. Can't have leaks like this or we're doomed before we begin."
Come now. She's a journalist. Protecting her sources is a primary responsibility there, and truth be told, it's a little late to hunt down the leak. Obviously the Dottari have already heard, or weren't you here to see them harassing Laria? The rumors are all over town that the ancient group is back... and recruiting. Thankfully they didn't find anything, but unfortunately, it's too late to stop the rumors. I was impressed that the Dottari didn't find anything when they came, though, so you are doing something right.
If you *are* recruiting, we would like to help. I think that's why we're all here. If you aren't, then just say the word, and we'll be on our ways. There's no reason to attack us for trying to help. Save the anger for the true evil that has taken over our city.
Ganner nods. "Help we can use. Are we going to need a new safehouse?"
Bardigan frowns, casting a pained look at the grieving sisters over his shoulder before turning back to the newcomers. "Again, we appreciate the help with what just happened, but how about some respect be shown for my friends here and you guys chat and tell jokes and ask a hundred questions elsewhere? I'm all for bringing more hands and minds into the cause, but not while you're standing next to friends of mine and their sister's still warm body."
With a look to Laria, Ganner, and Dawnilea, he gestures for the group and their ongoing discussion to shuffle on.
It's plain that Bardigan is encouraged by the newcomer's energy and excitement, but that he cares deeply for these tengu and that they're his priority in the immediate wake of their loss.
Tasha turns red. Yes, Valenti, another splendid display of tact. Nodding in shame, she turns away from the room, pointing towards the upstairs. As she looks back, her mouth opens a couple of times as if to say something, yet she can't find the right words. Hanging her head in shame, she waves over the rest and stands in a polite distance away. Some day you'll choke on that foot in your mouth.
Krizta shrugs, and leaves to go home.