Tanrov is back tending his shrine, performing services as needed for any followers or clerics of Pharasma.
As the subject with the Bastards of Erebus was brought up, Mimazaran let out an audible sigh from the corner he was sulking in. The young Wayang just shook hs head before slowly making his way out into the open, just looking at the floor with his dark, beady eyes. "Let's just get rid of the head already..." he said quietly, heading towards the door.
"I know the general area around the place, so we shouldn't get lost."
Remembering a few things about the place, Mimazaran stopped just before opening the door, and instead made his way over to wherever a safe place would be to store his coinpurse. "On second thought," he then started to say, "it's probably best to leave our gold here. The Dusk Market won't be the only criminals there, and I'd rather we not lose more coin than we make."
Later in the afternoon, the team heads into Rego Cader, avoiding the dottari along the way. The manor house is indeed tough to miss as the surrounding block has mostly been leveled over time. Pockets of green dot the landscape where weeds have sprung up in the rubble of the dead sector of the city.
The old Martelli place is in relatively decent shape and surrouded by a high stone fence capped with iron spikes every few feet. A pair of rough looking Chelish men stand near the gate, heavily armed and armored.
Martino arrived at the hideout after lunch, with a fragrant package under his arm. "Sweet rolls here, get them while they're hot!" he called, with the ease of long practice.
Tanrov who was at the lair thinking over stuff, quickly moves to Martino, takes one and takes a bite with a sigh.
"I must stay away from the Barzelli bakery most days as these sweet rolls are just too tasty. Gotta keep myself in fighting shape. And thanks. "
"Thank you Martino, these smell wonderful." Garidan turns to Mimazaran, "if you think you know where we're going, why don't you take the lead? We'll all be right behind you."
There was certainly some hesitation from Mimazaran when the suggestion of him leading the way was brought up, but he swallowed his fear for that moment; it was just just walking the streets, anyway, which was something he did all the time. He of course made sure to keep an eye out for the dottari along the way, not wanting to risk any identification, though he was sure that his Wayang self wouldn't be suspected by himself.
Upon reaching the manor and seeing the two battle-ready men, the young Wayang froze for a second.
Mimazaran can't recall any rumors about passwords, but he is sure that these thugs will be ready for trouble. It would be a good idea to get right to the point with them.
Unable to recall anything that would make access easier, Mimazaran let out a breath and slowly walked up to the two men, making sure to let his body language speak for him that he posed no threat. Clearing his throat, he attempted the best he could to make himself seem like he wasn't about to heave up his own stomach. "We're here for the bounty of one goblin warlord," he told the men in his raspy voice. He then pointed to Garidan, trying to tell him to lift the bag up for proof.
Garidan pulls a sack out of his backpack and sets it on the ground. He unties the string cinching it closed and opens the sack. Steeling himself while reaching into the sack, he pulls out enough of the head to confirm a goblin's head. "Anymore will cost ya" he says to the men.
The men look at one another. One nods to the other who then opens the gate. "I'll take you to Giovanni. This better be on the level, mate." The speaker walks the team to the front door of the Martelli place. The foyer is filled with dust and cobwebs. The man leads you to a large parlor filled with furniture that went out of style a generation ago. A short Chelish human stands before a dark-skinned woman wearing clothes that mark her as Katapeshi. The pair had been in coversation moments before.
"Boss. Them guys is here about that thing." Your escort stands between you and his boss.
The man turns around. His dark hair is short and slicked back with copious amounts of oil. His face is covered in black stubble and his clothes are perfectly tailored.
"My dear Farah, would you excuse me a moment?" The dark woman stands and bows slightly to the man, then heads out the door at the back. "Giovanni," the man says, offering Garidan his hand while fully ignoring the rest of you. "Is it true then? You've exterminated a rat that's been menacing commerce?"
"It's true," says Rurik. "If goblins have been a problem, that problem should be settled for now." He nods to Garidan, who holds the sack with the goblin head.
"'For now' Heh. How true. Little bastards always come back. But if that's really Whitechin...Whew!" Giovanni wipes his forehead with the back of his hand in an exaggerated fashion and grins. "So? Let's see it! If that's him, I owe you that bounty and will want to spread the good news to my associates."
Raising himself to his full height and flicking his earthbreaker to his off hand. Tanrov tries to give his best "You want to be on this guys side look"
"That would be most excellent, you will find us to be valuable associates"
"Oh? You looking for a job there big guy? I got some debts need collectin'."
"My compatriots speak the truth. Whitechin is defeated, slain in mortal combat by the mighty Tanrov" he says as he places a hand on the tiefling's shoulder. "The victory is ours, but the honor is his." Garidan places the head-filled sack into Giovanni's extended hand. "We would also ascertain any offers of employment you may be contemplating in the immediate future, but please understand that any lengthy terms of service will need to be confirmed in due time. Now, if you could have one of your servants fetch our bounty, we would be happy to listen to any contracts you may wish to present."
"Garidan is modest I would have accomplished nothing without my companions and thus with them I stay"
Giovanni opens the sack and recoils. "Gah! And I thought they smelled bad when they were alive!" He grabs the greasy hair and lets the sack fall to the ground, then turns halfway around and says to the shadows behind him, "Get it from the safe," then addressing the guard who led you into the room, "Milo, take this and pike it at the spot we're setting up at later. Make sure all our customers know."
A man who had been hiding in the shadows at the back of the room slinks back into a different room, returning a few moments later with a jingling sack. "Two Fifty in straight gold. I'm guessing..." Giovanni takes the sack from his henchmen, "I can reach you fine gentlemen by talking to a certain Gnome madame? Yes?" He holds the bag out to Garidan, then cocks his head and pivots toward Tanrov. "You dealt the deathblow and don't talk like an over-educated prick, you better hold this big guy." Giovanni looks Garidan in the eye while insulting him.
Tanrov takes the coins and hands them to Garidan.
"Over-educated he may be but he is also bold and brave, I understand your sentiment but it is misplaced this time."
"I get it," Giovanni's smile isn't happiness, but more of a threat, "It is just that something about him doesn't sit right with me. You dottari? No. Too smart for the guard. Still, you have that sort of vibe." His smile widens to reveal slightly sharper than average canines, "You want me as a friend, not an enemy. Keep that in mind. We're done here, thank you."
"Yes, by all means feel free to reach us through the gnome" Garidan replies matching the man's stare. "Thank you for your patronage. And no, not dottari" he says as he turns to depart. Once outside and away from the compound, Garidan addresses the others. "Let's spread out and hit the taverns, try to spread rumors of our victory over Whitechin before Giovanni tries to take the credit. Plan for returning to our base of operations one hour before nightfall so that we can prepare for hunting shadow beasts...we're going to need a name for ourselves...any suggestions?"
Rurik shrugs at Garidan's question. "We didn't come up with anything that anyone liked before, and I haven't any new ideas at the moment."
He continues, "Giovanni's trying to save face by being aggressive and showing his men that he's in charge of the situation. He can't directly piss off Tanrov because, well, he'd become very flat, so he had to smear the person he felt he could get away with in order to keep his upper hand in the conversation and make it clear to his flunkies who's in charge. Perception of weakness is dangerous in his line of work."
Tanrov will do as Garidan says putting emphasis on how the group took down Whitechin. Also praising Pharasma along the way.
"Wisdom suits you well, Rurik. You are right of course. I have no issues with his play. I'm glad his attention was focused on me. It lessens his focus on the rest of you. I haven't had much luck with a name either. I keep coming back to freedom fighters or maybe the chain breakers? Something to give the people hope, something that inspires the people. Something that signifies change...how about A New Dawn?"
"That seems a little on-point for a priest of Sarenrae like myself, but I can't complain, really."
Later that day, Penumbra is waiting for you at the hideout. A table has been brought in while you were away. Worn and beaten with some scorch marks and wax melted into the grain, the table is covered with a map of Westcrown. A block on the map has been circled with a thin line of red ink.
"I don't know if you had any plans, but we've got something that needs to be taken care of, and soon. Before I tell you exactly what is going on, we're waiting for Arael. This is big. I know you've been tested in the last week, but this is our chance to really show the people of the city that someone is watching out for them, protecting them. My own informants tell me that the Order of the Rack is finally investigating the Bastards of Erebus, but we want to get there first."
Mimazaran had no comments about the group's name, nor did he really have a comment about the proceedings that took place in the manor. He was actually a little too afraid to even speak up, knowing how many criminals had to be in that place; despite him being rather good with words and negotiating, he knew that it would take just one wrong step to get the group more enemies than they needed.
When they got back to the hideout, however, and Penumbra was there and explained to them about the Bastards of Erebus, he had some comments. "Why would we want to get there first?" he then asked. "To get flanked on both sides by the Bastards and the Rack? I can guarantee you that the Rack won't see us as allies when they show up to the battlefield. If you want to call us to the battlefield again, you'd better have a good plan that keeps the Rack away from us." From the tone in his raspy voice, it was obvious Mimazaran was both frightened and frustrated with all the combat.
"Oh, no worry about that. They're barely beginning their investigation. Meanwhile, we've already tracked down a significant amount of information. Arael should be here shortly, and he'll explain the full details." Penumbra takes her haversack off her back and sits at a chair. She takes out two bottles of wine and several goblets. How exactly the fit into her pack is difficult to say, but likely some kind of magic. "That said, we have considered a contingency in case either the Hellknights or the dottari do happen to show up while you're raiding the Bastards. Some of the auxiliary forces, along with Arael and myself, will be screening you."
Tanrov is sitting listening intently, absent mindedly flicking his tail around
"Tell us what you can of their setup and do you think my own heritage will help against them?"
Arael comes in just after Tanrov asks his question. "It is possible, Sir Tanrov, that they would allow you to approach. I do not know that they would allow you entrance. When we were learning about all of you, we did not find any indication that you were an actor or practiced liar, however."
He unfurls a scroll and lays it over Penumbra's map. It is a rough sketch of a city block, but only a few buildings are noted on it. "You may run this operation however you desire. Penumbra and I will be providing a distraction to the dottari and Hellknights so that you can easily enter the area without being noticed and to ensure that they are unable to interfere with your raid. This building," he indicates a large structure, "Is the main headquarters. In better times it was a church of Erastil. It has a tall belltower, which is guarded at all times. It would have a basement, and this is probably the hardened bunker of the leadership.
"These surrounding buildings are all that stands on this block any more. We have witnessed tieflings coming and going from them from time to time, so we believe they use them as guard posts to lock down the street."
Garidan watches as the map unfurls and begins to take it all in. Numerous questions flood into his mind. "What is the time frame? Can we wait until sunrise? Darkness will be more of an ally to them, so if we can utilize the sun, all the better. There is no easy approach" Gariday says as the strokes his beard. "Mimazaran and Tanrov could probably both just walk up to the front door, but I'm not sure if they would get much further. We'll need to neutralize their look outs, but it will be difficult without alerting their base. Once alerted, I suspect they'll just lock their doors and fortify their defenses. The best option may be to try to force them to come to us. Do we know what the old church is constructed out of? Stone I assume, but a fire may force them to evacuate. Also, we could use one more body. Would Ermolos or Sclavo be up for a fight?"
"Waiting until sunrise is more than acceptable to me. In fact, we could probably catch the dottari at a shift change, which would add to the confusion of our diversion. I can give you one or two of the auxiliary, the rest will either need to attend to their normal duties or be part of the diversion. As far as I know, the only two who wouldn't be available, due to keeping up appearances, would be Yakopulio and Fiosa, but it sounds like you're looking more for muscle than sneakiness anyway. The church is stone masonry, but the tower itself is made from a wooden frame. I am not sure you would be able to start a blaze with it, nor do I know if it would smoke the rest out effectively."
"Yes, more muscle is what we'll need. Striking at dawn would seem to be our best bet. Hopefully we'll catch them while sleeping and having daylight will even the fight a bit. We'll have to get as close as we can while it's still dark. Mimazaran and Tanrov can approach under disguise. The rest of us will have to rush the door. Perhaps we can purchase a scroll of knock with some of the bounty money we collected, but it'll be expensive. It's either that or try to break the door down or maybe have Martino try to bypass the lock. Down anyone have any supplies to purchase before we head in?"
Rurik shakes his head in the negative. "No," he says, "I'm as ready to go as I'll ever be."
Garidan engages his magic armor spell and begins to move to cover. He spends a few minutes just trying to observe the tower and any guards that may be on watch, trying to get a head count. "Maybe we can concentrate fire on the thugs in the tower while Tanrov tries to break down the door. Then again, it might be quicker for Martino to try to bypass the lock and get us in, but that reduces the amount of fire we bring on the tower. Numerous scenarios run through the mage's mind. However, if we were to just rush the door, it would limit the amount of goons that they can bring against us at one time. Their guards are probably on the lookout for the dottari or the hell knights. They're probably not expecting a small band to assault their headquarters.
Tanrov walks up beside Garidan
"Hmm.. seems clear to me, I should probably check out this building, but i'll wait for the rest this time"
"Yeah, I don't see anyone either. Strange though, you'd think they'd have someone on lookout at least." Could it be a trap? Could we have been betrayed? Garidan wonders to himself.
"Or perhaps someone beat us here," says Rurik as he cautiously advances.
"Yes, I have one supply that I need, and that is further knowledge," Mimazaran said to Garidan's question. "There must be a better way to get in there other than simply walking on the surface. Perhaps there's a sewer route that connects to the district? It would certainly be much less blatant than walking out in the open, where there's certainly going to be a guard. Bandits tend to be stupid, so it's highly unlikely they'd post a guard in the sewers, and if they did, it would at most just be a duo, which I'm sure we could easily dispatch without alarm." When he got to the last sentence, though, it certainly sounded like the Wayang was against his own suggestion, but made it purely out of necessity.
Arael opens his mouth to respond to Mimazaran's suggestion, but Penumbra speaks first. "I did check that angle. These particular bandits are a little smarter than average. In addition to the tunnels that have collapsed from neglect in Rego Cader, the ones leading directly into this block have been have been purposefully collapsed."
Arael steps forward, "You are starting to think like the hero we knew you would all develop into. I am very glad."
"Good thinking Mimazaran. That would be a good advantage to have." At hearing the news that the tunnels had been collapsed, Garidan sighed but quickly tried to compose himself. "Well if we can't go in under the ground, we'll have to get as close as we can and try to force our way in. Hopefully we can confine the fighting to the structure and avoid any civilian casualties."
Mimazaran merely waved a hand at the compliment, seemingly thinking it was just a rational line of thinking, though if his grey cheeks could blush, there would be just the barest hint of red to his cheeks. He certainly seemed disappointed in the news that the tunnels had been collapsed, and shook his head. "Most bandits aren't that smart," he sighed. "This may make the mission a problem, should they be able to think that far ahead. I suppose that there's no real weak angle to infiltrate them, either. It depends on their numbers, but it would probably be too dangerous to try and scout out for that." One more sigh, and he muttered, "Guess we just have to wing it."
Sneaking his way up to the building with the rest of the party, Mimazaran attempted his best to listen in on the surroundings.
"Wait!" he hissed to his companions. "There's some movement inside. Keep your noise to a minimum, or else we'll alert the guards!"
Tanrov pushes the door to see if it's locked if not he enters