Baer, Allyph and Tural arrive in front of Trinia's door, which is still barricaded from the inside. Denario doesn't take too long to catch up with them.
Shingle Chase round 4:
~
Mavor
Shingle Chase round 5:
Quorthos
Trinia
Mavor
Mavor presses the pursuit yet again and tries to hurry his way across another tightrope and narrow walkway ahead of him.
We're losing ground, can't let up on the chase. But dang she's fast and good at this.
Quorthos also continues running after the woman, but loses his balance and his momentum.
Hell's donkeys, she's fast!
As the group arrives at the door Tural gets a closer look at the door.
"What do you guys think?"
Mavor speeds up, quickly making his way over a narrow walkway and a tightrope to close the distance between him and Trinia.
Quorthos also tries to speed up, but has trouble moving over the same narrow walkway. When he gets to the tightrope Quorthos's foot slips and he falls feet to the streets below.
It's a miracle Quorthos can even stand up after the fall.
Meanwhile Tural studies the door to Trinia's apartment. He concludes it's just a regular wooden door, and it doesn't even have a lock. that's probably why Trinia barricaded it from the inside.
Trinia looks back and notices Mavor's closing in on her. She swiftly climbs over a very steep roof to avoid he'll catch up to her.
In the distance you spot a patrol of Sable Company marines on their hippogriffs. They notice Trinia the moment she climbs up the steep roof and rapidly fly over to where she is. One of the marines swoops in on hippogriff back, heading straight for the woman. Trinia spots him too late and the hippogriff grabs hold of her, after which it heads for Castle Korvosa.
Mavor looks at the hippogryphs as they soar away in the direction of the castle.
"Shoot! Damn hippogryph riders. So much for our attempt to take her in quietly."
He makes his way back across the roofs in a slower and more relaxed pace and avoids any tight ropes and heads back to Trinia's house, suspecting the others might be there. When he comes back, he shakes his head and says:
"She got away from me, though she was picked up by the hippogryph riders of the city. Guess she is going to be broughht to justice one way or another. But she'll have no answers for us sadly."
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH-"
Quorthos bounces off the side of the building and hits the cobblestones hard, feeling several ribs crack from the impact. He looks up at the rooftops in time to see a flight of Sable Company marines fly off with Trina. His head sinks back to the pavement as he contemplates his failure.
"Hello Quorthos... do you need my aid again?'
No. I'm fine.
"Come now, we both know that isn't true. Just say the magic words, and I will help you. That's what friends do."
You're not my friend.
"Is that any way to talk about me, after all we've been through? I'm hurt."
Good. That makes two of us.
"You know I can make you say the words if I want to, don't you? But it's so much more... satisfying, when you say them yourself. Just say them, and we can both go about our business. Until the next time..."
Quorthos gives an exasperated sigh which turns into a wince as he sits up. After dusting himself off and ensuring none of his knives were lost in the fall, he ducks into nearby alley and mutters some words of arcane power. Ruefully he heads back to the apartment building where the chase began, hoping to regroup with his colleagues.
Baer takes her back to breaking down Trinia's door, pulling out her crowbar.
"C'mon, help me get this door open. We might as well find evidence of her guilt inside."
Str check on door
Str check on door
Str check on door
Str check on door
Str check on door
Str check on door
Str check on door
Str check on door
Str check on door
Str check on door
Baer tries for a full minute.
Tural tries to aid Baer in her effort to get the door open. Though he looks wooden and strong, especially during battles, he doesn't have much strength. After a few tries he gives up and shrugs.
"Not my type of thing."
*observes the orcish strenght Baer is displaying.*
Baer easily busts open the door. Tural tried to aid her, but when he kicks the door's already on the floor.
Trinia's one-room flat combines all the amenities of a bedroom, a kitchen, and a painter’s studio into one fifteen-foot-square space, leaving little room for much else. A stack of cheese and bread sits on the counter next to several full waterskins, while the easel in the opposite corner holds a half-completed painting of an imp and a pseudodragon fighting atop a church steeple. A single window looks out over the tangled rooftops of the Shingles, and just under it is low bed.
Majenko returns with the leg of an imp in his moth. He lands on Baer's shoulder, where he starts to devour the imp's flesh.
"Lovely! Just lovely! You should try too, I've left another leg outside!"
He looks at the half-completed painting while eating.
"Well I'll be, that's my uncle Babango while hunting! That's a church in this neighborhood. He lives in the bell tower."
Baer enters. She looks around until she realizes it's empty and safe.
She takes her time to do a careful and thorough search of the room. She looks for clue and items of interest.
"C'mon Tural, Denario, let's turn this place upside down."
Take 20 Perception: 27.
Baer smiles as Majenko explains his family pride. "Oh yeah, he looks like a proud drake. This criminal seems like a fine painter...but artists never make much money, do they? No wonder she resorted to regicide."
Majenko, I've seen imps wounds heal so quickly, and their hides are so tough. How are you little dragons able to damage them quickly enough to eat?
Tural grabs one of the waterskins and takes a few big gulps.
"Physical work isn't for me."
He says as he wipes his mouth with his sleeve.
"Are you able to find anything Baer?"
Majenko cheerfully explains the art of imp slaying to Baer.
"We first make them sleep. Once they sleep it's just a matter of pulling the limbs hard enough to tear them off."
Baer doesn't find a single copper in the flat, and neither does she find anything of value. It does indeed seem like Trinia didn't make much money.
Even after searching for several minutes there's no evidence to be found to indicate that Trinia killed the king.
"Looks like you're right about artists, Baer."
Allyph had also taken her time to search the small flat, and came to the same conclusions. "No money and no evidence..."
"Looks like she had co-conspirators working with her...or she hasn't been paid off yet,' Baer notes with disappointment. She groans a second time when she learns that Trinia got away.
"Now what? Maybe we get back to Cressida quickly and let her know what happened? Maybe there is a chance she can lawfully intercede somehow?"
If there is nothing else here, Baer will return to Cressida.
"If so, the pull might have to be considerate. If royalty wants your head and the royal guard has been sent out, it's not easy."
"Yeah, let's head out to Cressida and report our failure. At least sort of, Trinia wasn't lynched by a mob and we succeeded in that part. Let's see what Cressida says and then hear about any judgment or trial Trinia will go through."
Mavor says as he listens for steps on the stairs just before Quoarthos walks back inside.
"What happened to you? One moment you were there and the next I didn't see you behind me anymore."
"Had a date with gravity," Quorthos mutters, rubbing his sore ribs.
After hearing the others' suggestions, Quorthos shakes his head. "I don't think we have time to report back. Why don't we go talk to the guy who stuck his head out the window and see what he knows? Maybe find other people who know her and try to figure out where she might hole up?"
A thought occurs to him, and he turns to Majenko. "Majenko..., oh, nice job on the imps, by the way! I'm glad you are ok. Is there any way you could put the word out to your friends to watch for her? She seems to like rooftops, maybe another dragon may spot her to give us a palce to search?"
"We first make them sleep. Once they sleep it's just a matter of pulling the limbs hard enough to tear them off."
Baer looks at Majenko, a question comes to mind.
"Maj, is there a certain part of the imp that is more flavorful and tasty than the rest? Do you just eat that part, then wait for it to grow back so you can eat it again? You know, like unlimited toes?"
Baer snorts at Quorthos, recognizing the good idea.
"Yeah, we should canvas the area...see who knows what. Maybe some of these yokels will help us if we seem concerned that she's been arrested," Baer says.
Baer joins with Quorthos to pound on a few doors, asking neighbors if they know anything about Trinia and what she done.
Majenko stares at Quorthos and cocks his head. "I'll ask some of my relatives, but I doubt anyone will see her if she's been taken captive by those hippogriff riders."
"I tried that once," Majenko lets Baer know, "but body parts that have just grown back taste very sour. You have to let the new part be for at last a day for it to lose its sourness."
You decide to ask around instead of returning to Cressida empty-handed. The first place to ask around that comes in mind is two stories below, on the main ground, where the man that addressed you earlier lives. You head down and knock on his door. At first there's no reaction, but then you hear a sound like someone just stumbled inside.
Allyph rolls her eyes. "We know you're inside, we just heard you!"
After Allyph speaks it's quiet for a couple more seconds. The silence is broken when you hear the man's nervous voice from behind the door. "Uhm, hello... What do you want...?"
Tural grimaces at Majenko holding the imp leg. He tries not to look at it but it seems unavoidable.
"That looks... Eh... Tasty..."
He says to the small dragon. Ideas for plans are offered and Tural also adds his opinion.
"I think we should head down to the man also. He looked like he knew some things or was holding something back."
"We spoke to you earlier. There is... a situation."
Tural looks doubtful if it is a wise idea to share the information. He tries to get the man outside or the group in.
"Could you come out or can we come in? We didn't harm you earlier no need to be afraid of us doing it now."
He tries to coax the man in opening the door.
Denario was sort of, but not entirely, surprised Majenko was eating an imp.
It is the season for it.
He left the negotiations to the more charismatic among the group.
Baer waits, keeping her mouth shut.
Tural's enormously charismatic voice takes away all the nervously that oozed out of the man's voice seconds earlier, but the man stays cautious. "Of course we can talk. Shall I open the window again?"
The curtain behind the window are opened and the window is as well, though the latter only a few inches. The man appears behind the window. "What is this situation you mentioned...?" the man asks carefully.
"I think you already know."
Tural says as he looks the man directly at the man.
"We have to help her, to free her."
Mavor looks at Tural and raises an eyebrow, but keeps his mouth shut for the time being, then looks at Baer with a worried face, hoping she will not speak up about wanting to capture Trinia themselves.
We did try to capture her, I'd like to know where Tural is going with this approach. Why would we want to free her?
Baer waits in silence, keeping her mouth shut.
Allyph blinks at Tural's words, but keeps her mouth shut to see where the conversation's going.
Curious tactic, but okay.
The man doesn't immediately reply. After a thoughtful pause he opens his window further and leans out. "I saw her being carried off..."
"Believe me," he says earnestly, "when I say I have no idea how to help you. They flew her off to the castle. She's likely in the dungeons by now."
Casting his eyes downward the man shakes his head. "The girl didn't deserve this... She did nothing wrong, she doesn't have it in her."
Baer snorts at the man's comments, but says nothing.
"Do you perhaps know anything that might help us? Maybe even of what happened?"
Tural replies to the man. Hoping to get some information out of him. The others look a bit confused as to what he is trying to do. He tries to relay a message through Majenko.
Majenko? Could you relay to the others that I am trying to get some information out of him? They look too confused to be of any help. This man needs to trust us.
Quorthos steps forward to back Tural up. "I believe you, friend. So do others - but the mob doesn't. It is our job to find her and determine what actually happened. Doing that will exonerate Trinia and expose the guilty party - it's the only way to save her."
Mavor whistles as though nothing is happening but under his breath he says while whistling.
"She got accused of kingslaying... What happened now is she got captured by hippogryff riders..."
When the others look at him he shrugs and says.
"Well it's true ain't it? We might try to prove her innocence, though saving her from the mob is one thing, saving her from the palace a very different one."
"Though proving her innocence might also prove the palace is lying for something..."
Baer continues to keep her mouth shut. She disagrees...thinks the girl is probably guilty (though they have no proof either way).
Baer snorts, thinking that there are magics that would compel Trinia to tell the truth...and that would solve problems.
"Surely there are priests who could divine the truth out of her?"
"All I can say is I'm sure she doesn't have it in her," the man tells you. "If they took her to the castle there's really nothing I can do... I'm a mere commoner."
Majenko, still maintaining a mental link with all of you, relays Tural's message.
"I think you do have his trust, Tural. He's just not of any help to us."
Baer, finding nothing in the apartment nor from speaking with the neighbors to either confirm or disprove her innocence, is ready to return to Cressida and admit failure...though Cressida is likely to already know of their failure.
"We should return. We have failed to 'protect' Trinia," Baer mutters.
"Thank you for your cooperation. We greatly appreciate it."
Tural manages a small bow and moves away from the man.
"Shall we return?"
"We didn't 'fail' to protect, Baer, she ran for it like a pro. Despite a predicament i can imagine, she ran on her own accord that led to her capture. All we can do is wait and see what will happen, maybe our 'chief' will know of a way."
"I agree, there seems nothing to do but return." If I'm going to take on this role, I'll have to get better at convincing people I'm on their side... honeyed words, or magical disguise?
The news of Trinia's capture by the Sable Marines spreads quickly, and things in Korvosa once again calm down. Yet when you decide to report to Field Marshal Cressida Kroft, you find Citadel Volshyenek's guards unusually agitated and nervous.
Baer is thoroughly dejected at their failure, not looking forward to facing Cressida. She's not ready to be fired just yet and doesn't say much. She wants another chance.
She can't complain even if she was a complainer...she fell off the freakin' roof pretty quickly.
Baer waits to hear what's what.
Mavor tries his way to investigate what has happened and quickly makes his way to socialize somewhat with the guards.
He comes back to the others with information.
"It doesn't look good, A Shoanti boy got himself killed in the city and now one of their elders called Thousand Bones that is an emissary to their people here is calling the city out on it."
"It's one thing into another isn't it? Good that I came across you fellows."
Tural says in response to Mavor.
"He does a pretty good job at it if everyone it talking about it. Shall we poke around for a bit?"