"Wait. You think we're Asmodeans?" Veccio's briefly confused expression quickly melts to one of mirth and hilarity. "We hate them as much as you do! How about you just let us in and we'll smooth this whole thing over, eh?" He leans an elbow on the closed door as if carrying out a conversation with a friend, rather than a stranger.
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All of a sudden the door swings open. An old man with white air and a pair of mustaches of the same color greets you with a suspicious glare while aiming a crossbow straight at Veccio's head.
"So... you say you are NOT Asmodeans? That's good to hear... but I don't think I'm fully convinced. You certainly don't look like them idiots all dressed in red and black, but who knows? Devils can be tricky bastards. I've killed my share in my time so I should know. But... for sake of argument... let's say I might be convinced you are NOT Asmodeans and actually hate them... why would I allow you to take shelter in my humble abode? You see I haven't gotten to this old age by being overly trusting. So before I allow you in I would like some kind of proof about these claims of yours. I've gotten a whole band of devil worshippers nesting a couple of miles from here and I don't feel like allowing 5 armed people into my home without being absolutely sure about their intentions..."
"Now, let us not be 'asty 'ere. Eef you just tell us where zee devil-worshippers are, we can per'aps root zem out for you and leave you een peace." Meliandri pauses, looking doubtfully at the crossbow aimed at Veccio, and then motions for him to take a step back. "Een fact, we really do not need zee place to stay, eef zey are close!"
Veccio's eyes cross as he stares down the sight of the crossbow pointed at his face. "Um, yeah, you know, we really don't need to stay," he laughs weakly, taking a shaky step back and raising his hands. "You, uh, can you tell us where they went?" After a moment, he clears his throat, strengthens his stance and adds in what he hopes is an authoritative tone, "We have personal reasons to see them dealt with."
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The old man nods vigorously at Veccio and Meliandri's words:"I like that way of thinking. Deal with them and you can have my barn all for yourselves any nights of the week! They are hiding inside what's left of poor Kelbert's farm. It's located 2 miles and a half south east of here. The bastards took it from Kelbert's family supposedly for some unpaid debt or something and in the process managed to destroy half the place when Kelbert resisted eviction. Kelbert was a stubborn fool but he wasn't a bad man. He tried to send them away. Ufortunately that ended costing hims his life and his wife and child were eviceted and were lucky to survive. I'm sad to say they moved into the city but I don't know what happened to them after the devil worshipping scum took what was left of their lodgings. I wish them well, though". he finishes lowering his crossbow just a bit. Then he raises it up and points you towards the place where Kelbert's farm is supposed to be:"Well? What are you doing still on my property? You need to get going if you want to catch our mutual "friends". Be wary, as far as I can tell there are 5 of them and the leader is some sort of blasphemous priest..."
"Do you even have to ask?" Izzy says softly with a slight cocky smile. She flicks the hood of her cloak over her head before she moves ahead of the group, bow and arrow in hand. She crouches low and watches her step as they get closer to the dilapidated farmhouse.
Veccio walks with a spring in his step and a tune on his lips, though he nearly trips over his own boots more than once. As the group gets closer and Izzy begins a stealthier approach, he stops abruptly, watching guiltily and kicking at the dirt.
Meliandri tiptoes behind Izzy, her sword already in hand and ready for combat. As she goes, she quietly hums a couple bars from her favorite Chelish opera, Aspex the Even-Tongued.
Seeing Mel follow after Izzy, Veccio scrambles to follow after her, trying to move quietly despite his haste.
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It takes some time but in the end you get in sight of your destination: the old man's indications prove correct and the farm rises on a large hill half a mile away from the road.
Izzy, Varro, Veccio and Mel move near the farm apparently unnoticed. From near they observe how the place seems devoid of all life, and is composed by the main edifice, a well, a barn, some sort of pigsty and of course what amounts to a huge swath of land with half planted crops.
Meanwhile Eallos, Abigail and Cugly stay on the road apparently undecided about what to do.
Varro whimpers, barely audible as he watches Izzy go off alone and swiftly followers her, barely making a sound. Izzy smiles when she sees him and pets him behind his ears. With him at her side she relaxes and looks out onto the home.
Veccio crouches just behind Izzy, squinting in the same direction she's looking. "You see that too, huh?" he murmurs, trying not to let on that he doesn't see all that much at all.
Eallos looks around, then follows from an even greater distance, aware that he is the most likely to make noise.
"Izzy," Veccio mutters, "How about we send your dog around, see if he'll be a distraction?"
"Or," Izzy says softly yet with a hint of venom, "Why don't you go do that? I would never send Varro anywhere I wouldn't go as well." She remembers seeing the one man standing near the top of the barn. "What about the guard we saw around the entrance. Do you think I could make the shot in one hit?"
"Well..." Meliandri grins mischievously. "...We could be sending zee dog and someone else around zee back. Zen 'e would not be so alone!"
She pauses. "I 'ate to say eet, but our only ozer option seems to be a quick assault on zee barn. Eef we are quick and lucky, we may be able to turn around and trap zee people een zee 'ouse. Eef not, a more conservative strategy eez een order. Ooh, zis eez just like een "Zee Siege of Umok", when zee brave 'ellknights 'ave to break through goblin lines to save zee gnomish townsfolk!"
Izzy goes to reply to Meli but freezes when she notices someone approaching them from the barn. She motions for everyone to hide and quickly gets her bow in hand in case they need to defend themselves. She steadies her breathing and looks closer at the individual.
Eallos does his best to hide, drawing and loading his crossbow in case he's noticed.
Meliandri freezes, hand drifting to her rapier, and then gestures to the woman. "Can we get rid of 'er quietly?" She looks pointedly at Veccio.
"We can get rid of her, at least," Veccio mutters. "Coming through." In his attempts to get past the others quietly, he trips over Izzy's right boot and staggers out from behind the barn, managing to draw his rapier and ready himself before he is presumably assaulted by the Asmodean.
Eallos shrugs, raising his crossbow and firing before quickly reloading,
Varro, guard, Izzy softly comands her wolf-dog companion before carefully taking aim at the approaching asmodian and firing her arrow.
Veccio charges recklessly at the guard, missing her widely in his enthusiasm.
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Izzy's arrow wounds the asmodean but isn't able to bring her down. Veccio jumps into the fray trying to bring the guard down before she can alert the rest of her friends but fails to connect and the guard is able to disengage and move back into the courtyard while shouting for help.
Meanwhile Abigail bids her time suddenly uncertain about the wisdom of the current course of action...
Initiative Order
Party goes first then the guard, the rest of the asmodeans cannot be too far away though
Eallos fires again at the guard as she moves away,
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Eallos moves where he can see the guard and shoots at her but fails to hit her.
Abigail follows behind Veccio and casts a spell on herself
Mel stops her performance to take a shoot against the fleeing guard with her crossbow but she's not luckier than Eallos before her.
->
Initiative order - Bold needs to post
Meliandri
Abigail
Eallos
Veccio
Izzy
Varro
Guard
Cursing his own luck, Veccio follows the guard, hoping to take her down before help can arrive.
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The party tries to close on the fleeing guard but they prove to slow and she manages to get away.
Cursing under their breath Veccio, Mel, Eallos, Izzy and Abigail steel themselves as several people, men and women wearing heavy armor and bearing the colors of the asmodite faith, come out of the old farm, weapons on the ready.
Conflict seems inevitable, but suddenly a hearty chuckle breaks the tension. The leader of the devil worshippers appears, and everyone in the party immediately recognize him as Aerodus, the man who briefly joined them after the tumults of Aria Park.
"Stay your hands my friends! These are my erstwhile allies... or dupes to be more precise. I had hoped to recruit them against the thrice damned usurper and his band of heretics but I soon determined converting them would have required too much of an effort for a really small gain. So I left them to their own devices. Contrary to all of my expectations they managed to keep themselves out of Thrune's clutches... so bravo to them I guess!" says Aerodus in a very sarcastic tone.
Then he continues:"I suppose you didn't come here to reminisce about our brief collaboration. So you must be here for the crates. I'll cut to the case. I took the scrolls and I plan to keep them, you can have all the useless documents stacked into the crates though. I've no use for them and I don't see any reason not to give them to you... let's say for old time's sake. We could always fight for them, but considering we outnumber you 2 to 1 I think you have better accept my very generous offer and go..."
Despite the irksome tone Aerodus words are undeniably true. Fighting would be a foolish proposition considering how he's willing to part with the all important documents. So after consulting with each other briefly teh party accepts the asmodite's terms. At a cursory glance it seems Aerodus has kept his word: there's a lot of documents apparently useless unless one knows how to decypher them, something that Aerodus clearly has no interest in doing. So the party is able to leave the half ruined farm without fighting and in a few hours is back at Laria's.
Here a new unexpected development happens: Isabella clears her throat and declares her intention to move away from Kintargo. Things have gotten too dangerous it seems and the last events have helped her realize how the prospect of revenge isn't so attractive after all. She hugs al of you before leaving with Varro for the port, Varisia her next destination. Before going she gives back her silver raven figurine, claiming in all good coscience she could not keep it, considering how the party's could make a much better use of it than she ever could.
As she departs the party feels saddened and no ine utters a word. It's Laria who breaks the spell clearing her throat:"What are those faces, eh? She's made her decision. Respect it and move on! Kintargo isn't going to save itself, you know? Izzy will find her place in the world, don't worry, meanwhile YOU should start thinking about how we can get rid of our not so friendly despot. By the way I wanted to tell you we have a couple of new recruits... one of my people and a friend of mine who feel as we do about the current, unfortunate, siuation... come with me! They'll be here any minute now, but while we wait I'll pour you some tea!" so saying Laria leads the party back to her office.
"Tea? I love tea. But it makes me pee too much. So I probably wanna avoid that. By the Hammer and the Key, Laria told me you bunch were some interesting looking yahoos, but I didn't believe her until now."
Seeing bewilderment among the room's many faces, and a smile on Laria's face, something struck Lirotha that caused her to pause.
"OH...Yeahhh...I did it again, didn't I Laria? Well anyway, my name is Lirotha. I'm from Korvosa. Got shipped here becasue my relatives got tired of seeing my ugly mug."
Moving over to the nearest collaborator, she nudges him or her with an elbow, and whispers loudly enough for everyone to hear.
"I think they were just jealous of my ability to read the cards, you know?"
Turning back to the group with a smile, the young woman was oblivious to the group's sudden surprise at her appearance.
"So...I've been thinking and Harrowing, and everything is telling me change is in the wind here in Kintargo. I have seen what this town's leadership has done to the populace, and I cannot turn a blind eye or run away. That's not me. The Fire is rising and history will unfold to know the truth of the matter: That a few simple people, stood against the powers of Hell itself. So...Fate is telling me that I may have some small influence in that, if you'll have me.
"Well, I suppose we could be 'aving interviews. Without Isabella and Abigail, we could use a few more een zee Silver Ravens." Meliandri pulls Izzy's old silver raven token out of her bags, sets it on a table, and takes a seat opposite it from Lirotha.
"Laria, could you be a dear and bring Rexus 'ere? Eet would be nice to 'ave zee extra set of ears." Once the whole of the Silver Ravens are assembled, she begins, offering a hand to the other half-elf. "Meliandri Chastain-Aulamaxa. Now, you were saying something about reading zee cards? Zat eez a good skill, but what else are you offering? We need to replace Isabella and Abigail, so eef you can offer something een a fight, zat would be best. We seem to be 'aving a lot of zose." She flicks a stray strand of dirty-blonde hair out of her face and smiles expectantly.
As if on cue, the door to Laria's office swings open and a man strides in, although the man who enters the room is perhaps half the height of the one Meliandri had hoped for. Instead of Rexus, a young halfling enters, apparently muttering something to himself.
"No, I don't know their names! How would I know their names? Laria just said to come to the bakery and wait a while, then go back into the office when Rexus said. You heard her too. Yes you did! Don't lie to me, you great green wimp!"[b]
All at once, the halfling stops in his tracks, his eyes finally leaving the floor and taking in the crowd of strangers assembled around him. His face starts to redden, then a grimace of frustration creeps across his features. He looks furiously around at the faces until he finds that of Laria. [b]"Laria, y'old cow! You didn't tell me they'd be here already. Gah! I wanted to make a proper entrance. Now I just look a fool." He suddenly looks greatly distracted, like he hears an insect buzzing in his ear, then says aloud and apparently to no one but himself, "Don't you start! You know I coulda done somethin' proper impressive if I had the time."
The halfling walks back out of the room, still talking to himself, then comes back with a stool, which he promptly sets at one end of the desk. He clambers up onto the seat and looks around at everyone once again as he crosses his arms and nods. "Well, hi. I'm Rocco. Laria tells me you all might know a thing or two 'bout stirrin' up trouble for ol' Barzillai. Me and Kurglunn are in."
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The halfling woman smiles sweetly at Lirotha:"Tea it is then... although I really hope it doesn't inconvenience you too much..."
After serving the beverage Laria listen and nods at Mel's words:"Yes, I will fetch Rexus. He's fallen in love with all those papers you brought back but I too think he needs to be here. He's part of this after all"
As Rocco enters Laria chuckles before snorting back at him:"Don't worry overmuch, half pint, you were impressive in your own way... as you usually are". Then Laria turns to the others:"Don't you look at me! He can be sorta useful... sometime... and if you are wondering about Kurglunn... well it's supposed to be his ghost friend..." she finishes raising her eyes to the ceiling.
Just before Mel starts talking Abigail raises and shakes her head:"I'm sorry. I'm with you but I can't do this anymore. I need to find my family and time is running out. I thought this to be the best way to accomplish results but now I understand I have better start looking for them, I don't have the time to play at the revolutionaire. Your cause is just and if I find my family I will support it but I can't now. Forgive me if you can. Goodbye!" so saying and clearly on the brink of tears Abigail leaves the backery. Laria folows her giving the woman some freshly backed bread then returns to you.
"What a pity. Poor dear, her heart is in the right place, but her family is in danger. I'll see what I can do to help her... discretely, of course.
Then Laria adresses you all:"Since we are all here we might as well begin. From this point on things are going to get serious so listen carefully: we are few, TOO DAMN FEW. We need more people working with us and trustworthy. Not the easiest of prospects given the current sitation. So we need to start recruiting and we need to be careful about it, which is easier said than done. Any ideas about how to do it?"