With the tip off given to start watching various dockhands carefully, Winter now starts paying more attention to passers by.
After a few minutes of walking along the wharves, you spot the Flying Cloud. A crew of five men are loading cargo onto the ship.
The night sky clears, and the wind dies down. Shining down on the boat, the moonlight illuminates a man standing on the bridge of the ship. Long black hair tied up with a bandana, he barks orders down to the men on the dock. Glancing over at the party, he tells the men to halt their work, and get on board.
The crew scramble up the gangplank, and pull it on-board. Once everyone is secure, the bandana-wearing man steps to the railing.
"I told you grog-blossoms to stay away from my ship. Shove off, or did you enjoy your last lesson, and come back for more?"
Upon seeing the group addressed by the man in the bandanna, Bree hangs back and moves herself more into the shadows to observe the situation. She also takes in her surroundings, laying out alternative routes to reach her target and to escape should she need too.
Sebastian feels a knot grow in his throat..he whispers into the group's presence. "Didn't our little informant tell us she was relieving a ship of its supplies at the wharf...I..Think..They...Know."
Out of the corner of her mouth, "There's somebody behind us, in the shadows. Keep an eye on it."
Stepping forward to address the Captain, "And who're you to tell us to shove off? This is a free port. We go where we please."
Whispering
"Perhaps this is a code? perhaps we are supposed to say something like 'this time we come with gifts' or the like?"
Whispering back "We are dressed like the group that robbed them...not a good opening gambit."
Sebastian begins to note the sailors, looking for potential weapons and which looks ready to attack them.
The crew stands back from the rails, with the bandana-wearing man out in front. He hasn't pulled any weapons yet. Watching the party, he seems to be waiting for something.
He blocked blocked our opening, so to press the gambit, pawn to d5
Trying to put some gruff in his voice. "We got the chest..shrunken in her sack there. Nodding his head toward Kaylen.
His voice taking a bad time to gave a little crack in it. If only I had time for my vocal exercises
He covers with a few coughs and wraps his cloak a little tighter about him as if the cold were affecting him.
"Chest?" He turns around to look at his mates. "We're not the sort of crew who runs about digging up lost treasures buried in...chests."
Grabbing a rope, he jumps off the railing and swings down to the wharf. "Now if you didn't hear me right off," he says, "I said to clear the dock."
Whispering out of the corner of her mouth to the others, "Methinks he may not know what we're here for."
Aloud to the Captain, she'll call, "And if my mates and I feel like taking a stroll along this particular dock, friend, by what right do you deny us? As I said, it's a free port. We have business on this particular dock this evening. None of your concern, I assure you. We won't interfere with you if you leave us to our business."
"The last time I left you to your business you nearly cleared out my holds"
Feeling like things might be getting ugly, and not wanting to miss her chance to claim her bounty, Bree begins to slowly move towards the group. If she was able to ascertain an alternative route to reach the group then she will take that route, so that she can move quicker. If she was not, then she will stick to the shadows as much as possible. Her goal is to get within range of the group so that she can either intercept or engage if a fight breaks out.
As she is only flitting in the shadows and not behind solid cover, she'd be plain as day to my Darkvision :)
Winter turns and looks into the shadow, directly at the fleeting figure. His posture and bearing is clearly conveying that he can see and is watching the movement of the stalker - though not moving to threaten them.
Keeping a circumspect eye on the stalker, Winter watches this 'Captain' more closely, especially in the light of Kaylens conversation,
I assume its Bree
Winter gets that still face of introspection...
In his head he grinds over Thuvalia's words...
"A man with a cloak and deep hood had hired us last month. We had met at the wharves while relieving a merchant ship of it's supplies. After taking the chest, we were going to head back to the wharves to meet him, and collect our fee."
"Please keep me safe in here...don't send me to the dungeons. I promise I won't do nuthin' bad. Head to the wharves, and look for the Flying Cloud. That's where we met 'im."
While relieving the boat, not ON the boat, meet AT the boat, not ON the boat...
He whispers, "This isn't our guy".
Winter steps forward, for him the pieces have fallen into place... speaking loudly (even, non threatening tones) enough so that the Captain may hear, yet confound eavesdroppers as much as possible...
"Good Captain, things are not as they seem here, please go back to your boat and go about your business, as you have no quarrel with us and nor we with you - I beseech you to hear my words and mark them as true, My friend speaks the truth, we do have business here, dark business, possibly with a common...acquaintance"
Kira rather than speaking is too busy being distracted by all the ships and sailors. she is eyeing the various men who may have been former clientelle of hers. her movement seemed to be somewhat slow and shaky, as if she were nervous. normally, she would make a trip to the docks every day in her former profession. but there was something not right about this comely dimwitted elven lass. she will follow the party, especially Winter and Sable. her eyes will seem to be wide with astonishment. and she will likel remain silent.
"You sure about that? Alright, he's in your hands." Kira turns to face the flitting shadow with Winter, making herself ready to move if the form is hostile. "What is it?"
When the two turn to face her, Bree takes on a normal stroll. She digs out a piece of gold and glides it back and forth over her fingers. She steps directly out and casually strolls towards the tall man who turned to look at her. She does her best to bring up a natural looking smile. When she is within a few feet of him, she tosses the coin to him.
“I think you dropped that a ways back there…”
Bree uses this moment to take in the others briefly, from more up close, in an attempt to confirm these are in fact the right people before risking herself further. Paying special attention to verify the identity of her two targets that were described to her.
Bree casually closes more of the distance between herself and the original two that were watching her. She leans in a little bit, and quietly in common speaks.
“What are you guys doing here? The meeting place was changed. Didn’t he tell ya? Geez. OK, come on, I’ll take you there…”
She then turns her body partially indicating that she intends to walk away and expects them to follow her, but with her body turned, she also prepares to draw a dagger and run to the nearest alley if she must.
Winter regards the intruder momentarily, then looks back to the Captain.
The captain swaggers closer to the party. "Your whore there," pointing to Kaylen, "the one with the eye patch. There's our acquaintance."
Talking to Kaylen, and taking a few steps closer, "What happened, got tired of your sorcerer?" Closer now, he regards the party members closely, slowly shaking his head. "How'd you rope this bunch in? Promises of wealth and fame? Or maybe it was becoming a capp for one of the crimelords." He spits in her general direction, and pulls out a short metal tube with a wooden handle at one end.
"It doesn't really matter, though," he says, "I'll take care of them just like that bunch last week."
Anyone except a corpse can see that Bree is trying too hard to get the party to follow her.
"Captain, reflect on my words, I speak plainly and you have mistaken the true identity of this lady, return to your ship and let us depart yuor company forthwith"
The captain stops, looks at Kaylen, and cocks his head to one side while resuming his approach, his steps now rushed as he quickly closes the distance. A knife appears out of nowhere, suddenly in his hand. Cutting the strap of the eye patch, the captain frowns for a moment.
"I thought I finally got her," he says, letting the patch fall to the ground.
Turning to Winter, the captain bows. "My apologies. A girl and her thugs have managed to unload the cargo from my ship on two separate occasions."
Saluting Winter with his metal tube, the captain continues, "Josper Creesy, captain of the Flying Cloud." He finishes by turning to the boat which he just rappelled down, arms outstretched.
When the tall man turns back to the captain, Bree lets out a soft sigh and turns towards the captain as well.
When she sees the knife, she begins to draw one of her own, until she realizes what it is that he has done with the knife. Her hand pauses, she purses her lips as if in a moment’s thought. She slightly shrugs her shoulder. He only said she wore on eye patch, not that she was missing an eye. She listens intently to what the captain says about his findings, and ponders what the tall man had to say about the woman’s identity.
"Well met Captain Creesy, I'm glad this ended peacefully. The reason for our..sudden appearance..may soon become rather apparent; by your leave we will depart"
Winter turns to the 'stranger'
"So who are you, precisely, and what do you know of our rendezvous? You aren't who I was expecting."
Bree cocks an eyebrow at the large man. She pulls her braid over her shoulder and begins twisting the end of it back and forth, idly.
“Well now, I guess I could ask you the same question, now couldn’t I?” She nods at the woman now without her eye patch. “Looks like you may not be who I was expecting either.” She eyes each of the men wearing robes, warily. She glances up towards Captain Creesy and his crew for a moment before shrugging.
“I’m just a hired hand. Nothing worth dying for.” She crosses her arms, a natural appearing gesture for all intents and purposes, which is why she chose to secure a dagger within reach of either hand in this position, hidden behind her cloak.
“Now who are you? It’s obvious you aren’t the group you’re out here masquerading around as. What happen? You beat them to the job?”
Turning to face the newcomer, "What makes you think we aren't who we appear to be? Who are you? Who hired you?"
Then, turning back to the captain, "And Captain. Please be careful when you put a knife that close to somebody's face. Some people might see it as unfriendly. Me, I see it as something a little bit different." She grins at him, flashing her teeth, then picks up the remains of the eyepatch and turns back toward the newcomer. "Damn. I thought it looked rather good on me."
Bree gestures towards Winter, and then the Captain in turn as she addresses Kaylen.
“Well, your tall friend here just said that you weren’t who the Captain thought you were, and based off of what the Captain here has said, it sounds like he was thinking you were the same lady I was thinking you were. Of course, I might be wrong. It’s happened a time or two.”
Bree shrugs her shoulder again. “Like I said, not worth dying for.” She motions towards the patch in Kaylen’s hand. “Not really my style, but sure yeah, it looked good on ya.”
“The name’s Bree. Wouldn’t a more appropriate question be what I was hired for? You ask a lot of questions, but aren’t giving any answers of your own. You willing to pay for these answers?”
"I'd hazard a guess that you were either hired to kill somebody, or you were hired to find somebody and guide them somewhere, and have judged us to not be the target and decided to announce yourself. Am I close?" Walking closer to Bree, Kaylen continues in a conversational tone. "I wouldn't say that we beat them to the job, no. How much are you expecting to receive for your answers, Bree?"
As the now eye-patch-less woman begins moving towards Bree, Bree decidedly takes a few steps back. Maintaining the distance between the two, and doing her best to keep tabs on the locations of the rest of the group.
“My, my, my. Aren’t we the aggressive one? You know, they say that being kind works much better in your favor? I mean after all, if you grab me and try to beat the answers out of me, how can you ever be sure you’re getting the truth? How can you be sure I’m not just saying what’s going to save my hide?”
She eyes the crowd, once more and smiles at the woman. “Normally, I’d say it depends on how bad you want them, but hey, I can see I don’t have a lot of bargaining room. At the moment. I’d say they are worth at least as much as I was hired for, if I follow through I get another 150 gold… and no, you’re not really that close. Though, I must admit this isn’t my usual gig. I was given the express orders to avoid casualties.”
Sebastian whispers in some advice from beside Bree "Ahh...you see, there you made your mistake for from what I have seen, my friend here does not operate under any such restriction. And without the eye-patch, her aim will be a lot better.
In a voice more can hear, "Your information may have value, but only if it proves to be true. The equation can not be closed, hence, you will not be paid, till we can spot your benefactor and confirm.
"Hmmm once again the cycle continues and I find myself out of season."[b]
[b]"Something you may have missed fair lass is that through some rather unpleasant methods a seeker of answers may find that dead bodies are much more compliant in giving up their secrets than living ones. That you stand here so boldly without considering our ability to do so shows you as a thoughtless chancer. 150 gold pieces is a sum more than ten times what the oils for the ritual would cost"
"So you may continue to talk with my confederates, but be sure my patience will soon wane, and the answers I seek rapidly decay in worth - time is fleeting"
Bree looks over Sebastian for a quiet, contemplative moment. “Now what kind of person would go around attacking people without any real cause?” She holds her hands up, palms out. Showing that they are empty. “I’ve made no move to hurt anyone, and I haven’t even made a run for it. I’ve also done nothing wrong, nothing but try to help you lot out of what could have been a real ugly night if Captain Creesy here wasn’t convinced that you weren’t the criminals you are out here dressed up as.”
She lets her eyes roam over the group, meeting the gaze of each person who is looking at her, before settling her eyes back on Kaylen.
“Here’s how I see it, there is one of me and many of you. Seems like you lot don’t have much to fear out of one stray who is just doing a job to keep food on her plate… If you aren’t who you’re pretending to be, then either you just beat them to the job and are hoping to get the same payout for it, or you’re working for the Golden Goblin. Either way, I can tell you that I intend to get paid something for my troubles…”
She looks to Winter, and in Elven speaks. "Then it would once again in my life seem as though I really have nothing to loose."
Bree returns her eyes to Sebastian. “Well, now, that might take some time. My benefactor isn’t expecting me until dawn, and he’s expecting me alone.”
"You mistake my intention, Bree. I had no intention of harming you at this time. I'm just seeing how you react. Still, if I'm making you uncomfortable," and Kaylen stops. "Tell you what. I'll make you a deal, Bree. If you tell us what you're going to do with the information after we tell you, I'll square with you over why we're here and why we look the way we do. Sound fair?" Turning to the others in her party, "Any objections to a deal like that? It might save us a bit of time."
With her hands folded in front of her, she taps her index fingers together while looking down at the space between herself and the other woman. Bree bounces on her heels a bit before looking back up into the other woman’s eyes.
“Well, I would say that if what you tell me sounds like something I might care to help with, then I would gladly offer my services, at a reasonable price, I assure you,” a smile spreads across her lips and she winks at the woman. “And if it is something that I think maybe I’m better off not knowing, well, then I guess I might just develop a strange and sudden case of amnesia. I might not remember anything about any of it, maybe not even standing here now.”
Winter shrugs assent
"A fair enough arrangement I suppose"
|
Turning to Kaylen and speaking in Common, "I have no objections to this proposition. Anything that will more quickly allow us to fly from this frigid wind. If things come to blows between everyone, I'd prefer not to be shaking when I raise my blade." Sable smiles briefly, "And the eye patch was rather dashing."
Turning towards Bree, "You have a keen mind for opportunity, and one might think that this raven might be encroaching upon a mockingbird's territory, but I've no intention of striking the first talon against you. If this endeavor pans out in favor of us all, perhaps we'll all fly away a bit more laden for the experience."
Speaking to Sable, also in Common, "Mockingbird, huh?" .
Speaking to Kaylen, "Hey, he always talk like that?"
"Hey, he always talk like that?"
Winter looks confused...
"Talk like what?"
"She perhaps means his Elven accent? But really, it is hardly noticeable."
"She perhaps means his Elven accent? But really, it is hardly noticeable."
"Oh yes of course, mine neither, never spent much time with that side of my family".
Bree rolls her hand in gesture. "No, no, I mean calling people birds and such?"
She shrugs her shoulders and then addresses Sable, "Meh, whatever. I guess it's kind of cool. A mockingbird though? Really?" She looks down at her plain, neutral colored, unadorned clothes and shrugs again. "OK, so I'm not the flashiest bird around. Though I somehow get you aren't talking about my appearance..."
Addressing the group, she says, "So, do I get to be let in on the big secret?"
She resumes the idle twisting back and forth of the tip of her braid. Her eyes roaming from person to person.
"So, do I get to be let in on the big secret?"
"The biggest secret held by the smallest number present appears to be 'who, exactly, are you'..." Winter casts an appraising eye over her, as if attepmting to look into her soul, "however that is a question I shall divine the answer to over the next short while"
"The big secret is that the people that were expected to be here, who we are all pretending to be, have recently had a change of season... and their fields shall hereafter remain fallow. We are here to find out who planted thier seeds in the first place, and possibly sow the seeds for a bitter harvest in return"
"The biggest secret held by the smallest number present appears to be 'who, exactly, are you'..." Winter casts an appraising eye over her, as if attepmting to look into her soul, "however that is a question I shall divine the answer to over the next short while"
"The big secret is that the people that were expected to be here, who we are all pretending to be, have recently had a change of season... and their fields shall hereafter remain fallow. We are here to find out who planted thier seeds in the first place, and possibly sow the seeds for a bitter harvest in return"
Bree seems fidgety and uncomfortable under the prolonged gaze. "Actually, I've divulged far more information to you lot than you have to me. I've told you my name, you have not given yours, I've told you I was hired, and that I was told to avoid casualties. I've told you the person who hired me was a male, and that he's expecting me alone and at dawn. I've told you that I'm to get an additional 150 gold if I follow through. You've told me little, other than you can get my corpse to speak to you if I won't, and a bunch of riddles about birds and seasons. That's OK though, I get the gist of it. The rest I shall tell you simply because you lot amuse me, if nothing else."
"I'm a bounty hunter by trade. I was hired by a man named Marcus Fenn. He said that he had word that there would be a robbery tonight of the Golden Goblin, the persons committing the crime were to be a robed sorcerer named Angvar and his human woman wearing an eye patch. He said these two have been committing lots of robberies around here, including the fighting halls around the city. He paid me 50 gold up front to follow Angvar and acquire the Golden Goblin's stolen chest. I'm to meet him at dawn, with the chest, to receive the rest of my payment."
Winter smiles at Bree, slightly mocking but mostly friendly.
"Well I am Winter, and I am down from the mountains and not...a Riddleport denizen." he almost frowns out the last part. "Whilst I am still learning a great deal about how the cycles move here, i will share with you the way I see things".
He pauses, his strong angelic chin firming and his white brows furrow slightly, "A man hires you to essentially rob a bunch of theives who are about to commit a crime that he mysteriously knows about, and then you are to come and meet him alone at dawn to collect payment and hand him the goods" he continues to stare "...had it not occured to you that the reason he knew of the crime is he commissioned it, and then found it cheaper and more expedient to have you rob his robbers and then, if you succeeded, simply gut you like a fish and toss you in the harbour as 'payment' when you returned? Far cheaper to simply kill one person who wont be missed than a group of organised bandits, and he can deny all knowledge of any wrongdoing if they complain. Should you have failed, they'd simply have killed you outright and assumed you were an agent of the Casino and been none the wiser, and had you succeeded they'd have still thought the same thing"
"A miracle you have survived this long to be honest"
Winter continues to look into her, reading her body language for a response.
|
|
Speaking in Common, "My name is Sable, and I have flown far to reach this nest of gulls. I concur with Winter, it is possible that the one who hired you is the very grackle we're intending to approach ourselves. There are so many betrayals and back alley dealings that finding safety here in Riddleport is more difficult than a cave swift keeping its nest."