You slip out of the barracks, hearing Krant snore loudly, sprawled across a table with a wine bottle in his hands. You head down to the door between the staircases, through which you know there are the cells you were put in when you woke up here, but what else, you don't know. However, when you reach it, it's locked.
The door stays locked. You do, however, recall Krant having a ring of keys on his stressed belt...
Soran is quiet and Mikail is as light a touch as he knows, but no sooner have they begun moving the keys off than Krant lets out a tremendous belch and begins to waken. You slip quickly and quietly out of the room and back to the barracks, but it's no good: Krant is up now and is looking around with a confused, surly look. He clearly knows something woke him up and isn't sure what, but he doesn't look like he's going back to sleep soon. You watch, but he stands and stretches and heads toward the barracks to check on the initiates. You hide yourselves, pretending sleep, but he still begins to pace the hallway, some hidden trouble on his mind.
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Mikail curses his out of practice fingers and grumbles about all of this new work being bad on his hands as he heads pretends to be asleep. Eventually, real sleep takes him as he awaits the all clear.
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Sleep claims you, eventually, and you rest. You're awoken the next morning by the not so gentle hand of Krant shaking you to wakefulness. You're given the usual breakfast of water and bread with some thin jams, but instead of the usual work in the courtyard, Krant pulls you lot aside.
"You lot! I have a task for you. Get yer robes and masks on and meet me upstairs." You outfit yourselves in Razmiran guise and head upstairs. Krant is wearing his mask and his robe stretches over his amble belly. Standing with him are two other Razmirans, though with the masks you can't tell identities.
"A member of the faithful has shirked his duty and failed to tithe properly. Name's Welton Grompus, a prominent baker. Runs a nice place. If he's not willing to pay, maybe his place gets a little less 'nice' eh? The three of us'll keep watch, but you're to go inside, rough him up and break a few things. He owes 100 gold for his tithin', and I want at least that much damage done in addition to gettin' the money. Break his legs, break his stuff, but show him and anyone in the neighborhood that if you cross Razmir, bad things happen to you." Krant leans in and says a little quieter. "Do well at this and this might just be the trick that gets you out of the basements and into some proper rooms. Really shows your devotion, get me? Fail... Don't fail."
As a gesture of trust, Krant pulls a small chest out. Inside are your original gear, minus any holy symbols that aren't Razmiran.
"Questions, my sons?"
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Ferabras' heart sinks when he hears their assignment, but he keeps telling himself, Greater good, it's for the greater good. If we can bring down or weaken this cursed chruch by our mission, we can stop them from harming people this way - the way we now have to go harm someone.
He cannot bring himself to speak, so plays the role of the silent brute, nodding once at Krant's instructions and collecting his gear from the chest.
Krant's voice sounds amused behind the mask. "Aww, poor widdle babies am tired of being inside the nice place where they're learning to get rich and powerful? Poor widdle things... Now get yer complainin' arses in gear and get ready to go! Me and the boys here will watch out while you shake down our errant little lamb."
The bakery, called the Harvest Hearth, is located just three blocks away from the temple and its oven supplies fresh bread and rolls to most of the inns and taverns in the area. Krant escorts you to the temple, along with his pair of thuggish acolytes. Once there, he waits outside, turning away any new customers until the place is empty, aside from Welton. Once this is done, he sends you inside to retrieve 100 gp in missing payments.
"Get the money and wreck the place up. We'll make sure no one interferes. Now git!"
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Ferabras answers Hoshiko quietly as they approach the bakery entrance, saying "None of this makes me comfortable, as I'm sure you can guess. And I wish our mission were more focused on the undoing of these two-faced priests than on recovering the amulets and ferreting out the cult's plans, but any blow we can deal them is a worthy one."
Looking at Hoshiko, he grins a little and says, "I have not really answered you, have I? I will do what we must, though I'd prefer to do as little damage to the baker and his property as possible, and one day I will come back here and help him rebuild, or at least pay for the damage we are here to do."
Stepping through the door, he sizes up the baker, and allows the man to take in Ferabras' own fearsome appearance at the same time. He then says simply, "Welton Grompus, you have been too slow in your tithing to Lord Razmir. It is time to make good on your payments."
The baker, Welton Grompus, is a plump man covered in flour. He looks up and his eyes widen for a moment before he sets his jaw and points a thick finger at you. "Now look you here! I tol' that fat one that I wasn't paying no protection racket fer 'insurance against fire'! I tol' him, ye can take yer damnable thugs and their knee breakin' elsewhere. I'm a follower o' Saranrae and I don't hold with yer cult, but I'm not fer persecutin' yer kind so kindly leave me be! I never agreed ta give nothing t'your lot. Now unless you plan t'buy some bread, off wit' ye!"
Grompus falters for a moment, clearly confused. "Wait, yer gonna pay me and I'm gonna give you the money and I pretend like you roughed me up fer protection? I... I guess that'd work." He scratches his chin speculatively. Hearing you discuss making a mess, he grunts. "Hell, you wanna throw in a couple extra gold, you can break them racks there. They're old and in need of replacin' anyway. Flour makes a right mess, looks like worse. Ye get used t'cleanin' it up in this line o' work." He peers at you all with a newfound respect and interest. "Ya'll ain't the usual types I see in that cult. Is there somethin' goin' on I might not wanna know about here?"
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Ferabras walks over to the racks that Grompus has indicated and drives a foot through one, smashing it to splinters. He turns towards the next, then pauses and says quietly, "Glad you understand. Like you, we are not true believers in this false god, but we have our reasons for pretending - for now."
He gives Grompus a thoughtful look, then adds, "You might want to shout a bit, object to what we're doing here, no?" With another powerful blow, he destroys a second bread rack, then turns to heft a sack of flour and scatter it around.
Welton nods and begins screaming as if in pain.
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Mikail sullenly follows behind the group, and silently cheers as Zolorus comes up with his ingenious plan. At once, he moves behind the counter, and pulls the baker down under cover. While mimicing cries of distress and pain, he carefully helps the baker to look and act the part. Ripping his shirt and apron, and covering his face with herbs and spices easily found at hand, he makes sure that the ruse will work. He deftly catches a money pouch from the others, and conceals it on the baker after adding in his own share.
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Moving quickly you put on a show of 'beating' the baker, making it sound for all the world like you're only just stopping short of killing him. Working on the baker himself, he soon looks truly damaged, though he's suffered no harm. His shop is likewise trashed, though an expert eye might notice that the broken furniture was a bit old and decrepit already and the mess is a bit less messy than it appears. Just as you finish the door opens, and the masked figure of the bulging Krant peers in.
"Good gods, you gave him a nice thrashing! Alright, get out here and let's head back to the temple." He says to you, then pitches his voice toward the 'unconscious' baker. "That'll teach you to shirk yer religious duty, unbeliever! Ha!"
You move quickly back through town to the temple and as soon as the door is shut, Krant lets out a bellow of what appears to be laughter. "You lot are as bloodthirsty a bunch as I've seen here! You'll go far, mark my words."
A clear voice, Egarthis' voice, calls from the staircase above. "Did they pass your test Krant? Are they ready to join the faithful?"
"Near 'nough, m'lord. They're learning." Krant calls back.
"Very well. I expect great things from you all, great things. Razmir demands nothing less than your excellence." Egarthis nods dismissively and heads back behind the doors above. Krant lets out another bark of laughter. "High praise, there, maggots. I might make men out of you yet!"
The rest of the day passes routinely, but you notice Krant's watchful eye seems to soften a bit, not watching you as closely as he has been.
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