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Forrest, against his better judgement, leaves his tent where he was ordered to stay. If I don't bring some new information back today, what kind of a Pathfinder am I?
The Halfling returns to the crime scene, slightly less bloody this time. He dodges the guards and takes a look around. Forrest looks down, searching for the footsteps which might lead him to the murderer.
Yaiho scoops the halfling off the ground as if picking up a small kitten, "Get off me, GET OFF!" Varnic wiggles around, kicks his feet, and otherwise squirms furiously trying to get free as Yaiho starts hugging him tightly. A few seconds later, Brock is close enough to give him the Cold Stare, and all the fight immediately goes out of the potential spy.
"I don't care what you were instructed to do..." The labourer continues berating Arin, "You called bad luck to us all by doing what you did!" Thankfully, Tianni hears the commotion and comes to the aid of her new friend, "You heard the man, he's doing good work here and I need him on my team. I won't let you-" She says in an authoritative manner, but the labourer interrupts angrily, "He made the sign!" Tianni rolls her eyes and leans down to whisper in Arin's ear, "The things we have to put up with, heh? The morons believe that by scratching your nose with your left hand, disaster is sure to follow. It's best not to argue with their nonsense, and just play along. To appease the idiot, spin around three times and scratch your nose with your right hand." She winks and stands up straight again.
Forrest sneaks out again, returning to the scene of the crime. Unfortunately the area is now full of footprints, guards have scoured the area and the body has been dragged away. It seems they showed little care in preserving the site, and it proves impossible for Forrest to make any progress. He returns to his bunk just before Duciar arrives to conduct his interview, the entire thing consisting of just two words, "See?" and "Do?"
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Arin sighs and resigns himself to what he must do. He whispers to Tianni, "I suppose you're right. No use swimming up-stream this time."
He turns to the protestor. "Okay my good man, I think I see what you mean now. I missed it at first. Apologies. Let's rid ourselves of this bad luck!"
With that he... spins around three times scratching his nose with his right hand.
After sensing satisfaction from the labourer, he returns to Tianni, albeit feeling fairly silly. "This idea was just as much for you as it was for them, wasn't it?" He smiles at her sheepishly realizing the entertainment she's likely granted herself in this situation.
"I told you, my purpose is to root out spies! If you want to know more, let me go and just ask him..." The halfling says with notably less conviction than before, "Enyro's going to be mad if he finds out you have been interfering with my investigations!" It's pretty obvious to all three of you that not a single word of that was true, but it also seem that he is unlikely to say anything different any time soon.
The labourer looks a little confused at the gnomes antics, but finally nods, "Well... Good! Just... Don't do it again, alright?" He then heads back to his work, scratching his head. Meanwhile, Tianni is trying her very best to not to laugh, "Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry, but I really needed that! I've been dealing with idiots and morons for fourteen hours straight, a good laugh is just the thing to prepare me for a further five." She puts an arm around Arin and leads him to her desk opposite the 10' iron cube that used to be the transport, "Beside, I've found that the only way to deal with overly superstitious people like that is to make up your own in return. Confuses the hell out of them." Arin spends the rest of the day working closely with Tianni, going over the theory of extra dimensional spaces, shunting spaces into other planes, and making sure that the contents of the transport will be safe, no matter what happens on this plane. He also discovers the location of the transport's secret door, the only means of entering the inner chamber.
On the other side of the courtyard, the man Mhazruk sent off to find keys runs back to the rest of his team with an armful of rusty keys, "I've found them- oh." But he's just too late, Rook finishes picking the last lock and the chain is neatly stretched out across the courtyard, completely untangled, "Ha! Well, I sure am glad we didn't have a bet on that. Would've lost a bundle, me." He says with a smile.
Once Tianni, Arin, and their team are satisfied that all precautions have been made, Mhazruk and his team start covering the 10-foot cube of iron that serves as the transport's visible exterior in the recently detangled chains and a selection of brand new locks. At the end of the day, just before returning to his bunk, Rook decides to have one last look at his handiwork, and maybe double check which locks will release the secret door Arin told him about. Surprisingly, he finds several broken lockpicks and scattered thieves' tools hidden near the door, suggesting that someone had secretly practised picking each lock while everyone was away.
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Brock nods at the halfling's refusal to speak further.
"That's about what I expected. Off to Enyro then and he can clear this all up. Tell you what, if you are right and working for him I'll buy the first round."
Not like that's happening
"Unless you have any questions Yaiho lets get back to camp. Don't forget the candlestick."
Brock will head back to the command tent and drop this halfling off with Enyro. He is somewhat torn between bringing in or running him off (or burying him in the desert, though Danicka would have issues with that). If he was a spy, as Brock suspected, catching him will curry favor with Enyro and relieve suspicion on Yahio amd Danicka. Yet actually catching a spy might cause Enyro to get more paranoid or, worse, change the plans they had already learned.
Oh well, maybe he'll be so impressed he'll just give the potion for us to hold as sole security. Probably won't get that lucky though.
"T-turn in to Enyro!? No, no, he's expecting me to be out catching spies, he'll be mad if you take me back... LET... ME... GO..." The halfling kicks his little legs ineffectually, throwing a tantrum while stuck under Yaiho's arm. Once Yaiho plops the halfling down, Enyro looks at him with a mixture of shock and outrage, "Varnic!?" He yells in a shrill voice, "I thought you were too SICK to even get out of bed today, 'at deaths door' I was told." Varnic makes a terrible attempt at feigning a cough, and looks up sheepishly "I'm starting to feel-" Enyro cuts him off, "SPY! I knew it, I knew there were spies everywhere. Guards, throw him in the brig!" As the halfling is dragged away, screaming that he'll never talk, Enyro turns to the three recruits who brought him in, and with a self satisfied smiles, says "Thank you! I will not forget this..." His eyes narrow, and he looks at each of you with suspicion, "But then again, this is exactly the sort of thing a spy would do to gain my trust..." He slowly backs away towards his desk, trying his best to watch everyone in the tent at once.
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As previous, Yaiho has only acted like a true guard/recruit. Yaiho this time decides to do some spying to see if he can pick up any useful information.
Yaiho goes around and watches other recruit. Seeing if there are any more confident than others or possibly some truly worthless ones that can possibly be exploited later on.
Yaiho spends the rest of the day watching the rest of the recruit, looking for any weak links among the scouts. No one truly stands out at being completely hopeless, and apart from two exceptional recruits, the rest are all about the same level of middling. He does notice a few things, however, that show the ammunition he and Brock gathered over the other recruits last night at the party is gold. Furtive glances between the two recruits having an illicit affair, another recruit's waterskin is filled with something a lot stronger than water, and the quiet one looks awfully guilty - she drunkenly confided in you last night that she loves chocolate, and this morning the supervisors have been asking questions about a theft in the supply tent. It's surprising just how many recruits have damning secrets for you to exploit when the time is right. Yaiho also accidentally discovers the general route the convoy will take tomorrow, alleviating the need to track them.
When Brock hands over his letter to Enyro, he scrutinises it very, very closely, "Hmm... surprise inspections?" He turns the letter over a few times, sniffs the ink, and gives Brock a suspicious look, "You have already rooted out one spy... Very well, keep your eyes on the recruits, but I don't want you touching anything or searching anyone. If you find someone working without the proper paperwork, come straight to me. Understood?" He pointedly puts the letter in his own pocket before sending Brock away, instead of handing it back. Brock feels the paranoid supervisor's gaze burning a hole in the back of his head the entire time he is within the marquee, and finally decides to inspect the errand runners outside instead. He starts following a particularly shifty looking scout, who seems to be spending a lot of time disappearing into several tents around the camp and even heads into Pashow itself.
Duciar grunts, nods, and silently leaves the dorm, evidently very satisfied with the how the in-depth interview went. Later on, Forrest, Mhazruk, and Arin find a mysterious letter among their belongings. The wax seal indicates that it has come from your employer...
'I have arranged for you to be excused from your assigned duties tomorrow. You will be free to to as you wish, and will not be missed if you fail to join the convoy with the other recruits. I have also arranged for suitable supplies to be made available to you should you need them. Find the quartermaster, Urrand, and ask for your 'care package from Aunt Lizzie'. Then meet up with the rest of your group. You have one evening to prepare for your task tomorrow. I look forward to your report.
-Lady Ziralia'
When you open the letter, you also find a small key.
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Brock groans inwardly at Danika's letter not neing oarticularily useful, yet he soldiers on following the errand runner.
He attempts to talk up the runners vontacta but sees immediately that his gift of gab seems tobe gone for the day. Luckily he knows another way to loosen tounges, especially for unscrupulious people as he dips freely into his gold purse.
Hope this payday is worth it. I need to work expenses reimbursement into my Pathfinder contracts.
The man Brock approaches has far too much integrity to reveal information about clients. He does, however, 'carelessly' leave his ledger in plain site as he heads into the back to put some gold, which must have fallen out of his pocket, somewhere safe. Brock finds out that the man he has been following is just picking up a few personal items for Enyro: Socks, Needle and Thread, Soap, Etc. Thankfully, he has found this information early before he wasted the whole day tailing someone who is simply running errands. He leaves the recruit to his business, and returns to the camp, hoping to find a more promising lead.
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Danicka hands her paperwork in to Enyro, showing she's supposed to clean the nearby tents--his included! She then goes about her work, sweeping with her broom, using prestidigitation to clean up nasty messes, and generally tidying up papers and things. As she tidies the paperwork, she reads what she can from them, trying to do so unnoticed.
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Forrest leads the group towards the quartermaster's tent. " I did some errands for him the other day. Follow me. "
"Hey, mister! I was sent to go fer a package for Alchemist Rook. It's from his Aunt. You got it? " His subservient act is slipping. It seems Forrest's patience with this charade may be running out.
Enyro looks at Danicka's paperwork carefully, "Very well! If Emir Guldis says that you can be trusted, I guess I have no choice but to let you into the surrounding tents..." He hands back the letter, but before letting go, adds, "However, if anything goes missing, you're the first one I'll be looking for young lady! Are we clear?" Despite his misgivings, Enyro leaves Danicka to do her job without too much supervision. As she carefully tidies desks, and the paperwork strewn all over them, Danicka is able to access an awful lot of useful information. Even the fact that Enyro is using cyphers and decoy maps to disguise his true instructions doesn't slow her down much. She cracks Enryo's code quite quickly, sorts the real plans from the fake, and identifies an ideal ambush site along the convoy’s path.
Brock gets back to the camp and continues shouting at people, acting every bit the stern supervisor he is meant to be. Unfortunately, the only good thing to come out of it is a respectful nod from one of the sterner bosses.
Frustrated that he has been unable to pick up any useful information from the recruits, Brock decides to pay a little visit to Varnic's bunk on the way back to his own. Looking under the halfling spy's mattress, Brock finds a map with observation points marked along the convoy’s route.
Meanwhile, Yaiho's standing among the young recruits continues to grow. First, he led them out into the desert and taught them valuable survival and scouting skills. Then, he watched over them, quietly projecting confidence as they practised their newfound skills. Sure in the knowledge that if they were doing something wrong, the experienced scout would point them in the right direction.
The quartermaster has a quick look through his ledger, and nods to Forrest, "Aye, we've got a care package here from somefolk's aunt or some such. Just wait there..." He slowly trudges off to the back, and a few minutes later he drops a heavy looking steel box on the desk, "This it? Must need teeth like a hyena to chew through the cakes held in here!"
You all meet up somewhere quiet and open the box using the key you found in the letter from Lady Ziralia. Inside is another note that simply reads, 'I expect these back,' and a whole load of useful items wrapped individually in heavy cloth: an adamantine morningstar, a pair of eyes of the eagle, a horn of fog, and a vest of escape. There is also a bag containing 1,200 gp to purchase any further equipment deemed necessary for the heist, the words 'receipts please' emblazoned on the front.
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Yaiho smiles at the others as they join up, "Yaiho had fun. Easier than expected."
Yaiho go directly into what they found, pulling out some dog treats and chocolates. "Make dog sick. Won't kill, only make sick."
He put the treats and chocolate away, though it looked like Yaiho wanted to eat both.
"Learn't signals too. Dancing Lights. Learn't pattern used. Also learn't route group take. No tracking or guessing needed. Yaiho also earn trust of guards. Surprise ambush."
Yaiho looks to Brock and Danicka to explain rest the group discovered which he probably forgot.
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"They aren't very impressive I can tell you that much. Traps, locks, animated objects. We get in close and I can crack that transport wide open...as long as it doesn't crack me over the skull again. Two of us should be able to break in and grab the elixir. Then we escape." he says while rubbing his head.
He looks through the items and his his smile goes wide when he sees the vest of escape. "This will make the job even easier...for me at least."
After donning the vest he makes sure he knows where all the tools are.
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Forrest nods. "Yaiho, that is very useful! We learned about the defenses on the inside of the caravan. There is this demonic dresser. We learned how it works and that it can be tricked. We also learned where the traps are and how we can avoid them. " He frowns a little. "Also, we might run into some trouble. There was someone sneaking around the camp. They were practicing picking the locks, and they stole some information, killing a guard while they were at it. "
Looking at the items, he laughs. "Adamantine? That will be useful against the living dresser! Who can use a weapon this heavy, though? " He picks it up with both hands and looks at Yaiho and Brock. " What's the point of a sneaky-fog item if it makes a horn noise? Might be useful against archers, I guess? " He picks up the glasses. " Brock, you may find these the most useful. "
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Brock speaks up.
"As our loquacious Yaiho mentioned, we have both treats and poison to deal with the dogs, along with Danicka's new best friend Prickles. We learned loads of dirt on just about all the guards that we may be able to put to use if necessary. We learned that they signal with dancing lights, and I've got an in for guarding the caravan next to the mage responsible for sending signals, so if we can get the guards off with false signals, a simple moment of sap work should render them unable to signal. We also have the route for the caravan, so we can plot an ambush in advance."
Looking down at the pile of equipment and money for preparation, Brock haltingly admits; "I'm... good with people, talking and killing. But I have no head for tactics or planning. I don't know what we can do with all this stuff. I assume you all will come up with a great plan.".
Brock finishes with some discomfort, hating to ever admit fault in himself.
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Danicka nods along with the others. "Yes, and we can... We can..."
Suddenly she blushes and her eyes widen. "I d-d-don't know how to plan an ambush either. Ambushes are so... mean!"
Get it together! You're a hero! You can do this!
After taking panicked breaths for a solid minute, Danicka pulls out her ink, inkpen, and journal, and gets to work taking thorough notes about what they know. When it's complete she thinks on it for a while, reading and rereading passages.
"We know the caravan's route, so we won't have to bother tracking it. We also know the best site to ambush the convoy... We should be able to get quite close before engaging."
Danicka turns to Brock. "Jaravo trusts you, Brock. You should accept the position as a mage guard on the convoy. I'll prepare dancing lights as a cantrip and use the signals we discovered to tell the escorts to disperse and search for hidden threats. We can attack while they're out and the convoy will be less defended. I'll need to send out the signals from afar, of course. From one of those observation points, right? As soon as I send out the signal, we'll need to approach for the ambush."
Looking at Yaiho, Danicka remarks, "Yaiho, the guards trust you as a scout, so you'll need to lead the ambush group. If you're in front they won't expect us to be enemies."
Looking back to Brock, Danicka continues, "When the ambush begins you'll need to work fast, Brock, to take out the other mage. If you can neutralize him before he can cast a spell, the extra guards won't return for twenty minutes. Neutralize, mind you! Not KILL!"
"The guards will probably sick the dogs on us then. We can toss them treats and chocolates--wait! Are we sure the chocolate's absolutely necessary? The dogs are so... sweet! They're innocents!" After a few worried moments, Danicka sighs. "Poor Prickles..."
"Then we'll have to face the guards. Don't forget the secrets Brock and Yaiho gathered! We can use it against them when combating the guards... Once we manage to get near the transport things will get complicated.... We'll all need to clear the way for Rook to get to the transport."
Looking at Rook, Danicka remarks. "You'll need to deactivate the heat trap, which you've figured out how to do from outside with the ventilation network. Then you need to access the secret entrance into the transport. We know where it is, and we know which locks maintain the door's seal. As long as you can handle opening it, we should be fine."
Danicka thinks for a moment. "Once inside you'll face off against the animated altar, yes? And the fake Sun Orchid Elixir's going to be inside?"
She waits for an answer.
"Whoever has the adamantine mace should handle that... Brock, or Yaiho? Which of you wants to smash it?" Realizing she'd rather have Yaiho smash an altar than a person, she looks hopefully at Yaiho. "Yaiho? Want to smash it?"
"Now, the altar's going to attack whoever has a glowing vial first, so... perhaps we can use that?" She looks at Rook, clearly expecting he'll have glowing vial of some kind on him and be the altar's main target. "What if as soon as you open it, Rook, you leave the transport and our mace-wielder gets in its way? ...Will the altar's programming cause it to keep trying to get past in order to get at Rook instead of attacking?"
She thinks again for a while. "...There's two things I don't understand... The secret lead-lined compartment in the transport's back left corner. Is that a decoy? Or is that where the Sun Orchid Elixir's going to be and the altar's a decoy? Any other thoughts on what it could be? Did I misunderstand?"
"And the strange orders Temeera gave the guards. Walking around the transport's interior in circles has to have some significance. Perhaps it keeps the altar deactivated? Some kind of bypass? ...What do you think..?"
"Is that... okay?" she asks nervously, blushing bright red.
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Arin interjects his bits of understanding when Danicka asks about the elixir's location in the transport.
...
Danicka thinks for a moment. "Once inside you'll face off against the animated altar, yes? And the fake Sun Orchid Elixir's going to be inside?"
She waits for an answer.
...
"I don't think so, but it's possible."
...
She thinks again for a while. "...There's two things I don't understand... The secret lead-lined compartment in the transport's back left corner. Is that a decoy? Or is that where the Sun Orchid Elixir's going to be and the altar's a decoy? Any other thoughts on what it could be? Did I misunderstand?"
...
"I think this is right, that it's in the corner compartment. To be clear though, we didn't actual determine this for sure. I'm fairly confident it's going to be in one of these two locations, and I think we can work with that. I should have spent a little more time with Tianna..." He trails off at the last thought and waits to see what others think.
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"I am pretty good at dodging. Perhaps I could hold the vial while Rook goes for the lead compartment. Meanwhile, I can draw the chest away so that the rest of us, including Yaiho and Brock, smash it! " He looks worried. "We did not learn the significance of the boundary path. But I recommend you follow it. Who knows what trap it could release... "
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"This is a heist. Nothing wrong with taking more than we came for. We can take whatever is in that lead-lined compartment and the elixir fake or not on the altar. We can use the gold to buy some vials that will glow and some scrolls or wands....especially since it isn't our money!" says Rook working out specifics.
He continues to think...
"Brock and Yaiho are the inside players which means eventually they need to pursue us...alone...or with as few as possible for us to deal with. That is where the horn might come in handy."
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Brock takes the adamantine mace from Yaiho and hefts it.
"Nice balance, I certainly can smash some furnature with this."
Looking at the pile of gear and gold.
"We could just steal the elixer, this stuff, sell it off for a fortune and retire on a nice beach somewhere... kidding of course"
Not really...
Looking around the group, "So, what do we need to buy?"
Listening to the alchemist, "If we need them to chase someone, let me and Hss take it. I doubt they have mounts that can outrun mine."
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Danicka gasps. "No! We will NOT steal this gear!" She swats Brock on the shoulder for even suggesting it! Unfortunately, his armour's in the way.
"Ouch..." she pouts, shaking her hurt hand.
She looks at Rook and Arin. "Do we have enough healing magic? A wand of healing could be useful."
"Hmmm..." she mutters as she thinks. "I could... I could use some scrolls of magic missile? It doesn't miss, and..." she trails off into silence.
"We could all buy some potions that increase our defences...?"
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"I have healing spells, but of course extending those resources with a wand would be prudent."
He ponders other ways to spend the gold...
"Defensive potions that would last several minutes would be ideal. Since we wish to pull this off with minimum casualty perhaps tanglefoot bags and a wand of the web spell would help us incapacitate the transport guards."
After a evening conspiring by candlelit, you make any necessary purchases with the gifted gold and wait. The next morning, before daybreak, Jaravo bursts into the barracks and wakes up the recruits with an encouraging speech, "" After the rush to get ready, Jaravo personally escorts Brock to his post right beside the transport, "I'm putting my neck on the line for you, son. Everyone else wanted two squishy mages on this job, but we know better don't we? One is better than two if we have someone like you to protect 'em." Once at the transport, Jaravo points out a gentle looking man in a headscarf, "If you spot any trouble, protect that man at all costs. Make me proud!" And with a clap on the back, he disappears into the command tent.
The transport itself is suspended three feet above the ground by dozens of floating disks, all maintained by the mage Brock has been charged with protecting. It hovers slowly forward, surrounded by dozens of soldiers, battle mages, and Thuvian desert dogs to guard the convoy from the hazards that haunt the desert. The convoy acquires its fake sun orchid elixir outside the Citadel of the Alchemist at daybreak on the third day. It then makes its return journey to Pashow via a meandering route, obscuring its trail to confuse pursuers. Thankfully, the information you gathered about the convoy's route saves the rest of the Pathfinders from hours of tracking and wandering under the searing desert sun. As the transport approaches your designated ambush point, it is still surrounded by the contingent of guards, dogs, and battle mages.
When the scouts see Danicka's lights dart into the sky, they start rushing around the assembled guards, relaying the message. One of the mages sends up her own set of lights, the coded message saying **Understood** and shortly after, another set of lights **Moving Out**. There's a flurry of activity, and suddenly only a token force, including Brock, remains around the transport. Everyone else is off scouting ahead or behind for the potential danger.
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Danicka nods in understanding then rejoins her friends. "They bought it. They're moving out."
She pulls a few scrolls from her bag and casts them on her companions one at a time.
Then she uses an extra scroll on herself.
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Right before it's time to move, Danicka begins casting another handful of scrolls on her companions.
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Right before turning the corner and following Yaiho up to the guards, Danicka takes a deep, steadying breath.
You can do this... Everything will be fine...