Jiduun, or 'Tess' will sit at a table or booth along the wall and watch from there. Before arriving she will take some time to change her hair to black, dawn the attire of the Black Rooks mercenary company and complete the disguise with a nasty scar in the shape of an "x" across her nose and eyes.
No reason to skulk about...yet
Early in the morning, just before the sun peeks over the horizon, Mistress Diguri finds the group preparing to wait out the day from both inside and outside the tavern.
"It occurs to me that the mages dogs may be a bit more willing to believe some of their own. With the proximity of the south gate less than a hundred feet from the meeting point, it should be no surprise that a number of guards will quickly arrive to help deal with the situation."
"For those of you apt in the art of disguise, there are two individuals we could waylay on their way into work this day, and take up their appearance. One a captain, the second a sergeant. A day or two later the unfortunate captain and sergeant would need to be found dead of course."
"Rex would be a shoo in for the captain, as the man matches his preference in weapons. Though he is of human descent, and does not own a chain shirt so fine as yours."
"While Rori could pass for the sergeant, if you are willing to make due with a rapier and leave your whip behind."
"I'd prefer to slip away after," Rex replies. "My weapons and clothing are both hard to spot."
Rori looks over at Rex. "I would be happy to imitate the 'good' sergeant Mistress." He judges the looks of the others. "How about you guys?"
"Just don't get too carried away with it."
"Very well Rori. Let us go find our quarry. His name is Jamir Hain. Or Sergeant Hain. He tends to mumble, rather than enunciating his words. You'll be expected to run a standard street patrol during part of the day, and fill out paperwork on the goods entering and leaving the city when you aren't on patrol. If you prefer, take the paperwork 'home' with you, and we can have Nyx forge the handwriting later to be delivered at another time, or perhaps left in the home with the deceased."
The distance isn't far to Jamir's home. "Give me 20 seconds." She turns a ring on her finger and vanishes from sight. One back window of the home slides open silently, the drapes moving slightly in the wind.
Entering shortly after, you find the Mistress standing over the unconscious halfling. Several old scars criss-cross his face. "Drow poison. He will be unconscious for several hours. I'll move him to somewhere he won't be able to cause any trouble."
Rori squats over the man and scrutinizes every aspect of his face. "Wow. That was quick. Remind me not to cross you Mistress." He give her a nervous smile and goes back to work planning the disguise. After a few minutes, he is pretty certain he has what he needs. "I will get with Nyx and work on the papers after the patrol. Where and when should I report to begin my patrol?"
"Just one dose of drow poison will knock most people out for a couple of hours. Though I wouldn't trust its effects on a dwarf."
"At the south gate, 8 sharp, that gives you about an hour."
Rori puts together his disguise and prepares to join the patrol. He uses his wand of mask dweomer to "hide" the disguise self power of his hat. By 8 sharp, he arrives at the South gate with the Sergeant's rapier strapped to his side.
Alexia uses the scroll the mistress had obtained to modify her own memories along with a book and letters to lead her freshly modified mind into the proper path on waking. A massive loss of memories would would be easily guided into a path of her acting as an agent for a Shapechanging hunter group. The kills she had made being various monsters masquerading as humans. A few letters indicating where she needed to go and who her allies were in this situation would shape the rest. The mortal mind was fantastically flexible after all.
Such a vast lie would not last long but it would only be needed for a short time.
The tiefling writes down as much as she can recall about the memories she is losing, locking them away in a book and telling Xabu to hide it somewhere in the city.
Alexia and Xabu arrive in the silver spirits tavern after she awakens from sleep, prepares her spells for the day and readies herself for a dangerous fight.
The memory modified Tiefling checks in with Tess to let her know she is here before going to find her own place to watch in the bar.
Knowing her skill at disguise to be less than stellar once she notices indications that the meeting might be taking place Alexia will stay to the back areas of the bar attempting to lurk out of sight
Well aware that her disguise was an easily destroyed illusion.
Xabu acts as lookout for Alexia taking a spot out of the way but still able to see a good chunk of the bar. Alexia will maintain contact with the scorpion using message.
Rori is soon out on patrol with three underlings in tow, walking the back streets and alley's in the vicinity of the south gate. His new companions chat idly with one another, but don't bother addressing their 'sergeant'.
Alexia and Jidhuun settle in to wait for events to play out.
Rori leaves the small talk to the underlings, avoiding the need to speak unless necessary. He keeps a close eye out for trouble.
Rex can take the glasses of true seeing if nobody wants them, since he'll be the one firing the most attacks.
Rosuc and Elsa enter the tavern late in the morning and take their usual seats, and near noon a single human male joins them at their table. Clothes showing the dust of travel, a single dagger carried on his belt.
The three chat, not seeking to hide their conversation, telling jokes and laughing with one another.
Early in the conversation Elsa, under cover of a baudy joke, casts a message spell. This is their typical modus operandi.
Shortly Elsa gets up and stretches, then heads for the door.
As she leaves she clenches her hands into fists, trying to stop them from shaking. She is clearly nervous.
Outside you watch Elsa move up the street a short distance, and when out of sight of the tavern find a young boy. She speaks to him for a moment, handing him something, then returns to the tavern.
The boy dashes off at a run northward, the direction of both the great library on the Tower of the Heavens.
"Tess" kills time in various ways like playing silly games alone or dozing every now and then. A lot of the time she spends trying to judge if one more drink is going to impair her judgement at the wrong moment.
Waiting around for one person is so dull. Tess repeatedly thinks to herself.
Elsa returns and sits down with Rosuc and their guest again. After another 15 minutes of talk between the three along with an ale and a small bowl of fruit, the new comer and Rosuc stand. Elsa makes to stand as well but Rosuc waves her off.
The two head out the front door, turning south.
Inside Elsa turns her back to the room, covering her face with one hand, her entire body shaking slightly.
Rosuc, like Elsa, is also quite nervous, though he does a better job of hiding it then she does.
Jidhuun continues to sit, completely oblivious it seems to anything out of the ordinary. "Nervous? Why wouldn't they be? They are obviously nervous their jokes will be flops... Waiting waiting waiting, waiting over here."
Whoop? Where are we headed?" Jidhuun takes a moment before disappearing with her hellcat stealth and begins tailing Rosuc and the stranger. She takes extreme care to use cover and distance to improve her chances of going unnoticed and will even imbibe her stealth elixir if she must pick up the pace to keep up with them. If she can afford it, Jidhuun gathers Rex with a knowingly impatient wink and a tilt of her head.
Rex will follow, in his disguise of a nondescript young girl in appropriately plain servants' clothing.
Jidhuun and Rex follow for a short distance, south and east into the back alleys. Rosuc and his guest enter one of the small homes about 150' away from the tavern.
Having completed a morning patrol you have been sitting in one of the towers in the south gate, a small office overlooking the street. You see Rosuc and his companion from a distance, and Rex, casually following from a distance.
Jidhuun stealths closer to eavesdrop on the two.
Rori heads out onto the front steps of the tower and stretches his arms. He nonchalantly looks around, keeping an eye on Rosuc.
Slipping up next to the small home you listen near one window.
"Your value to the Usturn has... been greatly lessened Rosuc."
"I still have many contacts here in the city." Rosuc stammers. "I can put you in touch with them, people neither the Mistress nor Firyin know about."
It is silent for a long stretch.
"I think I've a better usse for you Rosssuc." the voice alters as it speaks, becoming more of a hiss.
Rosuc lets out a shout, "Oh sweet Rovagug." There is the sound of crackling electricity and a flash of light, and the sound of something striking the wall, the entire structure shaking slightly, then silence.
"This is probably the right house." Jidhuun says casting see invisibility and opening the door still trying to stealth as to try and catch anyone still unaware.
Jidhuun pushes open the door, peering around the door frame.
The small home contains two rooms, the door to the back room is closed, but in the small front room stands Rosuc, stripping out of the clothes of the man who was with him. And on the floor lies... Rosuc, dead. The hair on his head burned, while around the left side of his chest are ice crystals, and near his foot is a small puddle of clear liquid, quickly turning red as blood drips from the corpse.
Rosuc turns as the door opens, eyes searching for the new comer. And after only a few seconds his image turns translucent.
Cookies, eggs, milk, and a loaf of bread... where the hell is everyone? Cookies, eggs, milk, and a load of bread.
If Jidhuun realizes she is alone in her endeavor she quaffs her elixir of shadows (bumping her stealth to +36) and moves into position (about 15') from the new Rosuc, drawing her boarding pike, and placing her Bane upon her weapon.
All the while, thinking, 'Cookies, eggs, milk, and a loaf of bread.'
Rori steps down from the steps of the guard tower and takes a stroll toward the building that the two entered. He attempts to discretely cast message on his allies. Once completed, he attempts to send a message. J where are you? Rex are you nearby?
Pain makes the strong stronger...
Jidhuun fastens her grip to her pike feeling the pins and needles sensation of the vicious magically corruption emitting from it. She then silently without a word strikes in the name of Zon Kuthon, though she is wordless and silent, only the air whistles as her pike strikes out at the invisible "Rosuc."
To Rosuc, the attack isn't the most disturbing part, it was the look on a small girls face in the instant of the moment. Whether he believes in the divine or not, her eyes were pools of madness, pain, and torment, and during that instant whatever dwell in those pools, reached out and took him.
"Rosuc" lets out a squeal of pain, and when unable to locate his attacker pushes open the door into the next room and moves through it and out of Jidhuun's sight.
You watch as Jidhuun strikes something inside the doorway, then ducks to the side. You nearly lose sight of her again despite the light of day, but manage to keep a bead on her location pressed flat against the building's wall, nearly blending in with it.
"Scroll?" Rex asks, a single word, as he slips the scroll of Align weapon into his hand.
Or he'll run from me... Some are not worth the pain.
Jidhuun appears with another thrust of her vicious pike in a blink as Rosuc hurries to open the door and rush out, he is half dressed, but the advantage of being invisible spared him some awkwardness.
"My life is on the line but at least "I'm" doing what must be done.
Jidhuun follows him out, and ...
She continues after him and utters a spell of expeditious retreat, greatly reducing the odds Rosuc can manage to elude her. She smirks to herself at the name of the magic.
Jidhuun smiles and utters bloodhound to pick up the trail of fleeing Rosuc.
'He won't be able to hide for long'
Possible attack
One of the guards calls after Rori, "Where you going sarge?"
As Rosuc starts to move away, and is attacked, he lets out a hiss, changing shapes as he does so.
The body becomes feminine, the arms each splitting into three vipers of varying colors, her head becoming that of a cobra.
It matters not the form you take, pain will rock you to your spirit.
Jidhuun barely blinks as Rosuc changes to the nightmarish snake creature, she merely answers the change with another relentless attack.
Use the possible attack action from the previous mechanics, though not flatfooted, posting as Jidhuun attacks again, and assuming a 29AC hits Jidhuun tries to vanish again with her hellcat stealth, stepping back 5' and using a swift action to increase her threat range to 20' after she's moved.
Rori answers the guard. "I spotted trouble. Let's see what is going on." He draws the "Sarge's" rapier.
He calls out to Rex. "What is going on in there?"
"Not sure," Rex replies, "But it's invisible."
It matters not the form you take, pain will rock you to your spirit.
Jidhuun barely blinks as Rosuc changes to the nightmarish snake creature, she merely answers the change with another relentless attack.
** spoiler omitted **
The creature seems baffled by its inability to track her assailant, it crouches low, waiting for Jidhuun to make an appearance again.
Four guards unsheath their weapons and follow Rori.
Alexia eyes the retreating halfling and gives the room an appraising glance "Might be bait. Xabu will link us. " the whisper popping into the ears of all who were still within range to hear her. With that she gives the scorpion a glance and it rapidly skitters to follow the Halfling.
Alexia then casually glances around the room for a quiet space to cast a detection spell. Wheels turning in the tieflings mind as the events occur Now, if I were in disguise where would I be in this bar?
Jidhuun realizes this will most likely be her last attack before the guard arrive, 'Thanks for bringing the guards gang. I was getting worried that this might have been lonely.'
She lunges with her vicious weapon but this time, she does not invoke her smite, and she intentionally aims to draw blood before her hellcat stealth allows her to vanish once more as she steps up.
So that house is unbelievably small. Also Jidhuun is 20ft away at the end and beginning of this round from the Rakshasa instead of 10 ft.
Vicious repelling boarding pike w/power attack, Bane vs flat footed: lethal damage/bypasses any damage reduction
damage to self: lethal
Now 15ft away.
As you begin considering casting a spell in hopes of uncovering something, one man gets up and staggers outside. The man has been sitting with two friends, all drinking ale, clearly a group that lives for liquor alone to be imbibing it since morning. The man passes by the windows in the same direction as Nyx, swaying slightly in his walk.
As Jidhuun strikes the creature again, before she can move back into hiding, all six snake-like arms turn on her, each spitting out a beam of energy.
As the bolts of energy and sound of explosion comes blasting out the doorway the guardsman following Rori let out a curse, but wait for the sergeant to give them a command.
"One of the drunks who has been here since morning just staggered out in your direction. He might also be an imposter" Alexia whispers sending the words to her closest associate.
Nyx moves silently into the drunk, lightly triggering her studied target ability while falling into step next to him. "Whats your name stranger?" she asks casually, giving him a once over, flicking through her vast mind for any hint as to if he had any connection to what was unfolding up ahead.
The man leers are Alexia. "Now your a purty one", he slurs out. "My namesh Jaxon. Who are you?" He stumbles slightly, then stops and leans against a wall of one of the nearby homes.
Thinking through things, nothing comes to mind as unusual about the man. Every tavern has a few such early morning regulars. The difficulty is a very rare few are noteworthy enough to attract any kind of notoriety. And this man is not one of the rare exceptions.