As Jessibel entered the Aulamaxa mansion where she’d lived her entire life, she was struck by how much she missed the place and its inhabitants. Although it had been less than three days since she’d last been there, the place felt different. No, the young noblewoman thought, the mansion hadn’t changed—she had.
Upon arriving, Jessi introduced Lydia and then stated that she needed to speak to both her mother and the family matron, her grandmother Eldonna, at the same time so she wouldn’t have to tell what she’d learned twice. In the past, such a request or order likely would’ve been considered cheek and the older Aulamaxas would see her when they were damned good and ready…or not at all. Now, however, things were different—they were treating her with respect and not as the family’s irresponsible daughter and black sheep.
Jessibel presented the silver raven figurine of wondrous power to Eldonna with what was very nearly reverence, telling the family matron how to make the miniature come to life and use it to send messages. She also told both of her elders to be ever on the lookout for other magical raven messengers, be they silver or magically colored black to make them less conspicuous. Then she made a brief report on the discoveries and explorations of two old Silver Ravens safe houses/hideouts without giving away too much information about either location. She gave the Long Roads Coffee House as the destination of choice for silver raven messages, at least until further notice.
Finally, Jessibel got around to the business that had her most excited—getting the promised student loan needed for her to pay the entrance fee and her first semester at the newly relocated Kintargo Opera House Society. The excited girl asked both her mother and the matriarch if they had any leads as to contacts she might pursue once she was a member, people who might hold similar political and social beliefs as their own and who likely were chafing under Barzillai Thrune’s leash.
Lastly, Jessi asked if there’d been any uproar or fallout from Sabrina’s sudden absconding from House Sarini. She then told her elders that the story she was sowing was that Sabrina had freed her bodyguard and family slave, Domitius, before boarding an undisclosed ship in disguise and fleeing the city.
Almost as an afterthought, Jessibel showed her mother the white gator hide she and her friends had claimed in deadly battle. She asked her mother if she could have one of the house-friendly hunters who did business with the Aulamaxa’s could appraise its value for future use in fashion accessories.
”Oh—and I’ll need to borrow the family coach for this afternoon, if you don’t mind….” Hey—you never know if you don’t try!
After leaving her home (whether on foot or in the comfort of a carriage), Jessibel made a beeline for the Opera Society’s new headquarters, meeting the same woman who’d been there previously. This time, however, the giddy girl paid her entrance fee and first semester tuition. ”When do I start?” she asked in barely-contained excitement.
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Sabrina's comment stirs Dom's memory. “I remember some of that, yeah. I won't lie, I didn't catch everything that was goin’ on there; that was pretty much right after I got to Kintargo. Chief thing I remember is how pissed the Old Man was. I thought Sharkey* was gonna have a seizure, he looked that out of joint.” Dom flexes his left shoulder involuntarily, recalling a beating he got for some breach Sabrina's father decided Dom had committed that week. I wonder if he’d be so eager to take another crack at me as a free man… Domitius waits for an opportunity to talk to Laria. “Miss Laria, any chance you know how the law works regardin’ a slave buying his freedom? That kind of impacts a few of my decisions here.”
Laria scratches her head in thought. "The Bellflower Network usually doesn't do things by the law, y'know. But, I've spoken to enough ex-slaves that I know a few things. You gotta have the money. It can't be stolen or otherwise illegally acquired -- though the master has to prove it is, if that's what he's saying. You gotta have been a slave for at least two years, for some reason. You can't have caused the master monetary loss for two years, or something like that. And that's kinda broad, I remember this lass whose master argued that hospitalizing her after she had complications from a miscarriage was a monetary loss, even after she'd saved all the money she needed for herself, so she couldn't do it, and we got her out instead."
"Well, I mean, that's a pretty big expense," Sabrina says, then realizes what she's saying and to whom, "Err, nevermind, old habits of thinking." The redhead blushes profusely. Laria just chuckles.
"How much you'd cost, though? I dunno. We'd have to find someone versed in the law, or get a copy of the relevant law and study it ourselves."
"Easier said than done," Rexus interjects, having overheard the conversation. "The law records are kept at the Temple of Asmodeus, and are written in Infernal, of course, and you have to be a barrister to really understand them. Now, I do understand Infernal, and I could make an attempt at making sense of it, if we can get a copy. My understanding is that anyone can, in theory, go to the temple and purchase a copy of a particular portion of the law. We'd need to know what part of the law we need, and so we'd probably have to buy the table of contents as well. And Infernal by its nature lends itself to loopholes, subclauses, references to other places in other documents, and so forth, so we might find that we need yet other portions of the law to come to a conclusion. In short, hiring a barrister might be cheaper and would certainly be faster. I expect that these other cases, Miss Sarini's butler, and the lass Laria mentioned, both visited a barrister at least to find out how much they needed to pay."
Domitius nods as Laria and Rexus offer their advice on the subject. "OK, from what I'm hearing from you, sounds like a barrister is the way to go with this. Do any of us know one that won't screw me over with this? I don't relish the idea of just pickin' someone's name out of a hat."
"Let me think. There was old Phineas but he might have died. My cousin Heckbert, but he might be busy." muses Davina.
Leora listens to the conversation between Domitius, Davina, and Laria. She's never been one for following rules, so the idea of hiring someone to figure out the rules for her sounds crazy. "Maybe we can just overthrow Thrune and get rid of all the infernal laws. That might be easier," she jokes.
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Eldonna sits back in her favorite armchair, petting her poodle Hercule on her lap. She looks amazed at the silver raven figurine, and promises to use it to contact you in matters of great importance only.
"Hmm, so you've gotten half the cost of your entrance fee and first semester tuition already? How impressive. Very well. Millicent!" Her majordomo hurries to her side, the young lady ready with a notebook. "Make a sum of -- how much was it, dear? 350? 350 gold sails available to Miss Jessibel, Millie. This is a loan to her, to be paid back at her convenience."
"So noted, Madam," the servant replies.
It turns out that Eldonna doesn't know of anyone in the Opera House guild except for the famous Shenshen.
"If you need help spreading a rumor, child, you've come to the right woman. Is Domitius supposed to have gone with her, or stayed here? I haven't heard much from the Sarinis lately. Poor Urora has gone slightly around the bend, I'm afraid -- perhaps she made an ill-considered deal with a devil, and it took her sanity, or her wits. Her husband is very uncouth, you know. Social climber of the first order."
Jessibel's mother, who is active in the family pursuits, especially hunting, knows just the person to take care of the gator hide. "Beautiful, darling, just smashing."
Finally, as no one is making use of the family coach, it is available, but the fee for a coach going across Breakbridge is higher than foot traffic. 5gp per horse, and the family carriage is a great affair requiring 4 of them.
"Maybe we can just overthrow Thrune and get rid of all the infernal laws. That might be easier."
Dom shrugs. “I know this sounds ridiculous, havin’ to deal with this sort of thing, but if I don’t do something about this, and just leave it hanging, well, it could be what leaves me hanging. As it is, I think that I shouldn't be involved in the Silver Ravens." Dom holds up his hand in a 'stop and listen' gesture, pursing his lips while he takes a moment to think it through. "At least, not as Domitius. When I go about Ravens business, I'll need a different identity. Lord Thrune's gonna hate Dukkan." He grins at the others. "That was my name as a child in Belkzen, but the grown-up version's gonna be an absolute terror."
Jessibel, with some timely interventions and clarifications from Lydia, spins a tale of the group's previous adventures, leaving out being puked on by a gremlin and stupidly falling into the vat of nasty sludge; she does tell of how she was mauled by the dogs so she won't come off as totally perfect. When she's told how much it costs to cross the bridge with the carriage and its four horses, Jessi nearly blows a gasket (having never had to pay such a toll herself). She catches herself quickly and asks her grandmother if she might not add another 20 gold to her debt, as she'll only get this one chance to make a first impression and wants to arrive at the Opera House Society headquarters in style. After changing into a showier outfit, Jessibel picks up her loan and prepares to depart.
"Oh, as for the situation with Domitius.... Isn't it best to have an element of truth in one's deceptions? I think it's best we get out the word that he stayed in Kintargo when Sabrina fled. He's bound to be spotted here by someone sooner or later."
After asking Lydia if she has any errands she needs run (such as a quick visit to Songbird Hall), Jessi gives the driver the address of the Society's new headquarters and prepares for the biggest day of her young life.
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Lydia thanks the Aulamaxas for their hospitality, and asks to be dropped off at Songbird Hall along the way. She takes one of the figurines with her, and says she will be the Silver Raven's contact in this, the one openly good-aligned church in the city.
At the Opera Society, Jessibel is welcomed with open arms. They are eager to accept new students and patrons, and are quick to let her sign her name to their roster.
She is given a schedule of when classes are available, and told "I know life can be ever so busy for a young lady of high society like yourself, so you're welcome to come in any time for tutoring."
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Jessibel's in a blissful mood as her family's splendid carriage rumbles through the streets of Argo Isle, heading north. She was now a member of the most prestigious institution in the city! And Sabrina wasn't! Neener-neener-neener!
Making a note not to rub it in too much when she next saw her frenemy, Jessi opened the secret compartment in the carriage wall that allowed its occupants to converse with the driver. She asked to be dropped at Laria's Long Roads Coffeehouse instead of the Aulamaxa manor.
"As you wish, Lady Jessibel," the driver replied politely. After an awkward pause, however, the fellow added, "You have the toll to return across the Bleakbridge, correct?"
"What??!! Forty gold to make a trip to Argo Isle and back??!! That's outrageous! That's unacceptable! That's highway robbery...or would be if it weren't a bridge toll! Is this another of Barzillai Thrune's stupid proclamations? Or have the tolls always been so insanely high? Why, I have a mind to...."
"I'll take that as a 'No,'" the driver drawled. "Fortunately, Lady Eldonna keeps a small cache of coins stashed under the driver's seat for just such an emergency. I'm certain she won't mind adding it onto your debt list."
Thus, Jessibel was in a particularly pissy mood when she stormed back into the coffeehouse to meet with her friends.
"Please tell me someone sold the witchy whip Dom found inside the statue," she snaps. "I need like a million gold sails for my great voyage into the future yet find myself drowning in debt."
Davina's head snaps up in surprise as Jessibel storms through it. She's been in deep conversation with Laria, Rexus and Domintius about which lawyer would be best to take care of his issue, and how he might earn the money fast without getting it illegally.
"Drowning in debt? Who do you owe?" She suddenly realizes there was another point to the outburst. "No one has identified what exactly the whip is yet. We just know that it's magical. We haven't figured out the boots either. We've been trying to figure out how much Domintius needs to earn to buy his freedom. Without the purchase price he's still a slave."
Jessi blushes a bit as she realizes what a little brat she must sound like.
"Oh--you guys for the loan to get into the Opera House Society, my grandmother for the same.... Did any of you realize it costs 5 gold sails per horse to cross the Bleakbridge? And that's one way only! Outrageous!"
"You're right though--buying Dom's freedom takes precedent over my future worries. I'm just upset over something I've no control over--at least until we overthrow Thrune."
Lucius looks over as Jessibel rushes into the coffeehouse and begins talking about needing a million gold sails. Shaking his head as Jessibel explained how much it cost per horse to cross the Bleakbridge. "If it's so expensive for horses to cross then why don't you walk?"
As they discussed how to run their burgeoning rebellion Kirri finally spoke up after simply listening for a while, "I will do as I always seem to do, stand Sentinel and watch for trouble. As I did for unkowingly Jessi I will do for the rebellion." She considered then and said, "If you want the sisters to join us one of you should do the talking, I'm not the most likeable of people and would probably botch the job." The admission of her ineptitude at turning the sisters to their cause seemed to wound Kiri's pride.
Kiri approached the Fushi sisters and said, "I've been told you'd like to go meet the weapon smith, to find more of your people. I've been asked to take you there."
Lucius looks over as Jessibel rushes into the coffeehouse and begins talking about needing a million gold sails. Shaking his head as Jessibel explained how much it cost per horse to cross the Bleakbridge. "If it's so expensive for horses to cross then why don't you walk?"
"Remember when I offered to use magic to mend your hat and coat and you refused, saying they reminded you of where you came from? Well, this is the same thing--only the exact opposite. You never get a second chance to make a first impression. So I invested 40 sails to make a good impression."
"Also, I'm not allowed to walk around alone it seems--apparently it's too dangerous. And it'd be a long walk, every day, from here to the Aria Park neighborhood. And back. I forgot the 'and back' part when I asked to use the family carriage to go to the Opera House Society's headquarters, and that little oversight put me another 20 sails in the hole."
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The next morning, Jessibel awakens to a happy surprise--she finds that her magical bardic repertoire has expanded! She composes new spellsongs for two new spells--detect magic and coin shot--and then decides to try out her prowess with the lesser of her two new spells, using detect magic while examining the magic boots and whip.
"I've been told you'd like to go meet the weapon smith, to find more of your people. I've been asked to take you there."
“If it’s all the same, I’d like to come with you. I’d like to look over this fellow’s wares, and see if he’s able to make me something.”
Something that has been lurking at the back of Domitius’ subconscious suddenly becomes fully realized. Turning to Sabrina, Dom says, “This might be me gettin’ paranoid, but maybe that’s not the worst thing right about now. Sabrina, maybe you should find a way to deliver a message to your father saying that you’re okay? If we’re gonna try this emancipation thing, then the Old Man can’t claim somethin’ like, ‘I had to hire investigators to find out what happened to my daughter, he put me out money, no deal.’ I know you’re not keen to actually go back, but maybe have a letter delivered or something.”
Davina hurries to speak to the Fushi sisters before everyone leaves for the weapon smith's shop. "I'd like to ask you to work for us. All of you have useful skills. We need information, and something tells me you have a knack for gathering it."
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* +1 bonus if the tengu find Jessibel's breasts, thighs, and/or drumsticks appealing.
Kiri nodded when Dom requested to come with them, "It's fine with me Dom." When she heard Davina ask the tengu to join them Kiri considered and decided she'd like to know these sisters more, "I agree, your help would be useful...and it's nice having other birdfolk around."
Leora realizes she intruded in Dom's fairly private and serious conversation. "I'm sorry. Do whatever feels right for you. I just feel so mad sometimes lately. There's just so many stupid things in the world that we can't do anything about."
"Anyway, good luck at the weapon shop. I don't need anything today unless you find some extra trail rations. I've used up most of mine feeding them to dogs and tengus."
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Before the Fushi sisters leave, Leora takes a moment to talk with them. "While it wasn't under the best circumstances, I'm glad we met. Like I mentioned earlier, many folks in Kintargo need help, and we'd be glad if you'd lend us a hand."
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Thinking over the last few days of events, she realizes she's becoming frustrated and angry over little things that didn't usually bother her. This brings to mind a piece of advice that one of her friends from the Thrashing Badger had told her. Leora raises her morning toast to the Drunken Hero, adding a splash of Laria's whiskey to her tea. "Cayden Cailean, give me coffee to change the things I can, and wine to accept the things I cannot." She is pleasantly rewarded with the feeling that he has blessed her with more magic, and finds herself in better mood.
After she finishes her prayers, she takes another look at the flashy red boots they found yesterday, using her spells to attempt to identify them.
Lucius mostly remains quiet allowing the Fushi sisters to decide which course of action they would like to take since while he though their help would be valuable he wasn't much for convincing people and he didn't want to drag them into this unless he had too.
Jessi resigns herself to a day of cleaning in the new Silver Ravens headquarters beneath the Long Roads Coffeehouse. She opts to do the tedious chore fully armed and armored, still not convinced that a place in the sewers is the safest location for a hideout.
Although used to having the family servants do all the cleaning, Jessi's gotten her fair share of it during her first few days as an 'adventurer.' Casting the spell that she's today calling prestifumigation, the girl sets out to magically clean not only the sites of the bloody battles with the dire corby and white gator but all of the Wasp Nest. She hums and even occasionally breaks into all-out song while she cleans. During breaks, she chats up the Fushi sisters if/when they get back from the weaponsmith.
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Domitus, Kiri, and the four tengu sisters enter through a door under a sign with the bold claim, "Haunted by Quality". Inside, the building resembles an arena, with a central courtyard set up for sparring, and benches around it for spectators. There are numerous weapon and armor racks set up around the outer walls, and employees standing ready to answer questions and assist customers.
Asking for Chuko, you are pointed to one of the darker corners of the establishment, where a shadow sits, watching the bout going on in the courtyard intently. When you approach, a powerfully-built tengu stands up, and immediately greets the Fushis in their own tongue, then says in Taldane, "Welcome to the War Cage. What can I do for you?"
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A couple days of work, and discreetly moving sleeping pads down the latter at night, turns the Wasp Nest into a livable, if spartan, space.
Lydia and Jessibel make discreet inquiries among the musicians they congregate with in the Kintargo Opera Society and the temple of Shelyn. Both discover an unusual fellow who runs in both circles: a golden-bearded dwarf named Turl, who is devoted to building instruments as well as performing. With the closing of the Opera, his work is not needed currently, so he and a small group of Shelynites and out-of-work opera cast members have started busking in the streets to make a living while the opera is closed. Some of them have done well enough that they're thinking of making a career of it.
Though the final week of Abadius is cold, they make the best of it, playing wooden flutes, beating drums, and hammering on unlikely metal contraptions that Turl says are glockenspiels, a traditional dwarven instrument.
Jessibel hears them grumbling about Thrune's proclamations, and is able to get him to begin reporting to her about information they overhear while busking. She has hinted to him about the existence of a rebellion, but nothing concrete yet as she gets more of a finger on what his loyalties are.
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Early Toilday morning, Davina and Domitius travel discreetly through the streets of Villegre, and meet with the barrister recommended to them by Rexus. She understands the situation and is willing to do a consult for 10 gold sails. she then goes through a series of questions for Domitius about his weight, age, athletic and intellectual ability, and records them carefully, then consults several books written in blood-red ink in a language that Domitius has seen many times, but does not understand.
Davina recognizes it as a set of complex regulations on the pricing of slaves, written in Infernal. Not for the first time, she marvels at the commitment shown by the lawmakers of Cheliax to codify their laws in the language of Hell.
"It is my opinion," says the white-haired, spectacled lady, "That a fair market price would be 1,260 gold sails. I would be willing to prepare the documents and file the petition for one tenth that amount. I would also recommend having another one tenth of the price available in case the respondent" -- meaning Sarini -- "argues that you are worth more than that. Are there any recent expenses or investments that the respondent would be able to argue he had not yet recovered from your servitude? Any illness or injury for which he paid for your treatment? Any training?" Receiving a negative response, she nods in affirmation.
Domitius is glad that Sarini won't be able to claim any expense related to Sabrina against his price. Sabrina had dispatched a message by courier to her father, claiming to have taken passage on a ship out of Kintargo, heading to Korvosa. "Let him waste time and money searching for me there," she had said with a disdainful sniff.
On Moonday, Davina spends the better part of the day in her laboratory attempting to make Alchemist's Fire again. She gets a good start on it, and this time she doesn't blow out the windows.
After she's done she cleans up and heads over to the Silver Raven's headquarters. She's disguised herself as a human student. No need to have anyone seeing me coming and going more than they need to. She settles down next to Rexus and attempts to help decipher the writing.
On Tollday she and Domitius visit the lawyer. She's quite willing to help Domitius pay the requested retainer at the time of the visit. While she was waiting she finished reading the treatise on locks, and hands it to Domitius to read. "Here you go. This should help in the future."
After the lawyer visit she heads home, and continues to watch her alchemical experiment bubble away.
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Davina tries her best, with Kiri's help, but isn't able to make much progress on the documents. Rexus is able to translate one of them.
"This is fascinating," he says to Davina late Fireday evening. "The Silver Ravens were said to be able to use something called the 'Song of Silver' to defend Kintargo when it was attacked by enemies, but none of what I've translated so far tells me more thhan the name and its purpose. Please, ask the others to keep an eye out for further clues as to this intriguing notation."
Leora helps Jessi with cleaning out the Wasp's Nest dormitory. "Cleaning goes a lot quicker after I've had some wine, " She explains, offering to share her bottle with Jessibel. She's used to sweeping and scrubbing and making up beds from her time at the Thrashing Badger, and this isn't much different. "What do you think about living down here? It would be weird being in the sewer, and I have no idea how safe it is."
Later in the week, she helps Davina with the alchemy. "Maybe I'm being a bit paranoid. But are there any spells or I dunno, things, I could set up in the Wasp's Nest to warn me if someone is coming? Is hate to wake up with one of those alley-gators sleeping in the bed next to me. "
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The Fushi sisters help with the cleanup, which they think is only fair since they brought Cheogh with them to the Wasp nest, and she caused most of the damage that you're cleaning up. "Well, mebbe we could set up some kinda grating or fence in the water at the edge of the sewers proper, keep anything big from getting in. But then we'd have trouble getting a boat out," Korva suggests. "We'd need some kind of a gate, I guess. That gator was here when we got here, though, and we never seen anything else in the sewers."
"We could try Alarm, but it doesn't last very long. We could try to string bells along the entrance." Upon hearing what the Fushi's said about not seeing any other creatures Davina feels a little better about things not just swimming in.
Kiri looked around at the weapon store when they arrived but ultimately found little of interest to her. What need had a living weapon of blades of metal, mostly useless in her opinion. Still, she was rather patient as those she came with looked around. She was rather relieved when they finished up and returned to the Wasp Nest.
With little left to do but search for her father Kiri aided in cleaning up the Wasp Nest with the Fushi sisters and others. It was around then that she remembered the contact she was to meet at the protest. She was actually kind of embarrassed to realize she had forgotten that the contact was Rexus. She resolved to go speak with him and headed to do exactly that.
When she reached the room Rexus was in Kiri slipped inside quietly.
When she reached a position right behind him she spoke, "As I recall I was to meet a contact at the Rally, and I believe that contact was you. I never actually found out what you know about my father's whereabouts as we all got swept up in events." Her flutey voice was quiet and intense as she asked about her father, "What can you tell me about Mallus, where can I find him?"
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"Blessed Irori, I had forgotten in all the chaos and excitement. You must be terribly worried about him. Laria was the one who gave me the information, apparently he's being held at Sallix Salt Works and being made to work there by a group of mercenaries employed by Thrune."
Rexus calls to Laria and asks her to tell Kiri what she had told him.
"Oh right! The Strix feller at the Salt Works. Well, they've got nine prisoners working there, your old man among 'em, and a group I know, some rabble-rousers let by a fellow named Forvian Crowe. They'd be good to recruit for the cause, if you can get 'em out."
Kiri recalls Davina telling her about overhearing a rumor about prisoners being put to work in Sallix Salt Works.
Kiri's eyes opened wide at what her father was being forced to do. The fact that he was being made to work inn a mine of all things was an insult beyond comparison and she felt her hatred of Thrune grow exponentially. If the look on her face was any indication she was ready to go take the place down on her own if need be, She realized, though, that if she tried to make a one bird assault on the place she would likely fail so she resolved to turn to the others for help. She gave what looked like a smile, a rather freaky looking one as she wasn't used to the expression, and said in a cold and deadly voice, "Thank you, I'm going to go get him out." She turned and headed to round up the others, leaving the room without another word.
As Kiri found each of the Raven's it was obvious that her mood was black and deadly. they'd seen her aggravated and angry, they'd never seen her this pissed off, it was a very disturbing sight. When she gathered them all she said, "I have a target for us. My papa is being forced to work in the Sallix Salt Works, I intend to break him out. I've decided to let you all come along and help me. Laria said there are several prisoners there who might be worth springing for the Rebellion led by a man named Forvian Crowe. Does anyone know about this place?"
Davina looks concerned about Kiri's papa. She thinks about what she knows about that part of town.
Davina realizes she hasn't spoken to the strix woman directly very often, and makes a mental note to do that more. "We'll figure out a way to get him out. I'd help even if it was only your papa we wanted to get out of there."
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Davina looks more and more concerned as she recalls what she knows about the Salt Works. It isn't good. She sighs, and give the bad news to the group, "The Salt works is in Old Kintargo. Furnaces burn night and day to dry the salt out. Thrune agents appropriated the Salt Works the day after the Night of Ashes. Thrune wants to use the Salt Works as an additional source of government income. He placed a mercenary group in charge right now. It's led by a cantankerous dwarf named Kossrani. Here's the bad stuff, he’s already earned a reputation as a sadist among those who know him.' she takes a breath and leans forward, "This would be our first direct hit against Brazillai's regime. Up until now we've just gotten things up and running Not things Thrune would notice. If we free those prisoners and shut down the works for even a little while, Brazillai will know something's up."
When Davina finds moments of quiet she writes.
Silver Pieces
Jessi tells Kiri she's heard of the Salt Works. She also says she's ready to fight to save Kiri's father and the other prisoners there.
Jessibel blanched a bit at Laria's strong words, knowing she didn't have the heart of a killer. Still, there was a practical wisdom in the halfling's words.
"This jailbreak will require some planning," she spoke up. "In addition to scoping out the salt works itself, we need to go in having some sort of exit strategy. The salt works is close to the water and outside the main city gate; if the gate were to be closed, we'd be trapped between a rock and an ice-cold wet place. We also need to decide where we'll take the freed prisoners, and by what route."
Feeling that she'd done her part by bringing up the need for a plan, Jessi waits for her friends to actually develop it.
Leora helps Jessi with cleaning out the Wasp's Nest dormitory. "Cleaning goes a lot quicker after I've had some wine, " She explains, offering to share her bottle with Jessibel. She's used to sweeping and scrubbing and making up beds from her time at the Thrashing Badger, and this isn't much different. "What do you think about living down here? It would be weird being in the sewer, and I have no idea how safe it is."
Jessi gladly shares the wine bottle Leora offers, though she's not used to drinking wine outside of meals before wild evenings out. Except for that one time during the Aria Park Protest, when she drank some to keep warm. And a dozen or so other instances.
When Leora brings up the comfort and security levels (or lack thereof) in the sewer complex, Jessibel agrees heartily, saying she'll be staying in the coffeehouse proper for now as well. She tells Leora that once the Wasp Nest's set up and fully functional, she'll likely scout out a room in Jarvis End so she'll be able to better handle her studies at the Opera Society HQ.
"Too long of a walk there and back again every day," Jessi comments before sourly adding, "And too damned expensive if I were to buy a carriage to commute."
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"Ooh--and we should bring along extra weapons for the freed prisoners to use in a pinch."
"Oh, if you prefer something else, well... I'm sure I could find some beer or whiskey or something." Her talk with Jessibel does little to make Leora want to stay in the Wasp Nest by herself, despite the Fushi Sisters and Davina's reassurances, so she rents a room from Laria for the week.
"Davina's right, this is serious stuff." Without hesitating, she adds "Count me in- I can't stand to see Thrune keep hurting innocent people and getting away with it." Since several of her companions seem to be a lot better at this whole 'sneakiness' thing, Leora asks "Is there anything we can do, or bring with us, to make it look like an accident, or to disguise what really happened? To make it less obvious that it was us that did it?""
"Laria, is there any sort of booze I could make that would sell well at the Coffeehouse? Since you've put me up for the last few days, I'd like to help out, if I can."
Kiri was relieved to hear the support from her comrades. They may be humans, mostly, but they had some redeeming qualities. She considered the suggestion for the rescue and said, "Much as I don't want to wait, I agree that a plan of action is a good thing. As for weapons, also not a bad idea, though I don't know that they'll be up to fighting when we get them out."
"I have several bags of Alchemist's Fire. One for each of you, and two for Lucius. That should be helpful at some point." says Davina. "Should we try to visit the Salt Works or at lest check out the outside before we begin our asault.'