"Ahem. I have offended Gaedren in a way most dear to his heart (and other organs, frankly.) He has a price on my head and I think it's pretty high. I will not be free until he is dead. This is survival to me, it's me or him. God knows why, but I would rather he die. Maybe I'll be able to take up my former life. If we get close enough I would be happy to damn my eternal soul in your stead."
Under normal circumstances the annoying old guy, too long stare is just that. When Charlie's face loses its constant smirk and chuckle and gains a murderous stare to each of you the effect is immediate and chilling.
Dandilion keeps her own counsel as to why, but she nods as well, "I'm in." She eyes the formerly stinky, now just old and creepy, Charlie with hesitation, but she nods once moreto the woman, as if confirming a bargain against her better judgment.
Briar snuffs at the woman's words, still not yet believing.
"I do not know if I should trust you yet. How did you find me? Do you know anything of my brother?"
"I found you the same way I found you all - by the Harrow. I know nothing of your brother. I am sorry if you do not trust me, I can think of no way to convince you. But please, please set aside your concerns and think of Gaedren."
"If you do not do this for me, do it for him. Do it as it is something he deserves."
"Please."
"The Harrow, you say? It seems to be pretty spot on for the cats you've herded into your apartment tonight. Lamm seems to be the perfect catnip..."
"I am ready to hold court over Lamm. Our own portraits of justice, or as you call it punishment, are close enough to the same. Till tonight, I haven't fully grasped the red on his ledger." Barael writes words in the air with his dagger, dots a sentence or two, and seems content.
He turns to Zellara with one eyebrow then two. "If you saw us with your cards, what's to say that Gaedren doesn't have a beautiful woman on his arm telling him the same? I don't like the idea of entering a chicken coop looking for the fox, when there are many chicks about, and the fox knows we're coming."
"Worry not about foxes and chicks, my friends. A fox is no match for a rooster whose claws have been properly sharpened. My ledger counts several sharp talons among us." Fondo puts his left hand on the pommel of his rapier as he drains his flagon. On his pinky finder sits a simple pewter band, bespeaking some oath unmet.
Nikolay turns to Zellara, "I believe I know this fishery. I passed it many a time. To think I was so close. I will share my knowledge of it shortly, but what can you tell us of it and those that lurk there?"
Briar ponders the words of Zellara as he begins to examine anew the 5 others she deems as his allies in this endeavor.
Only one of pure blood among them. And he's creepy.
As you discuss your plans, Zellara shuffles the Harrow deck deftly and with clear skill. As your conversation tapers off and you turn to her, she begins to lay out the cards in a traditional reading. Amazingly, or perhaps not considering her skill, the cards you held are prominently displayed in the reading that follows. You will also notice that the writing on the backs of the cards that lead you here has been cleaned as if by magic.
"The cards tell of the past... of information gained gained at great cost and the shattering of dreams. They tell my story... of my search for my son and my failure to rescue him from Gaedran Lamm."
"However, in the present there is hope... your many talents bring you strength. Gaedran Lamm has hurt you as well as me... but I can pass on what I have learned - that you will overcome his evil."
"If you act in harmony, you will succeed... but danger lurks ahead, beware the water!. I cannot see it clearly, but vast forces are in motion... something or someone is not as it seems... Korvosa itself may be in peril!"
Clearly tired by the effort, Zellara leans back in her chair and breathes heavily. The room itself seems to dim as she finishes. "That is all that I know."
Fascinated by the reading, Nikolay closely watches the cards and Vellara and attempts to understand the magic at work.
Spellcraft
"Thank you for the warnings," and stating the obvious.
"The fishery is currently abandoned. It used to belong to Walther Mahew who prepared an excellent garlic crab. Unfortunately, he fell victim to the dangers of the water. Now, squatters use it and sell 'dock dumplings'--an item have never been desperate or adventurous enough to try."
"Gaedren may be running things or just taking advantage of the situation. In any case, we should be able to make entry into the building without running afoul of the law ourselves."
Barael wonders about the practice of fortune telling in Korvosa.
Barael pours a glass of wine, and sets it on the table in front of Zellara. "I'm outta my depths, but it seems that the Harrow Deck respects you enough to show you more than just card faces. And if it respects you, then maybe I should too." No disrespect, Aroden, but she's prettier, and she just played with the lights in the room.
"We have a location, which is more than I've ever had on him. We have numbers, as Boldo says. Now we need a plan. I hope that he's comfortable enough in the fishery to stay put long enough to get got." Barael looks back at Nikolay. "Is the traffic busy enough that a group of six won't raise an alarm? And have you ever been inside long enough to remember the layout?"
"I've passed it many times, so I suspect once more won't matter. Of course, I'm not sure how many dock dumplings are being sold after midnight. We could wait until the day when there is more foot traffic, but we might actually attract more attention then when we actually enter the place. As to the layout, let me think for a minute."
Fondo makes eyes at Dandilion while the others talk. "Night would seem the best time. Let Desna's constellations guide our hand to Gaedren's throat. She has a plan for us, and I will follow it."
Briar snorts softly to himself as brave words are spoken, still standing in the corner and leaning on his quarterstaff.
They talk big. But can they hunt?
Nikolay knows of the building. It's two stories with the upper floor at street level and the lower floor nearly at the water line and more of a warehouse space than anything. There were two main rooms above which he has been in. The left room is the main 'showroom' with a large tank which was once filled with Crab. The right room was an office for working out larger deals and contracts.
Nikolay shares what he knows of the building as he takes out a scroll and draws a few boxes.
"No. That's not a butterfly. It a crab. For the crab tank."
Untrained draw
Fondo makes eyes at Dandilion while the others talk. "Night would seem the best time. Let Desna's constellations guide our hand to Gaedren's throat. She has a plan for us, and I will follow it."
Dandilion rolls her eyes at the Varisian's "commitment", though she can't help but agree that the cover of night would serve their purposes best.
Briar inches closer to see Nik's 'drawing'.
I don't recognize the place, but it is a welcome sign that he does.
Briar looks at those in the room again, taking in their reactions as they plan.
That waif has elven blood in her. How much remains to be seen.
"So, does Lamm play queen of bees, sending out his little workers, while he remains and bloats? Or does the rabbit leave his warren for his exercise every now and then? If he roams away at night, maybe he'll come to us? Looks like he has four or five ways of leaving that fishery, doorwise at least."
"Can't smoke him out. Likely injure the kids and damage adjacent piers from fire damage."
We can't run in blind into the monster's den. He'll have the upper hand around every corner he knows and we don't.
"Is there a way to watch the rabbit runs from one of the adjacent buildings? Maybe for a day or two to start seeing the patterns?" Patterns, I hope Zellara gets that reference. "Maybe get one of his kids to draw us a better butterfly map?"
Burn them out? What a good plan, too bad it is unfeasible. But I like the way he thinks.
Briar tempts fate to ask a delicate question.
"Do any of you have any skill at arms? Can you fight for what you would take?"
Best know before I get myself further involved with this menagerie of lost cityfungii.
"I prefer not to fight for what I take, but I assure you I am more than capable of delivering mortal wounds. I trust you can say the same, granduncle elf? You have a look of mettle about you."
Fondo flicks his wrist and a sap appears in his hand. "I suggest you equip yourselves with the likes of this. No doubt he will use his urchins as pawns. I'd hate to dirty my blade with the blood of innocents."
"I trust you can say the same, granduncle elf? You have a look of mettle about you."
Briar looks to Charlie, also awaiting an answer.
He's a granduncle? He looks old, but not old-old.
He looks a bit young to be a granduncle, but who can say with the full blooded ones... Could be a thousand years old for all I know. "And what do you call yourself, mister elf. No, no. Not Charlie here. He could be my granduncle too, I suppose. But I wager he's younger than you."
"It seems like we have all waited a long time for Lamm. Perhaps another day would not cause harm. Maybe we could at least wait until the children appear to have left."
"However, does anyone actually know what he looks like? Would we know him if we saw him come and go?"
"I have good news and bad news for you. I am a half breed, but thank you for giving me credit. Also, I can inflict damage, but I can also heal. I'm 52 years young and I like long walks in the rain. I find it useful sometimes to exaggerate my age."
Living in the Vaults makes exaggerating my age not so hard. If I live through this, maybe I can regain some hint of my youth.
"What about coming in from under the warehouse? Is that crab tank just a cage underwater? When the time comes, maybe we could go in from two directions at once? Also, I do have some tracking skill."
"My arms have skills, master elf, and I'll see them used to our purpose before the week's over." Barael exposes the blade of his rapier, then drops it back. "I assume you can keep your marbles from rolling down your pant leg during a fight?"
"As to Gaedren's face, I'm at a loss, I must admit. But show it to me once, and I'll be able to pee him a portrait in snow 10 years from now."
When it becomes clear that no other can identify her tormenter, Dandilion raises her voice some shade higher than a whisper."I know what he looks like. He's thin and mean, with long graying hair. He dresses like the street urchins he controls, with poorly mended clothes, that fit just as poorly, though he in no way looks young or innocent."
A light shudder runs through the girl as she speaks, and she plays with a ring on one hand, spinning it around and around on her finger as she continues. "But he's not alone. He's almost never alone. Like most bullies, he likes company and an audience for his cruelties, even if it is just his pet monster."
"Pet monster? I pray that's not what he calls his... Oh. What sort of creature?"
Zellara speaks up from deep in her chair, "It is an alligator. Gaedren feeds those who cross him to it. Or so they say."
She scratches her arm.
"So what is your plan then? I do know the lowest level is most easily reached from below. There must be a passage within the fishery of course, but a skiff might be helpful."
She thinks a moment and sighs, "But I suppose there must be one there then mustn't there? I have no head for strategy I'm afraid."
"I am going to lie down. Thank you. Thank you all."
And with that she rises unsteadily in the flickering candle light and passes through one of the doorways closing the door behind her. You hear a little shuffling, then nothing more.
Briar stares at the waif as she speaks, his mind deep in thought about something, before returning Barael's gaze and answering his question.
"I do not have my bow or other combat gear with me now, but I shall handle myself during the fight."
Briar's gaze changes again, this time to Zellara as she speaks.
"Alligator? I have heard of them, but never seen one. I hear they were brewed by alchemists in a laboratory. They are truly exotic. Where I come from we have normal beasts, like bunyips, gryphs, and the occasional mobogo. I should like to see an alligator."
Briar looks at Nik's map one more time, committing it to memory.
"I think we know all we can know from this place...save for your names. I am Briar. What should I call each of you?"
Briar looks at Nik's map one more time, committing it to memory.
"I think we know all we can know from this place...save for your names. I am Briar. What should I call each of you?"
Briar? She tries the name in her head, feeling for familiarity, but finding none. Those eyes, though, those eyes!
Blinking her own blue orbs, she forgets to hide, to keep her head down and her hair over the recent scar along her cheek. "Dandilion." Her real name, or as close as she comes to having one. It'll work, though, get her attention if called.
How quickly people in this town forget? With so many deaths, I guess one more matters little.
"I am Nikolay Vasilevich and I am ready when everyone else is. Let us head there tonight and observe from afar. Perhaps then our path might be clearer."
Nikolay offers his hand to Dandilion and then each of the others. He then stands by the door.
Fondo shakes NIkolay's hand heartily. "Some call me Boldo. If we are to be comrades in arms, you should call me by my more usual name. Fondo Barondo. May our paths cross ever in the most amicable of ways."
Barael wipes his palm on his pantleg, and braces himself for the handshake with Nikolay. Any time I've put my hand in the hand of a Guardsman, my shoulder's hurt for the better part of a week. "Please call me Barael, of house Gare. Tonight it is."
Till now, I've only had folks depend on me for running messages, Aroden. Now there's a good chance someone gets hurt, possibly from my lack of training. Guide me to the better side of this, Aroden, and I'll see your church's coffers a little richer for the experience.
Barael proceeds out of the apartment to wait at the bottom of the stairs, and scans the street.
Briar takes Nikolay's arm in a elven handshake, grasping his arm near the elbow in a shake.
"Well met."
That one has muscle to him. He has worked his sword before.
Briar offers the same shake to Barael.
"Well met, Burial."
Is that name an omen? Where he wants to be?
Recognizing the waif's desire to be hidden, Briar offers her a stiff nod.
There is no one outside on the street, and the party meets few people on their way to the fishery. It is very late, nearly 1am.
As you arrive you will find the street in front of the fishery empty. There is a clearly abandoned building across the street and down a few doors. It is close enough to see the front of the fishery, but little else.
The fishery is dark and quiet as the party walks by. I presume you don't stop and search anything closely at this time, so no stealth checks needed, but also no perception checks gained. At least not until you get a closer look. I presume you have taken cover in the abandoned shop for now.
When the party is ready to make way to Lamm's, Briar will excuse himself to return to his 'home' (the elven enclave) and return quickly, this time wearing ornate rosewood armor and carrying shortbow and twin quivers.
Briar will enjoin the group at Lamm's.
Nikolay peers out into the street and whispers to Briar.
"I'll admit some envy for your race's better vision. I can always produce light when needed, but it's not exactly appropriate for a situation like this."
Briar smiles as Nikolay comes close and returns the whisper.
"My sight is often welcome in the hunt, however, I cannot see in complete darkness. I can say that I see no threats here now and there will be time for your magicks...by the way, do you enjoy the scent of my roses, do you?" Briar nods to the pink rose that grows out of his armor at the shoulder.
Another red roses grows from the armor on his back, and a while one near his dual quivers.
Barael accepts Briar's elven handshake, and tries to contain his excitement while trying to emulate the first handshake between Briar and Nikolay. First, a free drink, and now I'm shaking hands with an Unaging. Stick with Nik, and things will continue to happen.
"Well met, Bri...did you say Burial? (chuckles) Well, I guess that's close enough. Well met, Briar. Your the first elf I've had the chance to speak with, pardon if I stare. I mean no disrespect."
...
(Abandoned Shop)
...
"Maybe we should take turns getting rest. The wine has done its job on me. Come wake me when you grow tired of watching the front door. When street traffic picks up, we should get a look at the river level of the fishery, from one of the adjacent piers, I'm thinking."
"Name's still Charlie." Shakes hands as strongly as possible, which is not very. "I have everything I need." He lightly pounds his chest and the sound is muted. I have better sight than regular humans in the dark, but I am not as stealthy.
Briar nods to the pink rose that grows out of his armor at the shoulder. Another red roses grows from the armor on his back, and a while one near his dual quivers.
Nikolay completely takes in Briar's armor for the first time.
Is this armor for battle or a ball? I can appreciate fine armor, but flowers?
"Are the flowers part of the armor or an addition? Are they your magic or another's? Do they serve a purpose?"
Briar smiles at Nikolay, bemused by his ignorance.
"These roses are both. They function as a defensive reminder of nature's protections as well as that of nature's beauty. Not every man made item need be completely devoid of beauty. You city folk would do well to honor both magic and nature in your lives."
Briar smirks.
"Besides, this armor should make you happy...don't be mo-rose."
Fondo's smirk mirrors Briar's. Puns? From an elf? Twas my reckoning that was the bailiwick of gnomes. This night's full of discoveries... He refrains from plucking a rose for Dandilion.
"Who among you is light of step? If you're quiet as a halfling, perhaps you should join me in sneaking down along the waterline."
Fondo's smirk mirrors Briar's. Puns? From an elf? Twas my reckoning that was the bailiwick of gnomes. This night's full of discoveries... He refrains from plucking a rose for Dandilion.
"Who among you is light of step? If you're quiet as a halfling, perhaps you should join me in sneaking down along the waterline."
If no others feel particularly quiet, I could try. I'll not be anywhere as peepless as one of the pipfolk, though, even on my best day.
Briar looks at Fondo then sees if anyone from the rest of the group wants to step forward.
"Well sure, this isn't the outdoors, but I can remain quiet as needed."
Briar will make sure his shortbow is taunt, his quivers are as convenient, and his shoes are tied and then nod to Fondo, his new 'ally'.
"After you," Briar says with a sweeping open palmed invite to lead the way.
Stealth
Fondo almost gives Briar a hearty slap on the back, then remembers the thorns. "I hope your undergarments are thorn free."
Fondo takes a nearby alley down to the water's edge, and looks about in the gloom for a skiff.