The woman had made a fatal mistake. She had attempted to attack a Rune Warden. Even worse, it was one who was not shy in using lethal force. He aimed for head, reasoning that hitting him there meant that it was fair game to do the same in return.
Kazador's first swing kills one of the women, her skull split open! The second blow misses the other woman who snarls in anger as she sees her comrade slain.
Fyrtor lands one decent hit and moves easily past the woman and man, since the man isn't holding a weapon. The woman shouts at the man "Fight!" and he nervously draws a dagger, though he doesn't really try to land an attack with it.
The woman feints at Kazador but he doesn't fall for it. So she turns instead to try to exploit the flank on Fyrtor but he parries her attack and tries to land one in return, also missing.
"Look, if you are not sure if you are overstepping your paygrade with this decision, we can gladly take it up with Alain regarding that witness protection part. What's important now is that this citizen helped us secure a large part of the stolen treasury - and I am sure nothing is missing if you check the inventory that will be provided shortly - and does not deserve being treated like a suspect - he's a hero that proved his loyalty to the crown. So at least cut him some slack, let him get a breather, and allow me to debrief him while you take care of reversing that censur."
Fyrtor hits the woman twice but she doesn't fall yet.
The woman was tough. Kazador gave her that. He also gave her his hammer, slamming it into her gut with enough force to break the spine from most people. Regardless of whether it was true for her, it was enough to make her double over. He then brought the hammer down onto the back of her head. Once more he was glad that his weapon and armor could clean themselves.
The woman falls dead under Kazador's hammer. The man looks terrified and holds up his hands. "Please! No! I just worked for them!"
The guard captain calms down somewhat and nods. "Alright. We'll keep an eye on things while we sort this out." He turns to Mumblethunder "But let me warn you. This heist at the royal treasury is an assault on the crown itself and the guards are in a frenzy. Stay right here and do nothing suspicious until we can sort out as much of this as possible."
Nelly determines there are lots of people outside the bookshop and several are coming and going, including guards.
"Now if such is permissible, I would like some privacy to debrief Mister Mumblethunder - we'll stay right here so I suspect that is fine?"
As the guard captain returns to business, and Nelly indicates that the area is secure, Janus sits down near the proprietor again, and lowers his head: "I suspect I do owe you an apology for involving you in this matter. I will make sure to make this up to you. At the very least, know that you can relax - nothing ill will come of this to affect you, I assure you that."
After much thinking Harold nodded "Right. Here's a story I heard from a pair of monks of the Grimm order. Similar themes ta yours, possibly linked... well. Listen."
There was once a young fellow who enlisted as a soldier, refrained from looting, conducted himself bravely, and was always the foremost in the charge. So long as the war lasted, all went well, but when peace was made, he received his dismissal, and the captain said he might go where he liked. His parents were dead, and he had no longer a home, so he went to his brothers and begged them to take him in, and keep him until war broke out again. The brothers, however, were hard-hearted and said, "What can we do with thee? thou art of no use to us; go and make a living for thyself." The soldier had nothing left but his sword; he took that on his shoulder, and went forth into the world as an adventurer.
The life of an adventurer is hard, but pays well. The soldier, however, was a good man who sought to do good, and such jobs as he took paid poorly. At the conclusion of one adventure, where he had spent more money than he made, he sat sorrowfully down, and began to think over his fate. "I have no money," thought he, "I have learnt no trade but that of fighting, and now that they have made peace they don't want me any longer; so I see beforehand that I shall have to starve." All at once he heard a rustling, and when he looked round, a strange man stood before him, who wore a green coat and looked right stately, but had a hideous cloven foot. "I know already what thou art in need of," said the man; "gold and possessions shall thou have, as much as thou canst make away with do what thou wilt, but first I must know if thou art fearless, that I may not bestow my money in vain." - "A soldier and fear - how can those two things go together?" he answered; "thou canst put me to the proof." - "Very well, then," answered the man, "look behind thee." The soldier turned round, and saw a large bear, which came growling towards him. "Oho!" cried the soldier, "I will tickle thy nose for thee, so that thou shalt soon lose thy fancy for growling," and he aimed at the bear and shot it through the muzzle; it fell down and never stirred again. "I see quite well," said the stranger, "that thou art not wanting in courage, but there is still another condition which thou wilt have to fulfil." - "If it does not endanger my salvation," replied the soldier, who knew very well who was standing by him. "If it does, I'll have nothing to do with it." - "Thou wilt look to that for thyself," answered Greencoat; "thou shalt for the next seven years neither wash thyself, nor comb thy beard, nor thy hair, nor cut thy nails, nor say one paternoster. I will give thee a coat and a cloak, which during this time thou must wear. If thou diest during these seven years, thou art mine; if thou remainest alive, thou art free, and rich to boot, for all the rest of thy life." The soldier thought of the great extremity in which he now found himself, and as he so often had gone to meet death, he resolved to risk it now also, and agreed to the terms. The devil took off his green coat, gave it to the soldier, and said, "If thou hast this coat on thy back and puttest thy hand into the pocket, thou wilt always find it full of money." Then he pulled the skin off the bear and said, "This shall be thy cloak, and thy bed also, for thereon shalt thou sleep, and in no other bed shalt thou lie, and because of this apparel shalt thou be called Bearskin." After this the devil vanished.The soldier put the coat on, felt at once in the pocket, and found that the thing was really true. Then he put on the bearskin and went forth into the world, and enjoyed himself, refraining from nothing that did him good and his money harm. During the first year his appearance was passable, but during the second he began to look like a monster. His hair covered nearly the whole of his face, his beard was like a piece of coarse felt, his fingers had claws, and his face was so covered with dirt that if cress had been sown on it, it would have come up. Whosoever saw him, ran away, but as he everywhere gave the poor money to pray that he might not die during the seven years, and as he paid well for everything he still always found shelter. In the fourth year, he entered an inn where the landlord would not receive him, and would not even let him have a place in the stable, because he was afraid the horses would be scared. But as Bearskin thrust his hand into his pocket and pulled out a handful of ducats, the host let himself be persuaded and gave him a room in an outhouse. Bearskin was, however, obliged to promise not to let himself be seen, lest the inn should get a bad name.
As Bearskin was sitting alone in the evening, and wishing from the bottom of his heart that the seven years were over, he heard a loud lamenting in a neighboring room. He had a compassionate heart, so he opened the door, and saw an old man weeping bitterly, and wringing his hands. Bearskin went nearer, but the man sprang to his feet and tried to escape from him. At last when the man perceived that Bearskin's voice was human he let himself be prevailed on, and by kind words bearskin succeeded so far that the old man revealed the cause of his grief. His property had dwindled away by degrees, he and his daughters would have to starve, and he was so poor that he could not pay the innkeeper, and was to be put in prison. "If that is your only trouble," said Bearskin, "I have plenty of money." He caused the innkeeper to be brought thither, paid him and put a purse full of gold into the poor old man's pocket besides.
When the old man saw himself set free from all his troubles he did not know how to be grateful enough. "Come with me," said he to Bearskin; "my daughters are all miracles of beauty, choose one of them for thyself as a wife. When she hears what thou hast done for me, she will not refuse thee. Thou dost in truth look a little strange, but she will soon put thee to rights again." This pleased Bearskin well, and he went. When the eldest saw him she was so terribly alarmed at his face that she screamed and ran away. The second stood still and looked at him from head to foot, but then she said, "How can I accept a husband who no longer has a human form? The shaven bear that once was here and passed itself off for a man pleased me far better, for at any rate it wore a hussar's dress and white gloves. If it were nothing but ugliness, I might get used to that." The youngest, however, said, "Dear father, that must be a good man to have helped you out of your trouble, so if you have promised him a bride for doing it, your promise must be kept." It was a pity that Bearskin's face was covered with dirt and with hair, for if not they might have seen how delighted he was when he heard these words. He took a ring from his finger, broke it in two, and gave her one half, the other he kept for himself. He wrote his name, however, on her half, and hers on his, and begged her to keep her piece carefully, and then he took his leave and said, "I must still wander about for three years, and if I do not return then, thou art free, for I shall be dead. But pray to the good gods to preserve my life."
The poor betrothed bride dressed herself entirely in black, and when she thought of her future bridegroom, tears came into her eyes. Nothing but contempt and mockery fell to her lot from her sisters. "Take care," said the eldest, "if thou givest him thy hand, he will strike his claws into it." - "Beware!" said the second. "Bears like sweet things, and if he takes a fancy to thee, he will eat thee up." - "Thou must always do as he likes," began the elder again, "or else he will growl." And the second continued, "But the wedding will be a merry one, for bears dance well." The bride was silent, and did not let them vex her. Bearskin, however, travelled about the world from one place to another, did good where he was able, and gave generously to the poor that they might pray for him.
At length, as the last day of the seven years dawned, he went once more out on to the heath, and seated himself beneath the circle of trees. It was not long before the wind whistled, and the devil stood before him and looked angrily at him; then he threw Bearskin his old coat, and asked for his own green one back. "We have not got so far as that yet," answered Bearskin, "thou must first make me clean." Whether the devil liked it or not, he was forced to fetch water, and wash Bearskin, comb his hair, and cut his nails. After this, he looked like a brave soldier, and was much handsomer than he had ever been before.
When the devil had gone away, Bearskin was quite lighthearted. He went into the town, put on a magnificent velvet coat, seated himself in a carriage drawn by four white horses, and drove to his bride's house. No one recognized him, the father took him for a distinguished general, and led him into the room where his daughters were sitting. He was forced to place himself between the two eldest, they helped him to wine, gave him the best pieces of meat, and thought that in all the world they had never seen a handsomer man. The bride, however, sat opposite to him in her black dress, and never raised her eyes, nor spoke a word. When at length he asked the father if he would give him one of his daughters to wife, the two eldest jumped up, ran into their bedrooms to put on splendid dresses, for each of them fancied she was the chosen one. The stranger, as soon as he was alone with his bride, brought out his half of the ring, and threw it in a glass of wine which he reached across the table to her. She took the wine, but when she had drunk it, and found the half ring lying at the bottom, her heart began to beat. She got the other half, which she wore on a ribbon round her neck, joined them, and saw that the two pieces fitted exactly together. Then said he, "I am thy betrothed bridegroom, whom thou sawest as Bearskin, but through the good god's grace I have again received my human form, and have once more become clean." He went up to her, embraced her, and gave her a kiss. In the meantime the two sisters came back in full dress, and when they saw that the handsome man had fallen to the share of the youngest, and heard that he was Bearskin, they ran out full of anger and rage. One of them drowned herself in the well, the other hanged herself on a tree. In the evening, some one knocked at the door, and when the bridegroom opened it, it was the devil in his green coat, who said, "Seest thou, I have now got two souls in the place of thy one!"
Nelly smells several different people moving in and out of range of her nose. She doesn't think any are close enough to overhear what Turion is saying, though.
Mumblethunder looks up at Janus with wide eyes and gasps quietly. "Another elf! What are you doing in Bannerhold? I want no part of this!!!" he hisses urgently.
It is clear that Mumblethunder has seen through your mundane disguise.
The man stammers and drops his dagger "Clive. Paid 10 crowns by them." He jerks his chin toward the dead women. "From what I've heard, they're two of the Harrick sisters. Work for the Reapers. I'm freelance."
"Fey, now, since you mention them. It can be dangerous to deal with them, too. But for different reasons. Devils want to own your soul. Demons want to ... warp your soul, or destroy it, or use you as a vessel to sow chaos and suffering. But in a way, they're both easier than fey. They have consistent motivations. You know what they want -- or should." A sorrowful look flits across her face as she thinks of naive Perrin.
"But fey, it's hard to know what they're after. Janus dealt with the fey, at least once that I know of; and it saved his life, with no downside that I can see. At least, not so far. Maybe one day there will be a hook, or an unforeseen price he must pay; or maybe not. Or maybe he already paid a price that I know nothing about." She shrugs.
"I hope those workmen finish soon," she adds. "I'm eager to return to Bannerhold. There are likely things afoot, and we are not there to help." She shows Hal the latest response from Count Aral.
"Another? Nevermind. What I am doing is attempting to prevent a war urged by those who would profit from death and suffering. The stolen goods were to be used for that - and I knew no others in Bannerhold I deemed trustworthy. Again, I apologize for forcing that part upon you, but I will make things right to the best of my abilities. I understand that you may be wary to have anything else to do with me, but until this is all over, you may be in danger, and I do not wish to see you harmed over something you had no control over. So let us be rational for the time being, you can hate me after this thing blows over, and I'll make sure that you'll be in a better position than now while you do that."
He looks curiously at the proffered letter, then sharply to Mel. "Deep waters indeed." he remarks "True enough about the Reaps, though. There's a target on us now. No real names from here on out, miss. Least not till we can set up some wards. I'll back your play..." he makes an indrawn whistle "But it's a brave play you've made."
"Worked for." Kazador corrected the man. "Reaps aren't the worst thing around, as ye can see. Where can I find Clive? Tell me what ye know of him and the Reaps in this city. Yer close to keepin' yer life, so keep talkin.' And yer name as well, while yer at it, so I have somethin' to call ye by." Kazador said, his eyes never breaking contact with the man.
"Anyways why were we lured here? What cause have the Reaps to attack us?"
Fyrtor makes his comments while checking on the two downed women. He removes any weapons or interesting items as he does so.
Mumblethunder looks like he is still very concerned and asks warily "What do you want me to do?"
The man keeps his hands held up and nods to Fyrtor. "Yes. I'm Clive. The Harrick sisters worked for the Handle of the Reaper. Guess the living one still does. Deadly if they get the drop on ya. Good at taking people alive too. They didn't tell me why they wanted ya. Just that you matched some descriptions they were looking for." Nervously, he offers "Not trying to tell you your business. Just trying to be helpful. But if the Reaps are looking for you, it might not be a good time to be near one of their stations. Or for that matter, a lot of places in Bannerhold."
Fyrtor determines that the women are dead.
"But ... at the same time, that means I've left the Concordat off-balance and suddenly vulnerable. If I cannot stop Iustia from bringing war to the Concordat, then all I will have accomplished is to give Iustia the advantage. My parents and mentors are safe, I believe, but ... all my childhood friends still live in the Concordat. All my teachers and colleagues. If I can't stop the war, then all I've done is increase their peril."
Mel scrubs wearily at her eyes. "Listen, I didn't sleep last night, and I'm really feeling it. Could you maybe keep an eye on things aboardship while I take a nap? I already paid the harbormaster for the work, and don't let him try to tell you otherwise. Wake me when it's time to get underway. I'm eager to get back to Bannerhold and find out what's been going on."
”Likewise isn’t safe for the Reaps to get in over their heads with us. Who runs this territory for them and where be their hideouts? If they are this eager to talk to us.” He motioned at the dead women. ”Then it would be rude not to go have a chat.”
Clive's jaw drops when Kazador continues with his questions. "You think I know all that! No clue. I just know they have one of their hideouts near here. I heard it had something to do with sails."
"Then show me where the hideout is and we'll let ye go." Then, turning to Garick he said "Hurry up and finish lootin' the bodies. There'll be alot more afore we're done." Then, with a tsk, he tapped his hammer to his chest. "Gromthi! Akrak-an." He muttered, as he tapped his injuries one by one. By the time he was done, approximately a minute later, his wounds were completely healed.
Clive blanches and holds his empty hands out desperately. "I don't KNOW where their hideout is. I told you all I know about it. Something about sails and somewhere near here."
+1 glamered mithral chain shirt x2
+1 sapping sap x2
+2 sap x 2
Belt of incredible dexterity (+2) x2
Cat burglar's boots x 2
Cloak of resistance x2
Hat of disguise x 2
"Uh... " Hal gapes and stutters for a second. "Uh, sure? Sleep tight. I'll, uh, work on the figurehead. Lock the door."
He nods apologetically, turns, resets his 'mask' and walks out.
Clive gestures to the dead women. "They've hired me a couple of times. So have other Reaps a couple more. I do whatever jobs come my way."
"One last question, before we let ye leave. I didn't right see ye do anythin' durin' the fight, aye? So why do the Reaps hire ye?" Kazador asked, concern building in him as he considered that there had to have been a reason for Clive to have been hired.
Clive shrugs nervously. "Lots of things to do besides fighting. Lift a purse. Run an errand. Distract a guard." He pauses for a moment then gestures around the alley. "Pretend to attack a girl."
"...a good point. Hey, if we were to offer ye a job, would yet take it? Got some lads to talk to. When we're done, Reaps won't be around for much longer. If ye were good enough to lure us in, then our coin might well come yer way." Kazador offered.
Clive mutters "I want to go home and rethink my life." Then he raises an eyebrow at Kazador, looking confused at the mixed messages he's receiving. "...what kind of job?"
Kazador smiled at that. It wasn't particularly pleasant. "To be determined. Got a few ideas on how to drive the Reaps out of this city. Ye might make some gold in it. Got to talk to the boss though, first. If yer interested, tell us how to reach ye. Otherwise, get goin', and don't cross me hammer again."
Clive eyes you uncertainly and nods "Just tell the keep in that tavern when and where you want me to meet you."
You can tell Clive is lying about how to contact him. He probably doesn't want to risk crossing the Reaps but also doesn't want to anger you by openly saying he won't work with you.
"Off with you then. Don't forget make better choices with your life."
Clive gauges the crowd briefly, waiting for the right time to slip into the flow of foot traffic inconspicuously, then disappears.
"Well then. Let's meet up with the others. We were lucky that they didn't bring enough force. But this is proof that if we split up, then it's only a matter of time before we get picked off piece by piece."
"Nothing, really - you already did plenty enough, and what was right. Just, if they ask more, tell them that you were working for me and could not state so earlier until I gave you leave to say so. That's all, really, and not far from the truth, as that is what happened, from a certain point of view. But it will be less complicated for both of us if we pretend to have cooperated from the start, and not just trusted our instincts to do what was right. These short-lived humans so used to rash decisions tend to underestimate the finely honed instincts of our kinds and easily dismiss them for lack of understanding. So we would simply word things in a way that is easier to stomach for them."
Mumblethunder mumbles to himself about not having much choice at this point and nods.
"I promise things will get better from here.", Túrion says his goodbye to Mumble and gets ready to leave.
"Lad. Few people ever know whether they're on the right side. And those who are certain are usually zealots." He replied with a shrug. "When one doesn't know, then the best answer is to stay loyal. We've helped the crown. Does that make us the good guys? Fook if I know. But it's better to help the crown than not, aye? And as for the Reaps. They're a bunch of right fooked up murderers, are they not? I can't see how killin' them is wrong. So don't worry about it. I completely admit that I'm nay a clever man. All that we can do is what we think is right." At the end of the day, Kazador liked to keep things simple. He knew that the world was a complicated place. So to make it make sense, all one could do was simplify it to the point where every step one took didn't feel like it was the wrong one.