Saronis follows Cil's choice in which direction they leave.
At the restaurant he looks at the others with a bit of confusion more so Cil than anyone else. He waits for a prompt from her before doing anything.
Saronis now in his banded mail armor his movements are not so quiet as before. He sticks out more since heavy armor and two handed weapons are frowned upon, especially in nice neighborhoods like Dava's Gate. He is an even more imposing figure with a 6 foot tall armored body, he is even bulkier than most of his elven kin. His face has a few scars and burns from his past battles, though what sticks out most is the tattoos that were on his body are now on the armor. He wears a grey cloak over his shoulders and pack. On his brown leather belt he has a scroll case, several pouches, a warhammer, and a sling. A dagger can be seen in his boot, as he carries his magnificent curved and elegant great sword. A sword from the elves, a court blade that is of superb quality.
At, Shalyna's reveal of her infernal nature, Cil pauses in her pacing back and forth to crouch by the girl.
"We're all outcasts in some way, Shalya." she says, her brow furrowing in concentration, her features moving, blending...
until Shalyna is looking at a near perfect mirror image of herself.
"My kind is usually outcast for obvious reasons." the other Shalyna says wryly, before changing again to reveal Cil's true face, pale, slightly bulbous iris-less eyes, fair almost white hair hanging over one side of her face.
She shares a small smile with both Shalyna and Sharea before rising to pace once more, the next time she turns once again having taken on her more familiar half-elf persona.
-- At the Cafe --
Cil stalks up and grabs a chair right next to the 'lad', leaning in and after Falko's question , demanding quietly "And shouldn't we be handling this 'business' somewhere more discreet ?"
Rhobannon moves with the party, his military past evident. He wears a breastplate for armor, one of fine make and unique in design. Similarly well-crafted are the morningstar hanging from a loop on his belt and the light crossbow in a low holster on the other side. The shield on his back, however, looks to be from a line of mass-produced pieces, with several gouges from blade impacts. His cloak and amulet common among adventurers, the only thing that would stand out about him is the metal arm, if it weren't covered by a heavy sleeve.
Sharea smirks as Cil enchants Shalya with the disguise "Well, you look gorgeous." Before they leave she remarks calmly: "Whoever your client is, he must be extremely powerful. I am not sure what that means, but I would not be surprised if his trouble with the shifters were of a different kind than ours. I am most curious to meet him, but the things we're dealing with might be bigger than we thought."
That certainly makes things more interesting and a powerful ally might come in handy, though the strange feeling of still being played gnaws on her.
When they meet their 'client', Sharea steps forward, returns the spark in his eyes with her own and reaches out her hand for him to take in a lady-like gesture. "... and yet, I am grateful for such a pleasurable venue to meet you, sir." She adds to Cil's statement. "And even more so to make your acquaintance. After such a distressful night, that certainly is a welcome change of events." She angled her head a little and showed him a grin as though there was more she was not saying. "I am Sharea." She indicated a curtsey without breaking eye contact.
She has a bit of a bad conscious to play herself into the foreground and disregard the others - especially Saronis. The man had said that he knew him, but she wanted his attention on herself, to be able to use her best flirt-fu and hit him with her best shot. All of this was unusual and he had used a very powerful spell to contact Cil, so it might be worthwhile to try and get through to him, even though she hardly expected to be able to wrap him around her little finger. Apart from that, he was good looking, even though she strongly preferred her own kind. The way he acted she would not be surprised if his way of utilizing magic was not so very unlike her own. They just did. But there was certainly no silver dragon in that red head.
Her voice carried a distinct fake-elven accent. But just like her dagger, fake-elven just meant as authentic half-elven as it gets. She was curious what Saronis would think about it, she wouldn't be surprised if it annoyed him.
Shalyna slowly removes her hat, looking at Cil with a small little laugh.
"Th-the first time I ran into someone after running away, they tried to kill me," she says softly, "I-it's nice to know that I've found people who accept me as I am."
Shalyna keeps an eye out for anyone that seems to following or watching the group as they take their seats. She wears her hat, because while the group of people she found herself with may accept her, she knew that the rest of Sharn's people were unlikely to be so forgiving of her heritage.
Howl, meanwhile, wisely keeps his mental trap shut. If one concentrates, they can almost see the waves of anger and dismay being directed at the sword by the young Magus.
With Falko speaking first he raises his eyebrows, in a quiet voice the courtier says, "A friend that knows of your plight not a prideful man but one with the right alliances. You may call me Kid for now."
He responds to Cil in a whisper, "Trust me we are safe to speak here. Shifters would have troubles getting into this district and many of my allies are near."
He takes Sharea's hand and gives it a gentleman's kiss, he responds with, "I am glad that you approve. With such lovely companions I hope you the best and our prolonged encounters."
Then he gets a bit more serious. The bottles of wine come and glasses placed before each person. Once the waitor is gone he continues, "Now I am to give your group information, anything that is not essential that you ask of me will cost something more, perhaps a kiss from Sharea?" He asks winking at her. Continuing without more than a heartbeat of a pause he says, "You are to retrieve an urn, do not look in it, do not break it. Here is a a case to hold the urn once you have it." He indicates with his head a blue wooden cylindracal chest with simple golden edges. "The item is in Cliffside, Grayflood, at the Eyepatch Warehouse. You know how to get in right?"
Then he goes into more details, "You will need to get through the tavern to the warehouse proper. In a red box with platinum trimming is the urn. You must unlock it and switch the urns. The red box will make anything in it glow red. It should be obvious. Bring the urn to the Coral Corsair down on E dock and be ready to head out on your next mission. If you can't disarm the alarm spell on the case move quickly. Your password to get on the ship is 'Crimson Displacer'."
(untrained, possibly Aid Another)
Cil listens to the lad, then sits back , arms crossed, not entirely convinced.
She makes a face at Sharea's and the lad's flirting, then pays attention to his instructions...
She ticks off the tasks on her fingers as she repeats them "Get into Tavern...no problem, check....find red box in warehouse...check, switch urns...check, bring stolen urn to Coral Corsair on E dock, don't break or look in urn...check"
"The ususal compensation and any loot you may find along the way. 1,500 gp each, 1/4 paid up front the other to be paid on completion of the mission. There might be addition bonuses on the recovery for some relics during your second mission and the urn will be essential for the second mission's completion." The lad says. He seems to pout a little that you know exactly what needs to be done without some more information.
A bit testily he says, "Well I guess there is nothing much more to discuss. I will meet you at the Coral Corsair." He continues to sip his wine.
"Trouble? I am sure that Cil could tell you what kind of trouble there could be but for extra information there is a fee." He smiles as he plays his game.
Sharea did not reply as he shrugged her attempt to entice him off. She would certainly not kiss him, unless in the unlikely case that he earned it. He was beating her at her favourite game. The question for the compensation surprised her, but as a Deneith he was a professional in that matter. The amount of money involved surprised her a bit and while the prospect of earning that much was most welcome, it worried her as well.
She hoped she would not serve some dark purpose or some common criminal to do things worse than smuggling, but it would be pointless to ask for details, but his self-righteous attitude angered her. "I suppose our success is in your best interest. Thusly, a few more details to ensure it would be appropriate; you are our client, not the other way around, if I am not mistaken. If your perception of the situation deviates from mine, please elaborate. Here's looking at you, Kid."
She took a sip from her drink and thought about a task, unsure how that was supposed to help. "There is nothing I can do about an alarm spell in place, I am afraid. But as you know, I have means to help as get away..." the thought lightened up her mood. Illusions were insanely slippery by their very nature, and yet a well placed illusion could buy a couple of heartbeat here or there.
He does a mock laugh with his body as no sound comes from his mouth, he then addresses Sharea, "I am not your client, I am merely an agent doing his job relaying information and holding onto my own information for additional fees."
He looks at Falko with a smirk on his face, "Yes you add those extra fees, Cil you haven't told them about your client at all have you. Well I guess you will learn soon enough."
Cil grins with delight at Falko quizzes the courtier, but quickly sobers when the lad mentions her client's particular kind of business dealings.
"Yeah, the client. A bit of an odd-ball they are. Last job I had some hired help that asked for more coin over and above the offered scratch. Well he got it, but later lost his arm for his trouble...it just fell off! Well, funny bit, the 'procedure' to get his arm back on...cost him all of his scratch for the job. So, be careful what you ask for from our client....you may regret it." Cil says all in a rush, giving the others a shrug , as if to say....the jobs pay well, and have been up till now easy....
Saronis seeing that the talking was being handled decided to simply walk along the street keeping his eyes and ears open to any coming threats. He walks with one hand on the hilt of his great sword and the other on the scabbard.
"I-I-I-I'm f-f-f-fine with m-m-m-my sh-sh-share," Shalyna hurriedly stammers out upon hearing what happened to the last person to ask for an increase in pay.
His arm just fell off? I wonder if we ask for less if he grows us extra arms or legs, Howl wonders, ignoring the shushing noise Shalyna gives him.
"Lost an arm, eh? I've only one left to lose, so I'm not too worried."
Rhobannon hears Saronis's whisper, at first thinking him still-drunk for whispering loudly.
AH, I see. I had thought her simply nervous, but she has a blade with a mind. The group grows more eclectic still.
Cil smiles a bit at over hearing Saronis' comment to Shalyna, then regards the courtier once again, nodding at Falko's last comment,
"We won't keep you any longer. See you at Dock E." she say, rising, giving the contact a slight bow and leading the others away from the restaurant.
Stopping a little way down the street, she gathers the group together, "Now this place were going to , it's a pirate hangout. I know I can change enough to look like one, the rest of you...you'd need to get a lot scruffier and dirtier to pass muster. Perhaps I and one or two can enter and let the others in another way....a side door perhaps..." Cil says, thinking hard whether the Tavern had other entrances...
"What's so bad about pirates? I thought they were like heroes that stole from the rich to help the poor or something," Shalyna asks Cil.
Awww, that's too cute. You still believe in Fairy Tales, Howl squees in the back of Shalyna's mind.
Judging from the glare the young magus gives the hilt sticking out over her shoulder, Howl just annoyed her immensely.
"Uh, the nicest of them would gut you and leave your corpse in a dark alley, just cause he liked your shirt..." Cil says absentminedly, still trying to remember anything about the Tavern floorplan from her last visit.
"O-o-okay, th-th-then. Anything else that I should worry about killing me," Shalyna asks meekly.
"I should probably stick around outside until you can get me in. I imagine I won't be passing for a pirate under any serious scrutiny."
Saronis chuckles at Shalyna, it could be what she whispered back or her naivety about pirates. He shakes his head, then says with mirth in his voice, "Child, you have some learning to do and in quick time. I doubt you will learn without the sting of pain though.
He grins as he backs away from her, he then simply says, "Well you don't taste sweet."
He then looks to the rest of the group, "Cil I trust your skills, I know you could make me look like a pirate, I am sure my tattoos will come in handly let alone my blades and muscles. But put me where you think I will be best served."
Cil smiles at Saronis, Yeah, you'd do pirate pretty good I think." her face brightening as she recollects something about the tavern...
Wait a minute, I know that guy! Howl's surprise burns brightly in the back of Shalyna's mind, but not as brightly as her cheeks do when she lets a squeak and falls out of chair after Saronis licks her ear.
Cil's thoughts scatter here and there as she tries to recollect details about the tavern.
"No ....that's the Gilded Tower. ...hmmm, no....that's the Roasted Prince....yes, that it I think..." She mutters and talks to herself, her Visage occasionally slipping a bit as she thinks.
Looking up to the others she says "The tavern has a front door, accessible from the street or by ramp from the water below, I know the password so there's no issue , but to get everyone in...I think our best best is to come up through the sewers...the warehouse has a access door down there...Sorry, Sar, I know how much you hate it down there."
-Posted with Wayfinder
"Dirtier..." Sharea repeats and her expression makes it apparent how little thinks about the idea. "Would a cloak to veil me do by any chance? I can hold in the background as much as needed. I take pride in my... Can't I pass as the pretty wh... doll by some pirate captain's side?" she stopped herself. Alright, she was vain, but deliberately looking dirty just to deal with scum? The smell in there alone must be painful if half of what she knows about the area is correct.
If those were sky pirates... well, she had not grown up as Lyrandar and all of this was relatively new to her, but it had not taken her long to inherit her family's resentment for sky pirates.
The prospect of going through the sewers silenced her right again. The tubes and pipes of these towers were not places visit. They would be lucky if everything they found there would at least be dead. But going through the front door did not seem like a good idea at all.
"No not the sewers again, I don't want to deal with the rats, the smell, or the carrion crawlers!!!" Saronis laments.
"Is there a nearby building with access to the sewers as well, so we minimize our sewer time?" Rhobannon asked, not really liking the sewer angle either.
There should be plenty of sewer ports to enter in cliffside, there would be many spots where the sewers expel into the water below or at least nearby in the area.
"I am sure with your skills Cil and Sharea taking on her own disguise, at least the two of you can be in and out with the mission done without the rest of us being in the way. You can disguise me and I can be in the tavern as the rest either wait outside or come in their own disguises as well. There is no need to deal with the sewers." Saronis says rather animated obviously trying to get away the thought of going in the sewers.
"OK, OK...the sewer run is out, then!" Cil says, smiling.
She then leads the group into Cliffside, where she goes straight to an abandoned warehouse near the Tavern.
There she assumes the form of a half-orc, fashions an eyepatch out of some spare cloth and seemingly randomly rearranges her outfit, until she's all but urecognizable...
She then turns to Saronis, doing much the same as she did with herself.
Standing back, she seems more or less satisfied with the results.
Turning to Sharea, "Do you need some help?"
Wait, pirates? Do I get an eye-patch? Oooo! What about a peg-leg? A Parrot? Do I get to say YAR! all the time? I wonder if I'll like rum? Do other pirates look down on you if you drink... Howl begins to wonder aloud in Shalyna's mind at the mention of being disguised as pirates. Giving her a headache with each excited question. A look of maddened desperation flickers in her eyes as she grabs the front of Saronis' clothing and hauls him down like she is about to give him a kiss on the cheek.
"He said he knows you," she hisses in his ear instead, "please tell me you know how. to. shut. him. the. hell. up!"
"It'd probably be best I wait somewhere else. My armor will be at odds with the pirate life, even though I can detach most of my arm, I don't particularly want to go in armless and armorless."
Saronis whispers back to Shalyna, "Give him a puzzle to answer and command him to not communicate until he has the right answer. I prefer the question, 'what is the meaning of life?' It also tells you much about the intelligent item."
He looks at his new digs and approvingly nods at Cil's handy work, he slyly says, "Now this is what I am talking about. Ye all ready to venture in? Arrr! So the two of you manage to get in the back, I will be about the tavern, Rhobannon will be outside with Shalyna, probably the best for you gal."
"A little help with the disguise would be appreciated." grumbled Sharea. Not particularly keen on the idea anyway.
She squinted uncomfortably sideways. "It might be advisable to keep the back of my neck hidden, if not by hair then by something else." She wore her dragon mark with a certain pride, even though it was hardly an achievement. She had kept it hidden from everyone who did not need to know about it for now. She wasn't particularly worried if Cil found out about it, even though she did not know how she might react.
Cil sizes up the half-elf, then begins to adjust her clothing, pulling an older, more soiled cloak from her own pack and placing it over Sharea's shoulders....
"Huh, a pretty pirate, somehow it works." Cil says of her handiwork.
She takes another look at her 'pirates', Saronis, Falko and Sharea, "Remember , you're pirates. No courtesy, less manners, swear alot and you'll fit right in." she looks at Sharea, "Your flirty, flirty might get you into some trouble in there , so rein it in. ". She looks at Saronis and Falko, "You two, challenges are pretty common in there, so try to look tough and you might not get noticed." she pauses, thinking, "On second thought, you two might need to make a commotion, to let me get in back to find the urn...we'll play it by ear..."
She looks to Rhobannon and Shalyna, "Hopefully, you'll be nice and bored waiting for us, if you can think of something useful to do...."
"OK, let's go." she says, pulling down the cloth eye patch and approaching the Tavern's front door, conscious of the replacement urn secreted at the bottom of her pack.
Once at the door, she nods to the guards and says "Salty Delight" in a low , but confident growl.
As the others head to the place the item they were to acquire is, Shalyna massages her temples as she tries to think over the stream of never ending questions.
Howl, she thinks, If a person says they only tell lies, are they lying or telling the truth? You may talk once you have an answer, and only when you have an answer.
You're more fun when you're timid and flustered, you know that.
And I have a headache thanks to you, so you only have yourself to blame, really.
Howl silently fumes as he ponders the question, and soon is not fuming at all but thinking silently and furiously about it. Shalyna breathes a sigh of relief as her mind is silent enough for her to think.
"I think I know why intelligent weapons never feature in adventure stories," she says to Rhobannon, "If they did, the heroes would constantly be driven mad."
"Yeah, we should walk around, maybe see if we can peek at a back door or something."
With the knock at the door and Cil saying the password the door opens up. She and her troupe are allowed in the tavern.
There are nineteen people in the tavern at the moment, it must be a slow night, they just cleared out a bunch of rowdy pirates or the crowd just has not showed up yet. Two obvious bouncers are at your door and another door across the room. Three wenches are serving drinks but one is a bit more occupied with a patron right now putting the tray on the table as they begin to kiss. The bartender appears to have a peg leg as he moves a thunk of wood on wood can be heard. All of them are dirty and wear layers of clothing. Another door is behind the bar but no guards stand next to it as another door 15 feet from that one stands unguarded as well. The rest of the patrons sit in groups of two or three around the room, except for the only clean person in the tavern. The lone man sits in the corner with a short well groomed black beard, an eye patch over his left eye, and black fine clothing covering his body. A black tri-fold hat rests lightly on his head as he scans the room, several daggers set on the table before him. A plate of cheese and meat is next to him and he slices into it every few minutes. The ceiling is only seven feet from the floor and most can easily reach it. Though the tavern part of this warehouse is 40 feet wide and 80 feet long. Plenty of seats and tables are empty as the floor is covered in saw dust keeping the smells down. A violin plays a slow dreary song in the opposite corner of the lone man with the daggers, no player just the violin plays on its own. The two unmanned doors have locks built into the doors, as the other doors are merely locked with braces.
Most of the patrons look your way then go back to gambling, drinking, or just waiting. A table of two scoundrels both whistle at your group. On of them yells out, "Look at the fresh meat, they even got an elf in their group!" The other one giggles at the comment.