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Gazing at the counter, and refusing to admit defeat, Gheris slowly approaches the enemy and takes his time boosting himself up before slowly swinging over the obstacle and finally letting himself down on the other side. "I've fought city guards that were less trouble than that." he states, trying to maintain is cover as well as keep some sense of dignity over the debacle.
After he is done tending to Brienna (For now, at least), Staryth wipes his hands in a mix of old wine and water taking every precaution as he was taught to do so. "I should rejoin my friends and Ishani, pardon, I'll check on her again soon."
Staryth heads down, and greets those below, his expression is grim, "Brother Ishani, I thought I should tell you all I've done, and what I've learned...." he explains all to Ishani, and the others what he observed and thinks, and of how the patient is not out of danger yet, not hardly, "If the sickness we're hearing of hitting the workers is the same at this one, it could prove to be nightmarish if this spreads further still. I hope it's just coincidence, but I'm not willing to wager with people's lives as coin. I propose Ishani and I collaberate, record and write, and then share our findings and thoughts on this with healers of all stripes just in case. It could be an over reaction, mind but better to prepare too much than too little."
With the mighty Dire Counter crossed with only minor injury, you find yourself behind the bank's counter. Old, dusty shelves line its underside, now devoid of anything but a few scraps of paper. Rickety chairs occupy the two teller booths.
Two thick oak doors lead to the back of the bank, marked with two copper plates, one reading "Offices" and the other marked "Supplies".
"I understand," Tayce nods somberly to Staryth's honesty. "Thank you for being honest, and for caring for my daughter," she adds.
Tayce is overjoyed to hear that the party has offered to pay for Brienna's treatment, and draws each of them in turn into a hug surprisingly strong for a woman of her size. She asks them and Ishani to join her family the next day over lunch, to celebrate Brienna's recovery.
Ishani accepts Staryth's offer of collaboration, suggesting that they find some time after this celebration to see to the creation of a document reporting their findings.
Lucius will open the door marked 'Offices".
Silvio is pleased to see the priest agree to collaborate in investigating this illness. "Alright, well if we're really going to track down the source of this disease, it can't hurt to invest in some anti-plague. Just in case." Silvio was reminded of that helpless feeling he often felt at the temple - not being of much use compared to the clergy that commanded divine powers. He wanted to do something - anything - that might actually be useful.
"Tayce, did Brienna go outside anywhere recently before she got her illness? Grau mentioned she went to the market. Anywhere else?"
As Lucius reaches for the 'Offices' door, a bird's loud squawking is heard from above, which a cursory examination reveals to have come from a colorful bird that had been hidden amongst the roof's beams until now.
"Hello!" it greets in a high pitched squawk, looking down from its perch.
"Someone's coming," Tern says, motioning for the Offices door. "Blasted sack of feathers gave us away," he adds.
Gheris gets an inkling that there's more to the bird that meets the eye. It looks a little too proud of itself right now for an ordinary animal.
"Yea, figures." Lucius will cast a protective spell on himself.
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"Well hello there birdie bird, aren't you a pretty boy?" the man says, rummaging through his belt pouch, looking for a treat. "Birdie want a cracker?" he asks, obviously not overly concerned with Tern's statement. If they were here under cover, then he wouldn't be the first one to make an aggressive move. Not that he was an impressive or dominating specimen of a man to begin with, so no sense putting on airs at the moment.
Corlis merely gives a frustrated frown at the bird's interjection, holding at the ready.
The parrot appears mostly uninterested by the proffered food.
"Guests, I see." A man's voice is heard as the door to the offices swings open.
A flamboyant man holding a flask stands within the doorframe, leaning against its edge.
"To whom do I owe the pleasure?" He asks, almost theatrically.
"She does like to take walks by the docks," Brienna answers, "But I can't say I'm entirely sure whether or not she was there recently before her illness happened."
"Name's Maxwell Smart. I will let my compatriots introduce themselves, but we are rather new in town. We took over a certain Gaedrem Lamm's operations since his untimely demise. You could say a little birdie told us a little about what you're doing here and it's piqued our interest. We'd like to do business."
"I understand," Tayce nods somberly to Staryth's honesty. "Thank you for being honest, and for caring for my daughter," she adds
"It's my calling, good woman, but you are welcome."
As discussion goes on about where Tayce's daughter has been, Staryth scratches his chin thoughtfully.
A search of the docks and the market turns up little more than rumors.
However, they do learn something interesting relating to other matters: The Korvosan Guard, by order of the queen, is scouring the city for the fugitives, and a royal bounty of 5000 gp has been offered for the capture of Trinia Sabor.
Beyond that, as the party happens to pass by the temple of Sarenrae, one of the temple guards calls out to Silvio, explaining that someone has left a note for him.
"Good day, companions. I would like to invite you over for dinner. If you would be so kind, please see fit to invite your houseguest.
~Your friend, the fencer"
Knowing himself a poor liar, Corlis opts to remain silent.
"Lamm, huh? Always hated the old bag of bones; I wouldn't want anything to do with that if I were you. What do you three even do, then? Lamm had his little lambs do all the work."
"So the Queen's on the hunt for fugitives? Let's just hope that doesn't include us!" Silvio begins to ask discretely for information on the possible illness.
As he shows the others the note, he could really only think of one fencer he knew. "Vencarlo Orsini!" he whispers, quite surprised. "If I understand what this note is saying, he seems to want us to bring Trinia. Is it really safe to do so? I bet Trinia will not want to accept the invitation. On the other hand, I know he is a man of honor, and would never betray her. Maybe he has a plan to help her finally escape from the clutches of the queen."
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"Well, a bit of this and that, you know. Little lambs sometimes find themselves a bit short in certain areas, if you get my meaning. But the man was a bore, and a bit of a louse." the man says, trying to be as obscure as possible. "Obviously my talents are not those of a common street thug." he says, patting the obviously dangerous looking wand at his belt.
"Yea, well we do things differently. Kids are too distracted by things and parents tend to come looking for them. But his business was otherwise solid. So what about you? In your words what do you guys do? We'd like to know more."
Staryth would have gone to the temple of Shelyn and informed them of the situation and illness as he planned, ask if a similar illness has been found among new patients, and suggest they make preparations for the worst if need be.
When he rejoins Silvio and Krojun, he helps them ask about on illnesses of the dock workers.
"So the Queen's on the hunt for fugitives? Let's just hope that doesn't include us!" Silvio begins to ask discretely for information on the possible illness.
"Let's hope indeed," Staryth is troubled.
As he shows the others the note, he could really only think of one fencer he knew. "Vencarlo Orsini!" he whispers, quite surprised. "If I understand what this note is saying, he seems to want us to bring Trinia. Is it really safe to do so? I bet Trinia will not want to accept the invitation. On the other hand, I know he is a man of honor, and would never betray her. Maybe he has a plan to help her finally escape from the clutches of the queen."
"It is the queen that worries me most. What sickness has taken her soul that she should so thrive on injustice as she has of late? I had wanted to believe the best, but now? Now I fear the worst. You know this fellow better than I, Silvio. So if you trust his honor I will as well, but Trinia maybe understandably reluctant."
Cases of that particular illness have indeed been showing up across the city; the temples are getting concerned with the amount of sick people coming to their doors; most of the temples seem to be caught off-guard by it.
Beyond that, you also learn an interesting tale from the docks: Two nights ago, a sinister looking ship sailed into the river. The guardsmen signaled to the ship and shouted out to it, but never received a response. According to a few of them, there was no one on board. With no way to tell of the ship's intention, the watch had no choice but to fire upon the ship and destroy it.
Visibily, Wilbur doesn't take well to his own business being asked about.
"What we do here, I'm afraid, is none of your business. This is family business, and we're not taking in outsiders, and especially not small-time thieves like you followers of Gaedrenn. Do me a favor and get lost; you obviously have nothing interesting to offer." He says, pointing to the door.
"Get lost! Get lost!" The bird excitedly echoes from above.
"That's a strange tale about that ship. How does a ship arrive with no people? Maybe it's nothing, but could it be that the ship itself carried the illness that killed the crew? I wonder if there's time to look before we try and meet up with our . . . houseguest."
"I guess you're not interested in making money. If that works for you, fine. I just assumed the Thatchers were an intelligent and enterprising bunch."
Staryth does his best to suggest interfaith organization, but he knows he has little pull in these matters.
Still, he encourages as much as he can and passes word to as many temples as he can about the situation.
And then cleans up before dinner, rejoining the others.
Silvio looks furtively around to make sure nobody seems to be on their trail or otherwise eavesdropping.
"Okay, I guess it's getting late. Should we check in on Trinia and see if she's safe, and interested in joining us?"
"Alright, alright. Quit wasting my time. What do you have to offer?"
You come to the humble residence of the late Zellara, which appears just as you left it. The front door is locked, and there are no signs of any break-ins or unusual happenings.
"Personally? I have a lot to offer. First, I can provide some financial backing. I've made quite a living conning suckers out of their hard earned cash. I offered them 'healing' in exchange for donations to my 'faith'. I can also be your front-man, since like I mentioned I have a certain way with words."
Silvio knocks gently at the door. "M'Lady - 'tis I, Silvio, with the mighty Krojun and faithful Staryth. We thought you might be in want of some company."
If allowed in, Staryth will wipe his feet.
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"Personally? I have a lot to offer. First, I can provide some financial backing. I've made quite a living conning suckers out of their hard earned cash. I offered them 'healing' in exchange for donations to my 'faith'. I can also be your front-man, since like I mentioned I have a certain way with words."
Gheris remains purposefully quiet. He had already understood enough about his fast-talking acquaintance to know that the man had a gift for words on the fly that he could not hope to match. Opening his mouth might only endanger their position, and he well understood what his strengths and weaknesses were. He remains calm in the face of the thugs, appearing neither threatening nor cowed by their speech.
The door opens slowly, only a crack showing as the woman inside peeks out to verify the identities of those on the threshold. Seeing the familiar faces she quickly steps behind the door and opens it, allowing the three men into the room and closes the door behind them. "I was beginning to get worried. Staying hidden in the city has me worried, you must understand. Have you been able to clear my name?"
Looking a bit dumbfounded, the woman arches an eyebrow at the large Shoanti man, an incredulous look passing over her features for a moment. "I'm afraid you lost me, my execution was ruined? How was it held without my presence? Did they plan on burning me in effigy?" She does seem relived, however, at the news that the focus on her capture has shifted, if not resolved itself all together.
"It was a chaotic situation," The paladin admits.
Silvio taps his chin with his finger, thinking on the implications. "The queen made a big show of staging your execution. It definitely has me worried. Seems impossible to me that the queen wouldn't have recognized you, don't you think? Maybe the rumors are true, and the queen played a role in the king's death? Certainly Blackjack, whoever he is, aslo believes the queen is corrupt."
Shaking her head at Silvio, the woman says, "I wouldn't think she would have difficulty recognizing me, no. Why would she stage my execution? To save face?" The woman seems obviously troubled by the thought of someone else in harms way at her expense, but also that this could mean the queen is indeed still after her head. "At least that scoundrel managed to save whoever was to have taken my place at the headsman's block, a small favor at least. So what do you suggest now? Can you get me out of here? I feel the longer I am in hiding the better the chance is that I might be discovered."
"It's possible, sanctuary and a new life is granted if the cause be just and the need and interest sincere. They could likely sequester her in the temple grounds for a time, then eventually transfer her under a new name to another temple in guise of a novitiate ... and then she could resume her old life later if she hadn't made up her mind by then to serve the church formally. But that would be the young lady's call as well. No path is certain."
"We also got a note from Vencarlo Orsini. He asked that we bring our ... houseguest, which I assume means you." Silvio hands her the note so she can read it for herself.
"I believe he's an honorable man and I'm hopeful he can help you escape. But I realize going to meet him is a risk. Staryth's plan may also be good - you'd fit right in with the other artists. But that's risky too, if the Queen has contacts within the church of Shelyn."
"Or maybe there's someone from the Shingles that could help us. That's your neighborhood after all, right?" Silvio thinks about whether he knew someone he could trust in town to smuggle out a person of interest. Someone who hated the Queen enough that he wouldn't sell Trinia out.
"It's up to you. Truth is, if the Queen had managed to execute that poor woman, you'd be safer now. But after she's been thwarted, the manhunt may now be more intense than ever."
Listening to each of the men speak, the woman slowly nods and says, "You know this Orsini man well? Can he help? Why would he want to meet with me?" Shaking her head at the second option that Silvio presents, she says "I share that concern as well. The Queen likely has eyes everywhere, and I feel that such an organization as a church would likely have eyes planted within it. No offense to your order, of course" she says to Staryth, apologetically.
"No apology needed. We of Shelyn are not blind to the fact that there will always be those who seek advantage of open arms and open hearts. We try to love them anyway, but it isn't always easy," He admits.
"I know a few people who might be able to help smuggle you out of the city, but honestly, I think our best bet for now is to see what Orsini can do for us. Are you up for that? We'll disguise you well and stick together."
Trinia nods as Silvio explains the options, "You've helped me once, so I'm willing to trust you again. I leave this to your judgment, I only wish to safely get out of this place before they track me down."
As if on queue there is a tingle of static in the air and the smell of ozone lightly touches your senses. A moment later an image begins to solidify into the apparition of Zellara, in her home once again. "My friends, it is good to lay eyes on you again. The air hangs with much suffering and chaos, and I felt the strings of fate being pulled once again for each of you. She moves quietly through the room, the image settling itself on a chair at a familiar table that helped begin this strange adventure you have become involved in. "Please, before you go, allow me to see what the cards can tell us about what is happening here."
Feeling a familar tingle, Silvio spins his head about before finding its source. "Mistress Zellara! It's great to see you! You obviously know that there's trouble in the city. The queen is out for blood, seeking to kill not one but two innocent women."
He takes a seat along the table. "Some of us have parted ways, but Staryth, Krojun and I are still here."