Iva looks to her fellow constables. "We need to find Kell, and I'd like to avoid more bloodshed either now or in the future. That being said Falko has a point. We would be giving a gang a pass for murder, and freeing a murderer. Though he won't be in this city any longer which might be enough. I don't think we can make the decision ourselves. We should bring it to our superiors. What do you all think?"
"I agree - definitely a question for those of higher rank. I wonder though, if it's been three years, why have they not executed him? Perhaps expulsion is what he's to get anyway. Maybe this deal isn't as hard to swallow as it seems. Still... I'm glad I don't have to make that arrangement."
He's ready to head back and report.
At the private conference, Cretien suggests "Perhaps disable the old man's hands so that he cannot create more sculptures."
He grimaces at Cretien's suggestion, thinking how he'd lose his power if his own hands were so mangled. Still, he has a point...
To Falko he says, "I agree this is distasteful, but it could be a reasonable deal - particularly if they were already looking to expel this murderer instead of killing him. I think we need to push this up stream and see what the bosses think."
He thinks a moment, "Unless you have some other good suggestions for catching Kell? Especially with the limited time we have?" He looks hopefully at Falko.
You take the next carriage to the Hotel Auram where the King is staying and you go upstairs to see him. The king says, "How is the mission going?"
The King and Delft crook an eyebrow and the King says, "Constable please speak clear text with me, I am old. Which miscreant?"
Iva takes a step forward and bows deeply. "Your Highness, We have been offered a deal by an um, crime lord. In exchange for some free reign on taking out some rival gang members, and the release of the sculptor he will make sure that Kell is somewhere we can either apprehend him or otherwise take care of the villain. We of course could not make such a decision without getting your thoughts and blessing on the subject."
"We could deputize the rival members which would leave our hands somewhat clean. Our contact suggests this will avoid a gang war once Kell has been removed." She bows again and steps back.
The King says, "Why do we have a sculptor in custody? So this plan would enable you to take down Kell personally? I do not see any problem with deputizing any their members as long as they are properly supervised."
Delft steps in and says, "I think they mean 'The Carver.'"
The King scratches his beard and says, "Is that the Chrysseliri guy who could assassinate people with wooden sculptures and we weren't able to execute him because of Clergy interference...?"
Delft nods.
Delft says, "Your Eminence, if the PM could rig something magically where this man could not gain access to our country, getting rid of him is not a bad idea."
He then turns to you, "Is this the cleanest, simplest way to get the head of the snake? Oh, Captain Smith is waiting for you at the royal dock with one of our best ships, Constable Dufresne may remember the Coaltongue."
Yes, they are thugs, but they're fighting thugs too - but I suppose the life they take is precious regardless of the crimes of the holder. Or at least mostly so. Femi wonders what they should do. Clearly Falko feels we shouldn't take the offer, and Femi is torn.
So he sides with his leader, "I agree with Falko, supervision may be a problem. I think we'll have to assume the Family will take out those we might wish removed - but others as well. It will be hard to enforce one crime over another however, so some innocents may be hurt... or worse."
"Unless your Majesty has a suggestion on how we might curtail their baser tendencies while authorized?"
He hopes the King may have some insight he lacks, but he feels he's grasping at straws to make the plan work.
The king scratches his head and says, "Get a list from their chief of the guys and have them report to police in the taskforce. Any gunfights or brawls will be covered but slayings will not be tolerated. Until the 15th. Anyone not on the list will be prosecuted as normal. Get them deputized and then if Kell's men resist. We will make it work. Lya Jierre is part of the Ob, and the Ob were working with Kell and Kell must go... He attacked a Royal Carriage."
Delft says, "Send word the deal is on."
The King says, "Bring the Carver here ASAP. Lee, make a magical tracker for him. I don't want him to step foot on Risuri soil again. Prepare a statement for the Flint Tribune and send word that he is being extradited for crimes in Chryssilir. Constables, how is that business with the Unseen Court coming?"
The King says, "Since the business with my sister... that particular emissary from the Unseen Court... I cannot stand him. He tried murdering my sister... Ok she had tried to murder me as well but they should have never sent him back here... I find that an affront to my family and me personally.... Keep up the good work Constables!"
"Ah, the Coaltongue. An amazing vessel."
"Thank you your Highness. I'll make sure the list is complete, and all legalities are covered." She bows and steps back.
The King and Delft nod and you give a courier a note to Cipriano that the deal is on.
You then take a carriage to meet Captain Smith at the Royal Docks as well as to pick up Kvartiy.
You see the might Coaltongue docked as the pride of the fleet ahead of you but before you pass Naval security to come aboard. The Dwarven Sniper steps from out of the shadows and says, "Constables, how have you been? I am looking forward to the giving a proper end to these heretics."
Femi smiles as the King makes the, hopefully, right decision. He worries a little about blow-back from the christening of bloodshed that will follow, but hopefully it won't be too bad - the bloodshed included.
He joins the others to the Coaltongue and smiles at the Dwarf. "We are well - you look hale!"
The dwarf chuckles and says, "I think we should either attack the ship on the sea or wait for them. Waiting for them means these monsters will get let loose in the city."
"Let's go to sea then. I don't want them to get into the city."
Kvartiy nods and follows you towards the vessel, you see Captain Smith in front of the pride of the Risuri fleet the Coaltongue, the ship Chretien was pivotal in saving about a year ago. You set sail and the ship is fully complemented and ready.
RNS Coaltongue, Risuri Arcanotech Warship...
After decades of lagging behind the technological progress of their
enemies in Danor, the nation of Risur has finally relaunched a weapon
that will turn the tide in favor of the side of magic. Though built on
a foundation of steam and steel, the R.N.S. Coaltongue—named for a
mythical warlord said to breathe smoke and fire—is girded with arcane
defenses and armed with supernatural weapons far more powerful than
anything in the fleets of Danor.
The Coaltongue has a wooden hull sheathed with 5-inch thick iron
armor plating, engraved with subtle magical icons of defense and power.
Dozens of cannons fire to either broadside, and the ship mounts two
massive guns on a forward turret. All the lower decks have sections of
grated floor panels to help circulate air, and giant stacks cough steam
and smoke into the sky.
The gunports, windows, and main deck are all ringed by a
thin inlay of gold wire, which prevents teleportation across
the barrier.
On the maindeck sits an elaborate glass frame, reinforced
by magic to be as
strong as steel, and shaped
in a half-cylinder and inlaid
with silver. While its design
is partially aesthetic, this innovative
structure is Risur’s
greatest trump card against
Danoran warships: a magical
capacitor. Excess energy from
the steam engine is stored in
this arcane focus. Even while storing its full power, the interior of the capacitor is perfectly safe to
walk through, and its expansive windows let it serve as venue for ceremonies
and celebrations.
The primary purpose of the capacitor is to power attack spells of the
ship’s warmages, represented by the huge variety of gunnery components
the ship possesses, which are actually spells that ship mages cast
through the capacitor. Additionally, the ship is equipped with a Brand—
so named because it burns an image into any surface it strikes—which
fires a massive blast of pyromantic energy from the ship’s gleaming
prow, often enough to outright destroy a smaller vessel and cripple a
larger one.
Smith smiles and says, "I am glad we are getting a little action from this baby before we escort the Jierres on their arrival in two days. How should we look for this ship? Should we wait near the port or do zig zag runs pretending to be on patrol?"
Femi is in awe of the ship. The quality.. the ensorcelling... the power!
He almost misses Smith's question, and takes a moment to respond, "We must ensure they do not slip past us, but if that can be assumed, we should meet them as far out as we can. If we need to be near port to make certain we catch them, than that is what we must do."
"So it depends on your skills sir. Take us out as far as you can with that in mind. But we cannot fail..."
"Let's zig zag through the waters. Just sitting like a spider might not draw the fly to us." Iva looks very impressed with the ship.
The captain says, "Ok, we will set sail."
The powerful arcano-fire gem engines push the vessel into Upper and then Lower Flint Bay as the sun sets to the west. The ship is ready to set up for its zig zag pattern in and out of the shipping lane.
Femi takes up his position, but to be fair, he doesn't look outward for a while, as he gazes at the workings of the ship. It isn't long though before he focuses on the task at hand, and does what he can to observe.
Iva takes up a position at the bow, and looks out. The wind is in her hair, and she breathes deep of the salt air.
Spotting a ship under oars on a nearly-moonless night is challenging, and
spotting a ship that’s covered in a light-blocking magical shroud, crewed
by dwarves with darkvision, is nearly impossible. But in spite of the noise of the ship's engine, through the spyglass you first see the ripple of the water being parted by the wake of a large vessel but cannot see the vessel but gradually you get the outline and see it try to sneak its way into lower Flint Bay.
You inform the captain that the enemy ship has been sighted and knowing they are carrying some very dangerous Malice Beasts, the captain says, "Board or sink?"
"Sure, we can sink it, but we should make sure they don't send another when we're done - we should keep patrolling."
Femi can't help but become excited at the battle ahead. He looks forward to seeing what this craft can do...
The captain orders the crew to fire at the enemy vessel at your coordinates hitting doing 6 strikes
You see devastating hits on the ships engine, which catches fire.
Round 1
The Coaltongue unleashes another barrage causing three strikes hitting the ships causing the vessel to take water and destroy most of the oars on the starboard side of the vessel.
And the other ship fires back but its guns fire off off and land in the water making a horrid splash.
Smith says, "Constables, would you like to do the coup de gras?"
Iva steps up. "That sounds like a great deal of fun. Allow me." She commands the weapons to fire.
Iva's adjustment for effect walks the artillery rounds ontop of the dwarven vessel causing this ship's battery to explode as the fiery hulk slips to the bottom of Lower Flint Harbor. Clearing the shipping lane.
Captain Smith says "We will continue to patrol"
He then calls for the ceremonial grog to be partitioned for a successful sinking.
Kvartiy says, "Tovarishi, that was a swell show. I have more news for you. It is about Zubov."
Captain Smith says, "Who is this Zubov character?"
Femi is in awe as their ship guns down the other without so much as a scratch given in return. "Well done! My word..." He touches the bulwark near his head as if amazed it's real.
When Kvartiy speaks, his ears prick up."Grundun Zubov? What do you know?"
He turns to Captain Smith, "Grundun Zubov is the leader of a group of doomsday-ers. They are intent on disrupting the peace summit and causing a great tide of mayhem and death if they can."
He turns back to Kvartiy for answers.
Kvartiy says, "They are planning on bushwhacking the openning of Sharon M. Baker Subrail station in the morning of the 12th. Governor Stanfield is to be in attendance. They want to take him hostage. They want me to cover their attack as a sniper from further down the tunnel."
The dwarf continues, "Should we ambush them or what should we do? I will meet you tomorrow evening at RHC HQ to discuss further details."
"That's great Kvartiy, you're an excellent ally to have. I think we shall set an ambush so long as the principles are safe. See you tomorrow evening to arrange the details!"
Femi turns to the others and suggests, "We'll need to be careful so innocents are not harmed, but if we can get a few of them captured, maybe we can learn of further plans. If they have other groups in the city of course. It may be we capture them and end that particular threat for now." he grins at the thought of tying off one of the many threads they're juggling.
"Let's walk by the station now to get a sense of the layout so we can plan."
Kvartiy says, "Not a problem. I should have some better information tomorrow about their exact set up."
The rest of the evening you spend looking at the construction site of the Susan Baker station. Trains go through the station but they do not actually stop there yet because of the grand openning scheduled for morning after tomorrow.
The Subrail is extremely crowded mostly due to the Orange line being partially cut due to the bombing of two days ago.
Spring Day 11 0500
The next morning you first check in with the King and Delft at Hotel Aurun before you meet up with Asrabey and that you are expecting a visitor from Cipriano.
Standing next to Delft looking at the city map is a High Elf man wearing a large metal suit of armor but it looks less like the PLate mail that Angus used to wear but something else.
Delft turns and says, "Constables, I would like you to meet Constable Zophar, he is on loan from the... was it Shale or Slate offices? Director Price-Hill heard about the Fey angle and thought Zophar would be a great addition to your team." and the he spits a large amount chaw into the nearest spittoon.
"It was Slate. Thanks for the introduction Chief Inspector, I'll do my best to be an asset to the team."
Zophar turns to the team.
"The Chief has filled me in on most of what is going on, but it would be great to get a summary from one of you as to what our priorities are right now. It seems like we have a hell of a lot on our plates, and not much time to chow down."
Falko says, "I am Dr. Xa... I mean Constable Falko Escheus. We are working on a number of wonderful projects to keep the city safe... from the Ob and some wacky fey.... oh and those pesky Kellian criminal gangs oh.... um these dwarven zealots... it is all very interesting. I must say... and delightful."
Femi laughs, "Yes, and the overarching peace accords which we have to keep calm and protected. It seems some don't want the peace, and several of these groups are trying to break it up."
He walks to the new folk, and shakes their hands, "I'm Femi."
Euphemia 'Femi' Ferka is bald, carefully shaved on a regular basis so as to show off his very fine tattoo. The tattoo is of a stylized pseudodragon whose tail is coiled around his neck ‘clinging’ to the back of his head and just peering out over the top (barely visible from the front over the top of the head) as the tiny dragon looks out onto the world. The tattoo is lightly colored in greens and blues and is very beautiful, if you’re into that sort of thing.
From there, the gaunt man is dressed in several layers of homespun cotton, also brightly dyed, and a light silk scarf - a gift from one of his lady friends back home as a remembrance. He wears heavy well worn boots. He has a large sling bag over his shoulder and chest with a variety of clanking objects within. A light crossbow hangs at his waist along with a dagger that sees more use in dinner than in combat.
Iva enters the room, and bows in greeting to Delft and the new High Elf. "I am Constable Iva Skipwith-Darling. I am also a trained barrister so if you are in need of a will, aren't we all, I'm more than happy to assist."
She is a tall woman wearing armor, and comfortable clothing that allows her to move. She has a longsword on her hip, as well as a dagger and a kukri on her belt. She's blond and speaks with a slight dwarven accent though she is human.
"Catch up? We have many pots in the fire. I think the most pressing today is the doomsday cult. They appear to be planning on attacking the Sharon M. Baker Subrail tomorrow. We're waiting for more information. Today?" she shrugs. "I'm sure something will come to our attention."
"Glad to meet all of you." says Zophar, shaking your hands.
His armour whirrs was he moves towards you, gears spinning within it. He is tall and blonde, with fair skin and the classical pointed ears of an Elf. His mannerisms are what set him apart from his kind. He speaks with a homegrown Risurian accent and his mannerisms betray his hometown, Slate. His nose has clearly taken a break or two, and his eyes have a slightly sad note to them. Two pistols hang at his hip and a musket lies on his back, and the metal covering his left arm is slightly dented and looks menacingly thick.
"My talents lie in combat and mechanics, and I am also passable at investigation and infiltration - the last when I am out of my suit. Seems like we have a capable team here, and I am excited to become a part of it. What is our next move?"
Delft says, "The Carver has already been teleported."
Falko says, "We have to meet with Asrabey Varal the emissary from the Unseen Court to meet up with Gale. Has your muscles atrophied being in there all the time... no matter."
You leave the Hotel Aurum and are about to hail a carriage to take you to the Cloudwood to meet with Gale and a young boy comes up to Femi and hands him a slip of paper which reads Alley
Iva looks uncomfortable at hearing the Carver was moved. I really hope his new home can hold him." "I guess it is time to meet with Gale. He'll be pleased we held up part of our bargain. Now to tell him his men have basically carte blanche in taking down Kell's men." She doesn't particularly look convinced this is the best course of action, but her king wishes it.
Femi says nothing, but passes the note around to the other constables. Nodding, he heads toward the alley, casually, like he has some other purpose in going there.
Zophar remains impassive as the Carver is mentioned. A practical solution, but I feel like there was a time when I would have spoken against it.
"Mmmm, this business with Gale... bad form getting into bed with criminals, has a tendency to go sideways. But of course the King has final say. We should be doubly on our guard until that business is behind us."
Zophar follows Femi with a similarly casual gait. His mind is hard at work however, readying himself for anything.