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Jarithe sits on his customary bench not being too loud about it but talking in hushed tones about how the Thrunes have just shut down all the arts and made everything oh so drab for those both more and less fortunate. How everything in the town just isn't the way it used to be.
Each little crowd is the same coming and going until Saul comes along and Jarithe gives him a hearty hand shake.
Hey Saul, yeah, travelling around but I haven't been doing as well this trip in Kintargo as times before. It really is a shame what they have done to the Opera House. I loved performing there with that Diva they had there for a while. What a voice! Seems nobody wants to have beauty or good things any more around here, eh? Jarithe says in response screwing up his sobering face and putting his lip up over his other lip with his teeth extended like some sort of ogre or monster Jarithe wiggles his brows and angles his eyes at all the wrong angles and mimics marching around and stomping on the ground and kicking the dirt.
Cassius watches the odd display. "You've got the most interesting friends, detective."
Zea giggles quietly and nervously to herself. As a Tiefling of Redroof, she appreciates a good performance. She waits to see how this interaction proceeds, certain her role is far from the forefront for the time being.
Bram keeps glancing sidelong at Zea, and lingers a bit when she giggles. Finally, while Saul is getting re-acquainted with an old friend. Still... he WAS pretty funny. "So what's that say about you, Cass?" he asked, jabbing lightly before looking back at Zea.
"Can't say I'm not jealous of the company you do keep." he added, bowing politely to the tiefling. "I don't think we've been properly introduced yet, ma'am. Bram Geddov, barkeep for the Brazen Badger tavern and inn, at your humblest service."
"Can't help that I'm so charming everyone loves me ..."
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Saul talks to Jarithe. "Your old complaints about the Thrunes used to go in one ear and out my other, Jar. But things HAVE been bad here, really bad. Ever since the old mayor disappeared; ever since they burned down the Thrashing Badger! The Thrashing Badger! By devils! Iomedae's own truth. It was devils that did it. Saw them with my own eyes."
Saul says this quietly but everyone in the group is able to hear it.
"Your complaints about the Thrunes used to be ignored by the previous administration. But do it out in the open here and you will be in the slammer before you can cough."
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Jarithe nods and says I have had a few other warnings to watch my tongue. Mostly from friendly folk who know me. If only I could bend my eyes far enough... Seriously though. That sounds like a lot of trouble around these parts. Too bad there isn't someone who could do something about that and make this a better place again.
Zea nods timidly to the tough-looking man. Strange to have humans helping me and now treating me with respect for the first time while other humans want to destroy everything good and right with this city... Polar times... She smiles wanly and curtsies, replying "Zea... I don't have much else of a title..."
heading back up stairs Fhingle sees that everyone left.
"Laria do you know where they went?" Fhingle asks
"They told about going to the Brazen Badger, wherever that is." Laria tells Fhingle.
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"Where in the blazes did Little Mac go? Gah! I swore he was right behind me."
Arriving at the Brazen Badger, Saul sniffs the air and enjoys the intoxicating fumes. Ah... I can't drink it, but doesn't mean I won't enjoy the smell.
Choosing a quiet unoccupied corner, Saul gathers the group together. Fhingle walks in as well and joins them.
"Here's the deal, you lot. We all have our reasons to hate the Thrunes and their diabolists. For me, I hate what they are doing in our city. This is my home. They burnt down my favorite bar. They are forcing me to hang a portrait of an ugly hag in my office. They don't let us use mint anymore. That doesn't bother me so much except the ridiculousness of it pisses me off!
"Listen. I've already been fighting back. Little Mac and me, we've been at this for a while now, ever since the protest at the Opera House. We've had a bunch of teammates that come and go; each of them have slowly lost their heart and will. This is not an easy fight. We aren't strong enough to fight the Dottari and the Thrunes directly. We strike from the shadows. We bolster the spirits of the people. We give them a reason to hope! We WILL take this city back for the good people of Kintargo."
"We are the Silver Ravens. Will you be one as well? Are you willing to face imprisonment or death? Or will you tuck tail and run like so many of our number before you? Because tell me now. If you plan to run away, do me a favor and just leave now and forget you ever saw me. Inspiring speech, over."
Saul sits back and crosses his arms over his chest. He looks at your faces one at a time.
Fhingle shows up just before Saul gives his speech.
"It is ok to lose heart it is a lot to take in and a lot to put on the line, I am a former slave who is rebelling with Saul and a few others. Please join us." Fhingle says
Zea nods gravely during Saul's speech and at Fhingle's words. Her voice wavers both with nervousness and strength of feeling. "The Thrunes don't care for me and mine. You people have shown that you do." She pulls out a dusty old book. "I swiped this and have been reading it. The Silver Ravens were heroes who fought for the people. I'll try to help bring them back." She puts the book back in her worn leather pack and nods firmly once, having said her piece.
"Everybody should get to decide their own shit. Except f%$*in fascists. Fascists get death. I'm in long term."
Queen Abrogail Thrune II of the Thrice Damned House of Thrune sternly looks down on Saul from the wall of the bar.
Saul gets carried away with his emotions during his rallying call. It is still early for visiting a bar, but it's not empty and he manages to turn some heads, even though they probably won't understand a lot of what he is telling.
The waitress with the Queen Abrogail II-remembrance-hairdo comes over to take your orders.
Bram quietly listened, before shushing at Saul as he spoke, hunching over. "Okay, okay! You're not happy with Thrune. That's fine. But shouting it is only going to get you into big trouble! You think those paintings are just for her good looks?" Bram hissed, leaning back a bit and glancing sidelong at the portrait.
'Truth be told... I wager I've been at this longer than any of them. I mean... I kinda did stab my dad to save Sarisa and ran away from home... guess that counts as rebellion.' he internally mused. "Look... House Thrune and their tributary houses have more tricks up their sleeves than you can even imagine. And not all of it comes from our side of the planar fence. So when you start talking that, keep it down! Look..."
When the waitress came over, Bram nodded and smiled. "Cacassia! My favorite brew-bringer! Thought I'd bring some new business our way! Mind grabbing them all some pints of that Longmarch honey mead? Best to get them hooked on the good stuff early on, you know?" His smile lingers so long as the waitress is around, but once she's out of earshot, he turns back, expression firm. "So you've got a hideaway, and a front. Now what exactly do you plan to do next? Your selection of targets is limited... you need one that's quick. Easy for a small group. Out of sight. Any ideas?"
"I was once a spell slave, my master used me at times as a conduit for channeling Hellish beings through." Fhingle says before the waitress comes over. After wards he stands a bit and looks around the room.
"A friend of ours has a location that we need to look into, might be something to help us out in the long run. The building is called The Fantasmagorium"
"I've never been there myself. I only know that this key..." Rexus pulls a fine chain with a key out of his shirt "opens a lot of doors in the Fantasmagorium."
"Or do you mean the history of it, before it became a secret hideout?"
"When we go, should we use disguises? My services are available, of course."
Zea blanches at Fhingle's recounting of his terrifying past. When Saul speaks of information on the mission, her first mission, she leans forward, eager to hear more of this place and how she can help. Perhaps there's something in my scraps of notes that can help in this place...
"Can you tell us along the way? We should get there sooner rather than later, I think." Fhingle says
"Ah, yes." Rexus clears his throat.
"Hocum’s Fantasmagorium. The structure was the passion of a struggling stage magician and salesman named Braedan “Hocum” Azperex. The man had the building constructed a year after the Chelish Civil War ended, with the goal of “bringing whimsy and joy back to Kintargo.” His plan was to have the Fantasmagorium serve as a museum of fantastic oddities and “authentic” magical phenomena.
His charm and showmanship transformed the bizarre concept into a minor success for many years, but when the exhibits (many of which were either grossly exaggerated or utter hoaxes) began to lose some of their novelty, the Fantasmagorium struggled to make ends meet. It finally went out of business 20 years ago, and Hocum died not long thereafter—the building has remained shut down and something of an eyesore ever since."
"Or so I was told. All but the current state of affairs I didn't see myself of course. And this closed down building was then used by the Secret Order of the Archivists, an order my mother belonged too. I believe that is the reason Thrune burned down our estate. But as the Fantasmagorium didn't burn down, they have not known and we might find more information about the Silver Ravens or other knowledge helping us bring down the tyrant."
"And maybe, just maybe, my parents were not at home at the Night of Ashes and are hiding there." Rexus adds.
"So the sooner we get there the faster we can gather the information in the building. Are you sure you want to come with us Rexus?" Fhingle asks
"The Sacred Order of Archivists is a secret society of Iroran scholars headquartered in the Chelaxian city of Kintargo that protects and preserves the written word from the revisionist historians in the government and the Hellknight Order of the Rack." Rexus explains.
Zea nods eagerly. "This sounds very useful! We should go immediately! Have you heard anything of the state of the building? Have vermin infested it? Has the structure fallen apart?"
"My guess is as good as yours. From the outside it looks like it is in a state of disrepair. But not worse than the livery we were at earlier."
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Saul looks to his left and right. No one seems to have anything more to say. He stands, and addresses everyone in a whisper, but everyone in the group can hear.
"Let's do this, then. Based on recent past experience, I would like to say that going in pitch blackness is not a good idea. Instead, we go during the day and need to rely on the disguise skills of Cassius to keep our identities secret. Finally, you need to all take this seriously... NEVER use another's name on our operations. We had another associate who kept doing that... and now he is in jail, and I deemed him too untrustworthy to fight for. Don't let that be you. We go with codenames. I am Jackdaw."
Zea nods very seriously, intimidated yet thrilled by what she has signed up for. "Very well, Jackdaw. I am Sparrow. Let's fly." She glances around with nervous eagerness to hear everyone else's codenames.
Finally the group is on their way to Hocum's Fantasmagorium in the Redroof District. This sprawling, single-story structure has certainly seen better days. The building’s stone facade stands out amid the brick-lined walls of its neighboring structures, and numerous windows to the left and right are boarded up. Signs advertise rates and incredible exhibits within, and above everything a crimson sign announces “Hocum’s Fantasmagorium!” A large lock hangs from the front door.
"Gray Jay." Bram said, as if he already had that name ready before they'd even discussed the codenames. He might have possibly been kicking around some names well beforehand.
Standing up, he nods, before heading up the stairs. "Gimme a minute. I need to take care of something." He said, before heading up to his room to collect something else - a gray-silver set of cloth, with a pair of eye holes cut into it, stuffing it into his pocket before finding Sarisa. "Hey sis. I'm going out with a few friends. They need help with a job... and I think my past 'expertise' might just keep them from getting killed. Don't wait up for me... just keep your head low. Alright?"
Once satisfied she was safe, Bram ran back downstairs to the group. "Alrighty, what're we waiting for? The sun waits for no man... that I know of, anyways."
Zea tries to move with the group up to the Fantasmagorium without attracting attention while keeping an eye out for trouble.
She whispers to her companions. "I'm not really practiced in dealing with locks. Can any of you help with this?"
Rexus reaches into his shirt and takes off the key he wears around his neck. "Try this." he tells Zea while holding out the key to her.
Zea nods her thanks and takes the key. She then tries it in the lock. If it works, she'll open the door then stand back, not wanting to go first.
The key is one of the original keys to this lock and fits neatly. Going in leads past the box office of the museum. Through the large window you see that the room holds various theatrical costumes, ropes, posts, blank signs and banners, paints, and some well-worn musical instruments, as well as an open cashbox for the daily ticket receipts. Which is of course empty.
Following further into the museum leads to the first room with exhibits. The Hall of Cryptids. Macabre taxidermy and menacing skeletons line the walls of this fifty-foot circular chamber. A middling-quality fresco of terrifying and fantastic beasts lines the domed ceiling overhead. Large double doors lie to the northeast, southeast, and northwest; the northwest doors hang wide open.
Before arriving, Bram took the cloth he retrieved and brought it up to his head, revealing it to be a full head bandanna that covered most his head down to the nose, leaving him moderately masked and prepared to guard his identity.
Stepping inside, Bram unholstered both his maces and looked around, edging his way into the room with the dome and looking around for any signs of something... off. The northwest in particular worried him... why leave it open? He opted to investigate it quickly, making sure they weren't being watched.
Bram enters to take a closer look at the exhibits, but doesn't get far, as two of the skeletons, which look like they belonged to apes, start to move and attack.
The skeletons are quicker than Bram can react and charge at him with their clubs, beating him badly.
Zea, though she brought a weapon as a token of her intent to help, is completely unprepared for such a sudden fight! She stands terrified!
Bram was expecting members of House Thrune... but NOT giant angry ape skeletons! Sadly, the two blows to both his head and gut were his price for not expecting them! Not even able to properly assess his situation enough to swear about it, Bram operated on pure instinct as he swung his maces back, looking to knock something on his first aggressor loose! them loose!