Mort sees things much like they are spelled out on the map. However, he does see a large manticore . The manticore exits a nest somewhere in the mound of junk and flies away North.
The man eyes Seventeen hard and then says Alright. Keep your weapons in their sheathes and don't try nothing stupid. I'll take you to talk with Sevroth.
He gestures for you to enter, another man at the gate opens it for you.
Omo smiles when Seventeen said that they were going in whatever the man thought. I appreciate my sister's new found fierceness.
He reaches out to squeeze her hand in solidarity.
He also watches for hidden enemies and signs of strange tech. This is a rough place, but here we will find what we have been searching for.
Seventeen inclines her head slightly and replies, "Appreciated."
She accepts Omo's hand, but her eyes never leave the man she spoke to.
The Guard leads the party into a room.
A minute later a tough looking womanenters the room.
Welcome to Scrapwall. You aren't Crusaders, that much is obvious. What are you here in Scrapwall for?
Mort as a vulture perches on a ledge of the wall opposite the building and waits for the party to get out, if he's being chased away he's going to perch atop of the building instead.
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Bowing slightly to the lady who had entered.
"Thank you for your hospitality, we are not crusaders as you can see. We're following the trail of one who was called Meyandra, who came to our town wreaking havoc and speaking of one called Hellion. Who it appears wished the end of all organic life. Last I checked that involved many of us."
The woman breaks into a smile Well. You happened to talk to just the right person. I have a singular opportunity to benefit us all. My gang, the Steel Hawks, was recently bested and taken over by a buncha right bastards. Call themselves the Smilers...they're led by a really nasty fellow calls himself Birdfood, he killed our leader Veragio. You take out Birdfood and return the Steel Hawks to me, and we will help you when it comes to going against the Lords of Rust.
She waits for your reaction.
Mort, from his perch, notices that the men guarding the place aren't scarred and deformed like the men in Aldonard's Grave.
Never one to appreciate doing somebody else's dirty work, Seventeen frowns and asks, "Tell us more about this 'Birdfood'. Presumably taking him out will not be easy or you would have done so already."
'I'm not keen to find somebody else's turf war, the last person who asked that was ready to stab us in the back, is she the same?' Thinks Seventeen. Her new routines cause her eyes to automatically narrow slightly, as she tries to decipher the woman's motivations and reaction to her question. Yet as ever, humans remain an enigma.
Still one advantage Seventeen has is an eidetic memory. The Smilers unwittingly revealed many things during their interrogation, things that Seventeen recalls with clarity.
Seventeen demands, "And would you really follow us into the Scrapmaster's Arena? Do you..." She pauses and looks directly at the woman, "... wish to prove your 'Scrapworth'?" Seventeen seems mystified by this latest illogicality.
Is she...making a joke? Something's going on, for sure if she is.
"Smilers huh...we ran into a bunch of those degenerates earlier.
Have any of yours fallen to their cannibalistic tendencies?"
Sevroth says First thing, nobody gets into the Arena without being invited, and for that you need some respect. Secondly,my name is Sevroth, I was Veragio's Lieutenant until..well, until Birdfood challenged him to single combat and killed him...and then ate his liver. If you kill that cannibal son of a...I'll do what I can to get you to "Hellion". But just so you know, killing Birdfood would increase your Scrapworth...I've already got my respect.
To Guaire she says Yeah. A few of the boys didn't want Birdfood as an "ally" so they decided to resist...they ended up in cookpots.
To Jarreck she responds Heh, never met Hatchethands and his crew, but fewer Smilers makes for a better Scrapwall.
Birdfood, he fights with a bow...but he is dangerous with his sword too. He has these Hawks, they fight with him...they blinded Veragio...he never stood a chance after that. Birdfood has about ten Smilers with him...and some Orcs sent by the Lords to make sure he stays in command..The Lords of Rust like the Smilers see, and they didn't like the Hawks being in charge of the entrance. The way I see it, they probably put Birdfood up to taking over....Stupid Veragio accepted the duel.
Seventeen doesn't seem particularly impressed as she observes, "So you're saying that unless we demonstrate unrivaled savagery nobody will fight us in the arena. Logical I suppose. Presumably they don't want to risk fighting an unknown foe, with abilities they may not anticipate."
"We should stay close together whatever we do. Together we can set this Birdfood right."
Sevoth sighs as if talking to a child No. If you challenge him to single combat, you'd be fighting to take over the Steel Hawks. And I don't want you to take over, I want me to take over. I just want you to go and take him out. Oh, and killing all his Smiler friends would be nice too.
"Indeed, might they be trapped. Or perhaps there are suitable ambush spots?"
Guaire pays attention to the woman's reaction, he'd seen opportunists backstab before.
Sevoth Slaid smirks at Jarreck Hah! Ain't no one called me Lady ever! and the Guaire she says Yeah, I dunno about ambush spots but I'd not let Birdfood open up on you from range, his bow is deadly.
she draws out a rough map for you on a piece of parchment including labels.
"Maybe we should surprise him in his room." Omo offers after looking at the map.
Seventeen stays perfectly still and quiet while the others talk to Sevoth. She's not at all keen on the idea of doing somebody else's dirty work, even if it does sound like this 'Birdfood' is a nasty piece of work.
She quietly asks Omo, "I have insufficient data to decide if access to the arena is worthwhile. There may be other ways of answering our questions while remaining independent. What do you think? "
"Well these gangs may have a closer relationship to Hellion we than previously thought. Does it strike you as odd that there are at least two with a direct link to it -- the Lords of Rust and the fallen Hellion's Thralls? I'm not thrilled by the idea of murdering someone we have never met, but we have to have some ingress into the local political ecology. And if we get rid of more cannibals, that cannot be the worst thing, right?"
Mort moves up and down the roof, trying to catch a glimpse of the others or hear any conversation.
Well at least I haven't heard screaming or shouting just yet. That might be a good thing. Then again they could have been killed silently and efficiently.. That's less hopeful.
From time to time a reasonably loud sound of a vulture is heard and a silhouet of a large bird flies past the windows as well.
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"Perhaps mi'lady, old habits are hard to forget. cheeky grin No offense intended."
Turning to the others "I for one have no love of the Smilers I have met and not sure that any of the others will be of benefit to the future of this town. Namely since they are eating the inhabitants or at least parts of them. I for one will vote to help Sevoth, this being a case of joining together in a common cause - rid the world of a few miscreants. "
"We haven't known each other long enough to be friends, but for the moment allies will do, trust can be earned between us."
"That works for me."
He crosses his arms thinking for a moment.
"Any destraction yours could provide for us to have better chances of sneaking in?"
Sevoth says Not much chance of sneaking in, unless you plan on climbing the walls. Otherwise, yeah I can come with ya.
Seventeen nods at Omo's words and replies, "I'm not keen on any of this, but I don't have a better plan right now."
When Jarreck decides to throw his lot in with Sevoth, Seventeen simply says, "Very well."
She glances sideways at Sevoth and thinks, 'According to the books a great general once advised: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. I don't know which you are yet Sevoth but I am watching.
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"Sevoth, if I were able to sneak in from the roof, are there access points easily obtained?"
Jarreck is thinking back to his previous occupation and whether there would be windows and access that would be hidden from the ground and not have him backlit by the prevailing sun or moon through the window/opening.
Walls'er made of timbers and rusty parts...I guess you could climb em if you wanted. The whole place is open....theres no roof cept on the buildings. And they don't have any windows.
"Well, things never are as easy as you'd think them to be.
What do you reckon the number to be, 7, a dozen perhaps?"
Birdfood, he fights with a bow...but he is dangerous with his sword too. He has these Hawks, they fight with him...they blinded Veragio...he never stood a chance after that. Birdfood has about ten Smilers with him...and some Orcs sent by the Lords to make sure he stays in command..The Lords of Rust like the Smilers see, and they didn't like the Hawks being in charge of the entrance. The way I see it, they probably put Birdfood up to taking over....Stupid Veragio accepted the duel.
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" 6 on 12 makes for bad odds on the 6 for a straight up fight. But if we can catch most of the goons as they come out of the barracks we could possibly shut them down quickly. Say cause a commotion first thing in the morning, that has them rushing to get out of the barracks. If our lovely Seven here consents a pit just outside the door should be able to catch several and a few of Omo's concoctions tossed in should put those in the pit mostly out of commission. Don't necessarily have to kill them but definitely shut them down. Guaire with his bow can put a hurting on one or two guards quickly, I can try to take one out before the party gets started. Guaire, if you can move to that elevated walkway, your view will be better from there. Then we are down to a 'fair' fight. Questions/better suggestions?"
Jarreck looks to the others.
"I have a concoction that will allow me to climb walls."
Seventeen glances at a map and traces the contours of the throne room with a finger. She asks Sevoth, "So there is no roof, and this birdfood's room is open to the sky? That seems, remarkable. What happens when it rains?"
If Sevoth indicates this is correct, Seventeen suggests a plan, "Going over the wall is a good idea, assuming we can do that fast and reliably. I can block the door at least for anyone who isn't flying. Although I am powerless to prevent him from just flying away. Still I don't suppose he could fly with a net over him, such a thing will be available for barter no? As for the Hawks, they are small, perhaps an air elemental could deal with them?"
"A net is probably the most cost effective option. Tanglefoot could also do the trick. I definitely think a targeted strike would be best. A net might also make his bow less than useful."
Omo nods at Seventeen's suggestions, he remembered only a few short weeks ago that they argued about everything, but when it came to their lives being in danger the two siblings seemed both practical and of one accord.
"A net is indeed useful, he'd be very restricted in his movement of both legs and weapons. But prior to that, we'd need to take out his henchmen first."
In a monotone, Seventeen says, "Oh so it does have a roof, after all. Are there any windows near the throne room or Birdfood's room? If not I suspect we'll have to do this the hard way."
No, no windows.
Seventeen notes, "I've yet to try my web spell, I think that will be most effective in closed quarters. And since most of you are ranged, doubly so."