Marillo thanks Crady and spends the rest of the day making his way around the area. He happily drinks, performs, and plies the locals for rumors.
Pakuzzo took the time to see to Vinz, but once the effects from the tooth fairy's dust seem to have left him, Pakuzzo spends the time canvassing for info and spreading the good word about the Silver Ravens (and as much seditious words about the Thrune government as he can manage).
"Hey! Hey! You know that haunted livery?? It's not haunted anymore! Well, at least it doesn't make those scary noises..."
"OH!! And some guy keeps going in there and bring out buckets of black fluid."
Looking at your feathered appearance in disgust, he spouts "You dare speak to me? You're no better than those raven vermin we're getting paid to get rid of. As for House Thrune? Well, I heard Lord-Mayor Banilus, Thrune's predecessor, didn't flee the city."
Smiling cruely, he adds "I heard she was praying a bit too hard to Cayden Cailean, if you understand my meaning and fell, breaking her neck."
Tossing you a rude hand sign, he turns and walks away without another word.
There are no craft skill. The feat allows me to make the weapon. And funds I will spend as I get them. I see the weapon as a WiP thing
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"You are mistaken, sir, but I forgive you for your ignorance! One day the truth shall be revealed to you!"
Even as he said this, his hands twitched spasmodically around the grip of his shortbow. Pakuzzo was sorely tempted to let loose an arrow at the retreating human's hindquarters, but stayed himself for fear of openly tarnishing the Silver Raven's good name in public. However, he kept an eye on the young man's face and dress for any distinguishing characteristics that he could sear into his memory. That sniveling bastard better pray that the tengu had the opportunity to run into him ever again; the dottari would need a one hell of diviner on call to identify what was left after he was done with him.
That evening, exhausted from the previous day's odd sleep pattern and with a mild headache from concentrating for so long (painting and using mage hand all day) he decides to go out for a drink and a warm meal. Not to one of the seedy establishments nearby, (he has a reputation to keep if he wants to get larger commissions) but he makes the trip of a few blocks to go to one of the places the merchants tended to hang out at. Soon he's playing some cards, only reading people's minds a couple times to gain the upper hand as he and the merchants chat and bluff.
"Yall hear about the protest..."
"Rioted idn't dey?"
"They're charging to cross the bridge these days."
Finally, just before closing time, something sticks out from the low drum of voices.
"Looks like Thrune’s bringing public excruciations to Kintargo. I can’t imagine that’ll increase his popularity around these parts, even if the criminals he punishes deserve it. This ‘doghousing’ thing sounds particularly frightening!”
"I heard they got them dottari practicing on the side. You know, on their own."
The following morning, a silver raven appears to each of you from Rexus. The simple message states "When you are ready, I've decoded more of those documents"
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Pakuzzo takes the paper from the silver raven, reads it, then scribbles back:
Ready when you are. I'll be right down.
He then hands it to the bird and speaks the command to let it fly out the window. Afterwards he grabs a light breakfast and summons Vinz from his morning scavenging to meet with the others.
Cerenity checks her features. Clothes herself and heads down to see what has been uncovered from the writings so far.
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Crady rolls out of his garbage heap and heads down to Lord Rexus.
Once all have gathered, the nobleman looks up, excitement in his eyes. "Many of the Silver Ravens were adventurers or worshipers of Milani! Jackdaw, a swashbuckler, was the most powerful and influential of them all, but others who rose to particular prominence among the Silver Ravens were Amyreid, a religious icon of the faith, Ba, an enchanter, Kyda, a performer, and Brakisi, an archer."
Looking to each of you in turn, for a reaction to this news, he continues, "I also discovered....The Silver Ravens defended Kintargo from being conquered no fewer than a dozen times during the Chelish Civil War: five times from power-hungry noble families, four times from agents of Thrune, once from an invasion of skum from the sea, once from a cabal of Nidalese vampires, and once from a blue dragon named Rivozair."
"This is the legacy you are following! Stories and songs will be written about you for millennias!" Beaming at the skillful decoding he'd managed, the man grabs another stack of documents and immediately begins pouring into them.
Marillo listens to this uncomfortably. He still felt somewhat out of his league. Killing faeries, starving hounds and thugs was one thing, but the noble was talking about legends. He certainly hoped that he wouldn't be expected to fill such shoes. Still, he was there and waited dutifully.
Metronicus grimaced under the weight of the word 'legacy', but smiled politely back at the nobleman.
"Will you be needing any additional help with translations, M'Lord?"
Over the pile of documents, the man mumbles "No no. No need for you to worry about me. I'll get it." Looking up from his task, the man smiles "You have much more important work to attend to."
Luthor likewise was somewhat unsettled by both the quantity and incredible danger of the things the previous Ravens had faced. He'd have to look in to Ba, a powerful enchanter such as that would certainly have left relics. Much more concerning was the dragon Rivozair. He doubted they'd killed the creature; from what little he knew of dragons that was nearly impossible; and dragons had unbelievably long lifespans.
"Just one thing Rexus... whatever became of that blue Dragon?"
"Just one thing Rexus... whatever became of that blue Dragon?"
With folded arms, Crady walks over to stand next to to Luthor, eager for the answer.
"Yeah! It's dead, right?"
"Such stories. Very interesting. But as the man said. We have little time for stories. We have work to do" she nods
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"I'm actually interested in hearing more about the Ravens' past exploits, but our own actions are what's going to endear us to the people right now. I say we get a move on to the saltworks while the day is young, and leave the stories for evening when we can afford to relax."
Looking up from his pile of paperwork with mild confusion, the man rummages through the parchments. Pulling out a page of his own scribbles and a second page of the encoded items, he begins mumbling.
"Փրկել քաղաքը Lohikäärmeestä කෝපය පරාජය" Switching between a few of his personal notes and rereading the documents, he finally looks up..."Well...it doesn't specifically say they killed it. Just states they saved the city from its conquering rage...I would assume that means they destroyed the beast?"
Speaking up from the corner of the building, Laria makes her presence known. "Sorry to interrupt. I really wasn't meaning to eaves-drop; I was just in my store room... Anyway, the Salt Works is being run by mercenaries right now. Their leader is a man named Forvian Crowe. I've worked with him before on a few things. If possible, you may wish to recruit him as he has some useful talents. From my understanding none of the mercenaries are directly affiliated with the church of Asmodeus, save for their paychecks. Anyway, best of luck!"
As you make you way towards the salt works through town, you find the guards still holding their vigil on the bridge. They demand their payment of 1 copper each. One particular guard seems to be arguing with a citizen about the payment.
Citizen - "I'll pay you double on my way home, I promise! I just have to get to work before I can pay. I'm spent!"
Guard - "Sorry, but all payments must be made up front. Perhaps you should think about moving across the river, eh?" he sneers.
A large stone complex stand before you. The structure takes up nearly an entie city block near the bay. You spy two guards flanking the front door. Another pair patrol the perimeter of the building.
Citizen - "I'll pay you double on my way home, I promise! I just have to get to work before I can pay. I'm spent!"
Guard - "Sorry, but all payments must be made up front. Perhaps you should think about moving across the river, eh?" he sneers.
"No need to worry, friend", smiled Crady, as he dug in his pockets. The urban druid produced a slightly corroded copper piece, and gives it to the guard, along with a similar copper piece for the his own passage.
"Kintargo gave me this copper piece while cleaning out an old rusty fountain pool the other day. I almost didn't see it, because the slime around it hardened slightly. It must be Kintargo's wish for you to use it, then."Crady waves goodbye to both guard (who wore a slightly disgusted look while he held the fountain coin) and citizen as Crady and his friends pass over the bridge.
Pakuzzu chuckled quietly as he passes the guard holding Crady's salvaged copper, but didn't say anything further.
**********
Pakuzzo shields his eyes from the sun with his hand and gives the building a once-over for any possible hidden points of entry.
"So, since the guards aren't likely to let us just waltz right in," he says to the others, keeping his voice low, "I'm guessing we need to sneak inside somehow. Any suggestions? If one of you can turn us all invisible but haven't felt the need to mention it yet, now's an opportune time."
"Long-term invisibility is as of yet beyond me, but I could manage one person with the aid of a scroll. For now, I can only turn invisible for a few seconds."
He glances out from the group's hiding place near the saltworks at the guards patrolling the place. "So those are our mercenary friends eh? Well... there's a few different ways we can play this,
1. We make a big diversion to draw the guards attention while a few of us bust out the workers, but that won't do much for recruitment.
2. We pick the guards off one by one and then go in, though will need a place for the bodies (preferably unconscious rather than dead).
3. Somebody sneaks in invisible and causes a revolt from within.
4. We try to speak with Forvian Crowe. A raven would work nicely to send a message, but if he's not interested we'll have tipped him off that an attack on the saltworks is imminent and that he should send for reinforcements. Great way to get captured or killed!
Or 5. Screw strategy we're the Ravens and we're here to do some heroic butt-kicking."
At the last one he shrugs sarcastically as he sits down on a nearby barrel.
She looks down to where her holster is
"I am not really the type for stealth or silent attacks. I can probably go to the guards and demoralise them before the main attack happens or I can stay back as reserve and backup" she suggests
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Crady seems lost for words. Unsure on what tactic to execute.
"Never had a real need to be stealthy until recently. Hopefully something I can work on later."
Pakuzzo shrugs.
"Normally I'm all for the stealthy option, but, and no offense to some of you, I don't think that's going to work with this group. Why don't we try picking off the guards one by one. If that plan goes south, we can always switch to the butt-kicking option, as Luthor so eloquently put it."
"Once I enter the fray things get loud real quickly. I do have a blade. One of my people. But my skill... sorry to say... lacks quite a bit in that area" she opens her cloak a bit more to expose the spinal sword
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"We should have Pakuzzo and myself try to remove the guards. We sneak up on them and take out as many as we can. Then if the alarm is raised everyone comes in and makes some noise. But hopefully we can pick them off before it comes to that.."
We'll still need a place to hide the guards once you've taken care of them. Doesn't matter how sneaky you are if some random citizen finds one of the guards after the fact and raises the alarm. Actually, this very alley might not be a bad idea if we can manage to lure the guards to it.
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Pakuzzo raises his hand and gestures in the direction of the patrol.
"It looks like this is our chance, boys and girls. I say we sneak up on them, take them out with nonlethal force, truss them up and stash 'em in the alley. Then we sneak in the door. But we've gotta move soon."
Should leave two by door and one patrol
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"Damn and bother! Bother and damn!" exclaimed the urban druid.
Taking out his club, Crady tries to stealthfully approach the two guards at the double doors.
For the first guard, Marillo put his plan into motion. He waited patiently until the man was in a position where he could attack without fear that anyone who wasn't an ally would see (perception 21). Once the man was where he needed to be, Marillo stealthily approached (stealth 17). With sword drawn he swung at the man, looking to kill him with one well placed blow. Two of absolutely necessary.
Crouching low, Pakuzzo opens his soul to the natural world and draws upon the silence of an owl.
He tells his raven companion to remain where he is, then draws his sowrd from its scabbard.
Quietly (and hopefully ahead of the others), he stalks the unsuspecting guard...three yards...two yards...NOW!
Marillo moves up to his target unseen, and plunges his weapon deep into the man. Looking down to see a blade protruding from his chest, the man's eyes go wide. Trying to speak, he finds himself unable to make a sounds.
Looking up just in time to see his counterpart on the other side of the door receive his fatal blow, he's too shocked to respond in any way. Seeing a bright light suddenly, following a massive blow to the head, he slumps to the ground.
Pakuzzo frowns at the fresh corpse as he sheathes his weapon.
"Marillo, I thought we weren't going to kill any-- Oh, forget it. Grab the body and let's stash 'em both back in the alley."
Pakuzzo picks up the unconscious guard by the shoulders and begins to drag him back into the alleyway. Once they're out of sight, he'll tie him and gag him with whatever he was able to scrounge up from the group.
"One guard left; we can duck him. Let's move on indoors."
Marillo drags the body away, doing his best not to leave an obvious blood trail. To Pakuzzo he said "One wrong move and we will be beset and torn apart by dogs. There will be blood. And besides, your mark is probably dying anyway. Head injuries that aren't treated tend to do that." What he didn't say was that part of him truly enjoyed killing. And he was naturally good at it. A small voice in the back of his head that he didn't want to listen to said that this rebellion was just an excuse so he wouldn't feel guilty doing what he enjoyed.
So long as nobody tries to stop him, Marillo will sneak off after the last remaining guard. With a recently cleaned blade he will attempt to make the second verse the same as the first. Once the guard is not looking he will bring his blade down and try to end the man's life in one swift blow.
Turning at the moment of Marillo's strike, a look of utter surprise on his face. "Ugh, wha..." groans the man as the blade finds its mark.
Slumping over on Marillo's sword, the guard is motionless; blood seeping out of his chest.
You don't see anymore guards outside the building. Surprisingly enough the street seems devoid of citizens. Perhaps, they are all busy with their day. Perhaps, they intentionally give this place a wide birth.
Metronicus makes it over to Marillo, and begins to help hide the bodies out of sight. Crady tries and fails to hide his disgust.
Unashamed of his actions, Marillo leaves the group to deal with the bodies as he checks the, now unguarded, door. Listening to the actions inside, he hears muffled voices and what sounds like picks being used to knock down chucks of the salt.
Returning to his companions, he relays the information to them.
Indeed unashamed, excited even, he relays the news. "These guards have made slaves out of people and would do the same to us. Let us make this into a tomb and sent a message To Thrune that this city isn't theirs. You all ready to go?" He held his sword out and pointed it at the building. Even though the blade had been cleaned, the shadow still showed it steadily dripping blood.
Crady smiled nervously, holding his club, "Sure thing, Marillo."
"These so called guards deserve nothing less. They do not guard the people. They are tools and I am ashamed to have once been one of them" she frowns as she looks at the corpses
"Indeed. Let us move on. We still have much to do before the day is done"
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Pakuzzo draws his shortbow as Vinz alights next to him.
"Fine, fine, let's clean house. Keep in mind though, we're here to liberate people; putting Thrune stooges in the ground is just a bonus. Make sure the slaves get out safely."
A stray citizen walks buy as you approach the structure. Glancing your direction, he seems puzzled by the lack of guards out front, but just shrugs and continues on.
You gather in front of the door, still the sounds of a few people talking and others working flows through the air.
Three guards mill about this room. One sitting in the corner behind a desk. Looking your direction, they seem surprised, but not hostile. Before you stands a cart, one can surmise it's used for transporting the salt. To the side of the room, the ground slopes down into a round open pit contained within the building. A number of workers hack away at the rocks. Even from this distance, they are quite obviously suffering from malnutrition and barely able to stand...let alone swing their picks. They are chained to a pole in the center of the pit.
The mercenary behind the desk stands, "Oh, uh, 'ello there. How may we help you?"