Aethon will do his best to not make a face when he sees Silas's assistant, but he will exit quickly with Talwyn in disturbed silence. When they are outside of the building, he will turn to Talwyn.
"I can't say I'm a big fan of our mutual friend."
"Eh? Friend is a bit strong. Shady business associate is more appropriate."
Talwyn will raise an eyebrow in slight mirth, in the way only a detached wizard may. Or perhaps in circumstances only a detached wizard could.
You feel a tap on your shoulders. At some point, the Half-Elf approached you.
"You all good? Bit creepy, isn't he?"
"I would say that 'a bit' is saying too little."
"Ha. You're funny."
"I really am. Off we go."
He leads you back to the Gauntlet.
Upon arrival...
"You know, I don't like that cruormancer. He's a right piece of work. But this may get me something far more important than gold anyway, so I shall allow it."
"I agree completely. After this job, I hope we never run into him again. But knowing fate, that feels unlikely. How do you think we should go about this task? I say we do it as soon as we can; the sooner our work here is done, the better."
He pats his various pockets.
"I fear that my purse is getting lighter every day here."
"We'd best spend the rest of our day today learning what we may about these red fist tattooed individuals. We should delay little more than that, for fear they get away."
He chuckles at Aethon's second remark.
"I'm sure that it is."
He grows serious.
"Aethon, we must discuss an unpleasant alternative. What will you do if I meet an untimely end on one of these adventures? We currently have little way to gauge our opponents, and a slip up for such... average durability persons like ourselves could mean death. We will take every precaution reason dictates, but Fate's whims are notorious in their fickleness."
He stops.
"Think on it. I don't need an answer, but you might."
He glances about.
"Well, let's do some investigating."
"I shall think on it. But for now, let us tackle the task at hand."
You lose 7 gold and your pan pipes.
However, you learn that the Red Fists are an organization of for-hire thugs. There was eight of them, until Silas murdered half of them when they infringed on his territory. Three of the remaining four hide in a warehouse on the side of town. One of them, a martial artist of some sort, visits the warehouse infrequently, and sleeps on rooftops.
The other three are as follows: "A sneaky, conniving bastard who packs a bunch of potions and scrolls", "A big dude who smacks people with his club", and a "punk-ass goblin with a gun".
Worn out from their day on the town and a bit miffed at the loss of his instrument, Aethon suggests that they head back to the bar and begin thinking of a game plan.
"A regular line-up of criminals, from the looks of it. Except for that martial artist. He sounds interesting; and dangerous."
"Honestly, I'm at least as worried about the one with the scrolls, and I've heard horror stories of the damage a goblin can do with a black powder weapon. If possible, we should eliminate one of them first. The more we can catch alone, the better."
Talwyn will agree to returning to the bar.
You return to the bar successfully.
You have two more days to complete the job.
Talwyn will spend that evening reading the book of petrifaction and readying his spells for the next day. He will recommend to Aethon that he consider finding out the layout of the warehouse they will be raiding.
Aethon will leave his valuables (basically everything but his actual gear and 10 GP) with Talwyn, flip his cloak to its beggar side, and head out. He will gather information about the gang's warehouse location, bribing as needed, and attempting to appear as an inconspicuous beggar otherwise.
Aethon easily gathers extensive information on the gang. The Red Fists were typical toughs who collected protection money from poorly-connected local businesses. Though they did provide actual protection, they still were infamous for being particularly brutal to anyone who did not pay in time.
When they tried to expand into Silas's territory, they were shut down in an two-minute battle that ended with half of them dead and the goblin permanently disfigured - reportedly from when Silas animated the severed head of the gang's now-dead leader (a formidable sorcerer) as a flying, gnashing skull.
Aethon learns that the martial artist is somewhat of a genius at combat, able to adapt to various situations with astounding rapidity. However, he lacks common sense, good judgment, patience, and the ability to work well in a team.
The goblin is supposedly somewhat of a crack shot, and often attacks at night, taking advantage of his species' natural stealth and agility to scale building and assassinate his foes from the rooftops.
Aethon learns that Club Man is un-special as people come, barring the fact that he can grow to twice his height for a little bit each day thanks to his Duergar heritage.
However, the "sneaky, conniving bastard" apparently has numerous tricks up his sleeves beyond just potions and scrolls. He can dance a weird, twitchy dance that forces the viewer to join in, and has been known to land attacks that should have been impossible after focusing for a few seconds.
Talwyn is waiting for Aethon to report while he reads the book.
Aethon reports back.
"Well, I found out what I could about the Red Fists. They were a normal protection gang, though a mean one at that. More interestingly, the Club Man can grow to twice his size for a brief period every day, and the sneaky one can do a deadly dance that forces those around him to join in."
He looks at the book you're reading.
"How go your studies?"
"Slow. But that is to be expected from bedtime reading."
He looks up from the book.
"Get some rest. Tomorrow will be busy."
Talwyn will study a bit more then retire for the evening.