Gregor’s arrow hits the brown fairy and it explodes a moment later into a toxic cloud. Evander and Matiscio slay the sleeping fairies who also explode a moment later. After a few moments, any sickness the cloud might have imparted passes and the party is left to determine what its next course of action should be.
Gilda heals some of the group and Didiana and Matiscio encourage everyone to press forward. You head in the direction the fairies went, easily following the trail of teeth they left behind thanks to Gregor's expert tracking skills.
You only travel a few blocks before Gilda and Matiscio begin to hear two distinct voices chattering angrily in a language you don't understand. As you come closer, the source of the voices becomes clear. There is an abandoned building on the left side of the street. Its cellar doors are open and the voices are clearly coming from inside. No light comes from within the open cellar.
As you traveled, you managed to recover all but two of the teeth. Perhaps the remaining ones lie somewhere inside the cellar.
Gregor halts everyone with a raised hand, then puts his finger to his lips for silence. Soon after he begins pantomiming his plan. He points to Didiana, the ground at her feet, and holds his hand up in a halting motion. Holding out a hand for the morningstar, he takes it graciously with a nod.
Next, he points to the other three, and himself, then circles two of his fingers point down side by side to one another, before putting a single to his lips in silence again.
Looking at Didiana, he shrugs apologetically, points at her and covers his ears while wincing. Once he thinks everyone understands what he's saying, he sneaks forward as best he can with silver weapon back in hand.
The sorcerer celebrated her own caution in donning her helmet minutes earlier. If she hadn't, then Gregor Ward would have seen that the face staring back at him looked approximately as confused as a magpie at an aluminum foil tennis match. Clearly the dottari and the hellknights employed different hand signals, Didiana thought, as she hadn't caught a single nonverbal word of whatever it was the man had hoped to say. However, superficial pride and deep seated self-doubt being a very bad combination indeed, the armiger did the dumbest thing possible and gave the ex-dottari a resolute nod. She didn't want to look stupid in front of everyone, after all.
Hopefully he asked me to shoot the ugly things because I'm going to shoot the ugly things...
The unerring missiles had proven effective against the fey. That said, Didiana could feel that she had just about reached the limit of her arcane prowess. As she placed one hand over her mace, she had a little trouble forcing aside the laws of physics to make the item shed light. If a simple cantrip gave her trouble, then she knew that she had no more than a single magical bolt left in her.
Evander is quite annoyed at the loss of his teeth, although the fact that he has been able to recover most of them means that perhaps they can be reinserted into his mouth. Their lack is most definitely felt by him.
Following Gregor's tracking, he doesn't know anything about what the hand signals mean, although he figures out that the man wants his morningstar back. He merely draws his rapier in one hand and his extract of shield in the other, creeping along outside the cellar, ready to pounce.
Arching an eyebrow at Gregor's complex gestures, Gilda looks to Didiana to ensure that at least someone understood his intentions. The sorcereress's expression wasn't total bewilderment, probably only about half-confusion, which was good enough for Gilda to head into the cellar.
Gilda pulled the 'new' cloak close. It wasn't a problem for her as it was certainly cleaner than the cloak the Ravens had found at the livery. Sprinkles seemed to enjoy its pockets, which was always a bonus.
Gregor tries and fails to communicate his intentions to the others in the group, but everyone continues on toward the cellar where the fairies likely fled to.
About twenty feet shy of the cellar’s entrance, Didiana stubs her toe on a large rock in the road that she somehow missed seeing. To be fair, it is very late at night, so that would provide a reasonable excuse, were it not for the light spell on her mace at the moment.
The voices of the fairies rise in anger and the two remaining ones emerge from the cellar a moment later bearing their oversized pliers.
Pointing his hand crossbow at the fairies, Evander shoots them a look of pure hatred and looses a bolt at them.
"That'th for my teef, filf!"
Holding her mace high over her head like the torch it was currently acting as, Didiana gathered the last vestiges of her arcane power into her free hand. For just a second, said hand glowed nearly as strongly as the mace. Then she let the white-glowing bolt fly.
The results were disappointing. The missile struck true, of course, but did not carry quite the impact as the other four the sorcerer had let loose this evening. Regrettable, as she knew she could not muster another.
Gregor turns to look incredulously at Didiana and her decision to silhouette them with a glow of light. Not that it wasn't bad enough, but she didn't even stay where he wanted her too for exactly the reason she proved; that she was going to be too loud. There was nothing to be done about it at this point.
He shrugs and runs with it, almost literally, rushing forward with his mornigstar in hand. He nears the closest one, and swings as hard as he can. Not soon after almost throwing himself off balance from the weight of the weapons head, he swears loudly about how the damned weapon must be cursed for certain.
Didiana fires her magic missile and hits ones of the fairies, but the vile creature doesn’t go down.
Evander shoots the first fairy but his attack does almost no damage.
Gregor swings wildly and misses.
Fairy 1 attempts to extract another one of Gregor’s teeth but fails.
Fairy 2 tries to pull out one of Matiscio’s teeth and also fails.
Evander continues shooting at the fairy.
Gilda glares at one of the fairies .
"Yer not takin' any more teeth! Ours or anyone else's!"
The brawler bares his teeth as he unleashes a flurry of kicks and blows.
The sorcerer's spell hand was shaking with exertion, her arcane reservoir being thoroughly drained. It only stopped doing so when Didiana determinedly locked it around the haft of her mace. This was no time to show weakness. There was never a time to show weakness! Certainly not while there were still enemies standing. With both hands grasping the weapon, the armiger swung the scintillating mace with all the strength she could muster.
Gregor thrashes wildly with the morningstar, whipping the heavy-headed weapon savagely about. As his swing goes wide, decides that he's had enough of the stupid useless weapon, throwing it to the ground in irritation.
Gilda casters her gaze upon one of the fairies but it shrugs off her stare.
Matiscio swings at one of the fairies, but both of his attacks miss.
Didiana tries to strike a fairy, but fails.
Evander shoots the first fairy again and it explodes into a putrid cloud.
Gregor swings and misses again.
Fairy 1 is dead.
Fairy 2 is infuriated at its companion’s death and once again tries to remove one of Matiscio’s teeth but fails again.
Being thoroughly tired of the frustrating fey, Didiana wildly walloped the vexatious vermin with her brilliant baton!
Evander loads another bolt and fires again. "Thtupid fairieth!"
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"Iwowi pwease! Guide my fihsths."
Matiscio's first attack misses badly, but his second blow lands solidly. The fairy seems on the verge of falling, but continues to hover in the air.
Didiana lands the death blow with her mace, crushing the fairy's skull. As before with its companions, it explodes into a toxic cloud.
The root cellar where the fairies came from remains open. Its contents are shrouded in darkness. On closer inspection, the actual entrance is a few feet below the street and is a bit smaller than any of you are accustomed to.
Gilda squints down at the darkness for a moment.
"Hey, I gotta idea.."
Gilda brushes off some of the residue from one of the now-dreaded pairs of pliers brandished by the toothsnatchers and wiggles a finger at them as they begin to shed a passable amount of light.
She then hands the illuminated object to Matiscio with a smile.
"Figure ya should do the honors.. once we get those teeth back, we'll begin our search for a proper dentist!"
"Pwease, gif mi a mohmunt.." What ensues is some disgusting dentistry, with the brawler haphazardly checking which tooth fits which hole.
Evander's eyes bulge. "You can reattath your teef?"
Evander hurriedly begins shoving his teeth back into his mouth, finding where they fit and reattaching them. Breathing a sigh of relief as the last one he was carrying fits back in, he tongues the remaining gap in his top front teeth and says, "Let'sth get the rest."
Didiana could hardly be described as being faint of heart. But she couldn't help but cringe at the sight of her compatriots shoving their own bloody molars up their still bleeding gums.
"Just ehm... Just make sure whose teeth goes in what mouth. Erk."
Mercifully, there was something else for the sorcerer to focus on, namely the cellar. The dark basement had apparently served as the fairies' nest. Hopefully there weren't any more of them about. Didiana bent down to crawl into the cramped space, all the while trying to look out for fey stragglers.
Gregor, glad the fight is over but pissed off for not being able to hit with the stupid weapon, stands with the other two men in replacing teeth. He notes that it's easier if they help reapply each other's teeth, so that they are lined up correctly, or even correct any previous misalignment.
"Bwess Irowi, there seems to be an end to this metness after ahl."
He then follows Didiana, giving her the space she needs to get through the blasted cellar opening before following suit. "Can you cweate some light, Didwi?"
The three men who had been robbed of several teeth find it is surprisingly easy to replace the teeth in their proper locations. The magical healing seemed to be the secret sauce, so the mere act of placing them in their mouths close to where they were originally located is enough for them to heal back into place. The three are also feeling a bit more charismatic about the situation now.
Gilda picks up a pair of the oversized pliers and lightens the street when she casts her spell upon it. Between it and Didiana’s light, you have plenty of light to see by.
Didiana doesn’t observe anything amiss as the group heads into the root cellar from whence the fairies came. One-by-one, you each squeeze through the narrow entrance into the chamber below.
Once inside, you see a bit of what the fairies were up to. The fairies’ den is slowly being decorated with teeth of all sorts. In time, the tooth fairies might have been able to wallpaper the entire area with teeth, but for now only a few disturbing patterns decorate the walls. In the center of one of these is a gold tooth worth 250 gp. One of the designs is incomplete and you quickly notice that three of the teeth in it are much newer than the others and still appear bloody from extraction.
Perhaps an even more disturbing aspect of the lair lies in the far side of the area from where you entered. On the far side, a broken, nearly toothless body of a young tiefling child has been set in a place of reverence in a niche in the wall. The child’s body has been tightly wrapped with thick preserved sinews, its wrists and ankles shattered and bound with cold iron chains. All but one of its teeth have been knocked from its jaws. A casual glance reveals that dozens of phrases have been inscribed in an unknown language in very fine writing along the sinews.
Entering the basement, Evander looks about. "Well, thith is macabre." He was far too distracted to properly study the writing, since he was still looking for his last tooth. Noticing the three much fresher teeth, Evander heads over to them to try and remove them from the pattern. Before he does so, however, he takes a moment to look over the drawing to see if there are any traps or such that would go off if he tried to do so - and to make sure they were the right teeth..
"Didwi?"
Gilda smirks at Matiscio as she repeats the word, but turns her attention to the child's remains.
"At first I'dda thought those tendons were from a deer... but I'm thinkin' they belonged to an older halfblood."
She glances over the phrases before shaking her head.
"Them words mean nothin' ta' me. Maybe if I use some magic tomorrow I might be able to figga' them out."
"Didwi?"
'Red' made a silent prayer that this was not the advent of yet another poorly received nickname as she held the temporary torch as high as the low ceiling allowed, but quickly got serious. The scene before them did not allow for much levity. Didiana went down on her haunches in front of the desecrated corpse of the tiefling and just looked at the awful display, taking it in the way one took in a surrealist painting, bit by baffling bit. The writer's succinct description, 'macabre', was apt.
Despite all the sorcerer's bluster about the tieflings, despite her both verbal and physical abuse of Zea, Didiana looked more than just a bit affected by the scene before them. The grim expression that typically marred her fine features had now taken on an almost caricature-like harshness, every line casting a deep shadow by the stark light within the basement. It was the age of the victim. The cadaver, wrapped in its bizarre restraints, had been a child. The armiger had trouble reconciling her ideas of the devil-blooded with her thoughts on children. Matiscio had forced her to admit that she was a deeply conflicted person, but Didiana had never considered herself outright hypocritical. Her condemnation of the tiefling race as inherently evil was born out of her condemnation of herself and her own hereditary corruption; there was nothing self-righteous about it. She even found some support within hellknight doctrine for her prejudice, in the belief that no one was truly innocent.
But children? The sorcerer had to admit to hypocrisy on that account; she had no idea what to think about tiefling children. Should they be persecuted for the evil that was their birthright and inevitable fate, or protected for the innocence and blamelessness afforded to childhood? Didiana didn't have the faintest clue and that bothered her.
One thing she was certain of, however: child-killers were afforded no mercy. Even among hellknights, there were crimes held in particular contempt. And what really bothered her right now, was the thought that perhaps one such was on the loose. The tendons used to bind the tiefling, which Gilda informed the group came from an older hornhead, and the cold iron chains in particular rattled her. Was this the work of the tooth fairies? The creatures had seemed relatively simpleminded. For the past week, they had just beaten random pedestrians to death and stolen their teeth. What was different about this child?
"Guys... Is it possible that someone else killed this one? Were the fairies even capable of utilizing these tendons and chains?"
Didiana examined the grotesque sinews in particular, wondering if they had some arcane purpose. Coupled with the iron links, she couldn't think of any other use for them; flesh would not add any restraint where iron was already used. Perhaps they were purely ritualistic, but the sorcerer chanted a simple spell intended for deciphering magic over them regardless. Any knowledge gained would be valuable.
Evander doesn’t notice any traps and recovers his tooth without issue. It’s a bit dirtier than it was before, but is otherwise intact.
Didiana examines the body and the sinews and is fairly certain about what happened. Though the exact meanings of the phrases elude her, Didiana suspects that the child’s body was used in a profane ritual to create the tooth fairies. If so, the murders in the Devil’s Nursery were no happenstance event. They were engineered.
Didiana's eyes went wide with the realization, but shock quickly made way for anger as her worst fears were confirmed. The tiefling murders that she had initially thought to be a mere case of degenerate freaks killing their own were the result of a calculated plot.
"I... I don't fully understand the design of it," she started, voice laced with ire, "but there's no mistaking the methodology behind the writing: these bindings were part of some greater spell. I believe that the child was ritualistically killed in order to summon the tooth fairies into our world."
For just a moment, the sorcerer questioned the bile raging within her. Why did this affect her so? The dead were just tieflings. She had often wished them gone from the city, had even expressed this desire to Evander at one point. Of course, in her mind this wish manifested in nothing more than fantasies of running the filth out of the city; she could not condone wholesale slaughter of a people innocent by law, if not by character. But, ultimately, was this not a service to the city? Did less tieflings not result in a stabler, more peaceful Kintargo? The thought was not a welcome one, but Didiana could not deny that it rang true for her. Dead tieflings served the greater good.
So why did the sight of the mutilated child-corpse in front her make her want to eviscerate whoever was behind this? The armiger pushed the thought aside. This was not the time. They were dealing with a murderer; it was as simple as that, she reassured herself. The perpetrator possessed both magical resources and a clearly calculated mind. Whoever had done this was a dangerous individual and they had to be neutralized. It was her sworn duty. That was all.
Gilda waves away the other Ravens from the tiefling corpse.
"Alright, best we bury the little one before any more teethsnatchers spring outta it."
Gregor locates his last missing tooth, before drawing his dagger. He begins to cut and pull at the sinews with his blade. Unfortunately, finding his tooth doesn't fix it just yet. "Tho, you're thaying that thethe wicked little bathterds are not jutht acting on their own? Why would thumone want them to do thith?" He looks at the tiny little hidey hole, "Thadly, they all exthploded, and we can't quethtion any of them."
Reattaching his final tooth. Evander breathes a sight of relief with all of his teeth back in his mouth.
"That'th better, although I may thpeak funny for a bit."
As Didiana explains what the magic does, Evander is filled with rage. That someone would do this was abominable. Looking at the patterns, Evander says, "If each of thethe patternth thummonth toof fairieth, how many per pattern? Are there more out there? Whoever did this, onthe they ran out of Tieflings, would they have gone after the retht of Kintargo?"
Looking about, Evander says, "We thould try to keep watch on thith bathement. If the perthon who thummoned them comes back, we can catch them. If we don't, nothing thops them from doing it again."
Evander hated whoever had done this, but at the same time, a coldly rational part of him calculated how best to catch them. The person would face justice for what they'd done - although it would not be meted out by the courts, he suspected, but by those gathered in this cellar.
He then looks about for a blanket they can wrap the child in.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Didiana replied to Evander's dire speculations. She was still staring at the corpse with an ornery look.
"Even if we assume that these murders had no racial component to them, it's unlikely that this scheme would succeed anywhere but Devil's Nursery. The tooth fairies had free reign here. Anywhere else in the city, they would have had to contend with the dottari. And no matter our feelings on the direction the city guard has taken under our new lord-mayor, a large organized force such as they could have eliminated these pests fairly easily. I would be surprised if we hear about similar murders in, say, Villegre."
The sorcerer thought it more likely that the tooth fairies were a one-time incident. Their success would be far more limited outside the slum. What did concern her, however, was the thought that whoever the murderous mastermind was, they were very much aware of this and had tailored the deadly plot for the area. Anyone capable of utilizing otherworldly beings like this was not lacking in neither resources nor imagination. The prospect of what a similar plan might look like for a more affluent part of the city was worrying to say the least.
"But you're right," she contined. "We should keep watch over this building. For the next few days at least. Just in case the perpetrator returns to the scene of the crime."
As Gilda and Evander prepared to move the corpse, the armiger became strangely uncomfortable being near.
"Here," she said as the writer looked about for something to wrap the child in. After pulling it out of the backpack, Didiana offered the tattered remains of her bedroll for the purpose. It wasn't much of a death shroud but it would do. She then promptly exited the cluttered basement, to give the two some space to work. And perhaps also to give her own, equally cluttered, mind some room to contemplate.
Gregor nods with Didiana's assessment. "Deathth in the Devil'th Nurthery affect no one but the rethidentth of Devil'th Nurthery. Either thomeone wath trying to very thlowly kill off the tiefling population, or make thome kind of point by doing it. I agree that we thould keep an eye on thith plathe for pothibly up to a week. If they notithe the murderth thtopped, they might try to come thee why." He takes up the silver morningstar once more, and drags it across the tooth-adorned walls, attempting to disrupt any meaning or symbology in the patterns.
Gregor successfully ruins the fairies’ carefully crafted patterns. No magical auras emanate from the designs to indicate they were magical, but perhaps it was only a matter of time before the fairies accumulated enough teeth for the symbology to become something more.
With the fairies slain , most of the Silver Ravens leave the Devil’s Nursery for the night, but take turns watching the building over the next few days. No one shows up and only tieflings pass the building by. None take a particular interest in it or seem to have any idea about its former inhabitants.
Fireday, Starday, Sunday, and Moonday pass without any indication that the building is still inhabited or that anyone has passed it by that is interested in what it contains or used to contain.
Toilday, the 25th of Arodus, 4715 AR
You all search the root cellar and the surrounding area one last time but are unable to find any indication that anyone has been in the area after you initially found the location. Gilda is particularly certain that the place has had no visitors since you were last there.
Once you are all more or less satisfied that the place is uninhabited and that no one is likely to return, you return to the Wasp Nest to report your findings (or lack thereof) to Laria and Rexus.
As you arrive, you immediately can tell that something is awry. The door to the Long Roads Coffeehouse has been left open. Laria would never let such a thing stand. The street is also unusually empty for mid-morning on a weekday in Kintargo.
Gregor is able to pick up bits and pieces of a conversation going on inside. It sounds like Laria and one other person are talking. Since Gregor's able to hear part of the conversation, he recognizes that the other speaker is a former coworker, a male dottari named Hammett.
He can hear parts of what Laria is saying, "Nothing is... you can just... that's all I... on the matter."
Gregor can hear Hammett saying, "Step aside... legitimate authority... we must search... suspicious... unsavory practices... waste my time."
Evander would suggest taking the body of the Tiefling to Zea and explaining to her what was causing the murders, as well as how they think the tooth fairies were summoned, and ask her to arrange to have the body taken care of. He would also ask her to have the Tieflings keep an eye out for anything similar or any signs someone is paying too much attention to the cellar.
Gilda stops cold as she overhears the conversation.
"Awww, nuts! Looks like the fuzz has busted Laria!"
She looked at her co-conspirators, her eyes blazing before lingering on Gregor and Didiana.
"Should we jump 'em?"
Gilda rubbed her hands together, ready to ambush the ambusher.
"Awww, nuts! Looks like the fuzz has busted Laria!"
She looked at her co-conspirators, her eyes blazing before lingering on Gregor and Didiana.
"Should we jump 'em?"
"What? No. No! Why would we...? No!"
Gilda had a way of agitating the stern armiger, but Didiana really didn't think her exasperation was due to any metaphorical stick up any which orifice in this instance.
"Attack the city guard?" she asked in exasperated, and hushed, tones. "And then what? The dottari is unlikely to overlook the disappearance of an officer. We're supposed to be keeping a low profile! What happens when they send another dozen guards here to find him? This is our HQ too! If Laria is apprehended, then we're down a base, at best, and at worst we're next."
Having said this, the sorcerer was somewhat at a loss for how to proceed. Sadly, her first thought was simply to abandon the halfling to her fate. The Silver Ravens were more important to the city than one woman. Even if that woman had been incredibly generous to them. The idea was quickly discarded, however, because the now far more brutal government might force Laria to admit knowledge of the group anyway. And because Didiana didn't like the idea of the halfing being tortured for their sake.
Of course, she realized, all this speculation hinged on the officer in the coffeehouse questioning the owner about suspected insurrection. Laria was a smuggler. It was possible that guard was actually not here looking for rebels at all.
Intending to find out, Didiana snuck up to a window as best she could to see if she could better understand what was going on within the establishment.
Gregor stops everyone with a raised hand, putting a finger to his lips to request silence. His eyes dart back and forth while he considers his options, before heaving a sigh of exasperation. "I'm worried about my ability to pull this off, but I have a plan. We need to hide in plain sight as it were."
He points to Matiscio and Evander, "The two of you, enter first together. Just friends going for coffee and a pastry. Gilda, you lurk near the stoop, you look more in place as a loiterer near the street. You keep your eyes out for any more trouble."
He takes a deep breath, sighs once more, "Armiger Drost and I will be what we were, becoming our old selves for this moment. I only ask that you follow my lead. We will pull the lead Dottari aside and let him know that we are working undercover to suss out the rumors of suspicious activity, as a joint operation between the Dottari and Hellknights. We are undercover, so that we can gain the confidences of those involved, to find the head of the snake. We need to be convincing enough that they think the place is already being investigated, and no need to return."
Evander takes the tiefling child’s body to Zea along with an oversized pair of pliers so the tieflings can see that the Silver Ravens have solved their problem.
Zea is understandably sad when Evander arrives with the body but she also seems thankful to you for returning the child.
She says, “To think that tooth fairies were behind this… I would have never imagined such a thing. Thank you for defeating them. Hopefully we here in the Devil’s Nursery can sleep a bit easier.”
Zea examines the body for a few moments before saying, “I don’t recognize him. We have few prominent tieflings and even fewer tieflings who have anything that passes for a family. I don’t recognize him, sadly. He was, in all likelihood, a homeless urchin. They aren’t uncommon in the Devil’s Nursery. There are dozens, actually. Still, I will ensure he receives a proper burial. It’s the least we can do now.”
Before Evander leaves, Zea adds, “I don’t know if this was just you or if you had help, but I will spread word that there's still at least one Kintargan who cares for us here in the Devil’s Nursery. Perhaps others will see in you what I already have. Again, thank you for your help and kindness. I could never hope to repay either.”
-----
At the Long Roads Coffeehouse, Gregor hatches his plan for how to deal with the dottari inside. While he does so, Didiana sneaks up next to a window of the Coffeehouse to observe what’s happening inside.
Didiana sees three dottari, two men and one woman standing near Laria. They seem to be doing their best to intimidate Laria with their posture. So far, it appears their efforts have met with zero success. One of the dottari appears to be in charge and seems to be carrying a letter of some sort. This is likely Hammett . Additionally, there are a few patrons sitting in the dining room. They all seem uneasy at the dottari's presence. One of Laria's halfling helpers can also be seen near the dining room's oven.
As Didiana continues to look, two of the dottari glance over to the window and spot her, red hair and all, as she observes through the window. Hammett points and the other two dottari move toward the front entrance. Laria also seems to notice Didiana and her eyes widen.
Laria, faster than any of you have seen her move before, somehow manages to get between the pair and block the entrance with her body and outstretched arms before they can go outside.
From outside, you can hear her raised voice as she says, “Now, now. Where are your priorities? I thought you were here to investigate my shop, not interrogate any random Kintargan that passes by. There are plenty of people that can’t afford to eat here, so they just observe from outside. There’s no need to confront all of them.”
Everything and everyone seem to freeze in place for a moment as the standoff lingers on for a few seconds before Hammett finally shakes his head and shouts to the other dottari, “For once, the halfling’s right. We’re here to investigate the shop. We can deal with loiterers later. Let’s start with the main room here, then we’ll see what Miss Longroad has stowed away in her back rooms.”
Gregor is aware that Hammett is an older dottari who has been in the city for a lot longer that Barzillai. Gregor knew him to be a man who followed the letter of the law rather than the spirit of the law. After Thrune arrived, Hammett continued to follow the law and Thrune’s actions didn’t seem to bother him. Or if they did, Hammett didn’t give any indication that was the case. Hammett’s legalism is evident in all areas of his life and it is at least partially why he is still single and has never wed even though he is in his late 50s. Gregor has never known the man to take a bribe.
Gregor can only place his palm to his forehead as the sounds within change to show their notice of Didiana. There was nothing to do about it but move ahead in a slightly adjusted fashion. "Nevermind, Mr. Forrell and Mr. Tartaluna. You're role has been modified to either wandering in after a brief moment behind us, or also staying outside unless we call for aid."
Gregor sweeps his arm, to indicate that Didiana follow him, as he adopts a casual stance while striding in. Entering the main room, he offers a hint of faux curiosity at the goings on, before asking aloud, "Excuse me, Sir Dottari." Speaking clearly and directly toward Hammett, "Might, I request a brief audience with you, off to the side, verging on official governmental business of a very delicate nature to warrant exclusion from prying ears?" He levels an insinuating eye toward Laria.
Gregor looks around as if he's concerned about being overheard, then begins in a delicate whisper of irritation. "Dottari Hammett. Yes, I know you, and you may even recognize me. I am Ivan Ward's boy. I can only assume you are here based on reports of suspicious activity? Gregor offers what he heard to add to the validity of the lie he is about to spin. "The two of us are here for that very reason, but of a nature a little foreign to our respective orders. I as a..." he looks around in concern and suspicion before continuing with the titles, "Dottari, she a Hellknight. The proper way in which our orders suss out illicit activity and possible sedition is of a righteous heavy-handed nature, beating the truth from those that won't talk. But our Lord-Mayor Thrune saw, in his brand of law-keeping, to follow the advice of Nox. She suggested that we infiltrate the underbelly of the city, to dig out the snakes that would crawl beneath the flagstones of our good city to spew poison in hidden meeting halls. A task so vital, that I a Dottari am working side by side with an Armiger."
He gives it a moment to let the man see where he's going, before continuing, "To do this, we have to gain trust among the community. As such, we were told to enact a tale of breaking with our honored traditions, to lead them into believing that we were disenfranchised, even going against the lawful path of justice. The operation was supposed to be kept strictly on a need to know basis, and I'm only sharing this information with you, as your search here could endanger the entire operation."
He stares levelly at the man to ensure the seriousness of his tone, "Now, I know you are a man of impeccable character, so you must keep our secret mission under wraps, but I can't also fake a bribe and tarnish your good name. So, I will instead inform you of a raucous dive of a taphouse called The Drunken Mountain only a few blocks over. There is no absence of criminal element within, a few of which may give up information with a more heavy-handed style of persuasion. That way the both of us can move forward toward accomplishing our given missions in the name of the Lord-Mayor toward a more lawful Kintargo. Then you can tell your squad that a better lead implicates a different location."
He adds as an afterthought to his story, "If you could help deter any further investigation into this location, it could go a long way to ensuring the success of our delicate operation."
As he leaves Zea, he says, "Rather than attribute this to me alone, I'd like you to attribute it to the Silver Ravens. There were several involved in this. Perhaps more Kintargans can come to care for the Devil's Nursery in time." With a kind smile, he then leaves her dwelling.
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As Evander was getting ready to enter, and Gregor changed the plan through Didiana's peering through the window, he glanced at Matiscio and quietly said, "Let's give them a moment, then we'll enter together and grab a seat at a table."
Once Gregor has moved Hammett off to one side, Evander will enter with Matiscio, and look surprised at the presence of the dottari, but otherwise quietly take a seat near the door.
"Loiterer? Me? Why..."
Gilda flexes her fingers and grins.
"What a nice compliment! I'll have you know I've done more than my fair share of loiterin' in my day and I'm quite the loit'afficionado!."
Gilda makes her way offset from the door about a dozen feet before bumping into a street lamp. She immediately begins arguing with it.
"Hey! Who put you here? I thought all lamps was supposed to be on the left side'a the street only!"
Gilda doesn't bother glancing down the street to observe their even placement along both sides.
"Why, I oughtta..."
She allows a trio of oyster shells to fall from her dress onto the floor, appearing to have been nudged into the mishap by a wandering street phantom.
"Hey! What's the big idea?"
She turns about to scold nobody in particular.
Somehow while managing all this, she spies on the guards and her fellow Ravens.