Cimri looks in as the talk turns to money. "That's all for my boss to have."
"And what's for us? Your boss doesn't know how much is in there, right?" Moira objects.
"Yeah, that wasn't the deal. Tell us how many he owes, or we take it all." Karthus replies angry.
"How much is in the box?" Cimri asks.
"What does that matter?" Karthus asks and closes the box. "Want to save some money for your own?"
"Okay, my boss expects something around 1000gold." Cimri tells.
That's just a guess from her.
"What is this crap!" Karthus is shocked, then sits down on a chair and starts counting the silver. After he's finish, he reaches silver in value of 1000 gold to the shady woman.
"If it's only around 1000, we won't leave him a suspiciously exact sum, will we?" Moira tells and takes out another 47 gold.
"That's enough, not one coin more!" Cimri shouts.
"Daddy doesn't like you..." Clarice says rolling the scythe back and forth, the blade tapping against the floor each half rotation
Not impressed by her intimidation, Karthus takes one more coin.
"Okay, okay." Moira replies and turns away, to not face Cimri. "Can we go now. We have what we need, don't we?"
Cimri decides not to comment on Bony taking a coin, because she can't win a staring contest without blinking.
"Yes, pretty much. Where did you want to bring us?" Karthus asks the shady woman.
"Some Ash house I think." Moira comments. Just before they leave, she heals Louslik.
On the way out of the yard she heals the dog.
That healing magic is not enough to get Louslik up on his feet. But the dog gets up. As soon as she is back up Abbie flees from the skeletal guy and his companions to her owner.
From there it goes back through the night and the wood to town. To the ruin known as the Ash House. Before the Chelish Civil War, the Ash House was Moragatalli Manor, home to one of old Cheliax’s lesser noble families. But as it is, sometimes circumstances lead to houses burn down and families to loose their lives. Especially if they are known to not support Thrune.
What remains of this manor looks like it could collapse at any moment. Bearing the scars of a decades-old fire, the house is blackened and sags under the weight of its collapsed third floor. Shattered windows pose no barrier to the riot of ivy scaling each gable and invading every cavity. Bent pillars and a cracked granite porch lead to a warped door bearing a rusty doorknocker shaped like a boar’s head.
"Come here through the window. The door is jammed." Cimri tells and leads the way through the window.
Pieces of battered furniture lie here amid the choking scent of dust and ashes. Beneath a mantle crowded with empty whiskey bottles, the fireplace shows evidence of recent use. The scorched, broken visages of curious cherubs leer from atop archways leading deeper into the house.
From there it gows up the stairs to the first floor and into the next room . Toppled bookshelves, a table, and some chairs half-covered in ivy suggest this room was once a library. The ashes and pulp of burned, waterlogged books lay heaped amid fallen furniture, creating a large nest of sorts against one wall. A set of folding paper screens divides the room. A lantern flickers on the opposite side, projecting the silhouette of a desk and high-backed chair upon the thin paper.
Cimri moves to the figure behind the screen and places the lockbox there.
"Excellent. You’ve done well, Cimri, and your associates sound like individuals of rare potential. You’ll all find your payment waiting in the parlor below, along with a gift for each of you. Go, enjoy, celebrate. You deserve a reward for your impressive work. We’ll talk more in the near future." The figure behind the screen tells.
Yay, payment. Moira thinks and tells "Okay. See you later." As she is not fond of staying in the presence of this creep and doesn't want to be there, when Cimri and her boss find out that she gets double payment now.
It’s nearing dawn by now as Moira and Bony collect their reward, which is waiting for them in the parlor on the ground floor, along with eight bottles of a fine Wiscrani barbera wine, several loaves of fresh bread, garlic-flavored butter, and a variety of smoked fish and boar’s meat. It’s a veritable feast, and among the best food Cimri—and likely Moira and Bony ever had in their lives. But Bony is at a disadvantage to enjoy it.
A plain wooden chest sits on a table in this room. It contains the payment for the tannery heist. Inside the chest is 100 gp per PC, plus Cimri’s share of 200gp, as well as a masterwork dagger for Cimri and four more items labelled for Bony, Moira, Clarice and Willow.
They are
beguiling gift,
charm person,
command,
cure light wounds,
detect secret doors,
enlarge person,
hypnotism,
mount,
obscuring mist,
sleep,
summon monster I,
unseen servant.
Karthus follows Moira down, takes the cloak and his gold but lets the food behind."Wow, I got to say I was wrong, I get rich that way. I made more money this way than in my whole life." Karthus says happily.
Moira is delighted with her gift. She immediately binds it to her arm. "Now I have something to hide behind even if you're not in front of me."
Willow was late. The moon was already moving from the trees into the sky as she arrived. But luckily she had pressed the matter and got Cimri to tell what the heist is about.
So she follows the path to the tannery. It was easy to tell that everything was already over as she arrived. The gate opened and the door to the house broken. Looking inside she found the whimpering dog sitting next to the unconscious master. Not willing to take a risk, she sends the dog to sleep. But as suspected, the money is gone.
On her way out, Willow meets the two gong farmers, that deliver manure and human excrement they collect in town with their cart. Couldn't they have come two minutes later? she thinks. , before she sends them to a short sleep too. It's annoying that her victims wake again after such a short time. But it is enough to disappear into the woods.
As she arrives at the Ash House, all come back down from the second floor. The party is already on it's way as Willow sneaks into the house through another window to see who is upstairs.
"I am late." she tells as she enters the only room with light upstairs.
"Yes, yes." the voice from behind the screen answers startled. But bracing himself adds "You're welcome anyway. Your service is still welcome here. Join your new companions downstairs in their celebration. There will be more to do soon."
"Thank you." she tells and walks back down.
Standing in the door she greets the others in a moment of silence. In a deep and calming alto she simply says "Hello." letting the word linger.
Clarice joins the others. Not much interested in the wine but enjoying the food. It is disconcerting sitting opposite someone who talks to their blade as often as the people in their company.
After a while of sitting there, Clarice begins to sing, not to herself, or the group, but to the blade.
"Cling...Clang...Go the chains
Someones out to find you
Cling...Clang...All the chains
The warden is right behind you
Quick now...The Seeking Chains
Approach with their shrill scrape
Don't stop, flee the chains
Your last chance to escape
Drag the chains...Drag the chains
With all the strength you may
Drag the chains...Drag the chains
Ere they drag you away
Cling...Clang...Go the chains
There's no more time to fear
Cling, Clang know the chains
The last sound that you'll hear"
At the end of the last line she sits quietly for a moment. She suddenly smiles what seems a sincere smile, almost beaming, before saying "Thank you daddy! You really think so?... Thank you!"
"You seem to have a really strong connection to your scythe. How comes?" Willow asks while she gets herself a glass of wine.
"This is daddy. Why are you blue?" Clarice answers
"For a reason similar to why you're reddish." Willow replies in her calm and deep voice. "I'm no human."
"I would have expected your daddy to be a tiefling." she inquires.
"Daddy isn't a tiefling, mum's not human though. You aren't human? What are you then? You aren't and elf or a dwarf or a gnome or a halfling..." She replies before saying, "I think so too. I'm Clarice."
"I'm Willow from the valley where the Goyne rises. I'm a Samsaran." Willow calmly explains.
"Your daddy, you have here, is that your father in the spirit?"
"I don't know what you mean. This is my daddy." Clarice replies, "Whatsa Samsaran?"
"I am." Willow replies and gives up on finding out what daddy is about.
Instead she turns her attention to the fish, the bread and Bony. "Hello, I'm Willow. I never had the pleasure to meet someone who has forsaken the flesh that consequently."
"Damn it. My disguise seriously sucks, time to change the cloak. Would you excuse me for a second?" Karthus walks away, changes his cloak and comes back with a face. "And hey I'm Karthus. Want to enjoy the meal with me?" Karthus asks, sits down and as he tries to eat the bread, it falls to the ground. "Ups ..."
"You should consider replacing your missing intestines with a waterproof bag. That would make your disguise much more believable during dinner."
"But how comes that you're only bones?" Willow inquires.
"You could say, I maybe, but just maybe, died in combat." Karthus answers ashamed. "But I got resurrected by a really powerful necromancer."
Moira chokes on the bread and starts coughing. It takes her a while 'til this stops and she calms down again.
"Ah, yes." Willow comments "Are you trying to get a real resurrection sometime in the future?
"If the food continues to look like this, for sure." Karthus looks at the bread, picks it up and lays it back one the table.
"Yes, this food is really good." Willow agrees.
"Does anyone of you know who this guy is who I was working for? Because his shadow looked strange." Karthus asks.
Moira looks at Cimri.
"Of course I know. And once he wants to, he will tell you too." Cimri answers.
"Well too bad, I want to know whom I'm working for right now." Karthus provokes Cimri.
"Too bad that's no option. You can of course decide to not work for the guy you don't know." Cimri replies.
"But why would you care. The job pays really well and you don't seem to have too high morals that would hinder you."
"It's not like the good guys are forming a queue to hire us." Moira comments.