The sudden appearance of not one but three folk specifically seeking them out caught Canacha by surprise. Not that well there were people who wanted to join them, I mean after all they were helping folk out and sort of seeing what they could do to help Kintargo...But it was sort of the first time people came to them not the other way around. She wasn't so sure how to take it. Something they would definitely have to think about later for sure.
"Oh uh...hi!"
She began with a toothless smile.
She definitely didnt get the hint that Miss Mirabella had hinted at. What was all this talk of coffee? That made no sense who would... She paused setting the cup of coffee down blinking at it. No no sense there either. The two teenagers....well teenager and halfling... man that was a neat trick she wondered if it were magic, a potion or something else, Had to know someone that knew them, they wouldnt have known where to find them or how to find them so they were probably okay. The gnome... man she loved gnomes they were so fun usually, worried her more than the other two.
"The Great Dreamer?"
She said/asked raising her eyebrows slightly and making a slight confused face. She didnt realize it but her tongue was sticking out slightly as he mind raced trying to think if she should have more of an understanding what he meant. She didn't hold to the gods much... She found herself glancing to the Jack and Lena. Jack knew all sorts of things it seemed, she wasnt sure how of course, or even why but well Lena knew about gods and stuff maybe she had an idea who this Great Dreamer was.
Logan glanced once more at the man hiding in the darkness, 'I can't place the house but there's no hiding a scion of Kintargo. I wonder if they know... No doubt we have things in common, perhaps he too has a hateful father.'
This wasn't the time or place to inquire further and his eyes flicked back to Mirabella as he softly spoke, "I was lucky enough to have an eclectic education although it was not perhaps not quite so broad as some... I wouldn't describe myself as an expert but I've read many documents and written more than a few. Perhaps together we could help?"
When the red-haired women spoke, Logan started to stare but remembering his manners he suddenly found the back of the inn very interesting. Part of him wanted to reply that's Desna but he was far from sure of the situation and waited for one her friends to answer.
Bicks looks at Canacha and waits assuming she is going to say more when she doesn't he answers,
"Well, I assume it is Desna that gives me sight but to be honest gods are mercurial and one can never be sure what they want. To solve this I follow my own path and hope it things work out, which has brought me here."
Upon seeing the halfling change, Bicks does a much smaller transformation. He taps his wrist and his clothing changes to thick leathers appropriate to searching through scrub.
"There are both benefits and drawbacks to these. My mother used to use them to change between meetings. I use them to imitate clothing I can afford. If you look richer than someone the listen better and pay more."
"Oh yeah... Desna... hehe I should have known that..."
She paused looking to the others. She wasnt sure really what to do. She didnt think they were you know Thrunies... they certainly didnt look like a bunch of Thrunies.
"It is ok. There are not many of us and we tend to hide our faith. Though worshipers have their own rebellion not far from here on the northern boarder of the country. Time with them tending the wounded is what brought me here."
Lena gives the gnome a small smile. "There's more than one worshiper of a banned god sitting at this table. The Everbloom greets you follower of the Dreamer." she gives him a smile and a flash of red cloth she keeps hidden away most of the time.
"As for you two. I'm glad the coffee is still good over at the coffee house. It sounds as if we've been blessed with some new friends. At least I hope you are friends."
She settles in and looks at the new arrivals. "Does anyone know anything about the Holding House? We need to get in there and get out with some people. Preferably alive and mostly," she gives Canacha a quick glace, "unnoticed."
"We have the obvious options, infiltration, and BS. I am rather adept at latter, and some other here maybe as well. If we can generate a decent excuse for being there I maybe able to talk us in. Have you had any luck scouting for for under used entrances?"
Bicks like getting down to business.
Mirabella ponders what she might know about the Holding House and people who might help with forgeries and disguises.
This all sounded rather fantastical to Logan. He wasn't entirely sure what this Holding House was although the name was suggestive. In hushed tones he asked, "Is that some kind of Jail? If so the appropriate writ may be what you need, assuming there was some way of obtaining one."
Jack nods at Logan. "From what we've heard, it's sort of a temporary holding facility where those accused of breaking the law are kept until they're interrogated and assigned to a permanent jail or set free. And Yes...a writ or forgery thereof seems to be what we need."
He shakes his head at the gnome. "We haven't really staked the place out yet, but it's right down the street so we could do so at any time."
The arching of one eyebrow seems to signify that Jack's asking, "So...who wants to come with?"
Before anyone could ask the question she added.
"We havent really scouted it too closely because we dont want to accidently give away our plans too quickly. But we need to move soon I think. You all came here looking to support certain organizations... Well here's your chance."
She added setting her abacus onto her lap, already beginning to strap it in for travel.
Quietly Logan asked, "I assume you know the names of the ones inside? To be believable a writ will need the right wording, we'd need to consult a barrister or look it up in a book of law. We'd also need it to come from a plausible authority with a copy of the right seal."
Like joining the clergy, Law was seen as a suitable occupation for the third and fourth sons of noble houses. Logan wondered if he knew of anyone who such a writ might plausibly come from.
The forgery isn’t going to be a problem, I don’t think. The issue is going to be finding uniforms that will work.” She sips more ale. ”I don’t believe we got a list of names did we?” she looks at the others not recalling if they got that information or not.
As the new people approach Mic quietly gets to her feet and grabs a new drink. Standing to the side she watches for some time to get the bead of what is going on. Does she need to break an arm or are these newcomers going to be allies?
As the new and old discuss the banned god she relaxes a little and eventually comes back and silent sits, keeping her shield handy.
"If you will let me. I could go out and try to find someone discreet. I'm decently good at keeping my head down."
34 over 2 hours.
If I need to lie about what I'm doing.
"If it is money that is the problem. I could pick some herbs. The good ones tend to sell for a lot. That could fund magical disguises."
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You could find some hacked up uniforms in the abandoned Fantashmogorium where you thought through a couple of Dottari, there is also the salt works where you freed some slaves being held there as a makeshift prison. Otherwise to get uniforms you might have to lure a group of dottari aeay from a patrol and beat them up.
"Dont stress the money part of it, its more making sure the uniforms we get fit the need. What do you guys think, do we find a patrol and liberate the uniforms? Might bring up an alarm. "
Her nose wrinkled for a moment and it looks like she swallowed something foul.
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Logan you can think of a few sons and daughters that might help with official documents, but who to trust is a bigger concern for you than finding a barrister. You would diffenately advice against approaching House Sarini, as they are the most devoted diabolists around, if you wanted to try and do it the legal way without forgeries.
Mirabella listens carefully to the different ideas being discussed before voicing her own opinions.
”Well, if we can get our hands on some discarded uniforms, I can use magic to clean and mend them. I think attacking a patrol to get them would be very risky.
Between us, we can probably produce a forged document good enough to pass casual inspection. After all, we just need to get inside, right?
As for intelligence, we should take turns watching the place for a day or two to get an idea of the routines. I sometimes like to masquarade as a human street performer or beggar. You would be surprised how easy it is not to be noticed in plain sight if you know how.”
Logan scratched his chin before telling the red haired woman, "If you want to liberate some uniforms, I uh learned a few unorthodox things from my tutors... It's not super reliable but I can send weak a minded fool to sleep from across the road. They'll wake up soon enough but it's long enough to tie em up. Been thinking about lawyers too, it'll be real hard to trust anyone especially those tied to noble houses."
"Hmm wait didnt we fight some guys in that creepy place that i joked was a bad date Jack jack? Think they will still be there? I mean i like the idea of stealing or copying the uniform more than pretending to be interested in one of them and then knocking them out and stealing it. Its really not my thing to seduce a guy... of course I could practice on you some Jack to get the hang of it."
She waggled her eyebrows for just a moment before he smile gave away she was joking...mostly.
"I would rather not take out more guards on the streets if we can avoid it. We're already rather famous with the Aria Park thing. Let's retrace ours steps and get the uniforms that way. Mirabella I like the idea of mending them. Thank you for the offer, and the offer of casing the place. I'm not the most stealthy person."
"I don't think we're looking for actual official documents. Just good enough to get a prisoner transfer done, and get out the door with the four Hellknights. We should also think of where we want to take them right after we get out. Running through the city with four prisoners isn't a good plan. We could do with a safehouse or a way into the sewers so we are off the streets. Mirabella how many people can you disguise at once? Bicks can you also disguise others? I don't believe our talents are in that direction." she looks at her original companions for confirmation.
"well I wouldnt say thats entirely true. I can make up to 4 potions that can help them disguise themselves that they can drink. Just means I will have to be extra careful that I dont get hurt, cause i wont have any way to heal myself if I do that."
She began once the plan was getting set into motion. Again she pulled out the abacus and started to do the math on the plan.
"I can take care of healing you. May I set up a link?" If everyone is amenable Bicks will set up a life link.
"As for disguised I can chang my clothing at will. But I can't cast those particular illusions."
The pale young woman was all smiles..until the little gnome mentioned healing her. She went to a whiter shade of pale.
"No no its okay really. No need for healing me... like ever. I'm good really."
She began hastily reaching up subconciously and covering her mouth to hide a nervous smile.
"The only problem i can foresee is well you two folks height. I would imagine the transfer of dangerous prisoners wouldnt look right with small folk about unless we can disguise height as well? My potions can manage about a foot or so, but that might not be enough.I mean really I know the plan is to get in and out without a fight, but its best to be prepared like what happened at the Salt works.
She paused and frowned.
"Man if only Mel were here she has great ideas. Mic... Mic do you think we could fight our way in and out? I know the big L O wanted this to be subtle and damn I can be subtle but whats our plan if we get in and they dont buy it?"
Bicks actively tries not to read into Canacha's behaviour to allow her to keep her secrets.
"I won't ask you the particular source of your trepidation. That is your business, but what I will say is that I have a means of, for lack of a better term absorbing the damage of my allies. Then applying the healing to myself preventing any exposure to divine magic or positive energy. If at any point you feel inclined to try this I am willing."
"I think it's easy enough to claim magical support. People are smart enough to know that there are spells that stop prisoners much faster and safer than a sword. Judging by her magical load out I think both Mirabella and I may both poses those types of skills along with the ability to sell people on their utility."
"Probably involves sharp pointy things at that stage..." replied Logan, "Hopefully it won't come to that"
As she makes a point of decling healing Mic moves behind her to show support.
She knows Canacha and will make sure the others respect her wish. She brightens up a little when addressed by Canacha.
"Fight in and out? Sure we could. Not subtle but fast at least, unless we get boxed in. If there are more of us now even more and option. Still eveyone would need to be sure as our numbers could go back down quickly. I can keep between a threat and some of you but not enough."
She pauses looking to her shield and flexing her hands.
"Might be better, thought I hate it, to try subtle and then move to me and Jack if that doesn't work. I would probably look ok in a uniform."
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You can do the following each takes roughly the rest of the day.
1. Work on the forgeries, this requires a linquistics roll and a knowledge local or nobility to ensure they look right and official.
2. Case the holding house, this requires a stealth or disguise check to avoid detection. A perception or intelligens check to notice what happens with the guards, who seems to be in command and where is tge prisoners held. You'll also have to write if you try to look through the windows or simply watches from the other side of the street.
Bicks will walk by the building peeking briefly in the window moving carefully behind one obstacle and then to another. From there he will find a quiet spot to case the joint. If there is a guard change or the like that makes multiple passes possible and relatively innocuous he will take another go around.
Feeling like he is appropriately situated with line of sight and cover.
'Forging a writ is something I ought to be able to do', thought Logan. He'd practiced copper plate writing since he was a small boy and his handwriting was deemed to be fair. First he had to consider who the write should be from. Clearly anyone from House Sarini would be too much of a stretch but a government official from one of the other houses seemed plausible. Logan had a little black book of names and seals* which he thumbed through it before selecting a lesser known but still valid authority figure.
Logan explained what he was about to do with Mirabella, "Do you think you can help me draft this writ? I've got an general idea for the words, but they could do with some refinement."
Logan decided what he wanted to write and set about preparing the parchment. He mixed some ink, sharpened a new goose feather quill and got his blotting sand ready. Then feeling confident he dipped the quill in the ink and set pen to paper. Official documents had a distinctive style of flowery flowing writing. Logan thought they often looked quite beautiful although the subject matter was often extremely dry. Anyway he looked down at his work and decided it was passable so he poured the blotting sand on top and waited a few moments for it to soak all the wet ink before dusting it off. There was the small matter now of faking a seal, so he set about heating up a wax candle. He wouldn't be able to do it perfectly but with luck the officers detaining the men would break it open before looking too closely.
Using her extracts to change her appearance Canacha was doing her best to not be noticed and didnt find herself the best angles to view the place. Mostly she was interested in who went in and out, how they looked, if any had a simular build or gesture she could imitate. She tried to keep an eye out for like a hand gesture or a salute or some cute way of signaling "im a member of your group" without it being well super obvious. She had read somewhere that nefarious groups did that.
Mirabella joins Logan in working on the forged writ. She props up so she has a clear view of his draft and looks it over with a critical eye.
"I must say, you penmanship is exquisite and you have a firm grasp of the legal terms. Keep in mind, though, that these documents use a bit of an archaic sentence structure when referring to the relevant legislative paragraphs. Also, remember that the Magistrate clerk initials the bottom right corner of each page when he approves the seal, so that should be included in a different handwriting...."
She politely declines Bicks' offer of a life link.
Once Bicks explains how life link works, Jack agrees to give it a try. He's quite impressed at how eager and capable the new folks are and mentions this to his old friends.
Lastly, Jack visits a barber and gets a haircut and all his facial hair shaved off. "There--now I look respectable enough to be a disciplined member of the dottari." He smiles at Canacha and adds, "It's a shame, but I've probably lost some of my roguish good looks in the transformation."
"Yeah... you should try a real beard, not the crazy one like that weird priest mind you... but you would look.... you know more dignified... less you know... young looking."
She replied sticking out her tongue but giggling none the less.
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Mirabella and Logan easily finds the required fine paper and various colored inks to write up 4 copies of a prisoner tranfer order. Mirabella has procured the names needed for the documents. The four armigers held in the Holding House are Benjen Preveau, Hortense Lierre, Ilsani Aberveen, and Kasston Auruda.
Bicks easily blands in with the shadows on the street and can scout a little about the building. The Holding House is a stone, one-story, bunkerlike building. One of the earliest constructions of Old Kintargo, it’s also one of the city’s strongest. The Holding House was the city’s original jail, but until recently the structure sat abandoned.
While the outside of the building doesn't seem to be guarded Canacha caught a glimpse of two guards stationed inside the building when a guard went out into the city and came back about two hours later, and then another went out a short while after the first came back.
Jack spending time at the barber hears a bit of gossip from the other customers and the barber himself. “Been more kids going missing... the latest is a pair of twins from the Iudeimus Tenement." "Yeah I've heard about that the two of them just vanished into thin air, it seems!”
Logan was pleased with his collaboration with Mirabella, they ended with forgeries that ought to pass a simple inspection. Of course the next stage was something quite different, they needed to rescue the four armigers, which was something quite different in deed. "How do we want to do this?" asked Logan, "I'm not stealthy like jack nor do I have the gift of Mirabella's tongue... Maybe with the right clothes I'll look like a guard and let one of you do the talking?"
Lena spends her time on the other side of the street watching the front doors. She's looking for guard changes, any special passwords or requirements to enter the building and so on. She keeps an ear out for any interesting rumors going around.
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Lena doesn't see anything indicating you need a special sign or password to get in. It's just like any normal jail except this place is being used for prisoners, where they are still determine the sentence before incarcerating them. The single door is the only door used by the guards, while the double doors are used for processing new prisoners.
If we are conveying information to one another Bicks provides what he knows about the layout, guard interactions, staffing etc.
"So we roll in, get the guys, and get out. If things go awry hmm well we fight out way out then split up. Bicks you go with Jack and one of the prisoners, Mirabella go with Lena and one of the prisoners, Mic and Logan will take the third prisoner, I'll grab the prisoner, we can split up and meet back at the old stable... you remember where it was right guys so that way if we are trailed or followed its not to the good bases. Does that sound good to everyone?"
She asked sounding way less sure of herself than well anyone should be.
"The Fair Fortune Livery's at the eastern edge of the city," Jack comments in a concerned voice. "That's a long road to take, especially if the alarm gets raised."
After a pause, the young man suggests an alternate plan. "What if we were to take an alternate route--a hidden route--at least part ways to the old stables? If we were to duck into the sewers fairly quickly and then head west into the Devil's Nursery, we could pop back up topside and move to the stables without much chance of encountering any patrols."
"Of course, it might be smart to make a test run through the sewers beforehand to make sure we don't run into an even bigger problem down there."
"Yeah, I guess that makes sense. It's just a large group of folk sticks out you know? but a test sewer run might be a good idea."
"Could one of us pick up two? If they are going to the same secondary location it may not seem fishy."
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The time now is just after curfew which starts at 6.00 pm and lifts at 9'00 am. You can move through the streets with less civilians but there are a bigger chance for patrols.
There is an old sewer entrance a few streets behind the Tooth and Nail, but no one knows if it leads to anywhere since most tend to avoid it.