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The abomination uses his momentum to step past the fiendish hound and simply grabs her by the torso where his claws dig into her flesh. Lura screams and struggles until the beast's jaws spread wide and snap down crushing her skull. The remains of the plump little inn-keeper/crime boss spasm and twitch in mid air and her flask falls to the floor from nerveless fingers. The hound whirls to take a bite out of the monster, but it's connection to the material plane is severed and it vanishes before it can sink its teeth into anything.
The crowd erupts in a roar of confusion, disbelief and excitement which quickly falls into a frenzied looting of the place. Chairs, dartboards, bottles of whiskey, lamps, anything that can be carried starts heading out the door. The bookies aren't certain how they are going to pay out now and it ends in a beating for them. One of the bartenders pops the till, begins stuffing his pockets and makes a run for it. The other defends his till and stock with a bat taking a swing at anyone willing to test him. From out in the street you can hear people shouting to the outdoor drinkers. "Lura is dead!! ...some foreigners... some kind of hideous monster... Bellu went down fast!"
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Wadi turns away from the scene of carnage ahead of him, fighting down a rising tide of bile in his mouth. Swallowing it down, he hurriedly scans the crowd, noting their panicked reaction. Seeing Alie searching Lura's body, he moves quickly over to her.
"I think our disguises will not be of much use now, perhaps we should just make a run for it?"
I don't think this is what Master Zey had in mind when he said keep a low profile.
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In the first couple of minutes most of those inclined to loot and pillage are out the door with their spoils, and the remaining bartender restores order by slamming his bat down on the bar several times in a row to get everyone's attention. "HEY! HEY! SIT YER ASSES DOWN NOW! I've had about enough of this! Lura's dead! Fine! This is MY bar now. Get off my bookies! All debts will be payed- both for and to the house!" He points his bat at several of the bouncers in the crowd. "Markus, Hemoth, ten percent raises effective now! Get this under control."
Then he points the bat at you all, "Tonight's champions! One round on the house." He lines of a set of shot glasses and with the bat over one shoulder begins pouring whiskey with his free hand. He's poured a seventh for himself which he raises to you all, "Thanks for the promotion boys! Cheers!" He tosses the shot back and slams the glass down on the bar. At that point you can see his free hand is shaking and he is eying you all apprehensively trying not to meet the gaze of the mutated elf at all.
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After tense moment the bartender pops the till open, "Look here boys. I'm gonna say over the long run you may have just made me a wealthy man and I'm the kinda guy who likes to show a little gratitude. I'm going to cut you in on tonight's profits, and we can part ways with everyone coming out ahead. Sound good?" He lifts the register tray and begins dropping bundled rolls of coins into a sack. A quick guess would put it somewhere in the neighborhood of four hundred gold crowns.
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The bruised fighter stumbles over to the bar ,takes a seat and downs his shot. He nods at the bar keep offer and add,
That will do nicely. I'll take a bottle of that wiskey too while your at it, I still need something to dull this head ache.
At his companions urgings for a quick escape Kayluss turns,
Aye, we should be out of here but didin't we come here for something? I mean besides a fight.
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Fog walks over to the bar, picks up his shot, and downs it.
"The Glory of Sarenrae will heal your wounds Kayluss, and those of any others who need it. But in a few moments, whilst we all settle down and have some respect for the dead.
"Barkeep, what are the repercussions of our actions here likely to be? This is a den of vice, which you now run, how safe are we, and for how long?"
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Wadi responds to Kaylusss quietly, "We were looking for a tonic to cure Senzer's son. If she did not have it on her person, then she probably has it hidden somewhere in the bar."
He turns to Fog, and answers "We should be ok here for a while, I don't think the good bartender means us any harm."
He walks over to the bar, and takes the shot glass downing it as well. In between a fit of choking on the strong drink, he gasps, "Do you know where Lura kept her prized possessions?"
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"Safe from the law? Hard to say. They don't normally bother themselves, but then Lura was an Aspis Trade Captain. Could be they'll take an interest. I wouldn't want to chance it if I were you."
"Her prized possessions? At her flat I guess, but I hear she's got it on lockdown. Wards, guards, a trained tiger for gods sake."
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Sekhemre gives the bartender a grin.
"I like you; you seem to be a fairly reasonable fellow. Congratulations on the promotion, and good luck for the future.
As a token of my good faith, I will clean-up my mess..."
Sekhemre then 'collects' the bodies of Lura and the man who was taken down by the chair (as well as any other human debris that may be laying around the room), and unceremonious takes them out back to be dumped in the harbor...
"I think that I found something..."
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“So much for keeping her alive,” Aldred mutters, his face paler than normal (and looking a little green), after having been so close to Lura at her … demise. He doesn’t speak too loudly though, or quite meet the gaze of the monstrosity that is Sek.
He walks over to the barkeep. “Despite all appearances, we mean you no harm,” he says. “Our issue was with Lura alone. Consider it … business. Congratulations on your new venture here. Just a word of advise – stay away from the poisoning and the kidnapping and you’ll do better than Lura did. Now … where did you say her apartment was?”
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While Aldred tries to calm the bartender, the monstrous elf squeezes behind the bar gaze linger over the bottles, opening drawers, lifting a painting from the wall. Eventually he crouches down and finds a recessed high quality wooden cabinet under the bar. It is locked. The bartender, raises his hands, "Okay, okay! So you got a taste for the good stuff. I didn't know what you were looking for! You should have said something." He pulls a key from a cord around his neck and kneels down to unlock the case and swings it open for Sek. The cabinet is stocked with row upon row of Dwarven Firewine and Elven Absinthe as well as small vials of opium, pesh, and flayleaf. In the corner, one bottle is marked Firegut Remedy.
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Having found the 'special' cabinet, Sekhemre is quite interested by the contents. He pockets the bottle of the remedy, as well as a few bottles of Firewine and Absinthe, and takes samples of each of the drugs, for his 'collection'.
Sekhemre turns to the others.
"We can wait here, but that probably would not be wise. If you wish to leave now, I should split from the rest of you, and hide; I will meet you back at Senzer's. It would probably be best if I was not seen on the streets like this."
Sekhemre will then opt to go out one of the back doors, swing out under the wharves/docks, and try to hide himself until his mutagen wears off, before trying to make it back to Senzer's...
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Yeah I'll be alright Aldred, just a litle soar. I just wish I would have been able to get at least one swing in on this fight. I'm starting to think I might be better off as a merchant. Now lets get out of this hole.
Once there out in the street Kayluss wispers to his companions,
We should probably just drop the tonic off at Senzer's. There were a lot of people back there who hear us mention his name so if the consorsium comes looking for us that probly the first place they'll look. I say we go back to House Cartahegn, its the place we made the least noise.
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“I want to see Senzer. We made a promise to the man, I want to assure him personally that we have carried through on it; not to mention get that cure to his son as soon as possible. To be honest, I also want to make sure that he makes good on his agreement on the potions before trying to get out of town.
“Why don’t some of us go there now. Sek, if you want to hide out, perhaps one or two of the others will be willing to stay with you, and then you all join us briefly at Senzer’s place before we head over to House Cartaghen?”
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Sekhemre shrugs.
"I think that the more we move around, the more likely we are to attract more unwanted attention, but I am hardly going to hog-tie you to stop you... If all you want to do is make sure that he makes good on his promise, I can assure you that I will make sure that he does; I have some private business that I need to discuss with Senzer, otherwise I would head directly to the... other... place." ;-)
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In the end though nothing on her person was magical, Lura's morningstar is still a nice piece of work and she was wearing a chain shirt that concealed a belt buckle styled as a bronze shield with an inset golden serpent.
The bartender winces as Sekhemre starts looting bottles and vials from the cabinet holding the profitable stock, but keeps his mouth shut. When the elf is finished he offers a deadpan, "A real pleasure doing business with you gentlemen" and secures the cabinet. Right about then one of the spotters out front begins ringing a bell and someone shouts, "Barzoni's militia! The bartender gives you all a serious look, "It takes some work to get arrested in Bloodcove, but killing an Aspis Trade Captain might just win the prize. I'd say it's time to go if you all don't want to find out."
After a few moments of rushed planning the group splits with Alie, Wadi, Kayluss and Fog cutting out the side door while Sekhemre and Aldred slip out the back to wait out the effects of the mutagen.
As you slip out the side door one of the patrons starts shouting, "Hey! That's the ones! Them's the ones what killed Lura!" Others in the crowd pick up the cry and begin pointing at you as you flee the scene. Luckily the militia detachment was still quite a way down the boardwalk and by night Bloodcove is barely lit outside the main riverfront strip.
Cutting a path away from the river the four of you run through a labyrinth of twisty little neighborhoods built up around the massive trunks of mangrove trees, perched on stilts above the tangle of their roots. After several quick changes in direction, the four of you find yourselves in an alley behind the kitchen of a taverna and duck back to hide in the recess between that and the next building. The boardwalk pounds with the pursuit of the militia, maybe eight or ten of them, but it passes by your little alley and slowly recedes. From there it is slow going to work your way towards House Cartahegn off the beaten path, but seems much safer than going back to the main well-lit walkway along the river.
It takes about an hour, but eventually one of your back streets opens up into the square in front of House Cartahegn. The House appears to be dark and locked up for the night.
Sekhemre bursts through the backdoor and jumps over the railing of the boardwalk to grabbing it to swing underneath and work his way to one of the support beams holding the inn up on a series of stilts among the mangrove roots. Aldred reluctantly follows him at a more careful pace. The space is cramped and reeks of rotten vegetation and the lavatories of the bar above which are simple holes that open to the brackish water beneath it. Crabs scuttle along the exposed roots perching to wait for fish, but like the crabs you can stay out of the water by perching precariously on the roots.
Up above you hear the crowd shouting, "Hey that's them! There they go!" and part of the militia gives chase. Up above the rest of the militia enters the bar and begins a full interrogation of what happened. When patrons mention that you ran out the back door a couple of guardsmen step out onto the pier directly above you breifly looking around before concluding that you are long gone. Back inside they get full descriptions of the lot of you (though no one recalls what Sekhemre looked like before the fight broke out other than he was an elf) but they seem equally, or perhaps more interested in pinning Weigo, the bartender and now owner, into their protection racket. Once he finally agrees, they collect their first cut of his remaining cash and settle in for drinks.
After about ten minutes crouching uncomfortably under the pier, Sekhemre's tusks slowly retract back into his jawbone, his claws retract back into long thin elven fingers, his spine cracks and pops as it realigns itself and his skin smooths back to its natural elven complexion.
The two of you slip out from your crawlspace and move like a couple of shadows through the darkened town. Late at night only the main riverwalk strip of Bloodcove is lit, but your elven eyes get by just fine with moonlight and the intermittent glow of fireflies.
It takes about fifteen minutes to get over to Senzer's shop and when you do, it is clear that Lura's people had already found out about your earlier encounter. The door has been kicked in and windows smashed. Inside you can see the most of the glass countertops have been smashed as well. You have a couple of minutes to wonder what the hell went down here before you hear a "Psst!" from a nearby second story window. Senzer's worried face appears in the window with a candle, "So- you lived. Your friends? Lura?"
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Assuming Senzer does so, Aldred continues. “We’re sorry for any trouble we’ve caused you here – unfortunately it took us a while to deal with Lura. She’s dead, and her bodyguard is gone and will not return to trouble you – you can confirm that easily enough with anyone who was at the Sanguine Pit tonight. You have Sekhemre here primarily to thank for ridding you of your problem, though I like to think we provided him with able assistance.” Aldred smiles faintly. “He also managed to find the medicine for your son.”
Aldred gestures to Sekhemre to produce the medicine, then politely steps back out of hearing range, examining the shop (or what might be left of it) if Sek has private business to discuss with Senzer, making no effort to overhear. If possible, and with Senzer's permission, he will go and talk to the son and see that he drinks the curative.
Once Sek’s business is concluded, Aldred once again approaches Senzer. “Please let us know if there is any message we can pass on to the Pathfinder Society for you, or anything else we can do. Oh, also ... that tonic that my friend Fog purchased from you earlier, do you have a few more vials for sale?”
Aldred deliberately doesn’t go into more detail about the tonic, and obfuscates Senzer if he goes to. If Sek asks about it, Aldred just smiles mysteriously and says, “a gift for a friend.”
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"Aldred speaks the truth. I personally made sure that Lura was dead; she will trouble neither you, nor your son, again. We also found the cure, and you are more then welcome to it."
When Aldred moves away, he continues.
"Now that that particular business has been dealt with, it is my pleasure to present you with the scholarship for your son; I am sure that the Masters will look forward to seeing him soon, once he recovers."
Once their various businesses have been dealt with, Sekhemre turns to Aldred with a smile, and quips:
"Well, we probably should not tarry over-long here; shall we head to the rendezvous?"
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When the first knock doesn't elicit any response, Kayluss bangs on the door again. Through the curtain on a barred window, you see the light of a candle flicker into view and in a moment the grated view port in the door slides open at eye level. One of the dark skinned halflings Cartahegn employs looks at you all suspiciously until he recognizes you. "Oh, it's you. We are closed for the night. Your man hasn't been by yet, but we sent a messenger. Says he'll be here around dawn."
Kayluss's ears perk up when he hears someone jump down landing lightly and turning he catches a glimpse of motion in an alley nearby.
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"I would be happy to accept the scholarship on behalf of my son Roald. I think it's going to take me some time to wrap up my affairs here, but my whole business in Bloodcove has been a disaster. Tell your people in the Pathfinders that they'll have my assistance as long as I am here, but I'll be leaving for Sothis with my son within the year." He accepts the scholarship and at the same time reaches into his jacket pocket. "I have something for you as well. A courier brought this to the shop earlier today." He passes over a rolled parchment tied with a black ribbon addressed to Sekhemre of Karnak. "I locked away most of my valuable goods before Ichon's thugs arrived to smash my shop. If you need anything particular now, I'll run down to the shop with you to see what we have left."
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"I am glad that we have been able to resolve the situation to your satisfaction."
When Senzer produces the parchment, Sekhemre frowns, but accepts it nonetheless.
Hmmm... I wonder what this is...
He then carefully slides off the ribbon, and unfurls the parchment, to read the contents...
"An anti-malarial, you say? I would not mind a flask or two of that as well, if you can spare them..."