"It is unfortunate that the objectives of this endeavour demanded no real killing. I trust the dogs don't count."
Kolaiah commences looking around for "the goods."
Hope not
Penelope retrieves her sword, cleaning the dog blood off with the old man's shirt. With a shrug she pocketed the old man's tooth, not really sure why, and then pats him down to see if he has anything else on him why the others look around the place.
Sister Ismene arches her eyebrow at the gray man, but says nothing. You can't collect taxes if you kill all the taxpayers. Ugh, maybe we should just be glad he controlled himself. Looking over at Cimri, she asks, "Are we just here for the cash or should we smash the place up a little more?"
"Anything to improve the smell gets my vote." Nikolai sees the others looking around and casts Detect Magic in Loulisk's office to see if anything appears.
It suddenly occurs to Muziel that he had the power to improve his olfactory experience -- at least a bit. With a wave of the hand, he creates a small breeze in his area to blow the air around him southward. Being upwind from the smell made it slightly more tolerable.
With everyone else busy inside, Muziel decides to explore the outside for valuables, including the crates to the northwest.
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Amanda steps out of the warehouse, approaches the party and says to the group, "While you were finishing off that tanner, I took a moment to search the warehouse for anything of value. There is some quality leather in there that we could get some profit off us we could find a way to move it as well as remove the branding marks that might link it to the heist. Not the big score we're looking for but something we can use to get some extra coin on the side. By judging the value of the product though, there must be some place where they are keeping the profits."
"Cash and other valuables are the top priority," answers Cimri, "but I don't see any reason why we can't have a little fun while we're here!" She takes a porcelain dog figurine from the desk and pitches it overhand at the wall, grinning as it shatters over the spot where Archie had been gnawing on a pig's foot. She nods her understanding at Amanda. "Anybody find the goods yet?"
Muziel cracks open the crates and is delighted to find some high quality studded leather armor. He grabs the nicest one before heading back down to ground level to issue a warning. "Hey Sinister Seven! There's a wagon coming that's about 5 minutes away. Could be that old couple Nikolai was talking about. Also, there's a crate of unbranded studded leather armor up top that watchtower. Could be worth about 100 gold if we can fence it!"
Kolaiah holds up a heavy strongbox, "I believe this is what we are really seeking. These tapestries and tools are also valuable, but are likely traceable. Can anyone unlock this box, or find the keys?"
Keys! Penelope rattles the keychain to the other gray face. She clings the crossbow over her shoulder for the moment, gathering the rest as well.
"Well, try one woman, we've no time for silly games." Kolaiah sets the box down, so it can be opened.
Penelope arches her eyebrow at the woman comment, but decides the middle of a heist isn't the best place for confrontation. Our hooded friend here has a point about traps she gestures to the box, if you wouldn't mind
Ismene cackles as she goes about destroying random objects as she ransacks the place looking for valuables. She catches sight of the lockbox at the same time as the gray man, but stays away from him in favor of pulling down the tapestries.
Overhearing the bickering over the lockbox, she can't help but sneer. "Traps? He's an old tanner! Tax dodger yes, master criminal no."
"That potion on the tanner is one of cure light wounds should anyone be interested. Let's take that strong box with us and get out of here." Nikolai remarks with a sense of urgency.
Kolaiah grimaces. "I have no need of that potion."
Muziel is quite pleased to find a set of small armor, that better fit his small frame. It was exactly one of the things he was thinking of pilfering, along with some leather gloves! Delighted, he grabs one and stuffs it into his backpack.
Muziel's delight quickly turns into disappointment. He puts his palm on his face and shakes his head. "How many people does it take to open a box with a key? Somebody strong should grab the rest of the armor!" Muziel wasn't particularly strong enough to do that, but he hoped somebody would.
In the meantime, he checks out the front door. "We'll have to go through this door if anyone's carrying anything bulky. But someone should stay behind to jamb the front door before we leave. Might buy us some time before anyone knows what's happened here!" Muziel checks out the front door to investigate two things: whether the door was unlocked so it could be opened, and whether there was some way to jamb the lock so someone with the key wouldn't be able to open it.
Penolope will go help with the armor, and suggest And maybe tie the old bugger up?
Cimri moves over to kneel in front of Louslik's unconscious form. She slaps him a few times with her hand, making a soft clapping noise.
"That was a hefty blow from Kolaiah," she observes with a smirk. "He's not going anywhere for a few hours whether he's tied up or not."
Meanwhile, Sister Ismene gleefully ransacks the room, destroying the tapestries. Penelope leaves the keys behind and heads for the crates Muziel described, grabbing four suits of studded leather and one small one for a total of 90 pounds.
"I have no desire for such rags, gah! Let's go then." Nikolai says with a heavy helping of pomposity before trying to fit his gluttonous body through the gap again.
How's that for gluttony, fit right through. Nikolai smiles to himself
Penelope will shove the suits of armor through the gap then follows her sharp witted comrade.
Assuming he can do it in just a minute, Muziel will quickly sabotage the door mechanism so that the door won't be working for a while. Hopefully the old couple won't be able to come in, and Louslik won't be able to go out easily to tell of what happened.
Once he's done, or if he just can't do it quickly enough, Muziel is off to the races to catch up with the others, ducking easily under the gap.
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Amanda says concerning the box, "I do not see any traps on the box. You may open it and see what is inside if you wish."
She then heads to the others and says, "If we want to take the leathers and other side loot we should put all we can take in a single crate and carry it out of here. It may be difficult to slip it through the gap in the fence however so maybe we should leave the front gate as a potential exit point."
Penelope and Nikolai are already outside, she will lay the 5 suits down and guarding until the others are out. So sword and buckler out for the moment.
"Way ahead of you," Ismene says to the other woman as she rolls the tapestries up. Stashing them in a crate, she packs whatever other miscellaneous valuables are left before hefting the crate onto her shoulder. "Hey Cim, get the door for me, will you?"
"Just pick a small crate - one that's my size and you'll get through the gap!" Muziel seems undeterred about sabotaging the door.
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Free of the noxious room, Nikolai takes a deep breath then decides to move down the road a bit before doubling back as not to raise suspicion. He intends to start a conversation with the elderly couple he remembered would be coming soon, as to give his comrades more time to finish up gathering their items and making an exit.
"Lovely night isn't it folks? Allow me to introduce myself, I am Nikolai Sarini of house Sarini. I have only just arrived from Erogian, might you give a loyal citizen some directions? I am in need of a tavern with a room to rent. "
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Amanda Malburne says to the party, "Perhaps we should slit the proprietor's throat before we leave. He's seen some of our faces and if we want to avoid some legal entanglements it would be best to make sure the witness is taken care of. What does it matter considering our crimes alone are enough for a enslavement or lethal execution. Adding murder to the list is not much of an escalation."
"Cimri was pretty clear, I thought, that survivors were to be left, and not killed."
The elderly couple react with surprise, but not hostility. The creaking of their flower-painted wagon comes to a stop. "Nice to meet you Mister Sarini," says the old woman. "I daresay you must be quite lost to be all the way out here. If you kept following us you would have arrived at the local Tannery, and that would have been an unpleasant surprise!" The two old-timers share a reserved chuckle, going out of their way to make it plain that they're not laughing at you, per se, but rather at the misfortune that you avoided. The old man takes over from this point "If you turn right around you'll get to Longacre right quick. Just follow this same road the opposite direction. There's a nice inn there, called The Last Stand it is, though The Arch and Lark caters more to people of your status, sir. To get to the Last Stand you'll want to take the first right you get to after heading through the Castle Gate, large stone gate you can't miss it, then take a left once you can't go no more down that way. To get to the Arch and Lark you'll want to head left, instead of right, once you get through the Castle Gate." He gesticulates phantom directions as he talks. "Got that, young sir?"
Muziel easily sabotages the door by unhooking the ropes from their counterweights. The gate can still open, just not automatically. The old folks will probably have a hard time shifting their massive weight by themselves, though. Assuming he continues his original plan to leave the compound by the crack once that's finished, he'll be passing by the office just as Amanda makes her suggestion.
Cimri holds the office door for Sister Ismene as requested, making sure it doesn't swing closed on her and her prizes unexpectedly. "I have assurances from Razelago that there won't be any legal repercussions so long as none of us are stupid enough to admit we'd done anything," Cimri points out in response to Amanda. "Razelago has some sort of close association with the Archbaron, which I think gives this job a sort of official-ish approval. We just need to make sure we recover the unpaid taxes along with everything else. Speaking of which," she looks at Amanda and Kolaiah, "We opening that safe or taking it with us? Whichever you wanna do, now's the time."
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Amanda says to Kolaiah, "Very well if Sarini wishes to keep this pathetic welp alive then I will keep to that command. Just know my objection to this course of action for I hate to leave louse ends on a job. Witnesses talk and we cannot guarantee this crime will not be investigated."
With that she leaves and helps move the merchandise with the rest of the party away from the tannery.
"A tannery? My that would be a surprise. Might I have the pleasure of your name madam? You have been so helpful I think I might write a sonnet in your honor. " Nikolai continues to do what he does best, charm and beguile hoping his people are making it out.
Muziel doesn't really care whether or not the tanner is spared. After finishing his sabotage, he heads out of the compound.
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Muziel and Amanda exit the compound without a hitch, joining Penelope near the gap.
"Oh my, a sonnet?" gasps the old woman, putting a hand to her neck in shock. "So fancy! My name's Pippa Umbre, good sir. I don't know as I've ever heard a proper sonnet before."
I guess that leaves Kolaiah to carry the chest eh? Ok, so be it. He puts away his weapon and brings it along, and the keys too.
He will try and go out the knothole in the wall...
If Penelope can see the wagon, she'll sheath her sword, and get the armor a little ways away so she and it isn't visible.
"Perhaps I shall perform it for you at that inn you mentioned. Sadly I fear it may not have the proper acoustics. In Erogian the opera houses are much more suited for such things. Still there is something to be said about the open air. -Pippa Umbre, a longacre treasure, a smiling fey. - Oh you inspire me dear. Thank you. When can I expect you and your fine husband at the Arc and Lark? I shall make sure the proprietor seats you well. " Nikolai lays it on thick, but he doesn't see his whole team yet.
Muziel looks around to make sure everyone is accounted for. Assuming Koliah makes it out with the chest, he sees everyone except "Gluttony," who he knows squirmed out first. "Okay, everyone's out, right? Let's scram!" Assuming everyone concurs, Muziel tries to melt away from the scene.
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Ismene rolls her eyes at the other woman. "Haven't you ever heard that possession is nine-tenths of the law? We're not criminals, we're tax collectors. Louslik's the criminal here, not us. He's the one who deserves to be executed. We're doing him a big favor by collecting his taxes instead of turning him over to the Hellknights for his actual crimes."
Reaching the hole in the wall, Ismene passes the box to the other side. Trying to sidle through the hole, her mannish shoulders get stuck, preventing further passage.
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Pippa exchanges a glace with her husband before answering. "The owner rather looks down on people with our humble profession," she answers diplomatically. "So we don't usually go there much. If you have an idea when you'd like to meet there, we can make an exception, though." She smiles warmly, clearly flattered, and her husband nods his agreement.
Meanwhile, Cimri, bringing up the rear can't help but grin at Sister Ismene as she gets a little stuck in the gap. "Come on, Is, we're not getting caught because you're in too good of shape!" She puts her own shoulder to Ismene's back and shoves.
It's not a pleasant experience, and the rough wood of the stockade might have taken off a layer of skin in some places, but Cimri manages to push Ismene clear. She quickly, and much more easily, follows behind herself.
"Alright, everyone, to the Ash House. We can get this smelly business behind us and recover with some drinks over a job well done." She starts making for the treeline to give the Umbres and their cart a wide berth. The chances of getting accidentally noticed are slim, though, with the way Nikolai has been keeping their attention focused on himself.
Drinks sound perfect Penelope smiled, this haul should be enough to survive on for some time... except there are seven of us. Math isn't her strong point, no schooling and all, but even she can divide. Ugh.
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Amanda helps move the box through the wall and says to Sister Ismene, "Well keep telling yourself that if it helps you sleep at night. I prefer accept things as they are than make an excuse for my actions. As for the Hellknights, they got better things to do than investigate a tanary robbery. At best the local guard will give it a look and give up quickly for their normal kickbacks. "
Once they are a decent distance away, Kolaiah will find a dark alley and see about opening the strongbox with the key.
"Oof! Thanks, Cim," Ismene says, rubbing her shoulder. "Lady," she says to the other woman, "rationalization is my religion."
Free of the fence, Ismene hauls the crate back up onto her shoulder as they make their way back to town.