Aerel, hearing the exclamation, sighs softly, and glances at Marvel, striding purposefully forwards as he does so, then pauses, waiting for room to be made.
No time for pleasantries, Nicholas thinks. Moving forward, Nicholas attempts to stab him right through to finish this quickly.
Seeing the weapon being drawn Marvel reacts instinctively. He has practiced for this moment for months, and it is only after the two arrows have been notched and let go, that the thought of whether or not the assailant is Lamm registers in Marvel's mind.
Marvel's arrows both strike true, hitting Yargin in the chest and shoulder, and he lets out a cry of pain. Nicholas likewise ruins his evening, driving in his rapier almost to the hilt.
Yargin is not well; this surprise attack has quickly overwhelmed him. Raising the wand, he tries to activate it.
The wand fires, and a blast of light goes off in Nicholas's face.
Despite this, Yargin already appears to be on his last legs. Unfortunately, the noise has not gone unnoticed; you hear a growl on the other side of the northern door, and something is clearly coming to join the battle.
Shaeda will step up and use her whip to aid Nicholas on his next attack...
Success
Take a +4 to hit Nicholas!
"Let's drop this lubber quick and get further inside."
Ok!
Marvel points inside and hurriedly tells Aerel and Emma (without shouting) "More coming, need line of sight".
"Damn it! Not much I can do here." Stepping up a little higher on the walkway.
Nicholas hears the growling and turns to prepare for whatever may come. Let's see if I can remember my training.
Aerel steps inside, glancing at the door to the north, and preparing himself for the arrival of someone new.
Yargin collapses bleeding on his chair, firing off that spell having taken the last fight out of him.
The northern door slams open, and a vicious dog bounds through, bearing its teeth and looking for blood. Aerel swings his scimitar at it, but it sails over the beast's head.
Once it's Marvel's turn he five foot steps to where I just moved him, his only thought being to silence the dog before it makes too much noice and lets go another two arrows.
Aerel is not even given pause as his blow slashes effectively where a humanoid's throat would have been - but misses even the highest hair of the dog's back. He quickly wards away the dog with his blade as he begins the careful steps of a minor spell, his left hand carefully shaping arcane forces. However, as he begins to speak the words, one of his feet shifts unexpectedly as it encounters an unexpected change in the board, distracting him at a critical moment and causing him to lose the spell.
Always willing to turn a disadvantage into an advantage, Aerel uses his momentum to bring his sword down on the dog in a downwards slash, cutting the beast with a precise and deadly slash.
Marvel's first shot strikes the dog in the flank, but his second hits the doorframe.
Marvel curses at the arrow hitting the doorframe, and slings out the word "Dog." in Emma's direction, before concentrating on readying his arrows again.
As Marvel fires at the new threat, Nicholas steps forward and aims for the dog's throat.
Flinching at the noise but unable to do much from her spot. Please kill the dog quick!
With Shaeda's aid, Nicholas strikes true, piercing the dog's throat with his rapier, and putting it down quickly.
Yargin continues to bleed out on his chair.
Marvel whispers "Is the man dead? It isn't Lamm, is it?"
Tron between feeling bad that she was no help and relieved that she dis not have to draw blood yet. Shuffling up behind Mavel, "That was qui..."
Staring into the room with wide eyes. There is blood and suddenly she is back in that alley sobbing on a corpse. Shaking her head to chase off the vision and come back to the here and now.
Aerel relaxes slightly, looking down at the dog with a faint sadness. Hopefully, your next life will find you in a better life than this one, little one. He looks around the room quietly, then closes his eyes, listening for any signs that their less than subtle break-in has been noticed.
After a moment, he turns to the man bleeding out in the corner. "One hopes that this is the correct place. I would not want to have broken in and killed someone who was running an honest business and nothing else."
The elf exhales,stepping closer, and examines the man, and more specifically, his wand. "I can examine the wand, if no one else can."
Looking at Emma, he tilts his head slightly, then flicks an ear. Poor child. She is not used to this sort of thing, one supposes. Riddleport had taught him violence at an earlier age, and... he smiles, somewhat bitterly.
As his adreanline rush subsides Marvel looks from the dog to the man and to the dog again... thinking to himself I somehow thought there would be more blood... those arrows... oh Abadar, I shot those arrows I - I didn't kill them, did I? But I tried, and... , shaking his head violently, fighting the nausea and... Why won't the earth stand STILL?!?
Marvel turns his head towards the table, focusing on it A desk. I'm a lawyer, and that's a desk. A desk... papers, journals, documents, I, if I just find them I can forget...
Marvel walks towards the table, keeping his mouth shut for fear of his last 3 meals coming out, and starts searching the table, any drawers, folders - putting anything which looks interesting, of value or important into his backpack.
Nicholas looks over at the slumped man and comments, "This is Yargin, I'm sure of it. He was Gaedren's second-in-command. Gaedren is definitely here." And that's for all those nasty tricks you pulled on me all those years, you jealous bastard.
Shaeda will address Yargin's wounds, not attempting to heal him, but simply to staunch the flow of his blood and not have him die.
Success
"He is but a flunky. Our beef is with Lamm."
She looks around and gestures to move on. "Our task is not yet done. Make haste, but not too much, my legs be short, and ye are fast."
For a second Aerel thinks he hears foosteps, but they are heading away from the party, not toward, and then silence.
His is able to identify the wand Yargin operated with no difficulty. It is a Magic Missile wand, of course, and it has 13 charges remaining (CL 1).
Marvel examines the documents on the table with an expert eye. At first they seem to describe the workings of a legitimate, if suspiciously profitable, business. His knowledge of the law (and thus how to break it) reveals the truth however; for one the sale of fish offal can't possibly be bringing in that much, and it is clear that alternate sources of income are being disseminated and added to legitimate revenue to disguise their source.
Secondly, there's a big fat absence in the expenses sheet: Labor. Salaries are being drawn by Yargin, as well as a "Mr. Gruller" and "Mr. Giggles", and profits go to a mysterious owner named "L", but other than that no one is being paid for working here. Since this fishery seems like it should rightfully employ over a dozen people, that seems odd.
Overall, Marvel feels that if he were prosecuting this place, these documents would surely bury the defendants.
Shaeda sees to Yargin, and manages to stop the bleeding, saving his wasted life. While treating him, she gets a good look at his possessions. In addition to the wand, he has a set of leather armor, a dagger, a light crossbow with ten bolts, three vials of acid, a thunderstone, two keys (one brass, one iron), and a fancy amulet set with a garnet that could fetch a nice price.
I'll grab the keys, and check the amulet for being magic.
She will handle the other stuff off to people bigger than herself.
"Let's move on," Nicholas says, wiping his blade off on Yargin's shirt. "We probably alerted others, and Gaedren always keeps a secret way out."
Stepping over the dead dog, Nicholas heads through the open door.
Shaeda tosses the amulet onto Yargin's lap and moves to follow Nicholas.
Aerel sighs at the footsteps, frowning. "They moved away from us." He says softly, taking the man's thunderstones and his wand and adding them to his collection. "But I am prepared to continue." He readies his scimitar once more, hoping that there would be more room to move in their next destination.
Nicholas enters the door to the north.
The floor here is slick with river water, bits of seaweed, and fish blood, and the air is thick with the accompanying scents. Wooden catwalks to the north and south allow access between the western part of the fishery and the floor of the room, which is ten feet lower. A wide opening in the floor to the south allows direct access to the sloppy, muddy water of the Jeggare River a further three feet down, while to the northwest stands an immense eight- foot-tall wooden vat, its sides caked and waterproofed with tar. Inside is a foul-looking mixture of chum, river water, and who knows what else. To the east are stacked many barrels and crates, each with a fish painted on it. Over a dozen small hammocks hang from under the catwalks, each with its own ratty blanket and pillow.
Against the western wall huddle several children, all skinny, clad in ragged clothes, and filthy. Between you and them stand two figures.
The first could almost be mistaken for a child himself, but the oversized eyes and manic hair identify him as a gnome. He wears a disturbing grin and fondles a razor sharp kukri.
The other is a large half-orc with a vicious scar across his face and an eyepatch. He holds a flail, and swings it back and forth casually.
"Well, well, well," says the gnome, who apparently learned his bantering skills from ten-pinch pulp novels. "What have we here? You were very right to come get us, children. We do not accept custom after business hours and would not want our devoted workers to lose sleep. The brave boy who fetched us shall have a sweet. As will any of you who help us see them off. Sweets all around, isn't that right, Mr. Giggles?"
"Hurr, hurr, hurr," says the half-orc, drooling a bit. "Lotsa sweets."
The children look terrified of the two, but they also look terrified of the armed stranger who just walked in. It's a familiar fear to Nicholas, who himself experienced a rather terrifying "rescue" from Lamm's care. And while they look uncertain, Nicholas can't help but notice that each of them has a weapon to hand, ranging from boat hooks to daggers to shovels.
Shaeda hears what is being said and moves into the room through Nicholas. "Here now sweetlings, pay no attention to those lubbers. Me, and me friends, be here to put an end to this, and give you lot a better life. Just keep yerselves safe from the bad men while we handle them, and this be all over in but a minute. And then food and sweets shall be yours."
"My Lambs, do not let yourselves be hurt!" Nicholas calls out quickly, trying his best of how to get them to listen. "Gaedren's day has come. I can promise that we will not harm you. I have tasted of sweets far greater than what they offer, and no threat of a whip behind it. Let's leave this place behind for good and find a true home!"
Even Nicholas is surprised at the emotion that arises as he sees the children that look the same as the group he used to run with. Just seeing them brought back the pain, the hurt, the loneliness. It also brought back the feeling of acceptance he once felt from Gaedren.
Pushing that final thought aside, Nicholas faces and raises his rapier toward them. "First Yargin, now you sorry lot. Your day of reckoning is now. Prepare to face my blade.
Seems Gaedren couldn't gather all of his old crew back, Nicholas thinks, sizing up his opponents. What other surprises will he have?
Marvel quickly pockets the documents once people start leaving the room, and, with the documents showing how the unconscious man made his earnings, Marvel also pockets the amulet, thinking to hand it over to the temple along with the children.
As soon as Marvel hears the mention of children, he hurries through the door, intently scouting for his daughter.
Aerel steps around the door as well, gazing down at the gathered individuals expressionlessly. "I take it that the gnome and the half-orc are more of Lamm's fools?" He offers a gentle smile to the children, but his primary focus is on the two threats he sees.
The children appear uncertain, torn between their hopes of a better life and their fear of their overseers. Nevertheless, they seem to be holding their weaponry is a less cavalier fashion, hoping that the greater numbers the intruders possess make them a better bet.
Marvel scans the crowd of urchins for his daughter, his hope quickly turning to ash as he looks from child to child. But then one of them shouts "Daddy! They said you died!". She is almost unrecognizable under the filth that cakes her hair and skin, and has lost a horrifying amount of weight, but as she recognizes her father the light in her eyes reignites, and a smile Marvel would recognize anywhere illuminates her face. It is Alana.
She tries to dart forward, but in an instant the gnome blocks her path. "Daddy is dead, sweetheart. He just hasn't taken the hint yet." He looks over the intruders, sizing them up. "So you aren't just another gang trying to muscle in on our operation. Pity, I owe Giggles five Gold Sails. Figured for sure when you went after Yargin that you were after the keys and the ledgers. Still, seems we have something you want after all. This just became a negotiation."
Giggles looks uncertain. "I dunno, Hookshanks. If all they want's a brat, give 'em a brat! We got more brats! Then we nip downstairs, get Gaedren, and leave before they call the guards."
"Shaddup. Here's what we do." He turns back to the party. "You see that big vat right there? Know what's in it? Not just fish guts. Yargin mixes in acid to break down the fish to slurry, then neutralizes it after a couple days. Nasty stuff. How about you lay down your weapons, come with me to see Lamm nice and peaceful, and Giggles doesn't throw the girl in there. I bet he could, he's big and strong, and that girl looks like she weighs nothing at all."
Giggles likes this idea, it's funny. "Hurr, hurr, hurr." He grabs Alana by the arm.
As soon as he sees the half-orc begin to move, Aerel launches into motion, his limbs carefully describing an arcane pattern intended to distract those weak of mind from their activities. He chants softly, completing the spell without issue from his position above Lamm's pair of fools, and directs the arcane forces at the (hopefully) weak-willed half-orc.