Drill nods in agreement with the order of the day, "It is right that you keep your appointment with Veelan first... the money he owes you is rightfully yours and , should you fail to collect, it may embolden the Daytaar once more". So, with half a mind on their meeting at the 'Weave Runner' later on, the friends make their way to the Bestiarium... the squat building, encircled by a double fence of razor wire, rings out with the calls of the animals within. Soporifically lit, the building itself is segregated into various orders of animals - mammals (further subdivided into livestock, transport or prestige), reptiles, insects, etc and also grouped into Argosa and Ex-Argosa... cages, compounds and tanks contain a huge variety of beasts - each meticulously labelled according to their contents and, notably, their price - for the Bestiarium is more than simply a zoological curiosity, it is a market...
...but the friends have different business today, their appointment with Veelan being - at least according to Drill - an important exercise in building a reputation here in Zel-Argose. Arriving on time, Veelan acknowledges the friends - but not as a friend nor as equal, more with the formality of a business arrangement. The small black pouch that he hands over, whilst claiming that the 'blood debt' has been paid, contains 1,000gp worth of assorted coins... and, with another thinly veiled insult towards the Avaar Coterie, he bids the friends farewell. With little more to do before their meeting with the 'Jaskirri' tonight, the friends have a little more time to explore the Bestiarium and to peruse the markets of Toiler's Square.
The second sun has long since dipped below the horizon when Drill finally leads them to the north-west of the city... to a small building nestled between several warehouses. The sign above the door pronounces the establishment to be 'The Weave Runner' and further advertises that 'All Are Welcome'... Vigilant, for they haven't been to this part of the city before, the friends head inside...
The dimly lit room beyond the door features large, round tables with chairs positioned around them whilst the northwest corner includes a spacious bar lined with barstools. Behind it, large mirrors and shelves hold a variety of glasses and seemingly exotic liquors in a dizzying array of colors. Empty, worn, leather couches rest against the north and west walls, and an empty stage, suitable for musicians, rises five feet above the main floor in the northeast corner.
...and the bar is rapidly clearing of patrons as a catfolk, kukri in one hand and shortsword in the other, tips a table over - seeming to make a barrier between herself and four ratfolk - yet much taller than Rikkan - moving towards her, swords drawn and brandished threateningly...
Zoreck draws his gun, but keeps the muzzle pointed down. Looking at the ratfolk, he says, "Four on one ain't a fair fight. Put your swords away or you'll answer to me."
Rikkan steps forward, trying to intercede. "Brothers, what's happening here? Why are you crossing weapons with this one? Perhaps you put them away and I buy drinks for all five of you while we sort this out?"
Turning towards Zoreck and Rikkan, with malice in their eyes, the rodent-like humanoids sneer, ”Thisss issssn’t your fight… go back through that door – and we won’t have to tell our employer that you interfered in hisss plansss”, and then, with that warning delivered, the four attackers rush the catfolk…
Zoreck raises his gun and fires at the lead gangster, then closes to melee while drawing his sword.
Feeling more confident about manipulating the aether around this new world, Drancis starts reaching forth to pull at the aether bubbles surrounding the ratfolk...
The explosion from Zoreck's gun rattles the bottles behind the bar, and stops the leader of the gang in his tracks. With blood dribbling from a blackened wound in his shoulder, he hisses to his companions, "It seems that Kaetrix knew we were coming... thissss isss an Ambussssh!!!"
...but shows no sign of surrendering.
Rikkan throws a fiery bomb at the southernmost thug.
RTA
Damage
His voice bouncing from the low ceiling of the 'Weave Runner', Locke starts to rage about the fury of the folk dragged across the universe... his voice so loud it nearly drowns out the explosion of Rikkan's bomb.
...and Illonna, her sword swinging furiously, rushes into attack.
Screeching with fury as the intruders attacks, the rat-like creatures turn their attentions towards Zoreck and Zoreck... the stench of rotting meat coming from their yellow-teethed mouths as they leap forwards with rusted swords drawn...
...and, pushing past the upturned table, the rodent draws first blood against the catfolk.
...wounded, the catfolk jumps back and slashes forwards with a twin pair of blades. Flashing a look towards the friends, she looks quizzical that anyone has got involved in her fight...
Illonna wades through the combat with her longsword held aloft. She strikes back against one of the ratfolk that attacked her.
Rikkan again throws a fiery bomb at the southernmost thug, this time adding the Precise effect on it to protect the paladin.
RTA
Damage
Drancis sends the aether bubble floating gently around the ratfolk flanking Illonna and flings the being at the ratfolk troubling the catfolk...
Snarling bestially, Zoreck holsters his pistol, grips his sword with both hands and attacks the ratfolk thug with his sword.
Rikkan's bomb, striking hard against one of the catfolk's attackers whilst it was looking the other way, explodes in a plume of violet flame... silhouetting the rat-like man for a second before he collapses to the floor - fortunately, despite the ferocity of the chemicals, the fire does not take hold...
Drancis, Illonna and Zoreck all have far less luck against their elusive attackers... each failing to land their blows...
Locke, joining the fray, tries to push Illonna's attacker away... but, slipping on something oily on the floor, misses...
The apparent leader of the gang swearing as one of his gang members falls calls out, "Take Kaetrix down... Lomrick will pay for her death, the rest of them... they're no-ones!!!" Moving away from Illonna and Locke, the gang move towards Kaetrix with their blades threatening...
...and, jumping backwards, the catfolk slashes at her attackers. Turning towards Zoreck, she hisses, "Who are you???"
Drancis nods in satisfaction as the rat-folk leader confirms the group's suspicions. He steps up closer to the action and grabs a heavy bottle sitting on the table and flings it at the closest ratfolk.
We need to capture the leader!
Rikkan moves just south of Illonna, and again prepares a Precise bomb to protect Zoreck.
Rikkan directs his bomb against the leftmost thug.
RTA
Damage
To the catfolk, Zoreck replies, "Enemies of your enemy! We have a score to settle with Lomrick!" He then slashes viciously at the thug he's shot.
Illonna falls back now that the tide of the fight was turning.
One of the ratmen, the closest to Drancis, is furiously bludgeoned by a telekinetic blast... the sound of cracking bone audible over the chaos of the fight... turning to face Drancis, a look of vengeance in the gang member's eyes, the ratman is caught fully by one of Rikkan's bombs. To the sound of shattering glass and fizzing chemicals, he falls...
Whilst, moving closer to the beleaguered catfolk, Zoreck's blade slashes crimson across one of the remaining pair of attackers...
...and now, even though the odds have swung violently against the ratmen, they press their attack against Zoreck and against the catfolk, "Silence her... kill her... if Lomrick knows we have failed it will be bad for all of us!!!" Yet, despite their apparent desperation, neither of the gang members can make their attacks count... equally, slipping as she slashes her blades, the catfolk misses with her attempts to end the fight...
Drancis cries out, "Zoreck, we need that one alive!" even as he summons another aether bubble to slam into the ratfolk engaged in melee with the Kellid warrior.
"Great. Okay."
Zoreck presses the attack, but this time, he attempts to hook the hilt of his opponent's sword with his blade and wrench it out of the ratfolk's hand.
Rikkan drinks his Shield extract, and pulls his dagger, not wanting to waste the remainder of his bombs.
Illonna continues to take cover behind one of the tables, willing holy energy to heal her companions.
Nearly knocked from his feet by Drancis' telekinesis, the ratman can't hold on to his blade as Zoreck strikes it fro his grasp... the Kellid receives a slash across his wrist for his troubles but now his opponent is unarmed...
With two of their number on the floor and without a weapon, the ratman fighting with Zoreck shouts at his companion, "To the hells with this!!! Lomrick can fight his own battles!!!" Turning to run, the ratman's retreat prompts a last minute reappraisal in the other attacker... who also runs for the exit.
"Oh, no you don't!"
As the ratman breaks off the attack and runs, Zoreck chases him down, throwing himself at the unarmed villain in a full-body tackle. While jumping, time seems to slow down for him allowing him to precisely direct his momentum.
Drancis on instinct lashes out at the ratfolk with his spear...
Rikkan lets the last creature run, moving to help Zoreck with his grappled target.
Tackled by Zoreck, the ratman crashes to the ground... squirming, and hissing at his attacker, he kicks out but Zoreck holds firm. Shouting encouragement to her saviours, the catfolk rushes alongside the kellid... and, pulling a short length of cable from her belt, binds the ratman's wrists...
...by which time the other attacker has fled, crashing through the doors of the Weave Runner and out into the Zel-Argose night.
As Zoreck helps to tighten the cables binding, the catfolk turns to the group, "Thanks... I think I was in some trouble there - the creature I am tracking must have known I was coming. So how about you tell me who you folks are?"
"I am Drancis, and that is Zoreck, Rikkan, locke and Illonna." Drancid replies as he motions for the others towards the exit. "We need to get out of here before the guards show up!"
"Guards? Oh Drancis, this isn't the sort of place where the Auditor's agents come running. We will be fine here... once we've dealt with this creep". Dragging the ratman to his feet, the catfolk jabs him in the ribs with exposed claws, "Who sent you? Is there anyone else coming?"
Spitting blood onto the floor, the ratman - whose features seem to be less rodent-like now, answers with no small degree of petulance, "The Skaadorn Skulks don't talk..."
Drancis nods to the catfolk before using his mind powers to grip the ratfolk in a tight bubble of aether and yanking him upwards to just before he slams into the ceiling. "Perhaps you would care to reconsider? I can do this all day..." He responds in a chilling tone.
"The Skulks are obviously a bunch of dummies. You already said you worked for Lomrick. We've got some questions about that guy. If you agree to talk, he will stop tossing you around the room all day."
The rodent features of the captured gang member, becoming far more human looking by the moment, have nearly vanished as Drancis smashes him against the ceiling...
...and as Drancis holds him aloft, he slurs, "Okay...okay... It was Lomrick... that Jagladine scum, he'll kill us for failing so there ain't no point hiding it no more".
Trying to hide his surprise as the Skulk changes form, Zoreck says, "Well, you might be in luck then. 'Cause we want Lomrick, and when we're done with him, you won't need to worry about him any more. So, where is he?"
Even before the man held against the ceiling can answer, the catfolk turns to Zoreck and asks, somewhat incredulously, "You... you're looking for Lomrick to? What quarrel do you have with him that would see you fight a fight that isn't yours?"
Drancis holds the ratfolk tightly against the ceiling but does respond to the catfolk woman. "Like yourself, we have a score to settle with Lomrick. A BIG one. If you decide you want to ally with us then we can tell you more."
"So... We have a shared foe", the catfolk - introducing herself as Kaetrix, smiles, "but I fear it is too soon to be talking of alliances or the like. Who do you work for? Are you coterie? or agents of a coterie? mercenaries maybe? My fight with Lomrick is bigger than any local squabble" She looks at the gang member held aloft and nods to Drancis, "Let him down... we'll bind him and quiz him later".
...and, as the bar clientele start to shuffle back into the Weave Runner - two of the bar staff dragging the slain gang members towards storerooms out back, Kaetrix reconsiders Drancis' original suggestion about getting out of there, "Actually, let's make ourselves scarce... and go somewhere where we can talk in private".
"Well, we might as well take their stuff anyway before we head out to talk. Someone check them for magic.". Rikkan turns to Kaetrix and nods. "Let's get out of here. We have some coterie friends, yes, but we can get into that in a few."
Bringing the skinwalker with them, bound and complaining, the friends head out into the night... a quick check of the gang members equipment reveals that his short sword is of Masterwork quality and that he has a curative potion about his person. They walk for nearly quarter of an hour, with Kaetrix especially vigilant for signs that they are being followed, before they arrive at a darkened warehouse. Moving to the rear of the building, Kaetrix clambers up a ladder, indicating for the friends to follow, and pushes through a small hatch into an attic space.
As the friends join her, she makes sure the hatch is closed and lights a trio of lanterns... the illuminated room is not large but it is relatively comfortable - with two cots for sleeping and a number of couches for relaxing upon. And, pinned against all of the available wallspace, maps of Zel-Argose and its environs...
Bidding the friends take a seat, "Let me introduce myself properly then, I am Kaetrix... and I am very pleased you folks showed up when you did. The odds weren't looking good... and I am a little worried now that Lomrick was able to track me down - my attempts to stay discrete in my investigations must have failed... I suppose someone talked". Seeing the friend's interest when she mentions Lomrick, she offers up a little more information, "My employer, she's an an off-worlder Elali named Relstanna - you likely will not have heard of her, was kidnapped a fortnight or so ago, by Lomrick. She is a leader in her field and the Jagladine clearly believes she can assist him... the rumours are that he is engaged in a Hegemony plot to re-open a gate to a previously unknown world. Relstanna won't help him though and I worry for her life".
"Now... how about you tell me what issue you have with our mutual acquaintance?"
Drancis nods in thanks in response to her story. "Well, since you have shared secrets with us it is only fair we share our secrets with you...well most of them anyway." He sighs and rubs his eyes briefly before continuing, "I can tell you the rumors you have heard are, in fact, true. We were all kidnapped from our home world by Lomrick, who based his operation out of Garsilt Research station. The station ended up being destroyed after Lomrick kidnapped us, and we barely managed to escape to Zel-Argose with our lives. As for what his ultimate plan is...I am not sure yet, but I do have some theories."
"And I bet he is looking for us just as intently as he is looking for you. So us finding him first would be great. Element of surprise and all."
"Garsilt? I had heard that Lomrick had established a research facility... and he was kidnapping people? Maybe you are from this world previously unknown to the Hegemony or Accord?" With these new names, Kaetrix clearly hasn't told the friends everything about the bigger picture...
When Rikkan turns the discussion to taking on Lomrick, Kaetrix smiles, "I am finally convinced that I know where Lomrick's Manse is... I've been tracking him for the last week and, following the money, have found some of his holdings to the north of Zel-Argose", and considering the maps for a moment, "You are right, the advantage of surprise will only be with us for a short time... how ready are you?"
"Let's rest this evening and go there first thing in the morning...if you'll be ready by then.". Rikkan' whiskers twitched in anticipation of finally confronting this Lomrick punk.
Drancis nods slowly in reply, "Are you sure we have the time to spend to rest Rikkan? I mean, I am sure Lomrick will get word of us once his flunky returns to report!"
"I shouldn't worry about Lomrick's agents... that Skaadorn scum will be lying low afraid of Lomrick's punishment for failure. We have time to prepare... in the meantime, tell me of your homeworld - are you of the Accord? Is the Hegemony strong in you world? The Weave is immense and I have yet to meet one who could truly say that they have travelled it's full extent".