While Miranda secured several small pouches on her belt and various parts of her outfit - making her clink like a metal golem wearing chain mail as she walks - Varuzhan and Kith are busy screening the art objects in a hurry, tossing aside what they think is fake and bagging what seems valuable with a trained eye.
All in all, the plundering of the cart takes almost a minute to complete. The people who initially cleared the streets, not wanting to be caught up in trouble, had stopped running and - while keeping a safe distance, watched what was happening.
After about half a minute, a street urchin darts forward, climbs on the cart, grabs a pouch of silvers from near where Miranda is busy while smiling at her, and runs off. Moments later some more people rush forward after checking if any guards are in sight, and fetch things from the cart blindly, running off towards their homes with full hands.
But after about half a minute of collective plundering, there's some turmoil from ahead of the cart, indicating the likely arrival of a patrol - a cue for M, V and K to make a run for it.
Round 17 - all to go
Nezari spends a moment removing as much blood from her cloths as seems reasonable, something that seems very uneffective considering she herself was bleeding, still, quickly staining her clothing again.
Looking around the cart, she quickly finds a strongbox that seems familiar to her - she had seen her gear placed in that very box as it was taken off her. The lock holding it tight seems complex.
Rexus speaks up:"The imps should vanish any time soon, based on what I know of summons - I doubt they'll follow us. And me, Miss - I can see auras."
He activates detect magic to help scan the wagon.
The protective Magic on Boros seems to hold, for the time being, the imps keep their distance, insulting the gunman in infernal. With his new Manople donned, the gunman moves to the cart and has a chance to start searching as well.
Round 6 - all to go
Nezari picks up the chest, struggling under the weight. "Oof, if I could just get the Muleback Cords out of here. Nnnn, damn armor's heavy without 'em." Staggering her way off the cart with the chest hefted as best she could, Nezari was ready to go.
"Let's grab something and get out of here!" It seemed Nezari's call on avoiding pursuit was to leave quickly.
Trusting that Rexus' magic will hold after seeing how the imps react to it, Boros warily sheathes the rapier, checks his precious gun (but doesn't bother with spending another of his scant reloads on it), then joins Nezari at the cart to begin the process of divesting it of whatever useful material is to be found. With a faint smile, he taps the chest with a finger. "Better idea, lass, ya let me haul that for now while you and Rexus dig through this crap for whatever's worth takin'. Damned if I'd be able to sort what's useful and what isn't from this lot o' tinder," he adds with a frown at the vast collection of papers. "Could have sworn, though, that we were hittin' the cart with the coin and whatnot."
Miranda doesn't quite like the sound the coin was making right at this moment. Later, when they were safely counting their loot, it would no doubt be a lot nicer. Now though it just sounded like hounds snarling at her. Hopefully they'd get away before that though ...
Seeing the people join in on liberating the goods though made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It felt nice to give something back to the community! ...Even if that was loot pillaged by Thrune. I'm finally helping! she thought proudly!
---
"Oh trouble. Let's disappear." Miranda finished up and eyed the nearest alley.
"Oh, come now - I came prepared for the occasion - figured the valuables may be heavy, but I suppose there's still a use for this.", Rexus retrieves a scroll, then casts Ant Haul on Nezari.
He then turns to Boros:"But you are right, wrong wagon. We should probably try and grab some of that, and hope we get something useful, if only so they can't deduct our identity via the only thing missing...", he points at Nezaris chest:"... question is, what do we do with the rest? That's business ledgers, contracts, documents, lots of potentially incriminating stuff on there. I have half a mind to take your comment to heart and treat it like tinder..."
Looking around nervously, he adds:"And please refrain from using names. Those people still around when backup arrives will be questioned..."
"Ooh, nice!" Nezari smiles as the spell takes affect.
"Well, no time for thinking bout which cart we caught now, I say we stuff as much as we can into sacks, then set the cart on fire!" Now that she's not burdened by the chest, Nezari pulls out a sack and starts mindlessly scooping anything not nailed down into it.
"And yeah, bro's right, no names is how you do business like this. If it's hard for ya, we should come up with cool code names back at base!" Nezari continues as she stuffs bundles of papers into the stack.
The soldier ducks his head with an embarrassed sound as Rexus chides him on his slip with the name. "Right, apologies and all, those imps got me rattled pretty good." Shifting his attention back to the cart, he frowns. "Well, whatever we do with it, we need to get on and do it fast, and get out of here."
As the loot is collected, Varuzhan follows Kith's lead, knowing the man was skilled in slipping away without trace. When the party reaches an alleyway away from view, Varuzhan will begin to fly. It definitely hurt his clipped wing to do so, but there was a need to avoid leaving tracks and flying would only help. Finally, pulls out a scroll and intones some words in his native Strix tongue. "To hide your trail," he says simply.
Down here... Kith mutters after they emerge from the alley. He's impatient and doesn't want to get caught because of his companions not knowing the neighbourhood as well as he does. But he REALLY doesn't want to get caught alone. Through here... this side street will get us most of the way there and it's the backside of shops... out of view,hurry, hurry.
Miranda gently pushes the scroll away and concentrates - the spell was one of the few she knew by heart! For ... reasons. Just the right thoughts and it all aligned. There!
"All right, side street; let's go! This feels familiar heh..." she commented and hoped her coins didn't jingle too much. Thrunes coins. No. Their coins!
Kith, Miranda and Varuzhan manage to vanish into a side-street, blending with many others who are suddenly in a hurry to leave the vicinity of the crashed cart.
As they make their way towards another back alley, Miranda and Varuzhan recognize a booming voice from behind - belonging to the cleric with one eye they encountered previously: "Round them up. All you find nearby are witnesses to this crime. If they resist, consider them accomplices!"
From various locations, scattered screams or sounds of conflict echo in the streets - but a quick glance back before rounding a corner shows this to be a battle you can't win.
Local knowledge, flight and magic help you make your way to safety, in the upper floor of an abandoned and half-demolished house in the slums. There are signs some people may have slept here, before, and a small fireplace, but currently, it is empty. You wait for a whilte until the turmoil died down.
However, when you try to make your way back to your home base, you find that the only bridge connecting the northern and southern part of Kintargo is under lockdown.
There's guard thoroughly searching everybody passing over the bridge.
It seems you made a successful getaway, but are now trapped on this side of the city with your goods.
"Well, then lets do this...", Rexus responds to Nezari and helps stuffing a backpack with what seemed to be important papers, books and maps - at least based on their respective containment units or looks.
"Wish our legal counsel were still with us, he'd be able to make much more sense of this than I can..."
Working swiftly, his pack is soon filled to the brim, and he waits for Boros and Nezari to finish packing their choice of transport item, as well, then pours a bottle of some high-class wine out from his coat:"I was...considering how to cover our retreat. The bottle contains a vial of Alchemists Fire, Lamp Oil, crumbled white Phosphorous, and a chunk of Sodium. It should serve our purposes here."
When everybody is done packing, he throws the bottle in the middle of the cart, where it shatters and splashes a majority of the carts surface before igniting. If any civilians nearby remained to watch until now, they now turn and make sure they are NOT visible - the streets are empty and you feel you should QUICKLY make your exit as well.
As Boros wonders for a moment how the Imps would react to the fire, you notice that they are gone - whatever magic called them likely run it's course, and sent them back home.
"What? They really care enough to block the bridge? They must be really embarrassed!" Miranda whispers and then lightly bites her lip before she manages to stop herself. With a frown she looked around and then shrugged. "Plan B."
"We could just wait it out a day," whispers Varuzhan back, using his Hat of Disguise to take on the form of a traveling merchant. "Bribery might be an option, but I'm not sure I want to risk it. Another option is to create a panic on this side so people will push past the guard."
I do not know this part of the city Kith mutters, though he does patter about with his long lost equipment, smiling as his long fingers slot bottles, extracts, and bomb creation equipment into their correct places. If you want a distraction then I can trigger an explosion from... 60 feet away.. I also can make some of us faster, disguise others... only 4 extracts of that though.
In the absence of a clever plan, Nezari picks a direction without enemies and starts running.
With no idea what's what among the paper, and no time to do more than a cursory look, Boros takes whatever seems most useful to his eyes and crams it by the handful into his belt pouches, until both are bulging. He briefly ponder stuffing yet more into his armor, but decides that risk of leaving a trail of paper scraps is too high.
With his pouches full up, Boros hauls ass after Nezari away from the rising fire, but quickly finds himself somehow leading the way through the unfamiliar streets.
Nezari and Boros rush off into a semi-random direction - Boros quickly notices that they are heading towards the river currently - which means they would need to circle back towards the slums, either near the fortress or near the bridge itself. As he pulls Nezari into a nearby Alley, Rexus also catches up.
After a few moments to breathe and orient yourself, you move parallel to the road the carts took. After backtracking about half the distance to the next groups ambush site, you cross over to the other side of the road, one by one. There are plenty of guards busy, but most individuals are not worthy of their attention.
Having made it to the more densely populated southeast of Kintargo, it is only a matter of time and careful movement, stopping once or twice to make sure you are not followed, before you come to the agreed-upon meeting spot. Varuzhan emerges from a nearby Shadow, and leads you to the upper story of a half-demolished house, where Kith and Miranda wait.
Miranda also was already out scouting, reporting that the bridge over to your actual destination was blocked by military, and everybody passing over it checked.
Hitting the carts worked out fine so far, but getting home would not be as simple, after all.
"Huh... You guys think they're gonna keep this up for good? Not something we can cool off and wait out?" Nez ponders the problem.
Miranda frowns and sighs as she sits down with her legs pulled up. "Gross violations of Kintagos peoples freedom? I'm surprised Thrune hasn't done it before just for laughs."
If we can rest then ahh... I'll have time to mix up somethings that should let us get back to safety... Felix says as he continues messing about with his alchemy.
Rexus, leaning against one of the walls, seems tired.
In the first few hours, he looked at some of the documents retrieved, but quickly decided he lacked space, reference material, and peace of mind for that.
As the discussion turns to possibly waiting it out, he shrugs, then adds:"I also believed he could not cut Kintargo off from the outside. But my ship is trapped in the harbor, nonetheless. As are all the others. Still, I think enough people have legit reasons to pass that bridge and do their business on the other side of it - they keep it up too long, public opinion will increasingly turn against them. What they ARE hoping to achieve, no idea."
His voice sounds weary, despite the groups recent success.
Varuzhan finds a space in the abandoned house and spreads out his cloak. He settles into the makeshift bedroll.
"We should be safe enough here. Rest and see what the morning brings. Maybe they'll give up. Or maybe we'll need to stash the goods and find a different way home."
"Hmm. But even if they do give up; this will probably happen again. So figuring out a discreet way to cross the river would be great." the tiefling chirps while looking around for somewhere she could lay down comfortably.
"Don't suppose anyone knows any of those healy magics or just how to treat a wound up proper? Not sure a good night's sleep'll clear this up." Nez points at her chest, currently slashed deeply and sloppily bandaged.
"Oh no!" The tiefling scurries closer with a worried scowl. Though since she didn't actually know anything about either healy magics or wound treatment she kept a bit of distance. "V - you know a bit of this right? And I think I've got a potion somewhere."
Kith wordlessly mixes up four potions and drinks one of them.
and lays the other two out as his wounds heal. I could use another but if others need them more... he mutters. Wounds'll cause questions on the bridge though.
"I'm fine, barely a scratch," says the disguised strix. "You on the other hand could use some for sure." He gestures toward Nezari as he says this.
Reaching what appears to be a safe spot, where the other team awaits, the soldier finally relaxes just a touch. With the others engaged in the task of recovering from their injuries, Boros empties the pouches of what he'd grabbed off of the wagon and piles it somewhat neatly on the floor. "Well, I don't know about your cart, but ours was full o' records and suchlike. Couldn't make heads or tails o' it, so I've no idea if this is useful or just tinder."
After a moment, something occurs to him, and he shucks the manople--still worn since the fight--and tosses it onto the papers with a frown. "Well, we also found that, and I'm thinkin' it's more than a bit odd to have such a fine piece o' weaponry bundled in with all o' that paper and parchment. Pretty sure that means somethin', and maybe we should take a moment or two to look it over close and careful."
With that, the soldier leans back against the nearest wall and slides down it until he's seated with his legs sprawled out in front of him. sheathed blades resting at his side after being removed from his harness. Unholstering his gun, he begins to go over it carefully, making sure that the imps didn't mess anything up during the fight.
"Ta your health!" Nez grabs both of the potions but offers the other back to Kith. She proposes a 'toast' with a wink.
With the wound almost completely sealed, she smiles. "Alright, bit of cleaning and a spot of rest, I think I'm good."
Boros gun has indeed been mangled slightly, the accidental discharge caused by the imp while the gun was holstered left some residue in the barrel, making it more likely to misfire - but after taking some time cleaning his firearm Boros finds it good as new.
The others take some time to rest and heal up wounds...certainly a good idea, just as mending tears or cuts in clothing that may make onlookers suspicious.
The night passes uneventfully - at some point in the night, someone seemed to pass in the alley below, but without torch, and without stopping or taking notice of the building - someone else evading the curfew, no doubt, but they are gone as quickly as they came.
As the morning sun rises, the city awakens again - still, this back alley did not see much traffic, mostly seeing use by people trafficking illegal substances or looking to relieve themselves. Clearly, those squatters making their home in these buildings must be among the poorest of the poor.
Rexus stretches and yawns:"Oh well. We survived the night. So far, so good. Now we'll need a plan on what to do next? Should we try to get past them on the bridge? Cross the river some other way? Try and establish a safe house this side of the river? Or just stash away what we found and lay low for a while?"
"Kith said he had something in mind to cross, right?" Nezari directed attention to Kith.
Accustomed to snatching sleep in short bursts during dangerous situations, Boros periodically awakens during the night to make a check of their surroundings before curling back up into his cloak. As morning arrives, and the rest of the party begins discussing plans, he takes up a position that gives him a good view up and down the alley and listens to the others with most of his attention kept for possible threats.
Rexus' questions drawn a thoughtful frown from the soldier as he considers the options. "I'm in favor o' gettin' across the river myself, but it's obviously goin' to be a risk," he eventually offers. "So layin' low and lettin' things calm seems a good plan. But we got no way o' knowin' how long the search for us will go on, or if those fellows guardin' the bridge will ever get moved on. And bein' stuck on this side o' the city makes it better odds we'll be caught out, especially if we're tryin' to hide somewhere that we don't know as well as the place we already got."
He then lets the others know of the child who has been watching them, and adds "We stand out like an archon in a group o' Hellknights to any locals, and we're not any friends o' theirs either. So if there's any sort o' reward to pointin' the dottari our way, I fully expect someone to take it soon enough."
Kith has a false face cover story all thought out, a well to do elf interested in the alchemical arts who finds, truthfully enough, that supplies can be had for much cheaper across the bridge and is returning from a shopping expedition.
Miranda almost felt like she saw something, but it must have been a rat or something. Brr! Rubbing her sore back she considered their options. "Yeah, I'd love to go home ... " Once Boros points out their admirer she couldn't help but have her gaze slip in that direction. "Uh. I think you're right about that point."
"The false faces definitely seem like the most solid plan we've got. Just wonder how we'd disguise our loot. Not like just anyone would have a breastplate fitted for me. If we leave it behind we're in the same situation we left."
"Oh hey, I got an idea! We're already on the side of the town with all the goods, right? Why don't we spend all this new money we got, ditch or sell the stolen gear, get new gear, and then we don't worry about hiding all this stuff!" Nez seems pretty excited and animated.
"Then, with the false faces, they shouldn't be to tell us from Aroden!"
"Huh ..." As Miranda ponders that idea her face lights up. "Yes! They can't find any stolen goods on us if there isn't any! That's great!"
Then, remembering something, she reverses direction and looks straight out of the window. "Uh oh not anything stolen of course! That'd be illegal and bad..."
Whoever will lead the efforts to pawn some of the goods off, or acquire other items, will need to carefully estimate which vendors may be willing to participate in such an exchange, without alerting authorities. After all, if they are found with goods from the raid, it could cost them their business. (And if they don't question where stuff came from, that makes them suspicious by itself).
As such, even if you find someone trustworthy that is willing to deal with you, it means they will have to stash the items away for a good while before they could turn any profit. As such, the payment will not be as good as it would be in an open market economy. The fact you may need to unload the goods urgently and won't have much time to compare offers only adds to the problem. Of course, you may also come across someone sympathizing with your cause, who is willing to significantly lower their margin to support you.
What goods they can acquire on short notice and what funds they have available will depend on how good you do with finding a vendor. Do tell what you are looking for, and what kind of stuff you would want to get rid off.
If you are not part of the shoppers, I'll assume you are casually scouting along the river trying to determine your best approach.
As such, you may re-attempt the earlier Perception check:
The bridge itself consist of several arcs allowing river-going ships to pass beneath the bridge. The top of the bridge is slightly broader than the foundation, but moving straight underneath is hard - one would have to settle for "slightly to the side", at least each time a supporting pillar is reached.
Of course, if your goal is simply to cross to the other side, there is little necessity to do so right at the bridge, itself. As the river broadens into the harbor area, there is more distance to pass, but with fewer prying eyes.
Or one could opt to float downriver disguised as some floatsom from the southeast end of Kintargo, slowly crossing over to the other side of the stream sometime before reaching the ocean.
Even if those trying to do business are successful, you have acquired plenty of things - including those you do not intend to sell, like the manuscripts and documents you'll need to look over in more detail. You also have your personal equipment, some of which may be in violation of the martial law. In summary, it will be hard to offload everything on those making their way across the river with a different method. No matter how you attempt to distribute goods, some of you will also have to move something across. You may find a valid reason for doing so and try to bluff your way across, or use actual experience in a profession as excuse for doing so.
Alternatively, you could try and forge a permit for your equipment, at least. After all, they are looking for something completely different, there's little chance they'll check everything in too much detail. But then again, it depends on the diligence and professionalism of the person checking you.
Varuzhan hangs out along the river, trying to figure out a way across.
But daytime is not his specialty. He doesn't figure out much of anything, except the following.
"The river area before the bridge is unfortified on the other shore. Theoretically, smuggling things across - into or out of the city, should be easy. But it does not happen. There must be a reason for that."