After some lenghty deliberation, and wondering if the fickle gods of fate would give you a sign, you settle on moving over the bridge in 2 groups.
One of the groups, consisting of Kith, Varuzhan and Boros, would pretend to transport alchemical materials across. Of course, hidden in the second compartment of the box, there were objects of art, contracts, gems, a silver manople, some obscure other objects, and the weapons and armors used during your attack. It was a close fit to get in everything, but it was doable.
The other group would simply pose as a well-off person with her halfling slip.
While on the previous day, there was still quite a lot of traffic from people who needed to return to their homes, now most who could avoided crossing the bridge. After all, even if you were innocent and had nothing to hide, most people did not want the watchful eye of the inquisition turned their way.
Inquisitions do, after all, have the famous ability to find something wrong with most anybody if they look long and hard enough.
You decide to approach from two different directions, and time it so you arrive at the bridge near simultaneously. There are some barriers placed to channel people into the checkpoint, and a wooden board is set up next to it - with some hand-painted pictures on it.
They are not particularily well-done, but you can surmise that they are supposed to be portraits of your real selves.
Boros is not pictured, neither are Nezari and Kith. But there's pictures of Aldous and Miranda(with her mouth looking rather like a Sarlacc Pit rather than the real thing - an artists interpretation of "too many teeth") that are nowhere like the real thing, one of Rexus that would at least do him justice, and one of a generic Strix that shares a few features with Varuzhan.
The guards do seem rather bored with their posting, but still dutifully look you over.
With the low overall volume of traffic, both groups are asked to step aside for further questioning.
While two soldiers stand by, one low-ranking officer approaches and starts to talk:"Routine inspection. Please state your name, occupation, place of residence, where you come from, and where are you headed. While you answer, please lift your arms to your side, spread your legs and remain calm."
In the case of Kiths group, he also adds:"And state the contents of the box. Is it dangerous to check or can we do it here?"
Miranda complies with the physical aspects of the requests. She wasn't quite sure if she was actually expected to speak or not, so she looks down and tries to search her brain for that detail. All while trying to sink through the ground/acting like a proper servant.
Kith tries very hard to keep his usual tics and mutterings to a minimum as he focuses on the guard.
I am Ealum Aenron, I live in the Greens of course. As for occupation, I... indulge in alchemy as a hobby. Which is why I was in the older parts of the city. I was told I could haggle a much better price for supplies there than in the boutiques I usually frequent. I am glad to say that turned out to be true. The chest contains a resupply of my alchemical components and equipment. Quite safe as long as you don't go mixing things together.. haha ahah. hah.
Varuzhan is knows he is not a good actor, so he's glad he can just grunt. "Kevin Kestrel, just a porter, sir. Carryin' the big chest.
Live by the Devil's Nursery." That last part was true, anyway, he says. He looks down and hopes the guards pay him no mind.
Shifting his grip on the weighty chest, Boros answers the questions with a sour expression, visibly annoyed by the need to stop. "'M Roso, carry stuff fer coin. Live anywhere th' roof don' leak." Matching his actions to Varuzhan's, he lowers the chest to the ground and then does as instructed with his arms and legs, the sour expression on his face growing. "'S wastin' m' time," he mutters mostly to himself. "Standin' ain't carryin', don' get coin fer standin', standin' don' buy m' drinks." After that, however, his words trail off into an indistinct growl that he is careful to keep from getting too loud or obvious as he's patted down.
"Veleria Ambusta, sadly no relation to the Paralictor I must inform you. I am a widow, no occupation. My ever so dearly departed husband managed a logging mill until he met with an entirely unfortunate accident in the Barrowood. You see, I couldn't bear to be in such a place with such ill memories so I sold it. Now I'm looking for a new home that isn't the middle of boring nowhere Kantaria, and coming all the way up here to see if I could find some decent opera culture without the price of a home in Egorian, only to learn that the star performer Shensen is long gone to who knows where is quite concerning I must tell you. Opera simply isn't the same with the understudies. Oh, right, and I am going to be looking for lodging temporarily until I find a house to buy. Do you know anyplace? With separate rooms for 'that', of course. I was so busy checking the neighborhoods I forgot about tonight." Nezeri waves a dismissive hand at her 'slave'. In general, Nezari tries an entirely different tactic of threating the guards with the danger of being stuck in a conversation with a very very very talkative persona. Convincing, but not the most friendly.
Nezari and Miranda
When Nezari launches into her monologue, the guard about to check her is baffled. On one side, a talkative persona was more amusing to deal with compared to scared and silent citizens - but this one was...overwhelming.
For a moment, he wondered if the Halfling would speak up, but quickly realized that in this household, the servant would barely get a chance to join an conversation unless answering a direct question from their superiors.
After superficially patting Nezari down, he also does so with less respect and more roughly with Miranda.
Nodding at his superior, he clears the two with a wave of his hand. The soldier all but ignores Miranda and speaks to Nezari: "Thank you for your cooperation, please keep moving. If you need assistance with accomodation, please inquire with one of the regular patrols for directions."
Team 1 Checkpoint - Rolls only
Kith, Boros and Varuzhan
The guard at the second group is less impressed, waving another guard over to join him: "An Alchemist, hu? Have an uncle that is into all of that. Goes babbling on about the three primes or some such...what where those again?"
As his colleague arrives, he points at the chest:"Take a look inside, see if there's anything that stands out."
He turns back to the others:"Mister Kestrel, Mister Rosso, I'd like for you to answer that next question simultaneously. That means when I asked, you give me your answer at the same time - it's a very simply question for someone in the profession of hauling stuff around, really, so you should not need time to think about it: where did you pick up that chest?"
Team 2 Checkpoint - Rolls only
They had done quite a bit of planning for this crossing, though the question was still irritating.
Brrr. Miranda shudders as the guard searches her. Luckily there weren't much to find - that only made it slightly less unnerving. Keeping her eyes fixed on the ground she endures, this was a lot better then being thrown in jail. Or to the hounds. Brrrr!
Once the process was done she waits for Nezari to take the lead. She was dying to get away from the bridge as soon as possible. But not enough that she actually wanted to die from it!
One of Kith's eyes twitch as he's asked a question so basic that it insulted him. He found humans kept dying just as they mastered a single topic of study and there were always new ones that needed to be babied along. So irritating
Salt, the base. Mercury, the spirit of life. Sulfur, connecting the high and the low. Of course the important thing is how each of these connect not only to the mundane... but also to the arcane.. the elements and to the essences of the self... It is in the interplay between all of these that we are able to create extracts and even infusions that are able to manipulate all of these aspects of reality and...
"Come along, don't bother the guards." Nezeri orders Miranda very hypocritically. She leads forward confidently, save for a moment of weakness when her eyes flit back across for the teammates still being held up.
Under her breath, she mutters. "Think we should loiter nearby, just incase?"
Miranda and Nezari
Other people are being cleared as well, and funnelled forward - the bridge is essentially split across the middle, with people walking in one direction on each side, with additional soldiers, storage, coordination and all that the operation brings with it taking the Center part of the bridge.
That means there is little space to loiter - it would certainly be possible to have people push past you, but unless there is a reason to stay, it would possibly draw attention.
Kith
"Aye, sounds just like him.", the guard cuts you off, then offers a laugh: "Apologies, but that is all Osirian to me. You seem to know your stuff."
Meanwhile, the second guard opens the Chests lock and lifts the cover, finding plenty of alchemical goods. He shifts some of them slightly and knocks on the floor and walls, looking for secret compartments, it seems.
And indeed finds one in the cover. A flat compartment hidden by some small sliding pieces, very easy to miss. While he works to open it, he inquires of Kith:"What is in there?"
Is there? Kith is genuinely shocked. In the lid? My word. We just bought this chest at a magic shop. Go ahead man, open it up. Let us see what is in there!
Miranda scurries closely after Nezari, so they don't get separated in the crowd. Pew! But all wasn't well just yet, as her taller companion soon enlightened her. The halfling threw a quick glance backwards - but could hardly see much over the crowd.
"Uh oh. Hmm. Yeah." They probably *should*. Wasn't sure what they could do with all these people here - but still.
"Pretend you dropped something? with that suggestion she dropped on her knees and started frantically patting the ground, hoping none would step on her. "Oh-oh-oh-oh! I-I'll find it!"
Boros isn't terribly thrilled by the guard's demand of a simultaneous answer from himself and Varuzhan, and with a rising panic impelling him, blurts out the first thing that comes to mind. "Well, we picked it up by th' bottom there, thin' weighs enough tha' tryin' anywhere else 'ould have it landin' on yer toes if ya dropped it." After a moment, he continues as though imparting a bit of great wisdom. "Smashed toes hur' somethin' fierce, ya know? And th' master there," and he twitches his head toward Kith to indicate whom he's referring to. "He tol' us we ain't gettin' no coin if we drop it and his stuff breaks."
Unlike Boros, Varuzhan simply says "Old Kintargo," knowing they had planned a coverstory about Kith purchasing items from there for cheap. When Boros blathers on about something else entirely, Varuzhan lets out a long and quite genuine sigh. "C'Mon, Roso, they're askin' where, not 'ow. Can we do it again? Tell 'em the street, okay? One, two, three, . . ."
This time, they'd hopefully get it right.
Nezari pulls to the side, and glares angrily at her 'slave'. She does keep her head up to glance for the guards. It'd probably be bad for their friends if they caused a issue ahead as well as behind, so if it took too long and they attracted attention, she'd go ahead and scold Miranda and head across the bridge anyway, albeit at a slow pace.
When both Varuzhan and Boros name the street they agreed upon - which indeed is home to a small alchemical distributor that is currently out of business .
The asker seems content with their performance, especially because the new development regarding the chest seemed much more interesting.
"Just recently purchased, hu? Let's see if there is anything implicating anyone in there...where did you say you got this thing?"
Meanwhile, the specialist that opened the chest proceeds to unlock the secret compartment. It seems to involve sliding the moving pieces in a certain pattern, and takes some trial and error, but eventually there is an audible 'click' as the compartment is unlocked. It is very flat, only large enough to contain a bundle of papers, which the specialist proceeds to place on a nearby table. "Let's see what we have here. A shipping Manifest - probably forged in the Shackles - get someone to check if that ship is in harbor. Next, some highly detailed renditions of nude females...of various races. Some personal notes and scribbles. And a last will - handwritten but without an official seal - thus not binding."
Varuzhan is genuinely startled as the secret compartment is revealed. He tries not to seem too curious as he peeks at the findings.
;
Reviewing the personal notes, he realizes that there's at least one command word which he commits to memory, and perhaps two others below.
He will also observe the shipping manifest to see the name of the ship. And also who's name might be on the last will and testament.
Miranda and Nezari meanwhile deliver a very believable impression of the slave searching for something dropped while getting scolded by her owner.
My word, that is an incredibly good show. Kith googles. In the Lid! This deserves a tip! Of the highest order!
If they don't have coin, which they probably don't, Kith will remove his Ring of Protection and proffer it to the man in charge. With my compliments to the most perceptive guards in the Empire! To keep you safe in these troubled times. And of course... if you wish... to keep the... drawings of anatomical instruction then they are yours as well.
Boros manages--with an unobtrusive prompt (or so he hopes)--to get out the proper answer to the guard's question, and then tucks his tongue between his teeth and bites down to keep it from running away on him a second time. The unlocking and search of the unsuspected hidden compartment he tries to observe with no more curiosity than would be expected of an unintelligent laborer. That said though, he does perk up a bit when he sees the drawings. They're not half-bad as far as the skill, and the artist had some interesting taste in subject too, and he can't help giving Kith a bit of a glare when the latter offers them to the guards.
As Kith hands over a small pouch of coins, the Guard initially refuses:"No, we are not allowed to take gifts. We are just doing our job."
All the same, he takes a look inside the pouch, and his expression changes when he sees the glint of gold.
As someone confirms that there is no ship of the name written in the manifest listed as being interned in the harbor, he takes one coin out of the pouch and bites down on it.
"By all means, take your money back, we wouldn't want people to get ideas.", he hands a pouch to Kith, "I insist!"
Turning to the specialist looking over the papers who was just about to finish checking the artistic renditions, he speaks up:"Well, this good man's story checks out, none of this hints at criminal activity, pack it all back into the chest and let these citizens be on their way."
After the specialist hesitates a moment, he adds:"The drawings, too!", he pats his pouch for a moment:"We'll go for the real thing after the shift is over. My treat."
Within a minute, all the documents are back in the compartment, which the specialist only locks rudimentary before closing the lid. Giving the chest a gentle pat, he states:"Good to go, be on your way."
After that, you are free to move on, the guards focusing on the next people looking to cross.
Boros manages to catch the swap, and he's actually impressed by how smoothly it was done. Still, he doesn't waste any time getting back to the task of hauling the chest with Varuzhan. The checkpoint is done with, but until they're off of this bridge and back in relative safety of their sewer hideout, the soldier won't be able to properly relax.
. Varuzhan has to look away at the river as he can't hold back a smirk at the swap. Delighted to see everything being smoothed over, he picks up the heavy chest and continues on the way to meet up with Miranda and Nezari once more.
Yes, of course. A credit to Cheliax. A credit to Cheliax indeed. Kith says and starts to wander down the bridge.
Hopefully Nezari would give some signal once their friends passed the checkpoint (or were abducted by the state). Because she didn't see much down at the ground! Not that she usually saw much above crowds ...
"Come along, there's no point searching for it with your dim eyes!" Nezari grabs Miranda's shoulder and starts to lead the way, once she spots Kith making his way forward.
They'd done it! Nezari couldn't help but smile a little.
Miranda swallows a sigh of relief and hurries after Nezari. Soon she could go home again!
When they have put some distance between themselves and the bridge - and are reasonably sure they aren't being followed or paid attention to - Miranda looks for some discreet place to shed her disguise. And instead don some nondescriptive clothes and a hat. Aka another disguise! Then to the meeting spot!
It turns out that most of the security seems to be focused on the bridge, as well as additional guards near the walls and gates of the city.
As there is still only a limited pool of guards to call on, that means patrols in the streets are actually more seldom and lighter than they used to be in the past weeks.
Both of your groups continue on, by themselves, but within visual range of each other, until you arrive at your agreed meeting point.
Slightly altering your appearance and moving on, the chest suddenly becomes a delivery of kitchenware and spices for the establishment hiding your secret underground base - but such measures turn out to be unnecessary as there is no more trouble as you return home.
While this operation was definitely a success, it was just one battle, and the outlook on the war was still bleak. Luckily, there was little time to ponder, as multiple topics demanded your attention.
Reaching, after what felt like months of effort instead of the bare couple of days it actually was, the relative safety of their sewer lair, Boros grunts and drops gracelessly into a seated slouch on the first bit of comfortable-looking floor that he finds. What follows, once he's situated to his liking, is a rolling stream of profanity. "F!@& those f~$&in' carts, f#&& those f!&&in' imps, f*&% that f&!#in' river, the f&!&in' bridge over it, and the f*@#in' guards guardin' it. Best as I as can tell, we got f!!+-all to show for all o' that, but a fancy f*%&in' magic box that we had to pay for. Oh, and some dead man's private collection o' stroke art, can't forget those," the visibly aggravated soldiers adds after a momentary pause, the words bringing a brief expression of amusement to his sour visage.
But his expression soon darkens once more, and the profanity resumes. "Sure, some folks here got their s!@* back, and speakin' as a man who likes his own s@~! just where it is, that's nice and all. But we probably coulda spent the money that f#~%in' box cost just buyin' all o' that s#@& from light-fingered sorts or bent guards. So unless that box has another hidden space in it, this one full o' supplies and money that we need, we basically accomplished s&&~ on that raid."
"Aw, but just think about all the friendships you deepened with mutual suffering!" Nez kneels down beside Boros and gives him a definitely not patronizing hug around the shoulders.
Miranda plops down on her back and just breathes out. And in. And out. Closing her eyes she decides to appreciate the little things. Yes, things hadn't been smooth. But! They were all alive! That's a plus.
Nezari's comment elicits a deep sigh and then laughter. "*Snort* Let's just hope Thrunes goons don't find the power of friendship too!"
Kith looks at Boros with some incredulity. I did.. didn't want to buy the chest either but it's already worth more than what we paid for it... with... multiple hidden chests and these documents. I think we spend time figuring out... all the hidden chests and decipher all these documents we have now.
"Oh I agree, it's a really cool chest!" Miranda beams, ignoring the rest. "But maybe not the *most* valuable thing to fight Thrune with. Let's see what else we got ... "
"We took out a couple of Thrune's transports without any casualties. Seems like a win to me."
Varuzhan decides to pass the time by focusing on the puzzle box!
Wenzel, having settled in some new routine, seems content consuming left-overs from the restaurant above - not only that, one of the people you saved from the Warehouse has prior experience rearing and training exotic animals - a common denominator for nobility across the world: rare and strange creatures work nicely as a status symbol, especially because the rarer they are, the harder they are to obtain legally and swiftly, and even then, training and expenses for keeping and feeding them were required - as such, there was always some demand for people capable of handling such beasts.
Katherine - with a K - being stuck for the time being, took over the task of feeding and caring for the creature, and starting to refresh and reinforce whatever training it had prior to being abandoned down here.
Over the course of the following week, you lay low for a bit - the time plan that forced you to act swiftly, strike after strike before - struck a nerve - the streets swarm with patrols, and some rumors say Thrune planned to bring in additional reinforcements, in form of a mercenary unit. Bad news for those who had pre-existing arrangements or relations with the coppers. But maybe that was just a rumor, after all. Regardless, you decide to use the time in a sensitive manner, even if you are all but locked in the basement.
You interview many of those who you rescued and who followed you here. Intense talks, mostly to find out if they are trustworthy, and if they would pose a danger if released - but some do manage to impress you with their resolve, history or both, and you opt to recruit them into groups to support your future actions.
You manage to convince some to support you with goods and word-of-mouth - others are willing to risk going out on the streets and providing you with intel. Some are even willing to fight, albeit Boros wants to more thoroughly check both their capabilities and their background, not being quite happy with how the rag-tag band can't keep a proper formation - delaying their deployment for now.
First, you retrieve your items from the hidden storage, and distribute them to their respective owners, placing the documents and valuables in a separate room.
There was a decision to be made here: Would you try to liquidize your assets so that you could profit yourself? Or consider it a starting fund of your rebellion? Using some of your newly gained followers to that end could ensure that the maximum value could be contributed to your covers, over time, all but eliminating the upkeep and maintainance you would have to deal with for the foreseeable future - or you could try to find buyers that paid in coin - which would also take some time and have slightly lower returns, but allow you to decide what to do with the gains, swifter.
The documents were all kinds of papers - but mostly, incriminating notes, contracts, records...going through them in greater detail would no doubt open up some possibilities.
After all, this was not just evidence against those you rescued, but against many others who were being investigated - or protected, it seems.
Even with just a subset of the total amount of papers that were transported, you are quite certain you could use some of the documents as leverage to get some people to comply with your demands.
Finally, you open the secret compartment in the top, finding the sheet with notes regarding operation of the chest.
It seems that beyond the hidden storage you already know about, there are 2 more storage compartments. The words are simple enough to decipher, but there is also a short encoded description below each of the command words - you could either try and open it right now, or do additional research trying to decode the cypher.
With the accusations of the warehouse prison's fast-talking warden still fresh in their minds, it comes as no surprise that almost none of the recently rescued respond to Boros' clumsy attempts at winning them over, with only a single one brave--though their fellows call it foolish--enough to trust the socially-incompetent soldier.
The coded bits on the instructions found within the chest are fascinating, and during the breaks in his evaluation of the potential fighters for their little rebellion, Boros doesn't hesitate to make an effort on puzzling them out.
Varuzhan works to recruit some allies. He is perhaps too gruff and dismissive to woo many followers, but those who choose to stay are hardy, resilient folk.
"Give me some dirt on these folks and I'll put the pressure on," says Varuzhan simply. He trusted others to use a softer touch where appropriate.
Finally, he spends some time on the cipher, finding it intellectually challenging.
Between Boros and Varuzhan, the rather simple code is quickly cracked, with the result seeming to be a letter including some information from the person who crafted the chest:
The real chest - no command word.
it is of high quality, water resistant and sealed. I would not attempt to hide in there, you'd run out of air swiftly.
The first compartment - "Chestus, openus!"
A regular extradimensional space. It was, I admit, rather hard to align it with the other item you provided - I won't bore you with technical details, but even an extraplanar space is linked to the location of an item used to access it, so maintaining two separate sources apart from each other presents a logistical challenge. But I managed, by severing the haversacks connection and only loosely tethering it to the space. That means there are 2 precautions to take: 1st: If you open the Haversack, always make sure that it indeed connects to your storage, not something else(read: something hungry) before reaching in. 2nd: Do not open both the trunk and the haversack simultaneously. I can not stress this enough. The result would be a collapse of the system in a manner that is likely to be lethal to anybody nearby.
The second compartment - "Chestus, fixus!"
I see the usefulness of a storage space that repairs whatever you place in it, especially on a ship. But these spells work slowly, and not in perpetuity. What you requested would have driven the price up significantly. Instead, I opted for a compromise - at 12(both noon and midnight), whatever is in the compartment will be affected by mending magic. The process takes a while, depending on damage to the items, but will continue until finished. I was not able to implement a visual cue for this, but I'm sure you'll learn to estimate what times are needed for what objects.
The third compartment - "Chestus, pleasurus!"
Once more, I understand the utility of having a compartment that keeps food and drink unspoiled for as long as they are in there. But I was slightly worried that the same compartment would be used to hold a dead body and prevent it from rotting. I complied with your request, but with some reluctance, especially after learning what happened to your last cabin girl from one of your crew. Let me just state that despite the spell, storing both simultaneously would be unhygienic, at best.
The fourth compartment -
On basis of what morality I have left, I need to refuse this request. A section that "chomps whoever opens it like the mofo he is, with the unbound hunger of a starving mimic" would do just that: Turn it into a mimic. Not only am I worried that you would drunkely open the compartment and get 'chomped' yourself, but there would be a very real possibiltiy that such a bonded creature - that is by it's very nature extraplanar - would take over the other compartments, given time - rendering the whole chest unusable. That aside, I am - to be honest - afraid you would rather use it as a practical joke, rather than as a last means of self-defense. I will not be complicit in such deeds.
Out of your provided Budget, I used 95% for time, materials and necessary research. The remaining 5%, I will spend on storage and safety testing until you pick it up.
Successfully deciphering the coded bits on the papers alongside Varuzhan, Boros can't help but shake his head in amazement at what he and Varuzhan have discovered. "Gods," he remarks to the others as his gaze shifts between the chest and instructions. "This thin' was made to order, and I don't rightly know if the fella who paid for it was a genius or insane for these requests. But I think we need to learn who put that chest together, if we can, and get 'em workin' for us!"
A frown then crosses his expression for moment before he continues. "If I'm readin' this right, there's a magic bag o' some sort that's supposed to be with this chest here, allows us to reach into the bag and take from the chest no matter where the two are. But I'm notin' a distinct lack o' bag with our purchase, so that might well be in other hands. Probably means we don't want to put nothin' we care about in that first portion, because someone else could take it." Reading a bit more, the soldier then shudders and gives the chest a nervous look while scooting well away from it. "And, accordin' to this, if someone were to have the chest and the bag open at the same time, it apparently means a bad day for anyone near either."
While not a cunning linguist by any stretch of the imagination, Nezari still can have a way with words, or perhaps, just already knew dirt on her old friends, having been a member of the criminal underground for quite some time even before the recent crackdown.
One after other the awkward elf finds people willing to throw their lot in with the rebels. Perhaps the fact that Kith obviously doesn't want to be there but is still doing what he can inspires them to do their part as well despite whatever reluctance they might have.
Kith focuses on finding just enough incriminating evidence for as many people as possible to bluff the marks into owing them. He gave preference to humans of course, Living multiple human lifetimes in a very human city giving him a bit of an insight on what buttons to press.