Tarken moves quickly around the bar, offering healing to any who need it.
”We need to move, now!” Edmund says. ”Thus location is obviously compromised.”
Addressing the bartender, he says, ”Sir, your bravery and singular decency are appreciated more than you know. I fear we have put you in grave jeapordy, and I hope you will consider fleeing this place.”
Are the downed foes wearing anything like a uniform or recognizable insignia that might come in handy down the road?
Gray nodded at Edmund's urging to flee the location, but his eyes lingered on the fallen men and more importantly, their equipment. That was thousands of gold crowns worth of items laying there, about to be abandoned. So be it, though...better to not be weighed down and recognizable. Still, he thought it would be prudent to at least pick out any magical items they had, so he called upon Zon-Kuthon's dark grace, scanning the bodies for any magical auras. If he finds any, he picks up the item for now and stows it in his haversack. They could identify its properties later.
The inquisitor ignored the bartender, accepting Tarken's healing reluctantly. The pain was exquisitely blissful, but Gray also understood that his wounds could overwhelm him. The young man eyes the Azure Avenger, but said nothing, having remembered this one from his memories. He eyes the front door warily as they decided what to do or where to go next.
The Avenger looks the men over, trying to piece together who they are. They didn't seem very formal, but it wouldn't be above someone to do so to keep an organization secret. "The old man is right." he speaks, his voice echoing strangely from his mask. "I don't think its just a coincidence these men showed up here. We should take one with us, try to interrogate him.
Go ahead Edmund. That is wise, and everyone should scatter, to meet back up at the ball tonight. Gray and I (she looks over to see if he is okay with it) will scout for a new meeting location, and tell you all then, likely not all in a group. But I need information, and if there is any chance of finding some on these bodies, I am going to get it.
She pulls up Detect Magic and joins Gray in gathering the magic objects, but she also goes through all the pockets, takes any papers or notes found there or in a wallet inside a cloak or vest, hoping there will be orders from someone they can follow up on, and (obviously) takes any coin purses while she is at it. She also removes any rings, in case they have a sign or signet belonging to one of the houses or something that she can use to identify who is after them. She works as quickly as possible, and if she notices anything else unusual or that might provide a clue, she takes it, or takes note of it if she can't take it (like a tattoo or something).
"I don't believe that scattering is a wise idea any more. Any group with the resources to steal our memories can probably use magical means to locate us, especially one of us alone. There is also the possibility which I was loathe to suggest before, but now feel I have choice, that any group capable of taking memories from us may also be able to implant some. Please do not take this as an endorsement for paranoia or mutual suspicion, but we must be willing to acknowledge that one of us may be a plant, giving away our position to our enemies. I don't believe we need to take drastic or violent steps towards this possibility, but I also feel like we should not ever leave any of us alone. If we have to go separate ways at any point, we should always have at least one companion, preferably selected at the time by lot."
He pauses and looks around, his face going pale.
"Where's Antonio?"
Gray nodded his consent to Ziera's statement, though he waited as Edmund presented a different opinion. And there was still the situation with Lady Rosalie's sister to attend to. "Perhaps we could all leave and go pay the sister a visit? That keeps us all together, but gets us out of the immediate environs."
Seeing what Ziera was up to, he proceeded to look for small, personal objects on the bodies/unconscious folks as well, seeking to hasten the process. Gray's grin was ghastly as he approached the Azure Avenger. "What an excellent idea! I've had a few ideas for...information gathering...that I've been meaning to try out."
"If you mean the man who ran upstairs - he left. Managed to escape through a window, and didn't spot me. I saw no reason to stop him."
"I apologize for my absence up until now, but at the current moment, we should make haste. Gray, go ahead and grab one of them, one who seems like they have the most experience. Likely their leader."
”Perhaps he’s off to tell his master the battle did not go well for them, or perhaps he’s just an innocent man who lacks courage. Either way, we should choose your prisoner, take their things and go...maybe without being too specific until we’re away. I would hate to burden our friend here with knowledge he might be forced to share.”
Gray went off to grab one of the fellows who might not be dead. Preferably one of the casters, but if not he wasn't too picky. One that was still breathing steady was the preference. He quickly stripped off any armor on the individual, using a dagger to slice through straps if needed, and then shouldered the man, ready to hurry when the others decided it was time to go.
"I agree with Edmund; we should stick together. " Dante turns to the dwarf. "Bartender, who led them?" The dwarf points to the caster who cast both silence spells and was wearing the circlet of persuasion.
"Tarken, can you keep him alive? Unconscious is good for now."
Tarken hurries to the man; then nods. "He is stable for the moment, I can bring him to consciousness at any point." He looks around at the assembled group. "Perhaps I should carry him."
"How are we supposed to go unnoticed if we have a disguised dragon born carrying a corpse?"
Alden grabs 2 of the swords and sets of armor and brings them over to behind the bar where the bartender is. "Regrif, thank you for standing up for us. It probably saved all of us our lives. You should hide these away and then sell them; that should cover the damage caused by this. I find it unfortunate that we will likely not see you for sometimes, but we must stay away. This place is no longer safe for us."
Alden pulls some paper out of his pack a scribbles something on it. "[b]And please, if you could have this delivered to a man name Rantin? He will need to know what happened here, but we don't dare go there ourselves.[b]"
He looks around. Tarken is moving around the bodies, checking them for life. He offers prayers for some of them. Vince and Adrien are collecting and piling the armor. Payk has stowed his sling and is holding the cup, the top pressed against his armor. Glifdore is peering out the front door, weary of any who might be entering.
Ziera listens to the ideas and responds while searching.
You're serious? I like the safety in numbers idea, but walking around town with 10 people in tow? We can't go anywhere like that. This is theoretically a secret group, and all hanging out together destroys our effectiveness. I like the idea of a buddy system, but by lot? I'm not going anywhere with someone I don't trust. That would be a perfect plan for someone trying to murder us. Get a person alone and kill them, come back, say that you were set upon by evil whoever it is that is trying to kill us. I agree that none of this is ideal, but we have to have a specific plan. I might have one for finding the traitor, but first we have to have a safe place we can meet, and the best place we can all meet up again is tonight at the party, at which point we can give you a location for a next meeting.
That said, I would prefer to keep Gray around, and you, Edmund, if you are not running off. I wish Antonio was here. I thought he could be trusted, but I suppose not. Maybe he *was* the problem, but we can't count on that.
That's another thing that we are going to have to deal with then... none of which we can deal with here, or walking through town as a large group. Edmund's point taken, Tarken and the rest of you should go in small groups to be safer, but we do need to scatter to some extent. Get ready for the party. We'll let you know where and when the next meet is at the party. Learn whatever you can, especially about contracts or animagi. In the streets, spread the word that the man hanged was a common thief, that they are coming down hard on regular people. Thrune will not stop before we are all slaves. That sort of thing.
Avenger almost wants to give a chuckle as he sees the pictures of himself and... himself. It seemed that these men did not know the relation between him and his other persona, or, perhaps, they simply wished to be thorough and had both just in case. It wasn't as if Avenger's mask was an unrecognizable face.
"You all may split as you like. I don't think anyone would want to be walking around with me, so I will move by myself. In fact, I insist. I happen to work better that way. I'll go tracking down this 'Antonio' and see where his loyalties lie."
"After that spreading rumors will be fine... without the mask. I'll be skipping the party, obviously." You can practically see the grin under his mask as he speaks.
Gray listened to the others once again, eyes flitting between the different speakers. That Ziera trusted him was both touching and amusing to the man, for some reason. Or maybe she thought he was a spy/traitor and wanted to keep him under observation. Hmmmm, things to consider.
The inquisitor spoke up after the Avenger, snickering at the man's flair and bravado. "Meeting up at the party seems like a good plan to me. We'll secure a new place, then communicate it to you later at the get together. In the meantime, we'll secure some answers from this poor soul." The cold smile on the man's face said that he was looking forward to it.
”I would be happy to accompany you, my dear. I too have questions for this man.”
Tarken looks between Gray, Ziera and Edmund. “And what shall I do with this man? I do not feel comfortable questioning him. ”
”We can take him with us. I dare say he won’t be the first man helped out of a tavern by his friends because he drank himself into a stupor.”
Gray nodded at Edmund's comment, walking over to Tarken and ready to accept the man should the dragonborn consent to give him up. "I feel plenty comfortable questioning him." He says this matter of factly, his eyes flitting about as he grew ever more nervous as the group just milled about in the tavern.
As soon as they have the items and the prisoner secured, Ziera leaves with her two companions and their "drunk" friend out the back way. The first alley they come to, she switches to a different outfit and hair color, and says
Where can we question this guy? I moved out of my place this morning, because it is likely compromised, but it might be okay for a couple of hours if needed. I would prefer something more secure though, if either of you have ideas.
”I too have a home, apparently, but it also is probably compromised. We could try a random sewer access.”
Gray kept up the charade as they meandered away from the Inn, grinning apologetically at any passersby who saw them. At Edmund’s suggestion of the sewer he merely shrugged. It seemed as good a place as any, since any room they got would necessitate quiet. He helped keep an eye out for sewer access along with the others, nodding in agreement as Ziera took the time to change a few things. A wise precaution...the inquisitor would do the same when they were done with this man.
Agreed, but we need to be careful to not be seen.
She scouts a little ahead to find a sewer access in an area that isn't observed. Then she makes sure no one is around and opens the sewer grate. She then waits to make sure that any sound didn't draw attention, and if they get to that point with no problems, then she motions the men over to get the prisoner down quickly. When they are in, she follows, replacing the grate behind them.
Glifdore finishes up a quick talk with the bart beer and then turns to the other. Alden, put the gear in the haversack, we can sort through it later. Leave the swords though, we need to make it look like they just got in a brawl with each other. I agree with at least keeping small groups together. Payk, Vince, you’re with me. Adrian, Alden, Tarken, you’re with Dante. Lay low, get changed, and hen meet at the ball tonight.
He turns the the Azure Avenger. “Are you with us?” he thinks for a second and hen asks, “Did you lose your memory too?”
The Azure Avenger nods. "I knew... nothing since that first day when we all met. I've been learning since then, and seem to have pieced most of it together. Our goal remains the same, we only have to tread lighter. Even when I am not in your sights, know this: I am still, and always will be, on your side."
He turns away from the group. "The ball should go well. I may be there, if only to watch, but I will not act unless it is the most dire circumstance. Until we meet again, I say, farewell."
He exits the building from the back, casting invisibility in order to evade sight. Once he finds a suitable location, he will take the time to return to being Antonio Danera.
Gray obliged Edmund, pulling his length of silk rope out of his haversack and using it to thoroughly bind the man they had brought. With the last few feet, he finds a suitable stone and ties it to the ensemble, as well.
He looked to his companions, to make sure they were ready, before he drew a dagger and started to roughly shake the man they were to interrogate.
Ziera nods to Gray that she is ready, though she doesn't know if they will actually get anything out of this guy.
Along with Edmund's statement, Gray violently grabs the man's hair and shoves his face down in the murk for a long three count. He pulls him back up then, asking, "Is that enough? Or care for more?" Assuming the man's parched throat is no longer an issue, the inquisitor continued.
"Your men possessed some detailed and accurate descriptions of us in the Inn. Seems as though your employers are men and women of some means. Tell me, who are they?" His eyes narrowed, he squatted down to be more level with the man, his knife held idly in his hand in a non-threatening manner, at the moment.
Ziera hangs back, acting uncomfortable with what is going on. She is a little, but she plays it up. If the forcible approach doesn't work, she wants to be able to step in and try kindness and diplomacy without seeming to switch sides.
Please just tell them who hired you. If you tell them, there is no reason for them to harm you.
She pulls out her canteen, and holds it like she wants to give it to him, but needs something from him first.
Does Ziera think he is telling the truth?
Gray also listens to their captive attentively, listening carefully for false inflection and pauses, any telltale signs of a man lying...or not telling everything.
See, there is no need for violence Ziera says to her friends.
Ziera moves forward and gives him a drink of water. He's telling us what he knows.
She then asks How were you supposed to deliver the people you were after? She glances over at Edmund. If you captured them, what would you have done then? And just for my personal knowledge, do you have any idea why? I'm not sure who can be trusted here. Why were you after some of the people in the bar and not all of us?
Gray smiled at the man as Ziera approached him with the water canteen. He had been trained to disarm people with his personality, not brute force, and this tact actually was more to his skill set, for now. He discretely tucked the knife away. "Yes, I understand now. Just capturing and not killing...merely hired grunts. Whatever information you can give us would be helpful, of course. We're not in the business of killing go-betweens."