Brodey's aggressive stance, and the sudden arrival of obvious pathfinder reinforcements clearly has a disturbing influence on one of the 'customers' in the shop, though another one quickly steps up and says C'mon scram! You've got no business here. Shop's closed, now get out.
...and they threateningly start showing off their saps...
---
Anara
Brodey
Lunaea
Kelsier
Tyraneus
---
Thug
Thug
Thug
---
Anub'arak
Oleander
---
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Metal glints off of the small kukri openly shown on the halflings hip, the tip barely dragging above the toes of many of the town folk. Too concentrated on maintaining the illusion of a mercenary Anara notices she seems to have lost her companions in the mess.
Anara dashes through the town quickly looking for her lost companions. Had to walk through the busy part of town did we... Had to lose the little halfling in the mass of people? Okay where too...
Frustrated by her recent ineptitude Anara dashes into the alchemist shop as the patrons start brandishing weapons and stands up in confusion. "Umm, yay I guessed right?..." She mumbles to herself, drawing her sap as she begins to dash quickly forward again.
"So umm... do we know why these people are drawing weapons? I think I've missed something." Anara questions still a little confused by what exactly she's walked into.
Anara stumble in and attacks a thug, while Lunaea hexes the 'customer' that just spoke at Brodey, who falls over, into a deep sleep.
---
Anara
Brodey
Lunaea
Kelsier
Tyraneus
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Thug - ZZzzz (1 round)
Thug
Thug
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Anub'arak
Oleander
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Kelsier steps up and takes a swipe with his scimitar, quickly dropping the surrounded thug, while Brodey knocks out the sleeping 'customer'
--
Anara
Brodey
Lunaea
Kelsier
Tyraneus
---
Thug - KO
Thug
Thug - KO
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Anub'arak
Oleander
---
Tyraneus only manages to hit s shelf, sending some potions flying - luckily none of the compounds here are explosive!
The last thug standing tries to knock out Brodey, but he is no match for the Bodyguard's defences.
--
Anub'arak
Oleander
Anara
Brodey
Lunaea
Kelsier
Tyraneus
---
Thug - KO
Thug
Thug - KO
---
---
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Anara watches as two of the thugs drop to the ground, and stares up at the last remaining one.
"I mean really. Why would you attack with 7 armed mercenaries in the shop? and with saps no less... I'm just confused now. You really should have just run." Anara questions, with a sad head shake before striking out with her kukri again.
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Lunaea stays out of the fray and waits patiently at the side of the shopkeeper, trusting her colleagues to easily take down the remaining thug.
She smiles at the fire and ice, enjoying the elemental display, and trusts that her calm demeanor will help reassure the shopkeeper.
Not to mention making sure he doesn't run off - we need to know what's happened to our supply lines!
The final thug is only barely missed by Anara's kukri and Anub'arak's frosty ray, and shows no sign of running away
--
Anub'arak
Oleander
Anara
Brodey
Lunaea
Kelsier
Tyraneus
---
Thug - KO
Thug
Thug - KO
---
---
The last enemy falls to the ground, and is quickly knocked unconscious by Brodey.
Senzer wipes his brow and wrings his hands in his leather apron. “Thank you, Pathfinders! I’ve been expecting you ever since I stopped contact. Tragic illness grips my poor son, Roald, and a woman named Lura Ichon claimed to have a cure. I signed away my entire operation to the heartless wench to cure my son, but the elixirs she sends every day are diluted with cheap rum to the point of being almost useless. In exchange she’s worked me sunup to sundown manufacturing drugs for her little den of vice, the Sanguine Pit.
“I know she found a real cure for my boy—tiny amounts of it in those elixirs she sends keep him from getting worse— but I can’t march into that bar of hers and demand it. And as soon as she learns what you did to her men, she’ll kill me and Roald, as sure as you’re standing here. I want to help you, really I do, but I gave the Society everything I had for three years. Now, I need you to return the favor. If you want any help supporting your excavation, I need that cure for my son, and some guarantee that Lura Ichon won’t dump us in the bay the moment you leave.”
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Ever suspicious, Oleander looks hard at the man.
Is he telling the truth? Or is he just like everyone else, playing us for all we are worth?
<= again, assuming he is human.
"These thugs didn't seem very tough. But we can't be causing a huge ruckass either. I think there is some more to this story you need to be telling us. For example - why were these men here if you were paying Ms Ichon?"
Ichon sent these men to spy on me, make sure I didn't hire any hel. Now that they're dead - Ichon will surely come for me.
Lunaea has heard of the Sanguine Pit, a dockside drug den and arena for animal fights. The pit hosts dog- or cockfights on most night, but once a week hosts an exotic bout between strange creatures from the Mwangi expanse.
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Lunaea could you stabilize the person getting blood on this nice clean shop?
Brodey nods in understanding to Senzer's statements.
While these...People...are not dead, we have threatened the authority of this local thug Ichon. We don't finish the job, she'll take it out on our new friend. Master Senzer, am I right in understanding that neither you nor this Ichon are in service with a major House, so we have a free hand in enforcing the breach of contract regarding your son?
Brodey has rope and looks impressed at Kelsier's technique. He attempts to help
Senzer has taken the Society as his patron, in Bloodcove that means we protect his interests if we want to keep his service. The law is whatever your patrons can enforce.
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Lunaea flicks her wrist again, and the one thug still bleeding stabilizes. Without sparing a glance for him, she says, Alright, let's get these guys out of sight. To Selzer, Do you have a back room or cellar we can stow them in for now?
It still seems prudent to Lunaea to cast Remove Disease on the boy. That way he is not at risk of worsening if the flow of daily potions discontinues while they find a more permanent solution.
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"Law be damned. There is no law here other than that of the jungle. Having failed her, these thugs are unlikely to return to Ichon. Why would she take them back?"
She looks at the alchemist, still not trusting the man.
"But if the only way to get the flow of potions back is to get the cure for your son then that must be done. Without Ichon knowing who we are."
She looks around the shop. "An alchemist who could turn lead to gold. He could pay for mercenaries to do his dirty work. A desperate alchemist who could convince mercs that he could turn lead to gold, and who had a silver tongue could maybe also do the same."
She looks around. "A simple story is best is it not? And does this not agree with the 'look' we are trying to cultivate?"
Ichon runs her own schemes, but I would not be surprised if she was affiliated with the Aspis Consortium. Senzer says.
I can hide these men in my back room while you sort things out with Ichon. And you are right, they have failed her. Ichon is not very kind to those who fail her or thwart her.
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The elven woman looks on in disgust. "Are you aware of any weaknesses she may have?" she asks. "I'd prefer not to kill her unless there is no alternative. Better the enemy you know. And who knows what would more into the power vacuum she left."
She ponders for a bit. "I don't suppose there is any way we could pretend to be Aspis Consortium agents? Tell her to back off as you are also an agent of the consortium and are providing important information to us?"
She thinks about it for a bit
Although that may not be a long term solution..
"At least it may get us entry to see her."
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"I couldn't care less for thugs. Unnecessary violence however leads to more people getting hurt. Battle is a chancy thing - why risk it - and our mission if we don't have to?"
And why am I explaining myself to her?
"Agreed about time. We need to move. Senzer- can you give us directions to this arena that Ichon runs?"
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Ichon must still be given the opportunity to redeem herself for past atrocities. By the gods we each have our own from the past I am sure, but if there is no other choice then they will feel the flames of Sarenrae before they pass. Tyraneus says as he leans against some of the alchemical shelves. You are right though we should hurry to find them. Better to catch them off guard than give them time to prepare before we arrive.
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Enough discussion. Let's get directions and go. This isn't a philosophical debate, we have a mission to carry out. Senzer, I suggest you and your son go to a safe location and close up shop for the time being, until this is resolved.
Some of you may want to work on your disguises, she smirks. Here are some real-life examples to pattern yourself after. As mercenaries, we should be perfectly good patrons of this... establishment. That will let us observe the layout before taking action. Remember to stay in character - this is likely to be both offensive and ugly. With this she glances pointedly at Oleander and Tyraneus. We wouldn't be going to a notorious arena if we weren't looking for a fight or were trying to redeem the souls of thugs.
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We are not debating philosophy. This place is complicated. The situation must be handled delicately. We need to ensure Master Senzer can continue supplying us with potions. We need a plan. Kelsier looks at Brodey.
Do we have any local allies? Is there any way we could turn another powerful group against Ichon?
Kelsier takes a deep breath.
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Lunaea raises an eyebrow. There's nothing delicate about this town. We have no allies. House Cartagehn may agree to supply us, but they're not going to openly defy the most powerful cartel in town. Pathfinders made it pretty clear we're on our own, and undercover.
I agree we need a plan, but the discussion doesn't seem to be going anywhere. People, by which I mean certain elves, need to set their differences aside and work together. As things are, we're not going to convince anyone that we're a group of anything. And that could be very dangerous for us.
But on one thing I think we're in agreement. We need someone to lead. And it's obviously not going to be me. Lunaea also looks at Brodey. What do you think we should do?
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Brodey spent the time during the discussion getting directions from Senzer.
Gods...WE're the veterans in this group. Better start setting an example.
Ok, this is a situation where doing poorly can hurt us more than doing well. Let's take a second and make sure everyone can do an adequate disguise. Help each other out, then lets go.
Brodey's advice focuses on how gear is stowed. Mercenaries don't have random crap in their packs for exploration or taking notes or other things that Pathfinders love. Pack anything like that at the bottom of your backpack, make sure what shows are practical things like bedrolls, rations and such.
Pathfinders take good care of their weapons and armor, so no change there, display it prominently. Strategic use of prestidigitation can help the disguise. Etc. Etc. As he helps each individual, he reminds them quietly that the plan was to secure a local ally before attempting to purchase supplies, to avoid making obvious, to locals, mistakes. An opportunity like this one to both restore the relationship of a valuable information source to the Society and to make sure we don't screw up getting supplies is not to be missed. Especially as it appears the opposition is an Aspis tool anyway, someone we'd normally take out routinely.
To Kelsier's questions: Senzer is our local ally, and the Society is his powerful patron. That's why we came here first, and why it is important to help him with his troubles before asking help with ours. As for power, well, we primarily want to avoid attention of the true powers here. A squabble between people too poor to pay for real protection and who are perhaps suspected to be agents of Society vs Aspis won't raise any eyebrows. That's business as usual. If Ichon can't protect herself from the likes of us, a squad of mercenaries, she shouldn't be pissing off her business contacts. A group like ours woudldn't come cheap, but an alchemist could afford to pay in kind for an afternoon of work.
Take 10 intimidate for Brodey = 15
When everyone looks sufficiently professional and fierce, Brodey's going to pick up his Lucern Hammer and head purposefully toward Ichon's establishment.
Brodey makes the necessary adjustments to the packs of the other adventurers, and does his best to make them look like a tough bunch. The group passes through the thick, damp air of outside Bloodcove, to reach a large shack, labelled 'Sanguine Pit'
The clamour of cheers and shouted bets drowns out any intelligible sounds in this large, crowded bar. A massive aquarium, fifteen feet on a side, dominates the room as a dog- sized lobster creature and a dark green, man-sized fish with fanged jaws circle one another, occasionally trading blows. Heady, pungent smoke fills the air, and the floor is slick with spilled drinks and seawater.
Near the central tank stands a well-dressed and well- rounded woman with raven hair. Towering over her, at seven feet tall, stands her idealized, amazonian reflection. Both women bear a curious glowing rune on their foreheads. The bookies clearly defer to the smaller woman, and everyone keeps their distance from her glamorous bodyguard.
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Anara listens to the group squabbling with a quirked smile. These new pathfinders certainly are some spirited ones.
Arriving at the Sanguine Pit Anara is instantly caught up in the excitement and atmosphere of the place. Oh the stories this place could tell.
Anara looks slowly around the room, trying to determine how bad the odds would be against them if negotations turned to combat.