- sometime around ten o'clock, with the revelries still in full flow on the waterfront, there is a gentle knock at the door of your suite.
Joanna stops her slow-motion practice of a move she'd seen Brother Titus do when he had sparred with a passing paladin friend of his. It hadn't been that long since the others had left, and it should have been going on hours yet considering most of the other functions she had attended.
Back already, or did they forget something?
She sheathes her sword and goes to open the door.
"Yes, may I help you," she asks as she cracks the door.
A young girl, maybe fifteen, stands at the doorway as Joanna opens it - wearing the lapel badge of a dropped anchor which marks her as a member of staff, she enquires as to whether everything is to the satisfaction of 'milady' and whether 'Alexandria' wishes to have the beds turned down...
Joanna smiles through the crack in the door and shakes her head.
"Please, no miladies, just Alexandria will do. Everything's fine, and when the others are ready to turn in, I'll call you to turn down the beds, okay?"
"Are you sure? I can do it now if you like? You don't want any food or anything?", the girl shifts her weight from leg to leg as she talks - her eyes flitting around.
Joanna frowns as she becomes aware of the girl's manner. She opens the door wider, letting her see the armor, the sword, and the holy symbol she wears.
"Is everything okay? You keep acting like someone's about to start screaming at you for no reason."
"It's just..it's my first day miss...I don't want to let anyone down...please, could I get you some food or something?"
Looking up and down the corridor, there doesn't seem to be anyone else around.
"I'm fine, really. If anyone decides to give you any trouble about it, send them to me. I'll straighten them out," Joanna reassures the girl, suddenly feeling a little awkward trying to comfort someone that's only a couple of years younger than she was.
* * *
Meanwhile, in the Gilded Oyster Room...
Zee smiles as Fairfax kisses her hand. In a heavier Varisian accent than she normally speaks in, "I am very pleased to meet you, sir! You seem to have many treasures from all over Varisia. Your collection of Thassilonian artifacts must rival that of the Jeggare Museum in Korvosa!"
tell the truth but don't offer any unnecessary details- that will only increase the likelyhood of followup questions...
"Absalom." Teldon responds shaking the man's hand but paying far more attention to the artifact, "you seem to have been examining this piece for some time now... Tell me, Sylvain, what draws you to this piece in particular?"
Arsith is not really at ease. Her place is usually on the battlefield, not at social events.
Not anymore.
That was part of her former life.
When Lenore... was still there.
She sighs deeply, shaken by wild emotions.
I can't put my finger at it, but I think something is wrong, even if I don't know what.
[dice=Sense Motive, to get a "hunch",DC 20?]1d20+6[/dice]
Maybe I 'm just paranoid.
– the young girl, reassured by Joanna’s promise, smiles…”Well… if you’re sure? Maybe I’ll see you later?”…and returns down the corridor towards the stairs. Closing the door, Joanna returns to her previous activities – the noise from the street below still raucous and joyful.
– Devlin smiles and gestures dismissively at the various items on the plinths, ”Oh…you are too kind – I am but a mere dabbler when compared to Mercival’s collection over in Korvosa. You have been there? Pellius is wise to employ such a well-travelled Varisian – I can’t quite place your accent though? Maybe Riddleport?”
– Sylvain raises an eyebrow when Teldon tells him that he originates from Absalom, ”I had no idea that the news had travelled all the way to the great city – tell me what boat did you arrive on? I have need of a good captain who will tackle the Varisian Reach and the North Tack”.
The second man, who Devlin had introduced as William, responds to ‘Pellius’s’ question about the mural, ”It’s a new piece that has only just been reclaimed – Devlin tells us that it originates from here in Magnimar… apparently some foolhardy gang who have broken into one of the pilings on the ‘Span – if that’s true then we can expect similar artefacts to come to market soon enough”, and then after taking a sip of wine, ”Assuming they don’t release whatever horrors apparently reside in the old bridge”
"Perhaps. Take care, and be safe." Joanna says before the girl walks off. She closes the door and after making sure everything is still in its place, returns to her practice.
Teldon gives Sylvain the name of the ship he took from Absalom to Magnimar a surprisingly short time ago. "He may not recall me, I traveled here simply and quietly and assembled most of my team here in Magnimar. Truth be told, I came up here before the news reached me. I accepted a commission from a benefactor to find some pieces for their collection; they want to acquire pieces with some connection to Alaznist, so Magnimar seemed the best place to start." Turning his attention to William he says, "A gang, you say? I believe I've been in contact with this same group. I recently acquired a reasonably nice little statue from them. It's of no real interest to my benefactor but it may find a place among my collection, if I don't decide to turn a profit on it and invest in something nicer."
- At the mention of having an artefact from the same source, Sylvain suddenly becomes a lot more cordial and stops his probing questioning about where Pellius comes from, ”This statue? You are sure of it’s veracity? Have you had it appraised or shown it to any other collectors yet? Devlin wouldn’t tell us much about the gang… can you tell us anything about them?”
- Meanwhile Devlin has strolled off with 'Eudomia', "So my dear, maybe you would doe the honour of taking tea with me tomorrow? I thought maybe then you could choose an artefact to paint for me - it would make for a happy memory of artefacts I will likely sell at the auction and of the fair maiden who painted it"
"Alika" responds with a mysterious smile. "Mr. Devlin, I am Varisian! The road is my home! I rarely stay in one place for long—there are always new vistas to gaze upon, are there not? I have indeed been to Riddleport, but I was born in Korvosa. That is why I am named after Saint Alika, after all. My family's caravan has traveled all over this land, and I have seen many of the Thassilonian monuments that dot the countryside. I have indeed been to the Jeggare Museum, and I met the curator once, briefly. Honestly, I doubt he would remember me. That was... before the Queen's Physicians stamped out the plague a few years ago."
"Korvosa? Maybe I see a little of it in your accent... A wonderful city but it is nought compared to the wonders of the monuments that the Thasslionans left across your fair land - I envy the sights you must have seen.", kissing both Ziomarra's and Briana's hand once more, Devlin makes his apologies, "I'm afraid I must give a speech to thank everyone for their attendance at my drab little gathering...Briana? You will think on my proposal?"
"They were called the Tower Girls, but I have reason to believe they've disbanded..." Teldon informs Sylvain, "the chambers within the Irespan do have a reputation as a dangerous place and, as I understand it, the gang lost its leader and decided to move on. I got the piece for practically nothing from some of the girls who decided to leave town."
"I'm quite certain of its authenticity, but if you'd like to see it and offer a second opinion on its value I could send one of the girls to go fetch it?"
Sylvain is about to answer when, across the room, the sound of Devlin's bodyguard asking for silence is heard...in a voice that is exceptionally manicured and polite - with an undertone of darkness...
"Thankyou my dear Kyrot", Devlin smiles at the imposing Tiefling, "Just a few words really my esteemed collectors, scholars, colleagues, friends. I would just like to express my sincerest gratitude for coming to tonight's little gathering, for taking the time to examine the pieces which, of course, I will be offering for sale at the auction in a few days and for the joy of your company", a warm smile flashes towards Briana at this point.
"Now, I hate to be the party pooper but I'm afraid tonight's soirée is at an end - many of us have travelled a good distance and I am sure we all have business to attend to over the next few days."
The gathered crowd take it in turns to shake Devlin's hand as they leave the room, a few social niceties are exchanged and before you know it, it is just yourselves, Devlin, Kyrot, Sylvain and William.
"A final toast before you go?"
Raising a glass of deep red wine, "To new friends, to Profit, to the wonder of the Thassilonian Empire..."
With yet another exaggerated bow and kiss, Devlin bids farewell to each of the ladies and, shaking 'Pellius's hand, tells him that he is honoured to have met you and wonders whether you may have the opportunity to take lunch some time before the auction. As an aside to Briana, he reminds her of his invitation, "If you do wish to take me up on my offer, send word to me in the Sand Coast Reach' suite"
Staying behind with Devlin, Sylvain and William, tell Teldon that they are interested in his statue and that they will be in touch.
You finally return to your rooms at around Eleven at night - the sound of crowds on the street below starting to quieten as people drift homewards.
What is this? I just got a glimpse of that badge... A medal of honor? Something else?
Arsith is happy the plan worked apparently well, even if she had not much to do.
On the way back to their room, she says
That wasn't too bad, what do you think?
"Yes, Arsith. I think that went well. Teldon, you played that part perfectly!" Her face becomes a bit more somber. "Alas, I think you may have given Devlin more information than you should."
In a moment of paranoia, she looks suspiciously around the room. Taking out her spell deck, she holds one card over her left eye and casts a spell. Both the card and her right eye radiate a faint blue glow as she scans the room.
Zee motions everyone closer. In a very quiet voice, she continues, "Teldon, I wish you hadn't mentioned the Tower Girls to Sylvian. If he manages to track one of them down, she might describe the adventurers who chased them out of The Crow...namely, us. The Tower Girls also know of the Shard, and its effect on Natalya. Devlin is certainly perceptive enough and our appearance is distinctive enough for him to realize that 'Pellius' and his retinue were the ones who raided The Crow and chased off the Tower Girls. Also, remember that the Tower Girls figured out that we're with the Society, even though we denied it... it's a short leap to figuring out that the Society was behind that expedition. And interested in this auction of artifacts. He might be able to make the leap that the Society is seeking to recover the Sihedron. I'm sure he knows of its fabled existence. If he tells this to his connections in the Consortium, we may find ourselves in a race to recover the lost shards..."
Teldon slips deep into thought for a moment, then replies, "Perhaps that was more detail than I should have divulged... hopefully the girls have made good on their promise to leave quickly. If not, and he discovers that we were adventuring in the crow I will admit, with as much bravado as I can muster, that we are 'more aggressive' in recovering artifacts than most collectors. If he discovers we have some connection with the Pathfinders I will dismiss it as exactly the sort of altruism Devlin described... and if he presses I will confess to sometimes trying to get information from them regarding local sites where we might do some aggressive recovery. That should adequately explain the relationship without jeopardizing the mission, I think."
- there are no detectable magical auras within the room...
- the badge, althoughh you saw it or mere fractions of a second, looks to be some form of snake against a shield - the emblem of the Aspis Consortium.
"Well it sounds like things went well, at any rate. The only person to come by was a girl a couple of years younger than me wanting to turn down the beds. Other than that, it was rather quiet and uneventful. If you don't mind, I think I'm going to turn in. I'd like to actually get up early tomorrow."
Joanna heads to her room, and takes off her armor. She stows it in her backpack along with her sword. That done, she washes off her face before getting to bed.
"We may not have much need for Devlin any longer..." Teldon offers in response to Briana query, "Sylvain belongs to the Aspis Consortium. We should focus our attention on him. Tomorrow. For now, we'd better all get some sleep. We've attracted quite a bit of attention, do you think we should set up a watch schedule? It would be a shame if we pulled off this ruse only to be thwarted by a lack of gold when time comes for the auction..."
"I'll take the middle watch then."
I'll take watch. That's the kind of thing I'm confortable doing.
Setting up a rota of watches, the crates of valuable artefacts safely in a room away from the windows at the front of the tavern, you settle down for the night. Some time after midnight, the partying outside the building fades away - the soft rolling of the waves slapping against and rocking the boats on the quayside, a gentle noise to send you to sleep...
All is quiet until, at around two in the morning with Joanna stirring to take over Arsith's watch, there is the sudden noise of footsteps running down the corridor... And moments later, the sound of shouting...
...it's enough to wake everyone up..
"Wait here," Joanna tells Arsith before opening the door and seeing what's going on. In her off hand she carries her sword belt with her still sheathed longsword.
Joanna opens the door just on time to see a shadowy figure climbing out of the window at the end of the corridor...
...the shouting coming from Kyrot, stumbling up the corridor - sword in one hand with his other clasped over a neck wound... He doesn't acknowledge Joanna as she opens the door and looks into the corridor...
Seeing the wounded man, Joanna rushes to him and lays a hand over the one clasped to his wound.
"May your wounds be mended."
That done, she heads to the window the other figure was climbing out of.
"Hold! State your business here!"
Nalathi sits bolt upright, all memories of the dream she'd been having gone in an instant. What's going on? Not wanting to take the time to throw on her chain shirt, she grabs her trident and dashes into the hall, wearing only nightclothes, just in time to see Joanna's magic sealing someone's wound. "What happened?"
Arsith rushes from her room, her mace in both hands, still in her nightgown
What happens?
Zee gets out of bed, still in her nightgown. She quickly wraps a pair of large scarves around her shoulders, one of which is her +1 bladed scarf, and the other one of her pocketed scarves that still holds one of her partial Harrow decks. She also grabs the wooden box that holds her spell deck. She joins Joanna, Arsith, and Nalathi in the hallway, looking around.
"Kyrot! What's going on? Who attacked you?"
Joanna’s ministrations stem the flow of blood coming from the man’s neck…exhausted though, he slumps to the floor – gulping deep breaths of air…
"Thieves... It was thieves..."
Looking out of the window, Joanna sees a cloaked figure jumping from the drainpipe they were shimmying down over to a nearby rooftop… tiles clatter and crash down as they are dislodged by the rough landing and, in the moonlight, Joanna sees the figure turn and look back at her. The hooded cloak makes it impossible to see much but the escapee looks human and has disguised the lower half of their face with a white scarf – under their arm, they are carrying a wrapped package… and then, almost as if daring Joanna to pursue, the figure waves and starts to run…
Oh no you don't. She dashes out the window, slides down the drainpipe and jumps over to the rooftop, one hand still clutching her trident. "Who are you and why did you attack him?"
"Iomedae, protect your foolish servant," Joanna prays before running for the window and jumping through.
Missing the roof, Joanna activates the ring on her finger and hopes that she can continue on foot.
Joanna grits her teeth as her fingers miss the ledge of the roof.
This is gonna hurt.
I can't chase the thief, but I can cure his wounds...
Arsith traces on the man's wounds the spiral of Pharasma
Mother of the Unborn, Caretaker of the Dying, from the womb to the tomb, our Fate is yours to decide. Allow me to help this man in his time of need, please.
And Joanna takes a running start in the room, jump through the window too... and fall.
A warpriest can call upon the power of his blessings a number of times per day (in any combination) equal to 3 + 1/2 his warpriest level (to a maximum of 13 times per day at 20th level). Each time he calls upon any one of his blessings, it counts against his daily limit.
Zee follows Joanna to the window, and also sees the thief below.
Teldon follows the girls into the hall in his sleeping gown carrying the silvered Thassilonian dagger in its sheath. He breathes a sigh of relief as Jo leaps out the window before anyone seems to recognize her. "Was anyone else injured?" he asks Zee and the tiefling before quickly adding, "we should be vigilant, that thief might not have been alone..."
Leaping from the window, Joanna sails through the air… but, as the magic ring begins to slow her descent, she realises that she will fall short of the roof – desperately stretching as she begins to drop into the alleyway below, she manages to grab hold of the guttering. There is a creaking as the terracotta piping threatens to come away but Joanna’s luck holds and she is able to start pulling herself on to the roof.
Meanwhile Nalathi slides down the iron drainpipe that runs alongside the window and then, with almost catlike grace, jumps over to the roof – shouting at the fleeing thief as she does so. Clambering up the roof, she sees the figure run along a wooden scaffold, leaping a 10 foot gap between scaffolded buildings as it does so – and then, in the moonlight, she sees the glint of the marbles that have been dropped on the platform in an attempt to slow her pursuit.
Back in the Mariner’s Rest, Kyrot manages to get some words out, ”I don’t know where he came from… but he’s got Devlin’s best piece… you’ve got to catch him… you must…”