Lubella examined the locket and, with her limited knowledge of the script, tried to get a sense of what the writing was about. She muttered an arcane ritual to see if it, or the bracelets, was magical.
While Lubella can't read the script, she does recognize the language as Elven. She also notes that while none of the creature's jewelry is magical, the locket does have a clasp and is openable.
"Can anyone of you read elvish script?", Lubella asked. She examined the clasp, just in case it was trapped, before opening the locket.
"I can't," Laria confesses. "Though if you ever need Shadowtongue translated, I'm your girl. Picked that up after a few trips through Nidal, passing escaped slaves from Cheliax up to Varisia." Lubella doesn't find any traps on the locket, and opens it up, and is rewarded with what at first glance appears to be chips of dirty porcelain, but upon closer inspection seems to be thick eggshell.
"Rexus said he can read Elven; we can show it to him later," Lubella said.
After opening the locket, she looked inside at the bits of eggshell. "What do you make of this?", she said, showing the others. "It makes me think of a keepsake that an avian parent might have, of the egg that their child hatched out of." She was careful not to damage or lose any of the pieces.
After that, Lubella walked around the room, looking for signs of other creatures.
Amalie breathed a little more easily when her friends let their weapons drop. She hobbles over to the group to help inspect things.
It certainly appears to be a keepsake. she says, looking at the locket and shell pieces.
There are several chambers beyond the holes in the walls that comprise the majority of the Wasp's Nest. It was clearly set up to be a common living area, with beds, chairs, and tables for inhabitants both human and halfling-sized. However, most of it is smashed, with large rents suggesting the avian monstrosity is to blame for much of the destruction. Two smaller rooms are set up as latrines, and while it seems the creature has continued to use those rooms for their intended purpose, cleanliness was not foremost on its mind.
"Ugh," Laria says, taking one look at the filth and destruction. "We're going to need to clean this whole place up before it can be a proper hideout again. But first, we need to get Nan out of the water - he didn't deserve to die like this."
"Yes, it's time to retrieve him," Lubella said. She went back to the dock and examined the area underneath where the body was floating. She was not a strong swimmer, so she looked to see if she could could reach the body from the dock, either by reaching down through the boards, or by climbing down the support posts.
Laria, do you happen to have any rope handy?, she asked.
"Plenty," she says, opening her pack and retrieving several ropes and hooks. "You never know what sort of obstacles you'll run into on a job, so I always take my climbing gear, if I can. We should be able to get him out of there now." Indeed, after several minutes, you retrieve Nan's body from the water. His body has not held up well, as the water has sped the decomposition along. He is missing his right leg below his knee, though the boot on his left is in remarkable shape, given the environment it's been in.
Lubella said an incantation and scanned the boot to see if it was magical. She also checked the body for anything that might have been in Nan's pockets.
She also walked our onto the pier and looked down into the water.
Lubella notes that the boot is in fact magical, but doesn't see any other magical auras in the water. Once she walks out to the edge of the pier, her light dimly reveals the top half of a statue of a beautiful elven woman.
That's a very common representation of the Savored Sting, Calistria.
"That's a magic boot!", Lubella exclaimed. When she went out onto the pier, she said, "Hey Laria, there's a statue of Calistria out in the water! Was it always there?"
Returning to the others, she said, "The other boot might be in the alligator's stomach," she said. "Let's tie a rope around it and pull the carcass back on shore, so we can cut it open."
"Yep!", Laria replies, assisting the other halfling with hauling in the alligator's body. "That's why we call it the Wasp's Nest!"
After a few minutes of work, the alligator has been hauled onto shore. Cutting open the beast is grisly work, but rewarding - Nan's missing leg is indeed inside, and while the alligator's stomach acid has digested much of his leg, the boot is practically untouched.
"I know you mentioned it earlier; I just didn't realize it was half-submerged in the water," Lubella replied.
"I wonder if the alligator killed Nan, or if he was already dead," she said. She looked at the body to see if she find anything other than bite marks on it.
"How do you figure the bird creature got in here? Are there any additional ways in, other than swimming? I presume this must connect up with the sewers or something."
Most of the damage to Nan's body that Lubella finds appears to have been made by the alligator. It was certainly responsible for the loss of his leg, and there are several other sections of the body missing with bite patterns very similar to that of the alligator. However, there's several gashes across his throat and chest that would suggest that the bird creature made them. She's uncertain whether these were fatal wounds or not, but the claw marks certainly match with that of the creature's.
"It does, though not for awhile," Laria replies. "Anyone who wanted to use the Nest for their purposes would pole a raft into the city, usually under cover of night, and slip into a sewer outlet when the dottari weren't looking. Once in the sewers, it's just a matter of knowing which tunnels to take to get here. I suppose it could have swam here, but the sewers aren't exactly safe. They have their own threats, and besides, that thing didn't look like a great swimmer."
"There are marks on the body that look like they could have been made by the avian," Lubella said. "I can't tell if they're what killed him, though." She paused, thinking about what they had found. "One thing we know, if it wasn't the alligator that killed him: whoever did, left him wearing magic boots.
"Laria, you said he had some textiles he was storing down here. I haven't noticed anything like that so far, so unless there's a hiding spot, someone has taken his shipment. Do you know how much goods there were, and if they were valuable enough to kill for?"
Lubella waited for Laria's reply, then said, "I'm sorry to be asking so many questions — you must be in shock with the death of your friend. Does he have any family we should notify?" She paused for a moment. "If there's no-one else to perform a funeral service, I could say a few words, if you're OK with a Sarenrite ritual." I'm not supposed to be leading rituals, but someone's got to do it. Given the circumstances, I think it's reasonable to be an acting priestess. It's kind of like a field promotion. She wasn't sure that High Priestess Jakupi would approve, but her superior wasn't here right now.
"It's probably in the warehouse," Laria offers, gesturing to the south. "I don't see a boat, so I guess Nan used a third party to get him into Kintargo. Not unusual for him."
"Alright, time to go and look in the warehouse," Lubella declared. She explored to the south, alert for any more hostile birds.
You head south, and enter into a large area - large enough that your light does not illuminate the far wall. Stacks of unopened crates - some draped in moldering tarps - fill most of the space, creating a makeshift maze of boxes. Two tables sit in the center of the room. Upon one of them is a scattering of cards, as well as a lantern. Ominously, while the lantern is unlit, a thin wisp of white smoke rises from within it.
Perception:
Not wishing to be taken surprise by another ambush, you keep close watch for movement. To the southwest, you spot motion in the dim light, and barely make out a humanoid form about a foot taller than yourself. It's black feathers, clawed hands and feet, and sharp beak betray its raven lineage, but the size is more what your encounters with tengu to look like than the beast you fought minutes ago. It seems to be watching your group enter the warehouse, and right now, you're the only one who's noticed it.
Lubella advanced a few feet and stopped, addressing the hiding figure. "Hello there! My name is Lubella Heathertoes. I mean you no harm; I would like to make your acquaintance, if I can." She lowered her weapon but didn't sheath it, because she had previously cast a light spell on the blade, and needed the illumination. She hoped that this person was more willing to talk than the bird creature that had attacked her a few minutes before.
The tengu's eyes widen as Lubella calls out to her, and for a moment she seems unsure of what to do. "Don't listen, it's a trick!", squawks a voice from behind Lubella. "They've found us, sisters! Fight for your lives!" She turns just in time to see another tengu crouched behind the table hurl a dagger at her.
The blade goes wide, embedding itself in a box several yards away from Lubella. Despite this, the tengu reaches for a curved blade at her hip, while the forms of three other tengu resolve themselves from the shadows!
Initiative:
At least I can understand this one. That's a start, I suppose. "Excuse me!", Lubella cried indignantly. "Where I come from, throwing a knife at someone who's trying to talk to you is NOT polite! I don't know who you're hiding from, but I'm not her!" She moved over to the dagger-thrower, adopting a defensive stance. In a vain hope to avoid bloodshed, instead of attacking, she said, "I don't want to hurt you! I was hoping you could shed some light on how poor Nan Comerivos came to be being eaten by an alligator!"
Arcos says to the tengu, "We do not wish to harm you! Please, stand down so we can talk this out."
Lacking an easy way to get into the fight, Laria races into the room, hopping over a stool to come to rest between the two tables.
"Poor Nan Comerivos?!?", the tengu responds. "We paid good money to get out of Riddleport, and he couldn't even get us to Riddleport! Now he's dead, and where are we? Stuck in some bolthole in Kintargo! Take their stuff, girls, we're getting out of here tonight, with or without Chough!" She pulls her kukri free, slashing at Lubella, following it up with a stab from her sharp beak.
Lubella easily parries the blade, and dances out of the way of the tengu's bite.
Sarenrae, grant me patience to deal with unreasonable birds!, Lubella silently prayed, as she parried the tengu's clumsy attacks.
Felicia and Amalie advance cautiously into the room.
From the west, two tengu leap from the shadows with a warsquawk, brandishing sharp daggers and wielding them with inborn skill. A third races towards Laria, leaping upon her from atop the stacks of boxes.
Felicia blinks in surprise, but her guarded state allows her to parry the tengu's strike, just in the nick of time. She hops back, avoiding the second strike as well. Laria, for her part, throws the tengu off of her, and the pair square off.
"There will be no 'taking' of our stuff, thank you very much!", Lubella declared indignantly. Determined to try to avoid killing her opponent this time, she launched into her martial dance one last time, and struck to disable the obstinate tengu.
Arcos summons a bolt of lightning and shoots it at thw tengu near Laria.
Lubella's strike is easily parried by the tengu, but Arcos' bolt connects squarely. She screams in pain as her flesh is scorched by his arc of electricity, and Laria follows it up with a hail of punches and kicks.
Laria clambers up the tengu already reeling from Arcos' blast, and delivers a sharp punch to the temple, knocking her to the ground. The nearest tengu spins in surprise, allowing Laria to catch her in the stomach with a blow.
"What did you to do Jay?!?", the kukri-wielding tengu shouts at Laria, lashing out at her with her blade, then dodging away, back into the maze of crates.
The wound is deep, and Laria winces in pain as her tunic begins to stain red with blood. She tries to backhand the tengu as she retreats, but her opponent is too nimble to be struck by either halfling warrior.
Amalie moves behind Laria and lays one hand on the woman's shoulder, pumping healing magics through her body quickly.
Amalie reaches out to lay a hand over Laria's wound - when she pulls it away, the bleeding has stopped and the wound is closed. Only some minor bruising is evident. Laria gives Amalie a low whisper. "Nice work, healer girl," she replies with a nod of approval.
"OK, looks like we're trying to take them alive," Felicia says with a twitch of her tail. "I can do that!" She smacks one of the tengu upside the head with the hilt of her blade.
Having telegraphed her move, though, the tengu easily sidesteps the swing. The two surround the swashbuckler and stab at her with their blades and beaks.
Felicia laughs as the first strike comes near, and she attempts to parry the strike!
She's able to catch the tengu off-guard and strike her back, but the other one takes advantage of their better position and buries her dagger in Felicia's back. She's still standing, but her confident smile is waning from her face.
Looks like things are getting rough. Seeing Felicia in trouble, Lubella rushed over to to flank one of the catgirl's assailants.
"I'm sure we could work out a solution to whatever bind you girls are in, if we stopped fighting each other," Lubella entreated.
Arcos takes aim at the tengu that Felicia struck, summoning another bolt of electricity and hurling it at her.
She ducks as the bolt flies her way, but her feathers are singed by the passing arc.
Lubella watches the retreating tengu, and looks back at Amalie. "Felicia needs your help, I've got that one!" She bounds after the other tengu, aiming a kick at the back of her knee.
The tengu falls to a knee, but spins around with her blade, aimed at Laria's scalp!
Laria pulls back just as the blade lashes out at her, but it does cut a gash across her forehead, and her blood begins to darken her platinum blond hair.
Felicia concentrates for a moment, holding her symbol of Sarenrae aloft, and a warm glow emanates from her, healing the wounds of her allies.
Color comes back into Felicia's face as her wound closes, and she wheels around to strike the tengu she and Lubella have teamed up against.
At last, she scores a mighty blow against her assailant, and it takes all the will the tengu has to remain standing. She begins a fighting retreat towards the boxes, trying to find a defensive position.
Lubella circled around her opponent, looking for a weakness to exploit. She struck with the flat of her blade trying to bring the unsteady avian down.
"I'm sorry to have to do this the hard way," she said.
Lubella strikes the tengu, already reeling from Felicia's mightly blow, and she's sent tumbling to the ground. Arcos lobs another arc of electricity towards the remaining tengu.
She dodges at the last moment, and while she avoids most of the blast, a few of her feathers smoke as the lightning singes her.
Laria renews her assault on the kukri wielding tengu, hoping to bring her down swiftly.
The tengu dodges away, and is about to return her attacks when she sees Lubella drop the tengu before her. "Maggie!", she cries out in fear. "Treep, stand down!" She sheathes her kukri, and holds out her hands in supplication. "You wanted to talk...can we still talk?"
"Certainly," Lubella replied. "That's all I wanted to do in the first place. Please place your weapons on the ground; I'd like to avoid further hostilities. Don't worry, you can have them back later."
She collected the weapons from the fallen tengu and said, "Amalie, can you heal the wounded, please?"
Once the unconscious avians had been revived, Lulella said, "Let's start over: Lubella Heathertoes, at your service," she said, bowing (she felt that establishing proper manners was important). "I'd like to introduce you to Laria, Felicia, Amalie and The Blue Warlock."
After the introductions were complete, she continued. "It sounds like you're in some sort of difficulty. I didn't quite catch if you were trying to get to Riddleport, or if you have just come here from there. In any case, I'm sure we can help you out.
"First, though, I'd like to understand what happened to Nan Comerivos. I had understood he was storing some goods here, but after not hearing from him for a few days, we came to see how he was doing, and found him dead. He had been partially eaten by an alligator, which was nearby and attacked us. After we slew the beast, I examined the body. In addition to the obvious bite marks, there were what looked to be claw wounds.
"Just after the fight with the alligator, but before we retrieved Nan's body, I was attacked in the adjacent room by an avian, which had been lying in wait. Although superficially similar to a tengu, it had massive claws, which seemed similar in size to the marks on Mr. Comerivos' body. Can you shed any light on what happened?"
The tengu group together, and while still wary of you, have definitely softened their tone due to your display of martial prowess. "My name is Korva Fushi," the lead tengu says to Lubella. "And these are my sisters, Jay, Maggie, and Treep. We're all from Riddleport originally. It wasn't an easy life in the City of Cyphers, but we made it work. Mother worked as a thief and sell-sword, and taught me what she knew of how to handle a blade and lift a purse. She went on jobs to earn the coins to feed us, and one day, she didn't come back from one. Life's cheap there, and I had to raise us as best I could. I taught the girls what Mother had passed on to me, and we made a bit of a name for ourselves on the docks. People knew who the Fushi Sisters were. That meant we got attention, and eventually, we got enough of the wrong kind, so the four of us skipped town with our half-sister Chough."
"Adopted sister," Maggie says, correcting her sister's mistake. "She wasn't even a tengu like us."
"We didn't know that at the time!", Korva replies, admonishing her sister. "She was recently hatched and on the streets, and we'd just lost Mother. I had to take her in. How was I to know she was a dire corby?"
"I'm just saying that if you hadn't done that, she wouldn't have killed that crime boss's second son, maybe we'd still be in Riddleport."
"Don't start this with me, Maggie! Not today! Look, Chough may have caused us all sorts of trouble, but taking her in was not a mistake! Maybe I should have left her in Riddleport, but dammit, I considered her family. Right up until she killed Nan, at least. I thought I could control her impulses, but she tore into him when she learned we weren't going to be leaving here for Westcrown any time soon."
"So that brings us up to now. The five of you have the four of us. What do you intend to do? I mean, if you're not here to turn us over to the watch or to drag us back to Riddleport, then what?"
Lubella listened attentively to Korva's account, before responding. She was inclined to forgive these Tengu their indiscretion; it had been a misunderstanding, it seemed, as she had suspected all along. "So it sounds like your adopted sister was the one that I fought in the other room," she said with regret. "I'm afraid that I am responsible for her death. I tried to talk to her, but she only wanted to fight. She said something to me in a language I didn't understand, before attacking me; she looked at me as if she was only interested in my death."
"She was carrying this," she said, producing the locket. "It looks like some sort of keepsake; there are fragments of eggshell inside. Is it something you recognize?"
Lubella paused while the Fushi Sisters had a chance to look at the locket. After a minute or so, she continied: "I would imagine that the current political situation in Cheliax complicated getting you to Westcrown. I don't know how much you know about the latest events, but an order of Iomedaean knights, the Glorious Reclamation, attacked and captured the citadel of the Hellknight Order of the Godclaw, supposedly reclaiming a holy relic which was there. This has led to rumblings of rebellion in Cheliax, and rumors of an impending full scale invasion by the Glorious Reclamation.
"As a result, martial law has been declared, and here in Kintargo, a new Lord Mayor, Barzillai Thrune has taken over, having been sent by the queen to tighten royal control. He has issued a number of new edicts, which are, shall we say, unusual. I'm sure that all this has made it much more difficult to get you to your destination." She dared not give away information of the Silver Ravens, at least not just yet; she needed to judge if these Tengu were at all sympathetic, and if they could be trusted. Was there any chance that they could be recruited to join the rebellion?
"We're certainly not going to turn you over to the dottari. I'm sure we can arrange for a place for you to stay," she said glancing over at her halfling host. They could possible stay here, but I can't speak for Laria without discussing it with her first.
"There are some further possibilities, but I will need to discuss them with my associates first."
Korva takes a look at the locket and nods. "That was hers. The shell was bits of her egg that we kept for her. The amulet...well, it wasn't exactly mine, but Mother produced it for us a few days before she disappeared. I had the runes translated awhile back. It reads 'mother'. I didn't want the memories, so I gave it to Chough. It..." She takes a moment, the conflicting emotions playing across her face. "It's probably for the best you did what you did. She'd killed a lot of people, and not all of them had it coming. You did what I didn't have the strength to do." She wipes a tear from her eye, and listens to Lubella's recounting of the events surrounding the Glorious Reclamation.