"Well let's put it to a consensus. I don't think any of us want to sell them, so it we are left with the choice to leave them or kill them. I think they'll have at least a chance of living if we leave them, and who knows maybe we can come back.
"I vote leave them."
"I vote to leave them," Lubella replied.
I don't like this, I really don't. But, better to not irritate my new, what - friends? Hopefully the dogs can fend for themselves once freed. Amalie thinks as she considers the topic.
Leave them. Maybe they'll fare better than I expect. she says, a sad note of resignation in her voice.
"I'm sorry, Amalie. I just can't let myself believe that it'll be better to end the poor things." Felicia says in a soft voice. "I promise we'll do everything we can to keep them safe until a better idea comes around."
With a look at the dogs, Felicia starts to work on her plan. Carefully corral the dogs into a spot where she can reach the makeshift ropes, then nick them all free from the safety of outside and run like hell.
Felicia sets to work, and in a matter of minutes, she's rigged up a makeshift pulley system, with one end tightly tied to a battered desk leg. Everyone heaves, and there's a loud crash from inside the stables as the corral collapses. The barking increases as the dogs scramble out from the stable pen they were in, and while they bark at you through the tight opening to the outside, they don't actually pursue.
"I see why the Lord-Mayor wants those dogs," Rexus says as you flee the scene, leaving the dogs behind. "Those things were terrifying!" Several minutes later, you are deep within Redroof, and slow your pace to a walk. "So, anyone know where we can get this lockbox opened?"
Your best bet is probably to find someone in the Newt Market. The Newt usually deals in magical items, and as a result is popular with the adventuring set. While you're not quite looking for magical items, there'd almost certainly be someone who could help open that lock for a fee.
"I'm afraid I'm new in town," Lubella replied. "I'm still trying to figure out where everything is."
"I really have no idea," Lubella said, shrugging her shoulders.
"I know just the place. I used to hang around the Newt market a fair bit, and I'm almost certain we can find some shady bugger there able to pick it." As the group slows, Felicia starts digging in her backpack.
"Sounds good to me," Lubella replied. "Lead on!
Amalie smiles at Felicia's kind words before they release the hounds.
As they make their way out and into the streets, she raises a pair of small questions. What is our goal here, beyond picking this lock? What's our next step?
Lubella took a deep breath as they left the abandoned livery. Although the usual smells of the city were present, it smelled like sweet, fresh air compared to the foul vapors in the basement.
"I suppose some of that will be determined by what we find in the box," she said in reply to Amalie's question, being careful not to be overheard. "To re-establish the Silver Ravens, we're going to have to build an organization. We'll want to figure out what each of us is going to be responsible for, and work out a step-by-step plan.
"We will need a headquarters; I'd like to find somewhere less conspicuous than the Longroads Coffee House, somewhere were we can come and go without drawing too much attention. I don't want to bring trouble down on Laria.
"I want to find the local priests of Sarenrae — I'm sure they've gone into hiding. My understanding is that the Church of Shelyn is still legal in Kintargo. They've always been friendly to us, so they might have given our people refuge."
"Laria should be able to help us with all of that," Rexus says. "She has been doing this for a long time, she should have some good ideas on that front."
Gathering up your courage, you brave the Bleakbridge once again, paying the minor toll and avoiding the stares of the dottari. You all breathe a sigh of relief as you are not singled out for additional security once again, and make your way through the docks towards the Newt Market. It's a busy day - several fishing boats have recently come in, and there are people bustling to and fro with baskets filled with silver-scaled salmon. You have to press through crowds every once in awhile, and move out of the way when someone doesn't notice you. One such person - a tengu, oddly enough - bumps into Rexus along the way, and Rexus shoves him roughly away, one hand upon his coin purse. "Leave me be, thief!", he shouts. The tengu begins to race away from you as quickly as he can, though his progress is slowed by the crowd as well.
"You OK, Rexus?" Lubella asked him. "Did he take anything?" She looked around in case that was a diversion. In her native Katapesh, groups of thieves would have one of their number cause a commotion, then, while the target was looking at the first one, one or more of the others would lift valuables from either him, or anyone else who wasn't paying attention. She made sure to put her hand on her own purse.
"Careful, there may be others!"
"I'm fine," Rexus says, more shaken than anything else. "I'm pretty sure he didn't take anything. He fumbled the grab." His hand quickly goes to the mithril key he's been wearing around his neck, and he breathes in relief as he feels it still there. For her part, Lubella doesn't see any other thieves working the crowd. Maybe this one was working on his own?
"Check your possessions," Lubella advised Felicia, Amalie and Arcos. "Let's move along and attend to our errand."
None of the rest of the group seems to have been burgled, so you head on to the Newt Market. The bustling market is filled with all the purchasing needs the adventuring sort could use - at one kiosk, a woman of distant Varisian descent is hawking several different feather tokens, while at another, a tengu is offering healing potions and kites with equal vigor. None are immediately obvious locksmiths, but the common chorus echoed by the merchants is simply, "You should speak to the Newt."
After awhile, you meet up with the eponymous marketeer. A gnome with amber eyes dark purple hair, he is initially busy speaking with a dwarf operating a beer tent, collecting his daily fees. "Oh, what's this now?", he says inquisitively as you introduce yourself to him. "New adventurers to the town! I can't say I've seen you here before. Anything you're looking for? Ask your questions, and find out what the Newt knows!"
Felicia puts on a big doe eyed smile and asks "Well, I seem to have lost my key to this old lockbox, and I don't have the skill to get it open. Old family things, you know, I'd really like to find a locksmith if you could manage."
Lubella kept an eye out for people who might be watching them or trying to listen in. She tried not to be too obvious about keeping watch.
"Family heirlooms, hm?", The Newt says, giving Felicia a knowing smile. "Maybe that's so, kitten, and maybe it isn't, but that's of little concern to me. I happen to have a locksmith in residence, and since you're new to my peepers, I'll take you to him myself. Come along!"
He leads you deeper into the market to a semi-permanent structure - an oiled-canvas awning overhangs a two-story home. Seated on a stool wearing a pair of goggles is another gnome, this one with dark, curly black hair. He's engrossed in constructing a lock and doesn't notice your approach - that's handled by a female gnome with green hair seated by the door. "Adoril, dear! You've customers again!"
The gnome looks up from his work, his large eyes magnified to comical proportions by the goggles. "GIANTS!", he cries, nearly vaulting off the stool. "Not more giants!" He grabs for a nearby knife.
"Dear! You've forgotten to take off your lenses again!"
Adoril freezes, and glances at his hand, studying it, then you, then it again. Finally, he removes it, his face turning scarlet. "Ahem, sorry, I get lost in my work sometimes. Thank you, Whinnipur. Welcome to Tinker's Tinkerings - what can I do for you?"
Did he just call me a giant? That's a first! Lubella suppressed a smirk. Or perhaps he was talking about the others?
"Hello, good sir!", she said to the gnome on the stool. "My mistress has a box that needs opening. It's quite old, and I'm afraid the key has gone missing over the years."
"Well, I'll say it's old, miss,", Adoril says, turning the box over in his hands. "Though that doesn't seem to have affected the lock over much. Looks to be in good condition, but I should be able to get it open for you in short order. Have a seat, I'll get to work right away!" He puts the goggles back on his face, and sets to work upon the lock.
Whinnipur, the locksmith's wife, heads over with a pitcher of water and mugs. "Please excuse my husband's eccentricities," she says quietly, pouring a drink for anyone who takes her up on it. "The village back home was attacked by giants several years ago, and he had a hand in stopping them. There was a lot more to it than that, but he doesn't like speaking about it. It unnerves him, as you can see."
"I quite understand," Lubella said compassionately. "That must have been a difficult time. Is he something of a warrior, then?"
"Oh, quite! He started adventuring to make ends meet for his uncle's locksmithing venture with some other people he met. He was their trapfinder, and quite good at it too. After he put that behind him, we settled down, and moved out here from western Varisia. He was originally from Magnimar, you know, and I think the quiet village life just wasn't exciting enough for him, certainly after everything he went through."
"", Adoril exclaims, springing open the lock. Whinnipur starts at the sound, and her husband quickly hangs his head in apology. "Aherm, here you are miss, one opened lockbox! Are you needing the box itself? If not, I could take it as payment - the box isn't salvageable, but I could probably pop out the lock and make up a new key for it." He places the box on the table in front of him, and you get your first view of what's inside - stacks and stacks of papers and scrolls.
"Well, things are getting 'exciting' around here lately, that's for sure," Lubella replied. "A quiet life might start to look pretty good the way things have been going."
She looked around at the sound of Adoril's success. "Thank you, sir!", she replied. "I think we can make do without the box — Mistress?" She looked over at Felicia. It was a bit embarrassing to let these people jump to the conclusion that she was a slave, but it seemed advisable. I'm going to hear about this later, I just know it.
Arcos is briefly confused by Lubella but catches on, nodding slightly.
Felicia catches on after a moment. Hoping that the look of disgust on her face could pass for the haughtiness she imagined slave owners to exhibit, she waves a hand dismissively at the box and takes the stack of documents gingerly, handing what was too awkward for her to hold to Arcos. Afraid to speak for the moment, she gives a polite curtsy to the gnome and his wife, and excuses herself.
A few moments later, as the party catches up to Felicia, they find her retching into a bin of rubbish.
"You OK, Felicia?", Lubella asked. "Let's go somewhere more discreet where we can look over this stuff."
At Rexus' suggestion, you return to the Long Roads Coffee House, and soon find yourselves in the upstairs lounge, examining the documents and scrolls. The scrolls are magical, which Rexus decodes quickly with a wave of his hand. "I see why the Ravens held onto these scrolls, they could come in handy for a clandestine organization like ours."
The documents are a different matter altogether. It's not written in the trade tongue, but instead a language using three very different looking alphabets. Arcos recognizes one of them as Celestial, but the letters are combined with letters from the other two mysterious alphabets. "The other two are Elven and, oddly, Strix," Rexus says as he examines the documents more closely. "And if using three different alphabets weren't enough security, the author encoded the documents further. Fortunately, I speak all three languages, so I should be able to decode them, given time." He looks at the large stack of documents. "A lot of time."
Laria clambers up the ladder to the second floor, closing the hatch behind her. "Good to see you all made it back in one piece - I heard some of what you encountered in the stables. If you like, I can get you all some dinner, and we can discuss the steps we need to take to free Kintargo of the Thrice-Damned House of Thrune!" She smiles confidently, her apple cheeks revealing small dimples.
Lubella washed the filth from the basement of the Fair Fortune Livery off of her feet, before entering the coffee house. After they made their way upstairs, she took off her pack and sat down, glad to finally be able to relax. "I wish I could help with the documents," she said to Rexus. "Unfortunately, I don't know any of those languages."
"Dinner would be wonderful!", she replied to Laria. She had given her lunch to the dogs in the livery, so she was absolutely famished.
Laria sets to work to making some dinner, hauling up a basket of selected breads and cheeses to set on the table for you while she makes a huge pot of stew. "Hope you're hungry!", she says with a grin. "I think better over a good, hot meal or three! After all, a halfling girl's got to watch her figure, right, Lubella?"
You snack on the bread, and eventually Lubella brings steaming hot bowls of thick lamb and kidney stew to the table. "Eat up, there's plenty more where that came from." She begins to tuck in, listening to the lot of you describe your adventures in full.
"Well, you handled yourselves quite well down there, and your gut instincts on how to handle the dottari were spot on. The Chelish Citizens' Group is a bunch of partisans too stupid to realize they're being used by Barzillai, but the dottari? A lot of them are just men and women who wanted to serve Kintargo, but got caught in the regime change. It's not a good idea to antagonize them more than necessary.
"So, I think Rexus let you know that I went to him to give him his mother's coffer. Not sure if he told you how I knew her, though. She was the leader of the Sacred Order of Archivists, a group of Irorans who were secretly gathering all of the knowledge that the redactors were trying to erase. Truth be told, she sought out my advice more than I sought hers - if she had questions on how to avoid suspicion or subversive tactics, she came to me. Unfortunately, they never invited me into their headquarters, so I can't even tell you anything about that.
"As for my own contacts in the Bellflower Network, well, they're not going to be much help. I managed to get a group of fugitives on a boat into Varisia several days ago, but since then, the Network has pulled away. Can't say I blame them - Kintargo's not as safe a place for runaway slaves now as it was under the previous Lord-Mayor's rule.
"And don't go buying Barzillai's claim that Jilia fled Kintargo! She wouldn't flee to Vyre, let alone Arcadia. The Jilia Bainilus I knew would have stood up against these sorts of abuses. My guess? He's got her held captive somewhere in town, but I have no idea where we'd even start looking.
"The Hellknights have been instrumental in the enforcement of the curfew, but it's all come from the Order of the Rack. The Order of the Torrent are based out of Kintargo, but they've been quiet over the last week. Lictor Octavio Sabinus, their leader, hasn't been seen in that time. He'd be a powerful ally, but again, I don't know where to start looking, and besides, you probably have bigger concerns than looking for a lawman right now.
"There's a few other people that might help, like Shensen or the Rose of Kintargo. Shensen's a local opera singer, and a devotee of Sarenrae, while the Rose is the head priest of the cult of Milani, goddess of those who fight against unjust rule. Shensen spent a lot of time at the opera house, but as you well know, Barzillai has set up shop in there, so we'll not be able to search that any time soon. As for the Rose, they've gone silent. Perhaps if you can attract their attention, they will contact you.
"Which leads me to the next point - how to do the work of overthrowing a tyrannical government. There's really five stages, and of course, right now we're in the first. At this point, you need support. Help those whose rights are being oppressed by the government. Seek out and assist those who are already voicing dissidence against House Thrune.
"Before you can do that, though, you'll need a safe space to plan the rebellion. I can probably help with that, too, but that can wait until tomorrow. You probably could use some rest after that fight against the mindless devils."
"I have plenty of appetite this evening!", Lubella replied. "Due to unforseen circumstances, I didn't eat lunch today, or afternoon tea!" She ate a generous amount of bread and cheese while she waited for the main course to arrive. When the stew came, she ate heartily, and gladly accepted a second helping. "That really hit the spot!", she said appreciatively.
On Laria's mention of the well-known opera singer, Lubella piped in, "One of the reasons I came to Kintargo was to find out what happened to Shensen. I was sent by the high priestess of the Temple of Sarenrae in Korvosa, after we got news of the Night of Ashes.
"I'd like to contact Sarenrae's priests here; I imagine they've all gone into hiding. Do you think that the Church of Shelyn might be offering sanctuary to some of them? My understanding is that they haven't been outlawed — yet.
"Although my mission is to lend support to the faithful of Sarenrae, I'd like to reach out to the other oppressed faiths as well. We have a common goal in resisting Thrune's oppressive rule. I hope that the Shelynites will share our goals as well. What about the Church of Abadar, though? Any opinion on their views of the current situation?
"There's also the merchants. I would imagine Barzillai Thrune's ridiculous edicts are going to cost them a fair amount of business.
"And lest we forget, the poor will suffer terribly — they always do when bad things happen. I want to reach out to them, with food and medical care. I know it sounds risky, drawing attention to ourselves that way, but I think it would be a great way to build support, not to mention being the right thing to do!"
Amalie sits quietly, tucking neatly into the stew, listening to the others talking about the situation.
It's not just enough to find those voicing dissent. We should be looking for those unable to voice their dissent as well. Ensure that they know they have a home, and a voice, in our caucus. She says between bites of stew.
As for medical care, I will gladly help provide whatever I can there. I've done it in the past, and will not be scared away from that right thing to do. Period. So long as I leave the mint and night tea out of the advertisement, it would still be strictly legal. she says, thinking through what kinds of goods she'd need to acquire.
Laria nods at Lubella and Amalie's suggestions. "Well, let's take that one at a time. Shensen probably knew any Sarenrites in town, but she was the most public about her faith. She always did have a 'devil-may-care' attitude about it - she could get away with it, due to her status as a local celebrity, but most other people couldn't. You might talk with the Shelynites at Songbird Hall, though. If anyone knows where the clergy might have gone to ground, Zachrin Vhast might. If he does, though, I doubt the high priest would just tell you. You'd probably need to impress him that you could be trusted with that secret.
"But the Abadarites? Ha! Don't make me laugh. They're not quite the lapdogs of House Thrune or the Church of Asmodeus, but they seem to be loyal to the office of the Lord-Mayor, regardless of the person in charge. All I've seen them care about is that the House of Golden Veils' coffers are full, and the rest of the city be damned.
"And you both are absolutely right - help the poor and voiceless, stick up for the downtrodden. Do the work that the current leaders are ignoring, pass out food and blankets to those that need them, offer medical care - that's how you get people on your side. There'll be more to it, of course, but that's for another time."
"Hmm, perhaps if I offered to assist the Church of Shelyn in some way, that could help," Lubella said. "I don't suppose a gift would really make a difference, but I do have some samples of Katapeshi textiles, which I brought as part of my merchant cover story. I could sing Mr. Vhast a few Sarenrite songs, in Kelish even, if you think that would do any good."
"It probably couldn't hurt, but I expect you'll need to prove to people that you can back up your good intentions with decisive action. I'd be surprised if Zachrin doesn't appreciate a good song, but he almost certainly won't give the location of the Sarenrites up no matter how good it is - if he even knows where they're at in the first place."
"Well, I imagine something requiring decisive action will come up," Lubella remarked.
Lubella fell silent for a few minutes, thinking about the task ahead. Finally, she spoke again. "We're going to need a base of operations — somewhere where we can come and go without drawing too much attention to ourselves. I appreciate you taking us in here, Laria, but I worry that people will begin to notice if we set up shop here at Long Roads. That wouldn't be good; eventually the dottari will raid this place and arrest us. I think we need somewhere less conspicous."
Laria smiles at Lubella's concern. "Cautious and considerate. I like that. I appreciate that, but I think you'll like what I have in mind. Get some rest, and we'll talk about it more in the morning."
"Yeah, it's been a long day," Lubella replied. "I'll see you in the morning." She healed both her own and Felicia's remaining wounds, and headed up to bed.
|
You awaken the next day, and Laria's laid out all sorts of breakfast pastries, smoked salmon, and a pot of coffee with ceramic mugs. "Have a seat," she says, her words muffled as she's midbite on a spiced muffin. "And some breakfast, too!" She makes pleasant small talk while you eat and drink.
Eventually, though, she sets down her mug before her. "So, Lubella has a very good point - if you operate out of my coffee house, the dottari might eventually put two and two together, and try to shut me down. Like I told you all when we first met, I organize the workings of the Bellflower Network here in Kintargo, but I don't do it through the coffee shop - not exactly. See, the Network helped set me up in this location because they knew the neighbors really weren't using their basements. We knocked down a bunch of the walls, rebuilt some sections, and we've been using it as a safe house and last stop on the road to freedom for escaped slaves. We even discovered a forgotten shrine to the Savored Sting while we were rebuilding, and so we started calling it The Wasp's Nest.
"[b]Over the last decade, I've lost track of how many slaves have spent their last nights in Cheliax in the Nest, right before they were placed on boats to Varisia or the River Kingdoms - anywhere where slavery is prohibited. And it's not just abolitionists that have used it. There's plenty of folks who make a cool copper smuggling items into and out of Cheliax, and I've made good friends with the sort of folks who don't mind pulling the wool over the eyes of the Thrice-Damned House of Thrune.
"[b]That leads me to my point - it's currently occupied. I think. See, a had a good friend of mine, a smuggler by the name of Nan Comerivos, sneak a load of textiles from Varisia through the tunnels, and he'd been using the Nest as a warehouse until he could find a buyer. Last I saw him he went to check on his goods amid the troubles, but he hasn't emerged. With everything going on, I hadn't had time to follow up on him. I know he's down there, since I've been leaving food and wine in the basement, and it's been disappearing, but..." she trails off, taking a sip of coffee, holding it in her hands for warmth.
"At night...I swear I hear laughing from down there. Echoing, inhuman laughter."
Lubella lay awake at night, thinking about the creatures they had encountered in the basement of the Fair Fortune Livery; she was pretty sure they were some sort of devil. Wasn't Nox, Barzillai Thrune's bodyguard, supposed to be half-devil? If they were going to overthrow him, surely they would have to deal with her sooner or later? How will I react when I come face to face with some fiendish horror? If I hesitate, or make the wrong decision, my friends could die.
Eventually she fell into a fitful slumber. Although she remembered nothing of her dreams in the morning, there must have been some. The small figure murmured in her sleep, "For the Sun and the Fury."
Lubella awoke next morning, dressed, and said her dawn prayers. She went downstairs for breakfast. "Wow, Laria, this is quite the spread!", she said enthusiastically. She ate generously, as halflings are wont to do, and chatted amiably, before the talk finally turned to business.
"By inhuman laughter, I'm guessing you don't mean the melodious merriment of elves," she said slowly, in response to Laria's account. "I'd say it's time to go and have a look at what's going on down there! I hope your friend's all right."
Arcos helps himself to the breakfast, and while a bit disappointed at the lack of tea, he happily tucks in. In response to Lubella, Arcos nods his head and says, "That does seem like a good place to go. Inhuman laughter you say? Likely something strange going on there. Then again, it also sounds like a job for the Blue Warlock."
"Laria, can you give me a description of Mr. Comerivos?", Lubella asked. "There might be others down there, and I'd like to be able to identify him without having to ask." She was worried that she might have to identify a body, but didn't want put it that bluntly.
"Certainly not elves," Laria responds at last to Lubella. "Couldn't say for certain what it was, only that it wasn't human.
As for a description, Nan's a tall and lean fellow, with dark curls that fall to his shoulders with eyes to match. He's Varisian, and I'm pretty sure he's an independent operator - I don't think he has any Sczarni ties, at least. I'll be glad to make the introductions when we find him down there." She smirks as she notes the raise of your eyebrows. "Yes, we. I'm coming with you. I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you beneath my shop."
"Well, after that excellent breakfast, I feel ready for anything!", Lubella declared. "I'm ready to go when you are! Can I help you clear this away?" she asked, indicating the breakfast dishes.
"I won't turn away an extra set of hands when it comes to clearing away the dishes," Laria says, helping Lubella pick up the plates and saucers. Soon everything is in a washtub being handled by one of Laria's employees, and she motions for you to follow her into the pantry. "Just need to clear a few things away," she says, heading towards a trio of burlap sacks filled with coffee beans. One by one, she grabs them and tosses them aside with practiced ease, despite both her small frame and the apparent weight of each. Once they're moved, you see a trapdoor in the floor, which she opens. It leads down into a cellar, filled with cooking supplies, more sacks of coffee beans, and other necessities for maintaining a thriving bakery. "The secret door into the Nest is this way," Laria says, heading for the western wall.
She releases a catch under a shelf, and the wall swings open to reveal darkness beyond. "I don't like this," she says softly. "There should be lights down here, at least something visible in the main chambers. There's...there's nothing."
We'd best be prepared for trouble," Lubella said. She drew her scimitar and cast a light spell on the blade. "I'll go first." She descended the stairs, holding her weapon like a torch. Once at the bottom, she looked around, and moved clear of the stairs to make room for those who followed.
Well, that's fortunate. The swelling where the rat bit you yesterday has gone down. The rest probably did you some good.
Laria leads you down a long, damp hallway, and before long you find yourself adjacent to a large reservoir of calm, dark water on your left. Your light illuminates a wooden pier that stretches out into the water, while on your right the wall has had two holes knocked into it to provide access to the chambers beyond. A foul smell rises in this room, however, like rotting meat, and it seems to be coming from near the pier.