Zarine jingles a few coins meaningfully. "I didn't mean that; I'm not licensed here. I simply wanted to compensate you for information you might provide. That seems fair, doesn't it? You look like a guy who knows a lot, and I certainly don't."
The man begins to get agitated. "Listen, Lady, I don't want any money and I don't want to help you. Get out of here now or else." He pulls back his cloak slightly and lets the hilt of his shortsword peak out."Move along now!"
"No need for violence, friend. I'm only trying to find where I'm supposed to perform."
Zarine begins to hum as she steps back a pace or two, then begins singing an old Jalmeray song, body swaying and hands moving lightly through stylized motions as she does.
♪♫Where shall I meet him, the Man of my Heart?
He is lost to me and I seek him wandering from land to land.
I am listless for that moonrise of beauty,
which is to light my life,
which I long to see in the fullness of vision
in gladness of heart♫♪
The lookout is unimpressed with Zarine's song, but does believe her story about performing. His agitation gives way to exasperation. "Lady, for the third time. I cannot help you. I'm new to this town and I am as lost as you are. Please go and find someone else on another street. There are just warehouses here. I'm sure someone on another street can help you better than I."
"You are new here? Where are you from?"
The man momentarily let's down his guard, "I am originally from a small town in Ustalav." A sharp sound deeper from the alley causes him to jump and look over his shoulder. When turns back to Zarine, he whispers in a low voice, "please move on, it's not safe here."
Zarine sighs and says softly, "What a shame; I had hoped to get to know you better. Thank you for the warning. I will depart. If there is danger, be careful."
She strolls away down the street in the direction of the waiting group, furtively beckoning them to follow and turning down any nearby alley or side-street, out of view of the lookout.
Once they are assembled, she says quickly, "He would give no information, but there was something else in the alley behind him that I did not get a good look at. I couldn't tell if he was watching Carthon's or simply being a lookout for another shady activity based in that alley."
"What do we do now? Keep watch for ourselves, or try to force our way into the alley?"
"It won't do to enter the warehouse in full sight of their lookout," Savendir says hurriedly. "Perhaps we should attend to whatever is in the alley first."
"If we do, please try to spare the lookout. He was courteous, at least. Now, is there another entrance to the alley? Perhaps we can go across the rooftop. They may not expect that." She gasps as a thought occurs. "Or maybe they are watching as we are, to try to stop the kidnappings. We may not be the only agents on the trail."
"I hope that is the case. Oog and I would hate if things became violent."
"I could take care of him."
Owen squints once more in the direction of the alleyway.
"I could take care of him."
Owen squints once more in the direction of the alleyway.
"We could go up and over. I brought a line and grapple. That way, we could approach in silence from above and spy upon those in the alleyway." Zarine gestures gracefully at her pack, indicating the equipment there.
"That sounds good to us...uh...Zarine." Ilias shuffles nervously.
"That should give us a good perspective," Savendir agrees.
"Perhaps we should check the south side of the building. Maybe a place less busy, hmmm?" Zarine saunters to the south corner of the building they are next to and peeks down the street towards the west.
The street to the south of the warehouses is much quieter, very similar to the street that Carthon's Warehouse sits on.
"This looks likely, gentlemen. Keep an eye out, please."
Zarine rounds the corner into the much less busy street, shrugs off her pack and removes the rope and grappling hook, resuming possession of the backpack before she attempts to throw the hook to the roof of the warehouse. She waits until there is no traffic in sight, then makes her throw, ready to duck out of the way if the grapple should plummet back.
Zarine tosses the grappling hook high into the air. It arcs gracefully over the ledge of the roof. She tugs on it and the hook sets securely, its teeth biting into the ledge masonry.
Ilias whispers to his left, "Oog, you keep watch that way, and I'll keep watch this way."
"Let's see how well this works." Zarine does her best to ascend to the warehouse's roof.
Zarine easily climbs the rope and lifts herself on top of the roof of the warehouse. Looking to the south she sees the markets and stalls of the Downmarket District. To the east she sees the inland lake near the center of Kaer Maga and to the north of the lake she can see the Widdershins District. To the northwest, she can see the partial ruins of The Warren District where she entered the city.
The rooftop itself is fairly flat with just a hint of an incline to allow the rain to fall off the roof. The incline runs east/west with the low point of the roof running parallel to the alley below. In the southwest corner, a metal chimmey pokes out of the roof. Smokey tendrils drift lazily out of the stove pipe. Near the middle of the roof, a small shack like structure stands with a closed door.
A low ledge about a foot high runs the perimeter of the roof.
The sun is beginning to set to the west.
Zarine checks the anchoring of the grapple and drops prone, waving over the edge to the party below. "Clear!" she hisses to Ilias and Oog.
"OK. Oog, you go first. I'd hate to fall on you and hurt you."
Savendir looks up and steels himself for the task. He never had much practice climbing ropes. He begins to climb, but his inexperience is evident. A misplaced hand and foot sends him crashing into the wall and falling back to the ground with the wind knocked out of him.
Savendir makes it up almost half way up the wall when loses his grip and crashes back down onto the concrete sidewalk beneath him. . He lands with a loud crash.
Two workers come out of another warehouse that is across the street from the one Savendir is trying to scale. They see the elf crumpled in a heap on the ground and the rope dangling against the side of the building.
"What's going on out here?" they shout as they move toward Savendir to investigate.
Zarine calls down from the roof, "Stop clowning. I can see some surface damage, but you are needed to determine if it is structural. Now get up here before we are fired!"
The first worker says, "Svensson, they are just working on the roof."
The second worker answers, "Johan, you are a fool. Why would they begin work this late in the afternoon? And why would they be climbing on the outside of the wall, and not take the interior stairs? They are up to no good."
"We can't see the outside structure from the interior stairs, obviously. We do this all the time. If you're hurt, elf, the boss is going to be really upset."
Owen moves further into the shadows of the alleyway, and once again begins counting the knots in his rope, keeping a wary eye on the scene in the street.
"Hurm..."
Savendir carefully gets to his feet and shakes out his limbs. "I'm okay," he calls up loudly. "Bruised, I think, but nothing broken."
"Thank you so much, gentlemen, for your concern. My life flashed before my eyes, and for we elves, that is a lot of flashing. I really must be more careful."
Ilias's eyes widen as the discussion continues. "Oh, Oog, I hope Zarine can convince them to move on. And I hope Savendir is OK," he says quietly as he looks over his right shoulder.
The second man ponders Zarine's explanation. "That seems like a strange thing to do and a dangerous way to do it. Be careful. I guess you right Johan. Let's get back to work." The two men return to their warehouse.
Zarine watches the men retreat from the alley and rests her forehead on the rooftop with a gentle thud.
"I didn't think that would work," emerges in a muffled voice from where she lies facedown atop the warehouse.
Nyxalia watches the proceeding from the shadows in the alleyway, wary when the men come close, and staying alert for trouble.
She will wait for all the others to ascend the rope before she detaches herself from the shadows and climbs up herself.
Owen waits for the workmen to leave, and then begins climbing the rope.
Zarine watches the men retreat from the alley and rests her forehead on the rooftop with a gentle thud.
** spoiler omitted **
"Ahem. Let's try this again."
With great difficulty, Savendir manages to haul himself up to the roof.
"Oog has more faith in luck than I, apparently. You know, I had always envisioned elves gliding easily through the canopies of their forest homes. Now it seems they simply have a good PR department."
Zarine rises to a kneel and remains near the grappling hook, ready to aid those coming onto the roof or to steady the grapple if it begins to look shaky, greeting each newcomer with a nod and pointing to the little building atop the roof, a finger across her lips warningly.
Once all have ascended, Zarine hauls up the rope. "No point leaving it dangling there for everyone to see."
She tiptoes to the edge of the roof bordering the alley where the lookout kept watch on Carthan's and peeks over quietly to see what might have been moving in the dim light behind the man.
As Zarine peers over the edge, all she can see is the lone watchman still staring intently at the warehouse.
Zarine creeps back quietly and informs the rest of the lack of anything interesting in the alley.
"So, what now?" she whispers, "This is a good place to keep watch. Or we could go in that door and see what is inside this warehouse. I swear I heard something move in the alley behind the lookout earlier, but I can't see anything now. Any ideas?"
"Let me have a look," Savendir whispers. He pears into the alley, his sharp elven senses trying to detect any other occupants.
While Savendir goes to peek into the alley, Zarine sneaks over to check the door on the little rooftop shed.