Flare trails after, allowing him to take them to whatever safe location he had set up for the meeting.
Riven would stop Flare."It might be a bad idea to follow someone that hunted us down anywhere, why do you think we can find this girl? Seems a waste of time to hunt for us to find someone else."
The last person that had tracked them down had tried to kill them so Riven wasn't nearly as trusting as Flare.
Cynthia's lips had twitched at the mention of the dice. And indeed - there'd been no cheating. "It's not strange for there to be no accusations of cheating when so many eyes were watching and there were no grudges." she said, quietly and calmly as she looked at Janus. "Riven, if there's a problem, I believe we should go regardless - anyone truly after us would not give up after one attempt, and would be better prepared the next, so they would be easier to stop now. Anyone who knows as much as he does would also likely be aware that wasting our time would be an extraordinarily bad move, so if he is genuine, there should be no problems. I believe it would be for the best to go along with him for now and gather information. His story is... interesting."
"If I had ill intentions towards you, would I confront you during the day, alone, on a street? Would you assume me unable to plan a nightly raid or lay an ambush?" Janus seems slightly insulted at the thought, but it passes quickly. "Considering you have been travelling with the two of them, I had expected you would have some thoughts to share on who could have been interested in them. If you have no motivation to save your companions, thats all the same to me, but for their sake, I would still request you share any information you have with me."
Then he turns to Cynthia with a tomboyish smile:"True enough, the dice are fickle. But strangers with such extraordinary luck are often under close scrutiny by locals, and easily remembered by them. If no one accuses you of cheating, you are either very skilled at it, or very lucky, in both cases, people will want to remember you in case it was not a singular event."
Flare pauses for a moment, before looking to Riven, "I... didn't notice any changes in his vocal pitch. He maintained eye contact, and didn't show any signs of weakness. If this were a debate, I'd have no reason to call him on the topic unless I had information that stood against his. I don't know for certain that he's telling the truth... but unless he's an incredibly practiced liar... I've got a feeling that he believes himself." she shrugs a little. "I don't like it any more than you do, but I don't have a safe place in town unless he's lying in the first place."
"And if he's story is just a story we could be risking ourselfs and we have no way of knowing you really are alon-" Riven seems to give up as even Flare votes against her. "Fine."
"You are risking yourselves when you leave bed in the morning. Please refrain from using such strawmen arguments to undermine my intentions. As I said, time is of the essence here, otherwise I would not address you so bluntly. But the trail may grow cold, a ship may leave...and you did seem in a hurry, too. As said, if I had ill will towards you, I would not be standing here, trying to talk you into returning to your inn. I would be scheming and plotting, and definitely not act alone." She's stalling for some reason...why would she see reason to do that?...Time to think? They would have found out eventually by themselves...did I err in judgement when I decided to approach them? No...they are just careful. A natural reaction, mostly Janus seems slightly annoyed at the hold-up, forcing him to be so....direct. So blunt. Oh well, if they felt paranoia was necessary, he could not blame them if what he had learned was true. But he had no time to spare to go about this more eloquently.
Assuming the group follows Janus, he will lead them towards the Inn room of Andrianna, and open it with a key, not offering an explanation how he came into it's possession.
The room is empty, but signs of a struggle can be seen, and as Janus is pointing them out, even by those not very skilled at reading them.
"So, as I have mentioned, it would seem that the Runaway-Princess has been captured by someone. And just when I had managed to pinpoint her location. Do any of you have any idea who could have been interested in her or had knowledge of her real identity? When I last checked, there were no demands for ransom, which could be good, or bad...depending on why so..." He begins to get carried away mentally by things only he sees, then quickly shakes it off:"So, I have not found any clues with a quick once-over of the room. Any ideas from you about who could be behind this?"
Riven didn't bother trying to explain how many holes Janus's counter had but was impressed he'd survived this long thinking so short term, she'd just follow whatever the group voted as she'd already expressed her distrust.
Tormod mostly stays quiet during this exchange, letting his friends do the talking. Before they follow Janus he takes Riven and Flare aside.
"I understand your worry but I don't think we have much choice but to follow. If Andrianna really has been taken then we can't just ignore him. Let's proceed with caution... Besides if he turns on us i'll just take his arms off, eh!"
He gently squeezes each of there shoulders and grins wide.
"Ah. So the rich kid was a princess. That explains a bit. Whose princess?" Flare says, patently ignoring all of the things he's pointing out, "And how did you come by the key to her room..?"
"The amount of people who knew her true identity was limited to pretty much everyone hear, either she told someone we were unaware of, or someone else followed in the footsteps of Janus here and tracked her down. I doubt it was any assassin, its far more likely some faction took her merely to drag us into the open. As for who, it would really be any number of people at this stage."
"The princess daughter of very worried parents. The key was left in the room, simple as that. I suppose the struggling involved shouting and generally loud, attention-drawing noise. Whoever took her left in a hurry. And an interesting question would be how they left. Because no one working here or across the street saw an unconscious girl dragged somewhere. I took the liberty of taking possession of the key when I arrived and found the door closed, but not locked."
Hearing Victor out, he considers for a moment before answering: "Well, assuming she was smart enough not to tell someone else, that leaves the more likely options of someone else tracking her down, or someone wanting to drag you into the open. While it certainly is a possibility that someone else got to her before me, I did have a headstart. Her parents contracted me at a time when they tried to keep her disappearance a secret, despite Andrianna missing a pretty important event. If they had any intention of sending others after her, I believe they would have mentioned that so we would not interfere but rather work together, but it's definitely an option to keep in mind, also, as there could be other interested parties-. By far the most likely option seems that someone interested in you is using her as a bait. You did run into some trouble, did you not? So lets start with that...which faction would have interest in dragging you out into the open...and perhaps more importantly, why?"
Victor looks irritated that what he said wasn't making it through. "I said I don't know who, it could be the Red Mantis, the Bloodhands, The Cypher Mages, any major faction leader in Riddleport, or someone completely unknown to us! What part 'it could be anyone' is foreign to you?"
"While you are certainly right that it could be anyone, we should try and narrow that list down if we can. Haven't you just left the Cypher Mages main Headquarters when I picked you up? If so, I think we can remove them from the list. If they had interest in you, they would probably have tried to keep you right there. Involvement of Red Mantis is interesting...I have no idea how those fit into this - aren't they Assassins by Trade? Did you have a run-in with them? Also, you specifically mention the Bloodhands out of 4 pirate groups operating in this city? Had any trouble with those? You are right that pointing fingers at this time will be pointless, but maybe we can find some ideas that give us a point to start. Apologies if I gave offense by my musings.
I also only took a quick look at the room before, as it's unlikely someone left clues, but then again, whoever took her also left the key, so if they were in a hurry, it's an option...and just to be clear on this: I do understand if you don't fully trust me, or don't want to tell me things that happened. But I hope I am able to proof to you that we are on the same side here."
"That's all lovely and fine... but you're both leaving out that this is possibly a distraction." Flare says with a sigh. "It's very common in stories for the hero's princess to be stolen just before something important happens, thus forcing them to choose between their mission and their love. So the question isn't whether or not we need to save those two... it's whether or not we want to find out more about the people who murdered our family." she gives Janus a rather pointed look at this, "Or those who kidnapped them. Likewise, we already have someone to save, and the Bloodhands plan to use him for something nefarious, of which I am certain. If you knew more about who took her... it might be a choice, but as it stands, we already have a mission that will lead us to our more obvious enemy." she says, leaning nonchalantly against the wall.
"Do you have any leads at all on who could have taken her, or were you just hoping we could give you all the answers you needed.?"
"Definitely a possibility, Miss....I'm afraid I didn't catch your name." Looking at the collected group, Janus shrugs, then continues: "Honestly, the leads I had pointed me here, and I had found out she was involved with a group...thats you. When I learned about her location, and that you were gone, I wanted to come talk with her, and found this.", spreading both hands encompassing the room. "It seemed a logical step to contact you and see if you had any leads. It's also not uncommon in stories that associates of the princess have a hunch about why they've been captured, and bluntly said, I had hoped that you would have both a guess regarding the culprits, and motivation to free her."
"I did arrange for some questions to be asked, pulling information from a couple sources. Someone in this city knows, and someone will talk. However, that takes time. Time I hoped would not be needed. Until this information finds it's way towards me, I'll have to wait. Truth be told, a lot of my job involves waiting and watching. You mentioned another mission you had about saving someone from the Bloodhands? Your colleague also mentioned them among those who could be responsible. Would you allow me to accompany you there, on the off chance they are behind this? There is little for me to do until my little birds do their job, and if nothing else, I may earn your trust and the faster you are done with this, the earlier we can go after Andrianna-"
"Nothing we haven't already shared. To be completely honest, we're a bit sheltered... and I have very, very little idea of everything that is going on. Pirates fighting pirates to kidnap kids with marks on their hands, one kid runs off to join the pirates, another gets kidnapped, probably by the same. We've established a rapport with the Ciphers, as you noticed us leaving their base. I'm more inclined to ally myself with people just seeking information than those seeking more direct power... though even their motives are questionable." she says with a sigh.
"I'm Flare. I'll let everyone else share what they want. There isn't much to know, really. Andrianna helped us to get away when the Red Mantis showed up and sent us after a colleague of our teachers: Also murdered." She says, thin-lipped.
"If this is an attempt to get us into the open whoever took her will have to find us or we'd never know anyway, same goes if it's a distraction. Without telling us they can't accomplish much that would effect our group so if this was about us they would have found us or at least made her kidnapping more publicly known."
"It's one reason I would like to stick with you. If this kidnapping was about you, or it's purpose was to distract you, then you are at the center of all related events that will follow. So with you, I'll have the best chances to learn more first-hand."
"I think we should take him with us." Cynthia said, thoughtfully tapping a finger against her arm. "One way or another, the Bloodhands seem like they're involved in this up to their necks, and we don't have much time before they get started." It was also much easier to keep an eye on people when they were with you.
"I agree with Cynth on this one."
He turns to Janus.
"besides if you turn on us I'll take your head off."
He says it jokingly and with a smile but it's clear he will follow through if necessary.
Janus returns the smile Tormod gives him:"I've been working under worse conditions! Such as 'If you don't do this for me, I'll have you flayed', so I find your parameter quite agreeable...especially as I have no intention of turning on you."
"That would be wise." Cynthia agreed calmly. "I am sure someone so observant would be aware that we have not revealed everything we are capable of. Without a full understanding of the situation, it is difficult to plan and not have things go badly awry." And boy did she know about planning - the spirits of Lore were pretty big on that, and they rather liked people who thought things through.
"And speaking of planning, we need to deal with the Bloodhounds without getting killed by the ones attacking them, no?"
"Then I guess we don't really have a choice, if he's just going to follow us around we should head back to the tunnel?"
"I see we will get along splendidly, Cynth? Short for Cynthia, I assume? If I may be so bold to address you with your first name, that is. Do you have an idea how the attackers will recognize one another? I do have a Disguise Kit with me that may help us duplicate any markings and hopefully allow us to pass freely as members of the assault. But I agree that we will have time to discuss on the way to the tunnel...shall we get moving?"
You leave Riddleport and head towards the cavern. You arrive at it's entrance and can already hear the sounds of faraway fighting.
"I'm afraid our little excursion delayed us long enough for them to have started without our participation. Shall we hurry?"
"We aren't here to participate in a war, we're here to find Malcolm and get out with as little bloodshed as possible."
"But won't that be easier during the chaos and confusion during the assault and battle? Otherwise, it would be easier if we just come after the bloodshed part is over...so if there's a reason we go in during the battle to achieve our part, we'd best not arrive after it's all over, right?"
"I think its best if we make use of the chaos now as opposed to waiting. If we delay, we leave it up to fate as to what happens to Malcolm, maybe he dies, maybe he escapes, or any number of things could happen. We go in now." Victor states firmly.
"A reasonable argument." Cynthia mused. "Let's go." With that, she began moving, heading forward and towards their apparent destination. It was certainly true that the sooner they arrived, the better off they were all likely to be...
Flare shrugs and moves towards the front, in a set of caves, it was much more likely for things to either be in front of, or behind them. Not both, so having someone who fought in melee in the back would be a mistake. She let Tormod go in front, though, if he wanted; that's what polearms were for.
Riven wasn't sure why her friends where discussing a plan they had already prepared but kept quiet and followed them.
You press on into the tunnel and when you come out the other side you can see the battle is well under way. Most of the fighting is over by the beach with smaller groups fighting here and there. Near the cliff you can see several wooden structures. They weren't build by the bloodhands who clearly haven't been around long enough but the bloodhands must have come here because of them.
Cynthia quietly looked around, checking to see whether or not anything by the structures was relevant to the group's goals. Her gaze was fairly sharp, though at this distance... hm.
"Good thing we didn't come with a boat. Where to? The structures?"
Janus will follow whoever takes the lead, not aware if someone in the group has more in-depth knowledge about the location rather than just an idea about the overarching plan to save Malcolm.
Flare looks out on the structures when they're asked about them, and tries to gauge what they are, and what they're for, by using whatever discernible features she can see. (How old? General style? Obvious purposes?)
She then proceeds to keep her eyes on her surroundings while she thinks... though she'll quite unlikely to ever be as perceptive as Cynthia.
The buildings seems to be a small village. Your guessing it was a small fishing community. There are a dozen houses, a church, two warehouses on the side and a large central structure.
"If the luck I had recently is any indication, that's where we'll need to go!", Janus states with a serious expression on his face while pointing towards the central structure, "We could, of course, also sweep some of the other buildings. If we're lucky, there's an underground connection between the church and the fort. Then again, I think that only was true for my hometown, so maybe lets not bet on that..."
Flare shrugs. "Seems reasonable to me. Checking the church is probably worth it on its own, anyway. If we're lucky, you'll turn out to be genre savvy." she starts heading that way, uncertain precisely of how all of this is going to turn out, but she fully expects to get into a fight with people from both sides.
"We should be ready to run in case things go bad." She made sure to keep Janus in-front of her.
Cynthia stayed towards the back of the group - 'fragile' was a pretty good way of describing her, and she had no intention of being in any more danger than necessary. She did, however, keep her hexes at the ready in case they needed to put anyone down.
Tormod stays at the front of the group, sword drawn and ready to fight if need be.
Janus, staying next to Tormod, trying to protect the ladies of the group(), rushes towards the Church, seeking to utilize whatever cover the other buildings may provide.
"The main battle is elsewhere, and we'd best move quickly before that changes. I doubt the attackers are content with the beaches, nor the defenders with us being here. No matter who ends up winning over there, we should hurry."
Assuming we reach the church, Janus will try and take a look inside through a Window if possible, or listen at the door.
Victor follows the others into the church, is supply of bombs ready and primed, while remaining alert for the possibility of danger.
Riven moves up keeping an eye on the buildings as they pass, she'd watch for any buildings that had an advantage on them such as protected vantage points or doors that where more reinforced than the rest.