Lezduit
Imperia nods silently as Marshal Cressida explains exactly what she needs from the group, and she joins in with the others when they accept the task.
"But Of course, Lady Cressida" - she bows slightly to the Marshal - "We would be honored to provide our talents to aid the Watch, and the city of Korvosa, in its hour of need."
When Raina talks about the butcher shop, Imperia backs up her words, reminded of the same story - "Indeed. I've heard the same rumors... Whatever's happening there, we should make haste and go as soon as possible, before the situation deteriorates further!"
'What's happening in this city? I'd have never imagined the King's death could bring such chaos...'
"Remember," Cressida calls after you as you start to head out, "I want Vancaskerkin alive, though if he makes that impossible I won't object." There's a brief pause. "I will dock your pay, but I won't object."
The late afternoon sun is starting to turn golden yellow as you head out of Citadel Volshyenek, and it starts to crawl down the sky as you head north. You can hear shouting from the direction of the Castle and the Hill district; more riots, or at least protests against the new Queen's authority. As you head through the Midlands, things are quieter, though the dockworkers are lounging and talking in low mutters rather than doing any actual work. It sounds like ships have avoided landing at the city, and those that have come in have fared poorly; some were looted last night, and several have pulled away early, goods unsold. Food is a primary topic of discussion. Those who already had something extra put by for the festival are thanking the gods and their foresight; the ones who left their shopping to the last minute are bitter and worried. Prices are already starting to climb.
As you head into Northgate, the briny smell of the docks fades, and the streets turn more residential. The butcher's shop you're looking for isn't far from the old wall that partially surrounds this area of the city, and you locate it just as dusk is settling in. A sign depicting a fat, smiling cow hangs over the door, and a man in early middle age leans against the wall underneath, wearing a disheveled guard uniform and carrying a sword and shield. A crossbow is slung across his back, and he watches the street with a bored expression.
Turns out that Raina's like a person who won't ask for directions - steadfastly sure of where she's going and not interested in listening to anyone else on the way. That said, the rumours of food price hikes certainly catches her attention. More confirmation of what the vendor had said this morning...
I'd best pop in to see Bessa on my way home, Raina thinks to herself. Maybe grab a few things before s~!$ really hits the roof.
Korriban moves with the group. He stops and asks a woman where All the World's Meat is. At her response, he smiles. "Thank you kindly ma'am. You've done us a great favor."
Hearing the voice behind him, he turns and smirks at the familiar sight. "Well, well, well. Glad to see you're doing well, Pia." At her stumbling, Korriban moves but stops at her hand. "It's good to see you turn things around. We're here to go to All the World's Meat." At her information, the rogue strokes his chin. "So we go a shady business going on here. Thanks for the info, Pia. You know, if you're looking for a job, you can always go to the Rosa in Fiore in Bridgefront." He gives out directions to her. Before she leaves, he remembers something. "Hey! Just a random question. But do you know a guy by the name of Lem?"
At her peck, Korriban turns red and rubs the back of his neck, embarrassment on his face. He says, "L-let's keep moving."
Seeing the two former guards, Korriban can't help but smile. Two lazy, meat-headed brutes. He whispers, "Too easy. Just follow my lead, guys." He then walks forward and calls out. "Hello! My name is Arthur Anymoredonuts. My friends and I were hoping to get some meat. But, it seems that you're out. We have been told about a 'night special cuts' deal and it perked our interest. Can you help us out?"
Gadriel stays quiet on the way towards their destination. Preferring to let Korriban and Raina engage with the citizens, she skips along humming an odd ditty and occasionally chatting softly with Abu. She nods her head when Pia shows up, more interested that she's alive than happy to see her.
As the group leaves Pia and finishes the trek towards the warehouse, Gadriel asks aloud "We don't understand. Why are others handing out food? We know the churches would do it because of their Gods, but they don't sound like church men."
Pia just shakes her head, looking slightly baffled, at the question about Lem, then disappears down the dusky streets.
The guard scowls at Korriban's name. "Shove off, you ruttin'..." At the mention of 'the night's special cuts,' he cuts himself off abruptly, and listens carefully. He looks the group over, a small, nasty smile coming over his face. "Aaaahhh, we got some, uh...connoisseurs, here, eh? Surprised you brought a kid, but what you do with your own brat's your own business, I suppose. C'mon in, c'mon in...let's talk somewhere more private..." Stepping aside, he ushers you in, then follows, closing the door behind you.
Inside, a long counter runs over half the room’s width, beyond which a door stands ajar. A low bench sits against the east wall, while to the north a marble-topped table displays cuts of meat before a wide, grimy window. A decent-sized swarm of flies crawl and circle in the air above the meat; looks like they've been gathering most of the day. Another man, shorter than the the one at the entrance but thicker, stands behind the counter, also clad in a worn-looking Guard uniform. He glances questioningly at your escort, who nods with a grin as he goes to lean against one end of the counter, between you and the rest of the building.
"My name's Baldrago," the one who let you in says cordially. "This'n here is Malder. If you'd prefer to keep names out of it on your end, we're more than happy to work that way...Mr. Anymoredonuts." He grins. "So, you lot got some enemies? Someone you owe money? Sleep with someone's wife?" He chuckles. "Well, prob'ly not all of you...but whatever your issue is, name the person and you won't have to worry about them again. All we ask is 50 gold sails, and you can be on your merry way."
Free meat...? Raina can't help but be utterly sceptical on their way to this bizarre place, and doubly so after Korriban speaks with his dear little friend Pia (she makes a mental note to tease him about that happening in front of Imperia at a later date). I mean, if the prostitute's words were to be believed, this place was a front for... gods-know-what, but... free meat? Who could afford such a ridiculously decadent front for any kind of business? And what on earth did Vancaskerkin have to do with all of this?!
As she's trying to figure all the contradictions out, Korriban takes charge and leads the group into All The World's Meat. Raina almost facepalms upon hearing the rogue's pathetic attempt at a fake name, but at least the 'dealers' seem to accept things on face value... for now. Once the door's been closed behind her, Raina leans gently up against it, folding her arms and keeping a close watch over the proceedings... and Gadriel next to her at that.
"Fifty sails seems pretty cheap, doesn't it?" Raina pipes up, trying to make herself seem cool and uncaring. "Can we be sure that you do a good job of things? No trails or nothin', y'know. How do you manage to keep it that cheap? Throwin' them into your abattoir or somethin'?" She cracks a smile. "Kidding, of course."
Raina's mock interest in the proceedings of what she must assume is some kind of sordid assassination business is surprisingly well covered up. Perhaps they wouldn't realise the real reason she's asking... more evidence for when she dragged them all on back to the Korvosan Guard to rot in a cell somewhere.
'Arthur' smiles. "My partner's right. How do we know that you two can do the job we want?"
Baldrago's eyes widen slightly at Raina's suggestion. "Wh-what?! No...how dare you...!"
"Leave be, Drag," Malder says. His voice is deep and raspy, and he looks at his companion unsmilingly. "She didn't mean nothing by it. Say, Parns was telling me earlier that one of the ewes out back might lamb today. Why don't you go see if he needs any help with the birthing, eh?"
Baldrago glances from him to your group, face flushing slightly. "F-fine," he mutters back. "Ok, then..." Pushing past his companion, he disappears through the door at the back.
In the silence that follows in his wake, punctuated only by the buzzing of flies, Malder stands, stretches, pulls his longsword from below the counter, and begins casually whetting it with a stone from his pocket. "You'll have to forgive Drag there, folks; he's a big-hearted sort--well, we all are in the Cow Hammer Boys, running a charity here, after all. But he don't understand the way things is done in the real world." The stone rasps along the edge of his blade. "You're right that these things can be messy. And you're willing to pay to see the job done right. We'll call it 75 gold sails; any more'n that will look suspicious to the people what know us, if it shows up suddenly in our purses. But you stay in here much longer, people on the street might start wondering. Best you leave us the name, the place--and the gold, of course--and be on your way." He looks up and meets Raina's gaze, unblinking.
'Arthur' watches Baldrago leave. He turns to Malder. "Your boy looks rather... fidgety. Was it something we said? If so, then let's all calm down and try this again. Maybe work out a deal."
Raina arches a brow at Baldrago's obvious distress. Okay... so I'm guessing they normally don't kill people but instead just rough them up a bit. ... Or did I come too close to the truth with that joke...?
"You ever heard of Gaedren Lamm?" Raina continues with the deception warily. "Well, turns out he crossed someone, and he got himself offed just the other day. I'd like to see that person... dealt with."
She's sounding a little less sure of things as she goes... but then again, why would Malder have any reason to doubt her?
'Arthur' scowls. "Yeah! We needed some business done with Lamm and some jerks apparently swarmed in and killed everyone! They also took everything! We need those jerks... taken care of."
"Oh, enough with fatuous codes. We come to you because we know you are...special. Surely you realize your skills wwould not go unnoticed by actual conniseurs."
Malder glances sharply at Raina when she too-casually drops the story about Gaedren Lamm, though Korriban backs her up. Then Teodor saunters forward with a leer and puts in his two cents. Malder stares at the mad priest, a look of disgust growing on his face as he starts to bring his sword up into a defensive position.
"Alright, listen, buddy," he growls. "You wanna pay us to bump someone off who's botherin' ya, fine, we got it. But we ain't nobody's pet butcher....you come in tomorrow, you might have a chance of getting whatcha want..." His eyes flick across the rest of you, clearly wondering if he's dealing with some sort of cult. "I'm gonna ask you to leave our establishment, now." He's backed up slightly, keeping the bar between you and him, and is standing next to the door. [b]"And no one else better know about our liddle side business here, or we'll know who to blame."
'Arthur' smiles. "Hey, buddy. It's okay. Let's all just take a deep breath and relax. We're all friends here. Let's just relax and move on to business. And since we seem to be making you uneasy, we'll add a bit more to the pay. For apologies."
The rogue slowly takes his masterwork dagger from its hilt, keeping it hidden from the nervous man.
"Did you know the word for 'know' is simply a scrambled version of 'own?' We are not here to f!#~ with anyone. We merely are direct. We do not judge your business. But we are also not average clients."
Ooh, we got him shakin' in his boots. Poor baby.
With an even smile for Malder, Raina approaches the counter, making obvious movements towards the coin pouch in her pocket - she makes sure the clanging of the coins is easy to hear. But when she gets up close to the man, she lashes out, roughly grabbing the front of his shirt. Raina hefts the man up an inch or so, growling in his face.
"Make a single peep and I'll snap your neck," she mutters coldly to him. "You will behave and tell us what we want to know. Do you understand me?"
The guard glances from Teodor to Korriban, looking uncertain--he barely even notices Raina sneaking up on him before she grabs him, hauling him partway onto the counter. He lets out a yelp as he bangs the counter with his shin, but then stifles himself at Raina's threat. His eyes dart around the room.
"A--all right," he says hoarsely. "Wh-wh-what do you want?!"
He is cooperative for 30 minutes!
Korriban perks up. At what he hears, he curses. He whispers, "They heard us. Bows will be ready and trained on the door. One will attack any of us that survive. What's the plan?"
Gadriel seemed... lost... at the interaction between everyone. The hidden truths and bold faced lies were hard for her to try and follow, so she began just wandering slowly around the room, looking at the walls and things. Letting the others deal with the discussion, though there's still something unnerving about her.
When the conversation heats up, Gadriel pays more attention to the man behind the desk, warily keeping an eye out incase her new friends find themselves in danger.
As Raina grabs the man, Abu hunches down on Gadriel's shoulder and a ripple of energy burst from her.
Once they're in the streets, Imperia wraps herself in her ample cloak and puts on the hood, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. For a moment, the hood seems to move about in a peculiar fashion, then Rutilus settles inside, concealed under his mistress's flowing hair and ready to keep and eye out for danger.
Imperia is quite surprised when the group meets with Pia, and a little worried to see the girl doesn't seem to be well. She smiles gratefully when the girl reveals the secret phrase, and is about to thank her when Pia pecks Korriban on the cheek and bids them farewell. Frowning slightly, Imperia simply turns around and follows her companions to the butcher shop.
---
Knowing her skills at deception to be amateurish at best, Imperia decides to hang back and let Korriban, Raina and the others do the talking...
... At least till Raina decides to take more drastic actions, and grapples one of the guards!
When Korriban warns them of the danger, she grimaces, clearly tense about what's going to happen - "Whoever opens the door will get shot then? Well, I-I could summon an extraplanar being to draw away their fire... But I don't know if that'll be enough..."
With a few words and a quick gesture, Imperia surrounds herself with arcane energy, ready for the unavoidable confrontation.
Before merely a tall looming figure at the back of the group as Korriban and Raina 'negotiate' with the toughs, Adoros unslings his musket from his shoulder and starts to load the firearm as things escalate quickly. The Chelish man steps past Raina and the hefted Malder, moving behind the counter to take up a position beside the door leading into the rest of the building. He rests his right hand against the door, feeling for vibrations or the slightest movement from someone opening it.
Adoros looks to the others as he talks softly, "If quarters are cramped beyond, they can make a nasty killing zone that we'll be forced to rush through as quick as possible. I'd advise letting Mr. Malder here go through first to buy us a few seconds of hesitation from the others." The Chelish man leans close to Malder were Raina has him over the counter, "Mr. Malder, you'll only get one wrong answer before Raina here does horrific things with your joints and soft bits. How many of your comrades are currently in residence? I want a list of names of all those still within this building."
Seeing Imperia's frown, Korriban says, "Hey, I'm sorry about that. I didn't know she would do that. You're... not mad, are you?"
Korriban puts away his masterwork dagger and draws his rapier. He sits on the counter, spins around, and gets off on the other side. He then moves behind Malder, acting as control in case he gets out of hand. He says softly, "I'd listen to them. I'm willing to talk to you all day. But them... not so much."
Malder grits his teeth angrily at the threats, but doesn't move a muscle. "Downstairs--four more," he whispers hoarsely. "Drag, Karralo, Parns, and that newbie, Orik. Vancaskerkin'll be upstairs in his little office...sounds like the other four are out there." His eyes flit to the door as he waits for your next move.
Gadriel listens to the names given by the captive Malder. Nodding her head, and with Abu chittering in her ear, she pushes past Korriban to the door. Whispering "We want to try and scare them away now that we know names,"to Korriban, she hunches down and takes a deep breath. In a voice even more childlike than normal, she begins to talk to those in the hall beyond. "Man Malder says we can eat Karralo's eyes. We are very happy now, eyes are so tasty and pop when you munch on them. Parns has a bad liver though, so we only get his heart. Maybe it will still be beating when we feast. Oh, and Drag's liver is fine? Mmm. Then that will be dinner tonight. Orik is new though, soul less stained. Maybe we can have his eyes too?"
Korriban smiles at the child after her scare tactics. He whispers, "Not bad, kid. Not bad at all." Turning to the others, he whispers, "Okay, I got a smokestick, a thunderstone, a bag of sticky goo, and one vial of acid left. Anything you want me to start with?"
Gadriel shrugs her shoulders. "We thought it was worth trying. Abu says we didn't do as well as Abu would have though."
It takes a lot--a lot--of self control for Raina to not shudder profusely at Gadriel's... creepiness. Ugh. There's just something about little girls saying scary stuff that just... ugh!
Raina looks up at the others for guidance. "I like the idea of sending a bird or something out in front as cover. I'm not sure I want to risk this guy getting hurt too badly by using him as a hostage, though. We're here to take them in, not get them killed."
"Anyone got some rope? Let's get this joker tied up. Then we can deal with the others."
Malder winces at Raina's words, though he shuddered far more visibly at Gadriel's threats. "Aw, c'mon, no need for that," he whispers. "I'll stay in the corner, not a peep out of me, you do yer business and I'll stay outta the way..."
"You really think I'm dumb enough to trust the word of a guy happy to take on 'night cuts' jobs?" Raina counters with an arched brow.
Gadriel walks over to Raina and pats Malder gently, almost like a pet. "We can watch him. Abu will feast on Malder's eyes if Malder tries anything. We are unsuited for swords and shields, fists and kicks. We will watch and help Malder to be safe and out of danger from either old friends or Raina's fist." Abu scampers atop the man's head, holding onto the hairs tightly. A low rumble comes from the monkey's throat, a sound that you would never hear from a normal monkey.
Korriban gives a somewhat sadistic smirk. "Yeah. How do we know that you want attack us when we least expect it?" He shakes his head and says, "Not worth the risk, kid. Though, I could help you out in that regard."
He looks to the others and suggests, "I could try to bluff them. If anyone would back me up, in case I somehow mess it up. Otherwise, I got those items I mentioned earlier. What do you say? Open the door, toss the thunderstone, and swarm in?"
Korriban gets closer to the door and listens, trying to see if he can pinpoint the enemy's locations through sound.
He also sees if he can detect any traps.
Malder whimpers and cowers slightly when Abu jumps into his hair. He backs up against the wall and tries to remain motionless.
Pressing his ear to the door, Korriban finds he can't hear anything beyond over the man's whimpering and Abu's growl. You don't see any traps either.
Raina gives Malder one long warning look before roughly letting him go. "I'm sure I don't need to warn you not to cross us," she mutters dryly to him, before backing up and heading to the doorway.
"Sounds like a good plan, Korriban," Raina nods to the rogue. "That plus Imperia's spell at the same time should be good. We all ready?"
The young wrestler will move to the doorway, ready to open it (stepping back away from the opening as she does so) when Korriban and Imperia are ready.
Korriban smiles and carefully pulls out the thunderstone. He gives it a few simple tosses, judging the weight of it. He turns to Imperia, a playful smirk on his face. "Well, my lady, shall we show them who they're dealing with? I throw, you summon one of your friends in the confusion?"
Adoros plants his back against the wall beside the door, holding up his musket and ready to roll into the room once Korriban throws his surprise, "Make sure not to catch yourself in the blast, Korriban. Once the distraction is played, everyone get inside fast. Don't clog the doorway and find cover. I'd prefer to catch all the renegades within alive but if one or two escape or don't 'make it' and none of us get an arrow in the head, I'll call it a good day."
"hee hee hee"
Korriban turns to Adoros. "No problem. I'm ready when everyone else is."
He turns to Gadriel. "You going to be all right by yourself, kid?"
Korriban smiles and carefully pulls out the thunderstone. He gives it a few simple tosses, judging the weight of it. He turns to Imperia, a playful smirk on his face. "Well, my lady, shall we show them who they're dealing with? I throw, you summon one of your friends in the confusion?"
The young wizard nods - "Yes of course. One moment please if you will..."
Imperia takes the crossbow from her shoulder, loads it, then grips it firmly in her right hand, ready to fire. A moment later, she raises her left hand, and for a fleeting moment tiny sparks of light seem to dance on her fingertips.
Giving Korriban a tentative smile, she whispers - "I'm ready. As soon as the door is opened, I'll perform my incantation."
Raina nods and, with a silent countdown with her fingers, opens the door on three...
When Raina opens the door, Korriban tosses the thunderstone into the room.
As Raina shoves the door open, Imperia weaves her fingers through the air and strange, reverberating words flow from her mouth. Beyond the door, you can see four guards clustered at the end of a long hallway, with crossbows pointed at the door. There's a door ahead and to the left, double doors behind the guards, and a staircase leading up to the right. Even as the shape of Imperia's great summonsed beast begins to materialize, the guards cry out and three of them loose their crossbows, crouching and kneeling to shoot over and around each other.
Fortunately for you, they still seem to be leery of Gadriel's terrifying proclamation from earlier. One quarrel buries itself in the door as it opens, and another two go wide and crash through the front window of the shop as Korriban and Gadriel duck. Korriban retaliates by hurling his stone forward toward the nearest guard; it strikes the floor and bounces a foot before splitting with a bang that must, at that range, be deafening. All but the front guard yell and cover their ears, and you see another guard, this one clutching a massive hammer, stumble from behind the stairs, where he'd apparently been hiding.
Guards: HP 15 each, AC/T/FF 17/10/17, Fort +4, Ref +0, Will -1, CMD 14
The ethereal shape of Imperia's summoned creature quickly gains color and stability, revealing itself as a large eagle with feathers of pure silver... And talons as sharp as knives, ready to strike its target!
- Imperia intones in a melodious voice, and the proud celestial creature readily obeys her call, swooping down to strike its designated target.
"Kill your closest friend. Groetus commands it." Teodor smiles at the nearest guard.