Tessa cringes when the door squeaks. She looks back grimacing and says, "I think the door gave us away, sounds like someone is coming to find us. This room is some type of laboratory."
Bedu sidles up to the doorway and retrieves his scimitar, happy for a moment with the way that his higher quality armor makes less noise. Anything is an improvement on those clinking man made stuff, these dwarves know what this means to be successful.
He waits for now to decide whether or not the spells or shield matter.
"I suggest we take them alive. Two reasons, one, we are breaking and entering. If we are wrong about the Dragons being involved here, murdering an innocent person is something none of us want to do. Two, if we are correct about the Dragons, having someone to interrogate would help." Erick whispers to his companions as he holds up his fists, rather than his sword.
Tessa shakes her head and nods to Gavin.
"Faster if we use our weapons. Gavin can keep them alive for us if we hurt them too badly. As you mention, we're breaking and entering. No reason make this take any longer than necessary. Besides, what's more intimidating? A fist or a blade? Let's go."
Tessa moves in to the next door repeating the process of listening and checking before opening it.
Erick shakes his head again at Tessa. "If you knew how to use your hands for something, you'd know the answer to that." He mutters grimly under his breath, having a bad feeling about this.
Erick does not draw his sword or pistol.
Tessa shrugs and mutters, "Have it your way." as she presses on with her rapier in hand.
Gavin moves around Tessa to the hallway, and turns the corner, hoping to see someone clearly identifiable as a Lotus Dragon, whatever they look like. He aims to misbehave.
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Tessa opens the door to another disappointment, this time the latrine.
Gavin turns the corner of the corridor, but on the other side there is nothing but another door. nonetheless.. the door behind him opens quietly, as Gavin turns to see who opened the door he sees nothing on the other side.
On the other hand.. Erick sees more than he expected.. a monkey on the shelf turns its head and growls at him... quickly followed by other monkeys.
they start to move their limbs and get used to the mobility as they seemingly prepare themselves to jump on him.
Gavin whispers, fear rising in his voice, "Tessa, something's coming through that door..." while backing up a few feet down the hall, drawing his flail and making a quick prayer to his god. "Cayden Cailean, give me the strength to overcome my enemies, and protect me from the machinations of the Lotus Dragons!"
Tessa whispers in an urgent hushed voice, "Which door? There are like a half dozen doors around here, all I see is..."
Tessa swings her head all around trying to figure out which door Gavin means.
"Monkeys? Are those monkeys?"
Not able to resist this moment, Tessa looks back at Erick and asks as flatly as she can. "Erick, are you going to be punching the monkeys or would you like some smelly fish balls to go along with the knuckle sandwich?"
"I'll get the animal expert."
Bedu runs back to the alleyway and calls for Ismaire, "Come on, we need you - and your friend."
Ismaire nods to Bedu's request and turns to Cormag. "Cormag follow me, and try to not make too much noise"
Ismaire then leads Cormag to the building and approaches the door. Before she opens it she turns to Bedu. "Lets hope that they listen to me" Ismaire cracks the door open and surveys the room for herself before walking in, with Cormag in tow.
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[Erick Will save: Success]
Erick faces the monkeys ready to defend himself but at the same time is not completely buying the whole monkeys coming alive thing.
he focus on one of the monkeys and he manage to pierce through the veil.
The monkey is not moving at all. it's just a mirage, a figment of light, an illusionist trick.
at the time you come to that realization, from the room near Gavin some arcane words can be heard and the trickster appear out of thin air.
He points a hand at Gavin ending his incantation.
as the illusionist run towards Gavin after the incantation, he tries to react to him, only to find himself unable to respond. his mind going blank for one critical moment as the illusionist pass him by.
Uncontested, the illusionist makes his way towards the rear exit.
Gavin stands slack-jawed as the illusionist pushes by him, his mind working, but his body unable to respond. No! Nononononononono!
"Gavin?"
"GAVIN?!"
When he doesn't respond, she will take that in conjunction with Gavin's previous statement and run towards the open door, rapier in hand ready to strike whatever has stunned Gavin.
Teasa moves adjacent to the fleeing creature and thrusts her rapier forward. She shouts, "When you are done playing with the monkeys he is getting away! Gavin,CMON!"
Erick huffs and moves toward the other end of the hall, assuming Tessa's pointing in the right direction, and finally comes to a chugging stop behind the man, almost running him down. As he passes Tessa, he snorts. "The monkey's are illusions..." He says, loud enough for Bedu and the others to also hear the statement.
Ismaire walks into the first room as Erick runs out. She sees the monkeys on the shelves and is startled for a moment. She then hears Erick a few rooms over say that the monkeys are illusions, so she calms down. She makes sure that Cormag does not try to attack the illusion monkeys, and she waits for Bedu.
Bedu moves forwards and overtakes Ismaire once he hears about the illusions.
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Tessa runs through the corridor to reach the escaping taxidermist she almost reach him and lunges forward with her rapier.
The taxidermist screams as the blade pierces his thigh, he limp while running, stumble upon his own feet and falls to the ground.
"I yeld, I yeld... who are you and why are you doing here?"
Tessa turns back to Erick as he approaches. She pointedly looks down at her blade and says, "See, he's talking just fine."
She moves to the other side of the man to box him in and prevent his escape, waiting for the rest of her party to arrive.
Ismaire continues into the hall until her and Cormag are caught up the rest of the party. "What happened?"
"Tessa and Erick have caught the poor unfortunate illusionist responsible for the monkeys. They are about to question him, I would bet a plate of sherbert delights on that."
"While they do that we should check the rest of the building for anyone else. We don't know who or what else might be here."
Nononononononono- "Nononononono!"
Gavin watches as Tessa and then Erick push past him, and the sounds of scuffle, followed by surrender, bring relief.
His limbs start moving again and he rounds the corner, to make sure that the taxidermist has in fact surrendered. Slumping his shoulders in further relief, Gavin turns to Ismaire, as he hears her and Bedu's conversation as they turn the corner. "Yes, great idea, Ismaire. I'll help search the shop. I'm afraid I may want to hurt this man if I stay here."
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You explore the remaining rooms, you find a bedroom beyond the room where the Illusionist came out from, and after a quick search you notice a chest under the bed.
The other room seems to be some sort of studio.
The most noticeable thing though is a secret door on the corridor, leading to a secret corridor that culminates with a trapdoor on the floor.
Erick looks intimidating, and let's Tessa do the questioning. Someone else should have to be tortured by that voice for a change.
Gavin leaves the trap door for when the others are done with the taxidermist, and goes instead to the bed, pulling the chest from under it. Turning to Bedu, the Chel says, "Bedu, do your best, my friend. If this man is a Lotus Dragon, I'll have no problem relieving him of his coin. Those bastards owe my parents a bar..."
Bedu links his fingers and pushes them out until one clicks, "let's hope its easier than that door."
Bedu checks the lock first to see if it holds any hidden dangers then he tries the number three thinpick.
Tessa looks down at their captive. She keeps her blade in her hand, but lowers it away from the man. Her face loses its tension and lets her body language become as friendly as she can.
"Hi! Sorry about the intrusion, friend. My friends are going to take a quick look around while you and I have a little chat."
She smiles broadly and says, "Answer our questions honestly and we'll be out of your hair lightin' fast. Don't answer honestly?"
Tessa's face sours and she clucks her tongue as she shakes her head side to side. She looks back at Erick conspiratorily and whispers, "See that man. Looks like a bad ass, right? He'll put a bullet between those eyes in a blink of an eye."
She clucks her tongue again and says, "Well that's not true. He'll aim between your eyes but is likely to hit you in five other places by accident first before you die. It'd be painful probably. He needs to practice his aim."
"Annnyyyyhoow. I was hoping you could start discussing your role and associating with the Lotus Dragons? Hmmm? Or should I ask my associate over there to help?"
Bedu chuckles mirthlessly at the banter he can hear not far away, trying to concentrate on not getting poisoned or defeated by another lock.
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Bedu works on the lock of the chest and after a couple of minutes of struggle he finally manage to open it.
Inside there are 675 gold pieces and 25 shiny platinum, plus a pouch filled with bloodstones and garnets for a value of 750 gp.
As Tessa interrogates the Taxidermist it appears clear that he has no intention to play hard to get.
"I am not one of them... I mean .. they pay me ... to keep my eyes and ears open and allow them to come and go from the guildhall below... but I'm never been there myself.. I have barely talked to their boss.
She is a woman .. I know she has a pet wingless dragon with her.. Please .. I won't stand in your way just ... just allow me to pack my things and leave town... if the Lotus finds out I have not been able to hide their guildhall they are going to skin me alive with my own tools."
Bedu pockets the wealth for later then begins a more careful search to see if the illusionist has a spellbook or scrolls tucked away. He calls out to the rest as he works, "he had some gold, platinum and gems."
Gavin smirks at Bedu's turn of phrase. "Oh yea, he had some nice wealth accumulated. My share will go a long way towards getting my parents another bar. What will you do with yours, Master Barber?"
"And what of the guildhall below? Who's down there? How many? So you've MET this boss then? Tell me, what's her name? Is she around now? What sort of comings and goings do you report?"
When he mentions letting him go Tessa lets a breath of air escape her mouth and says, "Awww, yes, see about that. Well here's the thing abou that. You report and comings and goings, right? Well if we let you go you'll be reporting on our little visit which isn't exactly going to be good for either of our well begins. SOOO I'll tell you what I'm going to do. We'll set you aside and keep you safe for now. When this whole thing has blown over we'll figure out where to move on to then. Most likely my friend over there will want to involve the authorities of some sort though. Unless of course, you prove to be useful, eh?."
Tessa calls out to her party, "How are we doing? Some boss lady with a wingless dragon runs her crew downstairs."
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"I have never been in the guildhall. I know there is another entrance through the water though, that's what they use for the animals. I don't know how many you will find in the guildhall... 20? maybe more, maybe less. I really don't know... this is not the only entrance, only the entrance I know of and I know the Lotus Dragon are many, but not everybody is usually stationed in the guildhall.
As for the boss.. I met her, but I don't know her name, she is young, pretty, red-haired. I heard people say she's of noble birth but I don't know the noble heiresses. I couldn't match her with a name.
I ... I don't know for sure if she is in the guildhall right now, but I believe she is... I mean .. there were a few notable members of the guild passing through today.. I guess they might have been reporting and receiving orders. I don't really know..."
"Awww, yes, see about that. Well here's the thing abou that. You report and comings and goings, right? Well if we let you go you'll be reporting on our little visit which isn't exactly going to be good for either of our well begins. SOOO I'll tell you what I'm going to do. We'll set you aside and keep you safe for now. When this whole thing has blown over we'll figure out where to move on to then. Most likely my friend over there will want to involve the authorities of some sort though. Unless of course, you prove to be useful, eh?."
The taxidermist grows pale, as if someone just explain to him the way he is going to be tortured and dismembered. "You... you can't.. you can't possibly keep me safe... if I'm not out of town before the sun goes up I'm going to end the same way Soller Vark did... I.. I can't ..."
The taxidermist start to utter some arcane words
"Man's got a point, assuming he shuts up to let me consider it, Tessa." Erick says, in the man's ear, making it obvious he can attack the man if he keeps casting. "But I don't mind letting a small fish go, right now, if it means catching something bigger. Those illusions of yours... you think you can make one of us look like you?" He asks, his fist ready to punch the man in the diaphragm if he keeps casting.
but I don't know her name, she is young, pretty, red-haired. I heard people say she's of noble birth but I don't know the noble heiresses. I couldn't match her with a name.
Tessa turns back Erick, smirking. "Hey, look! I'm the boss lady!"
She she turns back around the man starts to babble some words, likley some sort of spell. Her rapier in her hand lances out at the man like a flash of lightning. "Ah, ah, ah! What do you think you're doing over there? Did we say you could start speaking mumbojumbo? That sounded like you were trying to make some monkeys appear or something ridiculous. Let's not try that again, alright?"
Gavin hollers back to Tessa, "We found a door that presumably leads down to the basement. Once you're done with the taxidermist, we'll head into the snake pit."
Tessa shouts back, a little less sure of herself as she stares down at the bleeding prisoner. "Uh, right, I think we might be done here. One moment."
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The taxidermist screams in pain losing the concentration needed for his spell, Tessa's rapier firmly logged into his shoulder. but he doesn't pass out. He remains there, looking at Tessa with a mixture of fear and hatred.
"You broke into my house, assaulted me, took my gold, asked me questions I answered to.
You just made me a marked man and all I ask for is to leave town... you HAVE to grant me that..."
Erick frowns. "You need to learn about negotiations. You leapt straight to 'cast spells at the people with all the cards' instead of talking first." He eyes Tessa. "Lot of that going around." He frowns at the man. "I've seen what they do to people who cross them, so I can't blame you for wanting to run. Our problem is warnings... so, we're going down to deal with the dragons. We'll tie you up, but in a way you can get loose with some effort, say 20 minutes or so. And put some gold in your pocket. In exchange, you tell us anything else you know. Deal?"
Bedu reappears with pouches of gold and gems. He critically weighs one or two in his hand and then decides on a fat clinking pouch with about 50 gold in it.
"There is much to give praise for here, my friend and stuffer of animals. This pouch is yours if you can sing like the Caliph's canaries now. Not so much words and not so much gold. Alas it shall be like water in the desert and disappear before your eyes!"
"I might have a place where he can hide out, where it would be hard for people to find him. He would be safe and under a close eye." Ismaire pipes up from down the hall.
[ooc]Would it be okay, if he went to where she grew up? It would be a very small community, like 50-100 people, in the jungle. It would be like 15-20 miles outside of the city, and is near the coast.
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The taxidermist sighs.
"I'm not looking forward to being tied but... I guess is about the best option you are giving me. If you get killed in less than 20 minutes it could even help me justify myself if they found me bound I guess... otherwise... although I need all the headstart I can get 20 minutes are probably not that vital...
But I don't think I possess more information than those I already gave you... I'm not a Lotus Dragon, I do not get informed abuth anything of importance. I'm just the guy that keeps watch on this entrance and keeps the lotus informed on the rare animal traffic.
Maybe that's the only thing I can warn you abouth. I'm positive that the keep a few Rhagodessa somewhere in the guildhall and they have quite a mean Worg and .. I'm not sure about it but if it hasn't been turned into some boots for the lady I heard they keep a crocodile somewhere."
"One thousand thanks!"
Bedu only takes out ten gold and goes to hand over forty gold then stops, his eyes narrow.
"..the rest requires any good passwords or knocks or the like, even brooches or cloaks that will help us from what you noticed."