After deliberating for some time, the party eventually heads back through the Puddles towards the city proper, with only the slight lapping of waves to keep them company. While figures watch and shift in the shadows off of their path, no one rises to stop or approach them in the few hours it takes them to get back to Darius's shop. The storefront is well-worn and a bit musty, and Darius fumbles with his keys for a few moments before he jumps at the sound of a voice familiar to those other than him and Azulth.
"I hear you've been busy," Twist says, one eyebrow raised as he watches you all waiting outside. He holds one arm close to his chest, wrapped in a bloody bandage; his face is slightly bruised and his tail seems to be wrapped in the same cloth as his forearm. "You made some ruckus down by the docks, y'know. The guard's been looking for you for hours. I hope you learned something from it... although, guessing from the scent, I'm assuming you all were in the Puddles?" He winces once as he takes another step towards you, and it seems one of his legs is also injured. "I see you've made some new friends, too... any chance you've found out something useful, too?"
"Whoever's behind this seems to be hiding behind several layers of hired thugs; hiring one to hire another to hire another to hire a gang to attack us. We're closer to the puppet master, but aren't there yet," Ahto responds.
"I'm assuming that you know this man then," Darius says as the battered man approaches them. "It looks like you haven't had a particularly good day."
"Darius this is Twist. He's... an ally... of a sort... I think." Zeph contemplates the man in front of them, "You are very skilled at finding us when you feel like talking Twist. We'll explain what happened inside." He motions for Darius to finish unlocking the door.
Darius narrows his eyes slightly. "Very well." He unlocks the shop and gestures for everyone to head inside before he locks up behind him. He waves his hand above the door for a moment before gesturing toward the back of the shop. "We can speak privately in the back."
"Privately is good," Twist says, dragging himself through the door after the others. "As for me finding you, that was actually just lucky; I happened to spot you in the Puddles; I'd been... collecting information, I guess you could say. I figured it might be better not to pop in until you were a little less on edge, what with being around cutthroats and murderers and whatnot." Twist immediately makes a bee-line for a chair and collapses into it, breathing heavily. "Either way, I think I found the next step up the trail of puppeteers; your friend Eran and his gang are working for with a dwarf, right? Well, I didn't find him, but I think I've got a lead on someone who can."
"There's a minor dignitary who's got some ties to their "organization", who might be able to give us a lead on his location. Now, finding a way to get that information out of him might be difficult, but it's... it's a start."
Zeph idly taps his fingers on a countertop, "And who is this dignitary?"
"If you're expecting any more help from me, I'm going to need to know exactly what organization we're dealing with. And what's gotten you on their bad side."
"Yeah, that sawed-off sack o' coal needs a few teeth knocked out. The sooner we find him, the happier I'll be," Ahto says offhandly.
"The dignitary's name is..." Twist says, before a look of pain crosses his face. "My lips are sealed." Twist groans as the words escape his mouth, before he fishes into his pocket and pulls out a scrap of paper. On it, a single name is scrawled; Coleman Gauss. "He lives in the Ivy District; it's a nice place, but he's no major noble. Evidently he hired Eran's little outfit to deal with some competition, and since then he's contracted them for a few jobs. I don't how much he might know about the dwarf, but he's an important client for them; they'll come running if he sees trouble. Moreover, we might find some things we can use as leverage."
"If he's the type to hire Eran and his goons I can't say I would feel bad about putting some pressure on him. It seems we have our next destination then. Anything else you'd like to impart on us Twist?" Zeph lets himself relax now that they have the beginnings of a plan.
"Gauss huh... Not a big player in anything really. If I remember correctly at least. Let me see if I have anything in stock about him."
"Gauss...Coleman Gauss..." Ahto says, mulling over the name, trying to recall if he's had dealings with him or heard the name bandied about by his less-than-upstanding contacts and associates.
Both Darius and Ahto remember Coleman Gauss as a newly-crowned well-to-do individual in Absalom. He owns several interesting antique and higher-end stores for the wealthier of Absalom's citizens, and through that appears to have become one, if only barely. There was a bit of mystery surrounding the disappearance of one of his competitors, and since then his business has taken off as he was more or less the only seller. Despite the disappearance, it never seemed likely to anyone that Gauss had ordered the man killed or dealt with in some fashion; he was too plain, too boring to be involved in that sort of enterprise., which likely helped him avoid jail for his contracts with mercenary groups.
"Gauss is a boring man," Darius says, looking up from one of his books. "Too boring in fact. I must say, I feel a bit foolish for not having thought of this. Someone who's too plain is always hiding something. Especially when he's made competitors disappear before."
"That guy?!?" Ahto replies with a tone of incredulity. "Huh. Talk about hiding in plain sight."
Zeph considers Darius and Ahto's reactions, "Twist hasn't pointed us wrong yet either, so there must be more to this Gauss than it seems."
"Yeah, I'm real touched," Twist replies, in response to Zeph's comment. "There's plenty more, I'm sure. Once you start to dig a little, the guy reeks of shady deals. One of the.... gentleman I spoke with fessed up that he'd been hired as protection when Gauss was down at the docks. He didn't want to tell me what business he was conducting, or when... but I eventually beat it out of him; Gauss is smuggling pesh into Absalom disguised as shipments for his business." Twist pauses, cracking his neck. "I'm sure he's involved in some other unsavory things, but that's what I found."
"The Docks, huh?" Ahto replies. His tone makes it clear that the Docks are not his favorite part of town.
"I got my start there. I'm sure there's more than a few bully-boys there with less than fond memories of me."
"So, we have some leverage to get him talking with knowledge of this smuggling. Unfortunately the docks might be the best place to catch him out." He smiles sympathetically at Ahto.
A book that had found its way into Pyrrha's hands and drew what looked to be her attention claps shut with a sudden thump. "Great, while this Gauss lead sounds boring, at least Ahto's presence continues to make things interesting as usual. How soon do you think we should go looking for him?"
"Yeah, I'm sure you're loathe to head back down near where you were just beating in heads," Twist replies at Ahto's comment. "Still, you haven't yet heard the best part; all this pesh he's bringing in? I haven't seen a trace of it anywhere. Why bring that much product into Absalom if you're not planning on selling it? I'm not certain, but I have a feeling it might have to do with our... mutual acquaintances. I don't know what use they'd have for that much pesh, but it's not gonna be good." Turning to Pyrrha, faking a hurt look, he shrugs. "You can go after him as soon as you want to. I have a feeling I won't be of much help. If I were you, though, I'd want to find out where all those drugs are going, and why. You could start at the Docks, try and shadow a shipment, or put the pressure on Gauss directly. If you can get to Gauss, you'll get to Eran... and he'll get you to the dwarf."
"This seems to be a very round about way of investigation the Last Disciple," Darius points out dryly. "Mercenaries and merchants and middle men. Granted, the Last Disciples hardly on the up and up, but now he's hired mercenaries through a dwarf, who are working with a merchant who is involved in the pesh trade? Someone explain what connection I'm missing here, because I do not like not knowing what is going on!"
Ahto shrugs. "We could introduce you to the young lady they keep trying to kidnap, but she might leave you with more questions than you've got now. Truth is, you know about as much as we do. Certain people in town, the kind that don't want anyone to know who they are, have an interest in the Disciple as a new player in the Game. While we are trying to find out what he's about, some other faceless folks are trying to kill us and grab the girl. Whether the ones out to get us are directly tied to the Disciple is still anyone's guess."
"I'd love to tell you more, friend, I really would," Twist says, shrugging. "If I could, I'd tell you and the rest of 'em everything I know, but..." his fist tightens and he lets out a slight grunt of pain as his mouth starts to form other words, and after a moment he stops. "My lips are sealed, as they well know. I stumbled onto something I shouldn't have while dealing with something for my employer, and while he might be able to help, I can't seek him out... much for the same reason I can't tell you a damned thing more." He sighs, clearly frustrated. "If you're gonna try and hit Gauss at the docks, apparently the next shipment of pesh is coming in next week. It always comes in on the same ship, the 'Sparrowhawk'. You could try and break into his estate, too, if you'd rather try that angle. Either way, you're sure to draw the attention of some friendly chaps."
"Curious to know what it would take to find someone to break that damn curse on you Twist. It is going to be hard to hold back my frustrstion when you finally say what you mean to, and save us all this bloody trouble." Pyrrha huffed a sigh of either sincere contempt or perhaps dry humor.
"Well, since the shipment is a week away... we should scout out his estate until then. Perhaps we can find something out, and maybe even see an opportunity to grab then and there." Zeph replies to Twist.
At Pyrrha's words he nods vigorously, "Anything we can do to help with that Twist?"
"Even if I knew, which I don't, d'you really think I could tell you? If I get a lead, I'll find a way to tell you." He grins at Pyrrha's comment, chuckling even as he clutches at what looks to be a broken rib. "Oh, you and me both. You can't imagine how much I..." he starts, but stops himself. "Checking out his estate might not be a bad idea, nor would it be a bad idea to check in with the others, or any leads you've been looking for either. Who was that fellow you spoke with? Johnny something, right?"
"Either way, what'd you all find in the Puddles, then? I'm hoping it wasn't a worthless trip."
"We found a couple of potential allies," Zeph gestures to Darius, "Somehow made enemies of a dangerous man called Torch, and had a tussle with some of his minions," he rolls his eyes theatrically, "And then we had a conversation with a man named Dominic about Elan and the Dwarf where we learned very little."
"... Did you say Torch?" Twist says, his eyebrows raised. "Oh, Hells. How in the world did you lot get messed up with Grandmaster Torch? I assume that's where you found your new acquaintances, then?" He looks to Darius, incredulous. "Do you lot even know who that is? You've made an enemy of one most powerful men in Absalom's underworld... have you ever heard of the Shadow Lodge? They tried to lead a coup against the Pathfinder Grand Lodge, and he isn't a smear on the cobblestones! He's the most ruthless and bloodthirsty information broker in Abaslom, and what's worse is he's playing both sides since they let him back into the Society with his Shadow Lodge cronies." He shakes his head again, before leaning towards Darius. "How exactly did you get wrapped up with Torch, then? Did you owe him money, something like that?"
"Torch is interested in the Last Disciple and he decided that he wanted to know what I know without paying for it. I don't care how ruthless he is, I have standards. Torch can kiss my ass."
"Well...we're in the middle of something we can't fully see, that's for sure," Ahto grumbles. "The cards are on the table, and all we can do is wait for whoever's dealin' to turn 'em over. I hate that. Hate it a lot."
"I mean, there's a great way to deal with that," Twist says with a grin. "You just gotta cheat, right? Start counting cards, or rig the deck. The house is already riggin' the game in their favor, it's only fair if you turn the tables a bit, right?" Twist shrugs, grimacing again. "In all seriousness, you've got a week before that shipment hits the docks. It might be helpful to dig up some information, or follow some other leads until then. It can't hurt, at any rate."
"Hmmm, lets' see. We can find out who's buying his pesh - are they common street addicts or is it going to particular organizations. He's gotta have dockworkers to load and unload - maybe we can use that as an in to his opeation," Ahto starts to speculate.
"That wouldn't be a bad place t'start, no," Twist says, standing up. "Alternately, chasin' any other leads you've got might not be a bad idea. Also, seeing if you can't find some place t'keep that girl where she's not in danger of gettin' abducted again might not hurt. I don't know where you've got her and the others squirreled away, but that's your business." Twist slowly stands, pushing his chair back, and makes his way to the door. "Either way, I'll leave you all to it. I'll get in contact with you once the shipment's on its way to the docks, but I think it's time I head back and lick my wounds."
"I think we already have a lead to follow-up, so that won't be a problem."
Pyrrha sighs
After Twist leaves the shop, the rest of you are able to rest easy, getting a decent night's sleep around Darius's place of business. The dawn comes eventually, however, and the man must open his shop; still, you have a week before you need to hit the pesh supply coming into the city. There's plenty of time to collect information, draw up a plan, and iron out the fine details... as well as any other business you're looking to get done beforehand. That is, of course, until life gets other plans. After having settled your business and searching the Court--a search that, unfortunately, doesn't turn up anything useful--you hear a rapping at the door of Darius's shop, before a half-orc walks through the door, a letter held in his hand. He coughs once, quieting the room, before handing the letter to the first person who'll take it. "You're tough people to find, you know that? My boss wanted me to deliver a message for you," he says gruffly, before shrugging his shoulders. Assuming no one stops him, the half-orc leaves the shop as quickly as he entered, leaving you alone with your note. Whomever unfolds it finds a quickly scrawled letter:
"I've done some digging around our mutual friend, Blondie. He's a hard man to dig up dirt on, but I think I've got a lead on whoever hired him to do their dirty work. I don't want to talk much about it through letters; come by my office as soon as you can.
--Johnny
"You know, I didn't have strange men coming to my door at all hours before I met you people. My customers used to respect my business hours." He grumbles and pulls the door open to see the half-orc. "Yes, fantastic, you've delivered your message. Thank you, you may go now." He takes the letter and shuts the door behind the man without another word then flips open the letter and reads it over once. "Let's see... well, do you know a Johnny? Because he seems to want to talk to you." He offers the letter to whoever else wants to read it.
Johnny, the guy near the top of my hated list. Looks like he is making good on the money he took from us, strange way of doing business. He is another information broker like you and Torch, though not as respectful as you or infamous as Torch.
"Information is one of the highest-priced commodities out there. Especially these days." Azulth speaks up from his place on the floor, where he's been meditating, perhaps praying, with his eyes closed. Laid out before him is a spiral of small bones, mostly fingers and foot bones by the look of them, with small scraps of parchment at each end. "If it's related to your or my work to find the Heretic Disciple, it's worth looking into."
"Well seems like we know where to go next. To be honest I wasn't expecting much out of Johnny but here we are with some potential information." Zeph will head out to meet Johnny as soon as the others are ready.
The group heads to Johnny's office, where the same burly half-orc steps aside to allow them in. Johnny seems agitated, but his mood brightens a bit once he sees the lot of you. "I'm gonna guess these two didn't just decide to follow you in, huh?" he says, commenting on Azulth and Darius. "Look, I've got something on our guy. His name's Eran, and he's runnin' some sort of mercenary company out of the Siphons. That guy, Sven, is working their books... but I'm guessing you knew that already. No, I figured out somethin' a lot more interesting. This guy, Eran, he's pretty new to the streets, right? I hadn't heard sh*t about him before he rolled in here like he owned the place. Well, it turns out that's because someone's scrubbed 'im clean... or as clean as they could get 'im." Johnny grins, pulling out a few pages of scrawled notes and sketches; some are by him, but some are clearly made by other people. "He's got a lot of ties to a street gang that call themselves the Vultures. Not only him, but a lot of 'is men, too. But, someone bankrolled 'im and his boys into a real mercenary group, or close enough. I don't know who... but I'm gonna guess some of his old buddies could tell you."
"So where do the Vultures operate?" Ahto asks, or "or do you have names of some of his 'old buddies?'"
"The Vultures... interesting. It seems like someone wanted a private hit squad as wasn't particularly squeamish about outright buying one. This is going to be quite a troublesome adventure."
Readying her hand, or maybe resting her hand on the hilt of her weapon. Pyrrha watches Johnny with the same glare she gave him last time. Her eye twitches when he baits the important part of his message, something he surely makes a habit of doing, though his follow through needed a lot more work.
Azulth stands by, somewhat behind the others, his arms folded and one hand close to a hidden knife. His holy symbol is hidden under his scarf, and his mask is pulled down and his hat in his bag--clearly not wanting to be easily recognized.
Zeph stands back and crosses his arms, allowing the others to do the talking when it comes to the underworld of Absalom.