Let us talk to Salia
It's late, they're armed, we can't trust most of the guard anyways, definitely nobody in a position of power. I say we go rest, get Saila to round up some guards without her superior's knowledge and march on the mill in the morning. Janis whispers once they're well away from the mill.
Cleo accepts the apology, a minor amount of the tension in her shoulders goes away.
"I vote for seeing Salia immediately, if possible. Any delay might mean they get to a person before we get to them."
Maybe, but we're really outnumbered and she might not be able to raise that many guards in the middle of the night without her superiors. If we lose, a lot more people will die.
Cleo looks a bit confused "There were only six of them, I thought. We'll send someone to the manor to grab the remainder of our friends, making us eight . Add in Saila, if all we can get is her, we have nine. On top of any guards she could pull. We should be outnumbering them. Am I mistaken?" she asks honestly. She adds, "Even if we go in and fail, if we leave the proper information in the hands of someone, their plans should be disrupted and hopefully they'll be in a deep pickle for some time."
"I agree with Cleo. These people will not pause their activities in order for us to marshal more forces against them. We know they plan on murdering again, and soon. With or without the guards' help, we must do what we can to stop this. If Salia is someone you trust, by all means, let us inform her. But we cannot sit idle while this threat remains known to us." Andreste's whispers are sharp, cut with precision indicating a fierceness of belief.
I don't suppose we have a magical means of contacting Saila?
With Janis outvoted, the group races to the guard tower post-haste. At the topmost point of the tower, they present their authorization to the guards, who let them into the Honour Guard hall. They have to wait a few minutes before Saila can meet with them. Janis remembers that sleepy, grumpy face of hers when she's been hurried awake. It's likely that she was sleeping and hurriedly got ready.
"Thanks for waiting, the guard said it was important. What happened? Oh, hello Andreste. Where's your goblin friend?"
Janis shakes his head but goes with the others. I think this is a really bad idea, but fine. Saila, the millworkers hired us to kidnap the mayor. Is our say so enough to go after them right now.
"They also have magics that allow them to appear as anyone and fool divinations, but to do so they need to skin the person they want to mimic and said they would be doing so soon." Cleo blurts out "Hence the haste"
Saila's demeanor shifts rapidly from begrudgingly friendly to very serious. She knocks on one of the doors, and a young man pokes his head out. After a swift order, he and another young man enter the room bearing parchment, quills, and ink. She then orders them to write down everything said.
"I need details about everything that happened, from top to bottom."
Saila, theres more. Janis gets real close and leans over whispering in her ear. They have political backing. We can't trust your superiors.
Cleo pulls herself into a chair and starts talking.
“Janis and Wabbit scouted them out at a brothel. The Silks, Andreste calls them. Convinced one of the workers that they also were thieves and murderers. And was interested in work. So we met up with them right before coming here at the Seven's sawmill.” she'll describe the place to the best of her ability. “ A man named Bill was the talker. There were five others in the room. A man with long dark hair, named Numbers. A gnome with multicolored hair named Duckling. Soot was the name of a human that looked destitute, and was under some kind of enchantment. A half-elf with a dopey face named Darts. And lastly another human, old with long white hair named Crossbow.”
“Some of them were armed with leathers and shortswords, darts, and crossbows. Soot just had a stick, Bill had no armor but had a weapon hidden on him I couldn't tell what was.”
“One of them was a spellcaster, I could feel them casting something on me, some kind of divination, but got distracted before I could identify it.” she glances at Janis.
“They said they were going to take on a job that required killing one noble and kidnapping another, which was too much just for them. They wanted to hire us to do the kidnapping. The lord mayor at the Osprey Club in one week. We were supposed to use their magical disguises that they hadn't gotten yet to get into the club and let the assassins in. Then we were to take the mayor and bring him to a mill underwater. For a lot of money.”
“They said the masks made of a person's skin would let you impersonate them, even give off the same aura as the person who they skinned. Said they would have the ones of the job by week's end.”
She'll pause, looking to the others. "Anything else?"
"There was that rope that Bill took down near the door.... maybe an alarm or trap? The masks they described sounded like a more advanced version of skinsaw masks, which are pretty nasty pieces of work in the first place. They seemed awfully keen on what motivated us to join their crime... I believe they may see us as potential victims after the fact.... if they are indeed motivated by rituals involving sin magic." Andreste offers to help wrap up her thoughts.
"Of course it was a brothel." Saila says as she gives Janis a sideglare. The rest of the time she's listening intently.
"Do you know what kind of backing they have?"
"Who is the target to be murdered, if the Lord-Mayor is the kidnapping target?"
"Do you know which people are targeted for being skinned?"
"My guess is they were trying to interview you. If you were able to be aware of their divinations, then they likely didn't work."
"So I have good news and bad news. The good news is that you've definitely found some sort of lair of dangerous criminals. The bad news is there are still a lot of red ropes to jump over to get this done. Unless you have any evidence on you, this only counts as your word, which does not hold up in court well. The mill is a place of business, so we need a search warrant signed by a Justice in order to search the premises. We do however have the ability to frisk them if they're outside of the business. Also, the moment we make any move on them, they will likely figure out that we're working together. Having a group of assassins on your tail is not something to be envious about. Also, Jan- Lord Scarnetti needs to get signed on as a deputy like the rest of you."
Keep your opinions about the brothel to yourself lest I tell these nice folk what you like in the bedroom. And we must keep this secret. I'll go straight to my father. Lady Andraste, if you'd accompany me I'd appreciate it.
"But of course." Andreste demurs. "But if we are to separate from the others, I recommend we leave Skrate with Cleo. He will be able to tell the real me from an imposter by our spiritual link- or the lack thereof. And since Cleo can speak with him, she should be able to relay any distress as well-as long as Skrate remains within a mile of our location. Just give me a moment to signal him and he should be along shortly."
Cleo rubs the squirrel under the chin, "Well thought out plan, and I hope nothing like that is needed. For us... hmmm... oh a code word" Cleo beckons the wizard to bend down and whispers in her ear "Rasberry Tea" then says "Though I'd imagine your friend here can tell you we are us and you are you without that, but in case something happens and we're separated, I'll say that to prove it's me." looking to the others "We'll go collect our goblin and pig from the manor, and then maybe my cousin here can watch the mill while the rest of us wait a safe distance away, in case they drag in a victim while we're trying to find more evidence."
Saila looks absolutely mortified. "I swear if you utter such things I will teleport you into the middle of the ocean."
Janis is unfazed. He's quite sure that's beyond her capabilities, and it would be completely against her career as an Honour Guard.
Saila proceeds to ignore Janis and focus entirely on Cleo, eagerly listening to what she has to say. In the seriousness, she replies "Alright, that sounds like a good plan." She gestures to the two scribes. In a more commanding voice she says "Clean up and gear up! You're now on patrol in the old docks district. Start time is five minutes ago. Up!" The scribes get up and go back out the door they came from, but as the door closes there's a snicker to be heard. No doubt Saila's lost reputation in the ranks.
"I'll round up some reserves and do a walk in the lower parts of Keystone. It should be easy for you to find us. Remember, we cannot storm the place until the warrant is signed. If we do it anyways, then those assassins get to walk free. If we kill them, we get to take their place in the Hells. Don't be rash."
She swiftly fills in part of a warrant and thrusts it at Janis. "Time to go."
And soon you are dismissed.
Janis walks up to Saila and embraces her. Just be sure to stay together. Any one of these guards could be with them. Don't let any slip away. He whispers in her ear. With that Janis walks away with Andraste. We're not going to my father for the warrant. Just to my house. We're going to forge one.
Bacon is a good tracker, as long as there are no fresh mushrooms nearby
Cleo rubs the squirrel under the chin, "Well thought out plan, and I hope nothing like that is needed. For us... hmmm... oh a code word" Cleo beckons the wizard to bend down and whispers in her ear "Rasberry Tea" then says "Though I'd imagine your friend here can tell you we are us and you are you without that, but in case something happens and we're separated, I'll say that to prove it's me." looking to the others "We'll go collect our goblin and pig from the manor, and then maybe my cousin here can watch the mill while the rest of us wait a safe distance away, in case they drag in a victim while we're trying to find more evidence."
I'm good with setting up watch
Wabbit smudges a little dirt on his face concentrates for a bit thinking of an appropriate outfit and his Sleeves of many garments changes into a set of non-descript street urchins clothes
Despite the Scarnetti technically being a 'New Money' noble house, Janis' grandfather was absolutely instrumental in setting up the family for success. Many believe that it was his sheer cunning in legalities that rose the family to prominence, but Janis knows that it has far more to do with crime. The reason why there are so many crime syndicates in Magnimar is because of funding, and almost every single one of them owes the Scarnetti family.
The Scarnetti manor stands four stories tall with a large open flowerbed, perfectly white-washed walls, and decorative crenelations to make it look like a castle. The manor itself has a dozen maids on the premise at all times, with many other service staff and a Master of the House. Each Scarnetti has their own personal butler (typically called Butler, or Janis' Butler) who is trained to take care of any menial task the Scarnetti deems unsuitable for himself, and is trained in some amount of self-defense and body-guarding.
Lord Scarnetti, Janis' father, is busy at home today in various meetings and personal time.
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Wabbit sets up a disguise and watches around the island for signs of the mill workers. For the first hour he doesn't spot anything.
Andreste replies. "Ah, I see. That would be quite illegal, if course. But if it helps us stop these bastards before anyone else dies, a little lawbreaking is small price."
She follows Janis to his home. "I will need samples, and a quiet place. I assume you can provide both?"
Linguistics is +17, KN (Nobility) +8, KN (Local) +17
I'm sure I can. And yes, while it is illegal. with the knowledge they have political connections we can not rule out my father. This way we do not risk them being warned.
Furnok continues to bodyguard and keep a look out. Bacon has asserted dominance and Arggghhh is somewhere under the floorboards, shivering.
Andreste is taken to Janis' room, which is fashioned with a large down-feather four-poster bed, clear glass windows, and paintings that would be better left undescribed.
She has ample samples of Lord Scarnetti's handwriting, and she already has Saila's signature on the document. It only takes a few tries before she's ready to make the actual forgery.
The forgery looks very solid, and should be able to fool all but the most suspicious experts.
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Aggah has decided that Bacon is really just a fat dog capable of crushing her in a single sit. Cleo has to work extra hard at getting Aggah out of the floorboards, and then find a way to bring both of them across the city.
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By the time everyone returns, night has fallen upon Magnimar. Lamps are lit every dozen feet along the upper city, but the lower city has them spaced out more infrequently. Plenty of shadows swarm here and there as each group walks towards the island. Courtesans feign laughter, drunkards catcall every woman that walks past, and guards sweat under the constant heat of their torch.
Wabbit hasn't spotted any activity, and now everyone has arrived.
Janis smiles. Yes, this looks wonderful. I can't tell the differece. Hell, I doubt my father could tell the differece. Janis quickly starts to disrobe, pulling the thieves outfit off of him to replace it with one more in line with his nobility.
Andreste turns away as Janis disrobes. She speaks, facing the wall. "Thank you. I will be grateful for all those nights spent scribbling over Master Deserea's tomes if the skill helps us nail these bastards."
I just have one more thing to do, leave a note for my father. It will let him know If he rats us out it will potentially implicate him in the wrongdoings of this cult. Or he can raise his political capital by successfully ending this threat and sending his son along to make sure it's done properly. Janis finishes dressing. Well then. Let us join the others now that I'm more presentable to the guard.
Janis writes his note and hands it off to Butler. Take this to my father in a couple of hours. Then you may retire for the evening.
"Of course, sir." Butler bows
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Everyone has reached the island within Magnimar. Wabbit hasn't spotted anything suspicious, apart from the fact that there are lights within the mill. It is dark now, dimly lit by nearby lanterns.
On the property are two 'barracks', a shed, and the mill itself.
Where do we want to start? The mill? And do we all go? Which means we're not likely to be very stealthy or do we send Janis and maybe me as well to scout it out? Remember we can't just go in a stab everything to death, these are people, however evil they may be, not ghouls
That is what's going to happen unless you think they're going to give up peacefully.
Have our stealthy types go in with Andreste's squirrel so she can get messages back
"Sounds good." Cleo nods, reaching out to grab Aggah's coat to hold her back "Please wait with me." she asks.
Janis I'm somewhat stealthy. I can accompany you if you like Wabbit is no novice to sneaky stuff but he assumes this is Janis' baliwich and doesn't want to worsen their chances of success if Janis is way more stealthy
Andreste explains the plan to Skrate, who agrees.
Skrate's stealth mod would be a+10.
Aggah groans both in frustration and in a rude dismissal. "Why not set log house on fie fie? So easy. They burn dead or Aggah shoot them when they run out."
Wabbit, Janis, and Skrate scamper towards the property and hop the short fence. As they start sneaking, it looks like Wabbit is the most skilled, with Janis doing adequately, but nothing impressive. None of them have a light active, so Wabbit and Janis are having a slightly harder time navigating. Skrate seems to be doing fine.
"Beacuse we need to see if there are any clues in the place. And we'd get into trouble for burning down an entire building with the proof our guard here needs." she explains to Aggah, while fishing out some jerky she had stored for nerves and shares with her friend as she waits.
Aggah continues to complain while eating the snacks (one of the many talents of goblins).
Whispering.... let's save the mill for last...Skrate guide us to shack 1
Why have him guide us when Andraste can talk to him. He can scout without us.
Wabbit follows closely behind Skrate towards the shack
Skrate jumps from shadow to shadow, keeping as high as he can, senses peeled for dangerous buggers lying about. He heads towards the shack, leading the scouting party as quietly as possible.
Furnok twangs a mouth harp