Sixth nods to the man and moves back to where he was. He takes some time to realize he can do this later, and goes back to the Inn. The market caravans are already gone when he comes back, and then he wanders to the Inn. Seeing only Seinal at the entrance, he approaches:
"How are you doing Seinal? Been celebrating, hun?"
Without waiting for an answer, he continues: "I find it pretty weird for a city to have no guards.... At least I've seen none, have you?"
Cilian backs away from Byron slowly.
Now seems like a good time to get a drink.
Cilian walks back down to the common room, and sits down next to Seinal.
"Sorry if this is a bit prying, but would you mind telling me how you and Fortune Slayer got together?"
"Ah Cilian.. Come have a drink.. 50gp a bottle this stuffs rocks! Did you ask your woman about my request yet?"
Canim, back from his research and in a good mood for having found something of note, enters the tavern and sits near the others. He orders a large meal and a glass of red wine.
Sir Alvin notes that the only real place to eat in town outside of ones home is the local Tavern, although he appears distracted and somewhat distant after the deal.
What he needs is some nice wine, and a shih tzu massage, with some oils that should if they work send him fast off asleep until well afternoon the next day.
Kyomi is easily able to convince Sir Alvin of such an agenda.
And wile he sleeps a little doll finds nice things to keep,
And well before dawn they slip away into the night, showing up at the inn some time later.
He looks at Sixth with a bemused smile. Which looks a little odd... Seinal doesn't smile much.
"Sixth, my friend, I couldn't say. I haven't seen much besides the inside of this cup for the past few hours. Well that and a handful of poor card players that Finni and I fleeced. Have a drink?"
He turns at Cilian's question and looks thoughtful as he remembers, "Oh him? It wasn't so much us getting together as him finding me. I was in a spot of trouble about fifteen years ago. I was in a town near Korvossa when I spotted a beautiful Shoanti half-elf drinking water from a fountain in the main square. She was truly striking to look at with arcane runes tattooed on her face and arms. When she looked up and our eyes met, I was struck with a vision. I saw her face staring up in empty horror, her face burned and blackened where her tattoos once were. Driven into her forehead was a black iron nail. So intense was the vision that when my senses returned the girl had vanished.
I was troubled by the vision, but had no idea who this girl was or how the event I envisioned would occur. Asking around, I found she was part of a Shoanti emissary party seeking to prevent the Korvosan government from allowing a Chellaxian hellknight outpost to be built near their lands.
Their party was on their way back to their tribe after being granted a hearing and were camping for a few days to resupply. The word was that they had succeeded in blocking the development.
As the pieces began to fall in place in my head, I left town in a hurry towards the emissary's camp. It was a few miles out of town in a wooded area. I arrived on the scene to see my fate working towards the outcome of my vision. Three Shoanti warriors lay slain along with two heavily armored figures. A figure stood in black spiked armor in front of the woman from town. She was bruised and battered and he held her by the neck in a gauntleted fist. I recognized his armor (who wouldn't.) The man was a Hell knight of the Order of the Nail. He heard me enter the clearing and turned towards me. He told me to leave and that this was a cleansing for savage heresy. My answer was to draw my sword and charge him. He didn't have time to move, but he didn't need to. I'd never felt armor so hard. My sword struck true against his chest, but could not pierce his armor. The spikes prevented the blade from sliding off and it snapped right there in my hand.
The figure laughed and backhanded me to the ground. He was terribly strong. As my vision swam I saw my death approaching. I heard a voice in my head whisper, This is your fate. You will die here. This filled me with rage and I shouted silently back, F*!# fate. I write my own destiny. I was shocked when the voice spoke back a single word, 'Good. I felt a pulling sensation and suddenly felt a weapon in my hand. Knowing I had moments before death I lunged blindly forward, fully expecting this blade to stop as well. My eyes were closed and I felt the impact of my strike and waited for the return swing to end it all. When it didn't come, I opened my eyes to see Fortune Slayer here, buried to the hilt in the knight's chest. He saved my life that day, and has on countless occasions sense. We are allies, of sorts, who share a common foe.
He pauses and looks wistful for a moment, ”As for the half-elf lass, she rewarded me a kiss and said some words I could not understand before vanishing.”
After telling his story Seinal goes quiet and stares at his drink for a while. His companions have never heard him talk for so long. Perhaps the drink had loosened him up some.
Sixth hears it, once again sad for it. "I still think that she gave you Fortune Slayer... Who would know?"
Sixth takes a look around, lowers his voice and brings his head closer to the middle of the table, as if sharing a secret:
"Anyway I asked about the guards cause today I saw someone that do not deserve to live... If you have walked around town, you'd realize there are not a freaking guard on watch! Turns the constable is a jerk and hires people that do not want to work in the city's protection, so the city pays several man, but get no security! And of course, the constable get a fair share of the money, for sure..."
Not to be rude ma'am, but to get old Norbet's help could you place a few blades in his path?
Cilian nods at Norbert.
"Just got done asking."
Cilian is sits quietly for a while after Seinal's story.
"Well that is a bonding moment to say the least."
Of course Cilian's ears perk up at the mention of a job.
"Sounds like a job for me. Give me a name and set me loose. Want it to be quiet, or loud?"
"Good, good.. Well hopefully she'll find my wants not to much.."
Listening to Six's story.. "Eye that sounds right up my ally to Cilian.. Perhaps we should pay the constable a visit tonight? Maybe we should make his share of coin ours.. Hmm?"
Cilian makes sure they aren't being listened to before speaking.
"Of course, the poor people of this town need someone to help them, and we won't trouble them about payment. I'm sure we can find suitable compensation in his office."
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Strolling in from her afternoon on the wing, Balik catches the tail end of Sixth's discussion. "Norbert, I applaud your sentiment - though parasites have their place, they are certainly a plague to their host. Removing the parasite is surely a blessing. More challenging, but to my mind more satisfying, is to enflame the host to reject its own parasites."
"Has anyone discovered whether important local pubahs have young daughters? Perhaps some of the parasites can be discovered in inconvenient boudoirs in the morning. And perhaps some of the valuables from the pubahs might be found in the parasites' lairs... It sounds an interesting project."
"Whoa whoa! That escalated quickly! Wait, I've never said we would actually do it, I just said he deserved it! There is no such thing as "setting you loose", please behave!" He takes a sip on his drink calmly, as if the subject was done with. He looks at up, pretending to be thinking.
"What you say is true Balik, but that uses time we don't have, so we just let it be...
"I wonder why hasn't anyone gotten to him in that second story of the constable's station... On could easily stealth inside and kill him any moment. He have no guards, the stupid... I imagine the scene if I had done it, blood scattered everywhere" - He spreads his arms around - "with a list of the disability guards nailed on his forehead... what a message it would carry to the others..." He then resumes his drinking once again.
"I don't know, there were no indications of their address in the 'disability' list. Maybe they are even 'ghost workers'. I think dealing with the constable would put them all at work right now and effectively... afteral, they would have a bloody murder to solve!" He winks at Cilian. "Oh, and I have no hat, just a mask, which does not do that..."
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"You have no sense of poetry in your soul. Finesse, elegance. Balance and subtlety. Where is that list? I'll have a lynch mob on at least one before morning, and the guard captain humiliated and sacked at least, possibly hung with his underling. And none the wiser of the agency. Thuggery and larceny really should take a back seat to art."
Cilian shrugs.
"So how do you want to proceed?"
DC 20
Do you want me to kill the guy, or not?
"Oh, elegance you say? Subtlety? Finesse? Sorry Balik, but that stayed behind several years ago, when we had a..." - he looks at Seventh - "miscarriage. Besides, what's more elegant than using a Scythe?"
"The list is on the board of the Constable's station... Why don't you grab it for Balik if you ever comes to that place, Cilian? It seems we will need it, afteral..."
It's is now that Kyomi comes in and says what she says, she's gets a drink and yet again dos not touch it. Siting down she smiles at the others,
"I do so hope I did not miss any thing, so tell how was your day"
Cilian stands up and reaches into his pack. He pulls out a folder with documents in it.
"My payment." Cilian offers in way of expliantion.
"Try and decipher these before I get back. I don't understand Bruma's native language."
Cilian nods at Norbert as he leaves.
"See you inside."
Cilian walks outside, and walks up towards the constable's station. Before getting within sight of it Cilian moves into a dark alleyway, and puts on his hat of disguise to look like a female elf courtesan.
With 'his' new face Cilian will try to sneak into the station telling any guards that notice 'him' the same story.
"I'm here to help out the constable dearie. He needs some alone time with me."
Sixth casts Message and tells Cilian on his way out:
"Don't hurt anyone else."
"Cilian have many secrets, doesn't he?"
He then grabs the parchment and unfolds it, trying to read its contents. He detects magic and Read Magic, if necessary. If no one knows the language he will try to translate it.
"I thought we were moving, weren't we? At least there will be some upgrade to the town. Anyway, where did you hear about the soldier's subject?"
As you all are talking you notice Norbert is not there anymore.. Little bugger must have slipped out..
Norbert will trail after Cilian, quaffing his elixir of blend..
"I'll cover you.." He pulls out a few vials of poison and mixes them together.. He then hands them to Cilian.. "Concentrated Blue Whinnis.."
He pulls 2 curved blades out, poison dripping from each of them..
"Im ready when you are.."
"The boys are being impatient and overly direct. I think we may need to leave in some haste tomorrow, and probably not plan to return." Balik sighs. "I somewhat liked this sleepy burgh."
Kyomi smiles
" I could not agree more, they arm most defiantly strong in most cases, but like the drow culture, one must understand they may not be the brighter. Might is right,seems to be the limit of their thinking. I bet right now they are sneaking into the keep, poison daggers in hand, stealthy creeping up on some poor sot, who looked out on a simple deal to skim some coin ands the spent it on ale are woman. Stripping such a one of life is to... Staged, to blunt, the real art is not kill every thing they are, tomorrow the countable will be found dead a proclaimed a hero, no how is that killing him, no striping him of dignity, honor and reputation, now that's the root of it. It's why others are killers, but me, I like to think of myself as the complete killer, the perfect kill is not to tale the their life to, bit to take THEIR life and to keep them alive to see it. Few understand that"She smiles sweetly
"Don't worry Kyomi. The whole city knows what the constable do, and besides, if they find he's been murdered alone, and that there was no one else at the watch they start wondering what's the reason for it...
Has anyone seen Grimward?"
"not so much worry as concern for them Sixth, in a cracking an egg with a big hammer sort of way, mind you, the good think is, wile they are off killing someone in their sleep for fun, it dos keep them out of trouble."
While Cilian and Norbert each find their way to sneak into the constable's office they find him eating cake and relaxing in his chair. He seems blissfully unaware of his surroundings.
Meanwhile Sixth, Kyomi and, Balik enjoy their conversation in the privacy of their room as they have learned from the last town.
Norbert will go Invisible as a swift action, moving up behind the constable quietly.. As a full round action he'll Coup de grâce him..
Cilian whistles at Norbert's work.
"Nicely done friend. Now for the final touches let's see if he has any drugs, or the like on him. Unless you have some?"
Cilian will look around the office of the constable looking for the papers, a safe, and any incriminating evidence that implicates the constable in illegal activities.
As Norbert lays low the constable, it seems that little can be found in the constables office aside from sweet treats and a truly excessive amount of money for a constable of a town this size.
As Cilian begins to throw the money into his Handyhaver Sack he looks at Norbert.
"You know this city is blessed to have a couple of saints like us."
Sixth seems to be doing fine in his translation. Some times he asks some assistance of the two beautiful ladies accompanying the job.
"Meh i really don't care to much about politics.. I kill for coin.. Thats about it.. Drugs? I just cut his head off, i think an overdose cover up is out of the question.. Way it sounds he won't be missed.."
Looking around.. "Oh.. Some cake! I do like cake.." He pushes the headless corpse out of its chair and resumes the cake consumption.. Afterwards he'll comb the office for any secret spots..
Cilian looks at Norbert eating the cake.
"Well somebody's hungry today."
Cilian walks over to the corpse and pats it down for any objects of interest.
After looking through the constable's body Cilian picks up the head.
"To be, or not to be? That is the question."
Laughing Cilian places the head on the desk facing towards the door. Using some blood Cilian paints the words GLUTTONY on the back wall of the office, and paints a small red eagle as a period.
"Misdirection at its finest."
Kyomi looks over the work, "I think that should be a ...
She looks out side, to see the sleigh town, then gets out the finds she made today, artifacts where fun, her sister pops out to show her what she picked up as well.
"I got this button, and this hat and a folding blade o and a ring with a Ruby iii it "
She lines them up then packs them away.
"You know a lot of nice things in this town"
Kyomi takes the ring.
"This sister could be what we have been looking for, I need to have it checked, but if it well things may get better"
Watching Cilian's work.. "Very Nice.. That should divert attention quite well.. If there's nothing else than we should be going.."
Norbert enjoys his cake and gets to eat it too, however he finds nothing of further interest in the office. Cilian and Norbert net roughly 3,000 gold from various stashes about the office.
Canim also enjoys himself at the tavern, not really being fit for the sneaking and killing.
As they stealth out.. "Split down the middle seems good to me.. And keep the poison.."
Sixth will await until Cilian is back before sleeping.
"So, how is the moonlight today?!"
"Pleasure working with you Norbert."
Cilian once again uses the hat of disguise to take the form of the elf woman.
Cilian shrugs.
"Moonlight was nice, but there were a couple of stars missing."
DC 20
"I dealt with the constable, but he didn't have that whatever-Balik-wanted you talked about."
"Anyways how goes the deciphering?"
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Balik helps Sixth with the translations - at least enough to understand the sense of the thing, and to identify any upcoming opportunities, particularly one in a near time frame, and in the direction of the coast. Though it seems that Balik's attempts to interpret the text are actively misleading.
"Perhaps these agents can encounter a better-prepared caravan, and 'lose' this plan. At least enough to permit Andoran some understanding of what is happening to them. I've never been a fan of this kind of subterfuge."
"Don't worry about it Balik. Andoran's eagles understand very well what Bruma is doing, and they are doing what they can to stop them. We will help if we can, and although few might know, we already did. The con man we got the carriage from was under their orders... We should try to get a updated one of this. It could grant us some more information, but I did not see anyone suspicious in this city... Anyway, I wonder where did Cilian got this, maybe in the gifted Caravan?"
__________
To Cilian:
"Weird... Anyway, there will be always a strongest star who shines upon us, will it not? Did it illuminate us with its golden light?"
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"Well I'm glad the tiresome inter-sovereign subterfuges are exposed. I'd prefer to pursue the Avorals in any event. Such creatures should not be subverted or corrupted. I'll be packing to leave at first light."
And with that, Balik dismisses the entire Bruma situation, and calmly ensures she's ready to depart at first light.