Myradil ponders for a moment, not recognizing the names involved before turning to Femi "This is the sort of deal that seems like it would be of mutual benefit, no? A message that should be relatively easy for us to deliver that sounds like it may also serve our interests..."
"I am suspicious of anything being easy in this city right now, especially involving the nobility, but that does not matter it needs to be done." Elias turns to the captain, "...and we shall do it. You may rely on the Ravens."
"I'm not opposed to killing those we face in combat. In many cases it is what they would do to us. But this hunting, I'm not sure. What assurances do you have that those you hunt are truly evil, and not simply misguided or otherwise forced into their actions?"
"I agree, that some of those who do this work are most assuredly evil, and though I would still hesitate dealing a painful death, something could certainly be done."
"Look, I don't mean to be obstructionist here. Convince me." he suggests, trying to find a way to help, even with his misgivings.
"So now it's a night raid, in a Thrune supporters home, to deliver a message to his son? Tricky." he mulls it over. "I suppose if there's no other way, we can give it a shot." he suggests
"Their deaths will probably not be as painful as I would like, or they deserve. They are dangerous men, and must be taken care of swiftly. All death is painful, however, and if you think it more just if delivered in battle without thought, rather than after deliberation upon the consequences, that is your concern, not mine." Elias waves his hand, as if it doesn't matter "Regardless, it is not my calling to...'convince' you. It is my calling to deliver vengeance upon those deserve it. The courts here are unjust, and will not punish them. You know this. In better times, doing what they have done would have carried a sentence of death. You know this as well. I am comfortable taking this responsibility as my own, even if no one else is. My goddess demands it of me, and Her Will be done. I will do this thing, and you may help me if you wish. Otherwise, it is you who must convince me to grant them clemency for their crimes."
Kalem nods in approval, but he still has misgivings. The group he now trusted with his life was not....specialized in the ways of stealth. They would have to do much reconnaissance in order to shore up their lack of skill.
"Looks like we'll take it, but some information will go a long way to success."
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"Excellent, just excellent. Thank you gentlemen, for trusting me." The captain takes out a folded and sealed letter and leaves it on his desk while he shuffles through the rest of his papers.
Finally he finds what he's looking for and exclaims happily as he holds a map fragment into the air.
"Just a partial map, but one Marquel gave me so I would know how to find him if I needed to!" The map shows what seems to be the western gate, a section of the courtyard and a few areas on the second floor of the estate, one of which is Marquels bedroom.
"You will likely need to climb at least some of the way. There is strong ivy on the tower leading up to his bedroom at least, though I don't know about getting over the gate, you will need to figure that one out yourselves. One more think, I have not been able to verify what sort of beast it is, but Barzillai gifted the Aulorians some sort of pet to patrol their estate at night. The last time I heard from him, it was in transit, and he did not yet know what it was, but I'm sure it's some sort of demon."
Handing you the papers, the Captains face turns serious. "Remember, get me his reply. Do this, and I will forever be indebted to you and your cause. Thank you Ravens, I wish you luck."
"But as you say, there is no law here now who would carry out such a sentence for what is clearly a crime against humanity. And besides, who knows what corruption might exist in such a court."
He sighs heavily, "I've just never seen myself as a judge of others you understand. Live and let live - whenever possible. Let's just, ah, keep it to the extreme cases, OK?" he asks still trying to limit his involvement - at least in his own head.
Assuming that's agreeable, he does whatever he can to help.
Femi collects the map and letter for the group. When they're walking back he asks, "Well, do we want to take a look at this tonight? Or wait? I'm not sure what I can do to be more ready..." he mumbles, worried about what they've gotten themselves into.
"If there is a demon patrolling the grounds though, it would be nice to kill it, but noise is going to be an issue. We don't want to wake the whole house with our racket." he grins a little at the thought.
"An infernal, I think, is more likely. Given the proclivities of the nobles here. But I agree, it would be noisy, and we are supposed to be delivering a message, not slaughtering the local servants."
Elias ponders for a moment, swirling the last of his ale around the bottom of his mug. "Yes, tonight. The captain said he needs an answer, and I see little to gain from making him wait."
"What can I do to help? I'm not a very... quiet sort." he asks.
Kalem places a hand on Brask's shoulder.
"You and me both...but are you sure we should rush into this? Is there nothing to be gained for keeping watch for a couple more nights? Maybe bribing someone for information?"
Myradil nods "Lets give it at least a day. We need to... I think they say "case the joint" and gather some info."
Femi looks at he others, "Sure, we can watch the place a night - see the lay of the land. That works for me."
"We'll still have to be careful due to the curfew - any night spent abroad on the streets carries risk."
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"You boys are getting good at this!" Rexus says as he pulls up a seat. Laria had filled him in while the Raven's planned.
"I know a thing or two about the Greens..." He fills you in on a number of routes he used to take as a young boy when he wanted to escape the oppressive nature of the Kintargan nobility. He doesn't have a physical map, but he paints a clear enough picture, and outlines a few avenues that are less likely to be patrolled, either because certain families are too proud to accept the help of the dottari, or have fallen out of favor with them.
"Of course, I don't really know much about the Aulorian estate. Marquel is younger than me, and wouldn't have been of much interest to me by the time i left to study elsewhere, and my parents didn't have many dealings with his parents. Hopefully that does help however."
"That's a good question Kalem. We're not all very stealthy, but if there's trouble, it would be good for us all to be there." Femi shrugs. "There is no good solution."
"We can see what we learn by day on the streets, but it sounds like maybe the Greens are harder to navigate than we thought. What if we came at it a different way?" he thinks a moment before continuing.
"Are there passes that allow you to be about after curfew?" he looks at Myradil, "We have a forger, we could get ourselves a pass so if we are discovered on the streets, it won't descend into a brawl, with a little luck."
"But if that doesn't work, I think we should learn what we can by day, and then just do this thing. Might be too much risk playing it safe in this case and watching a night or two - unless we split up."
"If we do split up though, I'm pretty stealthy, and will happily go with the team."
Anticipating we're at least going to gather information, Femi learns what he can of the households habits, particularly in the evening and at night. Surely they must have servants, and if he can find one, a little drink might uncover something...
"I can be stealthy as well, in short bursts. Failing that, I have a respectable command of falsehoods, and a profession that often requires me to mingle among the wealthy at odd hours. How about a compromise plan. We spend one night observing the grounds, trying to plan our approach as smoothly as possible. If nothing untoward occurs, we make the approach on the second night. Those who can be quiet take the lead, those who can't follow well behind, and be ready with a distraction. Acceptable?"
Myradil nods in agreement with Eliastraza.
"Sounds better than my normal stealth plan." he replies, chuckling.
Myradil will wait until night to scout out the location.
Elias heads in with the night team, hoping to count on his spells to keep him out of trouble if he is spotted.
Kalem remains close to Brask, not knowing while being an amazing acrobatic had its strengths, he did not have the finesse to pull it off quietly...
Femi will also join the night crowd.
(in the greens)
Sadly, he mumbles to himself and may give the whole thing away!
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Brask and Kalem, not trusting their people skills, or their ability to sneak, stay home for the day, spending their free time in the Wasp's Nest or around town.
Femi heads out a little earlier than the rest, taking the time to look for anyone with a connection to the Aulorians. Though he doesn't have a ton of luck, he does matter to overhear a few servants from nearby houses discussing how Marquel has not been seen in days. A couple mention some odd growling noises they heard from the Aulorian grounds recently, at least one of them suspects its some sort of beast the family is using to guard their lands.
Not getting much from the locals, Femi makes meets with Myradil and Elias to scout out the area, trying to make sure they have as much information as possible.
They manage to avoid any patrols on their way through the Greens, Myradil's skills help them get considerably close. Near enough that they can see exactly the entrance outlined on the map the Captain gave them. It's clear that you will either need to pick the lock on the gate or scale the wall if you intend to sneak onto the premises.
As you watch the gate you hear the heavy foot falls and snarling of whatever the new family pet is. You can also hear the clanging of armor and weapons from regular house hold guards. Femi and Elias can hear the guards complaining about having to patrol with a Cerberi, mentioning how volatile it can be.
Happy he hasn't ruined the group with his noise, he tries to remember what he knows about Cerberi.
- DR?
He stays quiet for now, not wanting to give away the parties location. He looks to the others to see if they want to investigate further, or if it's time to fade back into the night.
Kalem spends his time at the Devil's Nursery, teaching a few classes on laborer ethics and how not to get cheated. As a brawler, he's learned quite a few things about taking a hit and rolling with it, and not all his jobs up the ravens had been pleasantly fair.
Brask spends the time working at the coffee shop (if Laria will have him, of course), actually dressing in workman's clothes and helping lug sacks of beans and grinding them. He keeps a dagger on him, and otherwise has his hair covered in a bandana.
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Femi you know that the Cerberi does not have any sort of damage reduction.
As the guards and the demon patroling the area, there's nothing of interest happening on the grounds. Unless someone is willing to climb the wall or open the gate now, there isn't much else for the Raven's to observe this night, thankfully it's a relatively quick trek back to the Wasp's Nest.
"We wait for tomorrow night, see if we can do any research about that beast in the light of day. We will avoid it if we can, but we will be prepared for it if we cannot avoid it." whispers Elias, as he motions for the others to abandon their observations for the evening.
Myradil nods to Elias, happy to have safely gathered info.
Femi reports on what he learned, ”Well the servants are talking, a little, but other than being concerned about what patrols the grounds at night they say Marquel has not been seen in days. I worry he may not even be there, or if he is there, something’s wrong.”
”As for that beast, I’ve heard a little about it in my travels. It’s called a Cerberi, a hound from hell, as you guessed Eli. Every strip of this three-headed hound's hide has been peeled away, leaving wet sinew and bulging tendons exposed.The mythical watchdogs of Hell, Cerberi bear the bodies of terrible, powerful hounds combined with the essences of fiends. Relied upon by villains and frightful beings as guardians and jailers, these three-headed canine abominations possess far greater cunning than their flensed, bestial appearances would suggest - a terrible intellect they pour largely into malice and enjoyment of their victims' tormented ends.”
”Very unpleasant. If we pass through those gates, we’ll almost certainly have to face it, and kill it. Hopefully the guards and other servants will simply view our combat as another hunt, and won’t pay any close attention - if we’re quick, and successful.” he suggests.
”So do we want to pick the lock, or go over the wall? I myself have no rope, but that’s easy enough to acquire.”
"I vote over the wall. The gate is certain to be guarded or watched, and relying on the main entrance ties us to a single point of access. Femi, this infernal, could you do some research, see if you can figure out weaknesses, or if it has any abilities we need to look out for beyond three sets of fangs?"
"I agree, over the wall is best. Hrmm. I'm not sure where I could conduct such research. I think I'd need access to a library..."
Myradil nods regarding the over the wall plan.
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Making it home to the relative safety of the Wasp's Nest, the Ravens discuss their plan of action, including dealing with the Cerberi. All of the Raven's know that the local libraries likely include the information they need, especially about demons now that the Thrunes have taken over.
Taking the time the next day, Femi and anyone else who might accompany him, easily discovers more about the beast in question. Notably that it has a tendency to rend any foe that it can get in it's grasp. A bite from a Cerberus also has the chance to curse it's foe, preventing extradimensional movement, such as teleport. Finally its senses are impeccable, often it is able to smell it's foes out before they know where it is. This is particularly true of undead, though scholars disagree on why the creature would be so acutely tuned to creatures of that nature.
"So, the trip worth it then?"
When recieving the news about the Cerebus.
"Guard dog, typical. Though, it looks like being fleet of foot would be our best bet of escape after the message has reached hands. Though I'm also concerned how to deliver the message covertly."
"It can smell us? Well, there's ways around that. Powders, chemicals. Stuff an alchemist could cook up for us." he observes. "Would be a good way to get it out of the way."
"Yes Kalem, we don't know where our recipient is, so we'll have to search and do so carefully. I can fish around this afternoon for his rooms, at least see what part of the house they're in."
"I agree Brask, let us mask our scent, and hope that throws off the beast. Shall we gather supplies and go tonight then?"
Femi will join the others in visiting an apothecary to see what can be purchased before asking some carefully worded questions of the servants that afternoon. His approach will be one of boastfulness, claiming that 'his' lord takes such good care of his son, he has the best rooms in the house - and then challenging the others to disagree and prove it.
The story may be a bit far fetched, and not gather the sorts of responses he was looking for, but perhaps...
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Your map shows a section of the grounds including Marquels room.
Alchemical items to mask your scent should be fairly easy to procure, you can find deodorizing agent for 30gp per dose. One dose takes thirty minutes to apply and lasts for 1d3 hours effectively masking any scent you have.
Oh, whew. Sorry if you said that before and I missed it.
Femi will buy two doses and cover himself carefully just before leaving that night.
Brask will also purchase one for the mission. Just in case.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Kalem will also purchase a dose as well.
Elias is ALSO in for a dose. Scent! The one thing my magic can't cover up!
That and taste. I really hope the infernal doesn't start tracking me by taste.
Myradil will also purchase and deodorize himself.
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Armed with deodorant and information, the Ravens make their way toward the greens this evening, ready to follow up on their promise to the Captain and deliver the letter to Marquel, in the hopes of securing a new ally to the cause.
The streets are quiet in the Greens, and between Rexus' information and Myradil's impressive ability to scout ahead, the Ravens soon find themselves outside the very same wall that Elias, Myradil and Femi had stopped by the night before.
As the previous night, their options are to scale the wall, or unlock the gate, either method will get them into the compound, and both required a bit of luck.
Femi waits for one of the others with rope. "When we begin the climb, I'm going to set an illusion at the top of the wall to try and cover us."
When the first begins, he uses the wand to make it appear there is nothing at the top of the wall. In other words, he's making an illusion of exactly what's there now, without the party clambering over.
As he climbs, he takes-10 (normal rope is DC 5 I think so we should all be good).
With a rope set up, Brask will be able to scale the wall, albeit not with any speed or grace.
Kalem starts to hoist himself up.