"You've been lovely, the both of you." Ellena stamps a kiss on the cheeks of the two who spoke and returns to her partners. She leaves behind the coin, hoping that whatever she managed to palm during the kisses will be enough to compensate her loss.
"He was followed by five customers, known to frequent a warehouse in Candle Lane." she explains, while downing half her mug in a gulp. "Now, I enjoy a pub crawl as much as anyone else -save maybe for Cups- but we may want to move. Thanks for the drink, by the way, Wands."
Ellena manages to pocket 3 copper pieces.
"I really wish you'd been a little more wary flashing that dragon around." Talli grumbles as she follows Ellena out the door after downing her own drink. "Men like those in there aren't going to forget a pretty face that seems to have that much coin on her."
"Precisely so. In case their intel lead us nowhere, we can hope to be hunted by the same who took young Mister Neverember. Only we aren't as easy a target, are we?"
"Ok, whatever path we choose, there will be risks involved. Ellena's gambit paid off, or so it seems. Let's leave it at that. Personally, I'd like another drink before we head out, just to get a feel for the place, no? All right then, I can tell when you're ready to leave... Candle Lane then... I wonder if we'll find anything..." Tania says, happy to move, but unclear as to her ten dragons will turn into a hundred, or into cold steel in her back.
Mitchell can't leave the overwhelmingly purple place fast enough as he sees his comrades leave the tavern.
"Did you find the information you were seeking. Where do we find this individual"?
"A cunning ploy Ellena, I like it." Hob's ready to move once they are ready.
"Thank you, thank you." Not like I acted on impulse and found a justification later, heh. Me? Never. "They may hold'im in Candle Lane, Coins. But I wonder why they haven't tried to ransom him. Do you feel they want something from him?"
Gloom envelops a narrow alley as dark as a dungeon — and as odorous as one, too. Nearly all the streetlamps have been smashed. The only light that pierces the darkness is a faint flickering from down the lane, like a distant candle.
A two-story warehouse is directly across the street from the lamp, which illuminates a black winged snake painted above the door’s handle. And the warehouse stands at the back of an outer yard behind a high fence.
The buildings on either side of Candle Lane are tall and tightly packed together.
"Fair enough," Talli admits when everyone else points out the gambit worked. She just hoped that it would not attract the wrong wrong sorts of people. Some of those meetings might be a bit more awkward than she liked.
The warehouse soon draws her from her own worries and she frowns as she recognizes the symbol.
"Maybe we should've asked if our lost little lamb had dealin's with the Black Network," she says to the others as she points it out.
"Maybe someone sneaky casing the place might be a good idea. Figure out where he is... an epic game of poker continues or something else would be good to know."
Tania grows worried as Talliree mentions the Black Network: "You sure this is Zhents' turf Talli?" she asks.
If the group accepts, she'll sneak forward, wrapping her cloak around herself and hugging to the alleys' deepest shadows and trying to spot where the dandy might be.
"Give a shout if you're in trouble, Cups, we'll send Coins bravely to your assistance and cheer for you both." jokes Ellena as the rogue sticks to the shadows.
Tania creeps as silently as a shadow, and finds that the gate on the fence isn’t locked. She opens it and slips in.
From the yard she finds that the building’s three points of entry — a front door, a large warehouse loading door, and a painted-over window — are locked.
"Maybe I should go too, eh? Not bad at bein' quiet when I want to," Talli says before Tania slinks off.
Tania smiles as her friend joins her: ”Like old times.”
Mitch grabs Talliree's shoulder as she starts out.
"Don't go too far without us. Wave us forward if the path looks... well... semi safe. Remember we're all in this together, and I'd never forgive myself if one of you were injured and I wasn't there to help".
Assuming nothing immediately threatening comes up with Talli joining her, Tania works the loading dock door, asking Talli to wait until she’s done before waving the others forward.
"Hey, it's us! We'll be fine," Talli says with a cocksure grin before following Tania.
Tania smiles as her friend joins her: ”Like old times.”
"Sure, just remember that you're the one that has to get half-naked this time if we need a distraction," she replies with wicked grin.
Talli lets Tania work her magic while she keeps an eye out for trouble. Grateful that at least they had backup if needed, she isn't too worried about being able to keep their skins if things went badly for them.
Looking about Hob decides to cast mage armour before trying to sneak forward. How keeps his head low and moves forward as some clouds block the moonlight for a moment.
The old, rusted lock of the dock doors is no match for Tania. But just as she is finishing up, Talli hears movement behind the doors. It's unclear if you've been spotted.
With some practiced hand gestures, Talli communicates that there are likely enemies on the other side of the door.
Talli quietly puts a hand to her sword and shrugs, waiting for Tania to give her the signal.
Tania shrugs, then signals for Talli to get the others here, quick.
She would have preferred to have the advantage, but her sloppy job on the lock drew attention. She was not going to back down though: "Save yourselves some trouble! We're looking for a friend of ours!"
Mitchell hustles forward concern etched in his expression, trying to be as quiet as his heavy metal armor will allow.
Stealth
Stealth (Disadvantage for heavy armor)
and sounds like a tinkers wagon rolling out of control down a bumpy road.
In the middle of Ellena shuffling cards to pass time, everyone apparently decides that it's time to move ahead. Shrugging her shoulders she follows, trying to stick to the shadows.
Hob slinks up to the side of the doorframe while Tania speaks ready to start throwing around arcane support.
Talli rolls her eyes as the noisy cavalcade follows in her wake. While Tania tries to get them to open the door peacefully, the young half-elf looks for a window to crash through to avoid the bottleneck of the door.
Mitchell gauges everyone's readiness, and then opens the main doors.
Four short, avian creatures with long beaks and black feathers look over in surprise from where they stand in the middle of the warehouse. Each wears a hooded cloak and wields a shortsword.
Kenku.
One of the Kenku speaks in a deep voice with an Orcish accent, “Xanathar sends its regards.”
"No witnesses!" hisses another in the exact same voice.
Hob: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (17) + 3 = 20
Ellena: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19
Mitchell: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17
Kenku: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12
Tania: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11
Talliree: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7
"Wouldn't it be nice if people were more open to conversation." sighs Ellena, pointing her extended hand at the furthermost thug. A lance in the twisting shape of a unicorn horn fends the air, sailing towards its target with the speed and brutality of a charge.
Hob hurls fire at one of the bird people before swiftly moving to take cover behind the doorframe.
Mitchell grimly enters the room drawing forth his sword as he closes with the closest malcontent.
Longsword Swing
Longsword Edge
But finds the difference in lighting of the room between the outside and the dimly lit chamber seems to have affected his aim.
Ellena blasts one of the Kenku, nearly dropping it with a single shot. Hob follows up with a blast of fire, but his aim is just slightly off. But the wild flame momentarily distracts Mitchell enough for his sword swing to miss.
The Kenku who was attacked by Mitchell disengages from him.
The other three Kenku draw shortbows and fire. Two fire on Mitchell while the wounded one returns fire on Ellena.
Hob: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (17) + 3 = 20
Ellena: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19
Mitchell: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17
Kenku: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12
Tania: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11
Talliree: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7
AC 13, HP 13
Black: 10 damage
Green:
Blue:
Red:
Tania curses to herself. She could see the chokepoint, the death trap, and she knew that Mitchell would go that route, but as much as he was important to her survival, she couldn’t be convinced to take that route.
"Did I hear them say Xanathar? I thought it was going to be the Zhents!? Talli, you’re with me?" she says and runs through the warehouse to somersault over the lowest part of the box-wall.
Tania gracefully lands on the other side of the boxes.
Tania's question is answered just a moment later by breaking glass and the thumb of heavy boots hitting the ground.
"Always," she calls out in a clear voice that was bright enough to make the smile on her face obvious.
"Ouch! Darn it! I'm starting to feel like a pincushion".
Mitchell unlimbers a Javelin and unleashes at the idiot against the wall, moving forward and taking cover behind stuff.
Javelin
Point
Hob moves forward behind some crates as Mitchel advances... making sure not to stray too far from him. Mystical fire arcs out from his palm towards one of the bird people.
With a few choice insults at the kenku's parentage and ancestry, Ellena answers the arrow with another of her preternatural blasts, spreading pine scent around her.
Mitchell's javelin pins a Kenku to the wall, just in time for Hob to finish it with a with a fire bolt. The stench of burning feathers permeates the air.
Meanwhile, Ellena's return-fire arcane energy sizzles the air with pine-scented death and blasts another Kenku's arm off. It shrieks out in a high-pitched voice, "My biscuits!" And then falls over and dies.
AC 13, HP 13
Green:
Blue:
Talli practically rolls over the crates between her and her target before bring her sword to bear.
The blade finds its mark and bites into the chest and neck of the kenku.
"If you want to live, you'll drop the toothpick," she growls through her manic grin.
Talli's sword bites heavily into the Kenku, and the wretched thing, falls to one knee.
"Uncle, uncle!" it cries out in a young child's voice as it throws down its weapon
The other Kenku seeing how quickly this all devolved also surrenders.
Hearing the voice of a young child crying out in pain, even if it was from someone that had readily attacked her friends, steals the mirth from Talli's grin and the grin altogether. An expression of shame crosses her face for a moment before it hardens into an expressionless mask.
Tania keeps her sword ready as she approaches and disarms the Tengu: "Believe it or not, we DON'T want trouble. Well, at least as long as you cooperate, got that!? Now, we know you have a prisoner here. We need that person. Kindly tell us where, and everyone can get home to their uncles and aunts, yes?!"
Hob gathers up the dropped weapons while leaving his more physically impressive allies restrain them. "Make sure they aren't hiding any daggers or tools!"