The party climbs the stairs, with leading the way.
This is an open room used to train and practice sword fighting. Practice dummies stand in the western corners, to either side of a brick fireplace. A fire burns inside, as down below. The ceiling is 14 feet high, with exposed rafters giving the room an open feel.
"Who lights a fire in the middle of summer?" hisses Yaziyah, walking towards the fireplace and peering at the fire.
"Not one but two." the waste of it seems to bother the street kid. "Is it magic, one of those always burning fires that don't really burn?"
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"Easy way to check," Olenna says. She also grins lightly to herself. Those "always burning fires that don't really burn" were sort of a trade secret of hers.
She reaches to her bandolier. This second set fire was especially odd and it made her almost certain that they were not alone. She makes eyes at Yazi and Magda, making sure they see what she's doing. There was a benefit to her brand of magic: it was quiet.
Olenna quaffs her mutagen and feels the flutter of chemicals begin surging through her, setting off a cascade of rapid hormonal and chemical changes. Within her there is a rapid redeployment of electrolytes and a series of changes that recruit some transitory muscle fibers more to work in concert with the fast-twitch fibers. Along with this, her already-dilated eyes dilate further. Even if they didn't have company, they might need to go running at any moment. Olenna planned to be ready.
With this done, Olenna reaches into her pack and rips a spare piece of paper out, crumples it up, and throws it into the upper fireplace.
Extremely well-hidden, two crimson-armored and masked beings appear just as Olenna approaches the fireplace. On the second floor, one appears to have been hiding in the shadowy, crowded rafters. On the first floor, one seems to have been under the stairs, hidden behind a wall. With their first action, they toss a sticky substance towards the fireplace, which explodes violently. The resulting splash effect causes flames to spill out from the fireplace, and causes flaming chemicals to spill out past the hearth. The floor lights on fire very easily, as if there is some chemical accelerant present, and suddenly, Vencarlo Orsini’s house is ablaze.
"ASSASSINS!" bellows Yaziyah, her shout ringing out throughout the house. "You will not get away with what you have done!"
The two assassins gesture, and from the blood-red mist that surrounds them, there seems to eminate a form - that of an enormous, red praying mantis, which appears next to Marcus and Yazi, respectively, and both of these fiendish-looking beings attack.
but both miss.
They each emerge, one from the rafter and the other from the cubby under the stairs, and engage with a pair of drawn swords.
The fires continue to burn, and look like they'll start to spread soon.
Marcus raises his shield against the summoned mantis, slamming it back into the wall. He retains his position, knowing he's standing between the enemy and Vera, and steels himself.
Olenna notes the sudden changes in the environment almost dispassionately. Alchemically-accelerated fire before her, a mantis to her right, and an assassin to her left. "Water can still smother the flames," she says to confirm some prospective thoughts about whether the accelerant would have a deleterious impact. As she speaks, she studies the newly-appeared assassin (as a swift action), stabbing out twice in rapid succession.
She didn't feel like taking any prisoners today.
"Water normally wouldn't be able to put out flames?" Mags asks flamehair, potentially not at the best time, combat, death, mantis killer things and all, but asking questions is important.
No matter the answer, Magda Vasiliu's favorite spell in all the universe is already weaved into her words and fingers. She's used it to put out trash fires, douse pompous twigs swaying about, but mostly to drink and cook with. Instantly creating water, with no muck or metal bits or urine, was a truly magical thing.
Now she uses it to save a house of a friend... hopefully.
Olenna was technically old enough to be Magda's mother (but oh that would have been an even more egregious scandal than the one she had already weathered). Still she was not Mags' mother figure. She could instruct her even in a harried moment, though. She was a smart girl, after all, and ever curious.
"Many fires, yes, but not if there is oil," she says as she withdraws the blade from her quarry and stabs out again. "An oil fire needs to be smothered, not doused."
They were fortunate that the liquids in alchemist's fire were still susceptible to water: a useful feature surely considered by the substance's inventor.
It was starting to become very crowded here, and she did not have room to swing her favoured weapons, so Yaziyah yanks the battleaxe from its sheath to hack at the oversized insect.
"It looks like poor Vencarlo has a bug infestation," the Shoanti remarks dryly.
Olenna hits twice, solidly, but the assassin is still standing and heals a little. Yazi hits the mantis with the first attack. Marcus is able to injure the downstairs one, but it is not overrun!
Vera sees everyone needs help and gives the entire party the speed to succeed.
The mantis near Yazi swipes at her after focusing - seeming to draw on a well of tainted, infernal energy.
The assassin counters with their owners attacks, though it steps around to focus on the same enemy that the mantis is engaged with , holding the jagged blades downward in a unique fighting style.
Downstairs the process is similar
The mantis tries to get him.
The assassin steps closer and attacks Marcus.
The fire upstairs spreads a little, though the square Magda extinguished remains out. It seems a lot of the building has been doused with small amounts of alchemist’s fire.
Switching her attention to the assassin, Yaziyah feels a surge of adrenaline from Vera's spell. Her strikes are fast and precise, mindful of the cramped space as well as the pressing temporal factor - the house was literally burning down around them.
Olenna watches as the assassin steps heedlessly into the flames. Fire resistance? Interesting. The assassin's counterattack is not all for naught, but Yazi gives much better than she gets. As Vera's spell quickens her, Olenna's already primed muscles lash out with viciousness.
There was a quip to be had in response to Yazi, but Olenna's attention was singularly focused.
Damage: 1d6+6 Base, +2 Dex Mutagen (alchemical), +4 studied strike (insight), +1 battlecry (morale), +4 power attack =
Sickened: The character takes a –2 penalty on all attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks.
Since the enemies (that she can see) do not seem to be doing well at hitting her friends, Magda concentrates on the fire approaching flamehair. She growls in the anxiety of the situation
Yazi brings her axe down into the assassin, and cuts deeply, so deeply that it seems to sever something on the person, who dies immediately. The mantis stays up and is killed by Olenna with her first stab.
As Olenna's first attack causes the conjured mantis to unconjure, she nods to Magda and Yazi and begins weaving around them to go investigate the cacophany happening downstairs.
Vera rushes over to put out the fire on the second floor, grabbing her blanket to try and put it out.
She manages to put one square out.
Marcus weathers the blows expertly, just barely catching a scratch across the face.
Seeing the crowded corridors Marcus switches to his new scythe, bringing it sideways in a vicious swipe!
A well swung blow, but the faint cut on Marcus's face opens in response, bleeding down his cheek.
Battlecry, all allies get +1 morale bonus to attack, damage and saves for 4 rounds.
Haste
The sawtooth Sabre makes a nasty slice into Marcus’ arm.
Marcus dispatches the Mantis, who disappears into red mist. The assassin doesn’t react, instead stepping to fill its position, and slicing as the fire spreads to their left.[/dice]
The odd mantis helmet of their leather helm is an unsettling foe as the assassin slices down with the serrated blades, causing gashes on Marcus’ shoulders.
The fire upstairs and down spreads a little, but upstairs it seems mostly contained.
With Vera bashing the blaze into submission and the last enemy going down to a mighty hammer blow, Mags pats the back of the most solid soft hearted person she knows, "Going to help the wall!" then she rushes down the steps and puts out the first fire she can see with a big ball of water pulled from the air.
With a backup building up along the stairs, Olenna watches at Magda nearly crashes into her. She feels the heat ahead and grimaces as Marcus takes a couple of nasty cuts. "One enemy left in our way," she says, grabbing an extract from her bandolier and downing it. Her arms turn rubbery as she prepares to strike around Marcus.
Sweeping her cloak off her shoulders and emptying her entire waterskin on the fabric, Yaziyah begins to beat at the remaining flames upstairs, trying to put out the last of the fire. She eyes the eastern door cautiously, expecting another assassin to burst out at any moment.
Marcus grimaces but holds fast, trading blows with the assassin. They had lost the element of surprise so he knew they were at a disadvantage.
Vera and Yazi put out the fire on the second floor, but the one on the first floor is spreading.
She manages to put one more square out.
The assassin takes one hit, but doesn't fall, and seems to heal slightly. He stabs out at Marcus.
The fire downstairs spreads a little more vigorously.
"Let's help out downstairs," says Yaziyah, vaulting over the stairway railing to try and bypass those between her and the enemy below.
Little left to do now except trade blows now until one person bleeds too much to keep going.
Olenna grimaces as Marcus continues to bleed but cuts the assassin down where he stands. She weaves her way around the bleeding warrior, grabbing the closest tapestry or rug, and uses her extended reach to begin putting the downstairs fire out.
Mags rushes in behind flame hair, patting the wall's steelness with a sharp Excellent motion then creates water every where she can as quick as she can.
Olenna’s magically long arms let her put out the fire without much effort, along with the water.
The place smells of burning chemicals, and the couches are ruined, but a few mending spells could probably repair his home without tremendous effort.
Uncovering the assassin’s faces reveals a man and woman, unremarkable in form and face. They are probably chelish, at least partially, but would easily be ignored walking next to them on the street.
Olenna wipes a mixture of blood, ash, and sweat from her brow after she helps to put out the fire. She says some indelicate words in Elvish as she surveys the scene. (To anyone unfamiliar with the language, the vulgarities sound as mellifluous as the rest of the tongue, full of pomp and poetry, but would be as likely to make sailors blush if they knew the meaning.)
"So," she begins. "Vencarlo's place of business was burned to the ground. Efforts were made to prepare his home to burn, and we only just narrowly stopped it. The assassins didn't strike until we arrived, so burning it down immediately wasn't the priority. Whether they were waiting for him to return or for anyone to investigate is unclear, and we can't well ask the dead." She stops, remembering who she's with, and shakes her head. "I take that back. We can try." With a shrug she continues. "I'll finish searching the house for clues."
Having examined the downstairs area completely, Olenna goes upstairs to finish the job.
This is an open room used to train and practice sword fighting. Practice dummies stand in the western corners, to either side of a brick fireplace. A fire burns inside, as down below. The ceiling is 14 feet high, with exposed rafters giving the room an open feel.
Vencarlo’s bedroom appears well lived in, but the bed is made and hasn’t been slept in. A desk and chair sit next to the bed, and a small clothes closet is to the north.
Olenna’s careful search of the bedroom also finds a hidden panel in the east wall of the closet. It does not appear to be trapped. Opening it reveals a tiny compartment containing a metal iron lockbox. Examining the lock and the box, it does not appear to be trapped.
A hidden panel? And a lockbox to boot? Curiouser and curiouser.
"What are you hiding, Mr. Orsini?" she says aloud to no one in particular. She lays the lockbox on Vencarlo's bed and considers what to do. This was so far out of protocol that it wasn't even funny. Normally she would have filed at least two reports by now, gotten a warrant to search the house, and then secured this box as potential evidence.
Citizens were allowed to have their secrets. At least, they used to, under the old regime. Whatever one's proclivities were, they were beyond the realm of the state to pry in.
But this wasn't the old regime. And Olenna wasn't a member of the Korvosan Guard anymore. She was barely a member of the Bromathan family, for whatever that was worth. Could this group of societal misfits that Cressida had entrusted with so much responsibility be considered something that one was a member of? A Resistance?
The now-brown-haired woman, devoid of her elven appearance, sighs. She couldn't let her old professional code of ethics interfere with her current aims. She wasn't trying to invade Vencarlo's privacy. She was trying to find him, to help him, because he might hold a key to helping Korvosa rid itself of this terrible tyrant.
Another deep breath, and Olenna brings out her lock-picking tools and gets to work.
The lock is a lot more complicated than she expected, and Olenna furrows her brow as she keeps on working.
What's in the box, Vencarlo, huh?
Downstairs, Yaziyah searches the bodies of the assassins thoroughly, looking for secret pockets, false boot soles and other hiding places. "I suppose it would be too much to hope for that they had signed orders on their person," the Shoanti sighs as she takes inventory of the findings.
She then starts looking for any papers or other clues that might indicate where Vencarlo was.
Only after a good amount of work is Olenna able to pop the lock. It is the hardest lock she’s ever encountered in the field.
Inside is a bag of holding (type I) that contains a black hooded cloak of elvenkind, several black masks, a dozen masterwork daggers with a stylized “B” engraved in their pommels, a black leather suit of +2 slick leather armor, a pair of black leather boots of elvenkind, an amulet of proof against detection and location, a pair of black leather gloves of swimming and climbing (with two fingers in the right hand containing fake, adjustable wooden fingers), and an exquisite +2 keen mithral rapier.
Olenna stares at what she has discovered, dumbfounded.
This couldn't...
Vencarlo Orsini: Blackjack?
She almost starts laughing.
"Everyone," she calls out. "I, uh...I found something. Come see."
Mags hates it when fires claim a part of her city, so while the others were searching she was hunting down every spark and ember, drowning it under so much water the place seemed waterlogged.
Satisfied, she takes the stairs two at a time to where the not-flame hair is sitting with a box. "That's the shine of the one that winked at Vera that one time and made her knees go..." she stops looking at the clothes, remembering where they were, and then looks at Vera and Grins!
Marcus lets the others come and see Olenna's discovery while he mans the door. He seems unable to relax while in this situation, even more than usual.
Olenna blinks as the others seem to have little reaction. Or maybe their lack of reaction belies shock. "Are none of you surprised at this?" she asks genuinely. Maybe they had known this already, discovered it during the course of helping out the city. After all, she had only recently joined them, and had been operating decidedly above board for a while. If she had met Blackjack...
Well, secretly she probably had her own sort of crush from having heard stories growing up. Even though Blackjack had been painted as a friend to the common man of Korvosa, certain noble children liked to pretend that they to were the sort of disadvantaged, dispossessed that would receive the aid of a dashing vigilante.
Of course, as a guardswoman, she would have been required by the laws of the city to at least attempt to apprehend Blackjack. Vigilantism was covered under so many old statutes, and Olenna was almost certain that one of the Queen's newer decrees could be used to make Blackjack's life even more difficult.
...did Cressida know?
Olenna shakes her head and tries to bring her focus back.
"Scrying," she says. "We can use these to make it easier to find him. They're his personal belongings, right? We just need..." she pauses, uncertain. "I don't know, actually. I can't do that with alchemy, so..." She purses her lips and looks at the spellcasters. "Do any of you have experience or knowledge?"
Mags is grinning ear to ear, nudging her best friend with her shoulder. At the comment about surprise, she turns to flame hair "Sword guy is a goodin, Blackjack is a goodin, doesn't seem like too far a bounce"
At scrying, she admits "I don't know what that is." in the half orc's mind she imagines it is that kind of crying where your entire body shudders with the pain of it, but no sound comes out of our open shocked mouth. Memories of dead parents before numbness settled in threaten her for a moment, but the whispers are there to help.
"But the city provides, so if that would make him easy to find, it'll help... in the morning." she doesn't understand why the city can only give her magic while she sleeps, but that is that.
Vera looks surprised, ”oh goodness, that is a surprise!” She looks around, and then explains to Marcus, who more recently came to Korvosa ”Blackjack is… a folk hero. Remember how he helped save Trinia? He’s served as a backstop against the worst corruption in the city since the founding.” She pales a bit, ”first - everyone here has to promise to keep this a secret. He’s really important! If people found out - well - if the wrong people found out, they’d kill him! And it looks like he’s already in trouble even without people knowing the secret. Quick, hide the evidence!”
She moves to stuff the lockbox into an extra dimensional bag. ”He’s basically an incredible immortal hero, so if someone was able to kidnap or kill his - um - alter ego? I guess? Then that means… I hope the Queen didn’t find out.” She thinks a moment, ”though I think we should assume they didn’t - why else would the assassins be here? They clearly didn’t know where he was, and they work for her.”
She shakes her head, ”anyway, yep, I can scry pretty well Mags, but I’d need a crystal ball to do it. I can show you how to do it tomorrow if you’d like; it’s the same finger waggles but I heard that for people who are attuned to things like you, they just need a pool of water to look in. Scrying let’s us see and hear people far away from us.”
Olenna holds up a hand at Vera's admonition to keep this a secret. "I do so solemnly swear," she intones. She grins as Vera prattles on, clearly dealing with her own recollections and revelations.
"I know a Harrower mostly deals with the deck, but what is a fortune teller without a good crystal ball?" Olenna asks rhetorically.
While Vera worked on the scrying ritual, Olenna could remix her mutagen in case they ran into more trouble before they slept. It would still be a good idea to call on the Arkonas, but it didn't necessarily have to be tonight.
Marcus, having been a more recent immigrant to the city, simply nods at the information from the others. "I'll take your word for it. And keep it to myself." He agrees. "I'm going to check the outside, we should leave soon." And he goes to do just that.
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"Hm, I had no idea about Vencarlo's... side hustle, but I cannot say that I am surprised. He always has been outspoken in his criticism of the government. I am more surprised that Croft would work with him." Yaziyah shrugs one shoulder. "But then again, she worked with me."
At Vera's request she simply nods. "Of course I will keep it a secret. But this situation begs the question - if the assassins are here for Vencarlo and not... this other fellow, then the queen knows that he has dangerous information."
She begins to pace, thinking. "Scrying should help, until then let's put our heads together. His school is ashes, his home was no longer safe, where else would he go? Who does he know here? Who does he trust?"
A man who looks vaguely familiar appears, bedraggled. He’s peeking from around the doorway of a decrepit house across the street. He waves at Marcus from across the street, who spots him easily.
He whispers loudly, ”hey, hey, you! I recognize you and your crew who crept into Master Orsini’s house. Get your friends and come over here - quickly! I need to talk to you!” He takes a second and then adds, ”please?”
He slips back inside, after looking around, obviously worried about something. It doesn’t seem like anyone else on the sparsely populated street saw him, or the exchange.
"Who is that, Marcus? Do you know him?" Yaziyah's expression shifts into a frown of suspicion as she regards the stranger.
Olenna considers pre-scrying bets on where Vencarlo could have gone, but soon finds herself distracted by someone who had caught sight of them. She tries to assess the situation as best as possible.
If she doesn't get any overt feeling that they're being led into a trap, she looks at the others and shrugs. "Let's hurry. I'll take any lead I can get."