"I guess one of you stabby-pokey types could deal with the Citizen's Group, but how about we try something more ... subtle?" Farrina says with a grin as she watches the building.
Arcane gestures follow and she brushes down her colorful clothes with her long-fingered hands. Where her hands move the color bleeds out to be replaced with black and touches of red.
Once she's finished, her eclectic ensemble has been replaced with the uniform of a Chelish captain. Her hair and face have altered as well. Her countenance has become harsh and stern - her hair brown streaked with gray and pulled back in a severe bun. She reaches into her bag and pulls out a piece of parchment which she worries just a bit and then folds it and shoves it into her belt.
"Now if you'll follow me and be properly subservient, I think we can free them without any bloodshed," she says in a cold and commanding voice.
Expecting the others to follow, 'Captain' Farrina strolls boldly over to approach the nearest of the Citizen's Group guards.
"You. You, there!" she commands. "I have orders to collect subjects for a new indoctrination procedure. Bring me your prisoners. Quickly, man, I haven't got all day."
The thug stops short when Farrina accosts him. ”Huh? New orders? You’ll have to talk to Captain Kossrani. Captain!”
He calls out to somebody inside the building. After a few moments, a surly looking dwarf in chainmail comes out and glares up at Farrina. ”What’s all this then?”
"Are you Captain Kossrani?" Farrina asks with disdain. "I was told to only speak with Captain Kossrani." Once she's assured that the dwarf is who he says he is, Farrina waves her hand imperiously. "I have been given orders from our Lord-Mayor to collect subjects for a new indoctrination procedure. I need all your prisoners for the experiment as it is likely most of them won't survive."
She looks down at him with the perfect air of aloofness. "Be about it quickly. I have two more places to collect from before lunch."
Kossrani narrows his eyes at Farrina. He looks between her and the paper, looking for a moment as if he might ask to see these orders. Another look in her steely eyes, though, and he grunts. ”Bah! Fine! But you’ll put in a good word with Mayor Thrune, will ya? And tell him we need a new crew to work the salt if he wants to keep the income rolling in.”
The dwarf directs his thugs to round up Crowe and his men. They seem a bit sick and worn out but otherwise healthy. Soon enough, you walk away from the Salt Works scot free!
As soon as the group is out of sight of the salt works, Farrina - who is boldly and proudly walking ahead of the group - turns and bows low to those following her. "Thank you, thank you. No need for applause it would look out of place." She lets her disguise fade and claps her hands together. "So now we need to get you all out of sight before the s@!# comes tumbling down."
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"This way." Adolina says, shaking her hair out and taking the lead. She takes a remarkably convoluted route around the city, which culminates in crossing the Bleak Bridge just as the usual evening rush hits, meaning that the guards on the bridge are overwhelmed and even the gaunt and salt-encrusted men pass without notice.
Once everyone is safely ensconced in the Wasp's Nest she gives Farrina a well deserved round of applause. "That was quite something. Although now I think we need to pick up some clothes like the standard guard uniform, help sell the bluff if we ever need to use it again."
"Great job though," says Tanjona in a low voice. "I didn't expect that to work."
”We appreciate the rescue. Your friends of Laria’s? We’ll spread the word about a new resistance against Thrune,” Crowe says. ”And if you need some freedom fighters to help you out, we’re your men.”
You return to the Wasp Nest to celebrate your success. As you return to your headquarters, you hear the unmistakable sound of a wall crumbling, followed by a cry of pain! One of the Fushi sisters lies under a section of wall in the storeroom that has collapses, badly injuring her.
"Great job though," says Tanjona in a low voice. "I didn't expect that to work."
"And that's why it worked," Farrina replies with a raised finger. "No one would be foolish enough to just walk up and ask for the prisoners. Someone would have to be nuts to try something like that."
You're not selling it very well.
Farrina rolls her eyes. "My point is it worked because they didn't think anyone would try that. It won't work a second time, though."
~~~~~
Once the woman has been seen to, Farrina's first thought is that something happened to her room and races over to check to see if her collection of props and clothes has survived.
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Adolina rushes in to help, although its Tajona that does most of the lifting. She's more useful pointing out which bricks need to be moved in what order... and in the process she notices something strange.
"Tool marks." She says, taking a brick as Tajona pulls it away. "Someone collapsed this wall deliberately. In fact... there!" She crouches down and extracts a small hammer and a chisel. "Farrina. Shut the door. Make sure no-one gets out!"
"But ...," Farrina begins to protest, her eyes looking over to the curtain that divides her private space from the main area. "Fine," she finally grouses, before slamming the door with a bit of extra effort.
Seraphina couldn't see, but luckily Adolina could. Once she puts two and two together, she finally gets what happened here. "Hold on, we're coming!" she says, taking a knee and reaching out to heal the injured party.
Tanjona casts his trident to one side and rushes to help move blocks after the wall collapses.
"So, ah, how..." he says with a grunt while moving rubble, "... do we figure out who did this? And why they tried to sabotage the room instead of just going to the authorities?"
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"We make sure no-one comes in or out." Adolina says. "Then we search this place from top to bottom. If that doesn't turn up our saboteur then we think again. Farrina, Seraphina, stay here and make sure no-one gets out, use your magic, whatever you have. Tajona, we're working through. Start here and we'll work deeper."
Seraphina heals some of the tengu’s injuries, but she will likely need to rest for s few days for her broken bones to set properly.
The broken wall is the only damage in the complex.
Adolina spends a long time searching high and low throughout the Wasp Nest but finds no sign of the saboteur. Only Rexus and the Fushi sisters are present, and none of them saw anybody coming or going,
"Clearly someone has a personal stake in revenge," Farrina answers Tanjona. "But is it in regards to Seraphina alone or us all in general and she was the most convenient target?" She sniffs dismissively. "Not that it really matters. They're going to continue their little crusade until they're caught or satisfied."
"At least they left my s!++ alone." She looks around and in a louder voice asks, "So what's next on the revolution agenda?"
"We have a couple of other leads worth looking into," Laria says. "There are rumors that somebody's been killing several tieflings in the slums of Devil's Nursery. I worry that the killings may be acts of terrorism performed by agents of Asmodeus. If the murderers can be stopped you can make it clear that the Silver Ravens have stepped up to defend some of Kintargo’s most downtrodden citizens, the rebellion’s support can only grow."
"There have also been reports about dissension at a local tavern," Rexus says. "Clenchjaw’s was until recently a low-key dockworker’s drinking hall, but in the past few days the watering hole has grown rife with intrigue, brawls, and talk of insurrection. Though initially dismissed as a den of drunken sailors and foreigners known for stirring up trouble, the tavern is growing loud enough to attract official attention. There may be allies there we can recruit."
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"Build our support for now." Adolina offers. "I'll send out feelers, see what we can do about picking up loyal, likeminded people. Getting Corvax and his men into the fold would be good too."
The news about Clenchjaw's has her eyebrows rising. "Really? I know he runs a pretty loose shop, but no-one who goes there regularly would want this kind of attention... that's worth checking out!"
"Also, while we're here at the Nest I want everyone to be extra careful. Just because I didn't find anyone doesn't mean there isn't a saboteur somewhere down here."
Unless anyone proposes other plans Adolina makes plans to head to Clenchjaws once the evening crowd gets there. It's not her favorite watering hole in the city, but not one of the worst either.
"I did a show at Clenchjaw's once," Farrina offers. "For some reason they didn't take too well to some of my jokes. It was a short show and didn't end on an up-note. Perhaps I'll go as someone else this time."
Adolina and Farrina both know that Clenchjaw's is named after a local variety of oyster, as well as for the owner’s strict policy of banning political talk from the tavern— until recently, that is. The tavern’s owner is an apolitical and practical sort named Rinston “Clenchjaw” Jon who normally ejects troublemakers, but seems unusually sleepy and distracted of late. The nightly brawls have all begun after Rinston’s passed out for the evening—itself a curious development, since until the Night of Ashes he was an energetic man.
"Ai, I've been to Clenchjaw's. I like a good oyster now and then. Not usually that raucous, though with sailors... well, you always get some amount of raucous," says Tanjona with a sly grin.
You make your way to Clenchjaw’s in the late afternoon, just before 5 PM. It seems to be quiet enough so far, though the dock workers are just starting to file in after their shifts. Clenchjaw himself is behind the bar, serving up drinks.
Seraphina asks for water and gets served an ale instead. Frowning, she sips it and decides it tastes like goat piss. She pushes it aside and whispers "What are we looking for exactly?"
Tanjona easily swipes Sabina's ale, takes a sip, then says, "Clues, I think. As to what's afflicting Clenchjaw, and why his place has become so much more dangerous lately."
Seraphina watches the man drink the goat piss and shakes her head slowly.
"Okay. I'll keep my eye out for something out of ordinary."
Rather than join Adolina and the others near the wall, Farrina swaggers right up to the bar near the namesake tender of drinks.
Her normally colorful demeanor has been muted. She's wearing a collection of the dreaded browns and tans and with her makeup dialed down to about 10% of normal, she could pass as a common baker or laundry woman.
When Clenchjaw notices her, she gestures wordlessly for an ale. Once she's served, her attention seems to remain on her drink, but is actually on the dour man serving drinks.
As the evening progresses, you keep an eye out for anything unusual. Farrina sits at the bar, her attention focused on Clenchjaw. The bartender seems fine for a while, then all of a sudden, he lets out a huge yawn and lays his head on the bar. He is asleep within seconds, snoring loudly. Having made use of the spell numerous times, Farrina recognizes the effects as that of a sleep spell.
Looking around, the wizard catches a glimpse of a butterfly-winged shape prowling around the barrels of ale before it slips out of sight.
The entertain glances around to see if anyone else has noticed. She also checks to see if anyone is paying her any real attention. If not to both, she moves around to attempt to follow the creature.
"How much longer?" Seraphina whispers to Adolina and Tanjona.
Unfortunately, Farrina is unable to find the creature that she saw. After a few minutes, one of the dock workers cries out in surprise as he slips and falls on a slippery patch of floor, spilling his drink. Several people nearby snicker, and he snarls at them. ”See something funny, do ya? Why don’t ya come here and laugh to my face!”
Farrina swears she hears a high-pitched giggle nearby.
Farrina looks back at the others again before continuing her search for the pranking fey.
Over the next several minutes, more and more incidents occur. People fall down or drop their drinks, reel in a stupor and bump into each other, and strange sounds occur that seem designed to rile the increasingly drunken patrons. A brawl is inevitable, and sure enough, the dock workers lose their patience and begin shouting and throwing punches and chairs around!
Farrina hears the giggling again, and finally she notices a tiny dragon gleefully watching the melee from the rafters. A moment later, it disappears.
Farrina slips behind the bar to avoid the brawling thugs. "That's some nice work," she says to no one. "The right ignition with the right fuel."
Farrina hears the invisible dragon giggling. ”You like it? It’s fun to watch them fight! What’s your name?”
Farrina looks this way and that trying to find the source of the voice. "Are we on a first name basis already?" she asks. "I'm Farrina. Who might you be? And where are you?"
"I'm Vendalfek! Meet me outside when the fighting is over!"
Another giggle, then the fluttering of wings signal the dragon's departure.
Content to wait until the brawl has come to its conclusion, Farrina occupies herself with a bottle of a nice Chelish red. "They make good wine at least," she says to herself.
Soon enough, the brawl comes to an end. As Farrina leads you outside, you hear a voice calling you from an alley. Once you follow it, the faerie dragon appears again. ”That was fun, right? Now then, you lot are the most interesting people I’ve seen in days! Tell me more about yourselves!”
Still holding on to a half-empty bottle of wine, Farrina grins at the colorful fey. "Farrina the Fabulous at your service," she says with an exaggerated bow that sways just a bit. "Entertainer Extraordinaire." She looks down at herself. "And I'm not usually so drably dressed, but the mission called for boring." She gives a half-hearted wave of a hand at the others. "These are my friends," is all the introduction they receive. "We're working for the betterment of the citizens of Kintargo. You can even call us the 'Kintargo ....'" She ponders for a moment before turning to the others.
"What would make a good acronym?" she asks. "How about Citizens that Only Care about Kintargo?"
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"Stop trying to make everything bawdy." Adolina responds firmly to Farrina before approaching Vendelfek. "You on the other hand are magnificent! I don't think I've ever seen a creature as beautiful as you! My name is Adolina and I'd like to be your friend. I'm quite wealthy," She adds, aiming squarely at the creature's more draconic tendancies. "I have lots of shiny things that I like to share with my friends."
"I'm your friend. Do tell," Farrina says with a waggle of her eyebrows as she sidles up to Adolina. "I love shiny things."
The shock that registers on Farrina's face is exaggerated, but genuine. "You take that back!" she gasps out when she can finally speak.
"Why are we fighting over who is the prettiest?" Seraphina asks behind her mask, knowing she was the prettiest. "I'm not following..."
No surprise there a voice not her own sighs in her head.