Wolfgang nods along with Marcianus, then stoops over to look in one of the holes in the box anyway.
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"Cold iron is easy enough." he says. "Lots of people walking around with their fancy metals. I think I've got a few swords in here. Maybe a longspear. Let me just--"
Ingoe stops as he sees Wolfgang bend over just a bit to get a good luck inside the box before his entire body crusts over in stone.
Wolfgang is petrified by whatever was in the box.
"Oh my gods! What in the nine hells just...Now I can swear to you I have no clue how that happened, though it would explain why my arm hairs got all sorts of brittle when I tried to look in the box.
"Tell ya what," Ingoe runs to a pile of polearms and grabs what appears to be a cold iron spear before handing it to Zeke. "This one's on the house. Whatever's in there...kill it. Before it does whatever that was again."
Sicaria looks at Wolfgang’s petrified body less with shock and more with mild frustration. ”And that makes me and Cimri the last of the original group. Wonderful.”
She turns to Zeke and motions towards the box with her hands. ”You wanna do the honors, big guy?”
Zelicia stands at the rear in shock then bursts into a fit of giggles looking at Wolfgang's petrified body. Wiping tears from her eyes she says, "I think he looks better as a statue! But we should probably figure how to turn him back to normal."
Hoisting the glaive, Zeke averts his gaze and chops at the box.
The miscreants eventually kill the thing in the box without anybody else being turned to stone. Though they do brutally stab whatever's the box around a dozen times before opening it to see the severely disfigured carcass of some strange, large lizard.
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"Alright Sic, get Wolfgang's body and roll it around in the corpse's blood. That should be enough to fix him if you cover him in it."
Zelicia stands back, waiting for Sicaria or someone else to do what she says without any thought to how weird the sentences were that she just said.
"I did like him as a statue though. Shame."
The woman looks swiftly from Zelicia to the lizard-paste-corpse to Wolfgang’s statue and back to Zelicia. She eventually just shrugs with a massive “Sure, why not?” face and literally takes the tiefling’s stone body and rolls it on top of the lizard corpse with little regard for the logistics of actually coating Wolfgang in the blood—she’s mostly hoping to kill the thing further by crushing its body under Wolfgang’s stony weight.
Wolfgang returns to life with a shudder and falls backwards, away from the creature in the crate.
"Ingoe! There's some kind of reptile in there!"
Basilisk blood drips from the tiefling's hair into his eyes, stinging and forcing him to squint. He tries wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, then with his sleeve, but both attempts just exacerbate the problem. Finally, his questing tail finds a partially dry corner of a scrap of cloth in one of his pockets and he is able to wipe his eyes clean. Only then does he realize that he is covered in blood.
"Aaaa! Gods, I'm bleeding from my scalp! Sicaria, Zelicia - hell, Marcianus, you've got that wand - quick! One of you has to heal me before I bleed to death! Abyssal demon shit, guys, it's gushed out everywhere!"
In a near panic, Wolfgang starts to stand up then slides back to the floor. "I'm not going to make it. Ingoe, come closer so I can whisper my death curse on you with my final breath. The Archbaron is going to have your guts for garters, you traitor!"
Marcianus' lip quirks up in a smile witching Wolfgang's antics. Eventually he tires of the entertainment and tries to soothe the tiefling.
"It isn't your blood Wolfgang. Mislabeled box? Who ships a live Basilisk?! Perhaps someone was attempting to kill the recipient?", he shrugs, knowing no answers are going to be found here.
Examining the cold iron spear Ingoe handed to Zeke, he nods. "Good. This will come in useful if we have to deal with more of those angels. If there are more, we are in the mood for some shopping.
There is also the matter of finding that letter you dropped, if you could just point us in the direction you last saw it."
"Is he always that dramatic?" Ingoe says with a smirk. "If it was an assassination attempt on a lone individual, I'd say that would have been particularly effective. Thank you all for that, though the cleaning is going to be a b@#%$."
The mess of a man walks over to another corner before popping open the top of a wooden crate. "Alright. Looks like I've gathered three cold iron short swords and over a dozen daggers. I appear to also have gotten..." Ingoe's jaw drops as he pulls an ornate hunk of metal at the end of a brilliantly-carved, footlong stick. The spikes on the hunk appear to be shaped like devil horns, and the handle bares a carving of a tail, not much unlike Wolfgang's tail.
"A...devil themed cold iron morningstar. Apparently. Masterwork, I'm guessing. When in the world did I throw this in there?" The man shrugs as he literally tosses the morningstar back in the box. "2 platinum pieces for a shortsword or 4 gold pieces for a dagger. No need to mark 'em up as I already had 'em. 33 platinum for the morningstar, though. If you don't take it, I might honestly start carrying that around myself. Pretty spectacular."
Ingoe then walks over to a mountain of papers atop a rickety desk in the opposing corner of his shack before he "accidentally" flicks a paper to the floor, accidentally dipping it in a bit of basilisk blood. "Nope. Can't find it. Must have already thrown it away or something. Hope it wasn't important."
Hope you're feeling better, GM!
Wolfgang glares at Ingoe until the harbor master starts pulling out the cold iron weapons. He gets up and immediately grabs three of the daggers, then considers at the short swords.
"I don't suppose you have a rapier? Or some arrows?"
Once the weapons purchases are done, he turns his attention to the note, flicking the blood from the paper in Ingoe's direction.
"Not at the moment, but I could probably get some for you, at a markup of course. Give me a few days and I'll see what I can do." Ingoe winks and makes a face like he's seeing literal moneybags.
The note, again from Dr. Gerya Rohalendi, is once again to a Nivianne Giatanno in Remesiana. Along with general gossip and continuing worries about her hospice, Rohalendi also mentions her concerns about Archbaron Fex's recent decrees and the rising rebellious sentiment in town. She even notes that there's someone the people call the Angel Knight who's encouraging the townspeople to organize and revolt. Rohalendi says she doesn't know anything about the rebels, but she wonders if maybe they'd be able to take in or otherwise help some of her patients if she has to close the hospice due to her previously mentioned financial problems.
Reading the note, Marcianus sighs. "It would be nice to learn where we can find this Angel Knight. If people talk about her, they must have some way of meeting her. It is frustrating that we haven't been able to learn more.
Is there some way we can use her patients to help us track the do-gooder down?"
The following morning is cold, wet, and windy. When it isn't drizzling, the wind howls straight through any wet clothing. The Church bells ring defiantly happy into the morning, a long platform with a simple executioner's block stands proudly in front. Cimri, Ingoe, and the Archbaron's men seem to have spready the word quite a bit, and dozens of Longacre's soaking-wet citizens have gathered to watch the execution. It seems word has gotten out on who is being executed, too, as several in attendance pelt the nearby guards with various, likely-rotten foods.
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Before mounting the stage, Marcianus makes sure to shield both himself and Zeke with Mage Armor.
Looking out at the crowd before he steps forward, Marcianus muses. "I wonder if the Archbaron's intent is to foster rebellion? I've been trying my best to portray his policies politically and to enforce the law in a manner that gains the respect of the citizens.
But, if rebellion, as a means of exposing the cabal of conspirators was the intent, I would have taken a different approach. Well, if he won't explain his motivations more clearly, I can only take the approach that makes the most sense for me."
Climbing the podium, he and Zeke stand near Caggan and begins a prepared speech, painting Caggan as a dangerous monster whose existence endangers the community.
"Citizens of Longacre! Before you kneels the convicted criminal Bolgart Caggan. Originally arrested for supporting sedition and violating curfew in order to line his pockets with illegal gold while endangering the welfare of citizens around him who he called 'friend'.
During isolation in jail, the criminal refused to recant or reform, until the full moon rose and the true nature of his monstrosity was displayed. In his jail cell, Bolgart Caggan transformed into a half man/ half boar. A dangerous homicidal lycanthrope known as a wereboar.
Nearly breaking out of jail, the wereboar attacked the officers of the law who were keeping watch and was summarily subdued and returned to bondage. We do not yet have a full recounting of the horrors this monster has wreaked on the community, but have begun going back through the list of unsolved murders and attacks, finding many suspicious incidents that we will continue to investigate.
It does not escape our notice that the leaders of the seditious movement were likely aware of the criminal's lycanthropy and allowed the monster to live amongst the populace with no heed for their safety. We will continue to investigate these individuals who espouse violating the law in the name of foreign gods while bringing danger into our midst.
As the duly invested agents of Archbaron Fex within Longacre and at his decree, we hereby pronounce the sentence of death upon the seditious wereboar, Bolgart Caggan. Celebrate, citizens, for Archbaron Fex is here to ensure your safety from monsters and foreign interlopers."
He finishes by waving Sicaria forward while stepping back out of the spotlight.
Wolfgang casts mage armor before stepping out of the jail to join the other Miscreants in the square. When Marcianus begins his speech, Wolfgang - sweating despite the chill - attempts to fade into the shadows.
Wrap it up, aristocrat, and let Sicaria get on with the job. I don’t like the weather, I don’t like the crowd, and I don’t like these damn bells.
Scowling, he peers around at the hostile faces of the crowd, looking for threats more serious than a few rotten turnips. Then he thinks about the deadly stone cherub and checks the sky and nearby rooftops, paying particular attention to the crenelations of the church.
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Sicaria stands silently as she lets the others speak. Her mind goes blank as she moves forward—she never truly felt glee for her killings. It was a job, after all. However, she would certainly be lying if she said she didn’t feel the tiniest twinge of satisfaction for following through with this man’s death.
Stone-faced, the woman steps forward and pulls out a single silver piece and presents it to the crowd. She steps to the side to give the crowd a clear view of Caggan. With her fingers she grips the man’s shoulder blade and presses the coin against the top of Caggan’s shoulder with her thumb. She keeps the coin against his skin long enough for him to lose his tolerance. He squirms in pain as the simple silver coin burns his flesh—a sure sign of his lycanthropy.
When it becomes clear that the coin hurts the man far more than it reasonably should hurt a non-lycanthrope, Sicaria removes it.
When Caggan pants from the pain leaving, Sicaria leans down next to the man’s ear—aware that this will spark conspiracy from the people of what she whispered to the man. She chuckles lightly at the thought of the conspiracies circulating among the people, but she nevertheless whispers something rather simple in the man’s ear:
”No hard feelings, bud; Archbaron’s orders.”
In the blink of an eye Sicaria moves behind Caggan and presses her foot against the small of his back, forcefully making him swing his neck back. In that same motion she pulls out both of her sabres and brings their blades together in a V shape—like a backward pair of scissors—with Caggan’s adam’s apple being at the point of the V, where the flats of her two blades touch.
Sicaria stays still for several seconds. Some might think it would be for the crowd to ingest the sight before them, but for her it was much more complex: she hesitated. Sweat trickles from her brow as she stares at the greasy, unkempt hair on the back of Caggan’s head.
Is this who I am now?
This would not be the first life taken at Sicaria’s hands, and very unlikely to be the last. She took lives in the name of the Inheritor, and now does so in the name of the Mantis God. She has always been a killer of one form or another. So why did she hesitate now? Was she ashamed of her actions? Did she still stood with the teachings of Iomedae in some regard? Did she question Razelago’s justification for this execution? Did she feel remorse for Caggan?
She desperately wanted to run. To not have to take this course of action. But Razelago gave an order to carry out this execution. Did this count as an assassination? If so, would that make Razelago’s order the contract? If she ran now would that count as abandoning a contract? How would her fellow Red Mantis—or even Achaekek himself—react to those actions? She was an agent of He Who Walks in Blood—she felt his power course through her—but was she truly devoted to him? Was this a trial of her faith? And if so, a trial of faith unto whom?
The eternity of those several seconds is cut short by a voice that echoes over the din of the church bells—a din that now sounds less ironically cheerful and more defiantly valorous.
The stern female voice echoes several times through the now quiet clearing as the sound of a horse barreling towards the stage grows quickly, carrying a figure in shining plate armor. Featered wings rise from the back of her armor, and her helmet is a simple mask sculpted with feminine features. She tugs violently on the reins, causing her steed to rear onto its hind legs, its fur almost impeccably free from mud.
"PEOPLE OF LONGACRE!" the knight shouts over the sounds of the confused crowd. "Will you let another of your neighbors be murdered by tyrants? The goddess Iomedae and the knights of the Glorious Reclamation are with you! Rise up! Save your friends, your town, and yourselves!"
And with that, the scene bursts into chaos. Amid thrown fruit and the cheers of the crowd, four incensed rioters climb onto the scaffolding where the miscreants stand. The archbaron's men deal with the rest of the rioters, but leave the Angel Knight for the miscreants.
Initiative - the BOLD may act!
Active effects: Stage is 5 feet up, meaning climbing up requires a climb check, though the DC is only 10 due to how it's constructed
-----------------------------------------------
Zelicia
Wolfgang
Rioters
Sicaria
Caggan (Prone)
Angel Knight
Marcianus
Zelicia glares daggers at the Angel Knight, furious that the execution was stopped short. She quickly looks to the rioters on the stage and casts Misfortune on the closest one. She then vanishes from sight using Ghostwalk.
The tiefling looks around and shakes his head.
"Well, shit."
He starts to draw his rapier, but hesitates when he notices the Archbaron's sash hanging across his chest.
Damn it! Am I supposed to kill these idiots or not? Better not take a chance, Razelago made a big deal about this execution. But if any of them get in the way of us dealing with this Angel Knight - or actually manage to hurt me - then I'll make them bleed.
He shifts and grabs his sap instead, whipping it across the nearest townie's jaw.
The green rioter finds himself quite unlucky.
Wolfgang draws his sap and strikes red across the head!
---
All of the rioters here grab some nearby piece of something (brooms, stray boards, etc) and swing at the closest visible miscreant!
Sicaria is struck upside the head!
Initiative - the BOLD may act!
Active effects: Stage is 5 feet up, meaning climbing up requires a climb check, though the DC is only 10 due to how it's constructed
-----------------------------------------------
Zelicia (Invisible)
Wolfgang
Rioters (Red: 3 NL)
Sicaria (-3)
Caggan (Prone)
Angel Knight
Marcianus
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Blood starts trickling down from the gash on Sicaria’s forehead, her anger starting to boil over.
Then this is a trial from Achaekek. Iomedae’s abandoned me...
Sicaria glances upward with pure rage in her eyes, a glowing coat of crimson engulfing her form!
So shall I her!
The woman raises her head as she locks eyes with the vigilante standing before her. Her gaze does not stray as she presses harder on Caggan’s back as she screams.
She brings her swords closer to Caggan’s neck as she closes the “scissors” that are her sabres around the man’s neck, the were-boar’s blood staining the serrations of her blades!
The woman continues to stare at the Angel Knight as she utters, softer this time: ”For we are not the keepers of graves.”
In an effort to save the man, the surrounding villagers swing their weapons at Sicaria.
Though one of them manages to strike Sicaria, Caggan's head comes clean off.
The Angel knight cocks her head, the only part of her expression that makes it through her almost entirely steel exterior.
"See! They stop for nothing!" the knight shouts. "Avenge your neighbor! For soon it will be your family!"
The woman's words seem magically reinforced as she dismounts her horse and slowly walks forward, sword and polished-steel shield at the ready.
Initiative - the BOLD may act!
Active effects: Stage is 5 feet up, meaning climbing up requires a climb check, though the DC is only 10 due to how it's constructed
-----------------------------------------------
Zelicia (Invisible)
Wolfgang
Rioters (Red: 3 NL)
Sicaria (-10)
Angel Knight (Magical Verbal Effect)
Marcianus
With a look of distaste, Marcianus carefully hops off the back of the platform, and walks around it, while attempting to escape notice of the knight.
"Rioters will be dealt with harshly. Supposed goodly knights who are willing to let monsters savage your family will have their lies held up to the light of justice. Go home, NOW!"
Zeke looks at the humans flailing at him disdainfully. "Get out of my way, mortals."
He ineffectually backhands Yellow before stepping to the other side of Green and drawing the glaive.
Seeing the Angel Knight step toward the scaffold, sword in hand, Wolfgang swears under his breath.
Damn it, I should have prepared that spell that would let me grease her weapon! If none of others have something up their sleeve, we will be stuck with a fair fight. Unless...
He starts forward and pauses.
This is a very bad idea. It will not work, and when it fails, I will be much too close to her and that big sword.
He glances around at the rioting townsfolk and his fellow Miscreants, all moving into position for the real fight about to begin.
Oh, Hells.
With a deep breath, Wolfgang ducks past the nearest rioter and rolls off the platform to the ground. He takes a few more steps away from the scaffold, dropping his sap and drawing his rapier as he moves, then turns to face the Angel Knight.
The tiefling reaches into a pouch at his belt and draws out a pinch of multicolored sand. He takes a deep breath, lifts the sand to his face, and blows. A dazzling rainbow blasts from his hand to wash over the Angel Knight, possibly engulfing the nearest rioter as well.
Wolfgang gets ready to run.
Zelicia reaches out to touch Zeke and casts Guidance, whispering "Go get 'em, tiger." then jumps off the side of the platform.
The crowd, aside from the people who climbed up the platform, does indeed scurry away at Marcianus's request.
Yellow ducks quickly out of the way of Zeke's slam.
Wolfgang tumbles through red before a burst of color stretches from his hand to cover the angel knight and a rioter.
The angel knight stands vigilant, seemingly unaffected by the colors.
The rioter, however, immediately falls to the ground.
Zelicia uses guidance and hides.
---
The rioters continue to swing their makeshift clubs!
Initiative - the BOLD may act!
Active effects: Stage is 5 feet up, meaning climbing up requires a climb check, though the DC is only 10 due to how it's constructed
-----------------------------------------------
Zelicia (Invisible)
Wolfgang
Rioters
Sicaria (-14)
Angel Knight (Magical Verbal Effect)
Marcianus
Sicaria spits out blood and scowls.
”Gee, if only there were someone here who could heal me! Fine! I guess I’ll do it myself!”
Sicaria pounds her chest, some of the wounds on her body closing.
She then tries to dodge out of the way of the rioters’ incoming attacks as she goes off of the platform.
She then slices against the armored vigilante!
Sicaria manages to distract one of the rioters, but the other swats ineffectively as the red mantis assassin rushes the Angel Knight, blade at the ready.
Sicaria's blade is quickly knocked aside via the Angel Knight's shield.
Sicaria’s anger melts to confusion, then realization, then pure rage! She screams at the top of her lungs—it would be more accurate to say the red-haired woman is yelling at the gods themselves than to anyone here.
"It's a what now?" Has Sicaria lost so much blood that she's hallucinating?
Still crouched and ready to flee, Wolfgang stares quizzically at the Angel Knight.
The "Angel Knight" laughs for a moment and adds "It was a good trick, right! If only it was enough to save Caggan." The false figure turns tail and runs.
The rioters also cease attacking, in confusion but generally understanding the concept of an illusion .
Eventually, the miscreants catch up to the imposter
After just a few minutes, likely while the miscreants are tying up the person, the illusion drops to reveal the familiar face of:
Riley Kels. The bard from The Last Stand tavern.
Sorry. I may not have been clear enough on what question I'm waiting on.
What do you do with Riley Kels?
If Riley has his lute on him, Sicaria passes the instrument over to Wolfgang. She then grabs the bard by the collar of his coat and slams his back into the wall.
”If you have any balls left after that move at the execution then you'd better start talking about whatever-the-hell that was before I smash that face of yours through the pavement!”
The bard quickly throws his hands into the air, but the bard's instrument is nowhere to be found.
"Okay! Okay! I wanted to save Caggan! Alright! That's it! So I illusioned up like the Angel Knight and stormed in! With all those 'Will you come when she calls' posters around, I figured I'd get more than four people to help me out, but here we are. Please, don't punish the rest of them...this had nothing to do with the Angel Knight." The bard visibly deflates and gives in to whatever Sicaria's going to do to him. "I just wanted to save my friend. Wouldn't you have done the same?"
Sicaria’s scornful gaze examines the bard up and down. She scowls further as she drops him.
”Lucky for you, you’ll have a warm cell in the jail; just recently vacated.”
She moves in and speaks softly to the other miscreants. ”Take him to the jail; I’ll report this complication to Razelago.”
The woman leaves without another word, leaving Kels to be handled by the other miscreants.
”A new complication: the execution was interrupted by that bard Kels, using illusion magic to pose as this Angel Knight. We captured him; he’s resting uncomfortably in the late Caggan’s cell. He may not be the Angel Knight, but he still disturbed the peace to stay the Archbaron’s orders. How shall we proceed?”
Growling, Zeke grabs Riley and twists an arm behind his back as he starts marching him toward the jail.
"One. Single. Word. and the tongue comes out. Try me, please."
The week passes with little interruption, aside from a small girl throwing rocks and dung at the jail windows.
And then Monday happens with an early knock on the door of the jail. Opening the door, the miscreants spy the pencil mustache of their sleezy dockmaster.
"New week, new pay!" says ingoe with a sly smile.
Once the sleezeball gets his money, he continues. "You remember those gate guards? You know, the ones you put out of a job. Yeah, I've seen them 'sneaking' around town, checking the windows of the Armory."
As the party is paying Ingoe, Marcianus smiles and gives the man a respectful nod. "Ingoe, against my better judgement, you have proven yourself to be quite useful. It is obvious why the Archbaron keeps you in a position of such authority.
I gather from the transactions that Sicaria has placed with you that there is a possibility of placing special requests for supplies? I am looking to procure a scroll with the spell Masterwork Transformation. The spell itself is simple, but requires expensive spell components, so the price is high.
Do you have contacts who might be able to procure such a scroll?"
Sicaria returns to the jail with a smirk on her face. ”Good news: we can do as we wish with the bard.”
*
When Sicaria hears Ingoe’s news she just pinches the bridge of her nose. ”It’s always something, isn’t it? Fine, let’s see what’s going on at the armory.”
Wolfgang raises his eyebrows at Ingoe’s information. “Very subtle of them. The Armory, what could they possibly want there?” The tiefling ’s sarcasm isn’t subtle either. “But thanks for the tip.”
When he hands over his share of Ingoe’s weekly graft payment, he puts in his own order. “Like I said when we were solving your little lizard problem, I am looking for more specialized cold iron weapons. Specifically, arrows and a rapier. The arrows do not need to be anything special beyond their materials, but I would like the rapier to be as well made as this one -“ he holds out his masterwork weapon “- which I would offer in trade as part of your payment. If you cannot find a cold iron blade this good through your contacts, one of ordinary quality will do - but in that event, I would like a scroll of the same spell Marcianus is looking for.”
Sicaria returns to the jail with a smirk on her face. ”Good news: we can do as we wish with the bard.”
*
When Sicaria hears Ingoe’s news she just pinches the bridge of her nose. ”It’s always something, isn’t it? Fine, let’s see what’s going on at the armory.”
"Of course we need to check out the Armory, but should we take care of Riley first?" Wolfgang flicks the tip of his tail across his throat to get his meaning across, then snickers nervously.
"Masterwork transformation. I'll check my collection!" the dockmaster says with a wink. "I may already have that one."
"I'll see what I can come across in cold iron. It's not common, so I wouldn't get your hopes up on not needing the scroll."
With that, the dockmaster offers a bow, takes his gold, and takes his leave with a "Toodles. Good luck with the geezers!"
As for what happens to Riley? We'll deal with that when we get back from the Armory.
---
With its narrow windows and sturdy timbers, this squat, faceless building looks like it was constructed to withstand a siege. Over the short stairway climbing to its double doors hangs a sign that reads, "Armory."
Longacre's armory is little more than a hodgepodge museum displaying the trophies and bent arms of local retired army veterans, but weapons are weapons.
The armory has two entrances: the sturdy front doors and a smaller side entrance. Both sets of doors are closed, but a pair of horses are tied up near the side entrance.
Which door would you like to try first? The small windows of the place just aren't really capable of providing more than a small amount of light through, so you won't really be able to get a good look in without opening a door.
Marcianus looks at the armory and the horses waiting in the back. "Looks like we might find them in the act. Chances are, if they hear us coming, they'll head straight for their horses.
We should head in that way, so they run right into us. Or, we could flush them. The three of you can wait by the side door and Zeke and I can head in this way, making some noise as we walk in."
Zeke walks up to the front door and tests the handle to see if it is locked.
The front door is, as expected, locked. In fact, closer examination reveals it to be barred from the inside. (Disable device can still open the door, but it'll be harder since there's two parts to getting it open).
Grunting with dissatisfaction, Zeke shakes his head. "I guess it is back through the side door then. I doubt Fex would like us breaking down the door to his little museum."