"I handle part of security....I'm also a partner here. I do whatever is needed."
"Ah, much better," Ava says. "Could you show me the upstairs, then?"
Thistle follows along, listening and feeling vaguely uncomfortable.
Arc leads Ava up to the suite that Saul indicated, watching as she examines it for weaknesses.
The suite Saul selected is a moderately-appointed bedroom with an adjoining sitting room. Ava grudgingly admits it will suffice. "Merchandise in the bedroom, business here," she muses aloud.
"It'd be nice if there was a way out through the back bedroom, but given what it was used for, I suppose I can't expect everything." She moves some furniture around, testing different configurations, and doesn't ask for help even when pushing the big bed across the floor.
She dusts off her hands after getting the suite in a way she seems to like. "All right. I'll be back in a day or two. If anyone comes by with some packages that are from the 'Yellow Cottage Company,' send it up here." She pulls out a very fancy lock with a key in it. "Oh. And have this installed on the door. Don't loan out the key to anyone, right, Arc?"
Arc inclines his head. "It will be done." He takes the lock and key and tucks them away. "Allow me to escort you out?"
"Certainly," Ava says, and departs. A few days later, various parcels begin arriving, and Ava shows up and begins conducting business out of the suite.
One day during that time, a strange event occurs. At first, it sounded like an unexpected rain. Even though the sky was only partly cloudy, the sound of rain striking the roofs of the Riddleport buildings was clearly heard. Looking outside, though, people were darting for shelter because instead of water falling from the sky it looked like small grey and black hailstones. The sound grew louder as the stones became larger and larger as they fell, some as large as a coin.
Windows and roofs started to be damaged by the pelting stones, but thankfully the unusual rain ceased before the stones grew any larger. The stones themselves did not radiate any magic, and turned into a gray mist after a few minutes.
A day after the strange rainfall, Ava passes a note to Arc. It reads, BC is having a shipment delivered at the Boneyard this evening. Near the Rebirth. A.S.
Arc gathers everyone together and shares the note with them. "Sounds like we have some work to do. How do we want to approach this? Go scout out the Boneyard now?"
"That would probably be a good idea. Going there early reduces the chances that we'll walk into an ambush," Nemo agrees. She prepares to get go ready for the scouting mission when something important dawns on her. "Wait, where is the Boneyard?"
Arc shrugs. "Maybe Saul would know?"
"Seems likely; Saul knows quite a lot about this city," Nemo agrees. Once the conversation ends, she seeks out Saul for information about the Boneyard plus its location.
Saul can provide the info, but the party -- having lived in Riddleport for a nearly two months now -- know of the Boneyard. The Boneyard is the ships' graveyard to the east of Riddleport. It's a tangled mass of rotting husks of derelict ships, brackish waters, broken masts, and tangled nets and rigging.
It's a fairly common spot to dump bodies, hold clandestine meetings, and engage in other nefarious activities. There's also other threats like vermin and beasts that lurk in the morass, so going there is never considered a safe venture.
Arc leads the group to the Boneyard, and starts walking around looking for a ship called Rebirth.
Saul mentions that Boss Croat usually employs half-orcs, so they'll probably do their business in the black of night and rely on their darkvision. Setting up an ambush would need to be done before it gets dark.
The evening winds have died and a light mist rises from the marsh. The directions Saul gave the group are accurate. The fading light of day illuminates a rotting hulk of a ship canted on its side. A rusted nameplate along its aft names it the Rebirth. The waters in the marsh are about two feet deep, with tangled mires and piles of debris making it difficult to travel even on dry-ish land.
An old float is moored next to the ruins of the Rebirth, which is empty now.
"How about we hide near that tree by the ship?" Nemo suggests. "Any further away, and I don't think we could set up an effective ambush."
"I don't know how well I'll be able to hide. Maybe you guys can hide and I'll just be a distraction out in the open?"
"That could work. If they're distracted, they'll be less likely to notice the rest of us," Nemo remarks.
”Or it will put them on alert and make them look harder for an ambush,” Lana counters.
Thistle frowns. "I agree with Lana. What if they see you before you see them, and gang up on you? I'd rather we just try to hide you as best we can.
"You make a racket when you walk, but surely standing still will help, at least a bit."
Thistle frowns. "I agree with Lana. What if they see you before you see them, and gang up on you? I'd rather we just try to hide you as best we can.
"You make a racket when you walk, but surely standing still will help, at least a bit."
”Or it will put them on alert and make them look harder for an ambush,” Lana counters.
"That is a possibility," Nemo acknowledges. "Better to be cautious then."
After setting up their ambush, the night truly descends upon the party and darkness settles upon the Graveyard. After several minutes of waiting, they hear the sloshing of a raft and hushed voices.
Arc sees the four half orcs approaching, and tries to sneak the rest of the way along the ruined ship, to cut them off.
Thistle follows behind Arc, scimitar in hand, staying low.
Lana accompanies the others, moving far quieter than anyone could anticipate.
Nemo stays put. Given her heavy metal armor, moving quietly really isn't viable for her without magical assistance. Instead, she plans to wait until her prospective opponents are distracted by the others. After all, strategically holding forces in reserve is a viable combat tactic.
"Who's there?" one of the half-orcs calls out as a couple heads turn toward Arc's location.
Arc downs his mutagen. "RAAAGH!"
He charges on to the raft.
Thistle prays aloud, "Persistent Weaver, help me teach these thugs that they are on the wrong path.", and a shimmering spiderweb swirls around her, causing dewey motes to glisten around her in the moonlight.
Then she steps forward, trusty scimitar in hand, and eyes up the nearest thug.
"Looks like we're fighting. Can't see a thing, though," Nemo whispers. "Well, let there be Light."
Lana tried to take advantage of the Light spell, and conjured up an image just at the edge of its light and behind the thugs. An image of some menacing eyes on a monstrous figure of a sea monster slowly rising up from the water behind them, it’s gaze shifting from one bad guy to the next, in the hope that it would drive them to shore quickly!
The party gets ready as the orcs react to the threats all around them. The sudden appearance of light illuminates their greenish skin and surprised faces. They pull out swords as they hop off their tiny skiff and into the waist-deep water.
One turns to face off with the strange sea monster, stabbing at it with a notched long sword.
After seeing his sword pass harmlessly through it, he grunts something in orcish and turns his back on it.
One orc wades over to face off with Arc.
A third wades up onto the wreckage that Thistle is on and attacks the goblin.
Neither orc is able to harm their opponent. The fourth orc closes the gap between him and Nemo, but is unable to reach her.
Thistle almost yelps aloud when she sees the sea serpent arise...and then she chuckles when she realizes what Lana had done. "Good one, Constantine."
When the orc wades over, Thistle manages to dodge her blow, and then steps to the side and stabs at her, feeling Cladissa's patient aid guiding her hand.
Nemo advances toward the approaching orc with a sinister grin and a swing of her scythe.
"You're mine, scum!" Arc challenges the half-orc thug facing off with him. He twists his hips and punches under the rim of his shield at the gangster's liver.
Lana moves through the detritus of the ships' graveyard to get the orcs within range of her spell. She unleashes a blast of coruscating colors at to the orcs.
The warriors each manage to land a blow on the half-orcs, drawing blood. Lana's spell catches two foes in her color spray, and they drop their weapons while rubbing their eyes.
Nemo is struck by one of the orc's clubs, a heavy impact she feels through her armor.
Arc continues to punch the orc in front of him.
Edit:
After weighting her options, Nemo decides to attack the blinded and stunned orc before her.
Thistle swings, but finds that the color spray has effected her vision too.
Cladissa, your lessons in failure are always welcome...but please help me NOT drop my scimitar in this swamp.
Lana points a wand at the conscious half orc and a ray of fire strikes him!
Thistle misses, but it hardly matters because Arc's heavy blow crushes the orc's nose and jaw and he falls back into the brackish water.
Nemo finishes off the already-injured and blinded orc. A bright lance of fire shoots from Lana's staff, striking the only orc currently in fighting shape.
The last orc affected by Lana's color spray blinks his eyes as his sight recovers, but he's still stunned by the effect. The orc that had been blasted by the fire sloshes through the water, heedless of Nemo's threat in order to bash the spellcaster!
The orc that had been blasted by the fire sloshes through the water, heedless of Nemo's threat in order to bash the spellcaster!
"Big mistake."
Thistle feels a twinge of regret as she sees their foes drop.
She advances through the muck and strikes out at another.
"I'm sorry it came to this for you. May Cladissa forgive you for your life of crime."
Arc hops back to shore and kicks the final gangster in the jaw, trying to incapacitate him and end this.