Perhaps disguise ourselves as buyers of salt. Beorn suggests to the Crow Crew to increase the size of their coffers.
"It does faintly ring a bell, but mostly as knowing that the place exists. I'm not in the know who runs the place."
Borgan does look up to Variel with a frown.
"Are we really looking to replace someone there that's leading the place? I think if we replace someone there, they would not last a week before being forcefully replaced themselves. What kind of rumours do we have that is happening there? Wrongful imprisonment perhaps?"
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We know that the salt mines are now more of a prison camp than for legitimate business. Perhaps we just make a road to liberate the people working there and not worry about installing anyone else for the time being. Just let it be known that forced labor is unacceptable and will be dealt with in the middle of the night.
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While 'helping' Mr Rexus with the translations Pollux takes the time to sweep the papers, Mr. Rexus, and the work area with Detect Magic.
Pollux uncharacteristically interrupts a planning session..
"Gentlemen, Ladies, friends beyond the binary, we have a problem. Well we have lots of problems but this one is new and momentarily interesting."
Pollux pauses seemingly watching the corners of the room.
"Whenever we move into a new home Castor spends some time meeting his new friends and relations. There are meaningful discussions among rodents of good faith, few quiet murders, a few noisy murders, and then things tend to calm down on the four footed front. But not this time."
"Something is perverting the path of peace. I do not know if something is organizing active opposition or if there is just something more interesting than the rats, mice, stray cats and pi-dogs that Castor us used to dealing with. But I am sure that it is new, it is very close by and it does not have our best interests at heart."
Pollux pauses and looks around the table/meeting room again ..
"In short friends and allies I smell a rat!"
Castor crawls onto the table his left rear leg sporting a small bandage.
Beorn strokes his beard. Castor has met a Rat King here I take it? One I believe does not like usurpers from the looks of it. Hmm..Perhaps we should offer our services as his champions so there is a clear path for his benevolent leadership.
... so there is a clear path for his benevolent leadership.
"I think it is more serious than a spot of palace intrigue. We know something is going of from the avant-garde piping and outsider art. A rat-king or a street dog generally do not commit to this kind of life of the mind. Besides, the secret gifts Miss Liria has been giving to Castor would have dealt with any normal opposition. So I fear Castor may have run afoul of what has been plaguing Mr. Rexus."
I have been searching in odd moments in odd places... ...and I have found many things: a bent silver piece, three nails rusted together,a half bottle of a once decent claret, an old shoe filled with older cheese, three dead rats, three live rats..."
"..."
"Sorry Castor? Correction six dead rats and a small empty space under a loose floorboard."
"..."
Sorry another correction that space is apparently now full of dead rats."
"There is something off in this house, in addition to the cheese. Something that is hiding but at the same time is compelling our attention. We should resolve this issue before our little friend starts looking outside these walls for attention. I do not think we are quite ready for unexpected house guests."
Litsy looks at Pollux with disbelief. "So you found a few dead rats and a couple of nails. Big whoop. Really out of place in an old building."
"Whatever's hanging around has been a real pain in the arse, and I'd be glad to get rid of it, but I don't really believe your 'breach of security' stuff. If it really wanted to spy on us, then maybe it wouldn't have learned to play the trumpet, you know what I mean?"
"Salt mines are..." she pauses, lost deep in thought. "Salt mines. I can try and see what I can dig up. It's probably not going to be 'how to remove the guy in power' though, " she says as an aside to Variel. "Like, knowing how the whole thing's being organized would already be a good start."
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Indeed Litsy. Anything that you can dig up would be helpful later on. It might mean the difference in a quick rescue attempt versus a protracted fight with heavy guards.
What exactly are you suggesting Pollux? That there is another familiar in the area that is more advance than Castor and may be a threat to us or that we are dealing with remnants of the creatures we found before or something even more sinister? I will admit that I am beyond understanding what it may be at this time as I have swept the place with detect magic as well with no trace of anything.
Oh and what secret gifts are you talking about?
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What exactly are you suggesting Pollux? That there is another familiar in the area that is more advance than Castor and may be a threat to us or that we are dealing with remnants of the creatures we found before or something even more sinister? I will admit that I am beyond understanding what it may be at this time as I have swept the place with detect magic as well with no trace of anything.
"More unfamiliar than familiar though the idea has legs.
There are two things here that simplicity suggests are really one. The piper and whatever contested with Castor are the same thing I think. This means that it can take hostile action but that it is not as strong as Shelyn, Mr. Hands, Opera or yourself because Castor is still alive. We also know there is a spellcaster involved in whatever is happening because of the gift-wrapped child.A familiar sent to to spy would explain why Castor is alive but not the piping. The piping, and the art, are key. Why is this unfamiliar calling for attention? If it wants attention why not step in and join the dance? If it is a spy why are we alive? We are small and sweeping up our nascent network would be an easy victory. Perhaps we are being farmed and it is not yest harvest time? But then why the piping....
A person on the street once told me that all actions make sense to those that commit them. If someone is doing something it is because they want to or have to. A bound creature would resolve the seeming conflict. It wants something but is bound to hide.
I wonder how long this has been going on? What was the reputation of this building before the Mayor? This may to be about us at all."
Oh and what secret gifts are you talking about?
Miss Liria has been leaving secret gifts for Castor. I think she may be sweet on him."
Pollux removes about half a human dose of rat poison twisted in a scrap of paper."She leaves bits of this in out of the way places for Castor to find. It's heartwarming really."
SO we have two missions we can focus on, find the intruder in our base before it is jeopardized, and investigate the salt-works. Let us try the salt works first, since our unseen guest doesn't seem to have disrupted us. Aside from injuring Castor.
"I'll see what I can come up with," Litsy shrugs. "Ask our network to dig up stuff."
On her way out, she glances at the rat poison in Pollux's hands, then at Castor. [b]"That bastard thing..." [b] she says under her breath, before stomping off.
Turns out Beorn wasn't kidding about the inefficiency of those street performers. To Litsy's amazement, they can hardly think of anything else but frothy tea and expensive garments.
She tries to direct them to one of Kintargo's main streets to gather some information, but the group agglutinates in front of a well-stocked shop window instead. "SPECIAL OFFERS- EVERYTHING HAS TO GO", or something like that.
After a while, she gives up.
Even her urchins are easier to maneuver than this.
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Variel is not sure how to inform Pollux that the rat poison is not truly a gift without the possibility of causing him to go into a nervous meltdown. As such Variel just remains silent and nods his head as if he agrees with the gift idea. Moving on from that topic Variel tries to determine more of what Pollux is referring to with the invisible nuisance. I would prefer legs than wings at this pint Pollux but without more concrete information I am at a loss as to what exactly we may be dealing with here. Unfortunately, we may be in a situation that we have to wait until the culprit reveals itself accidently before we can take action. To that end I agree with Beorn that we should focus on the salt mines as that is something tangible that we can deal with. If you can think of some other way, some magical spell perhaps, that will give us more intel on the situation I would be willing to pitch in and help.
Perhaps we can research magic to reveal hidden foes or leave flour traps that explode when disturbed.
The door slams open, and Litsy comes in. If she looked a bit crossed, before, she's now definitely not in a good mood.
"You were right," she says to Beorn without stopping for breath. "Artists are useless. Only thing they learned about the damn salt mines is that there's f%$+ing salt in it! "
Just minding his own business, Borgan sits with the rest in the hideout listening to them discuss more plans. As the group discusses finding an invisible being or gathering more information on the salt mines, he only knows that he does not have adequate skills for any of those ventures to weigh in.
As Litsy comes in, cursing about her proteges and their activity, he raises his eyebrows. When Variel suggests that they themselves should investigate, he taps against his mace.
"Ready when you are. If we are to free people in that mine, let's get to it."
Let's say days have passed.
You still have one action left for the week do you want to take that before or after you assault the salt?
Let us deprive his mayorship of the fine salt this town provides! Beorn is ready to hold seasonings for ransom.
"Fiiiine," Litsy sighs, and grabs her weapons. She looks over at Borgan rather worryingly. "What, go in directly? We're going to have to do some serious scouting first. I'm not going underground without at least knowing how I'm going to get out."
Indeed we will be scouting. I am certain that by combining the skills of yourself and Castor, their secrets will be laid bare.
Alrighty so tell me exactly how we want to approach this. How do you want to scout it? Day? Night? And how loud do we want to assault it?
I don't have dark or low light vision, so scouting during the night might not be the best idea. Also better to be quiet and try not to raise the alarm, right?
Let us be like a swift silent wind.
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I think a quick run by during the day with 1 or 2 people may give us some insight. A lot can be seen at first inspection. Perhaps we can find a nearby building that will allow us to scout from as well to see numbers of people and guards and the like. I agree though that the quieter the better till we can get everyone out that needs to be freed.
"Hmmm... Quiet is not my strong suit, certainly not in armour. I could be more of the eyes on the street though, I can make passably good disguises for myself and others."
"When we do eventually move in to strike, I'll be at the front, taking on any blows before we can swarm any guards that hinder us."
We can go in buying some salt to get a look at the place at least. Perhaps one of us has invisibility magic to get a better look?
"Let us be like a swift silent wind."
"That would explain the smell. Guess I'll be the one doing the scouting, then?" Litsy stretches dramatically, as one gets ready for what they know to be a long shift.
"Oooh, trickery, I like that. One who does the client, and the other one hanging around, looking for intel?"
Indeed!
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Over the past several days the merry Pollux has flitted about the lair and environs gathering ersatz forgotten trifles; an amount of coal dust, an old pot with a tight fitting lid, that old shoe the leather now cut into strips,the three nails, some sugar stolen from the cafe and smashed to a fine powder, some brick dust, the old cheese from the shoe, half a medium dose for adult of the rat poison, and a magical scroll. Two of the nails are noisily pounded through the sides of the pot. The points where the nails pass through are carefully sealed with the wax like cheese. The nails protruding from the pot form attachment points for the leather strips that Pollux now ties to allow the lid to be quickly lashed down.
Into the pot goes the skull, the coal dust, the poison, the sugar, the magic scroll, and, very reluctantly involving tactics and bad language, Castor. Strangely Pollux uses the brick dust to create a simple magic circle protecting only Pollux, not the pot, and not the room.
The lid is lashed on tight. Pollux then shakes the pot repeatedly and before anyone can say ”Don’t do that!” or ”Run, the nutter built a bomb!” Our hero pounds the final nail through the lid, showering the unstable mix of fuel powder, oxygenator, poison, angry rat, and active scroll with enough sparks to get the job done.
The very loud bang that followed left the magic circle, and therefore Pollux unharmed. Most of the lid was embedded in the ceiling. Something bounces off Borgan’s armor making a delightful ring. A nail embeds itself in the wall an inch from Shelyn’s face as they enter the room and sees Castor sitting upright in a scorched circle under a fragrant cloud of burning strychnine and wearing a smoking rat skull as a rather fetching facinator. The rat winks at her.
Carefully breaking the magic circle Pollux asks the room. ”Is there a reason for our actions? Is that even the right question? Assaulting a fortified prison does make for a lovely afternoon but are we acting out if innocent enjoyment or are there motives at play here?
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Variel watches the ritual between Pollux and Castor with some trepidation. Yes he understood the basics of the ritual but that ritual also had personal elements for each familiar that he did not know. Why was the poison used and what was the purpose of the cheese? Before he could figure it out Pollux was exploding the kettle in a haze of smoke. Well that was quite the sight I must say. Perhaps we should clear out next time you try this? As least you can now read the inscriptions that we find.
For the talk of the salt mines Variel is quite candid with Pollux. Yes we have motives…freeing those imprisoned and forced into slave labor. Are you able to make Litsy invisible at all? I can not but that doesn’t mean that she still can’t scope the place out while Beorn and I buy salt.
Litsy eyes Pollux's shenanigans warily, and when the lid gets blown over by the explosion, she takes a step back and ducks.
"Yeah, we've got a motive," she retorts once the danger's passed. "The motive's to take you for a walk before you kill us all. Or try to turn me invisible!"
Beorn's beard now has soot all over it. Well, perhaps we can make a play out of this. Something about the amazing rat wizard.
Beron changes into some plain looking clothes so he doesn't stand out like he used to. No armor and just his dagger. Best not arouse suspicion.
Perhaps a touch of flour to make me look like a serious baker. Beorn dabs himself with some. Plus a sweetroll in my pocket so I smell like one too. He stuffs his pockets with treats.
Litsy! If you are going to be my niece, we need to get you a nice dress. Perhaps a bow for your hair.
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Litsy eyes Pollux's shenanigans warily, and when the lid gets blown over by the explosion, she takes a step back and ducks.
"Yeah, we've got a motive," she retorts once the danger's passed. "The motive's to take you for a walk before you kill us all. Or try to turn me invisible!"
”No arcane mastery of mine could ever dim Shelyn’s light in this fallen world. Which is as it should be.
The word ‘motive’ keeps troubling Castor. Do we seek the destruction of the mine? Are we causing the galleries to run with extra salty blood? Or are we granting some guards early retirement and stealing some workers? This is important, I think, because this is a new kind of action. In the adventure of the well wrapped child we simply hastened the inevitable. The magic would have failed in a month or six. This time we are changing the city. The Mayor said the mines are like this, we are saying no, with knives. What do we, our nascent raven cult, or the unaware citizens gain from this salt encrusted power play.”
[b]Looking to create openings in the management department. If the staff is bad, we can hurry them along in filing their resignations and get our own people in.[/b[
"Litsy! If you are going to be my niece, we need to get you a nice dress. Perhaps a bow for your hair."
"At least a good washing and combing of her hair. A dress would be a good disguise as no one has ever seen her that way."
The more Beorn and Variel talk, the more Litsy looks horrified.
But even she can't really find a flaw in that logic.
"Fine," she concedes through gritted teeth. "No bow. And for the last time, my name's not Shelyn! For f#+&'s sake!"
She grabs her stuff to leave. Presumably to Variel's, she thinks. He's got a bathtub that's quite nice, and, to be honest, bathing in warm water's just one of the few luxuries of life she enthusiastically enjoys.
But the dress.
She prefers not to think about it.
The mere thought makes her shudder.
For once, she really, really hopes none of her urchins will ever catch sight of her like this.
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The process of getting decent disguises takes the better part of a day. Though it is not a process the group takes on alone. Ms. Longvietta deliights in plying her old trade in ensuring Beorn's and Litsy's costumes match the performance. Beorn slips easily into character recalling a few operas where he practiced the humble merchant. Though this time his hearty bass would go more towards talking than singing.
She takes more delight in Tiny however. In that matronly way that aunts and gradnmothers in waiting do she assaults litsy with a jairbrush that had to have been pulled from some kyrons torture tool box as every matt, tangle, and mound of grime takes its revenge for their dissolution on the poor girls scalp. Once this task is done she finds the bathing in Variel's bachelor abode far from sufficient for the task ahead. Instead, after much debate settled only by the promise of a hot meal and that she would pay herself Litsy is a reluctant customer to one of Kintargo's prestigious bath houses. Half expecting the stories of swarthy men, pliant women, and androgynous male servants to unfold before her Tiny finds the patrons and
Priestesses of the Shelynite ran "Cleanliness to Godliness" bath house to be mostly middle aged to elderly women trying to recapture their past selves through careful application of piety, hygiene and priestess led exercise.
What follows is a trial by soap. A barrage of motherly compliments, hot water, brushes both soft and coarse, and the merciless obliteration of years of carefully curated sickness preventative filth.
After an hour of creative curses, matronly assurances of her appeal to the opposite sex, veiled threats of the goddesses wrath, and not so veiled threats of a vicious stabbing the end result is a clean, pretty adolescent girl red skinned from the brutal scrubbing of half a dozen zealous, determined adoptive aunts.
Further dolling up is prevented only by a willful effort to pull herself away, still smelling strongly of citrus and chamomile, before further damage to her reputation and sanity can be inflicted. Though she had to admit she never knew her hair could feel so soft or easy to run her fingers through.
The final insult was the dress. Stella claimed it was an old costume for a play she worked on some yeara ago. But the care put into the stitching and material along with the strong scent of urine suggested fond old memories not easily let go. While most of the hideouts visitors and hangarounds are polite and even complimentary. Thr image of the halforc and thief all dolled up send the tengu sisters into hysterics. They put on a convincing play about the two in a tea party with eerily perfect voice mimicry. The only thing really separating the merchants niece from the orphan is the soul razing glare at the mockery proving that the grit is embedded into the bones.
Beorn adjusts his outfit before nodding to himself in the mirror. Well we certainly look the part. Let's put our cunning plan into action! Beorn strides towards the saltworks.