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"Because[b]" says the man "[b] we've been keeping an eye on you and your friends. Suspicious characters one and all. And.. we've heard you've been asking about a man what fits his description." he says to Silgil.
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Upstairs the legionnaire rolls his eyes at the uncouth Pietro. "You don't use soap in the bathhouse. Now come on down and join your friends. We've got some questions for you."
Pietro is propelled down the stairway and into the cold baths. Much to the horror of the other occupants who had thought they had just got rid of him.
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Pietro is propelled down the stairway and into the cold baths.
Pietro passively resists by standing there hands on hips. He puffs himself up like a huge, rotund cobra, or a pressure cooker straining against an oncoming explosion. "OH, AND I SUPPOSE YOU DON'T USE SOAP IN A BATH-ROOM EITHER?" says Pietro. Knowing his white male Karen rights he continues.
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Silgil is about to offer a retort when Pietro launches into theatrics. What a surprise. So rather than speak, he watches to see how the struggle works out. He doesn't trust the 'police' either, so he leaves the water and takes up position by his bag - which happens to contain all his magic books/spells.
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"Ahh.. that is.." even prepared for trouble from outsiders, the legionaries seem a little off-put by the effusive Pietro.
"Actually the sergeant is a woman.." One man glances to the next.
"I'd not want to suggest anything about her character or vices at all."
"Or even that she had any.." quickly adds in the second.
Backpaddling rapidly, the two pick up their companion and all but race up the stairs, propelled by the wind of Pietro's blistering Invective.
Kline slowly emerges from the pool and grabs a dry robe, and heads for the hallway. He is not the only one exiting the complex "I think we might want to make a subtle exit. I doubt they will stay gone for long." he mutters under his breath. "Follow me.."
He heads down the corridor and into the steam room.
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"Psst guys, over here"
"WHAT?" shouts Pietro his face still flush from shouting.
He goes back up, changes into his things, grabs the party's stuff calls to the cats and with his arms full of equipment and bags hustles back down to rejoin everyone. He drops the pile of not-his-stuff in a big pile on the floor with a put-upon expression.
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Pietro continues to offend the sensibilities of the good folk of Aziz, before taking his pets and bags of gear down into the steam-room.
From there everyone vanishes like ghosts into the sewers of the mighty city... not to be seen again... for at least a little time.
Kline sighs "Well, at least you created such a distraction, nobody is going to remember me. I might be able to stay in the city for a while longer yet. What exactly was it you all wanted to know?"
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Kline sighs "Well, at least you created such a distraction, nobody is going to remember me. I might be able to stay in the city for a while longer yet. What exactly was it you all wanted to know?"
Grog chimes in "Some of the Society's Riftwardens led by Jahani Jodinaj have gone missing as well as others. We'd like your help in finding them and what happened to them."
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Kline sighs "Well, at least you created such a distraction, nobody is going to remember me. I might be able to stay in the city for a while longer yet. What exactly was it you all wanted to know?"
Pietro prepares to pontificate, but then stops. His brow furrows and he frowns in thought.
Grog chimes in "Some of the Society's Riftwardens led by Jahani Jodinaj have gone missing as well as others. We'd like your help in finding them and what happened to them."
"WHAT HE SAID." Pietro says brightly.
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Kline nods.
“I know where the Riftwardens are, but it’s not an answer you’re going to like,” Kline says with grimace.
“They attempted a raid on a compound full of Blackfire Adepts who were masquerading as slavers, but the plan didn’t work as they had hoped. For all their talent at magic, the Riftwardens aren’t the best at keeping their heads down when planning an attack. The Blackfire Adepts caught wind of their plan and struck first, capturing all four of the Riftwardens perhaps a week ago. From what I’ve been able to gather, the Blackfire Adepts are planning on moving to greener pastures—which could mean practically anywhere other than Rahadoum—and they’ve been making the most of their remaining time in Azir by interrogating their captives rather ruthlessly. It seems the Blackfire Adepts just can’t pass up a good opportunity to gloat over their arch nemeses, but they’re sure to tire of it soon and just execute the lot of them. Last I heard, the slavers are departing on a caravan the morning after tomorrow, and you can bet that the Riftwardens will be dead before then.”
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“You don’t know? about the Blackfire Adepts?" asks Kline, incredulously.
"Didn’t the Decemvirate brief you at all? The Blackfire Adepts seek the destruction of civilization using terrible outsiders. They’re not nice people, and the Riftwardens oppose them. If you need a comparison, think of them like the Aspis Consortium to your Society, though that assumes either side qualifies as ‘the good guys.’”
He then thinks before answering the second half of the question. "Is it not that they are being mistaken for slavers. They ARE slavers. Hard thought it may be to believe that is a somewhat benign cover for their true research."
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"Any idea what they are up to? My guess is that they will use these fellows as some sacrifice to fuel a summons."
Grog turns to the dwarf.
"That's NOT good! And slavers," the half orcs jaw grows tight and his voice louder, not but as loud as the clerics, "Don't get me started on how much I hate slavers. I think we better head over there. Get the tiger and scout the location out." He turns to Kline. "Can you show us where they are?"
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“You don’t know? about the Blackfire Adepts?" asks Kline, incredulously.
"Didn’t the Decemvirate brief you at all?”
{Another puzzled expression.}
"OF COURSE THE BLACKFIRE ADEPTS! THE 'DECEMBER-RATE' TOLD US ALL ABOUT THEM! I WAS JUST TESTING YOU TO SEE IF YOU KNEW ABOUT THEM!" He puts a sausage-like finger to the side of his nose, and winks.
"ISN'T THAT RIGHT, IRIZATI?" he says prodding Baloo, the real tiger.
"SO WE JUST NOBBLE THESE ADEPTS, AND WE'RE IN GOOD WITH THE- err-um, RIFT ASPIS-WARDEN PURE CONSORTIUM LEGIONAIRES, RIGHT? SEEMS SIMPLE ENOUGH! HAH! Though I could swear there was something in there about Aldori-Hellflower Sword Bell-Knight Network Lords in there, but whatever."
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"I can show you where the compound is.." agrees Kline...slightly reluctantly.
"But I'll tell you for free, there must be more than one way into that compound. Heading over the walls or through the front door may be your style, but I also know that the Blackfire Adepts are looking to pick up and leave, meaning they’re probably interested in selling off as much of their inventory as possible to lighten the load. How you operate and what the Society teaches these days is your business.”
Kline pauses to think for a moment before wincing as if regretting what he’s about to say. “I have obligations that prohibit me from joining you directly in whatever you do, but I can at least buy you some time or create a diversion when you make your move. Don’t worry about contacting me; I’ll be keeping an eye out for when you get near.”
"For now, you are best off finding somewhere to rest and scout out where you are heading.. with big cats or not."
[ooc]As part of scouting you could make a diplomacy(gather information) nad/or knowledge(local) check.
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Silgil nods knowingly and offs, "We definitely need to collect as much information as we can on the compound and this Darkfire group. I'm not much on sneaking around, but I can hit the books and newspapers and such and see what I can find out. And if we can find out they are involved iwth religion of some sort we can sic the police on them."
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Pietro notices the nearby crowd pulls back from him as he mentions the word "convert"... not happy with him at all.
Silgil discovers that The Blackfire Adepts’ compound is located in the northwestern edge of the city, which tends to see slightly less foot traffic. The compound purchases a large quantity of fish soup and bread each day to feed the slaves, and the owners allow the delivery people to enter the compound. Depending on the circumstances, a serious incident could see the city watch show up in anywhere between 5 and 20 minutes. The compound has its own guards, but they can’t compare to the full force of Azir’s city watch.
Pietro, in spite of his offensive language "Convert?" - the mutters goes around... finds out that As is the case in most parts of the Inner Sea region, the Blackfire Adepts are not tolerated in Azir. Although tipping off the authorities would ensure that a small army descends on the Blackfire Adepts, the Pure Legionnaires would almost certainly round up any they find on the property for questioning—including the Pathfinders and Riftwardens. Few would dare deny the Pure Legion entry, and even the Blackfire Adepts would likely admit these soldiers to avoid causing a larger incident. Several nearby robberies over the past month have inspired the city watch in this district to patrol more frequently; they would likely show up in 5 to 12 minutes of anyone sounding an alarm.
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After they regather, Silgil proudly discusses his finding.
"Found them. They are on the northwest edge of the city and, get this, they allow delivery folks into their compound. We could pose as delivery people, though I see a couple of issues with that."
Silgil gives Pietro a pointed stare and pauses for a second.
"One of them might be all the ioun stones floating over our heads, the arsenal some of us carry, and the armor."
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Convert Nine hells...can't he keep quiet
"SAY... I THINK I'VE GOT AN IDEA."
Few would dare deny the Pure Legion entry, and even the Blackfire Adepts would likely admit these soldiers to avoid causing a larger incident.
"WE DON'T SNEAK IN AT ALL. WE PLAY TO OUR STRENGTH, AND GO IN LOUD AND PROUD. WE'LL JUST NEED SOME PROPER ATTIRE." It's just the sort of thing Cayden Cailean would do.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK, BIG, FUZZY, PUTTY TAT MAN?" he says in a sort of baby-talk while scratching Baloo's chin and ruffling his fur thinking it's Irizati. "WHO'S A GOOD PUSSY? WHO'S A GOOD PUSSY? YOU ARE!"
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Grog is able to confirm what Silgil already learned.
The walled compound is built of brightly painted, stucco-covered stone, and although it is larger than many other structures in the area, its layout, with buildings surrounding secluded, cool courtyards, is common in this region.
The outer walls are around 10' tall, with the buildings being a little higher. Two guards stand outside the main gate which is closed.
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"SO FIRST THING WE'LL NEED TO DO IS LOOK THE PART, SO WE'LL NEED SOME UNIFORMS." Pietro says opening up about his plan to the others. "DO THESE um-err" Pietro turns to Kline and flails about for the organization's name before slowly crash-landing upon "RIFT ASPIS-WARDEN PURE CONSORTIUM LEGIONNAIRES USE ANY SORT OF OFFICIAL IDENTIFICATION--YOU KNOW, TO PREVENT WHAT IT IS WE'RE ABOUT TO DO? YOU KNOW LIKE A BADGE OR AN OFFICIAL WRIT, OR SOMETHING?"
"OH! AND DO THEY MAKE USE OF ANY PARTICULAR SORT OF SEARCH ANIMAL, LIKE TRACKING PENGUINS OR GUARD SNAILS? WE MAY HAVE TO DISGUISE OUR BIG FUZZY WUZZIES. YES WE WILL. YES WE WILL." he says regressing down into cute kitty baby talk again as he aggressively pets a random apex predator .
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"Well, that WOULD allow us to enter with weapons. But it might also cause problems with the law. Impersonating them is almost definitely illegal. And they will be watching us closely if we do that. If we can pull off the delivery group, we should do that instead. But I just don't see how. Unless I have time to prepare new spells, then it become trivial as long as the place isn't warded against teleportation spells."
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"...as long as the place isn't warded against teleportation spells."
“You don’t know? about the Blackfire Adepts?" asks Kline, incredulously. "....The Blackfire Adepts seek the destruction of civilization using terrible outsiders.”
"ME JUST BEING HERE IS ILLEGAL! BUT WE'VE GOTTEN AWAY WITH IT SO FAR. BESIDES HOW MANY STRANGE DELIVERY PEOPLE WITH 12' LONG TIGERS DOES A PERSON LET WANDER ABOUT THEIR PROPERTY? HMM? AS AUTHORITIES WE'D HAVE THE RUN OF THE PLACE."
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When we are alone discussing our plans You hear an odd sound, A tiger sighing.
Irizati dismisses the Wild Shape and reverts to Human.
"I could have gotten you a better deal on that collar, But no matter. I agree tigers on the compound would attract attention. We can leave Baloo outside and he may be able to scale the wall if there is trouble."
Irizati pauses for a moment.
"As for myself a harmless seeming animal will be disguise enough."
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There are lots of scavenger birds - not to mention ravens, pigeons etc. You might even find the odd vulture - especially near a knackers yard.
After watching the place for a while, you make out a couple of walkways that sometimes have guards on them
Sometimes a person goes up to talk with the guards at the gate, but not often.
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Well, there are people walking the walls. The buildings themselves have flat roofs - at least so far as you can tell - and you have not seen anyone on them. But someone with good night vision on the walls would be likely able to see most of the rooftops.
The walls themselves look pretty smooth, as it someone didn't really want people climbing over them (DC in the 20-30 range)
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Well, there are people walking the walls. The buildings themselves have flat roofs - at least so far as you can tell - and you have not seen anyone on them. But someone with good night vision on the walls would be likely able to see most of the rooftops.
The walls themselves look pretty smooth, as it someone didn't really want people climbing over them (DC in the 20-30 range)
"MAYBE INSTEAD OF THE GIRAFFE, YOU COULD TURN INTO A GIANT SQUID, IRIZATI." Says Pietro going over the intricacies of his plan out loud.
Grog turns to Silgil and whispers "Can you make us invisible?"
"AND WHY WOULD A PURE LEGIONNAIRE CHASING A GIANT SQUID BURGLAR SNEAKING INTO A SLAVE COMPOUND NEED TO BE INVISIBLE? IT JUST DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE, MAN!"