Ricia sighs at Eva's words. "You're right, of course. That is why I am hoping against hope that you can resolve this situation before it gets to the point where it becomes unsalvageable."
She turns to Bleach. "Those tactics may still prove to be of benefit, but no, I do not think it is a necessity anymore. Ambrost Mugland is out of the picture, and by now I'm certain Deputy Loveless knows you will be gunning for her. Get the job done, in whatever manner you are able to do so."
When Royken asks about the Vault of Secrets, Foebe steps forward. "The Vault is a secret underground fortress from which Alkenstar’s shieldmarshals operate. The Vault has several entrances, all known only to vetted shieldmarshals and national defense bureaucrats. Luckily, we have arranged a way you to gain access."
Foebe outlines your mission as follows:
• From time to time, shieldmarshals act as armed escorts for Alkenstar, transporting government cargo across the harsh wasteland outside the city walls. An armored stagecoach accompanied by four shieldmarshals is scheduled to return from the town of Martel later this afternoon. To gain access to the Vault of Secrets, you will need to sneak aboard the stagecoach, either by stowing away or staging a stickup. The stagecoach is pulled by a pair of mindless clockwork steeds programmed to take the coach into the Vault of Secrets regardless of who’s aboard.
• Once you are inside the Vault, you can collect info on Loveless. Foebe suggests you keep an eye out for suspicious paperwork which might indicate Loveless’s whereabouts, her most recent dealings with Alkenstar power brokers, or the names of potential accomplices.
• The Vault of Secrets is crawling with shieldmarshals, both good and bad. Fighting your way out simply isn’t an option. “I’ve no doubt you can handle a few of Loveless’s goons,” Foebe says, “but don’t stick around any longer than you have to. Escape the way you came, and don’t look back.”
Foebe is able to provide a few additional details about the stagecoach. It’s crewed by four shieldmarshals; two, named Otto and Lillie, are toughened warriors believed to be associated with Loveless and capable of putting up a real fight. The other two, Payton and Oakley, are shieldmarshal bookkeepers responsible for auditing, managing the Vault stockpiles, and other financial affairs—these two are unlikely to be involved in Loveless’s schemes, and so she asks you to refrain from using lethal force against them.
Many of Loveless’s lower-level lackeys have taken to wearing pins or getting tattoos that depict a broken heart to signify to other shieldmarshals they enjoy the fearsome deputy’s favor and protection. Once you are inside the vaults, you should keep an eye out for any shieldmarshals matching this description, then tail them to Loveless’s offices if you can’t locate them on your own. Loveless and her closest minions operate out of Vault 14, which should be right next to the hangar where the stagecoach stops.
"It is not a bad plan." Eva acknowledges. "And I think we should take over the stagecoach as far away from Alkenstar as possible."
She then tries to remember about a good point to do the deed as she has been to Martel just a couple times.
The wizard goes over the spells he knows that might aid them in an ambush. "I could drop a zombie owlbear in front of the coach, which should surely bring it to a halt ... one way or another ... or I can shrink a boulder or barricade of sorts, and undo the transmutation when the coach comes around, to bring it to a stop."
The road from Martel enters Alkenstar through the Ferrous Quarter. Eva knows a good spot for you to lie in wait for the coach to arrive.
You conceal yourselves in a good vantage point and wait. Soon enough, the stagecoach appears, rambling through the streets. Built to transport heavy cargo, the steel-sided stagecoach is 10 feet wide, 15 feet long, and pulled by two powerful clockwork steeds. The two bookkeepers sit on a bench at the front of the stagecoach steering the steeds, while the corrupt shieldmarshals ride atop the stagecoach’s roof, which is fortified by a low wall for cover. However, it appears the drivers have set the steeds to autopilot, and the shieldmarshals have holstered their guns and are lounging on the roof as they chit-chat. None of them papear to be expecting trouble...
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Royken has taken the time to carefully place several explosives along the path the stagecoach is taking. As it passes over their location, he mutters, "Fire in the f%+!ing hole!" and triggers the detonation. The blast rocks the coach, badly damaging one of its wheels, and it careens out of control down the slippery road. The clockwork steeds come to a sudden halt as the shieldmarshals tumble and you emerge from your hiding spots with weapons drawn!
Eva overdrives her arm and makes it crackle with electricity as she emerges from their hiding spot. "Surrendering would be the smart move now." She says, pleased that her plan worked perfectly so far.
Royken growls, brandishing his gun. The shieldmarshals take your measure and quickly drop their weapons in surrender!
You tie them up and stash them somewhere safe before getting in the stagecoach. The clockwork steeds pull you along to a dingy warehouse in Steamhaven. The carriage pulls into a clockwork freight elevator that, with a screeching of gears, lowers down into the Vault of Secrets below.
The elevator arrives in a small loading area reserved for armored stagecoaches. The clockwork steeds automatically park the stagecoach. A door labeled “Vault 14” stands along the southeast wall, marking your destination. The door north of that one is labeled “Vault 15.”
You quickly head into Vault 14, which contains a bullpen filled with desks, as well as three offices overlooking the bullpen. Fortunately, nobody is here at the moment.
"Step two complete" Lora says with more than a little anticipation. "Okay, one moment... stay still..." she lines up the others and quickly casts a spell of Veil, settling an illusion that both disguises their identities and outfits them as shieldmarshals or accountants.
Lora becomes an accountant with small round glasses and blonde hair in a tight bun. Then quickly starts to look through the pages.
Eva knocks the shieldmarshals unconscious after they are tied up, just to be safe, and then watches as Lora's spell changes her clothes and appearance in order for her to look like a shieldmarshal herself with dark skin and curly hair tied in a long ponytail and not metallic arm of course.
Once inside Vault 14, she joins Lora in looking for documents, hoping to speed the process so they can get out of there quickly.
Bleach checks out his new outfit and straightens his accountant's coat. "Fancy, I like it." Other than that, Bleach doesn't have a whole lot of useful input. He wants to help, but the desk he picked just so happens to belong to a shieldwarden who doesn't like paperwork and as such, the papers on their desk contain very little useful information.
With a bit of work, Lora and Eva discover a tattered day log that indicates Deputy Loveless has met with a wealthy Alkenstar benefactor named Christia Tombend on many occasions. Tombend is hosting a gathering at her flat in Graeson’s Fingers tomorrow, and the day log contains invitations to the event.
Loud footsteps echo through the hall outside the vault, alerting you that somebody is approaching. If you want to sneak out of the vault undetected, you'll need to find the remaining clues, fast!
With the footsteps coming, Eva redoubles her effort into finding clues as fast as possible.
"I might be able to buy us some time ..." Whilst Bleach helps the group dig through the seemingly endless amount of paperwork, Haji the cat moves towards the source of the sound. The cat, with Bleach being able to recall it to him, knows it can take some risk to buy his master some valuable time.
Lora hurries over to another desk, chewing her lip while her eyes scan over everything as fast as possible.
"F&!~ing paperwork!" Royken grouses. "I hate f~#@ing paperwork!"
Nonetheless, he picks through the notes, looking to see if he notices anything that might lead to a big, dragon-sized explosion.
The bespectacled, cutely nerdy, accountant Lora looks up from her paper shuffling to Royken's curse. From the gleam in his eyes, she can surmise he has just figured out the perfect mix of chemicals to produce a fire that would ensure single inch of these documents could ever be read again.
The thought made her smile with mutual agreement. Secrets were much better pulled from Lips instead of Letters. With sigh, she got back to work.
Increasing your efforts, you quickly discover a few more clues. An auspicious newspaper clipping stands out amid Loveless’s things. According to the article, a local river merchant named Rhangyl Foruza was captured by the shieldmarshals and is scheduled for public hanging in 2 days’ time.
You also discover that Loveless’s minions have been searching for a cattle rustler named Dash, a known associate of the aforementioned Rhangyl Foruza. So far, however, the shieldmarshals haven’t been able to find the elusive rancher.
The corrupt shieldmarshals have hidden also some useful loot within their offices, including one dose of lich dust, an invisibility rune, two lawbringer’s lassos, and a single firearm round of explosive ammunition.
With all the information here in hand, you quickly slip out of the vault. Luckily, Haji seems to have done a good job at delaying and distracting the people outside, who kneel to pet the cute cat. The group consists of a single uniformed shieldmarshal, as well as four burly dwarves wearing dark suits and bowler hats. The shieldmarshal's hat prominently displays a broken heart pin. They glance up at you as you depart, but thanks to your magical disguises, they pay you little mind. You are able to escape the Vault of Secrets without further incident.
As the fake marshals make their escape, Lora whispers "The bowler dwarves are Leadsmiths, mercs who like to present themselves as detectives to the wealthy. I saw their boss once at a party, he was not there for the gossip I daresay. A rather impressive Cyclops, a gunslinger instead of the stereotypical I Have Club kind. Named... Vew-Slog." she articulated the name.
Royken growls, dismissing the detectives. They've avoided them for now, so hopefully they won't be a problem later. Though he's a bit dubious about that.
"Maybe see if you can find out anything about this Rhangyl or Dash," he suggests to Lora, knowing she keeps her ear out for gossip.
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Bleach blinks when Lora explains who the dwarves serve. "You're saying he's more of a clubslinger?"
Lora opened her mouth to say something to Royken, but is stunned by the comment by Bleach. After a moment, her eyes sparkle in mirth, and her lips curve into a wide smile "Why yes, a clubslinger, and yes I will see if any tasty tidbits are out there about these two."
Unfortunately, Lora doesn't know anything about Dash. She's heard of Rhangyl, a river merchant who the shieldmarshals recently arrested and charged with murder. Rumors say that the man was wrongly accused and didn't even know the victim.
The newspaper clipping indicated Rhangyl is se to be hanged in two days' time at noon, but the event at Christia Tombend's flat, the Ironmaker's Art Gala, will take place tomorrow at 7 P.M. With the invitations you secured, it will be a perfect opportunity to gather information from Loveless's most powerful supporter...
Lora tells all she can uncover, which is unfortunately very little. "A Gala! Which means dress shopping!" Lora pulls Eva to her favorite dress shop, at least her favorite who will still associate with a 'criminal'.
"Do we need to?" She asks Lora as she is dragged around to the shop. Being raised in workshops meant that Eva did not get the time to learn and enjoy a lot of the arts and customs about being a girl. She did not really care too much about clothes, especially when most people would always comment or stare at her cleavage and also because her favorite activity involved no clothes at all.
"I mean, yeah, a new dress is neat, but if we'll have to use an illusion to hide my arm anyway, why not use it to deal with the dress as well?"
Unlike Eva and Lora, Bleach won't need to visit a high-end tailor to get what he wants: an Urgathoa-approved black robe in the style of the necromancers of Geb. Isn't the best disguise one that is an extension of you? Bleach sure hopes so. A simple ash-kissed robe, with a cowl that hides the neck (it is the polite thing to do when around vampires) and a pair of leather gloves is all he'll need. Sure, the gloves won't be made from flayed human skin, but Bleach is certain the Tombend and her guests won't mind.
Other than that, there's one more thing he needs: make-up. Painting a horizontal black stripe over his nose and eyes is an indication of rank and skill. In his case, more so skill. "Say, Lora, could I borrow some of your make-up? Yes, do ask. I figure I might as well embrace my Gebite roots, and disguise myself as a ... necromancer from Geb. Some galena eye paint will do."
"F#%+ me," Royken grouses. "I have to wear a boogeyman's suit?"
He sighs, and heads out to do some shopping.
"Of course, dear Bly'gha." she says (almost perfectly), and comments on the brilliance of his plan. "Will we need to distance ourselves from you at the gala? Or would a Geb wizard mind a pair of frilly women on his arms? And a strapping dwarf in a the the boogeyman??? suit." she was unsure what that meant but wanted to know.
To Eva she says simply "Any present as exquisite as your body deserves to be wrapped properly before being revealed." she encourages and then adds "Plus you can help me get in and OUT of the oodles that I want to try on. In private dressing rooms, of course." Lora hopes that at least will entice the inventor to join her.
The wizard is happy to hear his plan isn't awful. "No. I can be your exotic friend, someone who happens to be in town to enjoy its, eh, variety of quality entertainment. Hopefully, being in the company of a Gebite necromancer will keep people from bugging us. I sure know I'd avoid us. I mean, ah, you know what I mean."
At first Lora starts to frown, at the notion of people NOT bugging them. How does one fish for secrets that way? But the frown shifts to a lightly teasing smile "So what you are saying is that having two beautiful women on yours arms, would be part of your plan then. Eva and I would be the 'variety of quality entertainment'?"
The wizard's eyes take on a feline quality as he squints in reply to Lora's words. Perhaps that isn't exactly what he wanted to imply. Alas. "The crowd might start thinking things if you're that involved with a necromancer, but sure, I'd be a fool to say no to that."
That evening, you head to the Ironmaker's Art Gala. The only way to reach the gala is through a long elevator ride to Tombend’s suite, which is near the top of a skyscraper in Graeson’s Fingers.
When the elevator doors open, two Leadsmiths greet you and ask for your invitations. Small firearms and decorative knives are common wardrobe accoutrement in Alkenstar high society but anybody carrying large weapons is asked to leave them at the door.
Crimson light from the setting sun filters into this large ballroom through dozens of ornate glass windows. A crystal chandelier hangs above the center of the space, ornamented with electrical wires that spark and jolt. The floor is decorated with a mosaic of guns arranged in elaborate geometric patterns. Two dozen large sculptures crafted from steel and colored glass are arranged throughout the room, each with a small plaque at their base. The sculptures depict a mixture of the natural and mechanical, blending the disparate elements together with sweeping lines and curves. On the east end of the ballroom, a large banquet table is covered with delicate food and drink.
There are dozens of guests in attendance, mingling and gawking at the art on display. Across the room, you spot Christia Tombend herself. But she is currently speaking to none other than Vewslog, the cyclops leader of the Leadsmiths. Vewslog's single eye scans the room as he leans down to whisper in Tombend's ear...
"Hum... perhaps I do need a dress." She says, quickly convinced that shopping will indeed be fun.
Eva do follow Lora around and when she has the opportunity, she does take advantage of it, doing her best to ruin her cute lover.
---
Before the shopping is finished, Eva do purchases a glamered rune in order to be able to slip inside the gala using her breastplate.
---
Eva takes a look around the place, situating herself and making sure the illusion covering her arm isn't flickering for some reason. While Christia and Vewslog were easy enough to spot, she tries to find other known figures that might help or hinder them.
Royken arrives, dressed in an actually nice suit, though he pulls regularly at the collar, clearly not comfortable. A fine bowler hat perches on his head as he looks around.
"I'm getting a drink if I have to put up with this f$@&ing mummer's show," he mutters, heading toward the bar.
Eva scans the crowd, but nobody immediately stands out to her. Before you have a chance to get a closer look at things, though, Tombend steps into the center of the room and claps her hands. "Attention, everybody! It looks as if my special guests have arrived! These are very famous art critics!" She gestures to your group. "It would please me very much, my friends, if you could provide us all with an artistic analysis."
You can see Vewslog smirking at you as Tombend directs you to a large statue of metal and glass that resembles a scintillating jellyfish made from cubic blocks. The crowd falls silent and steps back, making you the center of attention for the entire ballroom.
"Well? What do you think?" Tombend asks expectantly.
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The wizard's face radiates annoyance when Tombend 'introduces' them. Cold eyes burn underneath the strip of black galena paint and slowly shift from Tombend to the large statue. His fingers are clasped together and hidden underneath the long sleeves of his Gebite robe, and they fiddle about as he taps into his inner artsy self.
"The design showcases exquisite metallurgical skill. The jellyfish, however, has been contorted into something it is not. Does it aspire to stand out amongst its kind? If so, why? Jellyfish are harmful to touch, and as far as I know, are without thought and reason. They just are. In Geb, we twist and contort that without life into a more useful form, and in this, the artist ... succeeded. The lifeless metal and glass radiate life, even though it is without, and it manages to capture both your eyes and thoughts."
Lora had a delightful, LONG, and deliciously entertaining shopping trip with Eva, but sooner or later one exhausts all the good dress shops in the city so it is back to work.
The lovely woman to the wizard's right, her arm slipped into his, was dressed in an elegant red dress with black highlights and wide swaying skirts. She nods with breathless awe at her 'date's' insights. "Eyes and thoughts, very provoking, sir. Maybe tactile as well?" her finger clad in black silk gloves slid across the smooth glass to rough metal, seemingly delighting the in the contrast. "And if I'm not mistaken... auditory?" her dark eyes map the sculpture, before reaching into her small handbag for her decorative pistol, tapping its tip gently along the glass. A mournful tone washes up into the sculpture's metal, getting amplified in the hollow cubes. Lora continues to tap, here and there, producing a short dirge of some beauty, before letting the sounds echo off through the halls.
"A success I think."
"It's f&*+ing worse than Droskar-dicked dragon vomit," Royken grouses. "Art deserves to be f%++ing better than that. Who the f@%@ wants a vaguely fish-like blob thing, here in f$$*ing Alkenstar? Are we near the ocean? F+~& no! Art should make you feel good or say something about where you live, and this just does f%!! all!"
Royken is not impressed by the "art" and doesn't much care who knows it or thinks otherwise. Anyone who does is just as f@$@ing stupid as the stupid sculpture, and deserves to be smashed to bits just the same way.
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Eva used to joke that her father was a specialist in matters ranging from "a~&+!~@s" to "zebras" and without her realizing, she also became one. Releasing Bleach's arm, she walks around the sculpture, taking her time to properly see it prior to give her opinion... they were very famous critics, right?
"I'm not an art critic, by the way..." Eva starts, keeping her eyes on the sculpture. "...for who am I to say what is right or wrong in it? What are the parameters? Weight? Effort? Price? Craftsmanship? How it makes us feel or how it represents the artist's feeling? What it tells us about ourselves or about the world?" She then looks at Miss Tombend and then the others gathered around. "Without the context of who the artist is and what was their goal into creating it, this is nothing but a lifeless object."
"Was it well crafted? Yes, perhaps, but if the artist is capable of remarkable work and this is just excellent, then it is more a failure to them. Is it valuable? Perhaps it is but its pieces could be as valuable on their own. Does this evoke the artist's fond memories of a beach, or their deepest nightmares?" She poses questions to their audience.
"The only way I can critic it, at this moment, with the information I have, is how it makes me feel... and how I feel is unique to myself." She adds before smirking to Lora.
"It makes me feel curious and frustrated." She says. "I once met a creature that resembles this sculpture, yet it was not a mere animal or monster, but a sentient being. We parted ways before we could sate our mutual curiosity..." She says, touching and caressing the tentacles, moving her hand up and down along it. "... yet this is a sculpture will serve as just a reminder of them, because it has no moving parts and even the more promising parts of it are made of cubes... pointed cubes that aren't friendly to skin or... lips." She finishes, giving one of the squid's tentacles fast but sensual kiss before smiling.
Eva was sure no one in the crowd expected that analyses of an art critic, but they are not famous specialists like her and her friends.
Tombend seems unimpressed by Bleach's and Royken's "insights." Lora's auditory performance delights her, and the expression on her face after Eva's more overt performance makes it clear she is feeling a certain kind of way.
"Ahem," Tombend says, clearing her throat. "Yes, well, I do so appreciate your thoughts. Please, enjoy the party!" She smiles warmly and gaily resumes her mingling.
Christia Tombend: Tombend is an ardent nationalist who believes Alkenstar should be much more than just a great city–it should be a great nation! She’ll happily reveal clues to any characters who succeed at a DC 19 Diplomacy check to Make an Impression on her.
Powle Guthroy: An avid art enthusiast, Guthroy has snuck several bottles of elven absinthe into the party, which he claims help him see the artwork as it truly exists. Characters can gather clues from him by drinking the absinthe and succeeding at a DC 24 Society or Art Lore check to discuss the art.
Helain Maudele: This whimsical dance instructor believes the body is a form of art all on its own. Characters can gather clues from Maudele by succeeding at a DC 24 Acrobatics or Athletics check to demonstrate their physical grace.
Professor Hoop: A scholar of both the magical and mechanical, Professor Hoop roams about the party looking bored stiff. If the characters can impress her with a successful DC 24 Arcana, Religion, Occultism, or Engineering Lore check to Recall Knowledge, she calls over her wife Theome, who is an avid gossip and can provide the characters with one or more clues.
"There is no better place to start untangling a ball of yarn, then in the very center." Lora says to her companions, maybe not even realizing how incorrect that statement is since she has never Ever done anything with yarn in a non playful sense. Sewing, or whatever, is not part of her particular wheelhouse.
Wiggling out secrets through conversation is though, so the young woman in her ostentatious red dress moves to the hostess, Christia Tombend. Charm, interest, appropriate deference, and a dusting of flirtation. Following the flows of the other woman's attention, in whatever manner seems will get the strongest bonds, whether an impressed wide eyed follower, an arm entwined steadfast friend, or someone you'd end up as quickly as possible in a private nook exploring possibilities.
Once the impression is made, along with activities to make it, she follows it with discrete questions poised to get everything this woman might know about Loveless.
Royken finds his way over to Helain Maudele. But refuses to be a performing zombie and just stands there looking uncomfortable, his obvious physical prowess masked by the boogeyman's suit he was forced to wear.
Eva watches as Royken just stands in front of the dance instructor and sighs. She thought about asking him to dance to the catchy tune that was just starting but their height difference was so pronounced that he'd probably be smothered by her breasts... something he was very clearly not interested.
Instead, she approaches the instructor herself, for if she believes bodies to be a form of art, then it could be considered that Eva's was a masterpiece. "Would you grace me with a dance, Miss Maudele?"
While they dance, Eva adds. "I've heard you are quite an art critic yourself when bodies and motions are the subject... would you mind critic me?"
Bleach, cunningly disguised as a Gebite necromancer, locks eyes with Professor Hoop and sighs. I know, right?! are the unspoken words that they exchange, and eventually, the two get to talking. Luckily for Bleach, Hoop has eyes and can see that he is indeed someone with an interest in the arcane arts, so all he needs to do is impress.
And impress he does. For once, he can rhapsodize about the art he's finally starting to master - and in full detail! The painstaking detail one has to pay attention to when dealing with the dead to ensure you get the best undead, the dreary long-winded rituals accompany raising the dead, and well, how no one in this town has any darn respect for the arcane arts unless they happen to make things go boom.
Christia Tombend seems quite taken with Lora, the bard knowing just which role to play to get the gala's hostess to open up. Amid engaging conversation and gentle flirtations, Tombend reveals that she has recently purchased an enormous number of firearms (enough to outfit an army) and donated them to the shieldmarshals. Tombend is gathering support for a bill that would enact mandatory conscription within Alkenstar, forcing 20% of all citizens to be part of a standing army at any given time. This army would be placed under the control of a high-ranking shieldmarshal. Deputy Anjelique Loveless, as a senior officer with decades of experience and a history of command, would be a prime contender for the role! After all, th elf has been a shieldmarshal for nearly a century!
Meanwhile, Helain Maudele eagerly takes Eva up on her offer to dance. She offers praise for the half-elf's body as her hands roam and caress it. During the intimate dance, though, Eva gets Maudele to admit that she, too, has heard of the bill that Tombend plans to sponsor. The conscription bill currently faces dim prospects as many feel the shieldmarshals and Alkenstar’s other defenses (like the Gunworks’s massive cannon, the Maw of Rovagug) are more than enough to defend the lands of Alkenstar.
Bleach impresses Professor Hoop with his knowledge of the arcane arts. When asked for gossip, the professor calls her wife Theome over, who fills Bleach in on two prominent arcanists who have recently arrived in Alkenstar: Ibrium and Parsus. Ibrium is said to wield a staff topped with a basilisk's eye, indicative of his passion for petrification magic. Ibrium has developed his own personal form of magic, vitrumancy, specializing in the conjuration and transmutation of glass. Theome confides that Ibrium was the son of a powerful wizard with ties to Nex's Council of Three and Nine, but she was recently assassinated in the midst of a power struggle, and Ibrium made some poor investment choices that left him financially ruined.
As for Parsus, Theome doesn't tell Bleach much more than he already previously knew about the dhampir necromancer. She does say that Parsus arrived in Alkenstar recently on a Gebbite barge pulled by massive skeletal crocodiles. What their current plans are, though, remain a mystery...
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Eva thanks Helain for the information and dance, using her first name because she felt all the caressing earned her that much. "Also, if you happen to find someone else whose body you classify as artistic as mine, perhaps we could perform for you, my dear... I have a feeling you also like watching."
---
As they regroup and share their discoveries, Eva paces as she tries to put all the clues together. "Let's start from the beginning... Mugland and Loveless are partners in this pyronite mess. That is a given and not unusual. He was a crime mogul and she is a corrupt Shieldmarshal and I bet they have helped each other in more than one occasion. Now, what do they want?" She poses the question.
"From Mugland's own words, if we can trust them, he was in for the gold. I feel there is more to the story because he went bankrupt, while the smart move would be to cut his losses." She shrugs. "Perhaps he wasn't that smart in the end, or too stubborn, proud or afraid to see the obvious way out when things were not working for him."
"Now, what does Loveless want? At first I thought she was also after the gold since Mugland said she was arranging the sell of the formula to Parsus and Ifrium, and that she would return to the Gilded Gunners to pay his debt..." She makes a doubting face. "I don't think she would come back for him actually. He has done his part and was ruined, so it appears she had no more uses for him. Leaving him with Sharkosa would both cut a loose end and increase her profit."
"This new bill about the army tells me Loveless actually wants power, which is clearly the best plan. From what I've heard from Helain, this bill has dim chances of passing because many feel the Shieldmarshals and the other defenses of Alkenstar are more than enough to protect our home..." She becomes reticent before continuing. "... but what if these defenses fail? What better way to show the need of this army, with Loveless in charge, than having an outside threat being able to overcome Alkenstar's defenses?"
"I think this is where Parsus and Ifrium enter the plan. What do we know about them?" She asks again, more to shake her thinking juices. "From what Bleach told us, while Parsus's progenitor is a Blood Lord and thus presumably influential, he himself is an exile of the family. And then Ifrium, son of a deceased wizard with ties to the Council of Three and Nine, yet he himself is financially ruined."
"What these two wizards have in common are a relatively closeness to the ruling bodies of each ration and grudges against their own kind. The information of Ifrium being ruined clashes with the idea of them buying the 'expensive pyronite formula', so perhaps Mugland was just Loveless's pawn and not partner."
She stops pacing, then resumes, feeling there were more pieces still loose. "So, Loveless wants a big external threat to force her power grab and presumably Parsus and Ifrium will somehow provide it. They will either use the pyronite to do so, or will be paid with the formula... I suspect the former and I feel they will try to blast the Maw of Rovagug with it."
"If I was Loveless, I'd try to be extra safe now because this plan has many moving parts. I think I'd try to deal with the most immediate threats first and the presence of the Leadsmithes could be just that. These immediate threats probably includes us, but perhaps also includes that river merchant that is scheduled to be executed tomorrow and his rancher associate."
Lora, in yards of scintillating red has somehow pulled her bottom to her favorite perch, the bar, where she could watch the distracting inventor as she paced, and pour a healthy amount of gin into a glass and pass it to her, then pour her own.
"If you were Loveless, you'd have already broken the city in a thousand more creative and less violent ways. That lady is messy. Leaving enemies around that have little more to their name other than a singular hate of Her. Like me." the red head smiled prettily before sipping her drink.
"Since we don't know where the bloated cow is... do we go after the mages, the guns, or the farmer?"
"The cow man," Royken grunts. "Loveless knows where the other two are, so she's a step ahead, but we're on the same f!%+ing bullet with the farmer -- no one knows where the f%#% he is. Let's find him and make sure she doesn't get what she wants!"
Once you have left the gala, you look over the clues you recovered from Loveless' office again. The notes indicate that Dash is a known associate of the merchant Rhangyl Foruza, who is set to be executed tomorrow at noon. Saving him from the gallows would likely be your best bet for tracking Dash down.
The next day before noon, you head to the Old Bridge. The hot sun beats down on the worn cobblestones of the bridge. A large wooden platform topped with a hangman’s noose is situated along the bridge’s northern side. A symbol of crossed guns—the badge of the shieldmarshals—is etched into the wood of the platform.
A crowd of about 50 people have gathered near the platform to watch the upcoming execution. Neither the shieldmarshals nor their prisoner have arrived yet...
Royken sizes up the situation. "Lot of people here gawking, getting in our way," he mutters. "Maybe a distraction? I can try to set some bombs nearby. Or perhaps we go try to get the shieldmarshals on their way here."
Eva agrees with Royken's idea. "Might be the better angle, yes."
"If we try to sabotage the noose, but hard to do so with so many looking and even we do that, what would stop them to change their minds and just stab the poor man?" She says, then has an idea. "Do you think we could disguise ourselves as Shieldmarshals and trick them into just handling us the merchant?"