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Ekard crouches in the shadows, waiting for the thug to enter the alley, sap in hand.
"Magic, if you've got it, otherwise...I dunno, you're a girl; flash him the goods, or use yer feminine wiles, or something." You'd swear Ekard is blushing.
Ekard whispers to Railina: "We've only got one guard awake at the door. You think you can lure him around the corner to us? We'll jump him here, then deal with the other guard."
"All right, how's this sound? The light of foot will make the initial entry. But the noisier folk need to be close...say, in the doorway of the building across the street. That way, if we're staring at a sentry as we open the door, and he raises the alarm, you can come running to join the fight." Ekard looks around a bit at the neighborhood. "Unless Toridan has done some work on the place, picking the lock on the door should be easy. So if Myrp can do this magic talking bit, then I think we're ready to go."
"Hmm. So let's say we're right and he's got a half-dozen guys in there with him. Chances are that the other two might be guards for the night shift. So if we go in well after dark, we've got two awake and alert for trouble...three if Toridan is a night owl. If we're quick and quiet enough, we might catch him in his nightgown." Ekard grins.
"Yeah, I say we leave the bulls out of it. If we start askin' around the local guardposts about Cran and then he turns up dead or hurt days later, who do you think they'll be askin' after?" Ekard runs a hand through his hair, looking at his party members appraisingly. "We don't want to go as a group, or leastways to look like one. We stand out too much. I'm thinkin' we head that way together, then I break off and take a gander at Cran's section of Nar street, see what hidey-holes we'll have. If he's livin' in an abandoned neighborhood, we've got no local folk to blend in with. Anyone will stand out, so we'll want to find another building to watch from, maybe across the street and upstairs."
"I'm not an assassin. I don't want to just bust in and knife the man. Besides, he may have had a falling out with his brother, but family being family, if we kill him outright we might have a blood feud on our hands. That said, I think we should put the squeeze on him. We find out why he wants the girl, then convince him that he should change his mind about it, if he wants to keep his health, that is."
Ekard will push a little further, seeing if any of his other contacts have dirt on the Crans.
Ekard grins. "A savage with a scythe. Always good for a show, but I'm guessing we'll have to do a bit more than just have you flex your muscles and look mean." "This guy may not be big time, but he is a boss. We'll need to come up with a plan. Me, I'm fond of the idea of letting ourselves in and showing the guy we're not fooling around. Maybe tap a couple of his boys on the head and let him no we're being polite this time around. Of course, if he thinks we're bluffing, it could turn into a blood bath."
Ekard sits on his chair yawning and rubbing his aching feet. "At least this Cran fellow is making it easy for us. A neighborhood of empty houses means no nosy neighbors and probably no run-ins with the watch. It's been a long night and a longer morning. I should sell off our latest batch of loot and we should get some sleep. Tony seems energetic, but I'm beat. Another evening venture sounds like the best thing. We'll need to decide how we want to approach this guy. Are we going in gangbusters, or do we try to talk to the man?"
"Right. No need to bring the girl's name into it. I'll go prowl around tonight and see what I can find out. Chelin can do the same, now or tomorrow. We can all meet back at the Minstrel tomorrow for lunch and share information. Then we can plan our next step. If anyone else has any places to go for clues, do so. Anyone else can rest up for tomorrow. I'll see you lot again when the sun's up." Ekard will exit the chapel and head out into the night again to see what he can stir up.
"Yeah, I was afraid it might come to that. I can go tavern crawling and get in touch with some of my contacts in town, see what I can dig up. Problem is, it'll take time. Could be that once I've found out who this T.C. is and where we can find him, he'll have heard what happened to his boys and be ready for us. I don't know that we've got any other choice."
Ekard helps gather up the gear, wondering what to do with the bodies, then shrugs and decides it's someone else's problem. As the rest of the group leaves the warehouse, he'll take a glance outside to make sure they're aren't any city watchmen strolling nearby. As they move down the street, he'll pull out the vial of blue liquid and waggle it at Railina. "Any idea what this stuff is?"
Ekard shrugs. "We know where he's headed. Let's grab the rest of the loot. We'll catch up to him."
"Perhaps if we could search these two's homes there might be some clues as to who they worked for. Does anyone know how we can find out?" "This T.C. person addressed the note to one of them, Vagger. We could always use the name and description to try and find out where he lives. Talking to Fabitor or Phon seem like good ideas too. Especially Phon. She might not know why someone was trying to kidnap her, but if she recognizes the initials, we might be able to fill in some blanks."
"Hm. And so the question becomes: Who is T.C.?" Tony looks down at the bodies. "In hindsight, we really should have taken at least one alive." Ekard pulls his sap from under his vest and slaps it in his hand. "I tried, Tony, but you beat me to the strike. No matter, we'll puzzle it out somehow." Albrek looks at the elf's chain mail appreciatively. "Would you consider it ghoulish if I took this armor? It is better than my own, but I do question the legality of walking around this city wearing a dead man's armor." "Albrek, I'm gonna strip it off his corpse and take it to the armorer for coin anyway, which you can use your share of to buy new armor. Or, you can take his; it'll be fine after a good cleanin'. If it keeps you in a fight, I won't begrudge you the money I'd get from selling it. He was a kidnapper and a murderer besides. It's no less than he deserves." Ekard furrows his brow in concentration.
Ekard suggests: "You know, we've got the better part of the night. Best we do things properly and take our time. Albrek can take a position near the back door and holler if anyone else comes by. The rest of us can roll these guys and then search over the rest of the warehouse. I think we ought to start with the offices."
Grumbling over his bad luck, Ekard hops down from the platform and scampers up a stack of crates to retrieve his sling. He stows it away. "Near as I can tell, these guys were going to off the Pale Dogs delivering the girl. They didn't let anything else slip while I was in here, except that you, Tony, are about as sneaky as a draft horse walking down a road full of pots and pans." Ekard grins. "We should probably search them over, then check out the place. Chances are the people that own the warehouse might be involved in this. I'd like to know who has the guts to double-cross the Pale Dogs." "Hmm...you think that these guys are elven has anything to do with it? You don't see many elf underworld types in this city."
Ekard has a sudden epiphany. He drops his shortsword on the platform and pulls a sap from his belt, swinging a high arc for the thug's head.
"Lothian's buttermilk buttocks! This is taking way too long." Ekard will drop the sling and draw his shortsword. He'll attempt to move atop the crates to a position where he can leap from them to the platform, hopefully to move into a flanking position with Tony.
Muttering, "Third time's a charm...," Ekard loads up his sling and fires again. Attack Roll:
Ekard curses his luck, reloads, and fires another shot at the crossbowman. Sling attack:
Ekard moves out of cover to take his shot at the thug with the crossbow. If he can take a move to get within sneak attack range without getting down from the crates, he will do so. Sling ranged attack: Damage: Possible sneak attack damage:
Lord T: Damn it all to a dozen different demon lords! thinks Ekard to himself. Just get the rest of the crew and storm the place, already. I can put a bullet into the back of that one thug's head quick enough if you guys will just get in here already.
Ekard maintains his position and previous plan, but he's starting to get antsy.
Lord T: Since their attention seems focused on the door, Ekard figures the others are on their way in and its time to act. If he's within 30 feet of the one with the crossbow, he'll take a shot at him. If not, he'll begin maneuvering quietly toward the man, staying up on the boxes away from the dogs as best he can. Stealth check:
Perception check:
Lord T: Ekard breathes a slow, soft sigh of relief. He will pull out his sling and load a bullet into it. C'mon, he thinks to himself, you must have seen that the back door is unlocked. Get on in here while we still have the advantage of numbers. He'll sit tight and try to overhear any other conversation the men might have. If/when the party enters, he'll take advantage of the distraction to fire a shot at the one on the platform.
Stealth check:
Lord T: Ekard will attempt to sneak away, putting as much distance and as many crates as he can between himself and the dogs. He'll also climb up onto the crates as high as he can, when possible, so long as he maintains cover between himself and the men.
Lord T: Crap, they brought dogs. Don't that just figure, Ekard thinks to himself. He'll try to lay low, hoping the others realize they can get in. If it seems like the dogs are going to get near him, he'll try to move and keep as much distance between him and the canines as possible.
Perception check:
Perception check:
The Foreman stares dumbfounded at Ekard and then looks over at his workers, then back at Ekard. "Ya sure, I guess we could use someone to help catalog the merchandise go in and find Gunter, he's up by the office tell him, Darben sent you to help out." He points into the warehouse. Ekard gives the man a big grin. "Thanks very much, guv! You're a stand-up fellow, for certain." Ekard heads off in the direction Darben points him. On the way, he'll scope out the layout of the place, and try to find a good spot to hide until the workers leave for the day. He makes a note of the back door's location as well.
"Good idea. With Myrp being where he is, he can do that job. If anything goes bad, I'll be screaming bloody murder, so he should be able to let the rest of you know I need help." To the foreman: "Afternoon, guv. I've been beating feet all around the district today lookin' for work. I notice you lot have a bustling operation here and wondered if you'd need an extra hand. I'm quick on my feet and good at following orders. Whatta ya say?" Diplomacy check:
Ekard returns from scouting and informs the party of the exterior layout. "Seems our best bet is the back door after closing time. I'll see if I can get in and get lost in the crates. Once the place is cleared out I'll get the door open. The rest of you should find a place to hunker down until then." "I can be pretty sneaky too, if you tell me some way I could help", Myrp chips in. "Maybe as a lookout, or messenger"? Ekard gives Myrp an appraising eye. "You're light enough on your feet, and small like me, sure enough. But if you want to be sneaky you're going to have to stop looking like a mouse that's sure the cat's about to pounce. Relax. Looking out of place is the surest way to get spotted." Running his hand through his hair, Ekard thinks the situation over. "Myrp, you'll be lookout round the back. Find a place in the alley behind the warehouse to hunker down that's within sight of the door. The rest of you find a place further away within sight of Myrp's hidey-hole. Once the place is closed down and empty, I'll unlock the back door and give Myrp the high sign. He'll flag the rest of you. Then everyone hustles in and we find a place to get the jump on our kidnapping mastermind. Sound like a plan?"
Stealth check:
"So, what do we do till it is time?" Railina asks after they are done scoping out the area. "Should we try and make it inside for a good ole ambush?" "I don't have a clue who runs this thing. Maybe we should case the building and note where the doors and windows are. We can pick the best entry for the group, then I can try and get inside on the sly and hide out until the place closes down. Most businesses close at sunset, so once everyone leaves I can come out and open a door for the rest of you to get in. Then we can wait for our kidnappers' boss to show up."
Ekard will see if he can remember anything about ownership of the warehouse. Meanwhile, he'll casually observe the crates being moved about for signs of ownerships (merchant symbols, guild markings, etc.) Knowledge(local):
Ekard gets an unsettling grin on his face. "I've been known to loosen tongues a time or two in my day. If that's the way you want to play it, I'm game. Eyeballing the place ahead of time is good too. If its an operational warehouse, I might be able to slip in before they close down for the day and unlock a side door for the rest of the group to use."
Ekard gives out something of a squeak, though it might have been a suppressed scream. "Tony's right, Railina, we don't want to get anywhere near the Balacazars if we can help it. That's like filling a pit full of poisonous spiders and then jumping in on purpose. And the Vai, they're not a family, they're an order of assassins...assuming they actually exist." Ekard shakes his head, as if to loose the thought from his head. "We've still got the note from the thugs, and we know where they were supposed to deliver her. What if we check the place out and see who's expecting Phon to show up gift-wrapped this afternoon at the warehouse?"
"Hm? Oh, just remembered something I heard about the Pale Dogs. Word on the street is that they have connections...powerful ones. Some say they've got ties to the Balacazar family and even the Vai." Ekard runs his hand through his hair and sighs. "Count me in, but don't think I'm gonna pass up those hundred thrones. I may need it to pay for a funeral."
Ekard raises an eyebrow. "I'm surprised your not more familiar with this sort of thing, Tony. Your type call it 'slumming.' My guess is that one of the hoity-toity nobles in this burg swept Phon off her feet, figuring he'd have a cheap dalliance. Now she's with child and carrying a bastard son of a nobleman. Some of them like keepin' their skeletons sealed tightly in the closet. Leastaways, that'd be my guess. This guy's a different breed from you, though. Anyone that would dirty his hands with the likes of the Pale Dogs is bad business, and..." An odd look crosses Ekard's face as he trails off, apparently silenced by a sudden thought.
Ekard grins back. "Yeah, I suppose so." "Herring and oatmeal for me. And one of those cherry-filled honeybuns." |