Lana points a wand at the conscious half orc and a ray of fire strikes him!
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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!
Lana accompanies the others, moving far quieter than anyone could anticipate.
”Or it will put them on alert and make them look harder for an ambush,” Lana counters.
”Not necessarily. But he doesn’t need to know that. I’m not impressed with Saul’s skill set, but he does okay. Eventually we might seek to acquire his stake, or we may not. The future is full of possibilities,” she muses.
Seeing Arc greet their new guest, Lana lets him give her the tour as she tends to other business.
”I agree with your assessment of Saul. Since our initial intervention and the following management of the casino, he has left it’s day to day operations essentially in our hands all the while he counts coin and likely performs his own underhanded dealing without our knowledge. A facet of the arrangement I and my associates are not fond of. However, an alliance forged through implied deceit does not make for a strong one. Because then neither of us could trust the other in future dealings without wondering if there is a betrayal likely behind it.” Lana folds her hands. ”That being said, we know the sort of business you conduct, and you know what we are capable of as well. We are intelligent adults here, so no one is making these discussions blindly. Agree to work with us. Then, once we deal with the ones making direct attacks against our holdings, our coalition can then turn the negotiations back on Saul and impress upon him the benefits of retiring and finding a nice suite in Magnimar to live out his days in, visiting brothels and eating fine foods with whatever utensil he wishes to attach to that apparatus of his.”
Lana smiles. ”I’m glad you wish to avoid the pointless prattle of negotiations. So let us get right to the point of it: we want support and alliances against the bosses causing us trouble, and you want to improve your own situation and increase your own profits. Working with us, you’ll be able to eliminate a current rival, which increases your profit margins. Also, in return for your alliance, we can offer you a spot inside the Golden Goblin to sell your legitimate wares, without need to worry about rent or a cut of the profits. Our patrons come with plenty of coin in their belt pouches, with the intent on using it. So having a front in our establishment will be good business for you. But, as I said, our only request is you keep the wares legitimate.” She gives him a look. ”That is our offer. What would you be willing to bring to the table?”
Lana folds her hands in front of her on the table. "Well, our terms would in turn be affected by what you seek to gain from a mutually beneficial arrangement. What sort of opportunities do you hope to gain from becoming business associates?"
Lana boards the destination vessel and bears the unsavory looks from the crew no mind as she passes and heads below decks. Once at the table, she nods her head to Slyeg before having a seat opposite him. ”Thank you for agreeing to meet with us, Mr. Slyeg. I trust we will be able to come to terms that are both amenable and profitable for all parties involved without too much of a fuss?”
”If you think the ‘law’ and ‘righteousness’ will save the day here, Arc, you are delusional. It’s already been shown the rule of law here is just a power game. We do need to convince Tammerhawk to look the other way. Avery might be willing to help us remove another contender for power. One less to worry about, right? Ziphras too. You lot go and try and make alliances with them. I will approach Tammerhawk and Pamodae,” Lana says as she studies the options.
”Whatever we decide on, it can’t be today. Unless you expect me to just scold them into submission. I need time to recover my arcane energies,” she says as she stands next to Samaritha.
”You will act as a replacement for the men you injured or killed here. You will be loyal to a fault. You will receive fare wage for your work. But, if you waste this generosity on our part by proving yourself disloyal to us, then you will have to answer to him for violation of our verbal contract,” she shoots a thumb Arc’s direction. She then leans in close and adds ”and whatever is left when he is done, I will take my time issuing final punishment. And you had best hope he leaves nothing for me to work with…” She then stands back up and asks ”Do we have an agreement?” Once alone, she tells the others ”Clearly the law is in the pockets of those who attacked the casino. So going to them is pointless. If the rule of law here can be bought, then there is no rule of law.”
Lana makes her way over to the unfortunate prisoner. She clicks her staff on the floor once she gets at his side. "So we've dealt with everyone but the masterminds behind the attack. Sounds like you are all out of friends. Question is, are you all out of use?" she asks the man.
”Being better doesn’t mean continuing to risk our lives without a fair stake,” she counters calmly. ”And you are right, this place will be open tomorrow. But taking time for a fair discussion won’t stop that. Unless you are stalling and hoping the topic will be forgotten. Which it won’t. So decide. If you agree, we will begin rooting out who is behind this. If you don’t, then you can proceed to open this place without our help. But I won’t let those I care about continue to have their lives at risk without a fair partnership that rewards the risks of all it’s partners fairly. So, the future of the Gold Goblin is in your hands, Saul. Do you want us as fair partners, or do you want to handle things yourself?”
Thanara crosses her arms. ”You didn’t fully disclose the sheer number of issues you had going on in this establishment. Or that we would be essentially wholly responsible for fixing them on your behalf. And quite frankly, if our lives are going to continue to be at risk simply through simple association with you, then we deserve compensation to justify it. Double our current agreement,” she says flatly.
”Yes,” Lana seethes as the coward crawls out of his hiding place, ”We saved your casino. Again.” Once her injury is tended to, she stands and approaches the man. ”Seeing as when things like this happen your definition of protecting this place is to hide away with the money, I think we need to renegotiate the terms of our arrangement.”
Lana glances down at the arrow in her abdomen. ”We’ll find a healer…we’re going to be fine,” she says as she pulls Samaritha in for a kiss.
With the fight seemingly over, Lana rushes over to Samaritha and cups the girls face in her hands. ”Are you alright?” she asks desperately.
Lana sends another pair of fiery bolts at the armored man, her anger growing the more she thinks about the audacity of what he dared do…
Lana sends two fiery beams at the heavily armored man from her staff. ”You should have left well enough alone. Now, you’ll die for being an incessant nuisance!”
Seeing more thugs advancing on Nemo and Samaritha, Lana steps their way, ignoring the pain of the arrow in her side, and sends a wave of color of them as well.
Lana takes a couple arrows to the chest, causing her to stagger backwards into Samaritha. She reflexively drops a hand to her pouch and clutches a component. She then steps up and blows the multicolored sand at as many of them as she can, the and glowing brightly as it becomes infused with magic!
Lana immediately doubles back, running back downstairs as fast as she can.
Lana rolls her eyes. ”Deal with that rabble, if you can brother,” before taking off behind the goblin.
Lana looks at the man and asks "How many more of you are there?" as her cobra uncoils from beneath her robes and its head peeks out from a sleeve, it's hood opening in a menacing display.
Lana continues advancing, rummaging in her component pouch as she does. She brings up her staff and points it the orcs direction before a beam of fire soars his direction.
Lana steps just inside of the door, scowling at the chaos going on inside. She grips her staff and begins an intricate set of moves as she calls out ”I am tired of this incessant meddling! You have no idea the forces you are toying with! I have power over death itself!” As she finishes speaking, a Spectre similar in appearance to the Grim Reaper, as tall as the room and wielding a scimitar seething with otherworldly energies, rises up from the floor! It’s eyes, pinpoints of green flames, looks around menacingly. ”I will give you all ten seconds to get out of this casino before I have my friend here did you of your souls and take them to the Abyss!”
”Don’t really feel up to Chelaxian,” Lana says casually. She turns to Samaritha and asks ”Would you care to join me at one of the Elven establishments?”
Lana seems in a particularly good mood the next few days. Often seen smiling to herself, and being actually quite warm to others. At Thistle’s mention of a nice meal, she smiles and says ”A nice meal would be lovely,” she says as she glances across the casino briefly before turning her eyes back to the ledgers and smiling.
”Have you noticed any other effects of the shadow? Any oddities that may have affected your magic or home in any way? Some strange things have been happening in the town below, and I theorize many of them are directly related to the shadow,” Lana inquires.
”Pardon our intrusion, sir. We simply hoped to possibly speak with you, as practitioners of the arcane arts, in regards to this Blot above the town and what you may have learned of it? Purely seeking an academic discussion in regards to the phenomenon and nothing further,” Lana asked.
Lana watches the scene unfold with as much of an academic eye as she can. When finished, she mutters ”That…was disturbing. Samaritha, are you okay?”
Lana does the same with detect magic, making sure to look towards the Blot as well.
”Let’s check the gate before we bother the lighthouse keeper,” Lana says.
Lana gladly pays four silver pieces to have the four crates carried so they are free to not worry about the burden. Lana joins him in the toast. She enjoys the fine wine in silence. Once her chalice is done, she turns to Samaritha and Nemo and says ”I think casino business is settled up for the day. Would you two be interested in joining me in some examinations of the Blot?”
Lana speaks up. ”I think we can avoid any unpleasantness here,” she says as she holds up the receipt for their order. ”We aren’t looking for trouble with anyone. Just want to collect our property and leave you to whatever business you have with this vessel’s crew.”
"Most definitely," Lana says as she collects her staff. "Let's get Nemo and make our way to the docks."
Lana looks at Nemo quizzically. ”Yes…I had thought that much had been evident…”
”Sevvard,” she says. ”Mom’s name was Blakros, which sounds like Black Rose, and sev vard is Ossirian for black rose…so…” Lana explains.
Lana definitely doesn’t object, and simply nods as she sniffles and wipes her tears away as daintily as she can with her finger. The cobra raises up and unfurls it’s hood as Nemo approaches, but sensing something from Lana and that’s the end of his aggressions. ”He…he’s the only gift I ever got that meant anything. Cai’nan got him for me when father wouldn’t. Father insisted I choose something more appropriate for social settings. But…cobras are native to Osirion, and I feel like…it’s a small little connection to mom…”
Lana is standing there in a grey silk nightgown, her still injured but conscious cobra coiled around her arms and draped across her shoulders. ”Can I come in?” she asks. Her bare feet pad across the wood floor into Nemo’s room, and Lana looks around for herself a spot to sit. Ultimately she pops up on the small dresser and lets her feet dangle beneath her. ”Sorry for bothering you. It’s just, I wanted to let you know how grateful I am for you saving my friend here,” she said, gently running her fingers along the venomous serpents scales. ”If…if he had died…” she starts, but stops as tears fill her eyes and she chokes up with emotion.
Lana makes it a point to seek out the Kailani offspring a couple nights after the incident where her familiar nearly died. There is a gentle knock on her door on her door not long Goblin had closed down and everyone had gotten ready for bed.
Lana automatically assumed she was the only one suited with the brains to fill the role (and do it better than it's predecessor) than anyone else present. So she claimed the position.
”I suppose. I need to get some more healing for my familiar very soon any way.” As they turn to leave, she adds ”I must inform you, though, that the spell is not going to be cheap, and we run the risk of it not working at all. Or even finding someone in this backwater that even knows it.”
Lana steps away from the hug with Nemo and turns to the goblin. "Hand me the cloak," she says, reaching out with her free hand not cradling the snake and her staff. She looks the fabric over and examines the bloodstains on it. "Yes, this should be sufficient," she muses to herself before turning to the rest of you. "I know of a spell that will allow us to receive answers from the person whose blood this is. It is a gamble though. Sometimes the spell is quite informative, other times it is a bust. All depends on how much the victim knew of what caused the injury...and the will of the gods..."
As the others begin their search, Lana shoves her way past the fat man and picks up her injured serpent. She gives his long body a gentle stroke before wrapping his body around her as best she can. She gives him a steely glare as she steps to the door. ”Don't you forget, all debts are free and clear. No attempts at repercussions will be tolerated. Consider yourself fortunate you still breath.” Once outside, she lets the others do their thing with tracking as she steps over to the Kailani brood. She stands directly in front of her before pulling her in close for a forceful, somewhat uncomfortable hug. ”Thank you…” she whispers.
Lana turns and takes up the man's bloodstained cloak. "The man who was wearing this!?!? His cloak is conveniently discarded just out back!" Lana seethes.
"Where...is...Larur?" Lana says through gritted teeth. She tightens her grip on her staff, and the gem at the top begins to glow once more, her intent and willingness to add his body to the pile next to the ape perfectly clear.
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