Lotti raises her eyebrow and the hem of her long skirt and crinoline. "Nobody cares about what's on your feet when they can't see them," she comments to Marius with a wicked grin. She shakes the skirt back and forth a few times over the comfortable walking shoes like a dancer before letting them fall back into obscurity.
Unfortunately, no shops seem to be open, either because of the very early hour, or because of the uneasy situation. Fortunately, very few people seem to be out and about, and beyond furtive glances no one bothers the strange group as it makes its way towards the location indicated by Gloriana Morilla.
The Dignified Repository turns out to be a large warehouse on a section of open grass, an L-shaped building that stands 40 feet tall, with windows lining the walls near the roof. Two large metal exhaust pipes jut out from the top.
"Doesn't look like much, which I suppose must be a good sign. I don't see any sign of Lady Morilla's promised reinforcements, which could go either way. I propose entering through the back door," Marius says after discreetly observing the building for a few moments.
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"Here's hoping they won't mistake us for the Brotherhood, at least," Rose mutters, also studying the building, then narrowing her eyes. "Actually... hold on. Maybe that's not such a bad idea?"
She closes her eyes, brows furrowed in concentration, as her now torn gala dress shimmers and slowly warps into the black and grey clothing of the Senate assassins. Once finished, she critically looks over the garment. "Quite a droll outfit, but, as a tailor, this is how I remember it. The hitmen employed by the Prince are surely quite lacking in imagination. Nevertheless, we have to assume the Brotherhood is already inside. And with one of their supposed allies approaching them, perhaps we can get the jump on whoever we encounter."
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Despite the emotional toll of the day Marius can't quite suppress a grin. "Rose, I hope someday to meet someone who loves me the way you love overly complicated intrigue. Why not simply enter and extract Lady Martella, and neutralize any Brotherhood assassins we meet along the way? She said she had Pathfinders with her, and frankly I don't trust that lot not to fight first and ask questions never--especially if we look like the enemy."
Rose chuckles, then does a mock pout. "But Marius dear, you mean to say I *can't* go in dressed like them to stab them in the back, on count of it being overly complicated as a plan?"
She leans forward slightly to carefully scrutinize his face from below, then pokes him on the breatplate. "I mean... I know you're a soldier and all, but surely our nation's finest do know variations of frontal assaults at least, if no other tactics are known to them?"
Marius does not spot any stalkers following the group. What he does spot are two hooded and cloaked figures that seem to be patrolling the outside of the warehouse, and a lack of a back door.
Lady Morilla's agents are nowhere in sight, but it stands to reason that it would take her a little while to contact them, and for them to arrive at the site.
"Wait," Marius holds up a hand to cut off the banter, eyes tracking the two cloaked figures. "We're not alone, at least two there, probably more we can't see. I don't see a back way in either..."
He gives the others a chagrined look. "It seems a frontal assault is the way of it then."
Following Marius' direction, Rose freezes at first, then draws her crossbow and pushes herself more against the foilage that passed as cover.
She sighs with a grimace when the plan is, perhaps predictably, frontal assault.
"...If it made any difference, I would point out that we only have a single healing potion between the four of us. We also have no backup unless we wait, are up against an unknown number of trained assassins with presumably proper gear this time, in an area they know better than us. Yet the suggestion is to rush straight in and hope for the best."
She glances at Konstiantina and Lotti with a look somewhere between hopeful pleading and pained resignation. "So... did it make a difference?"
"...do you think she did all that tearing and breaking of her clothes when she could have just changed them in a flash like she did just now?" Lotti finishes asking Konsantiantina, winking at Rose at the same time. "Oh, did you have a question dear? I didn't want to get in the middle of you two..." She pauses for a moment, a wicked grin on her face.
"...nobles. Now then, Marius, you mentioned some figures patrolling. How large were they, and were they moving together, separately, or crossing paths every so often? I'm sure you'd agree that removing the scouts from an enemy fleet cripples their ability to handle complications."
She turns to Rose. "And remember that there's a friend inside who might be inches away from death. There's a time for perfect infiltrations, but we might not have time right now."
Marius gives Lotti a quizzical look, silently pointing at the two cloaked figures.
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Note the complete silence," says Konstiantina, drawing back. "The patrol indicates a lack of immediacy, as well - an ongoing strike isn't calmly patrolled on the outside in such manner. It's a risk, but I say we take a moment to regather our strength. I have depleted almost all of the favors granted me by my goddess, and I know the rest of you would also benefit from a rest."
She frowns, the words obviously bitter on her tongue, but then nods decisively. "Let's retreat for now, and ensure our attack is guaranteed every chance of success. We've the greenhorns to wait on, and no sense that anything more than a siege is currently underway. We'll recover as quickly as possible, and then strike with everything we've got."
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"...do you think she did all that tearing and breaking of her clothes when she could have just changed them in a flash like she did just now?" Lotti finishes asking Konsantiantina, winking at Rose at the same time.
"Unfortunately, while this appearance is a crafty illusion and looks real to the outside world, it still remains an illusion. Of course, being a master of magical disguise yourself, I can only assume you already know this and simply find fun in tormenting me, Miss Qeb," Rose responds, amused. "...Though I admit it would have been less... ah, 'showy', had I remembered to first assume such a guise during the act." She looks away and a small blush forms on her cheeks. "...It must have slipped my mind. The day has been a long one."
"Note the complete silence," says Konstiantina, drawing back. "The patrol indicates a lack of immediacy, as well - an ongoing strike isn't calmly patrolled on the outside in such manner. It's a risk, but I say we take a moment to regather our strength. I have depleted almost all of the favors granted me by my goddess, and I know the rest of you would also benefit from a rest."
"...Maybe you're right," Rose agrees, pondering the paladin's words."My first instinct is that we need to act right away. However... this is supposedly Martella's safehouse. We know she has far-reaching connections even across the borders, going by Lady Morilla and the Pathfinders. Probably a lot of enemies too that we don't know about. And yet, following the most dire of events, she chose this specific place to retreat to, supposedly because she felt she was safest there."
"So... would such a bastion for a powerful woman fall that easily to a group of seemingly amateuristic assassins?" She continues, pondering. "There's a good chance she's holed up in a panic room of sorts they simply can't get through, or at least, not yet. Especially if these Pathfinders are also with her, as Lotti said."
She lowers her crossbow, unloads the bolt and hangs it back on her belt. "...If we rest and prepare, someone will have to stay behind and meet with these inexperienced agents, to intercept their distraction until we return. I could do so and meet you later. There is a respectable tavern nearby, The Minstrel's Dance. It could serve as said meeting point. Any objections?"
With no one objecting to the plan, Martella's agents retreat away from the Dignified Repository, to rest and restock. Rose stays behind to intercept the Pathfinders, who show up about an hour later - two men and a woman in merchants' clothes, but with rapiers at their hip. They seem to stroll around the warehouse casually, but their eyes dart to the pairs of guards patrolling the grounds - now that Rose has spent a while observing the site she knows there are four guards on the outside.
Lotti spends the evening at the small table in her apartment, pouring over the veritable treasure trove of books and scrolls by the light of four glowing bubbles floating around her head. "Your Grace, this would take less time if you would stop trying to pop those," she admonishes, not taking her eyes off the tattered page of the rat-wizard's spellbook. "I will say that if I ever need to write something in code, I'll do it in circles - this fellow's handwriting is giving me a headache even when its not overlapping with two other spells."
A late night, a deep sleep, and a strong cup of tea later, Lotti rejoins her companions outside the warehouse. "Any developments?"
One of the tricks every soldier learns is to take sleep when the opportunity presents itself. The moment Marius is satisfied that the group's temporary quarters are secure he has leaned his chain back against the wall and is fast asleep.
A few hours later he is up, completing his ablutions and prayers to Kelinahat to best of his ability given the circumstances, and it is only by a supreme act of will that the young nobleman doesn't pace like a caged lion while waiting to return to the warehouse.
After speaking to the pathfinders and explaining the situation to them, Rose leaves the stakeout to Morilla's agents and goes about buying supplies at the local apothecary. She supposed it was telling for the state of Taldor's politics that the shopkeeper didn't even bat an eye at her purchase of four seperate vials of antitoxin. The average high tea at any given family's estate probably required manyfolds of the same.
The second and last purchase was a simple outfit consisting of leather breeches, blissfully sturdy boots, a white shirt and a brown vest. Donning it alongside the magical cloak and breastplate they picked up earlier, she hoped it wouldn't make her stand out too much other than that she wore basic armor and weapons. It was better than the gala dress at any rate, illusions or not.
When she arrives at the inn, she barely has time to bathe and lock the door behind her before promptly falling asleep on the bed.
"All I can tell from the outside is that there are four guards, and unless the Pathfinders noticed something off, they're still patrolling," Rose responds to Lotti once everyone is back. "Oh, and I bought us some basic potions to use. These, in particular, should protect us against poison, if the apothecary was right. I'd suggest using them before we go up against a group of assassins."
The seemingly most senior of the Pathfinders, a woman whose black curls are tightly bound at the nape of her neck, is there to report when the group returns to the warehouse. "We have noticed a few comings and goings, mostly people carrying supplies, but no sign of your friend. We can try and create a distraction, allow you to slip in while the guards are busy with us."
Lotti nods, sizing up the new folks. "Just be careful," she warns with a small smile. "If the guards are on edge, any distraction will be a big one to them. Keep yourselves safe and do what you can without putting yourselves at risk."
"Now then, you said there was one entrance Marius?" The older woman waits for confirmation before continuing. "If the guards are any good, they won't completely abandon their post to investigate whatever might be going on. If you and Rose can use the distraction to sneak in close and neutralize whatever people are left, Konstiantina and myself can follow afterwards. Hopefully there's not some nasty surprise waiting in the entryway for unwanted guests, but we don't have any way of identifying or handling that from out here. Thoughts?"
"Very wise," says Konstiantina, taking the vials from Rose as she hands them out. "Thank you, Rose."
As Lotti and the pathfinder outline their plan, the paladin nods thoughtfully.
"A simple distraction to pull them away would be best; engage, retreat a little, and then try to convince them to follow. We then neutralize those who remain behind, and enter the warehouse. Simple."
"All right. I will try and get close to that entrance and hide - with Marius if he feels so inclined. Then when, hopefully, some of the guards have moved off, we will try to surprise the remaining ones near the entrance and you will back us," Rose says, summarising the combined suggestions of the paladin and the caster.
"Then I say we swiftly put this plan into motion. Every moment we linger is one more they could spot us, reach Martella, or do worse should the worst have come to pass and they already have her. I admit I am somewhat worried we haven't received a new message yet, though my wits keep telling my it hasn't been a full day..."
She loads Dignity's Barb again, changes her clothes for the colour to match the most convenient hiding spot near the supposed entrance and waits for Marius to be ready should he wish to go too. Then, she listens for the pathfinders to begin making some noise and quickly heads to the chosen spot in hopes of ambushing any remaining guards near the entrance.
All the while, she keeps the crossbow trailed on the corner of the entrance, ready to fire should someone come from there still and spot her...
The Pathfinders disappear around the corner, promising to at least take care of the thugs patrolling the outside of the building. An agonizing quarter of an hour later, one of them returns to report.
"We knocked out all four of them, although it was hard to do so without them raising the alarm. We took a few hits ourselves, and we dare not do more. It's all on you now... good luck!"
There is nothing barring access to the large double doors that loom at the end of the wide driveway. The doors look solid and heavy, with thick chains running at their sides that presumably allows them to be raised and lowered - an affair that is likely to be both slow and noisy. Luckily, a smaller access door is embedded in one of them.
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"We've tarried long enough, and the plan is sound. Let's move." Loosening this falcata in its sheathe, Marius draws a black cloth from the inside of his tattered jacket and ties it over his face before slipping off into the darkness.
"...Rose, my dear, a thought occurs to me. Given the hash we are making of this sneaky business, perhaps we should have brought the paladin."
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"...Rose, my dear, a thought occurs to me. Given the hash we are making of this sneaky business, perhaps we should have brought the paladin."
"Yes, dear Marius. I, too, have a strange suspicion that this small brush with all its dead, dried branches hidden underneath was not the best hiding spot. In fact, I probably made less noise spiriting away cookies at night when I was a toddler," Rose responds evenly, then grins. "Though, let's look at the bright side! If they charge us, Konstianta and Lotti can flank them! We'll say it was on purpose, won't we?"
"We knocked out all four of them, although it was hard to do so without them raising the alarm. We took a few hits ourselves, and we dare not do more. It's all on you now... good luck!"
"Oh. Right." Rose says, disentangling herself from the brush. "Good job - I mean, of course you did. I suppose our, ah, 'ambush' wasn't needed then. I should have expected nothing less from Martella's agents. We'll take it from here."
She nods at the agents and manages to look but a tad sheepish in the act.
"Well, let us go then, shall we? It wouldn't do to keep a lady waiting - nor those of ill repute seeking her company."
Rose drinks her antitoxin, then walks to the door. She pauses momentarily, laying down to glance under the door slit and feeling the handle for oddities.
If she doesn't find anything, she opens it and stands back. "After you, good knights," she grins slightly as she draws her rapier and the dagger formerly belonging to Imistos.
Lotti thanks the young woman and shoos her off. "You've done plenty - now make sure none of your friends die today." She turns back to Konstiantina and bows, not quite mockingly. "After you, my lady."
----------------------------------------------
Outside the door, the old gnome nods approvingly and drinks her own bottle. "You sure that wasn't just tea?" she asks Rose with a grin. "Tastes about as bitter as dandelion root." The smile fades as she turns to watch the doors open, eyes on the lookout for sudden danger. At her feet, Wobblekins yawns in a pretense of unconcern.
Unstoppering his own antitoxin, Marius downs it and grimaces at the taste before stowing the empty bottle. "Once more unto the breach, friends."
Outside the door, the old gnome nods approvingly and drinks her own bottle. "You sure that wasn't just tea?" she asks Rose with a grin. "Tastes about as bitter as dandelion root."
"You wound me, Lotti! I was practically raised on this stuff," Rose replies, grinning back."Whether or not they admit it, everyone in High Society drinks it. If only for how embarassing it would be to lose someone to simple poisoning. That would signal poverty to the other families... and we can't have that, can we?"
She takes another look at the dagger she was wielding and frowns. "Hm. It looked a lot bigger on the outside..." she mumbles, sheathing it again and exchanging it for her old and much longer one.
Konstiantina gives Lotti a tight smile, and with blade drawn moves to enter through the doorway. Her thoughts whirl; there's so much she could ask, most of it rhetorical, and in truth, she realizes, part of her just wants to hear her friends continue talking.
But it's time for work, and no doubt it will prove bloody.
Expression grim, feeling refreshed and ready for whatever they might find, she enters the warehouse.
Rose finds the door neither trapped, nor locked; perhaps those inside felt that the four guards patrolling the exterior of the warehouse were sufficient security measures. As Konstiantina wrenches the service door open, she gets a glimpse of the interior - an enclosed loading dock crowded with boxes and crates stacked 10-20 feet high. The massive loading doors open onto a two-foot depression, with a series of steps leading up to the raised floor. A wide doorway leads north.
Two cloaked humans turn at the sound of the door opening, surprise quickly replaced with hostility on their features as daggers quickly slip into their grip.
There's no time to think; part of Konstiantina urges her to remain with her friends, to let the enemy come to her, to fight them with numbers.
But another part fears they'll race away, start shouting for reinforcements, give away their entry.
So, hurling caution to the wind, she sprints forward, blade flashing as she bears down on one of the robed men, to strike at him with fell intent.
She trips just before reaching them; a bar of metal skitters away as she stumbles, and her slash falls short, placing her just before both men and off balance. Her eyes flash in defiance and anger as she glares at both men, aware of how precarious her position has sudden become.
One of the guards flinches backwards as Konstiantina vaults onto the platform with her sword drawn. The other smirks and lunges with his dagger at the paladin, but she easily slaps the weapon off course.
From her new vantage point, Konstiantina notices a third, smaller figure in the room, heavily cloaked and hooded, who has paused in their rummaging of the crates in one corner to turn around and watch the intrusion.
Following hard on Konstiantina's heels, he flinches when she stumbles and knocks an iron bar aside, convinced for a split-second that a trap has been triggered.
When no fusillades of arrows of scything blades or spiked pits appear, the nobleman shrugs internally and presses the attack.
Caught without a path to take that would allow her to attack, Rose settles for rushing in after Konstiantina and lands next to her, weapons drawn. "I don't suppose either of you is willing to surrender and make things easy for once," she asks the cloaked figures, trying for the sake of decency.
Lotti likewise follows, though she stops just short of the stairs to catch her breath. "These young folks with their long legs..." she grumbles, just loud enough for her companions to hear before the sound of a single arcane syllable fills the air.
The rogue who had flinched from Konstiantina's charge gets a slightly glazed look in their eyes as Lotti's spell takes hold.
And then, with a rush, her friends are there, and Konstiantina feels a surge of warmth and gratitude as her moment of panic disappears.
Rising from her off-balance crouch, she swings with both hands at the other rogue whose eyes remain focused.
"Third, smaller intruder in the corner by the crates!"
"Got it!" Rose replies, then, with the still-alert foe being distracted by both Marius and Konstiantina, she darts around, using the crate behind as a boost to jump and strike at the assassin from above!
"And I asked so nicely..." she laments, landing what was quite possibly a lethal thrust.
The small figure in the corner looks startled they are pointed out, then begins to wave their hands frantically. "Oh, my goodness, please don't kill me! I'm just a merchant!"
The still-alert rogue takes a solid blow from Konstiantina and elbows their colleague in frustration before slashing low towards the paladin's knees, only to get stabbed scant moments later by Rose and collapse on the floor.
"A merchant, hmm? Well, 'merchant', I have had a very rough day and--" Marius lunges in to slash at his opponent when Lotti's spell takes effect. "--would prefer if you didn't move from that spot. Be with you in a moment."
Marius finishes off the second thug, who slips to the ground in a heap.
The person in the corner raises their hands with a terrified expression. Now that they are closer, Marius, rose and Konstiantina can study them better - a blue-skinned, sharp-nosed man, wearing a hooded robe and many scarves, his hands gloved. That doesn't seem like any merchant attire that they've ever seen, and Konstiantina remembers that when she first spotted him he didn't seem afraid of the thugs and was rummaging through the crates seemingly at ease.
On the way, Rose grimaces at the cut along her arm. It wasn't quite bleeding badly, but it was annoying - the outfit was entirely new, for Shelyn's sake! - and potentially dangerous to leave the wound unattended for the coming fights. But to use the very limited healing potions right away felt a bit wasteful...
She glances at Konstiantina as they move in on the 'merchant' and considers asking her, but decides not to, for now.
When they reach the man, she tries to read him and continues doing so as she smiles a predatory grin and begins talking. "A fellow merchant? Oh, how exciting! Pray tell me your trade, product, main competitors, where you buy your raw materials, from who, and where you sell your product at which profit margin. Oh, and be aware that I WILL know if you try to bluff your way out of this one. My family's connections extend pretty far ."
She crosses her arms, weapons still held, and raises an eyebrow. "You have exactly thirty seconds to convince me."
The man shrinks back from Rose, smiling nervously. "Oh, another merchant, what joy! I a wine trader, I deal in very exotic stuff, perhaps you would like to sample some! I can guarantee that you have never tasted anything like it before!" He produces a bottle from somewhere on his person - it does, indeed, look like a bottle of ruby-red wine, although Rose does not recognize the seal on the cork.
Marius very nearly sneers at the proffered bottle. "We've not even gotten a name from you, sir, we'll certainly accept no gifts." Marius levels his still-bloody blade at the man. "Facedown on the floor, if you please. Can't be too careful with assassins about, I'm sure you understand."
If he complies, Marius ties his hands off behind his back before patting him down.
Konstiantina looks on with a severe expression; the man's sudden lack of composure clashes unfavorably with the nonchalant manner he was looting the place before.
With that situation under control, she moves to check the two fallen men.
Rose's eyes narrow on the potion. "Not exactly convincing, and I'm afraid I don't recognize that either. I suggest you lower it, do as he says and allow yourself to be captured. If not, I can't vouch for your safety."
"Not more than present, at any rate."
She uncrosses her arms and points the rapier at the red vial.
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Lotti slowly climbs the stairs, squinting curiously at the short fellow. But she decides it's best not to stick her nose into Rose's and Marius's affairs (again) and instead lends Konstiantina a hand with the two assassins - who are not currently trying to lie their way out of a bad situation and are instead just lying down on the job.
The self-proclaimed merchant glances at the two bodies on the floor before complying with Marius's request. "Oh, no need to get violent. This is all a misunderstanding," but his halfhearted tone makes it clear that he's aware his deception is not fooling anyone.
Patting down his numerous pockets, Marius finds a dozen vials of various shapes and colours, some labelled, others not; three tanglefoot bags; a thunderstone; two bottles of wine; a dagger; a well-made fiddle; a dog-eared book filled with alchemical formulas; a ring with a hollow space filled with an oily substance, and 6 gold coins.