“My dear Marius. You were well aware when you signed on for our little organization that there is only one way out. You may take it any time you wish.”
“As for the rest of you, you seem awfully high-handed for a group that has cut a bloody swath through not just my redoubt, but several points within or nearby our fair city of Sassarine. You will note I remain seated in your presence, not out of arrogance or indifference, but in the hope that your actions are due your environment, and not symptoms of a bloodthirsty nature.”
“Sit, stand, it makes no difference provided you are willing to listen.”
“I was born in Sassarine, lived here the entirety of my life, and I speak no lie when I say I would give my life to protect this city. In years not long past, I found I could no longer sit idle and watch the mounting threats from the sidelines. I attempted to take a more active role in politics, only to find treachery and danger lurking within that place as well. Desperate, I set upon a new course to carve out the rotten heart of Sassarine.”
“I live a double life, as respected noble and dread underboss of the Lotus Dragons. At times, I must face dealings with persons of low character, utilize ham-fisted tactics, and make hard decisions, but I do so with the long-term security of Sassarine in mind. I mean to seize power, strip the Dawn Council of authority, and reseat the rightful monarchy.”
“To be candid, your capabilities impress me, and I could use allies such as you.
Whatever your current wages, I will double them. You would not even have to leave your current positions, in fact, I would rather you did not. It would lend you an air of respectability, and there is something I don’t trust about your patron. You don’t have all the information. Hells, I don’t even have all the information, yet. Once we take over the shipping lanes, we’ll be entrenched, and the real work can begin.”
“As for Vanthus, I will hand him over to you if I can. If I cannot, I can certainly lead you to his current whereabouts.”
“Besides, think on this: even if you were to cut me down in cold blood, the Lotus Dragons would simply reform under a new leader unless you wiped the entire complex clean. One with far dire intents than I, to be certain. The rank and file members need only think of us as an organization for thuggery, but you, in your leadership positions, will know our true goals ”
I've not seen a Felldrake up close, does he have a forked tongue to match his mistress? People who pretend at noble causes and use evil means to reach their objective are nothing but deluded, vile individuals. Don't act as if your actions are justified just because your ideals are perceived by yourself to be necessary. Sasserine just came from under violent rule from the Sea Princes, and I will not allow you to place it under the 'iron-fisted' and self-justified violence of your machinations. If that means that you must face justice and your guild needs to be totally destroyed, then so be it.
Marius is one of us now, and if that displeases you then tough. He has proven himself a stalwart companion and I will stand with him and for him if you decide to bring violence upon him.
“Lady, you have the advantage of us … your face is familiar, but I do not know your name?
“Well lady, you have heard the answer of one of us. I cannot answer for the group, but I myself side with Terin on this one. I have seen what happens when a guild of thieves decides that they should take a hand in the overall direction of their city – perhaps you have heard of The Last Laugh in our neighbour Cauldron?
“As for a thug and brute taking over the guild if you are gone … perhaps that is preferable to someone who seeks to overthrow the ruling order of the city.
“The Dawn Council has its faults, that is certainly true – any organization made up of people will be faulty, for no one who is not of the divine can be perfect. But I for one prefer that this city is led by a group – some good, some perhaps bad – that are at least somewhat representative of the city and her people, rather than a single monarch, especially one brought to power on the back of thieves and scoundrels.
“Suffice to say that I do not agree with your plans, or your offer.
“I think the only thing that our group will agree to is for you to hand over Vanthus and let us safely leave this place – all of us, including Marius if he wishes it. In return, we will cease hostilities, and give you an agreed to amount of time to shift your base of operations before we inform the authorities of its existence and defences.”
“The role of hostess does not come naturally to me; please do not try my patience with blind ignorance. I am well aware of your own hypocrisies, so kindly keep your own council on that matter.”
“I am Rowyn, eldest daughter of House Kilawni. You need not provide your names, I am well aware of whom you are and for whom you work. I wonder, do you?”
“Your offer is not without merit. It saddens me to hear you are not interested in sharing in the glory of Sassarine’s cleansing.”
“I agree to your terms, though I would require you to spend the agreed upon time sequestered. You have disrupted operations here, but not to the point of collapse. I would be happy to allow your party the use of my personal quarters for a period of seven days, after which you are free to go and do as you wilt. This should prove sufficient time to conclude our business, and present ample occasion for the recall of Vanthus. I will see that my staff meets your every need during your stay, and I will provide recompense for your lost time as well.”
I guess there is more work to do then, you obviously need to be brought to the point of collapse. I will not be caged so you can figure out how to take care of us, and proceed with your disgusting business practices. I ask you to surrender now and be brought to justice or resist and be destroyed.
"Your group seems divided. Do you need some time in private to talk amongst yourselves?"
Tyndal shoves more food down his throat and washes it down with wine.
"Who? me? I'm just waiting for the poison to kick in. Nice place you got here...hate to paint the walls with blood. How bout you give us Vanthus now and we'll move on. As much as I like this food, I ain't much for sitting around in your swank dungeon."
Marius shakes his head, "I may not be the most patriotic of people, Rowyn, but I would much prefer not to be cooped up underground whilst somebody attempts to reshape the power structure of the city above me. At the very least, it makes it difficult to take ship if I doubt the intentions of a new regime towards me. As well, if somebody were to, say, reveal the location of the guild to the Guard, we would be hard-pressed to deny any involvement if we were found living the high life in the leader's quarters."
“While we do have our own specialty in-house brand of poison, I have all my own stores checked regularly, so you may enjoy the food without misgivings.”
“As for Vanthus, he simply isn’t here for me to hand over, even if I so wished. He is away on mission, and if you won’t wait for his recall or honor your own terms, then what choice have I?”
“You may wait here as I have asked, at which time I’m hand Vanthus over to you no questions asked, or you may attempt to track him down yourself, blindly. In which case, I willingly surrender myself to you for trial. I’ll leave Gut-Tugger here to guard my property in my absence, unless your tree-worshiping friend wishes to arrest him as well? I’ll kindly thank you not to lay hands upon me or rifle through my possessions like common burglars, either. I’ll go with you peaceably, and we’ll see who can present the better case to the authorities.”
“The lady might be dangerous, but she’s honest. Why not kick back for a week and enjoy ourselves, and then have Vanthus brought to us like a strung up goat? If we don’t like the city afterwards, we can just fix things to our liking and be hailed as heroes! Maybe they’d even make us nobility?”
“I bet she’d even bring you a moor hound for companionship, though I’ll be closing my eye for that.”
Out loud Terin says "Penkus, shut up." before realizing that he responded aloud. Then mentally 'I have no intention of being restrained for an undisclosed amount of time waiting to test the word of the Leader of Killers and Thieves."
Out loud again, "Who ordered the Harbormaster's death? I am pretty sure of the answer but I would like to hear your take on it."
Out loud Terin says "Penkus, shut up."
“How do you know Penkus? He was a good friend and an even better employee. I give Vanthus another black mark for his disappearance, though I can’t prove it. Wherever he is, he’d have returned by now if he was still alive.”
Out loud again, "Who ordered the Harbormaster's death?
“I’m afraid that information is for loyal Lotus Dragon members only, and that ship is quickly sailing out of the harbor. Perhaps it will come out at the trial, perhaps not, though I will tell you truthfully that orders, if there were any, would not have involved Lord Islarin’s murder.”
I know Penkus as he is now, a battered shell of himself that Vanthus left to die. He resides in me now as one of my ocular orbs and I know what he knows.....to a point. I am in a tough position. I do not wish to kill or arrest you, but if you intend to usurp power within Sasserine, then I have no choice but to do one or the other. I see the value of a thieves guild in a city, but not one that takes over the city. I fear I must ask you to surrender and face trial, or resist and.....well...I wouldn't choose that if I were you.
“We cannot agree to spending time sequestered, and the time we will give you before going to the authorities will be three hours at most. A resourceful woman such as yourself will no doubt be able to use that time wisely. If you cannot agree to that, we will take you into custody and track Vanthus down ourselves as you suggest. I’m sure we would all like to avoid further killing if possible.”
Marius simply shrugs, as if to say that he's said his piece and any oncoming violence is none of his doing. He still has a firm hold on that loaded crossbow, and is making a point to keep an eye on both Rowyn and Gut Tugger.
Seann's eyes dart back and forth between his companions and the Lady Rowyn.
"Uh, eh, hmmm..."
It’s a little strange to level mid conversation, but with the break it made sense, so we’ll just assume that the leveling took place at some point before you entered the current room.
In addition to your new level, you have earned the following bonuses:
Eldin – The traveler graces you with Tumble as a class skill, and Skill Focus: Tumble, for getting into and out of combat to heal.
Terin – The beatings you have received in melee have toughened the hide of your beast form. You receive Improved Natural Armor as a bonus feat.
Marius – You no longer take penalties for firing your crossbow into combat, you gain Precise Shot as a bonus feat.
Tyndal – Your flail and shield experience opens you to new maneuvers; you learn to use your shield more effectively.
Benefit: You gain your shield bonus (and the shield’s enhancement bonus, if any) as an addition to your touch AC.
Seann – Your divine patron answers your prayers for usefulness, you gain the Lesser Eldritch Blast ability, as if you were a level 1 Warlock, although the blast does only 1d4 damage.
Ardan – Thanks to your exposure to grease, you learn an Arcane Stunt. You may cast Spider Climb as a spell like ability once per day. Your caster level is your class level -1.
Terin is leveled also. The Beast gets mobility(+4 vs AoOs for me movin') and a magic +1 bite while in predator-form now.
“We cannot agree to spending time sequestered, and the time we will give you before going to the authorities will be three hours at most. A resourceful woman such as yourself will no doubt be able to use that time wisely. If you cannot agree to that, we will take you into custody and track Vanthus down ourselves as you suggest. I’m sure we would all like to avoid further killing if possible.”
At the behest of Lavinia, you visited the site of her boat, the Blue Nixie, to recover stolen property.
When you arrived, you discovered the hijacked ship was in use ferrying exotic animals to the black market. After a tense fight in which the perpetrator traded your life for his freedom, you descended into the bowels of the ship to quell the beginnings of a ship-scuttling fire and rescue what animals you could. Turning one of the thieves into a stalwart ally, you sent him off with Tyndal's sorry excuse for a boat, to make amends by way of repairs.
Returning to the mansion, you escorted your noble patron to the vaults beneath Castle Teraknian, defeating dangerous guardians and clever traps only to discover Lavinia's brother, Vanthus, had all but cleaned out the family fortune before disappearing.
Hot on the trail of Vanthus, you followed the disturbed Shefton Rosk to a warehouse of questionable use. You bluffed your way passed two sets of guards, only to have the madman Rosk set fire to crates of whale oil during the course of your investigation. In order to escape certain death, you descended into an abandoned annex of the city sewers, making several curious discoveries in the process. Surviving room after hellish room, dragging a dazed and nonsensical rogue behind you, you discovered you were too late. Vanthus had come and gone, sacrificing his comrades to secure his own escape. After a harrowing battle with positive energy infused otyughs, you sacrificed one of your own eyes to glean the current whereabouts of your quarry.
Emerging topside, your all-too-brief respite came to a jarring halt, marred by the death of your long time halfling compatriot, who had unknowingly become host to a giant insect. Hardened by your perils, you moved without delay to investigate the taxidermist shop used as a front by the thieves guild allied with Vanthus, but ill-timed words tipped your hand, and your quarry escaped yet again. Under the guidance of your infernally infused eyeball ally, you fought your way directly to the heart of the Lotus Guild complex, only to arrive at a quandary. Faced with a potential fight, the head of the thieves’ guild, a noble like your patron but not, offers you a commission to work for the guild instead.
Turning down the lucrative but shady offer, you are again surprised when she offers to surrender to you.
Seann looks intently at Terin, unsure whether to voice his own opinion.
He remembers what happened after the last time he did that...
What's on your mind, Seann, we been through hell together and I respect your words.
What's on your mind, Seann, we been through hell together and I respect your words.
"This doesn't seem right. There's something going on that we don't know about."
What do your instincts tell you? Nature's gift is our instincts. Most spend a lifetime quelling instinct, but those who embrace them tend to see more clearly so speak and I will trust those instincts.
Eldin’s gaze does not leave Rowan’s face, while he awaits a response to his comment , but he speaks in response to Seann and Terin. “The Lady Rowan has told us that she is a scion of House Kilawni. Convincing the Dawn Council that one of their own is a criminal mastermind may not be a simple task, and the Lady knows that. If we take her into custody and present her to the authorities, things may not go the way we hope. In addition, if we were to agree to her requested time sequestered – which we surely do not – that would give her sufficient time to explore a number of options: escape; removal of her operations and all evidence of it to another location; planting false evidence to turn the law against us; prepare traps or ambushes that could not fail to kill us.
“So yes, I am sure the Lady feels that she has her options well in hand. What we all must keep in mind here is that, abhorrent as we may find this operation, our primary goal is to find Vanthus – and she has that information. A fight here may or may not serve us in that. So we still wait to see if we are able to come to an arrangement at least somewhat agreeable to all of us.
“I certainly don’t like the idea of a thieves guild operating in the city – least of all one run by a noble. But history teaches that there are worse alternatives to a stable thieves guild running the city’s underworld. Besides, it is dawning on me that Vanthus is potentially far more evil, depraved and ruthless than the Lotus Dragons, so my focus is finding him ”
“I’m in the middle of a discussion with our new friends. If you could wait outside?,” she commands, the tone of her voice indicating there is no question or implied “please” in her statement.
“Now then, where were we?,” she asks you, before segueing, “Ah yes, I was surrendering myself into your custody.”
She holds out her arms, wrists upwards, before giving you a slight mocking smile with only the right side of her mouth raised. “As a noblewoman, I won’t permit you to bind or lay hands upon me, but I will go willingly and assure your safe passage from my home away from home.”
“Unless you’d prefer to explore my first offer, of course, which still stands.”
"I agree with the priest. Arresting her ain't going to get us anywhere. She's a noble and we all know sh*t don't stick to them, especially when accused by vagabond rabble like us ..or me at least.
You help us with finding Vanthus and I'm willing to walk on. Sorry we busted up the place, but then again, it just means you need better locks."
Tyndal looks at the door the Dragons are behind, with a gleam in his eyes, ready to fight.
"And don't tell me you don't know where he is. At the very least you got a lot of ears and eyes on the ground...if you don't know now, you could still find out...and who knows, maybe if you got a job in the future that doesn't hurt my friends' morality, maybe we can help you out."
Sorry we busted up the place, but then again, it just means you need better locks."
“Truer words were never spoken.”
“Of course I know where he is, but I can’t simply whisk him up with a wave of my hand.”
“Are you suggesting we make an exchange? I provide you with the current whereabouts of your lost Vanderboren, and you walk away from here without ruining any more of my carpets?”
“If you all agree, I’m beginning to think Vanthus is far too dangerous to keep on the payroll, anyhow. I don’t suppose there is anything else I could tempt you with to bring you on board? Have you ever wanted to be Harbormaster?”
She knows where Vanthus is and is willing to roll on him. Let's take it. Even if you are too stuffy to take the payday, we can get revenge that much quicker.
Sorry we busted up the place, but then again, it just means you need better locks."“Truer words were never spoken.”
“Of course I know where he is, but I can’t simply whisk him up with a wave of my hand.”
“Are you suggesting we make an exchange? I provide you with the current whereabouts of your lost Vanderboren, and you walk away from here without ruining any more of my carpets?”
"Sounds like a plan."
Eldin nods. “It works for me… however,” he glances at Terin in particular, and the other members of the party who have not yet spoken up, “we must all be in agreement. It is not an ideal situation, but I prefer it to more bloodletting – ours or others’. Do we all agree?”
"Absolutely," Marius says, seeing little option but to seize upon the option that gives them all the best chance of getting out of this alive. Whether Rowyn is going to extend that amnesty to include him is something of an open question, but he is hopeful at the least.