Waterday - 19 Ready'reat - Noon
After meeting Karyssa at the
Tipsy Tavern first thing in the morning, the
Try-hard Misfits descended into her wine cellar to handle the infestation of undead. Surprisingly, the hunt did not end within the cellar itself, but led to an unknown mausoleum with services to
Orcus, the demon prince of the undead. Upon returning to the cellar door, the party knocked and waited several moments before Karyssa opened the door.
As the
Try-hard Misfits step into the noon-day sun, Karyssa states, "You were down there a long time, I was beginning to worry about you. Is everything okay?"
Kira responds, "Well, the infestation went further than just your cellar."
"Much further," Karia adds, "We went through the sewer and into some form of crypt."
Adlia adds, "They came through a broken wall. You'll want to get that rebuilt and then blessed."
"Wow!" Karyssa marvels, "I thought it was just my wine cellar. Alright, so what can I answer regarding Elix the Saint and why do you all care?"
"The guild owes me money," Wee Jane states. "I want what they owe me, so we are trying to get Elix to help us out. Is there a place where we could chat with him privately?"
"I do have a private room, but that'll cost you 10 gold," answers Karyssa.
"10 gold!?" Karia shrieks, "We just cleared out a serious threat and went beyond what you asked and you're going to charge us for a little private talk?"
"Right!" responds Karyssa, "I asked you to clear out my cellar. Why would I pay for anything more?"
Patiently Kyra explains, "These creatures came from somewhere, if we had just stayed in your cellar, then more would follow. It was important to eradicate the source to prevent future trouble. Now why should we pay you more for just a private chat?"
Sighing, Karyssa responds, "I'm trying to run a business. I need to make money to do that."
"How about 5 gold then?" asks Karia. "That gives you a small bit while we get to have our chat."
"Fine," Karyssa agrees, "but you're buying his drinks."
Karia and Kyra exchange glances as Kyra responds, "I still think you're cheating us, but we'll do it as long as you make his drinks stronger. We want him drunk and talking. We'll see you tonight, but for now I need sleep."
The party heads back east following the inlet before splitting up with Kyra and Adlia heading back to the
Sea Ghost while Nar, Karia, and Wee Jane head toward Ebb Threadson's tailoring.
As the three ladies enter his shop, rushing eagerly from the back he exclaims! "You're here! Look at this! See how it floats and hangs so daintly."
Nar responds as she reaches out for her dress, "Oh! That is quite lovely. I bet it'll really stir interest when I perform."
Ebb yanks the dress backward, "With how good it is now, shouldn't we work on getting it perfect? You want to catch some interest, what if we add colored rhinestone designs up near the shoulders? Maybe an albatross or seagull?"
Karia snickers while suggesting, "What about crab claws for your claw wine?"
Nar's mouth goes wide as she exclaims, "Oh that would be great! Wait! How much more would that cost?"
Ebb ponders a moment, "Crab claws? Well it depends on how we did it. Would you want rubies? That'd be much more expensive. Or we could just use shiny stones."
Nar decides, "Let's do the shiny stones. How much and when can I pick it up?"
"It'll be another night for sure. Let's call it another gold piece?" answers Ebb. "Just come by tomorrow and I should have it ready for you."
Leaving Ebb's store, Jane hefts her monstrous mace, "Nice weight to it, but much lighter than my maul. Let's head over to Corb Three-finger's shop and see if he has anything to add to this."
The small group wends their way through town over to the blacksmith's shop who merrily greets them, "Hail and ho! What brings you back my way today?"
"With my new terrible mace, I want something for my freehand. Do you have a nice club or something?" Jane asks.
"I've got a few things in a pile over here," offers Corb. "Here. How does this feel?"
Jane hefts both hands and does a practice swing, then shakes her head. "No. Too much difference in weight. Maybe something to bash with?"
Corb nods thoughtfully as he sizes her big half-orc frame, then walks to a different corner and brings back a small round shield. "Try this on your free arm."
Jane slides her hand behind the shield, then practices swinging the horrific skull mace as she brings the shield across her body. "Nice! Good movement. Nice weight. I'll take it." She then quickly pays Corb ten gold.
Stretching in the late afternoon sun, Karia asks, "Any other errands? Or should we head back to the ship?"
With the sun settling below the western edge, the well rested
Try-hard Misfits enter the oaken door of the
Tipsy Tavern. Catching Karyssa's eye, she nods toward the private room where Elix the Saint sprawls across a comfortable chair. The party approaches as Karyssa states, "He showed up thirty minutes ago, so I told him we are celebrating our special patrons and gave him a beer while leading him into the room. It's up to you now and remember, you are on the hook for his drinks tonight."
Bringing the group together, Kyra outlines a plan, "We need to get him drunk and talking. That means very drunk. I should stay out of sight, but some of you need to head in and feed him drinks. Once he's drunk, we'll get more information about the guild and then we'll go get that painting. Nar, he won't recognize you. Let's have you start it off, but Wee Jane, I think you'll need to go too since you know the guild and can get him reminiscing about the glory days."
Nar nods as she reaches up to grab the beer from the counter then saunters into the private room gleefully stating, "A toast! To being regulars and the perks we earn!"
Elix casts an eye over and then smiles appreciatiely, "I don't know you little lady, but I'll toast to your health!"
Nar curtsies as she introduces herself, "I'm Narsherekir. You probably haven't seen me recently as I've been on tour, but the Tipsy is my home here. You're Elix, right? I've definitely seen you here before. You've got an eye on that lovely redhead behind bar, right? Can't say I blames you. She's right nice."
Jane strides into the room, "Hey Elix! Hello little one, I'm Wee Jane."
Elix looks over at Jane, "You're a regular too?"
"Nah," replies Jane, "but I've done an odd job or two for Karyssa, so she invited me over." Draining her drink, she asks, "I'm grabbing another, so I'll bring a round for us all."
Nar, Jane, and Elix chat about inconsequential topics while for several hours as Jane continues to refresh their drinks at a stiff pace. Each time she leaves, Nar flirts and teases Elix noticing his budding curiosity. Finally, Elix slurs a word or two as his eyes glaze a bit. Jane gets up for another round and passes Kyra while heading to the bar, Kyra says, "Okay. It's time to ask about your back pay and security." As Jane heads back into the room, Kyra summons the eldritch energies to peer into Elix's mind while Jane asks Elix, "I hate to bring this up after such a great evening, but I really feel deserving of my pay from that last job. How about you tell me where the guards are located at the guild house?"
Elix shakes his head as he replies, "Nope. Dusk would have my head. It sucks that you weren't paid, but I owe Dusk so I won't tell you about the guild." Elix stands and leers at Nar as he states, "It's time to head back. Although, if you'd like to join me little one, we could have a lot of fun tonight."
Nar laughs as she accepts, "That would be fun. Lead the way." Nar and Elix leave the Tipsy Tavern, then drunkenly sway from one side of the road to the other as they head east toward the city gates.
Earthday - 20 Ready'reat
As soon as the door closes, Kyra tells the remaining party, "I'll follow them from above. Give them about ten minutes and then you can head toward the guild house. We'll meet somewhere enroute." She dashes from the tavern and activates her boots to fly above the rooftops, watching Nar and Elix as they slowly wend their way through streets and alleys toward the guild house.
Roughly midway from the gate to the guildhouse, Elix slurs, "One moment my darling, I need to shake the dragon." He stumbles over to a tree and then slumps down unconcious.
Coming down to earth, Kyra whispers, "Well don't just stand there, go get his key. Also, let's tie him to the tree, just in case."
Nar deftly pilfers his pocket for the key and then wraps his hands together and then around the trunk of the tree. "That should hold him for a few hours," she declares as the rest of the party approaches from town and then proceed toward the guildhouse.
As the
Try-hard Misfits reach the end of the path a small rock wall separates the countryside from the complex housing the
Agile Hand. Everyone kneels while surveying the grounds. Up on the western building a guard walks along a balcony while the eastern house and barn seem quiet. Kyra whispers an incantation and transforms herself into Elix. She then drunkely stumbles toward the double-doors in the eastern building where she inserts Elix's key and twists. The key resists a moment before freeing the lock. Opening the door, she ascends the main stairs where she reaches a large room piled with barrels, crates, and even a coffin.
The group watches from the rock wall as a door opens on the balcony. The guard moves to investigate speaking a few words to the man in the doorway then quietly slumps into the waiting arms of Kyra appearing as Elix. The group stands and quickly walks toward the building. Nar scales the side to assist Kyra/Elix bringing the guard into the room while the rest enter through the front door and ascend the stairs.
The party secures the guard and hides him behind several boxes in the room before Elix/Kyra walks toward the door at the back of the room. Quietly opening, she sees two occupied beds with gear stowed against the wall. Nar creeps into the room and liberates their keys before exiting and locking the door behind her.
Elix/Kyra then approaches the other room which appears to be an office with a guard standing by a door on the opposite side while Nar quickly uses her spiderweb slippers to scale the wall behind Kyra. Elix/Kyra places a finger against her lips for silence as Nar, hanging upside down from the ceiling shoots and the gaurd drops as Kyra dashes across and quickly secures the guard. Karia and Jane then haul him out and deposit him behind the crates in the larger room. Rifling through the desk, Kyra finds a ledger that apparently tracks all the stolen goods by the Agile Hand, but curiously does not list the King Skotti portrait.
Kyra then approaches the door and places an ear against it. Muffled by the door, she hears, "
CRACK! Aren't you a naughty girl! Cheating on the mayor, your husband, and loving me for it.
CRACK!" Another voice responds, "Mppph!"
Kyra jerks back and whispers, "I think we found Dusk's room and she's awake too. We'll need to rush in there to prevent a response." The party quickly formulates a plan. Kyra then holds a component pouch as her arms weave through the patterns of force as she chants the arcane words placing an unseen eye beyond the door. Looking within, she sees a bed with sheets strewn aside but empty of bodies. Panning she sees two ladies bare of any clothes with one trussed into a cross with a gag in her mouth while the other lady stands behind her and cracks a flogger against her lover.
As Kyra relays this new information, Nar efficiently picks the lock and Karia and Jane open the door and rush inward. Jane raising her gruesome mace unleashing it's ferocious power while yelling, "Get on the ground! Now! And not a sound."
Dusk's eyes grow wide as she unwillingly drops to the floor. Near panicking, she cries out, "What do you want?"
Kyra replies, "We've come for King Skotti's portrait and nothing else. What makes it so important?"
"Ask it and maybe he'll tell you," Dusk taunts back.
"Ask it? You mean it talks?" Looking at the rest of the party, she continues, "How did you learn about this ability?
"The whisperer told me," Dusk responds. "He's more powerful than you can guess."
"So you don't even know who this Whisperer is? Ugh. Adlia come with me. Jane and Karia do you want to stay here to guard our friends?"
The ladies nod and as Kyra and Adlia head up the stairs, Karia pulls the gag out of the other lady's mouth and asks, "Do you want to stay tied here or would you prefer to be on the bed?"
Nar pauses for a moment, then follows the two up the stairs. As she rounds the bend, she watches as Adlia lifts the painting mounted on the wall and gas spews forth enveloping her friends. Kyra quickly holds her breath while Adlia starts coughing and lets the painting drop back on its hanger.
"Wut? Careful now," the painting admonishes Adlia.
As the gas clears, Kyra questions it, "What are you and what can you do?"
Sneering it replies, "Do you think I'd deign to speak with such commoners like you? Best be on your way or the lady of the house will roust you."
"She's lying buck naked on the floor below, so I doubt she'll do anything to us. I have so many questions but for now into the infinity bag you go."
As Kyra lifts the frame off the wall, a flurry of darts strike at her from the picture. However, she resolutely continues and slides it into the small bag Adlia has open. Closing it up, Kyra inspects the nearby desk covered with various papers including one showing a design for gas canisters behind a picture frame.
Meanwhile in Dusk's bedroom, Karia kneels over Dusk to truss her arms behind her back. As she yanks the left arm, Karia spots a tiny tattoo along her triceps. Peering closer, it looks almost like an eyeball pinched within a hand. Yanking Dusk's arm tighter, Karia asks, "What's this tattoo?"
"Fuck off," Dusk responds. "All you need to know is that he.."
Kyra rounds the bend of the stairs as Karia yanks on her arms and demands, "Tell me."
"His reach is beyond the grave, so do what you want," Dusk says flatly.
Karia starts to pull on the arms when Kyra speaks up, "We've got it. Let's get out of here before someone else notices us." Karia nods and quickly finishes binding Dusk, leaving her bound and naked sprawled out on the floor.
The party then heads down the stairs within Dusks chamber and surprise a guard reading a book. They quickly subdue him and then walk through a parlor where four guards appeared to be unconcious with playing cards laid out before them. The party quietly moves through the room and then out the double doors and into the courtyard. Walking quickly, the party leaves the compound behind for the road back to town. A broad smile breaks across Kyra's face as she revels in the successful escapade that was accomplished without killing anyone.
Meanwhile behind the party, unseen, a pair of eyes watches intently from the window of the opposing building.
